Come Together

Three pastors got together for coffee one day and found all their churches had bat-infestation problems. "I got so mad," said one, "I took a shotgun and fired at them. It made holes in the ceiling, but did nothing to the bats." "I tried trapping them alive," said the second. "Then I drove 50 miles before releasing them, but they beat me back to the church." "I haven't had any more problems," said the third. "What did you do?" asked the others, amazed. "I simply baptized them," he replied. "I haven't seen them since." 

Funny … but Why is this? Could it be that we just do not understand why we go to church. One day I was at the gym and I overheard a conversation. Some of the people were wondering why Sunday did not have more people in classes. The coach for those classes said that the biggest culprit for keeping people from going to classes on Sunday was church. Hmmmm. So church is getting in the way. One of the guys said, why church? Martial Arts teaches you about morals, how to be a good person, teaches discipline, teaches you how to get along with other people, helps us with self esteem. And you get in shape at the same time. Hmmm… is that why we go to church? Learn good morals, how to be a good person, learn to be disciplined, and how we get better get along with people? Man I guess if that really is the reason why we go to church, I guess we could think of many things that could do a better job.

If you really think about it, many communities, gatherings, social groups in the world could offer that. But if we really understand why we gather, we would see that the world cannot offer any kind of substitute. There are no substitutes. Another thing I think about is the excuse, (especially during football season)that I can have church at home no problem. No need to go to church I go right here in my home. Sometimes I be sneaky and I ask the kids what they do and I kid you not… every-time they tell me they do nothing. If we really understand why we go to church, then we would understand we we cannot have church at home with the family

Today its common to get the, I don’t wanna go to church because it is boring. Or I like this church because it is not boring, its rocking. We say these things believing that entertainment value has anything to do with why we come to church. If you and your family are starving to death and a place opened up that had food to give you, while you are standing in line to get food to feed your family are you discusted by the decor of the building, the style of music they are playing, the fact that they did not provide entertainment or live music, or if the owners are republican or democrat, or if the person giving directions and information about the food is a good and dynamic speaker or not, the smell of the place, the lighting, the programs, the child care… NO! You are there for the food.

The reasons for not coming to church continue to mount. But one thing is clear. Every person I have struggled with when it comes to them going to church or not… every single person believes something wrong about what church is. Our failure to understand why we come together is the reason why many do not come, apathetic, begrudging when they go, why many go for substitutes, why many even refuse to gather. And our misunderstanding continues that many think that this is not a serious matter. Chuck Colson once wrote in his book the Body..

Yet fellowship in a confessing body is fundamental to the faithful Christian life. Failure to do so defies the explicit warning not to forsake "our assembling together." His understanding of this prompted Martin Luther to say, "Apart from the church, salvation is impossible." Not that the church provides salvation; God does. But because the "saved" one can't fulfill what it means to be a Christian apart from the church, membership becomes the indispensable mark of salvation.

"So highly does the Lord esteem the communion of His church," Calvin wrote," that He considers everyone a traitor and apostate from religion who perversely withdraws himself from any Christian society which preserves the true ministry of the word and sacraments." 

This is a serious thing to miss the Lord’s Day. It is vital to come together. Let’s find out why.

Hebrews 10:24–25 NLT

Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God stands forever.

A Command

You Need It

Your Neighbor Needs It

The first thing we will look at today is the real command from the Lord to gather together to worship. The second point of reflection is how coming together is vital to our spiritual life and growth. The third thing we will explore today is how our church attendance is not just good for us, but good for the person sitting next to you.

Thesis: Though sin and the pattern of this world may entice us to neglect or even substitute meeting together, it is the truth of scripture and the power of the Holy Spirit that will cause us to see the beauty of union with Christ and His body as a vital piece for spiritual growth for ourselves and the community as tribe tongue and nation bringing glory to the Lord.

I. A Command

- Do not neglect meeting together.

A. Ok so lets clear this up right away. Are we command to go to church. Yes. Is it a sin not to come to church to pursue our own interests? Yes. First of all, clearly, remember the sabbath day and make it Holy. Now I went through all of this in our study on the 10 commandments. So today I want to spend more time on our passage of scripture

B. The greek participles here are being used as imperatives. Won’t bore you with the details. But as these are used as imperatives… straight from the koine greek text book. “The imperative mood conveys a COMMAND for someone to perform the action of the verb.” So the author here, inspired by the Holy Spirit, declaring the very breath of God, gives us a command… Do not neglect meeting together. Now that should be good enough for us… But I continue.

C. The strong language being used here is also something of note. Even though neglect is a good translation for meh Enkataleipontes, we need to make sure we get the full force. Dr. Peter O’Brien suggests neglect in the sense of wrongful abandonment. In the context and the use of covenantal language it is painting a picture of Israel’s abandoning the Lord in the wilderness. The author is wanting us to see that to not go to church is akin to abandoning the Lord like the Israelites did in the wilderness. Do not abandon or forsake meeting together.

D. Ah but Shane … meeting together does not mean church. No I cannot say that the author leaves it unambiguous to some extant. But most commentators will refer to the meeting as the Lord’s Day meeting or the gathering of Christ’s people in the community. If it is not specific to Sunday Church, does not mean how critics want to use it… its not specifically Church so it does not mean church. Therefore it can be whatever you want it to be as long as you decide its a meeting. On the contrary, the vagueness of it is probably there to include all gatherings of formal and informal kinds. Do not forsake all the gatherings you have not just Sunday morning.

E. But the main reason why most commentators will suggest Sunday morning Lord’s Day service specifically is the use of episynagoge, which is used to signify some kind of official assembly.

