A - Assembly

Introduction

Well, good morning…and Merry Christmas, Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a great holiday week. I hope you got some meaningful time with family and friends…I hope you got the chance to really reflect on the Christmas story.

Listen, as we come to a close on 2023, I’m excited as we enter into 2024. Here at FBC, God’s really blessed us this year. If you remember, exactly one year ago, we set some goals that we felt God calling us to strive for over the next 7 years, right? And if you remember, we wrapped those goals around our mission ‘to be a church without walls.’ We said we wanna see 100 people make decisions for Christ, over the next 7 years…Well, we know of at least 12 that made that decision this year. We said we wanna see 150 people in a Knot Group over the next 7 years…and as of right now, we have 27 people meeting, one on one, 27 people being discipled. We said we wanted to see 250 people in Home Groups, building community with others from FBC…to date, there’s 68 people attending home groups regularly. We said we wanna see 150 people go on mission with FBC in some capacity locally, domestically, or internationally and as of today, there’s been 40 people from FBC go on mission. We said we wanna be $0 dollars in debt by 2030 (over the next 7 years), which of course, this year our trustees presented you guys with a plan to pay that off within that time but as of right now, we’ve paid over $17 thousand of that debt off. And of course, lastly…we said, we feel God calling us to plant a church within the next 7 years…and during this past year, we’ve began putting money aside to begin preparing for that future expense…we’ve partnered with a church planter in Donora, PA to teach us about church planting…and we’ve even had someone express a call to plant a church within our body here at FBC, which we’ll share with you guys in a few months. But guys, I say all that because God’s moving at FBC and God has a plan to use us, together, as a body, to advance His kingdom and to bring Him glory. He’s not finished with us…He’s not finished changing lives. And so, we need to keep our eyes set on Him…we need to keep our focus on the mission He’s given us…which of course is to make disciples. That’s why we’ve been reciting Matthew 28:19 and 20 all year…that’s why our vision statement says we wanna deliver, disciple, deploy…because we wanna be obedient to what God’s called us to do.

But to do that, we have to embrace what God’s given us as a means to accomplish His will…the Church! I’ve said this many times, but when Jesus gives us a new life, He gives us a new family…and it’s within this new family, it’s within the local body of believers He calls you to, its here at FBC, where He means to grow you and to use you. And so, this year, because I think you understand our mission…to make disciples…I want us to memorize a longer section of Scripture that shows us our means to making disciples. It’s Acts chapter 2, verses 42 through 47. Now I know it’s a little longer…but what we’re gonna do, is we’re gonna learn it verse by verse over the course of the year. And so, by December of 2024, we’d be able to recite the whole thing together. Fair enough?

And so listen, what we’re gonna do today is read the whole thing together…and then starting next week, we’ll start with just verses 42 and 43 on the screen.

And so, if you’re ready, let’s read this passage together. The verses’ll be on the screen, and remember I’ll be using the ESV translation. Read along with me:

Acts 2:42–47 (ESV)

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

[Prayer]

And so listen, if you’d take your Bibles, if you haven’t already and turn with me to Acts chapter 2. Over the next five weeks, we’re gonna dig into this passage and what it tells us about this family that God’s given us…but also how He uses us to grow one another here at FBC. Now, for those of you that have listened to my preaching over the last several years, this is gonna be a tad different…it’s gonna be very topical…because as we examine what’s going on in this first century church among the first believers, we just have to use other passages to kind of explain it further…but I also wanna really help you see how all this applies to you specifically and how you can use this information to get more connected here at FBC and to grow in your own walk with Jesus.

Several months ago, I presented the CE Board with a discipleship map because I just felt that what we had was a little confusing…there were some and there’s still many today that just didn’t understand knot groups or home groups or what all we have here at FBC. And so I presented this map to them…Now, I’m not good at alliterations…I’m not good at coming up with these fancy, catchy phrases…God just didn’t gift me in that way. But here’s what we came up with…and of course, I really wanted it to be rooted in the Scriptures, right? It’s the ABCDE discipleship pathway. A stands for Assembly…B stands for Bible Study…C stands for Community…D stands for Discipleship…and E stands for Equip. And listen, every element of this pathway, it’s found in what these first century believers devoted themselves too…and it was through these things that the Lord built up His body.

I mean just look at our passage again…it says they devoted themselves to the fellowship or the gathering together, right? That’s A…It says they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teachings. That’s B…They broke bread together…meaning they found community with each other…They did life with one another, committing themselves to one another, which we’ll see in a few weeks leads to one’s discipleship…and it says the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved…meaning they were going out sharing the gospel…they were equipping one another to do the work of the Lord.

