Why Do We... Gather on Sundays?

Today's passage is from Hebrews 10. Starting in verse 19, we read,

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 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.

And 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 the day drawing near.

This is the word of God.

Thank you. Amen.

Thank you so much, David. That's great.

Welcome. Good morning.

Okay, that's passable.

Good morning. My name is Chris.

If you don't know me, I'm actually super excited to just be back gathering physically.

Obviously, many of you know that we're going to be leaving in about a month or so time,

so we were...

I am so excited that we can actually be here physically to see each other,

even to say goodbye in the next month.

But this morning, we are actually going to get into God's word,

into what is actually an amazing passage.

But I would love us to pray together as we come and really get into God's word.

Father, just thank you for the incredible privilege that we can be your people here gathered this morning.

Thank you.

Whether we're here or whether we're watching online, Lord,

I just thank you that you have drawn us to yourself.

We didn't come because we were great.

We didn't come because we somehow earned the right to be here.

We came only because of a pure gift of grace.

And I pray that you would just speak to our hearts this morning.

I pray that you'd encourage us this morning.

I pray that you teach us how to be your people,

how to worship you,

how to have our lives centered entirely on you.

And I pray, Lord,

even in the midst of all the different challenges and changes

and things that are going on in our city and our world,

Lord, I pray that you just give us such a big vision of who you are,

that we have a heart that is at rest in you,

that we have a heart that knows that he who has promised is faithful to us

and you are trustworthy.

So open our ears to hear your voice, we pray.

In Jesus' name, amen.

When I was about 19 years old,

I went through a period of about three months

where every time I came to church,

every sermon I listened to,

I fell asleep in.

And it got so bad that I remember one particular time

that I was,

you know, it's halfway through the sermon,

like some of you may be even right now,

and suddenly, you know,

you feel the heaviness come on, right?

And you start kind of nodding.

I think in Cantonese you say,

do you?

Don't you?

Like fishing.

You go fishing, right?

You start nodding.

And sitting next to me

was this very, very proper English lady.

She was very proper.

And I could feel,

and I was fighting, okay?

But I was losing.

And I could feel myself,

and I was leaning over,

and you know when you are very relaxed,

you can start to drool and dribble.

And so I was leaning over,

and suddenly I woke up,

and I was almost in her lap,

like this.

And I wanted the whole ground to swallow me up,

and I went back up.

And the amazing thing was,

this lady next to me,

she was the epitome of properness.

She was like,

keep calm and carry on.

She didn't even blink an eye.

But from that moment on,

I never slept in another sermon.

Now, why do I tell you this?

I tell you this because I,

as I look back,

I was going to church regularly.

I had a habit of going to church.

Even if it made me fall asleep,

I still went.

But actually,

habits,

though they are important,

in fact,

though that the spiritual life

is actually shaped by forming godly habits,

they're essential to us,

the thing with habits that can be a problem

is sometimes you can forget

the why behind the what.

You can forget the very reason

that you're coming.

You can actually lose your why,

and if you lose your why,

you'll become dry,

and maybe you'll end up falling asleep,

whether physically or actually spiritually.

And sometimes we miss the life

out of things that we do regularly

because they've become ritual,

and we need to recover the why

so that these things

which are supposed to bring us life

do bring us life,

as they're called to.

And so we're going through a series

over the next four weeks

just looking at some of the fundamentals

of what we do as a church

and why we do them.

And today,

I'm just going to start

by looking at a question

that in one sense

should be a no-brainer.

It's the question of

why do we gather on Sundays?

And as I've been looking at this,

this has actually been very,

like, just encouraging

and challenging to my own heart

through this.

And actually,

we planned this series

long before we actually

got to meet physically.

So actually,

I'm super excited

that we can talk about this today.

So why do we gather on Sundays?

Well, in brief,

I want to say

because there's a war on.

There's a war for your heart

and for who you worship.

There's a war for whose voice

will be loudest in your ears.

There's a war for which community

will be your primary place

of belonging.

And that can either be Christ

or it can be something else out there,

but there's a war on.

And the book of Hebrews

is written to a group of Christians,

Jewish Christians,

Christians,

who their wider community

around them

was pressuring them

to go back

to the values

and the practices of Judaism

to leave Jesus behind.

And many were giving in

to the pressure.

And so they were going

to the synagogue

on the Saturday,

but then they would skip worship

with the Christian church

together on the Sunday

because there was just

too much at stake for them.

