The Gathered Church (2)

We're going to begin our worship tonight singing in Psalm 118.

Psalm 118, that's in the Sing Psalms version.

You'll find that on page 155.

We're singing verses 1 to 9.

O thank the Lord, for he is good.

His steadfast love endures always.

Now let the house of Israel say,

His love will last through endless days.

And let the house of Aaron say,

His love forever will endure.

And let those who fear the Lord declare,

His love will stand forever sure.

What a great privilege it is to follow in the line of these ancient people,

long ago in Old Testament times,

who were called by the psalmist here to give thanks to God,

those Jewish people, the house of Aaron,

all those who would gather from time to time to worship the Lord.

And we follow in that great line of worshipers, of God,

the same God they worshiped, that we worship this evening.

So verses 1 to 9 in Psalm 118.

O thank the Lord.

O thank the Lord, for he is good.

O thank the Lord, for his love and europe is proceed.

O bank of the person, our Lord, and king of . You were there.

It'sי when the Holy Spirit is granted.

uarialness, of God.

O've he is good.

God is belt-set teacher.

How must o'er and aurait before the Lord are long efforts God,

Now let the house of Israel say,

His love will last through endless days.

God is proud to serve as many people,

He has堪 Einsatz hace Oh, God is faithful to him or sheep.

And let the house of Edom sing,

His love forever will endure.

Let those who fear the Lord be clear,

His love will stand forever sure.

I cried in language to the Lord,

He answered me and said,

The Lord is with me and not here,

What harm can be the good to Thee?

The Lord is with me constantly,

He is the one who gives me,

I look in triumph on my foes,

I will not eat to Thee, I free.

It's better far to trust the Lord,

Than look for help in man's defense,

It's better far to trust the Lord,

Than in the grace of confidence.

Now we're going to engage in prayer,

let's join together in prayer to the Lord.

Almighty God, as we gather once again in Your presence,

We thank You for these words that have brought us such reassurance,

Words that assure us, Lord, of Your care for Your people,

And words that teach us so clearly,

How much better it is to trust in the Lord,

Than to trust in anyone else.

And we bless You for the way that that trust that You give us to place in Yourself,

Is a trust that is placed in one who is always faithful,

One who will never be diverted from His purpose,

One who is always true to His promises,

One who will bring all things to fruition in the experience of Your people.

And we thank You, Lord, tonight for the rule that You have over us,

And over the world in which we live,

Despite the fact that there are so many things that we cannot understand,

So many things that cause us to question,

Even at times to be bewildered,

So many things that we find taken up by those throughout the world,

Who would seek to constantly find fault with the idea of God.

We give thanks, Gracious One,

That You assure us through Your Word,

That You, in the way in which Your throne is set,

Are the Lord above all things.

And this gives us, Lord, confidence to draw near to You even tonight,

And to do so as a body of Your people,

Who come here to worship You.

And we give thanks, O Lord,

That Your worthiness to be worshipped is so perfect.

Everything that You do is worthy of our praise and our adoration.

And we ask, O Lord, as we come before You,

Even at this time to pray,

That You would enable us to come and give thanks, first of all.

Enable us to adore You, to love You,

Even before we ask anything for ourselves,

Or anything to be done for us by You.

Enable us, Lord, to dwell upon the great fact of Your beauty and Your constancy,

Your constancy, of Your worthiness to be praised.

And so we ask Your blessing,

As we come together once again in this way.

We ask Your blessing, Lord, upon Your Word for us.

As we give thanks for Your Word,

As we give thanks for the number of ways in which we use it,

Even throughout a service like this.

We pray, O Lord, that You would once again bless Your Word to us.

As we come before You,

Stretching out our hands to You, O Lord,

And acknowledgement that we of ourselves are empty,

Empty of resources and empty of ability to please You,

And to bring understanding to Your Word.

But we thank You that You have promised to give us that understanding.

And we read in Your Word, Lord,

Of those whose minds You opened,

As You opened the Scriptures to them.

And we pray that that will be our experience even tonight.

And we can never say, O Lord,

That our knowledge of You is as full as we would like it to be.

And we can never say that we've reached the point where we need to now cease to learn,

Cease to come to have more knowledge imparted to us from Your Spirit and from Your Word.

And so we pray that You would help us even tonight to make a further contribution by Your grace,

To make ourselves in Your presence to grow in grace and in the knowledge of You as our Lord.

Lord, we bring our personal concerns to You as well.