And so, over the next five weeks, our sermon series…we’re gonna be exploring this ABCDE pathway…and what it looks like exactly here at FBC…what we have to offer here for each of those areas.

And so with that, what do you think we’re gonna be talking about today? A, right? Assembly. And to kind of help us explore this idea of assembling together, we’re gonna also be using a passage from Hebrews chapter 10 if you wanna turn there as well.

Listen, you guys have heard me say this before but Johnny Bridges, he wasn’t just my pastor, he’s also one of my very best friends as well. And listen, when I lived in South Carolina, even after he was called to another church…we always found time to hang out, right? When we were on a mission trip or at a pastor’s conference, the best times of those things were the times I got to hang out with him. We’d play spades or just talk about ministry or politics or we’d plan our next Big Foot camping trip (that’s a whole other story)…but we enjoyed each other’s company. Listen, our gathering together, it was important because it was during those times that we got to encourage each other…that we got edify each other…our friendship, it was dependent and it was built on the frequency of our gathering. Now, Johnny and I, we’re still very close friends…but I’ll be honest, it’s not the same today…we talk less, we see each other less…now, we’re still there for each other…but our friendship, it’s just different now…and listen, it’s different because the reality is, we can’t gather together as much…Gathering together, it fosters healthy relationships…and what you’ll find, if you examine your own life, it’s that where you devote your time to, the people you gather with…the most...that’s what defines you the most.

Listen, as we explore Acts chapter 2 and Hebrews 10, we’re gonna see that the church, they were always meant to assemble and gather together. The church, it was called to assemble because its in that act, that gathering together, that helps us make disciples…whether that means reaching the lost or maturing each other in Christ. What we’re gonna see, its that, assembling, its also not an oppositional thing…it’s not possible for us to have a heart for Jesus but not have a heart for the church.

And so, to kind of help guide us through these two passages…I have three questions to keep us on track this morning…number one, do you devote yourself to the fellowship? Number two, do you obey God’s command to assemble? And number three, do you hold to the confession of your salvation?

And so, with that, let’s explore this first question together?

I. Do you Devote Yourself to the Fellowship?

Do you devote yourself to the fellowship?

Look at our passage in Acts chapter 2 with me again. If you really pay attention to the words there, what you’ll see is that there’s actually two kinds of gatherings…there’s formal gathering and there’s informal gathering.

Look at verse 42 again. It says, “They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to the fellowship…” The focus here, it’s on the fellowship…which of course, the author (Luke) he says, they devoted themselves to. And listen, this fellowship, it was more than just being present together…just look at this passage…this devotion to fellowship, in connection with the rest of the passage, it reveals that the early church intentionally experienced a meaningful, close relationship with one another…this fellowship, it very much resembled a family unit. And listen, this family, it gathered together to grow in their understanding of Jesus (which of course is seen in their devotion to the apostles’ teachings), they gathered to eat together, they gathered to pray together. And listen, throughout Acts, the church, wherever it was, it operated in the same way…formally and informally.

Now, what we’ll see about gathering in just a moment, its that we’re called to gather…and we’re called to gather both corporately and continually. Of course, corporately, that’s more of the formal type of gathering…like what we’re doing now, here on Sunday mornings…informally, that’s more about what this word ‘fellowship’ is getting at…it’s our gathering continually. The Greek word used there for ‘fellowship’, it literally means sharing in communion…it means community…partnership.

Turn over with me to Hebrews chapter 10…in verse 24, the author writers, “let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.” He says, “Let us consider one another.” That verb ‘consider’, it means to perceive clearly, to understand fully, or consider closer. It’s the same word used in Hebrews 3:1, which says:

Hebrews 3:1 (ESV)

Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession,

Guys, the author tells us that we’re to consider Jesus…to set our minds on the person and work of Jesus. Meaning, if our faith’s gonna be strong and stable and secure, we have to consider Jesus. Well, in the same way, the author teaches us that we’re to also set our minds on one another. Just as we’re to always be thinking about Jesus…considering Him, we’re to always be thinking about one another. It’s giving us the idea of fellowship, right? And listen, this kind of fellowship, it’s an internal reality for us as Christians…its not built on our social standings, or our demographics, it’s not organizational, or based on whatever groups we’re apart of…it’s an internal disposition of care, and concern, and compassion for each of the people that God’s united us with locally…and it results in words, and decisions, and actions that express the love of Jesus to each other.

That’s why John writes in 1 John 3:14:

1 John 3:14 (ESV)

We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death.

