Hebrews 10:22b

Have you ever had, I'm sure you have, just one of those mornings?

I'm having, or have had, been having one of those mornings this morning.

I kind of foolishly, last night, in order to stay up a bit later and study a bit more for this morning,

drank Mountain Dew, thinking that'll help get my brain going.

But I'm fairly worthless mentally after dinner.

So all it really did is kept me up late.

And I have a wife who's 20 weeks pregnant and needs her sleep.

And so I sent her off to bed and I took my place on the couch last night and went to bed about midnight.

Woke up at about 5.30 this morning and discovered that our puppy had made quite a mess of herself and our laundry room.

So this morning I had to put a puppy in a bathtub and scrub lovely things off of her.

My son is quite sick this morning.

I have a 16-month-old at home, kind of wheezing and coughing and just has a nasty, nasty thing going on.

I sort of threw on clothes this morning, in case you didn't notice.

And I'll point out that I'm wearing Argyle socks with my plaid shirt.

Because they were the socks in these shoes from the last time I wore them.

It's been quite a morning for me.

But I can say it is a privilege to be here with you this morning.

I love being with God's people.

And with all that going on and the chaos of this morning,

it is so good to get to be here with you guys this morning.

God has done a great work amongst us, calling together His church.

And there is evidence of that in this room.

So it's really, really good to be here.

And I hope you feel the same.

We're preaching a bit of time here,

kind of on both the vision of Christ Family Church and how that plays itself out.

And I mentioned last week the vision statement of our church,

that Christ Family Church exists to experience, proclaim, and display the supremacy of Jesus Christ in all things.

But how?

How is it that we put wheels on that car?

How is it that that engine drives us down the road?

And we like to use a little analogy to kind of talk about the ministry of our church.

And we use a tree both to talk about the life of our church and our Christian lives as individuals.

When we talk about roots, branches, and fruit.

The roots being that depth that we have, our knowledge of the Word of God,

our theological database, so to speak.

And we want to be both individuals and a group of people that put our roots down very deep.

We want to suck out of the Word of God everything that there is for us in it

because we believe the Word of God is inspired.

That it is sufficient for our Christian living.

And that all we need is found within it.

I joked around with the guys last week that I think that God is probably thrifty enough

that if all the words in this book were not inspired,

He would have left some of them out so we could cut down on our printing costs as we produced it.

I think every word in it is valuable for us, whether you always feel that or not.

The branches are our exaltation of Christ, our proclamation of Him,

the prayers that we lift up to Him, the songs that we sing together,

and then the fruit is the fruit of love.

Both to the church, the things that we do together to love on each other,

and then our fruit to the world, our service and our evangelism to the world.

So that's kind of our neat little analogy we like to use.

And as I told you last week in my preparation, I was led to Hebrews chapter 10,

Hebrews 10 · chapter mention

and I found contained within it this analogy, but not in quite as neat a form.

So we're just going to preach through Hebrews chapter 10, verse 19 through 25.

Hebrews 10:19–25

So let's read that together, and then we'll pray.

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus,

by the new and living way that He opened for us through the curtain, that is, through His flesh.

And since we have a great priest over the house of God,

let us draw near with a true heart and full assurance of faith,

with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience,

and our bodies washed with pure water.

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering,

for He who promised is faithful.

Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,

not neglecting to meet together as is the habit of some,

but encouraging one another, and all the more, as you see today, drawing near.

Let's pray together.

Father, you are a good, loving God,

and you have displayed this in the most magnificent way in the work of Christ

and in the redemption of your church.

We thank you for that this morning.

We thank you for your word,

and I pray, Father, this morning that my preparation or lack of,

and your word and your spirit will collide this morning,

that you will give us ears to hear and understand

not only what the text means,

but what the text means for us,

for our lives.

You'll bring conviction on us as a church and as individuals.

Pray, Father, that you will have your way with us this morning.

We pray this in Christ's name.

Amen.

Alright, so last week,

we kind of narrowed in.

We focused in on the beginning of verse 22,

but to lead up to that,

we've been granted access now to God.

19 through 21,

because of the work of Christ,

we've been given access to God.