And you know,

sometimes we can have

similar pressures on us

in our performance-driven,

consumeristic,

self-focused world.

There is pressures

on our hearts

every single day

and throughout our week.

And Hebrews

is coming to tell

his readers

and to talk to us,

he's saying,

Jesus is better

than everything else

out there.

Jesus is better

than the Jewish system,

the priest,

the temple,

everything there.

Jesus is the one

who's really going

to give you

what your heart

is longing for.

It's the fulfillment

of everything

that is out there

and people are longing for.

And one important part

of fighting this battle

for your heart

is gathering together

regularly

as a church.

And so I'm going to

just look at this topic

and we're going to go

through the passage

so I have it open

in front of you

in just two points.

First one,

since in Jesus.

And the second one,

let us.

Okay?

We'll unpack those

so you have an idea

of what that's talking about.

But since and let us.

Okay?

So,

let me start off

in verse 19.

It says,

Therefore,

brothers and sisters,

since we have confidence

to enter the holy places

by the blood of Jesus,

by the new and living world,

that he opened for us

through the curtain,

that is his flesh.

And since we have

a great high priest

over the house of God.

And I'm going to stop there.

This is an amazing verse.

In fact,

it's kind of recapping

and picking up

on something

the author has been saying

for over ten chapters.

And the last six,

he's gone through

the entire Jewish system

of worship.

And the system of worship

right at the center

was the temple.

The temple,

which was,

and the representative,

and the place

that was at the center

of the temple

was the holy of holies.

The place where God's presence

was said to dwell.

Where heaven came down

to earth.

And there was this incredible

heavenly hotspot

of God's presence.

And he,

as the creator

of all things,

is the source of life

for his people.

And his presence

is where life is found.

But security was tight

to get in.

You see,

it was reserved,

access was reserved

only for those

who reflected God's beauty

and God's glory

and God's purity

who were perfect

and holy themselves.

Because you don't allow

muddy shoes

on a pristine white carpet.

And you don't allow

muddy sinners

into the presence

of a gloriously pure

and holy God.

And you would die

if you did.

And to prevent that

from happening,

there was a huge curtain

which would separate people

with two angelic bouncers

on it.

They would prevent

anybody else

from entering

into this

holy of holies.

only one person,

the high priest,

once a year

could enter

only after

he's purified himself

through offering

sacrifices

for his own sin,

sprinkling the blood

on his clothes

as a sign of cleansing

and washing himself

completely

to make him pure.

Only then

he could walk in

with an offering,

a sacrifice,

a substitution

for the people's sin

which was offered

on the altar

so that the forgiveness

of God,

the life of God

could come and flow

to his people again.

And they'd repeat this

every single year

because it was just

a temporary system.

Because none of us

are worthy

to have access

into the presence

of God

by ourselves.

None of us.

because you know,

about a month

or so ago

I received

an invitation.

It was an invitation

to meet with

the British Prime Minister

Boris Johnson

and some other

politicians,

MPs,

in the Houses

of Parliament

in London

at the annual

prayer breakfast

there.

And as I got

this invitation

I felt some kind

of a little bit

of nervous

like excitement.

You know,

I'm kind of trying

to keep it calm

because I'm British.

But I'm kind of,

you know,

what a privilege

to be in the presence

of like important

famous people.

Because I'm like

a nobody, right?

I'm just,

you know,

Chris.

But there's one condition

for this.

I can only go

into this place

if my future MP,

my future politician

goes with me

or I go with her.

She's my access

to get into

Boris' presence.

And by the way,

she hasn't replied

to any of my emails

because I think

she's too busy

or disinterested

so I don't even know

where I'm going to go.

But Hebrews

has been saying

to us

and is saying

in this verse,

we have one

who isn't too busy

for us,

is not disinterested

in us.

We have one

who the most sinful,

the most shameful,

the most unworthy

people,

through him

have access

into the presence

of one

who is far more important,

far more influential,

far more powerful

than any politician,

than any prime minister

or presence.

We have access

through Jesus

into the presence

of the very source

of your life

and breath right now,

the one who holds

the entire universe

in his hands,

God himself.

And he says,

Jesus came

as our perfect,

sinless,

great high priest

and he became

our sacrifice.

