An Assembly You Don’t Want To Miss

Introduction

As usual, our singing on the first day of the week is just so encouraging and stimulating. And that’s really what I want to talk to you about this morning is the nature of assembly and what it’s designed to do. And I want to get you right to the title this morning An assembly You Just Don’t Want to Miss. That’s what I want to spend a few minutes talking to you about this morning. And so whenever you talk about assembling and the need to do that, what’s the first passage that comes to mind? Oh, there it is. It was on the tip of your tongue if you didn’t already have it. Hebrews 10, verse 25. Let’s go there and look at that and stay in that context for a bit this morning.

Hebrews 10 and verse 25. Not forsaking our own assembling together. Now we’re catching this in the middle of the sentence. I hope you notice that. Not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another. And all the more as you see the day drawing near.

And Jared and I talk quite regularly, almost every week. And a couple of weeks ago, Jared and I were talking about this verse, which led to a sermon for both of us. Because both of us were a little unhappy with some of the explanations that we’ve given in the past regarding this verse. And Jared used a term that I like. He called it the comfortable shoe. The comfortable shoe. Whenever we talk about assembling and the need to assemble with the Lord’s people, we go to Hebrews 10 25, and it’s our comfortable shoe that a lot of times makes people feel guilty. Should you feel guilty for missing an assembly? Sometimes the answer to that question is, yes, you should feel guilty. You made a poor choice.

1. The Strong Term Forsake: Abandonment

Perhaps you even made a sinful choice. But here’s what I’ve noted about producing that kind of guilt. That usually doesn’t fix anything, and it doesn’t fix anything for very long. And is that really what this passage is talking to us about most? I believe the Hebrew writer has something more in mind than just an occasional miss of an assembly due to spiritual weakness. It’s applicable to that. But he uses a very strong term here. He uses the term forsake. Forsaking the assembling of ourselves together. And I want to suggest to you contextually that this is tantamount to abandonment. Is it possible that the Hebrew writer is primarily addressing desertion, rejection, and leaving all together? Because I want you to notice the very next verse, because he says, for if, and four is building on the previous thoughts, for if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, they’re no longer remains a sacrifice for sins.

2. The Word Is the Idea of Gathering

And he’ll go on to talk about those who trample underfoot the Son of God, insult the spirit of grace, and consider unclean the blood of the covenant by which they were sanctified, and he says, it’s a terrifying thing, fall into the hands of the living God. He’s talking about something pretty severe in this context. And here is what I believe is going on that he’s saying persistence in such a course in time will lead one to surrender his or her faith completely. That’s what he’s warning about. And there is some question, even in regard to the word for assembly here. This word is only used twice in the entire New Testament. This was not a word that Paul would often use when talking about the assembling of brethren together for worship.

Of course, you know that I think that Paul is not the author of the Hebrew epistle. Thus, I think we have the uniqueness of this, even though Paul is the other person who uses this word, and we’ll get to that momentarily. The Hebrew writer is a unique voice in the New Testament. And Paul and Peter did not use this particular term for assembling. I would say, in the absence of other uses in that vein, we cannot ascertain completely that he’s talking only about assemblies for worship. The word is the idea of gathering. The other use was by Paul in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 and verse 1, but he’s not talking about an assembly for worship. Here’s the other use of this word in the New Testament.

Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our assembly, our gathering together to him. That’s not talking about assembling for worship. That’s talking about the ultimate gathering of the righteous unto God, unto Christ. And he says, that you may not be quickly shaken from your composure to the effect that some would be saying that the day of the Lord has already come. So it’s very possible when he says, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, that he’s not only talking about assemblies for worship, but other gatherings of the people, like we read about in Acts chapter 2, when they were meeting from house to house and having their meals together, and they would gather on other occasions for the purpose of encouragement and stimulating one another unto love and good deeds.

And that’s the previous verse in Hebrews 10 and verse 25. That we’re to consider one another, how to stimulate one another unto love and good deeds. So perhaps even Hebrews 10 and verse 25 is not just talking about assemblies for worship. But when someone who is a brother and sister in Christ distances himself from the group, and that would include assemblies for worship. But when he finds himself or herself totally sequestered. From association with brethren, he or she then becomes vulnerable to losing or abandoning their faith altogether. So what I want you to see about Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 25, this may involve something more than just first day assemblies for worship. And contextually, in the book of Hebrews, I think it fits a whole lot better.