And then we're given three exhortations in the text,

and they're all preceded by a little phrase,

let us.

So you see that, let us, let us, let us,

which is where we're at.

And last week, we began,

the very beginning of verse 22,

with a little phrase,

let us draw near.

To talk about Christian worship,

when I say that carefully,

hear me very carefully,

we all worship all the time.

Everything you do is an act of worship.

What it is you worship

is to be determined,

but I'm talking about specifically Christian worship.

I'm not talking about when you

worship your car wrongly,

or a relationship you may have,

or how much money you have in the bank account.

That's not what I'm discussing.

I'm talking about Christian worship,

and particularly corporate Christian worship,

which is not just the singing of songs,

certainly includes the singing of songs,

but it's everything that we do together as believers.

That's why we call this a worship service,

which also includes the preaching of God's word.

This is an act of worship.

The listening to the preaching of God's word,

the prayers we pray together,

taking of the Lord's supper together,

are all acts of worship.

And so that's what verse 22 really addresses.

And as I told you last week,

that beginning phrase,

let us draw near,

is actually one word in the original,

which I told you was proser kamai,

and I was actually corrected.

That's the root of the word,

and I'm not even going to try to pronounce the actual word,

but the root of the word is proser kamai,

and we pulled out of that phrase

three things we should learn,

three things we should know as Christians

about proper Christian worship.

There's a lot of heat without light out there

in the world around the idea of worship.

Worship battles in churches,

and many churches have split over this,

primarily music.

Some have accommodated all the crowds

in order not to lose anybody.

A large local church on their website

advertises their services this way.

They have three.

A traditional blend of praise and worship.

An inspiring and vibrant contemporary worship experience.

Contemporary acoustic worship.

Take your pick.

Which one of these best suits you

and your personality and your preference?

Unfortunately, these preferences

are primarily, almost always,

predicated on opinion.

It's very rare that you have these conversations with people,

and they ever go to the scriptures at all.

So I asked the question last week,

who gets the final say?

Who gets to determine how it is

that we worship together?

Is it us?

Certainly not.

It's God.

The scriptures give us a lot of latitude about style.

It's not that there is a particular style,

a particular inspired liturgy that we must follow.

But there are some particular,

there are some things to do

that are proper.

It scares me that it's possible

for us to worship the right God wrongly.

That it's possible for us to even believe

by what we're talking about this morning

that we're doing it properly

and be doing it wrongly.

Matthew 15, 8 and 9,

Jesus said,

This people honors me with their lips,

but their heart is far from me.

In vain do they worship me.

This is valuable for us.

We pulled three points out last week.

I'm going to repeat them for you,

and we're going to move on

and finish verse 22 this morning

with the following three.

So six points total

if you're taking notes this morning.

Point number one,

Christian worship is

corporate in emphasis.

Let us draw near.

Our hearts, our bodies.

You can see this plural form

running through the entire text.

It's corporate in emphasis

because God's character

culminates in the work of Christ.

I said this morning,

You are the greatest thing

that God has done.

It's crazy, isn't it?

We are a mess, aren't we?

The action that's going on

in your Christian life,

the culmination of God's work,

what is being accomplished in you

because of Christ,

it's incredible.

The church,

in all its disaster,

is a great view of God's glory.

So Christian worship

is corporate in emphasis.

Any expression of Christianity

devoid of the church

is totally foreign

to the pages of Scripture.

You remember last week

the analogies were given,

the metaphors

that were a body made of parts,

a household

of family members,

a temple

built of living stones.

We're not meant

to exist apart from each other,

but to coexist

as a community

of Christians.

Psalm 22,

the psalmist writes,

I will tell of your name

to my brothers

in the midst

of the congregation.

I will praise you.

The second point

was Christian worship is

frequent in occurrence.

That term,

that original Greek term

was present and active,

both that we should

be drawing near to God

both now

and continually.

Forever.

Enjoy Him forever.

The New Testament

does not command

a particular frequency.

I think asking

how often

should we meet together

is really the wrong question.

I think we ought to

want to meet together

all the time.

Christian worship is,

number three,

thoroughly preoccupied

!

with God.