He died our death

and it says

through Jesus' blood,

his blood

was sprinkled

on our hearts

to cleanse us,

all those

who put your faith

in him,

to cleanse us

from every sin,

to cleanse us

from every stain,

to cleanse us

from everything

which might come

between you and God.

He's removed

every barrier.

We're counted

righteous in Christ

before him.

We can enter

through every layer

of security

but only if we're

with Jesus,

only if he's

our Lord and Savior.

He is the access place

which he's opened

the door,

he's opened the curtain

into this holy place

of the King of Kings.

His sacrifice

is enough

for the Father

to declare

anyone who comes

to him welcome.

Anyone.

You know,

when Jesus died,

that curtain

in the temple

tore from top

to bottom.

It didn't tear

if I can speak,

tear from bottom

to top

because it was

God's initiative

to break the curtain

because we could

never do it.

He moved

towards us

because his heart

is for us

and he wants

to draw us

into a relationship

of intimacy

in his presence

together with him.

Which means,

this verse says,

since we have

confidence,

we can come

confidently

into the holy place.

That means there's

no hoops

to jump through.

There's no trying

to sell yourself

with God.

There's no trying

to clean yourself

up before you

come before him

because you cannot

do it enough.

Jesus has done

it all for you.

You come confidently

into the most

holy place.

But then he also

says here

in this verse,

we come

not just as

individuals

into the presence

of God,

we also come

as a new family

into the presence

of God.

Do you notice

he says here,

he says,

therefore brothers,

and he says,

we have confidence

into the holy place

through the curtain.

And then he says,

since we have

a great high priest

over the house

of God.

Do you know

what the word

house means?

The house

is basically

the household.

It's actually

temple language.

It's his church.

It's his people.

We have one

who didn't just

come to bring us

into his presence

as individuals,

but he died

so that we had

come to God

not as guests

but as family.

together

as his family.

And so the fruit

of the gospel message

is always

the creation

of worshiping

communities

who enjoy

the presence

of God together

and can call

one another

brothers and sisters

because of him.