He talks in the beginning part of how these believers seem to be struggling. He warns them about neglecting their salvation. He warns about an evil heart of unbelief that might be developing in them. He warns them about coming short of the grace of God in Hebrews chapter 4 and verse 1. He says that they’re immature when by this time they should have been teachers. He warns them about being sluggish in chapter 6. But instead he says, be diligent and be imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. And in the context of Hebrews 10 that we’ve already seen, he’s warned about going on in a sinful course of life. And so he’s saying, we need each other. We need assemblies of the Lord’s people.

3. It Boils Down to What Your Motives Are

What else do you call it? I mean, they would have been here, but something came up and they got hindered. Well, I don’t think providentially hindered is probably the best term because God really wants us to be here. I don’t think he’s trying to hinder us from assembling. But people miss for a variety of reasons. What is a justifiable reason? So I want to talk about assembly because this passage certainly addresses that. What about assemblies for worship? When is an acceptable occasion to miss? Because Hebrews 10, while it may talk about more than just first day of the week assemblies, it’s certainly including that. Those gatherings with the Lord’s people. And we certainly don’t want to establish a pattern or a habit that would cause us to be guilty of Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 25, as is the habit of some.

And that’s what ultimately happens when people start missing assemblies. Ultimately, what do we see that pattern developing into? Ultimately, it’s usually they don’t come at all. Okay, preacher, so tell me, it’s your job to tell me when it is okay to miss an assembly. Is work a good excuse? Well, I guess it could be. I know of some who say that under any circumstances to miss for employment so that you can make money would be a violation of this text. Well, motives are going to be involved in this. You have some competing obligations here. A man who does not provide for his own is worse than an infidel, Paul says in 1 Timothy chapter 5. So there’s some other issues involved here, but seriously, don’t we know that some use the work thing as an excuse?

Like, well, I had to work tonight. But it was actually pretty optional. Could have been done at another time, but it was a convenient reason to give as to why I wasn’t there. Oh, but the sick excuse, that works, right? Well, how sick were you? If you were that sick and you were at Disney World on vacation, would you still go to the park? Would you still go to that other that concert or whatever it is that you’ve had planned for months and months and months if you felt the same way? But I thought the sickness excuse works. Really, what this boils down to. While I can’t tell you in every circumstance what is a right and wrong excuse for missing the assemblies of the Lord’s people, it’s going to boil down to what your motives are.

And I can’t always ascertain that. And so I would ask this question. What does godliness look like? What does gratitude look like? I think sometimes we look at this business of assembling and we look at it from the standpoint of I have an obligation. It’s my duty to do this. Is that really the way we ought to be looking at this? We are coming collectively into the presence of our Creator and Redeemer. That’s an awesome thing. Now, that has to be perceived spiritually, and we’ll talk more about that. That has to be perceived and understood spiritually, but this is no small thing. What does being godly mean? That means I’m focused on God, and that’s who comes to these things. People who are focused on God, or at least that should be our motivation.

And then what about all that he’s done for me? Should that be some of my motivation for assembling with the Lord’s people? Well, somebody said, I got some social issues. You don’t have any more social issues than I do, I’m pretty sure. Sometimes I need my alone time. People can stress you out. There’s a little bit of stress that goes with meeting in a public place with people, especially in our hustle and bustle, busy world. But there’s something about this that God says, our Creator says we need. And I would suggest we need it beyond just first day of the week assembly, which this passage may be addressing. Gatherings beyond just gatherings for worship. How many times have you done the work and the things necessary to go to an event that some brother or sister is hosting?

4. Two Motive Mishaps

Okay, you’ve been invited out to the Olympic. And you’ve been out there, and you’ve got to drive all the way out there. Look, folks, it’s not bad. We used to have to go to Huntsville. This is nothing. And so we do all the work to go out there to the Olympics and we spend time with our brethren on the way home. Maybe you’re really worn and slap out, but you say, boy, that was good. That encouraged me. It was good to spend time with brethren. So I want to talk more about gatherings and what they require of us in a minute, but before I get there, understand the point. The motives of your heart matters. I want to talk about motive mishaps. Two in particular. Number one, where we always declare that my motives were good.