Thoroughly preoccupied

!

with God.

It's His approval

that we seek.

His applause.

Our worship services

are for Him.

Brothers,

we need to be careful

that we don't become

worshipers of ourselves

when we come into this place

looking to meet

our needs.

We're here to worship God.

We're the beneficiaries

of what happens

as a result.

So when you leave here

this morning,

you ought not to ask,

what did I get out

of this morning?

But was God pleased

with my participation?

So number one,

corporate an emphasis.

Two,

frequent an occurrence.

Three,

thoroughly preoccupied

with God.

This brings us

to our new point.

Number four,

Christian worship

includes all

of our being.

Includes all

of our being.

We get this from

this little phrase

with a true heart.

Let us draw near

with a true heart.

Christianity

is a religion

of the heart.

And you ask,

well,

then what is the heart?

Are we talking about

the muscle that pumps

blood throughout my body?

Absolutely not.

That's not what Scripture

means when it refers

to the heart.

The heart is the

center of who we are,

the place where

our personality

and emotions lie.

Essentially,

the whole

of our interior life.

God is not

primarily concerned

with our outward actions.

Do they matter?

Are some of them

prescribed?

Yes.

But He's not

primarily concerned

with our outward actions.

As we've said,

you can do all

the right things

wrongly.

He's primarily

concerned

with

our hearts.

We all tend to know,

we're all kind of

Christianized

in this culture.

Don't we?

A lot of Christianity

around us.

And you kind of

know the scene.

How many friends

do you even have

that went through

all the motions

before they actually

were Christians?

Before they actually

had regenerate hearts?

They went through

all the actions.

We know exactly

what we're supposed

to do.

We follow every cue

to a T.

When the crescendo

comes in the song,

right,

what happens?

Close your eyes.

Raise your hands.

It's the right moment

to do that type of thing.

If it's not,

you always sing

standing up.

We always sit

for preaching.

We know when.

We know.

And it feels awkward

if nobody tells you

what to do.

You're like,

I'm not sure.

I think we're supposed

to stand right now,

but I'm not really sure.

I can't even listen

to the first verse

of this song

because I'm just not sure

if I should stand up

or sit down.

It's very frustrating to me.

We can do the right things

with the wrong heart.

It frightens me a lot.

A lot.

Turn to Isaiah chapter 1.

Isaiah 1 · chapter mention

See what God has to say

about this.

Isaiah chapter 1.

Isaiah 1 · chapter mention

We'll read 11 through 16

to you.

It's God speaking.

What to me

is the multitude

of your sacrifices,

says the Lord.

I have had enough

of burnt offerings,

of rams,

and the fat

of well-fed beef.

I do not delight

in the blood of bulls

or of lambs

or of goats.

Let's pause here.

These were prescribed things.

These were things

that God had asked

Israel to do.

But he's saying,

I'm sick of them.

I have grown weary

of these things.

Verse 12.

When you come to appear

before me,

who has required of you

this trampling of my courts?

Bring no more vain offerings.

Incense is an abomination to me.

New moon and Sabbath

and the calling of convocations.

I cannot endure iniquity

and solemn assembly.

Your new moons

and your appointed feasts

my soul hates.

They have become

a burden to me.

I am weary

of bearing them.

When you spread out

your hands,

I will hide my eyes

from you.

Even though you make

many prayers,

I will not listen.

Your hands

are full of blood.

Wash yourselves.

Make yourselves clean.

Let's stop there.

Christianity is a religion

of the heart.

These are all things

that have an ass

of Israel to do.

And God says,

they have become

a burden to me.

Is our worship together

a burden to God?

I hope not.

I hope not.

Recall Simon the magician

in Acts chapter 8

Acts 8 · chapter mention

went to Peter

and tried to purchase

the Holy Spirit

from him.

He already was a bit

of a miracle worker

himself.

And he saw this

spirit and dwelling

of Christians

and they were

healing people

and he said,

ah, it's a better power

than I have now.

I'd like it.

And he tried to purchase it

and Peter's response

to him was,

you have neither part

nor lot in this matter

for your heart

is not right

before God.