We come

since

Jesus has done

it all

because of the

gospel message

we've gone

from unworthy

outsiders

to family members

welcomed into

intimate fellowship

with the king

of kings

through Jesus

sacrifice

and therefore

the author

of Hebrews

says

since that

is the case

that is the reality

then he comes

and says

let us

not lettuce

let us

let us

and there are

three lettuces

here

in this passage

he says

firstly

let us

worship God

together

he says

let us

draw near

with a true

heart

in full

assurance

of faith

with our

hearts

sprinkled

clean

from an

evil

conscience

and our

bodies

washed

with pure

water

now this

is taking

a lot of

Old Testament

language

that Jewish

language

but the

word for

draw near

is the

word for

worshippers

who came

into the

temple

to offer

a sacrifice

of worship

to God

you know

we gather

on Sundays

to worship

God

we come

with sacrifices

not to earn

God's approval

not sacrifices

of trying to do

enough

no sacrifices

of thanksgiving

and praise

for all that

he has done

you see

that doesn't

just mean

that we sing

songs

although it

includes that

it means

that entire

worship

is

and we give

worth

to God

worship means

to give worth

to

we give worth

to God

we center

our lives

and everything

we do

on him

and the

Sunday

sermon

encourages

us

to reorient

our lives

back to him

that's actually

why we have

the call

to worship

together

to call

us

back

to reorient

our lives

to him

and we do

it together

but I don't

know why

did you come

this morning

that's a good

question

I've been

asking myself

that

you know

they did

a little

survey

in the

US

some pure

research

and they found

that three

of the four

top reasons

for Christians

in the US

going to church

were these

one to provide

a moral foundation

for my kids

two to become

a better person

three for comfort

in times of trouble

those aren't bad

reasons

many of us

might like to add

to that because

we like the community

or because we like

the preaching

or because we like

the music

all of those things

are legitimate

in some way

but if that's

your main reason

for coming

do you see

the focus

is on

me

which is

what I call

food panda

church

or delivery

church

I don't want

to be kind

of

I'm not

selling

something

here

food panda

church

is convenient

for me

you order

what you want

you know

I expect

a good music

delivery

good sermon

delivery

and if the

order's right

and it comes

to my door

and it's fine

then we're

happy

and if not

then we complain

and go

oh the sermon

was boring

this morning

or whatever

it was

or we church

hop to different

places to try

and get what

we want

but the Hebrews

is saying

church isn't

about you

church isn't

about you

you're invited

into the presence

of a holy

god

imagine just

kind of

going up to

like the

I don't know

the queen

or whoever

and you're

kind of going

oh it's all

about me

everyone's going

to look at

you and go

I think

you've lost

like perspective

because we

come

we're invited

into his

presence

to worship

the god

of the whole

universe

to encounter

him

the living

god

and when we

do that

it lifts

our eyes

off to

ourselves

and actually

we find

that actually

he blesses

us and brings

us the life

that we actually

really want

when our focus

is on him

not on us

and so we

come to

worship him

on a Sunday

how do we

come he says

this he says

with a true

heart

do you know

what a true

heart is

a true heart

is one that

isn't just

going through

the motions

a true heart

isn't just

turning up

like I used

to because

that's what

you do

a true heart

doesn't come

casually

either into

the presence

of god

you know

in the past

people used

to come to

church in

suits and

ties

you know

some people

still do

nowadays

we all

kind of

come in

shorts and

flip flops

and all that

kind of

stuff

now I

don't think

I think

god cares

very little

about your

clothing

in so much

he cares

far more

about your

heart

than your

clothing

right

so don't

kind of

start looking

around

but actually

I think

some of us

we can

come to

church

in

shorts

and flip

flops

in our

hearts

right

we come

30 minutes

late

we kind

of casually

walk in

with our

starbucks

in hand

hoping to

hear a

nice

inspiring

message

and then

we try

and get

out

before the

music

is like

the last

song

so we

can get

to the

car parking

space

because we

get out

with our

car park

because we've

got a

lunch

appointment

now is

that about

the worship

of god

or is

that about

us

we come

with a

true

heart

or maybe

we come

and you

know

and I've

done this

before

you know

you just

had a

big

argument

with your

wife

or your

spouse

or your

parents

or you've

got just

resentment

you've got

stuff that's

going on

in your

heart

and we

come in

and then

we raise

our hands

Jesus I

love you

and God

looks at us

and he says

don't you

realize

I've done

everything

that you

need to

cleanse

you

so you

don't

have to

put on

this show

for me

I hate

that

I want

you to

come with

a true

heart

and you

know

only sinners

are invited

do you

know that

only sinners

like you

and me

are invited

so that

means

before you

come

maybe you

do it

in the

car

maybe you

do it

on the

bus

maybe you

do it

as you

are

walking

down

the

slope

in

Ebeneza

take a

trigger

for you

every

Sunday

to prepare

your heart

and go

God

search my

heart

I want

to come

with a

true

heart

for you

this

morning

and then

pray

God

I want

to meet

with you

this

morning

I want

to worship

you

I want

it to be

about you

not about

me

and if we

do that

the author

says

you come

not just

with a

true

heart

but we

come

with full

assurance

of faith

because you

know out

there you've

always got to

prove yourself

you've always

got to

and you know

you never

fully measure

up so you've

always got to

keep up your

appearances

you've always

got to look

because everything's

fine

because a

performance

driven world

says come

when you're

