3-6: The Lord's Day
Notes
Transcript
Bookmarks & Needs:
Bookmarks & Needs:
B: Hebrews 10:19-25
N: Pointer
Welcome
Welcome
Good morning to those of you here in the room and those of you online, and welcome to Family Worship service with Eastern Hills Baptist Church. My name is Bill Connors, and if you’re visiting the family of EHBC for the first time, thanks for being here! It’s great to have you with us today.
You’ll find a connection card in the back of the pew in front of you, it’s this black card with “WELCOME” on the front. If you wouldn’t mind filling that out during the service and either bringing it down to me at the end of the service, or dropping it in the plates as you leave later on, I would appreciate it. We’d love to get to know you better. If you’d rather fill out a form online, you can do that by texting the word WELCOME to 505-339-2004, and you’ll get a link back that takes you to our digital communication card.
I’d like to take just a moment as say thanks to our audio-visual team, who work hard behind the scenes every week to make sure our sound and displays work in here, and that our streaming works.
Announcements
Announcements
Every year at the NM State Fair, the BCNM hosts a ministry booth to serve parents and to share the Gospel. Training for this year’s booth is going to be held on September 1 at the BCNM building on Wyoming from 6-8 pm, dinner (Chick Fil A) will be provided. Please visit their website or email Cheryl at the Convention to register for the training if you’d like to participate.
Opening
Opening
Well, we have reached our final message in this third part of our series on our Statement of Belief. This part has been on the church herself: how the church is made up, the ways that we participate together, and what our mission is. This has been an exciting section for me, and has challenged me personally in a lot of ways. I pray that it’s been the same for you. This morning, we’ll look at the fact that we’re together this morning and why this is a good thing. Today, we consider the Lord’s Day. Our focal passage is found in Hebrews chapter 10, verses 19-25, and this is one long sentence in Greek. As you’re able, let’s stand in honor of God’s holy Word as we open our Bibles or Bible apps to read our focal passage:
19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have boldness to enter the sanctuary through the blood of Jesus—20 he has inaugurated for us a new and living way through the curtain (that is, through his flesh)—21 and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, 22 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 in pure water. 23 Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, since he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider one another in order to provoke love and good works, 25 not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching.
PRAYER (FBC Tijeras, Pastor Bill Achilles; Endeavor campaign)
I’m just going to start off by saying this: there are going to be some who disagree with me this morning. And I’m okay with that. However, most of those who are going to disagree are the people who aren’t here, so they may not ever hear my message this morning in order TO disagree with me. Remember that the point of this series is so that we all understand our Statement of Belief, and our Statement of Belief holds Sunday specifically in high regard, so this morning I will argue from Scripture that there are good reasons that we should as well. I’m not saying that we should be legalistic about it, but I do believe that Scripture supports the protecting of the church’s day to gather together for very good reason.
Here’s what our Statement of Belief, Article 14, says:
EHBC’s Statement of Belief, Article 14: The Lord’s Day
The first day of the week is the Lord’s Day. … It commemorates the resurrection of Christ from the dead and should be employed in exercises of worship and spiritual devotion.
Now, before we get into our focal passage, I’d like to give a little history of how Christians landed on setting aside Sunday as the primary day for corporate Christian worship, and then why it is called “The Lord’s Day.” As our Statement of Belief already alludes to, Sunday being used for Christian worship actually goes back to the Resurrection event itself. Every one of the Gospels clearly says that Christ rose from the grave on the first day of the week. We’ll just use Matthew’s account this morning for reference:
1 After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to view the tomb.
So Jesus rose on that particular Sunday, a fact that we celebrate every Easter. Not long after the resurrection, the Christian church started setting Sunday aside for times of worship. How do we know this? Because in Scripture, we can see it start to be used as a point of reference for the gathering of churches together for worship.
The first one, chronologically speaking, is found at the end of the book of 1 Corinthians:
1 Now about the collection for the saints: Do the same as I instructed the Galatian churches. 2 On the first day of the week, each of you is to set something aside and save in keeping with how he is prospering, so that no collections will need to be made when I come.
Paul wrote this letter to the church at Corinth while he was ministering in Ephesus. He assumes that the church is going to be gathering on the first day of the week, and that they will bring together their gifts for the church in Jerusalem at that point, so that no collections will need to be made when he arrives: they’ll already have all of the funds pooled together. While this doesn’t specifically speak to a worship gathering, the next one chronologically does. It is found in the book of Acts:
7 On the first day of the week, we assembled to break bread. Paul spoke to them, and since he was about to depart the next day, he kept on talking until midnight.