So I'll say to you again,

Christianity

is a religion

of the heart.

John Chrysostom said,

find the door

to your heart

and you will discover

it is the door

to the kingdom of God.

In Deuteronomy 4.29

God says,

from there you will

seek the Lord your God

and you will find him

if you search after him

with all your heart.

It's not all about

the outward appearance.

Those things matter.

But I'm just afraid

that we lose sight

of what really matters.

It comes about

the outward appearance

and not about

our hearts.

Many Christians

put on airs

on Sunday morning.

I'm thankful

that we're not a church

where I feel

pressured to wear a suit

to preach in.

I know I look pitiful

this morning.

That outward appearance

is so important

to so many of us.

What did Jesus call

the Pharisees

as they acted like that?

Whitewashed tombs.

Isn't that language?

That strong language?

You were like

whitewashed tombs

is what he said to them.

Somebody has

on the outside

made you look

very nice.

They have come along

and painted you up

clean and white.

Tomb carved into the rock.

But inside

you were full

of dead people's bones.

What's on the outside

is nothing

like what's on the inside.

Christianity

is a religion

of the heart.

The Psalms are

filled

with language

of the heart.

Where the outworking

of a heart

worshipping God

rightly

is joy.

I don't have time

this morning

to take you on

a survey

through the Psalms.

But I would invite you

to read them

looking for those

types of things.

The outward working

of a heart

worshipping God

properly

is joy.

Joy that expresses

itself

visibly.

We're Baptists.

We tend to express

ourselves

visibly

too often

in our

meetings together.

Do we?

There's

dancing

in the Psalms.

There's

standing

and lifting

of hands.

There's

kneeling.

There's lying

prostrate

on the ground.

There's actual

physical

action

that comes

out of

proper hearts.

C.S. Lewis

said that in the Psalms

God is set

on display

as the

all-satisfying

object.

Psalm 1611

David wrote

In your presence

there is fullness

of joy.

At your right hand

are pleasures

forevermore.

In Psalm 33

1

the psalmist

says

Shout for joy

in the Lord

O you righteous.

Praise

befits

the upright.

The upright

ought to praise

God

is what he's saying.

Those who are

righteous

because of

Christ

will praise

God's name

joyfully.

Joy is an

expressive

thing.

Is it not?

Some of you people

look dead

when you sing

songs.

It's expressive.

It's easy to look

at somebody and say

they have no joy

in their heart.

Isn't it?

People would say

that of us

when we're

praising our God.

2 Samuel

2 Samuel 6 · chapter mention

chapter 6

I think

displays this

rather well.

If you recall

the story

David

is now

king

his issues

with Saul

have been

laid to rest

at this point

and he

decides to

bring the

Ark of the

Covenant

back

to Jerusalem.

It's been

living

the Ark

has

at the

house

of Abinadab

and then

there's

this little

transport

that goes

on

if you

recall

and

there's

a little

stumble

as they're

carrying

the Ark

and one

of the

bears

of the Ark

reaches out

and touches

it to catch

it and

God gets

upset at him

and kills

him and so

David says

maybe we

shouldn't bring

that thing

home just

yet.

And so

it then

lives at the

house of

Obed-Adam

for three

months and

God blesses

him richly

for housing

it there

and so

David decides

okay let's

bring it on

to Jerusalem

now.