And although we have such a privilege of meeting together,

A privilege of belonging to You as the gathered church of God,

Nevertheless, Lord, we come with our individual concerns as well.

We thank You that in the midst of the gatherings of Your people,

You take note of individuals and individual circumstances.

Lord, we give thanks that You take note of all the detail of the lives of Your people,

That You are not beyond looking upon us in such a way as to draw near to us,

To assure us in a personal way that we can safely trust in You.

And we pray that You would speak to us personally, Lord, this evening.

And we pray that You would do so no matter what others may feel,

What others may experience,

And what others may be in regard to their own relationship with You.

Help us, we pray, each one, and help us all together

To seek You in a way that would further our acquaintance with You,

And our experience of You as our Lord and as our God.

We bring before You too, O Lord, our needs as a congregation.

We thank You for the way that You continue to provide for us,

For the way in which we can say, O Lord, that You have helped us thus far on our journey through life.

You have helped us in our history as a congregation and as a church.

And we pray, gracious Lord, that You would grant Your blessing,

That we may further have that blessing imparted to us as each week goes by.

And we pray that You would grant Your blessing to extend into our homes,

Our families, our children, our grandchildren, our relatives, our neighbors.

O Lord, we pray for our communities.

We pray for our island.

We pray for all who no longer come to church.

We pray for those who have never come to church.

We pray for those, Lord, who are not concerned about being along with the worshiping people of God.

We pray for those whose hearts are closed to the message of the gospel.

We pray that You would bless them.

We pray that You would give to them what You have given to ourselves.

That desire after You, that desire to know You,

That desire, O Lord, that comes out of a knowledge of ourselves,

That we need You, a knowledge of ourselves that we cannot organize and create for ourselves in life.

Those things that will be a sure foundation for us.

Remember us, we pray, Lord, in all the different ways in which we seek to serve You,

And be pleased to accompany all that we do in Your name,

With Your blessing and with further evidence of Your delight in us.

We ask that You would forgive our sins.

Every time, Lord, we come together in this way,

Each of us is surely aware that we come with our own sins,

With our own confession,

With our own need to divulge to You,

Although You know already that we need Your pardon, Your cleansing, Your acceptance of us.

Lord, our God, we ask as we confess our sins,

That as You are faithful and just to forgive us our sins,

And to cleanse us from all unrighteousness,

That we may know in You that blessing this evening,

And that we may be assured that when our sin is forgiven,

It is truly forgiven permanently.

And even though we come on a regular basis to confess our sin,

Lord, we take delight in the fact that in and through the Lord Jesus Christ,

You come to blot out the transgressions of Your people,

You come to wipe clean the record of debt,

The record of guilt that is on our record,

And You replace it with Your righteousness,

With Your acceptance of Your people,

And with the fact that You see them as righteous in Your Son.

Oh, gracious Lord, help us to give all the more thanks to You

For the reality of these things.

We ask Your blessing to be tonight with those who are ill.

We know those of our number, Lord, as a congregation

Of whom we've heard in recent days of illness.

We pray that You draw near to each and every one,

And every home thereby affected.

Remember those in hospital, those in the hospice,

Those, Lord, who are in care homes throughout our island.

We pray that You bless them and bless to them the care that they receive.

Remember those who mourn the passing of loved ones.

Gracious One, be near to them to comfort them.

And be near to those throughout the world tonight

Where the pain and the sorrow of death is so evident.

And particularly tonight, we remember, oh Lord,

Those in Morocco and Marrakesh and the surrounding district

Whose lives have been devastated by an earthquake

With such great loss of property and of life.

Lord, we pray that You would provide for them

And that the agencies that seek to come to their aid

Will know of Your own provision and Your blessing for them.

And we ask especially, oh Lord, that You would grant to provide for them

An understanding and a peace that comes from knowing Yourself.

And we pray that You would help them, Lord, as they cry out in their agony.

That You would help them and hear their cry

And come to do for them more than we are able to ask or even think.

Bless us then now, we pray.

Here we come to You, Lord, to seek that we will hear Your voice speaking to us from the Scriptures.

And we pray for the grace to hear

And to hear in such a way that recognizes that the Lord is indeed addressing us.

Hear us, we pray, in Jesus' name. Amen.

Once again, let's praise the Lord.

We're singing this time in Psalm 91.

Psalm 91 in the Scottish Psalter.

That's page 351, verses 1 to 4.

Words that remind us of the refuge that God is for all who trust in Him.

