Stir Up One Another

Introduction

Well, this is a day we’ve been looking forward to here at South Bumby. Uh this is our uh spring gospel meeting. Uh we’re always excited about the opportunity to have these special times to focus on a particular subject or topic and uh study, but it’s also always a time for us to uh meet and in some cases, but also to uh fellowship and get to know uh evangelists from other places. In this case, Brother Creel is not a stranger to us, and so uh we are especially happy that he’s here. Uh it’s a chance for us to renew our and uh catch up on some time and stories and uh just uh enjoy his company, but also Brother Creel is an outstanding gospel preacher in his own right, and so we are glad that that he is with us.

Beyond the you know, I guess sort of the social aspect of uh being able to see and visit with uh Josh and Janna and their boys again. It’s also of course a time, as I mentioned at the beginning, for us to study a particular topic. In this case, of course, it’s about being devoted to one another. And these are timely lessons for us. Uh they are timely because of the the times in which we live in, and Brother Creel has already alluded to that in his uh previous lessons this morning. It’s also very appropriate for us here at South Bumby because these lessons can certainly benefit us and encourage us as we think about and work in our own congregational theme this year to stand firm and take action.

So we’re glad Brother Creel is here. For those of you who may not know, Brother Creel spent a good number of years uh working with us here as an evangelist in this congregation. Uh he came to us as a a young man just starting out in uh evangelism to which he was fully committed and dedicated. And he came here to work hard, which he did. He came here to grow, which he did. And of course, he had the opportunity to work under uh and with Brother Harkwriter, and I think he would tell you he greatly benefited from that. He also, as he uh got a little older here and and and matured in that role, he even got to a point where he spent a little time mentoring Gregory, and I know Gregory benefited greatly from spending that time with Josh.

But we also knew, of course, that the time would come when Josh would want to leave us or need to leave us as the case might be. And I know that was a difficult decision for him, and he has talked openly about that. We loved him, but we knew it was time, and he knew it was time, and so he went to uh and now works over at the uh University Church in Tampa, and we understand that work is going well, and we commend Josh for the the job that he’s doing there. I could and was thinking about a lot of stories that I could tell you about Josh, and some of them are good, but I just but I decided to let that go in the interest of giving Josh the time that that he uh wants and needs.

So I just encourage you at this time to uh prepare yourselves. You know, let’s uh let’s let’s meditate and let’s listen with open hearts and minds, not just to the lesson coming up right now, but the next three nights as well. Josh has put a lot of thought and time into this. He has communicated with our evangelists here and with the elders in preparation. And so we all can benefit greatly if we approach this in the right way. So, without anything else, Josh Creel. While Ralph was talking, and you could have gone longer if you wanted to. I’ve got the lung capacity of a two-year-old right now, I think. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t fully paying attention. I was kind of looking at my notes and making sure that I had the third lesson in my head to some degree.

So I heard something about telling stories. Are you wanting me to tell stories? Or do we all remember that those never went very well whenever I tried in the 10 years that I was with you? And uh there was a lot of crickets chirping every time I tried to do one of this. So we’ll just not do that. I asked you to turn in your Bibles this morning to Hebrews, the 10th chapter.

Hebrews the 10th chapter. It happens probably in every family that there is some point in which you are making your way to services, and the children in the back seat raise this question. Why are we going back? For us at university, we we have that five o’clock evening service, so it may be after we’ve already spent so much of the morning uh worshiping God, being in Bible study, and then we went back home for a little while, and and now we’re in the car heading back to church. Well, why are we going back? Or maybe it’s a Wednesday night and the kids still remember, wait, we were just at church a couple of days ago, or maybe it’s even looking at it from a weekly standpoint.

Well, why are we going this week? We went last week. We went the week before. Why are we always going back? And the easy thing to say is, well, because God said we’re supposed to. You know, we might even try it out Hebrews 10, 24, and 25. And we’re not supposed to forsake the assembly. That’s the reason given oftentimes when we have a discussion with someone. Or maybe we even try to express some concern over someone not attending. Well, don’t you know that God says you should be there? It even says so in the Word of God. Now, I’m not denying that God says we should be there. But I do think when we look at a passage like Hebrews 10, 25, it’s a little more complicated.