Notice that they “assembled to break bread.” This was a celebration of the Lord’s Supper, and then Paul preached. Since he was leaving the next day, he decided to make the most of it, and preached until midnight. I won’t be preaching that long today. You’re welcome.
So by the time Paul sailed for Jerusalem before he was imprisoned, the Christian church had started to make a habit of gathering together to worship on Sundays. The place that we see this first day of the week being referred to as “The Lord’s Day” is by John in Revelation 1:10:
10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard a loud voice behind me like a trumpet
John was spending personal time in worship on the Isle of Patmos during his exile when he called Sunday, “the Lord’s Day.” The fact that he doesn’t clarify what that means tells us that it was a reference that his readers at the time would have understood without further explanation. The Christian churches regularly met on Sundays.
However, it wasn’t until the fourth century under Constantine that Sunday was set aside as a legal holiday for worship. This is really when Sunday really sort of took on the idea of being the Christian version of the Sabbath. When I preached on Sabbath back in our series on the Ten Commandments last summer, I mentioned that some see Sunday as the Christian Sabbath, while others do not. While it CAN be practiced that way, that’s not necessarily how it was always viewed, and not necessarily the case for all of us. Sunday, while a day of worship and spiritual devotion for me, is not my personal Sabbath day. For me, it’s Thursday.
So where do we start with Sunday? We start with the name that John gave Sunday: the Lord’s Day. Why is it called that besides the fact that Jesus rose on a Sunday? It’s because of what Jesus’ life, death, burial, and resurrection mean.
1) The Lord’s Day reminds us of what Jesus has done.
1) The Lord’s Day reminds us of what Jesus has done.
The early Christians began to set aside Sunday for worship in order to remind them to reflect on what Jesus had done—not only that He had died and rose again, but what that meant for a world of lost sinners who were bound for hell. Jesus opened the way for us to come into the very presence of God in order to worship Him. Our focal passage says it like this:
19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have boldness to enter the sanctuary through the blood of Jesus—20 he has inaugurated for us a new and living way through the curtain (that is, through his flesh)—21 and since we have a great high priest over the house of God,
The writer of Hebrews has just finished addressing the contrast between the old covenant and the new, between heavenly things and their earthly copies (like the tabernacle), and then has established that Jesus is the perfect sacrifice that both completes the old covenant and establishes the new. And because of that perfect, completing and inaugurating sacrifice, we have boldness to enter the heavenly sanctuary through His blood. In fact, the reality is that it is ONLY because of the blood of Jesus that we can enter into the presence of God at all, much less boldly.
Jesus said this in John 14:
6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Jesus is it. Prior to His sacrificial death on the cross, no one entered “boldly” into the presence of Almighty God. He had designated the inner room of the Temple as the place where His glory would dwell: the Holy of Holies. The high priest would enter that part only once per year to make atonement for the Temple itself because of the sins of the people. It was separated from the “holy place” by a woven curtain, which constantly stayed in place as a physical and visual separation between the people and God. But when Jesus died, He made the way for us to come into the presence of God again. The curtain, which marked that separation, was torn in two from top to bottom according to Scripture:
37 Jesus let out a loud cry and breathed his last. 38 Then the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 39 When the centurion, who was standing opposite him, saw the way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”
This is the “new and living” way that Jesus made. Jesus took our sins—the choices that we make that God hates, and which separate us from Him—and He paid the price owed for them by dying on the cross. He died a criminal’s death that He didn’t deserve so that we who do deserve that criminal’s death wouldn’t have to pay it. And then He was buried on Friday and rose again on Sunday, beating death. Those who surrender their lives to Jesus: turning from their rebellion and toward Him in faith as Savior, trusting Him as Lord, are given His justified standing with God. And Jesus ascended into heaven, so those who belong to Jesus by faith are promised to live with Him forever in perfection and victory over sin, death, and the grave.
So now Jesus is our new high priest—not a high priest who can only access the holy of holies once per year, but one who is constantly in the presence of the Father. This is why we can come into God’s presence with boldness because of Jesus, because He has made the way by His flesh, pouring out His blood for our forgiveness and salvation, and we no longer have any reason to hide from God.
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens—Jesus the Son of God—let us hold fast to our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin. 16 Therefore, let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of need.
The day that the church gathers—the Lord’s Day—is the day that we commemorate and celebrate the incredible gift of Jesus on the cross, and the eternal life that is ours because He beat death and rose again on Sunday morning. This is why the Lord’s Day became known as the Lord’s Day.