True Christian love won’t only lead you to attend and participate with us corporately in worship…it’ll also lead you to prayerfully consider the needs, and the growth, and the concerns of your brothers and sisters here at FBC, even when you’re not physically together.

Why’s fellowship so important? Because without real fellowship, there’s no real corporate gathering as we’ll see in a moment, and for that reason, there’s no real worship.

Listen, the California redwood trees, they’re the tallest and oldest trees in the world. They stand hundreds of feet high and some of them are said to be over 2,500 years old. Well, as a result, you’d think that these redwood tree would have a tremendous root system, reaching down into the earth. But compared to other trees, redwoods actually don’t have many roots and they don’t go very deep at all. And yet, these redwoods, they’ve stood for centuries…How? Because their roots, they’re intertwined and they’re interwoven with each other. And so, when the wind blows, the redwoods stand together. They’re linked, they’re locked together, holding one another up…That’s what the Bible’s speaking about when it comes to Christian fellowship. Our lives are to be so intertwined and so interwoven that no matter what comes our way, we stand because we’re linked and we’re locked together.

Acts chapter 2, says these first century believers, they were devoted to the fellowship…to the community they shared with each other. ‘Devoted’, it implies work and accountability. Fellowship, it involves a two-way commitment. We have to work at it. Fellowship doesn’t always come easy. God works mightily to make community happen in our lives, because that’s what we’re called to. Without it, it’s extremely difficult, almost impossible to truly grow in our walk with Christ or accomplish what He calls us each to do.

So many of us, we’re constantly seeking some kind of community, but yet we neglect the fact that God’s already blessed us with Christian brothers and sisters who care for one another. To quote Bonhoeffer, “The physical presence of other Christians is a source of incomparable joy and strength to the believer.” Now, we’re gonna talk more about community in just a few weeks and our calling to find community among the people of God, but the idea of assembling, our salvation, it should give us this desire to assemble informally just like this.

And so, do you have fellowship with God through Jesus? You have to remember that fellowship, it happens through the people God’s called you to. Are you working to build deeper and more meaningful relationships with the people here at FBC? Could it be that you love the idea of community more than the actual people God’s brought you to? Are you complaining about the lack of community rather than asserting yourself to serve and love others in this congregation? Are you showing up to events and gatherings faithfully? Do you arrive early enough to interact with the people…or listen, do you slip out like a ninja, trying not to be involved in the lives of others? Are you sensitive to the needs of your brothers and sisters here at FBC? Are you grateful for them? Have you told them about what they mean to you? Because that’s what devotion looks like. Are you devoted to the fellowship here at FBC?

That’s the first point.

II. Do You Obey God’s Command to Assemble?

The second question…do you obey God’s command to assemble?

Not only does God give us the desire to assemble with other Christians, but our gathering together, it’s expected of us.

Look at verse 25 in our Hebrews passage again. The author says, “25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some.” Other translations say, “not neglecting to gather together” or “not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together.” The Greek word used there for ‘meeting,’ its a word that means to meet, to gather, to assemble together.

If you’re a follower of Jesus, your presence and your participation in corporate worship, those things, they’re mandatory.

Coming to church, and coming to church regularly…it’s the very most basic thing you should be doing as a Christian. And listen, not only because it’s good for you…but because ultimately God’s commanded you to assemble with other believers.

In a recent Pew Research report, it showed that since Covid, more than 50% of self proclaiming Christians only attend their church once or twice a month. According to the report, that one or two visits a month, that’s what describes an active Christian in today’s context.

The Hebrews author said, “don’t neglect the assembling of ourselves together.” That word ‘neglect,’ in the Greek, it literally means to totally abandon or to utterly forsake. It’s the same word used in Matthew 27:46 and in Mark 15:34 where Jesus cried out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” It’s the same word used in Hebrews 13:5, in the promise of God, that says, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” And so, the author, here in our passage, he’s using it to tell his readers, “don’t forsake, don’t abandon, don’t desert, don’t place other things over the gathering together of the church.” It’s important! We need you here! God wants you here! We’re a body, a family…and we’re incomplete without you.