After all, I did it. And since I did it, my motives must have been good. That’s the way we the things we say about others. I said it, therefore, those things must have been good. Couldn’t have been gossip because I said it. My motives are always declared good. And that’s what happens when people miss. People don’t like being guilty. Our culture hates being guilty. Nobody’s guilty of anything anymore. And so we don’t like guilt. And so to think that I was actually wrong in missing that assembly, let’s put a spin on it. I had a good excuse. Look, if your kids are sick, I’m telling you had a good excuse. Nobody wants to be exposed to sick children. They need to be at home. But so often we want to spin our excuses to remove the guilt.

What is your motive? The other motive mishap is where I come along and decide whether your motives are good or not. You know what I’ve noticed about how we deal with attendance. Oh, by the way, Scott sent me an email last night about our attendance pattern over the last several years. For some reason, our averages have spiked. Have you noticed that? Yeah, I have. That’s a good thing. That’s a good thing. That’s a positive sign. But when people miss, you know, the elders are you missed a Sunday. The elders are on your front door. Why were you not here? That’s not what we do. And in general, we don’t take action publicly against someone until they’ve made it pretty evident that they don’t want to be involved in the gatherings of the Lord’s people.

They miss almost all the time. Because then we see exactly what’s going on spiritually with them. Now, if you’re more sporadic, you keep the elders off your back. The preacher only preaches on attendance about once a year. I can endure that Sunday, maybe. But it’s not me you need to be worried about. It’s not the elders you need to be. The elders, you need to submit to your elders. That’s part of being a Christian. They think you need to be here, and that they establish these times of assembling for our benefit, our well-being. But it’s not them you need to be worrying about. You need to be thinking about how does the Lord regard me. And I keep coming back to Luke chapter 18 and verse 8, and I don’t have time to go through that entire parable, but the conclusion of the story was when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?

5. They Are Enthralled With the World

That’s what he’s looking for. Are you a person of faith? Is what you’re doing a reflection of godliness and gratitude. Now, I want to come back to this original title again. An assembly you don’t want to miss. Let me tell you about motives that are wrong. Motives that indicate that I have a problem with neglect. Let me tell you where it all goes wrong. People have problems when it comes to the gatherings of the Lord people. Of course, when their heart is in the wrong place. And let me tell you where it is. It’s this simple. They are enthralled with the world.

That’s the problem. And yeah, that’s, I know that’s so I don’t love the whole globe, but that represents everything in the earth, everything in the world that so attracts us that we so value above spiritual things that we just don’t see the benefit of assembling with the Lord’s people. We are enthralled with the world around us, which is all very temporary and which is all the result of our Creator’s handiwork, and yet we’re ignoring him.

Paul says. We’re people of faith. Remember that verse again, Luke 18 and verse 8. We do not look to the things which are seen because the things which are seen are temporal. They are short-lived. They have a lifespan that’s going to conclude. We do not look to the things which are seen, but to the things which are unseen. Because these things are eternal. Until we develop that frame of thinking, we will not properly value what takes place here or what takes place when the Lord’s people get together. And I have an opportunity to be with them. Just too enthralled with the world. And let me tell you what happens when we’re here. Just a few things. Oh, yes, we worship the most awesome being that exists, but a few other things that people tend to forget about.

6. What Happens When We Assemble

Critical learning takes place here. I’ve got to tell you what these assemblies do for me. Yes, the preacher who gets to study all week long. That’s the nature of my vocation. But I want to tell you what assemblies specifically do for me. They keep me anchored in the right things. The Hebrew writer talks about hope being the anchor for the soul in Hebrews chapter 6. He warns about drifting away from these things and neglecting so great a salvation. I want to tell you what happens here, I’m anchored in the right things, in ultimate things. And I learn. I learned some things in Bible class. I’ve been at this a long time, but I’m still learning. Critical spiritual learning takes place here. And I need this participating.