In

verse 14

says

and David

danced

before the

Lord

with all

his might

danced

before the

Lord

with all

his might

and you

recall that

David was

married to

Michal

which was

Saul's

daughter

and she

saw him

from the

window

and the text

says that she

despised him

with all her

heart

because she

felt that he

was disgracing

himself

I didn't

mention that he

was pretty much

dancing in his

underwear

but danced

with all

his might

and she

confronts

him

and if

you'll

allow me

a paraphrase

his response

to her

is she

says to

him

you have

disgraced

your position

you were

the king

of Israel

and you're

dancing in

your underwear

in front of

the ark

it's disgraceful

and his

response to

her

in my

own

paraphrase

form

is

I was

holding

back

you thought

that was

disgraceful

I was

holding

back

I will

become

even more

foolish

if it means

that my

God will

receive more

glory

you ought to

be joyful

in this

place

expressive

as a result

why

because our

God deserves

it

I don't

really care

how you

feel

you want to

dance a little

bit

or raise

your hands

and you

think that's

embarrassing

to you

what have you

become

a worshipper

of you

not a worshipper

of our

God

do you

realize

what God

has done

for us

we take

our sins

so

lightly

most of

us

probably

grew up

as fairly

moral

people

probably

in Christian

homes

and haven't

done anything

really

big

in our

own

eyes

big

sin

kind

of

things

any

sin

is a

great

affront

to God

anything

you have

done

you are

an

enemy

of God

before

Christ

set

entirely

against

him

your

sin

is

great

it

does

not

matter

what

you

think

of

it

God

says

your

sin

is

great

and

as

such

we

have

a

great

savior

there's

joy

joy

in

that

David

danced

for a

reason

he was

celebrating

all

that God

had done

for him

and for

the people

of Israel

so

Christianity

is a

religion

of the

heart

the way

to the

heart

is

through

the head

the way

to the

heart

is to

the head

Psalm

51

David

wrote

behold

you

delight

in

truth

in

the

inward

being

and

you

teach

me

wisdom

in

the

secret

heart

one of

my

favorite

preachers

Arturo

Azuria

I call

him

Pastor

Art

to keep

it

simple

said

God

does

not

desire

empty

headed

emotionalism

neither

does

he

desire

empty

hearted

intellectualism

there's

a

balance

there

proper

Christian

worship

is a

marriage

of the

two

so as

I say

to you

our

time

together

our

worship

together

ought to

be

expressive

in

joy

it ought

to be

expressive

for a

reason

not just

because

we're

crazy

and we

have

an

experience

but as

it's

rooted

in

truth

the

value

of our

worship

can be

filtered

by the

truth

that

supports

it

we're

going to

talk about

this

more

next

week

the

value

of our

Christian

worship

the

legitimacy

of it

can be

measured

by the

truth

that

spawns

it

that

creates

it

that's

why we

preached

you

expositionally

that is

why it's

my great

burden

to just

teach you

what the

text

says

I believe

that's

enough

I'm

fairly

young

I don't

have

lots

of

life

experience

to share

with you

anyway

but even

if I

did

I don't

really

think

you need

to know

about

my

steps

to

success

I don't

think

how I

arrange

my

finances

are all

that

important

to you

as a

people

the

three

steps

to

having

a

healthier

marriage

of my

life

but what

the Bible

says on

those

topics

is

incredibly

important

to you

what

God

has

already

pinned

for us

is what

matters

most

and anything

I say

that's not

just an

explanation

just a

clearer

view

of what

these

words

are

teaching

us

is

totally

erroneous

you gotta

just dismiss

it

and forget

about it

altogether

John

John 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4

Jesus

says that

God

is seeking

those

who

will

worship

him

in

spirit

and

in

truth

spirit

being

our

spirits

brought

into a

right

relationship

into life

by the

Holy Spirit

and in

truth

which is

who

Jesus

Christ

God's

expression

of himself

through the

work

of Jesus

Christ

so we

get in

this

text

both

the

whom

and

the

how

of

Christian

worship

so we

are

directed

by the

text

to draw

near

to God

who

has

revealed

himself

in

Jesus

Christ

with

hearts

that

are

engaged

God

wants

all of

us

a full

head

and a

warm

heart

let us

draw near

with a

true

heart

another

way

of

saying

this

some

of your

translations

may say

with a

sincere

heart

word

sincere

is a

very

interesting