And listen, I get it…this call to gather weekly…it may sound a little legalistic, maybe even a little impractical depending on the lifestyle you’ve set up for yourself or your family…but pay attention to our passage here…having such a high view of corporate worship, it’s warranted in light of what’s said at the end of verse 25…the author says, “as is the habit of some.” Some people were already missing the assemblies and the gatherings in the first century church…and that word there, “habit,” it tells us that their habitual absence had become customary. Meaning, that these people…they were either not prioritizing God above the other things in their life or they were just showing no regard for what’s been shown to be good for them. Now, context of this book…if you were to read prior to this…there were several people forsaking the assembly because of the persecution they were facing, right? Every time they gathered together, their lives were on the line. That’s serious, right? That’s the context of why most of these first century Christians were neglecting their corporate gathering. But I want you to notice this…even despite their persecution…God still said to them, through this author, “don’t neglect the meeting together.” Guys, if God didn’t excuse these first century believers, even if it meant they might be martyred if they showed up, then I have the upmost confidence He’s not gonna excuse us for the sinful, selfish, silly, superficial reasons we come up with today. He doesn’t care that a baseball game was scheduled on a Sunday…He doesn’t care what you did last night that made you tired this morning. Our call, its to gather. And I’ll just say this as a parent, our call to our children, it’s to teach them what’s important in this Christian walk…and all these silly excuses you give them to not prioritize the assembly of God’s people or the lack of care you show to God’s church…you’re singlehandedly walking them toward a destiny separated from Jesus. You’re showing them that their wants and their needs are so much more important than anything else the Bible teaches. Assembling together, it reminds us of what we’re called to, it a reminder of self-denial…it encourages us to be sent out…to stand firm. Without our gathering together…without corporate worship…trust me when I say this…you will succumb to the world…your life will look very similar to the world. It’s why its so easy to stay out once you’ve missed a few weeks…and it’s why the assembly is such an important thing for us as believers.

And guys, not only is your presence mandated but your participation is as well. We’ve talked about this recently, but we’re called to be contributors, right? Not just consumers…and look at what the author says here, “25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another.” Note the contrast here…its not between showing up and not showing up…its between not neglecting the meeting and encouraging one another. This text, it calls for more than just your presence here on Sunday mornings…it calls for your participation. Even if you show up every single Sunday morning for your entire life…the Scripture says you’re neglecting the meeting if you show up with a bad attitude or if you’re inhospitably or critical or irreverent to the mission of God…you’re neglecting the meeting if you show up late and leave early every week. You’re neglecting our meeting when you spend the service sleeping, or walking, or talking, or passing notes. You’re neglecting the meeting when you’re filling out an envelope during prayer time or reading the bulletin during the sermon. God wants your presence and your participation in your local church…and He wants it because ultimately it’s good for you. It grows you.

And so, that’s the second thing…do you obey God’s command to assemble…are you present…and are you participating?

III. Do You Hold to the Confession of Your Salvation?

The third and final question…do you hold to the confession of your salvation?

Now, obviously we’re not going through the book of Hebrews so it’s hard to give you a ton of context…but the author here, he’s writing to a group of at-risk Jewish Christians…they’re being tempted, they’re being persecuted, they’re not quite sure what to hold to…many of which, they’re turning away from Jesus…and the author here, he’s trying to challenge them to persevere…and in doing this, if you were to go back several verses, he summarizes an argument he’s been making since chapter three which is that Jesus is our great High Priest and that He’s our perfect atoning sacrifice…who of course has established for us a new way to God through His blood…He then goes on and he calls his readers to hold fast to Christ with three different commands that begin with “Let us.” First, in verse 22, he says, “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” This command, it relates to God, the work He’s doing in us. And then in verse 23, the second command, he says, “23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.”…which relates to self, and it’s an assurance of salvation. Meaning, their salvation, its not like the Old Testament. It’s been bought by the blood of Jesus and it’s sure…And then, in verse 24, “let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” This command, it relates to other believers.

This text, it’s telling us that we’re to commit ourselves to a local assembly of believers, so that we can submit to the accountability and responsibility that helps us persevere in the faith.

If we were to continue reading, verse 26 and 27. It says:

Hebrews 10:26–27 (ESV)

For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.

Listen, this warning, its not saying it’s possible to lose your salvation. On the contrary, the author says if you go on sinning deliberately…purposefully, you never had it to begin with and there isn’t another source you’re gonna find to bring you salvation because Jesus, He’s it…God’s grace, it ensures that every true believer is eternally secure…they’ll endue to the end through the work of the Holy Spirit…but what it is suggesting, its that our perseverance through life’s trials…its tied to the partnership of the saints…Church membership…corporate worship…Christian fellowship, they’re all ways or a means through which God’s persevering grace sustains believers. Meaning, just as God uses the church to advance the gospel…God uses the church and our assembling together to sustain us as believers…neither are works of man, but we’re simply His tools…His means by which He does these things.

Listen, what the author’s saying…it’s that the church, its necessary in your walk with Christ…its necessary in your salvation. Just as you would’ve never heard the gospel without someone from the body of Christ sharing it with you, God’ll never sustain you without those from the church body. We need each other…and not only that, we should want each other. That’s part of life change.