1. The Greatness and Superiority of Christ

A little deeper that God is asking us to go there than to simply say, well, it’s a sin if you miss church. God didn’t exactly term it that way. And I don’t think that’s how he wants us looking at it. We’ll come back to that in just a moment. In the book of Hebrews, the writer has gone to great lengths to emphasize the greatness and superiority of Christ throughout his letter. He emphasized in the first chapter in the first three verses that now Christ is God’s spokesman in these last days. That being God’s son, he is greater than the angels in chapter 1, verses 4 through 14. That God, Christ now is our merciful high priest, able to make propitiation for our sins, chapter 2, verses 14 through 18.

And he is worthy of more glory than even Moses, chapter 3, verses 1 through 6. That he has become the author of eternal salvation to all who obey him in chapter 5. In chapter 7, that he is able to save to the uttermost and always makes intercession. Coming to the eighth chapter, what is in focus now is the greatness of Christ, the superiority of Christ, and in particular relationship to the new covenant which he ushered in. Verse 1 beginning. Now the main point in what has been said is this.

A minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched, not man. For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. So it is necessary that this high priest also have something to offer. Now, if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are those who offer the gifts according to the law, who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, just as Moses warned by God when he was about to erect the tabernacle. For, see, he says, that you make all things according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain. But now he has obtained a more excellent ministry, by as much as he is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises.

Jesus, who is a superior high priest than any high priest that God’s people had had under the law, is now also the mediator of a greater covenant, a better covenant, if enacted on better promises. And that chief promise being, of course, that under this covenant, sins are truly forgiven. For verse 7, if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion or sought for a second. But finding fault with them, he says, Behold, days are coming, says the Lord. When I will effect a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt.

For they did not continue in my covenant, and I did not care for them, says the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel. After those days, says the Lord, I’ll put my laws into their minds, and I’ll write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they’ll no longer teach everyone his fellow citizen and everyone his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for all will know me, and the least to the greatest of them. For I’ll be merciful to their iniquities, and I’ll remember their sins no more. In the ninth chapter, we read and discover in verses 15 through 17, that this new and better and greater covenant could have only come into effect after the death of Jesus.

And still on the theme of death, when you come to the tenth chapter, you now see the surpassing greatness of this new covenant. And that while under the covenant that God had with Israel in the Old Testament, many sacrifices, that there’s a reason why they must perpetually be made. When Jesus came, verse 5. When he comes into the world, he says, Sacrifice and offering, you have not desired, but a body you have prepared for me. And whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sins you have taken no pleasure. Then I said, Behold, I have come to do your will, O God. The point being made about the Messiah is he did not come to offer an abundance of sacrifices. He came to do the will of his Father.

And in doing the will of the Father perfectly and completely what he did was he offered a sacrifice once for all. Every priest, verse 11, stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which you can never take away sins. But he, having been offered, sorry, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies be made a footstool for his feet, for by one offering he is perfected for all time those who are sanctified. And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us, for after saying, This is the covenant that I will make with them, after those days, says the Lord, I’ll put my laws upon their heart, and on their mind I’ll write them.

He then says, And their sins and their lawless deeds I remember no more. Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin. The greatness of Christ is emphasized here throughout. Our passage this morning, which we are taking up, is Hebrews 10 and verse 24. Where we are told to stir up one another to love and to good works. But what I’m trying to get us to see is everything that goes on before you get to verse 24, and verse 25, which of course we also know in the passage there about not forsaking our assembling together. Why is it that these things are so important? Why is it that these instructions are given? Beginning to verse 19, and I’ll draw your attention to two things in verses 19 through 21.