How He provides for us security and safety in that refuge

Against all that would seek to take us away from the Lord Himself and cause us distress.

He that doth in the secret place of the Most High reside

Under the shade of him that is the Almighty shall abide

I of the Lord my God will say,

He is my refuge still.

He is my fortress and my God.

And in Him trust I will.

As somebody once said,

We can never run away from God to hide from Him.

He always sees us.

But we can run into Him and find our hiding place and our refuge in Himself.

And that's what faith actually does.

It draws us into the refuge that God Himself is.

So let's sing these verses 1 to 4.

He that doth in the secret place.

Of the Most High reside

He that doth in the secret place.

Of the Most High reside.

He that doth in the secret place.

And that of the Most High reside.

the shape of him that is

the almighty shall abide.

I hope the Lord my God will sing.

He is my refuge still.

He is my fortress, my God,

and in him trust I will.

Assuredly he shall be saved,

and give deliverance from subtle flowers,

make and grow the noise of his to ends.

His feathers shall be high, I trust,

under his wings shall be.

His faithfulness shall be a shield,

and offer unto thee.

Well, as you can see from the notes of the service,

we have two readings tonight from the Scriptures

from the New Testament.

First in Mark chapter 15, verses 33 to 41.

Mark 15:33–41

Now we are going to read a passage also from Hebrews chapter 10, verses 19 to 25.

Hebrews 10:19–25

First to the Gospel according to Mark, chapter 15,

Mark 15 · chapter mention

and beginning reading at verse 33.

We read about the death of Jesus on the cross.

And when the sixth hour had come,

there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.

And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice,

Eloi, Eloi lama sabachthani,

which means,

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

And some of the bystanders hearing it said,

Behold, he is calling Elijah.

And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine,

and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink,

saying, Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.

And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last.

And the curtain of the temple was torn in two from the top to bottom.

And when the centurion who stood facing him saw that in this way he breathed his last,

he said, Truly, this man was the Son of God.

And if you take with you especially that reference in verse 38 to what happened to the curtain in the temple to our second reading in Hebrews chapter 10.

Hebrews 10 · chapter mention

We can read from verse 19.

Amen.

Amen.

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 high priest over the house of God,

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.

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

for he who promised is faithful.

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

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."

And you can see there the connection between the two passages

where the curtain that separated the holy place from the most holy place at the death of Jesus was torn in two,

and it was from the top to the bottom.

It wasn't done from below by someone.

It was a divine act.

And that symbolized and represented how access to God was now above that of the Old Testament,

as we read here in this passage in Hebrews that we'll come back to,

that we are able to enter in by a new and living way,

and that is, of course, Jesus himself, to draw near to God through him.

So may he bless to us his word to his own praise.

We're going to sing again Psalm 34 this time.

Psalm number 34, that's on page 40,

singing verses 1 to 9.

Psalm 34, that's on page 40.

At all times I will bless the Lord.

I'll praise him with my voice.

Because I glory in the Lord, let troubled souls rejoice.

Together let us praise the Lord, exalt his name with me.

I sought the Lord, his answer came.

From fears he set me free.

They look to him and shine with joy.

They are not put to shame.

This suffering man cried to the Lord.

From him deliverance came.

The angel of the Lord surrounds and guards continually

all those who fear and honor him.

He sets his people free.

Come, taste and see.

The Lord is good.

Who trusts in him is blessed.

Oh, fear the Lord, you saints.

With need you will not be oppressed.

These verses from the beginning.

At all times I will praise the Lord.

I will bless the Lord.

Amen.

At all times I will bless the Lord.

I'll praise him with my voice.

Because I glory in the Lord, let troubled souls rejoice.

Together let us praise the Lord, exalt his name with me.

I sought the Lord, his answer came.

From fears he set me free.

They look to him and shine with joy.

They are not good to shame.

This suffering man cried to the Lord.

From him deliverance came.

The angel of the Lord surrounds and guards continually.

He sets his people free.

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Now, please turn with me to Hebrews chapter 10.

Hebrews 10 · chapter mention

Hebrews chapter 10, that passage we read from verse 19 to 25.

Hebrews 10 · chapter mention

We're going to focus on that for a short time this evening.

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 high priest over the house of God,

let us draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, and so on.

Three great exhortations there, beginning with let us, in these verses from verse 22 onwards.

Let us draw near, let us hold fast, let us consider.

Now, last week we began, last Sunday morning, we began a short study, or series of studies,

on the gathered church.