Now, notice how this part of the passage has been phrased: There are two “SINCE WE” statements in verses 19-21. “SINCE WE have boldness,” and, “SINCE WE have a great high priest.” These “sinces” are basically “ifs” that lead us to consider a “then.” And the “then” is that we should worship our Lord, both on our own and together.
2) Our worship should be both individual and collective.
2) Our worship should be both individual and collective.
You see, in Scripture the normative behavior for people who have become members of the family of God was to want to be around brothers and sisters in Christ and to worship the Lord together. Yes, there’s an individual component to our worship. We individually worship the Lord. And that can and should permeate our whole lives. Things that people say, like, “I don’t need to go to church to worship God,” “I can worship God in the mountains or at the lake, in the midst of nature, better than I can at church,” or, “I feel closer to God when I’m by myself,” all might very well be true. While I may have the freedom to worship God when and where I like, history tells us that those who are passionately in love with Jesus have normally been involved in their local fellowship and attend it regularly. In fact, it should be something that we’re excited about and look forward to, simply for the fact that we are joining with other believers to worship the Lord.
1 I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let’s go to the house of the Lord.”
However, the unfortunate thing is that we treat this as an “either-or” kind of thing at all. Is loving God really an individual OR corporate thing? No. It’s both, and this is reflected in the fact that there are some commands that we are given that can ONLY be obeyed in the context of relationship with other believers. Can you be obedient to God’s instructions regarding participating in the life of the body of Christ when you’re alone? No. This is why the author of Hebrews writes:
25 not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching.
This “gathering together” is closely related to the Greek word for synagogue. In fact, the word is literally “into synagogue” (ἐπισυναγωγὴν). This was the place that the Jewish community (don’t forget that we’re looking in the book of Hebrews, written to Jewish Christians) intentionally gathered every week in order to have fellowship, learn, grow, engage, and encourage each other. It was a part of the fiber of their culture.
I want to show you a picture from my trip to Israel. This is a picture of the ruins of the synagogue at Magdala. The Bible tells us in Matthew 4:23 that Jesus went throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues. This was a very active village during that time, so it is almost certain that Jesus preached in this very room. Notice how it’s set up. The stone in the middle would have been where the podium was for whomever was speaking or reading. And the people would have sat all around the sides. Everyone could see everyone else. They KNEW when someone from their community wasn’t there.
I’m going to be honest: when I’m up here preaching, there is apparently too much going on in my mind and heart to store much in the way of memory. Even though I’m up here looking at all of your faces, it’s too much information to remember, especially since I’m speaking at the same time. By Monday morning, I rarely can tell you more than a handful of people that I am sure I saw during my message on Sunday morning. We belong to each other, church. Since I’m the only one who can see everyone, if we’re going to live this out, we need to keep tabs on each other and reach out to each other when we see someone missing.
In verses 22-25, we have three words that are called hortatory subjunctives. These are ordinarily translated in English as “let us,” because they are about one shade off of being imperatives, or commands. The reason they aren’t imperatives is that ancient Greek didn’t have first-person imperatives (commands that you would give to yourself). So basically, these words are first-person imperatives or commands, that then encourage others to join with the speaker in accomplishing them, like, “I’m going to do this thing, and you should too.”
So what are these three commands that we are given, and how do they direct us in our worship, both individually and corporately?
A) Let us draw near to God and to each other.
A) Let us draw near to God and to each other.
Many commentators tend to see only the individual aspect of the first command, which we will look at momentarily. This is the easy part. We’re great at reading Scripture from a “me-centered” perspective. This is why we tend to see ourselves as the heroes in the biblical stories. We are usually Noah, not the rest of the world. Joseph, not his brothers. David, not Goliath or Saul. So let’s consider verse 22 from the individual perspective first:
22 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 in pure water.
So we are commanded to draw near with a “true heart in full assurance of faith,” meaning that we are to come with a confident sincerity because of our trust in Christ. We are certainly supposed to draw near to God individually in our regular walk with the Lord. James clearly said this in verse 8 of chapter 4 of his epistle:
8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
The statements in Hebrews 10:22 regarding our hearts being sprinkled clean and our bodies being washed in pure water aren’t saying that we should shower and put on deodorant before we come to church. They’re references to the preparation and purification of the priesthood when the Levitical priesthood was started following the Exodus:
6 Then Moses presented Aaron and his sons and washed them with water.
Leviticus 8:30a (CSB)
30 Then Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood that was on the altar and sprinkled them on Aaron and his garments, as well as on his sons and their garments.
So the purification that the author of Hebrews is referring to is something that has already been done for us: our hearts have been sprinkled by the blood of Christ, and our bodies have been washed by the pure living water of Jesus.