Paul says to Timothy in 1 Timothy 3:15 “I have written so that you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.” That’s the CSB translation.

The pillar and the foundation of a building, they hold that building up, right? If the foundation or the pillars were to go…what happens to the building? It falls. In the same way, the church is the pillar and the foundation of the truth. Your faith in the truth of the gospel, it won’t be able to stand without the church in your life.

I heard a preacher say once, “The gospel doesn’t make sense without the church that makes it make sense.” The confession of our salvation, it requires Christian assembly.

When we come into a relationship with Jesus, we enter into the family of God…with our brothers and sisters, we become the bride of Christ…and as we grow, we begin to understand that its His bride that He cares most about…His bride, together, as one…just as He and the Father are one. Church isn’t simply something we come to, its something we’re apart of…and so neglecting the assembly, is neglecting what God brought you to, and its neglecting everything else He gave you.

And so, do you hold to the confession of your salvation, remembering what Jesus has brought you into?

Closing

Guys, gathering together, its important. It’s the same reason why research shows that families that gather together regularly, around the table, for dinner, are more likely to be happy, and stable, more loving…more connected. They stay in the know of each others’ lives…Guys, a church family, its no different.

Listen, I saw something on Facebook just yesterday about how this church canceled their services so that their pastor could have a week off. They told their people to have church at home with their families. First off, that’ll never happen here as long as I’m the pastor at FBC…we’ll always gather…and we’ll always gather because it’s what God’s commanded us to do…it’s good for us. But secondly, I can’t exhort you to do church at home with your family because church isn’t something you do, it’s a group of people that you belong to…it’s not just about your biological families, it’s bigger than that…and our most basic practice, it’s to gather together.

And so listen, as we close this morning…I just want you to reflect on one of two questions…First, if you’re a believer, do you prioritize the gathering together of believers? And listen, I don’t just mean on Sunday mornings…our memory verse, in 46, it says, “And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes.” They gathered every day…Now, I’m not suggesting you have to do that…but do you take the times we do gather, seriously? Search your heart…do you look forward to that?…Do you enjoy that time? Are you involved in those gatherings? Helping to build each other up? Are you working to build relationships?

Do you prioritize the gathering together of believers? We gather all the time…we gather on Sunday mornings…we gather at our monthly prayer meetings…we gather for our Young at Heart lunches and men’s and women’s Bible studies…we gather in home groups and knot groups…we gather for special events all the time. Do you prioritize those times…or listen, are they just a burden to you?

If one of the means to which God sustains you or grows you is the church…and if you’re not prioritizing the assembling or the gathering together…nothing else we’re gonna talk about over the next four weeks is gonna concern you because it starts right here, among your brothers and sisters.

And so, just stop and ask yourself that question.

But if you’re here this morning…and you don’t know Jesus…let me just say this…Jesus, He loves you…and I know that, because of what the Bibles says about the lengths at which He went to restore us. You see, the Bible it says that we’re all sinful. And it says, that because of that sin, we will die and we will be separated from God forever where we’ll be punished for that sin for all eternity. And this will happen because ultimately that’s what we deserve. But because of God’s love for us, He sent Jesus, His only Son, to come into this world…to be like us…to dwell with us…born to a virgin…our Emmanuel…God with us…Jesus, He lived a perfect, sinless life…went to the cross…experienced the wrath of God on our behalf, took on our punishment so that we wouldn’t have to…and the Bible says He died there…experiencing the death meant for us. But it also says that He rose three days later, conquering death. And the Bible says that anyone who repents and believes…anyone that confesses with their mouth and believes in their heart these things…they’ll be saved and with Jesus be raised from the dead and have eternal life with Him.

And so, the question I want you to ask today, if that’s you…why haven’t I turned to Jesus?…What’s holding me back?

And so, those are the two questions this morning. Do you prioritize the gathering of God’s people? Or what’s holding you back from turning to Jesus?

Would you bow your head and close your eyes with me?

Listen, the praise team, they’re gonna come and lead us in worship…I just want you to take this time and reflect on one of those two questions…and I want you to allow the Spirit to answer those questions for you…and then just respond to whatever the Spirit’s placing on your heart, be obedient.…if He’s showing you that you’re one of those statistics that only come once or twice a month…what a perfect time to make a new years resolution, a new commitment, right? Ask Him for the help to do that, pull another believer aside and ask them to hold you accountable…If the Spirit’s telling you turn to Jesus, do that…ask Him for forgiveness, ask Him to give you His Spirit, tell Him in your heart that you believe…Listen, I’ll be right down front if you need me…And so, you take this time and I’ll close us in just a moment.