We took that from Matthew 18, and I did say at that time that I was going to do this,

whether it be in the morning or the evening, we're going to follow this theme for a few weeks.

As we look at the Bible's teaching on the gathered church, the church gathered together,

especially in a focus on the worshiping church of God.

And we saw last time that it was where two or three have been gathered together in his name,

that he is there in the midst.

And we focused on gathered in the name of Jesus,

and we focused also on the second point, that Jesus is actually in the midst of his people,

that he is in their hearts.

And so in that sense, they carry Jesus with them as they come together.

He is individually, he is in each individual life that he occupies, that lives by faith in him.

And when we come together, we also bring that presence of Jesus in our hearts with us.

Not to say that that's the only way in which Jesus is present in the gatherings of his people.

But tonight, as we look at this passage,

we can see that specific reference in verse 25 to being gathered together.

He says there,

Let's consider how to stood one another up to love and good works,

not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another.

And you can see the balance in that verse.

That is, on the one hand, he's saying,

Let's not neglect to meet together.

And the opposite of that, the other side of it is,

Instead of neglecting to meet together, let's encourage one another.

So obviously that means meet together in order to encourage one another.

It's not just a matter of coming together to worship the Lord.

That is the primary exercise of our gathering together as worshiping people,

as a worshiping congregation.

But here is another dimension to it as well.

We gather together in such a way that seeks to encourage one another,

through gathering together under the Word of God,

and in fellowship, spiritual fellowship with one another.

So we have the opportunities there,

and the privilege of encouraging one another as well.

Now we need to keep this passage, these verses,

we need to keep them bound together as they are here in the passage before us.

Because the three exhortations, as we said there,

these three letters sentences, verses 22 to 25,

these are actually set on a foundation, if you like,

and the foundation is what goes before that.

The gathering, the exhortations that are addressed to us as we gather together,

they all stem from what we're told already in verses 19 to 21.

Having certain things already in place.

Having certain facts that we can rely upon.

The facts especially about Jesus himself,

and about the death of Jesus,

and about the way that he's opened up for us through his death,

into the presence of God.

These great facts, he says there,

are what leads them then to the exhortations.

Having these in place, he's saying,

let us now do this.

In other words, we're reminding ourselves,

and this is reminding us anyway,

that when we gather together to worship God,

we gather together in response to what God has already done.

We don't come to gather together in worship

as if God would then do something in return,

or repay us for the fact.

There may be some aspects of truth to that, of course, as well.

But this is the great fact.

This is the great fact.

God has already done this for us.

God has been active in Jesus Christ,

providing us with this access into his own presence.

It's a new and it's a living way.

And we have boldness, confidence to enter the holy places

by the blood of Jesus,

by this new and living way that he's opened through his flesh,

through his death on the cross,

and his own person.

When we come,

as we're gathered tonight in worship,

what we're doing is gathering together

in response to something that's already taken place.

We're not doing something that will give cause to God to bless us.

He is freely able to bless us in any case or not.

But we're coming together in response to,

in believing response,

in worshiping response to what he has already done

and what he has done conclusively

by the death of Jesus on the cross.

And that's such an important aspect

of thinking of the church gathered together,

the gatherings of the church,

the gatherings of the church,

especially for worship,

public worship,

as we're doing this evening

and every other time we come.

We come because this has already happened.

And this is actually something that requires of us

that we respond to that

by coming together

and coming to God through this new and living way

that Jesus himself is.

We could say a lot more than that,

but you will notice the plurals that he's using.

We saw this last time,

the importance of noticing the plurals in the Bible

the plurals by which God addresses his people,

whether it's here on the Old Testament,

these New Testament epistles,

Hebrews,

those of Paul,

those of John,

all of these have the same feature,

that they address the people of God as a people.

Of course,

as we said last time,

that means addressing us as individuals as well.

Everything here is addressed to you

and to me in an individual sense.

We have to make individual use of it.

But nevertheless,

primarily,

it's an address to us as a gathered people.

Let us draw near.

Let us hold fast

the confidence of our,

the confession of our hope.

Let us consider

how to stir one another up to love

and to good works.

They're plurals.

They're addressed to a people.

They're addressed to a gathered church of God.

And that's important for us also

as you go through the various aspects

of what we are privileged to have

as Christians and as believing people.

We're privileged to have,

yes,

individually,

but especially together.

Together in such a way as worships him

in response to what he has done.

So let's look at these three exhortations briefly.