2. Since We Have Confidence and a Great Priest

Twice he will say since. Looking back to what he has written, looking back to all these wonderful things that he has said about Christ, about our high priest, about the sacrifice that he offered once for all, and the fact that now in Christ there’s true forgiveness of sins, that these sins are no longer remembered. He says, therefore, brethren, since, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which he inaugurated for us through the veil, that is his flesh. Again, he’s going back to all that he said. Since Jesus has now brought us to God, we now have access to God through him. Access which mankind never had before.

And then again in verse 21, you’ll have for the second time. And since we have a great priest over the house of God, and again, taking in all that the Hebrew writer has already said about what it means for Jesus to be our high priest. A high priest who had to offer only one sacrifice. A high priest which is now in the Holy of Holies in the presence of God, forever in his presence, offering petitions on our behalf. Since, now I want you to go further in your text. If you’re reading like me from the New American Standard, perhaps I think most other translations will do the same. When you go to verse 22, the first thing it says is, let us. Verse 23, let us.

Verse 24, let us.

3. Good Theology Prompts Right Action

When it comes to any commandment of God, the thing that you and I struggle with is not knowing what God command. We know what God commands. I dare say I could ask any of you, does God expect you to be at church? Sure. I could ask you any number of commands. Does God expect you to be faithful? Sure. Does God expect you to tell truth? Sure. Does God expect you to love others? Absolutely. Then why do we struggle with these things? Not because we don’t know what the commands are, it’s because we don’t understand the theology behind the commands. And that’s what a Hebrew writer is trying to get us to do. Understand what your Christ has done. Understand the new covenant that he has now brought you under.

Understand that in this covenant sins are truly forgiven. And understand that now he serves as your high priest forever and ever and ever. And if you understand these things, you’ll act. And you’ll act correctly. Paul has a habit of doing something like this in his writings. He will spend chapter after chapter talking about the quote unquote theology of the matter. And then he’ll begin talking about what that theology means. Book of Ephesians would be a prime example. You have six chapters, the first three chapters are all theology. Here’s what God has done for us in Christ. It’s all about here’s what God has done. Chapter 4, turn the page. Therefore. Therefore, here’s what we ought to be doing about that. Again, our problem with any command of God isn’t that we don’t understand what he says.

We understand what God says about being faithful. What we don’t understand is what it means for God to be faithful. That we serve a God who is faithful, who is inherently faithful, who keeps every promise he makes. And even though centuries may go by and man not see how those promises are going to be kept, God is still faithful to his word all along. And he asks us to be like him. Our issue isn’t that we don’t know that we’re supposed to tell the truth. What we don’t understand is what it means for God to be a true God, that everything that he says is truth, and that God who cannot lie, we don’t understand who he is. We understand God says for us to love one another, but yet we find all kinds of reasons to not love.

4. Let Us Act in Faith, Hope, and Love

And what we don’t understand is the horror of the love of God. And what love costs him. Good theology prompts right action. Our problem isn’t we don’t know what God wants us to do. We don’t appreciate why he says for us to do it in the first place. We don’t understand the theology behind it all. And that’s what the Hebrew writer is doing here. So since we have confidence now in Christ, since we can approach God, and since Jesus serves as our high priest, led us. And what we are called to do is act on three things. There’s an interesting parallel here between verses 22 through 24. And that well-known passage in 1 Corinthians 13 and verse 13. You remember after that lengthy discussion about what love is, the apostle Paul write, now if these three abide, faith, hope, and love.

Well, now the Hebrew writer goes right back to those three things. Now understanding, hear what your Lord has done, understanding the nature of his priesthood and of his covenant, we are to act on each one of these. We are told in verse 22, let us draw near with a sincere heart, in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. This is likely an allusion back to the Old Testament where Aaron and his sons, when they are brought to God as priest, and the cleansing, the purification that had to happen for them, to them, so they could approach God. Now the Hebrew writer is saying, now we approach God. We approach God in faith. We approach God having been truly purified by his son.