I need to interact with my brothers and sisters in Christ in these spiritual things, these acts of worship that go to the very throne of God. And what did he say in Hebrews 10 and verse 24? Considering how to stimulate one another unto love and good deeds.

It’s not just about me or whether I’m going to get something out of this service or it’s going to be as exhilarating as last week’s service or last year’s service. You know, wow, this was just sort of ordinary and routine. This particular Sunday, the preacher wasn’t having his best day, and the song leader wasn’t having his best day. Look, that’s not primarily what it’s all about. It’s not always going to be as scintillating as it was the other time. This is about me supplying my part and encouraging and stimulating you unto love and good deeds. I think the way we sing together does something positive. If we’re paying attention. And I need to supply my voice to that. You know, one of the reasons why we’ve always had good song leaders here.

We picked up a few more through the last several years. I’ll tell you why our singing is so good. There are more people sitting in these pews. It’s stimulating and encouraging. One of the biggest problems people have when it comes to missing assemblies is that they don’t see they have any obligation to anybody else. It’s not about anybody else. It’s about what they want to do. And is that really in the vein of the example of Christ? In what sense are we Christians? It wasn’t all about him, was it? It was about everyone else. It was about sacrificing at great personal cost. I want to preach a sermon about this very soon. Sacrificing at great personal cost for everyone else to be spent for others. As Paul talked about being spent for the Corinthians and 2 Corinthians 12 and verse 15.

Christ spent it all for us. And yet we’re wanting to begrudge him. A few hours of our time. And how is that reflected in the rest of our lives? Are we godly in the rest of our life? If this is our habit, if this is our pattern. Tell you what else happens. When we assemble together, we build our character. When you fight through fatigue to assemble with the Lord’s people, you’re building character. I know you get we all get tired. I’m tired. I’ll be tired tonight at 5 o’clock. I don’t know why that is, always am. A little more tired on Sunday night than I was on Sunday morning. You’re going to have to fight through fatigue, but that’s good for me. To not always be catering to my flesh and what it’s telling me I want and need and to instead cater to higher things.

That refines and builds my character. You become a better person in this process. Whatever sacrifices we’re called upon to make. It makes me a better person. But the Lord didn’t command us to attend two services on the Lord’s day. Don’t argue with me on that. Your argument is with the imprint in Jesus’ hands. And the sacrifice that he made for us. And I’ll tell you even more. What we’re doing here has tentacles that reach to eternity. We are investing in eternal things here as we feed and nourish our souls. And that’s what Paul is talking about in 1 Timothy chapter 6. When he says, in regard to those who are rich, to not be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God.

We’re fixing our hope on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Ultimately, anything that’s good is going to emanate from the hand of God and those who are focused on Him. And so those who are rich ought to share and be rich in good works, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed. I’ll tell you one of the things that happens as we gather together with Christians, either here or outside this assembly, we are taking hold of that, which is life indeed. A lot of good things happen when we assemble with the Lord’s people. One day, He’s coming. Oh, glorious day. And you don’t want to miss that assembly.

Conclusion

With regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus, the other passage, and our gathering together to him. That’s what we need to stay focused on. This is all of these gatherings, anticipate the ultimate gathering unto the Lord. And we’re closer to that day than we’ve ever been.

Four words. Four words we need to remember to translate what we do in here to how we live out there. You still remember those? We talked about Enoch walking with God. Four words. And the fourth word we talked about was pilgrimage. And again, we’re all anticipating that gathering together with Him. The four words, godliness, holiness, confession, and pilgrimage. All leading us to the ultimate assembly with God. And may that treasure that awaits us motivate the decisions that we make spiritually in regard to our gatherings with the Lord’s people. Let’s encourage one another and all the more as you see the day drawing near. You don’t want to miss that assembly. Are you prepared for that day? If the Lord were to return this afternoon, sorry, Desney’s shower, it wouldn’t happen.

If the Lord would return this afternoon, would you be ready for the glorious day, the great gathering of his people to him? That’s why we conclude all of our lessons with an invitation to give you the opportunity to make preparation for that great day. Can we assist you? Come now as we stand and sing.