The first of these,

you'll find is,

let us draw near.

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.

Now this passage has a lot in it

that we're not going to go into

in any detail

because as I said,

it's important

that we keep it all together

and get the main parameters of it

worked out

in our understanding

and then put that to ourselves.

And what he's doing here is saying,

here is what we're doing

in response to what God has done in Christ.

We're coming together

to draw near to God.

That's what you're doing this evening

if you've come here

with a mindset

upon worshiping him

with everybody else

who's come here tonight

to worship the Lord.

You are drawing near to God

and of course you can do that

and you do that

in an individual sense as well.

When you go on your knees

or when you pray to God,

however it is,

your posture is to pray to God.

You're drawing near to God.

When you sing in praise to God

on your own,

you're drawing near to God.

You're conscious

that you're drawing near

to this God you're worshiping.

And it's a wonderful privilege,

more so than in an individual sense,

to come together

to worship the Lord

means together we're coming

to draw near to him.

We're coming into his presence.

We're coming through this new

and living way

into the very presence of God.

We don't need any other warrant

to come than what's already

been done for us

and his own invitation

and exhortation based upon that.

Let us draw near to him.

Are we conscious tonight

that this is what we're doing?

Is that not our mindset

as we come through these doors

to gather together

in this place of worship

that we are actually intending

and seeking to draw near to God?

That we look at what worship is

in all the various aspects of it,

but it's primarily

a drawing near to God

through Christ,

through this new and living way.

And he says here,

we're drawing near

with a true heart

and a true heart

in full assurance of faith.

Well, a true heart really there

is something that means

just opposite to hypocrisy.

We're coming with a genuine sincerity

in our hearts to worship God.

Our worship is never perfect

as it leaves ourselves.

Our minds at worship

are not perfectly attuned

to listening to God

or to speaking from the pulpit

about God.

We're still sinners.

We're failing in so many aspects

of what we do,

even in our worship.

But here he's saying

we're coming with a sincere heart.

Your being here tonight

at this service of worship

is something that you can say

of yourself,

I want to be there.

I'm sincere about my desire

to worship God.

I'm not drawing near to him

just as a matter of form,

just in terms of a formality,

just doing something outwardly.

I'm coming before him

with a sincere heart.

I'm not coming to him

in pretense.

I'm not pretending

to be something

that I'm not.

I'm coming

with a sincere heart.

And you see,

he's putting it in the plural,

let us draw near

with a sincere,

with a sincere,

with a true heart.

Let us draw near

with a true heart.

And then he says

in full assurance of faith.

Another aspect of

the drawing near,

of the coming together,

that we come

in full assurance of faith.

Now that sometimes

troubles people.

And it used to trouble myself

until I came across

a meaning given to it

that really helped me out

because every time

I thought of this

in full assurance of faith

coming near to God,

I thought,

well, I'm failing there

because my faith

is sometimes so poor.

My faith is sometimes

so weak.

I wish I had

a stronger faith.

And if I had

a stronger faith,

I would fit into

the category

of what this writer

is saying,

drawing near to God

with a full assurance

of faith.

But then you see,

that's not what

this phrase means.

It doesn't mean

drawing near to God

fully persuaded

that you are saved

or having that

full assurance

that yes,

you are saved,

you are a believer,

you are indeed

trusting in Christ.

Let me read to you

what that great

Puritan theologian

John Owen says

in his commentary

on Hebrews

about this phrase.

Obviously,

he met in his own day

with people

who thought that

this full assurance

of faith meant

reaching a very height

of assurance

that you are a believer.

This is what he says.

The full assurance

of faith here

represents

not the assurance

that any have

of their own salvation,

nor any degree

of such an assurance.

It is only

the full satisfaction

of our souls

in the reality

and efficacy

of the priesthood

of Christ

to give us

acceptance with God

in contrast

to all other ways

and means thereof.

And that really

is saying to it

full assurance

of faith,

Owen is saying,

means you are

fully persuaded

that Jesus

is everything

you need

in order to have

that full acceptance

of God.

That everything

you require

in order to

have a life

that God

himself receives

and takes delight

in and accepts

as righteous

in his sight,

that's all

in Jesus.

And the full assurance

of faith,

as Owen said,

is the full satisfaction

of our souls

in the reality

and efficacy

of the priesthood

of Christ

to give us

that acceptance

with God.

So if you're

coming tonight

and saying,

I know that

I don't have anything

in myself

and my own ability

that I can create

in order to give me

acceptance with God.