Now in Christ, we are all a part of what is known as the priesthood of believers. It’s a concept that says that all Christians have direct access to God through what Christ has done (which we’ve already addressed). Peter speaks of this when he writes:
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
But the whole context of both our focal passage and this passage in 1 Peter say that this is a drawing together of the church for worship. The pronouns in both of these passages are plural, and all of the references are collective references to “we” and “us” and “our,” “race” and “nation” and “people.” When we draw near to worship God as a church family, we draw near both to God Himself AND to one another. Look what Peter had just said a few verses earlier:
4 As you come to him, a living stone—rejected by people but chosen and honored by God—5 you yourselves, as living stones, a spiritual house, are being built to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
We are to draw near to each other as we have opportunity when we gather, because God is doing a work in us that is both individual AND collective.
So what does this mean? It means that when we gather together to worship the Lord, there should be an element of relationship to one another as well. Everyone take just a second and look around the room. There’s a bunch of people here who love Jesus, and right now, we’re just about all on the same page—focused on the work of God in bringing us together in Christ. These are your brothers and sisters, your teammates, your fellow bondservants of the Lord. We are to draw near to one another collectively as we draw near to God individually. How could we do that if we never gather?
A part of that drawing near to each other is accountability, exhortation, and encouragement in things of God, which takes us to our next command:
B) Let us hold on to our confession.
B) Let us hold on to our confession.
Again, this second command is perhaps easier to see from an individual point-of-view than a collective one, but that doesn’t mean that there’s not a congregational challenge here. Let’s look at verse 23:
23 Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, since he who promised is faithful.
Just as he did in Hebrews 4:14 earlier, the writer is again commanding us to cling or grasp tightly to the confession—that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is our Savior and Lord—and that this is confession in which we have placed our hope—not “wishful thinking” hope, but “confident assurance” hope. And we are to cling to this confession “without wavering,” because we have no need to waver due to the faithfulness of Christ, who has promised eternal life to those who belong to Him.
Remember last week, when we looked at the confession of Peter in Matthew chapter 16? In this, we again see both an individual and collective confession.
15 “But you,” he asked them, “who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus responded, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.
Jesus asks “THEM,” and Simon Peter seems to speak for the group. And then Jesus changes Simon’s name to Petros (usually referring to an individual stone or even a pebble in Greek), and then says that on the petra (usually referring to a huge rock, like a cliff or bedrock) He will build His church—obviously a collective group. The petra is not Peter himself, but the confession of Christ’s identity that Peter has made for the group. We are now the people of that confession, and we are called to cling to it unwaveringly.
This is what a disciple does, and discipleship is shown in Hebrews as both an individual and corporate activity:
12 Therefore, strengthen your tired hands and weakened knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated but healed instead.
This is the individual component. We are responsible for faithfulness in our individual walks with Christ. However, the image of corporate responsibility follows immediately thereafter:
14 Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness—without it no one will see the Lord. 15 Make sure that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no root of bitterness springs up, causing trouble and defiling many. 16 And make sure that there isn’t any immoral or irreverent person like Esau, who sold his birthright in exchange for a single meal.
Notice that we are called to engage with each other, encourage one another (as we saw in verse 25), watch out for each other, preach the Gospel to each other, and protect each other.
This is why we gather together each week. How could we fulfill the collective part of this without ever meeting together? We couldn’t! This is also a great indication of why we are to be intentional about being a part of the fellowship of the body. The vehicle that Eastern Hills currently has in place for this type of engagement is our Bible study ministry. If you’re not a part of a Bible study each week, please find one that fits you, and get plugged in. The rest of the church needs you, and you need the rest of the church.
This brings us to the last command:
C) Let us consider one another with a purpose
C) Let us consider one another with a purpose
I’m going to pause for a moment for those of you who are taking notes, so you can get this down before we put the verse up. The third and last command here in our focal passage in Hebrews 10 is clearly both individual and collective, given that it is an instruction to all of the individuals to consider the rest of the individuals for a very specific reason. Look again at verse 24:
24 And let us consider one another in order to provoke love and good works,
Our being commanded to “consider one another” is a challenge to give thoughtful attention to each other, or to show deep concern for each other. We’re only going to do this successfully if we actually work to KNOW each other. This consideration of one another is for a very specific purpose: that we might provoke one another in the direction of love and good works. The NIV translates the word for “provoke” as “spur one another on,” which I like. It’s a really good picture for the church.