doing well

come when

you're doing

okay

but in

Jesus church

it's messy

people whose

kids aren't

always well

behaved

who sometimes

feel depressed

who are

sometimes hurting

who are

sometimes grieving

who sometimes

don't even

feel that

that like

coming to

church on

a Sunday

very much

but in

Christ

no matter

what week

you've had

no matter

how you've

messed up

we can

come

not

fearfully

not

casually

but

confidently

because we

know we

don't come

because we

performed well

this week

we come

because Jesus

has done

everything for us

to gain access

into his presence

we come

because he

died so a

sinner like me

and like you

could be washed

and cleansed

and our hearts

sprinkled from that

evil conscience

so that we can

be the one place

in this city

where we can

stop pretending

because he

is the one

place in this

city where

there is

confidence

to come

no matter

where you

are

and so

when someone

comes and

says how

are you doing

this morning

do you know

it's okay to

say not

great

because actually

that place

we draw

near

you know

and we can

pray for each

other

encourage

each other

but that

place where

we draw

near it's

because of

him

and what

he's done

it's not

because of

how great

we are

or how well

we're doing

but no matter

how well

and if some

of you are

struggling

right now

I know

the temptation

is not to

come

because you

just feel

like

oh

but actually

here is the

one place

you need

to be

because it's

the one

place where

the grace

of God

wants to

come to

you

we come

with true

hearts

and full

assurance of

faith

with him

at the

center

to worship

him

let's draw

near

firstly

secondly

let us

hold on

to the

word of

God

and let

it wash

us

with the

word of

God

he says

let us

hold fast

the confession

of our

hope

without

wavering

for he

who promised

is faithful

he's saying

to the

Jewish

and the

Hebrew

Christians

who attempted

to go back

just to

orthodox

Judaism

he's saying

to them

hold fast

cling to

the doctrines

cling to

the gospel

message

the teaching

that you

heard

cling to

who Jesus

is

and what

his word

tells you

he is

that he's

saying

don't be

I think

there's a

Cantonese

phrase

which is

like one

foot on

two boats

which is

like wavering

between two

lovers

between the

world out

there and

Christ

don't be

like that

he says

because throughout

the week

you know

your heart

you're being

preached at

constantly

do you know

that

every day

you're getting

a sermon

like a hundred

sermons

you're being

given

GPS directions

for how to

steer your

life

you've been

told put

yourself first

or you'll

miss out

work harder

or you'll

get left

behind

listen to

your feelings

take control

of your

life

you be

you

and your

heart gets

captured

by that

performance

oriented

self focused

society

around

and on

Sundays

we gather

back together

as the

family of

God

to listen

to God's

word

to have

our

hearts

rewashed

in the

love

and the

grace

and the

call of

Jesus

on our

lives

again

so his

voice is

big in

our ears

and his

love is

big in

our hearts

so that we

can go out

whatever

circumstances

you're going

through right

now

knowing that

he who

promised

is what

faithful

you can

trust

him

because

every

other

GPS

in your

life

will

lead

to

a

dead

end

but

his

word

in your

life

is a

faithful

word

of

promise

which

will

be

that

ultimate

true

trustworthy

GPS

that will

always

get you

to your

destination

the

destination

of life

the

destination

of

blessing

the

destination

of

who

we

were

always

meant

to

be

in

him

that's

why

we

gather

to

have

his

word

shape

our

hearts

so

that

we

can

hold

fast

on

it

throughout

our

weeks

and

trust

him

now

by the

way

let me

just

kind of

speak

into

this

for a

second

you

can

hear

the

word

of

God

online

right

nowadays

there

is

a

thousand

amazing

preachers

you

can

listen

to

the

best

in

the

world

out

there

you

don't

have

to

come

into

water

mark

and

get

the

B

grade

you

can

go

out

and

watch

everything

online

but

there

is

a

community

of

holding

fast

together

to

God's

word

which

means

that

the

word

of

God

will

always

do

you

good

wherever

it's

preached

but

there

is

something

in

the

word

of

God

coming

to

us

in

this

season

in

this

time

to

this

group

of

people

in

this

place

which

is

culture

shaping

which

is

shaping

this

community

so

together

we

hold

fast

to

his

word

so

don't

substitute

you know

listen to

other sermons

praise

God

but don't

substitute

that

for actually

the word

of God

coming

together

to us

as a

community

let

let us

draw

near

to

worship

God

in

the

light

of

who

Christ

is

let

us

hold

fast

to

his

word

and

be

washed

in

his

word

and

then

thirdly

let

us

encourage

one

another

and

I love

this

part

he

says

in

the

light

of

who

Jesus

is

as

our

great

high

priest

and

we

are

his

family

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

so

as

you

see

the

day

approaching

you

know

Jesus

died

to

break

down

the

vertical

barriers

between

us

and

God

and

the

horizontal

barriers

between

each

other

so

the

church

is

meant

to

be

the

one

place

where

the

grace

of

God

is

displayed

by

drawing

together

a

random

bunch

of

motley

people

who

would

never

be

in

the

same

room

together

normally

if it

wasn't

for

Jesus

to

draw

them

into

the

same

room

together

so

that

we

learn

how

to

love

one

another

you

know

the

world

out

there

tells

you

to

focus

on

yourself

think

food

panda

church

can

become

where

the

world

has

got

into

the

church

and

into

our

hearts

and

we

can

be

tempted

to

go

through

some

of

these

thought

processes

let me

give you

a few

you

can

be

tempted

to

go

hey

let me

when I

come

on

Sunday

let me

just

kind

of

sit

next

to

my

friends

talk

to

those

I

know

I'm

an

introvert

I've

had

a

hard

week