I know I can't

come to God

and draw near to God

with his people

to worship him

thinking that somehow

my sincerity,

although I'm sincere,

that my sincerity

is something

that will guarantee

me acceptance

before God.

I can't come

before him

and say,

Lord,

I prayed today

and I prayed

a number of times

today

and I'm pleased

that I was able

to pray

and on the basis

of that

I'm persuaded

that you'll accept me.

You can't come

with that.

Great and wonderful

though prayer is.

No,

you come

to draw near

to God.

We come to draw near

together

as we come

to draw near

to God

and we're saying

this,

Lord,

I have everything

I need

for your acceptance

and I accept

this as being

perfectly sufficient

for me

that Jesus

in his death

is everything

and all I need.

You're saying

that tonight.

Then you have

that full assurance

of faith.

You're saying

that you discount

every other possibility

of something

of every other

means that you

may think of

would give you

acceptance with God

and you're saying

no,

Lord,

I don't want

to trust

in any of these.

I know I mustn't

do that.

It's not going

to bring me

acceptance with you

at all

but here is

my acceptance.

Here is my

ground of confidence.

Here is Jesus.

I believe in him.

I trust in him.

I trust myself

to him.

I put myself

in his hands

and at his disposal.

I receive him

as my righteous

savior.

I receive him

as Lord

your provision

for a poor

sinner like me.

I receive him

gladly.

I receive him

with relief

for my soul

because I am

persuaded

by your word

that that gives me

acceptance

in your sight.

let us draw

near

let us draw

near

with a true

heart

and in the full

assurance of faith

with our hearts

sprinkled clean

from an evil

conscience

and our bodies

washed with pure

water.

well in a word

that really just

indicates the

totality

with which God

saves us

and brings us

into acceptance

with himself.

We need

a clean

conscience.

We need a conscience

that's sprinkled

clean from an evil

conscience.

We need outwardly

as well in our

behavior

to have our bodies

washed with pure

water.

A spiritual way

of stating that

our entire

person

needs to be made

acceptable with God

and that's what Jesus

does.

That's what faith

in Jesus brings.

Not that faith

is meritorious.

It's Jesus himself

who has

the merit

and through that

we receive

this acceptance

with God

this

sprinkling

of our conscience

from

our hearts

sprinkled clean

from an evil

conscience.

A conscience

that you want

to always pronounce

that you are

right with God.

Of course

your conscience

even as a believer

convicts you

when you know

you've done wrong

or when you know

you haven't done

something you ought

to have done.

That's perfectly

alright

in the sense

that I mean

it's perfectly

alright in the

sense that

it shows you

and indicates

there's something

there in you

that really is

keeping you

in the right

direction

and that you're

relying upon

Christ himself

for your acceptance

with God

and not anything

in yourself.

Let us draw near

let us draw near

he says

with a true heart

and in full

assurance of faith

with our hearts

sprinkled clean

from an evil

conscience

and our bodies

washed

with pure water.

But then he goes

on

with another

exhortation

let us hold

fast

the confession

of our hope

without wavering

for he who promised

is faithful.

Now notice he's saying

it's the confession

of our hope

rather than confession

of faith

which we very often

come across

this is the confession

of our hope.

What does Jesus do?

What does God do

when he brings us

and saves us

and puts us

in Christ

and brings to us

that salvation

that becomes ours

then through faith

in Christ

what is he doing?

He's giving us hope.

Remember how Paul

when he wrote

to the Ephesians

in chapter 2

he described

what the Ephesians

once were

when they were

unsaved

heathen

pagans

in all their idolatry

before the Lord

sent the gospel

to them

and they came

to be saved

through the gospel

through the preaching

of the gospel

you were

he says

at that time

cut off

from the commonwealth

of Israel

without God

and without hope

in the world.

One thing

that characterizes

the unsaved sinner

is the absence

of hope

because hope

in the biblical

sense of it

is not somehow

hoping that things

will improve.

That's a worldly hope.

That's a hope

really without any

foundation

even though it might

be good to some extent

to have a hope

that something

will happen

to improve

one's life

but when you're

thinking of this hope

the hope

that you have

through Christ

and through faith

in Christ

the confession

of hope

that's mentioned

here is the hope

that's founded

upon Christ's

own resurrection

from the dead

especially

when you come

to receive Christ

you come to receive

not just

the Christ

who died

but the Christ

who is now alive

who is risen

from the dead

and is alive

forevermore

and it's there

that you find hope.