But the thing about that is that we’re an awfully individualistic culture, and we don’t actually want anyone in our business. My beloved brothers and sisters, the only way we’re going to fulfill this command is if we accept that family life is a messy business, and we need each other to get messy if we’re going to be all that God has called us to be as a church family.
This is again why it’s important for us to gather together as a church family, and to engage in intentional relationship with each other. If we never engage with other people in the body, how do we expect that we will fulfill this command?
A few quick challenge verses about this command in particular:
1 Brothers and sisters, if someone is overtaken in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual, restore such a person with a gentle spirit, watching out for yourselves so that you also won’t be tempted.
We are to be a sin-challenging and restorative force in each other’s lives out of the overflow of our consistent walk with Jesus, humbly walking with our struggling brothers and sisters, knowing that we are capable of the same temptations and struggles.
4 Everyone should look not to his own interests, but rather to the interests of others.
Yes, we should take care of ourselves, but we should remember that we are placed in the church body for Kingdom purposes, and when others in the church family succeed, we all succeed.
15 Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk—not as unwise people but as wise—16 making the most of the time, because the days are evil. 17 So don’t be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. 18 And don’t get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless living, but be filled by the Spirit: 19 speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music with your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another in the fear of Christ.
We are each to walk circumspectly, being filled with the Spirit, and building each other up by speaking the truth of God into each other’s lives, by coming together with hearts prepared to make music and sing the praise and adoration of the Lord, confessing our gratitude to God both to and for each other, and seeking each other’s best interests out of reverence for Christ, who gave His life so that we could have the very best.
This is who are are to be as a church family. And the only way we can do this is if we commit to come together regularly and to truly engage in each other’s lives, and allow others to truly engage in ours.
Closing
Closing
Ultimately, from the individual perspective, we are called to have every day be a day of worship of the Lord, even if we don’t gather as a church body every day. But that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t gather with the rest of the church family.
I suppose that the church family can choose the day that they will gather to worship the Lord, to draw near to Him and to each other, to be reminded of their confession and to hold one another accountable to it, and to be challenged individually and congregationally to love well and work well. This is an aspect of Christian liberty:
5 One person judges one day to be more important than another day. Someone else judges every day to be the same. Let each one be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 Whoever observes the day, observes it for the honor of the Lord. Whoever eats, eats for the Lord, since he gives thanks to God; and whoever does not eat, it is for the Lord that he does not eat it, and he gives thanks to God.
But for the early church, Sunday had a deep significance. And for Eastern Hills at least, we have decided that Sunday is the day that we will set aside for these things. Let’s all commit to intentionally engaging with each other in the power of the Spirit to fulfill these commands from Hebrews 10, so that the church would be all that God intends for us to be.
In just a moment, I’m going to pray, and then the band will lead us in our invitation song. There might be some of you in the congregation who need to repent of something that you’ve said or done that has hurt your brother or sister in this fellowship, or repent of just not caring for your church family the way that Scripture tells us that we should. You can come and pray at the steps or with me, Joe, Kerry, or Trevor.
If you have never surrendered your life to Jesus, then can I just thank you for coming this morning? I don’t believe that your being here is an accident, and I believe that God is at work in your life calling you to surrender to Him, turning from your sin, believing what the Bible says: that Jesus is both Savior and Lord. God loves you and wants to be in that relationship with you. Respond to that work of God and give up going your own way. If that’s you this morning, or if you have questions about salvation, come and let us know. If you’re online and that’s you, send me an email.
Church membership.
Offering.
PRAYER
Closing Remarks
Closing Remarks
Next week, we will start a 6 week series in Ecclesiastes. I pray you’ll plan to be here for the entire series.
Also starting next week, we will have Q&A times in the Parlor before and after Family Worship regarding our upcoming Endeavor generosity campaign for our building. We really want everyone to know what’s going on with that, so if you have any questions, please plan to get here a little early or stay a little late to get those questions answered.
Bible reading (Joshua 10)
Pastor’s Study tonight at 5:30 in Miller Hall. We’ll start with a quick refresher on some of what we’ve seen in Ephesians so far, and then move into Ephesians 1:15, and we’ll see how far we get.
Don’t forget that we have a church-wide prayer meeting every Wednesday night from 5:45 to 6:30, usually in room 103.
If you’re visiting with us this morning, whether you filled out a Welcome card by hand, filled out the digital card online, or didn’t fill out a card, I’d like the opportunity to meet you for just a moment this morning and to give you a gift of a coffee mug filled with chocolate. Not into coffee? The mug can also hold tea, milk, orange juice… =o) Anyway, come on down after our benediction verse and say, “hi.”
Benediction
Benediction
23 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely. And may your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is faithful; he will do it.