F. So is this serious? You bet. Not only is it a command. Meaning that if you do not go then you are disobeying God. Not remembering the Christian Sabbath or Lord’s Day just one day a week to rest and worship not rest and be lazy. We are disobeying the command to not forsake or abandon the meetings that you all have in the local Christian church community. To not go, is to disobey. And if you don’t care that you are disobeying then listen to last weeks sermon. You got more problems than this.

G. And remember that this is a kind of obedience that the Lord is equating to the abandoning of the Lord that the Israelites did in the wilderness. Some are in the habit of flat out abandoning the Lord, by abandoning the church. And again, you cannot reject the church of Christ and accept the risen Christ at the same time.

Acts 9:4 NLT

He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?”

H. Get it out of your head now. You cannot have one without the other. Dr. Kistemacker writes,

“One of the first indications of a lack of love toward God and the neighbor is for a Christian to stay away from the worship services. He forsakes the communal obligations of attending these meetings and displays the symptoms of selfishness and self-centeredness.”

II. You Need It.

- Now that’s encouraging.

A. We need church to grow. I hope we all understand that it is the intention of the Lord that we as Christians do not remain as we are but that we grow.

2 Peter 3:18 NLT

Rather, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. All glory to him, both now and forever! Amen.

B. How do we grow in grace and knowledge? We grow by hearing the preaching of the Word of God.

Romans 10:17 NLT

So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.

C. But its not just by anybody. We have to hear the Word of God preached by the ordained minister, vetted by the local church body, who has shown himself in the scriptures to be able to teach and able to instruct in sound doctrine as required qualifications given in scripture, for the pastor teacher who was given to the church by our Lord to equip us for the works of service. The Bible is very clear about who it is that preaches the word to us.

D. But it is not just the preaching of the Word. It is the Lords Table and Baptism which are ordinances of the church given to us as means by which we receive grace. This is also how we grow in grace.

1 Corinthians 10:16 NLT

When we bless the cup at the Lord’s Table, aren’t we sharing in the blood of Christ? And when we break the bread, aren’t we sharing in the body of Christ?

Titus 3:5 NLT

he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:42 NLT

All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.

E. As you can see the believers of the early church devoted themselves to these things as they gathered together. These were the things foundational to their spiritual growth in Christ as we are made more and more like Him. We grow through prayer but not just prayer in our closets, but together in fellowship with one another.

F. And fellowship is another way that we grow in Christ. This is why we are not to forsake the meetings together.

Hebrews 10:24–25 NLT

Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

G. I like the way Dr. Peter O’Brien writes it… “But this mutual care will not be sustained unless members of the community meet together regularly for fellowship, encouragement, and exhortation. Our author’s appeal in v. 24 is underscored by two contrasting expressions that explain how we can stir one another up to godly living: not giving up meeting together, … but encouraging one another.”

H. Fellowship helps us in more ways than we might think. The love and encouragement that we get knowing that there are others that support us, that are praying for us, and that will there when we need them. It also helps me to do what is right and encourages me to continue to work for the glory of God in all things. We need it.

III. Your Neighbor Needs It

- Now that’s encouraging too.

A. Wanna know another reason why we need to go to church. Is because your neighbor needs you to come. You see all the encouragement you get every week when you come. All the support you get. All the praying you get. All the wonderful stuff you get from others… you gotta give it to others as well. We all need you to be here for us.

B. Hebrews is talking about a mutual encouraging. Not just for yourself but for others. I feel good this week. Everything is working out well for me. Life is good. Life is great. I don’t need to go to church today. I don’t need anything. Yeah well someone at church today might need you. This is huge. Many times we tend to always see the Lord’s work of providence of something the Lord is teaching me. What is he teaching, how is he training me, what am i getting out of this, how am i growing through this experience. Maybe the reason you are where you are today is not because of something the Lord wants to teach you, but because you are there to help another person.

C. Part of our growth is not just making sure we grow but making sure others grow as well. No just making sure we are sanctified, but others are being sanctified a well. Not just making sure we are ok, but making sure that others are ok as well. Wanna make sure we are heard, are you making sure others are being heard as well. Wanna make sure you are being treated well, are you making sure other are being treated well?

D. And finally, even our neighbor who does not come to church because they don’t believe need to come with you to church so that they can hear the gospel preached. They should first of all, hear the gospel preached by you, but then they can come and hear it from the pastor. And together by the power of the gospel and mutual prayer and encouragement they, by the power of the Sprit, may come to Christ. We all get to witness the wonders of salvation.

E. The wonders of the Gospel of Jesus. The world cannot give us this. The world cannot give us the supernatural growth that comes from the Holy Sprit. The world cannot give us the providence and blessing of God that we get from the Lord’s Table and Baptism. When it comes to the blessing of the proclamation of the Word of God, there is no substitute. Only the true church can give the true blessings of Christ that He desires to give His people.

F. The world is not the church they have not be entrusted with the wonderful gospel. The message that Jesus died for our sins according to the scriptures and he was buried and he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance… Jesus came into this world to seek and to save that which was lost. He became sin who knew no sin that we might become the righteousness of God...

G. And finally… we get to rest on the Lord’s Day and we get to Worship the living God. A command yes, but a pleasure for those called by His name. One day every knee will bow and ever tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord.

H. I am excited today to say… My God was gracious enough to open my eyes to this truth right now. And I’m not waiting till the end to bow my knee to Christ I get to do it right now. Blessing, and glory and honor and power and strength to you forever.