You know

we're so used

to being

at funeral services

here in this

congregation

in our community

we have

so many times

gathered with

families

who have lost

loved ones

and that's part

of life

in this world

as long as

this world

continues

and one of the

things that's

really so sad

to see

so desperately

sad to see

is that

people come to die

who've not

expressed any

confession of hope

while they lived

who didn't have

that trust in Christ

who couldn't

confess

I have a hope

that's now

firmly based

upon the

resurrection

of Jesus

from the dead

and therefore

God assures me

that that hope

will be fulfilled

and that I will

share in the

triumph of Jesus

over death.

That's what you

want tonight

to have

as a characteristic

of your life

to have that hope

that the Bible

speaks of

the hope of the gospel

the hope that comes

through Jesus Christ

put away every kind

of hope

other than that

because hoping

for the best

is just

vain hope

it's not

necessarily worth

anything at all

when you come to hope

and have hope

in Jesus

that hope

is based

on Christ's

resurrection

it's a hope

that looks to

the promises

of God

that they will

fulfill

they will be

fulfilled

because notice

what he's saying

let's hold fast

the confession

of our hope

without wavering

for he who promised

is faithful

why am I sure

tonight

that the hope

I have

of resurrection

life

of life

in heaven

through faith

in Christ

through my coming

to give myself

in response

to his love

to be ruled

by him

to be saved

by him

why am I

persuaded

that that is

actually sure

and certain

for me

because he is

faithful

who has

promised it

God is not

going to be

other than

true to his word

and when God

gives you

that hope

in your heart

that looks

forward to heaven

despite all

the imperfections

that you and I

have in our

lives tonight

one thing

you can be sure

of is this

having this

hope in Jesus

is certain

to be realized

in glory

with him

what a great

privilege that is

and doesn't

it show you

how empty

a life is

crammed

with all the

things that

this world

can actually

give you

and without

this hope

what does it

profit

as Jesus

himself said

what shall

it profit

a man

though he

gains

the whole

world

and lose

his soul

let us

hold fast

the confession

about hope

without wavering

and you see

that's where

the gathered

church again

the whole

concept

the whole

truth

the fact

of a

gathered

church

the fact

of gathering

together

that's where

it really

comes into

its own

as far

as this

is concerned

because we

all have

that hope

individually

when we're

Christians

when we're

in the

Lord

when we've

come to

put our

trust

and our

faith

in him

and when

that hope

then is

realized

in your

heart

but you

see in

order to

encourage

one another

to strengthen

that hope

that's in

you individually

you think

well I need

to be with

the Lord's

people

I need

to be

a part

of and a

member of

that gather

church

and if I

want my

hope to

be something

that grows

if I want

to have

if I want

to have

a holding

fast of

that confession

of my

hope

if I want

that holding

of my

hope to

become

stronger

I can't

do it

without the

Lord's

people

not at

least not

very successfully

but here we

are together

and here we

are addressed

in a way

that God

sees us

gathered together

as worshipping

people

and here

is what

God is

saying

to us

together

let us

hold fast

the confession

of our

hope

without

wavering

so there's

let us

draw near

let us

hold fast

and then thirdly

there's let us

consider

let us

consider

how to stir

up one another

to love and to

good works

now I think

I've referred to

this verse

previously

and we have

preached on

some aspects

of this

previously

and it's

better I think

that the way

it's worded

in the

authorized

version on

this occasion

at least

because literally

what the text

is saying

is let us

consider

one another

let us

consider

one another

so as

to stir

one another

up to love

and to good

works

and that makes

a big difference

he's saying

more than

let's consider

how to

stir one

another up

what he's

really saying

is let's

give attention

to one

another

let's

actually

be thoughtful

and prayerful

in regard

to one

another

let's

consider

in that

sense

of it

it's a

very strong

word actually

it's used

back in

chapter 3

at the beginning

of chapter 3

you find it

used there

at the very

start of it

you who

shared

in heavenly

calling

consider

Jesus

consider

Jesus

now obviously

that means

a serious

consideration

giving

your mind

to thinking

of

giving your

mind to

your relationship

with Jesus

to consider

himself

all the time

focus upon

him

keep your

focus upon

him

and that's

the same

word

that's now

used here

in considering

one another

let us

consider

one another

and you see

how that fits

into not

neglecting

to meet

together

because to

consider one

another means

that we

gather together

that we

interact with

each other

that we

are not

being

nosy

and busy

bodies

looking into

other people's

lives and

aspects of

the lives

that we

have no

business

prying into

that's not

