“Come,
Meet with Him”
[Hebrews
10:19-25]
December
20, 2020 YouTube
The hymn, “O Come All Ye Faithful” begins
“O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant
“O
come ye, o come ye to Bethlehem
“O
come and behold Him, born the King of Angels
“O come, let us adore Him
“O
come, let us adore Him
“O
come, let us adore Him
“Christ
the Lord”
This
is now the fourth Sunday of Advent – we have almost concluded the period of
waiting before the celebratory remembrance of the Incarnation of God in the
person of Jesus – the little baby born to the Virgin Mary.
This
Sunday or next Sunday – maybe Christmas Eve – we will see people we haven’t
seen all year – unless they felt guilty during Easter – or had the money to
dress the kids up. Now, that’s not being
cynical – the vast majority of people who call themselves Christians – at least
in this area of the world – do not attend worship in the Church with other
Christians on any regular basis.
“Come
and worship, come and worship” – yes, Christmas is a special day in the
liturgical year. Is the lack of
commitment due to the stress that is put on the fact that we can speak to God –
pray to God – anywhere that we are? Is it because many churches don’t preach
the Bible anymore – and offer up poor imitations of entertainment that people
get sick of in favor of better options?
It’s
interesting that one of the Lectionary readings for today is this text from
Hebrews. R. C. Sproul one asked a group
of teens if there is a command in the Bible about being in worship with other
Christians. This text, he said, is that
command.
We
see first, Jesus entered the Holy of Holies.
“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,”
Just
prior to our text, the author of Hebrews explains that in Jesus’ life and
death, He fulfills the role of High Priest and the role of blood sacrifice on
our behalf. Whereas the Law commands
blood sacrifices to be offered up continually for the sins of the people, and
whereas the High Priest administered over the blood sacrifices and entered the
Holy of Holies in the Temple just once a year to make atonement for the people
of God, Jesus has opened the Holy of Holies permanently for all those who will
believe. Through His blood – the Holy of
Holies has been thrown open and we can confidently enter and not fear death,
because we come through the blood of Jesus – by His sacrifice – we can enter
the Holy of Holies and come before God and ask Him through Jesus – directly –
to forgive us for our sins.
There
was an enormous, heavy curtain that separated the Holy of Holies – which contained
the Ark of the Covenant – from the rest of the Temple – and the High Priest
entered once a year. But when Jesus bled
out and breathed His last, we read:
“And
Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.
“And
behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the
earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many
bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the
tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many”
(Matthew 27:50-53, ESV).
For
the first time ever – by the shedding of Jesus’ blood – the Holy of Holies was
open to all who believed – all could confidently – safely – come into the
presence of God.
Since
Jesus entered the Holy of Holies through His blood – the opening of the veil of
His flesh – we can come before the Father with confidence – Jesus is the
Sacrifice for our sins and the High Priest Who offers Himself up.
Jesus
says, “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have
authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge
I have received from my Father” (John 10:18, ESV).
We
have the gift – the privilege – that believers did not have for four thousand
years – through Jesus offering Himself up on our behalf, we can come into the
very presence of God and worship.
Second,
we are to draw near to God in worship.
“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.”
When
we draw near to God in worship, we do so with full assurance in Jesus and His
work for our salvation because our hearts have been cleansed, and our bodies
have been washed.
After
the priests offered up the blood sacrifices in the Temple, they were covered
with blood. There was a huge vessel that
sat in the air in the Temple called “the sea” that was filled with water, and
it could be opened so it functioned like a shower for the priests. All the defilement that was on their bodies
was washed away.
These
external rites have been replaced with a true change of heart – symbolically,
our hearts are washed clean of our inclination to sin, and our sins are
forgiven in Christ.
Our
bodies are washed with the pure water of baptism. Christ washes all who are baptized, and that
baptism is sealed by God the Holy Spirit in the public confession of faith.
The
language of these two can be found in Ezekiel’s prophecy of the coming and
indwelling of God the Holy Spirit in all those who will believe in the Savior:
“I
will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your
uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you
a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the
heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my
Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey
my rules” (Ezekiel 36:25-27, ESV).
Since
God the Holy Spirit indwells each believer and enables us to live according to
the Word of God, Paul writes, “Since we have these promises, beloved, let us
cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness
to completion in the fear of God (2 Corinthians 7:1, ESV).
Through
Christ’s work, we are able to come into the presence of God to worship, and we
are to come into the presence of God to worship. Coming into God’s Presence is not an option –
it is a command and a privileged.
Since
we can enter the very presence of God and we are commanded to come into the
very presence of God, how ought this to look? What ought we to do and
understand?