word

again

with

the

guys

last

week

and

we

actually

talked

about

this

term

out of

first

timothy

the

english

word

sincere

comes

from

two

latin

words

sine

sera

it's

interesting

to know

the story

behind

these

words

and how

it is

that

they

got

put

together

and

i

actually

added

a bit

to my

knowledge

this

week

in

roman

times

when a

pot

was

created

if you've

ever been

in pottery

class

you know

that when

you put

the pot

in the

kiln

to be

fired

there's

a chance

that it'll

crack

i don't

know if

you've

experienced

that but

i took

some art

classes

in high

school

and was

very

distraught

that i

had to

redo

some

of my

projects

because

pots

cracked

well

in this

time

in order

to continue

to use

these pots

they would

fill

those

cracks

with

wax

so

this

vessel

that was

created

for use

would

have

a flaw

in it

and they

would

just

fill

it up

with

wax

because

it

would

still

hold

liquid

that way

if a

pot

was a

perfect

pot

a pot

that

didn't

have

any

cracks

in it

it

was

stamped

on

the

bottom

sine

sera

which

meant

literally

the

terms

mean

without

wax

a

perfect

object

a perfect

vessel

a

complete

heart

is what's

being said

here

all

of who

we are

sine

sera

to add

to that

I

got on a

site that

was debating

the origin

of the

term

I think

they were

wrong on

both

accounts

I think

that the

pot

thing

is

perfectly

fine

but

they

also

said

that

those

who

sculpted

in

marble

would

often

fill

the

cracks

the

mistakes

they

had

made

with

wax

and so

then

the

marble

statue

as it

was

put

outside

would

have

flaws

as the

hot

sun

began

to melt

the wax

out of

that

statue

and also

they

postulated

that

some

brick

added to

the brick

was wax

what happens

to a brick

as the wax

melts on a

building

the building

loses some

of its

structure

so pick

whichever one

you like

I like the

pot one

the best

that's the

origin of

that term

so a

perfect

heart

a

complete

heart

Psalm

9

1

kind of

marries

these

together

as we

conclude

point 4

Psalmist

writes

I will

give

thanks to

the

Lord

with

my

whole

heart

I will

recount

all

of your

wonderful

deeds

heart

and truth

combined

in one

so let us

draw near

with a

true

heart

number

five

Christian

worship

is

characterized

by

confidence

let us

draw near

with a

true

heart

in

full

assurance

of

faith

full

assurance

of

faith

I'll

draw your

attention

back to

Hebrews

Hebrews 10:19

chapter 10

verse 19

where he

says

therefore

brothers

since we

have

confidence

to enter

the holy

places

in either

the

tabernacle

or the

temple

depending on

where we

are

in history

there was

a place

called

the

holy

of

holies

and it

was

divided

by a

great

curtain

a veil

and one

time a

year

through

great

amounts

of

ceremony

one

man

was able

to enter

into

the

holy

of

holies

into

the

presence

of

God

and I

explained

to you

last

week

that

this

man

would

have

sewn

bells

into

his

robes

and

tied

a

rope

around

his

ankle

just

in

case

he

messed

something

up

if they

stopped

hearing him

move

inside

probably

meant

that

God

had

struck

him

dead

and

they

could

drag

him

out

of

the

holy

of

holies

even

the

great

high

priest

did

not

enter

into

the

presence

of

God

with

confidence

!

I

have

no

Levitical

line

I

can

guarantee

you

I

am

a

tent

of

a

man

that

these

high

priests

were

and

I

have

confident

access

not

just

access

but

confident

access

to

approach

God

there

was

lots

of

blood

shed

throughout

the

Old

Testament

but

none

of

it

granted

access

to

God

to

the

individual

if you

look

back

Hebrews

Hebrews 9:22

chapter

9

verse

22

writer

says

indeed

under

the

law

almost

everything

is

purified

with

blood

and

without

the

shedding

of

blood

there

is

no

forgiveness

of

sins

so

the

law

made

some

allowance

for

sin

but

blood

must

be

shed

in

order

to

forgive

it

but

the

bloodshed

of

animals

didn't

give

us

access

to

God

Hebrews

Hebrews 10:3

chapter

10

verse

3

he

elaborates

on

that

and

he

says

but

in

these

sacrifices

there

is

a

reminder

of

sins

every

year

for

it

is

impossible

for

the

blood

of

bulls

and

goats

to

take

away

sins

so

the

sacrifice

actually

only

kept

them

mindful

of

their

sin

now

we

get to

enter

with

boldness

and

why

because

of

the

blood

of

Christ

Hebrews

4

16

says

let us

then

with

confidence