what he's

on about

here

he's on

here about

actually

improving

our own

progress

spiritually

and he's

saying

let us

consider

one another

let's give

due

thoughtful

prayerful

attention

to one

another

because that's

the opposite

really isn't

it of

I think I

mentioned

last time

the world

and the

worldliness

that you

see around

us sadly

is very

much

I can

just look

after my

own life

and I

want to

look

after my

own

life

this

kind

of

inward

selfish

individualistic

view of

life

well the

gathered

people of

God

are the

opposite

to that

because you

don't gather

here with

other people

thinking well

it's all

about me

and it's

all about

what I

can get

out of

the service

of worship

that I'm

attending

that's really

all I'm

concerned with

how I can

improve my

own spiritual

standing

and understanding

and progress

yes there's

that individual

aspect but

you're coming

and you're

considering others

you're considering

one another

we're considering

together

each other's

lives so as to

help one

another along

the path of

life

let us

consider

one another

and you know

we can do

that before

we ever come

to church

and we should

be doing that

before we ever

come to church

let me just

put it to

myself

and put it

to yourselves

as well

because we

here together

did I

think before

I left

home

before I

left my

house to

come to

this service

did I

think even

briefly of

what it would

be like to

meet with

others and

those who

are going

to be

meeting with

me

did I

come into

this building

tonight and

take my

place wherever

I'm seated

and was one

of the first

things I did

look around

me and see

who else is

here how can

I pray for

them what's

my responsibility

for them to

ask that they

too will be

blessed or did

I just think

of myself or

did I just to

come in and

just start talking

about the things

of the day

and here he is

saying let us

consider one

another let's

make it a

practice when

we come through

these doors to

worship the

Lord together

that we give

due prayerful

attention to

each other

as you look

around you and

you see people

and you know

that they have

different needs

maybe somebody

is recently

bereaved

maybe somebody

is going

through some

very difficult

challenges in

life that you

know are

already made

public

maybe somebody

you know has

a difficulty in

their family that

they are wrestling

with and that has

become known

it is not

something to be

ashamed of

but as you

sit there and

as you see

such people

around you

and me too

let's consider

one another

so as to

stir up you

see he's

saying to

love and

to good

works

and that's

tied up with

what he said

here encouraging

one another

not neglecting

to meet

together as

is the habit

of some

but encouraging

one another

and all the

more as you

see the day

approaching

as we said

at the beginning

here the two

sides are the

same issue

the same

coin if you

like

instead of

neglecting to

meet together

we are actually

meeting together

so as to

encourage one

another

so as to

give consideration

to one another

in order that

we will have

our own lives

as we pray

for one another

and consider

one another

so that we

will actually

be stirred up

by that

to love

and to good

works

a wonderful

thing isn't

it when

when you think

of how

love for God

and love

for God's

people

and love

for God's

church

brings us

and persuades

us and

constrains us

to come

together

and worship

then you

find the

cycle going

around the

other direction

if you like

that gathering

together

actually adds

to your love

for one another

and for God

it's a complete

cycle

love brings you

to be with

others who are

worshipping

and being with

others who are

worshipping

increases your

own love

and your appetite

for them

let's consider

one another

not neglecting

to do this

as he says

is the habit

of some

even in his

day

during this

early time

in the church

at the time

even of the

apostles

he was already

aware that

some people

were making

a habit

of not

gathering

with the

others who

came to

worship

not neglecting

to meet

together

as is

the habit

of some

I'm sure

it was

in some ways

understandable

because these

Hebrews were

obviously

suffering for

their faith

and they were

going through

some very

testing times

and you'll

find here

in the likes

of this

chapter itself

at verses

32 there

to 39

where he says

recall the

former days

when after

you were

enlightened

you endured

a hard

struggle

with sufferings

sometimes

being publicly

exposed to

reproach

and affliction

and so on

and he's

saying

recall these

things

go back

in your

mind

and think

well this

is really

the life

that I

entered

on willingly

so why

should I

think

differently

now

he's

saying

don't

neglect

don't let

us neglect

gathering

together

but it

may very

well be

that it

wasn't

it certainly

isn't the

case in

our day

and in

our context

that you

have

persecution

in the way

you have

it in

other parts

of the

world

and in

the way

you find

it described

in some

of these

New Testament

letters

it's not

however

difficult it

may be