Third,
we are to come and worship Him together.
“Let
us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised
is faithful.”
When
we come together for worship, we are to hold our common confession of Jesus as
God and Savior – and we hold that confession with hope – believing it is true
and assured – not because we hold it, but because Jesus is faithful and can’t
not be faithful.
The
truth of the Gospel – the salvation that Jesus provides for all we who believe
– is our confession. It is true and we
have hope in it – we have a sure confidence in it and all it promises and means
to us – because Jesus cannot lie and will always accomplish and do what He has
promised.
So,
we gather together to confess together that joy and assurance we have in our
Savior because He is God. There is not
the slightest inclination to wavering in our confession because, if Jesus is
God, there is nothing more to say. God
cannot lie. God cannot fail. Everything God promises will come to pass.
“And
let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,”
Since
we come together and profess the same confession based on Jesus being God our Savior,
when we gather together for worship, through our words and actions, we are to
do two things:
We
are to stir each other up in love of one another – if we have been made
brothers and sisters of Jesus together – saved by Him and for Him – in the love
of God, there is no doubt that we ought to love one another.
Jesus
says, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I
have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know
that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35, ESV).
As
brothers and sisters in Christ we are to love each other with the same
sacrificial love that Jesus loves us and gave Himself up for us. This is the perfection of the command to love
our neighbor as ourselves – all the more obvious and necessary due to our union
in Christ.
The
other thing is we are to stir each other up to good works.
Paul
writes, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,
which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10, ESV).
We
were created by God in Christ Jesus for good works that God ordained that we
would do empowered by God the Holy Spirit that we would be able to do them – to
His Glory – in a world full of sin – and we are to gather together to encourage
each other to continue to do those good works – not matter how difficult or
frustrating or hopeless it may seem at times.
Christ is Victorious, He loves us, and we show our love for Him through
our obedience.
“not
neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some,”
The
author of Hebrews then commands Christians not to neglect to meet
together. Don’t not meet together. You must meet together as Christians. Being a Christian is not something you do all
alone like the Lone Ranger. Being a
Christian is something that is done in community – gathered together for
worship.
That
does not mean that we can never be alone of worship alone. It does mean that we ought to normally,
regularly be in worship with other Christians – and with other Christians who
are not just like us.
The
word that is used here is “episynagogue” which means “assemble together” and in
the context refers to Jewish and Greek believers.
So,
make sure you meet together in a group fo worship – and don’t separate yourself
by social identity or identities of heritage.
Christians ought to regularly worship together and it should be normal
for Christians to worship regularly together with people who are not like each
other. Christianity – Christ and His
work in us – overcomes all differences of birth and society.
It
is monstrous, then, to build a church just for white people, or just for Republicans,
or just for children of single parents – and so forth. The Christian Church is open to all believers
no matter what. Things that could divide
us in one way or another must take backseat to our worship together as brothers
and sisters – the flock of our Shepherd, Jesus Christ.
And
He says, “And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them
also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one
shepherd” (John 10:16, ESV).
“but
encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”
Another
reason we gather together in worship is to encourage one another in the faith,
in living under persecution, in our joys and sorrows, and to build each other
up by confessing that we all believe the same things about Jesus and our salvation.
It
is encouraging, is it not, when you say you believe and another person says, “I
believe that too!” It’s encouraging when
someone says he or she is here for you – will cry with you – will celebrate
with you – will protect you – will stand with you for Christ against the evil
one.
It’s
encouraging when we come together as the Church – with other Christians –
knowing that Jesus is coming back soon.
The world will not be like this forever.
Paul tells us that our suffering now will be forgotten as we enter the
glory of the Kingdom. We need to be with
each other, meeting with our God and Savior, to help us stand for Him in this
world – in this life.
“So,
are you saying we should break the Covid rules?”
No. No more than saying that we should gather
with others for worship when we have the flu.
There are exceptional circumstances.
What
we are being told is that whenever it is possible, as much as it is possible,
we are to gather together with fellow Christians, meeting with our God and
Savior in worship. We are not to stay
home and not meet with Him if there is no good reason for us to stay home.
“Come
and worship, come and worship” – now and always – come and worship our God and
Savior.
Let
us pray:
Almighty
God, we thank You for sending Jesus for our salvation and for opening the Holy
of Holies and making us able to come before You. We thank You for giving us other Christians
that we can gather with – especially in a country like the United States where
we have a great deal of religious freedom.
Help us not to take that freedom for granted. Help us have a right perspective about
worship and the importance of our gathering together. Forgive us for our excuses, and make us
passionate about gathering as Your Church, meeting with You, loving each other,
and working together for the Gospel. In
Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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