Point is act in that faith. Continue drawing closer and closer to God. Verse 23, let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. The Hebrew writer is writing to Christians who would have had reason by earthly standards to waver in their faith. They were suffering. They were being persecuted for the very fact that they confess Jesus as the Christ. So the Hebrew writer says, Hold fast. Hold fast the hope that you have in God. Hold fast to the fact that He is always faithful to you. Let us draw near. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope. And then we are finally called to act in love.

Let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds. Again, much the same as is in 1 Corinthians 13, 13. These three abide, faith, hope, and love. Now we are called to let us act on each and every one of them. In Christianity, faith, hope, and love are not simple words. They’re not weak sermons. They’re the basis of everything we do. Because of who God is, and we’re called to act in these things. But we’re going to spend the most of our time this morning on this last point. The first two, let us. We’re told to let us draw near in full assurance of faith. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope. We might say that those are very much individual actions.

5. Stimulate One Another to Love and Good Deeds

That has everything to do with your personal relationship with God. Are you drawing nearer to Him in faith? Are you holding fast the assurance of your hope? That’s your relationship with Him. But the third one is every much every bit about our relationship with each other in Him. There’s a disturbing trend when you look at all the research about churches and growth these days. Churches are declining and they are declining rapidly. That troublesome millennial generation, which I am not a part of based on all the statistics. Some of you in this room, maybe not so much. They’re leaving the church in droves. And I don’t mean churches of Christ necessarily. I mean churches, period. And there have been more and more articles and more and more research into why is this happening?

Why are people in their 20s just abandoning the church? And what you’re seeing is that there is certainly some of just there’s no longer a belief in God, period, but that’s not always the case. And what you’re finding is that many people who are in their 20s or in this age group, what they’re saying is, well, I very much appreciate what religion’s about. I very much want to have a relationship with God. I’m just not interested in everything that goes on with the church. And again, this is what you’re talking about in our 10 o’clock hour, all the baggage that’s now attached to the church these days. They don’t want that. So what we want, or what we’re being told we want, is I want a relationship with God, but I want that outside of relationship with a larger body of people.

My religion is going to be just about me and God. And again, there’s some truth in that. Ultimately, we’re all going to be held accountable to our personal walks with God. But in the whole context of Scripture, God says true growth is going to happen, not just an individual growing with his God, but an individual growing with God’s people.

How do God’s people grow? They grow together. They grow in a unit together. And each one growing personally and then contributing to the work causes further growth for the whole body itself. Greater strength is going to be found as a part of his body. And not by us as individuals. And that’s the exhortation here in verses 24 and 25. Let us stimulate one another to love and good deeds. We do that in a host of ways. I stimulate others to love and good deeds by being engaged in those things myself. By modeling that in whatever stage of life I’m in. I model that for those who are younger than me. I model that for those who are older than me. By living those things, I am hopefully stimulating others to love and good works.

I engage others in my work as well. And perhaps if we’re really concerned with the future of the church, then that’s what we ought to be looking at the most.

How do you take these principles that you’ve learned in Bible class, these verses that you memorize, and how do you apply them in life? How do you serve others? How do you work to the betterment of God’s people? How do you evangelize in the community? What we need to be doing then is bringing others into the works that we’re engaged in. If you’re engaged in helping the poor, then bring others and working with that. If you’re engaged in seeing to the sick of the congregation, then engage others in that work. It’s not just about you doing that work, it’s about involving them as well, helping them to grow. If you’re engaged in teaching a segment of the congregation, then get others to help you in that.

6. Not Forsaking the Assembling of Ourselves Together

Stimulate each other to love and good works. And of course, there’s going to be times, maybe a gentle rebuke. Or in some cases, a not so gentle rebuke. Because what’s going to be needed to help someone see the error of their ways. But verse 25 goes hand in hand with verse 24. We are told, let us stir up one another to love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the habit of some.

And because of that, more and more we’re looking for reasons not to assemble. If we assemble, then we might be discovered. If we assemble, then persecution might come our way. Well, if that wasn’t a reason for them to not assemble together, then we certainly have no excuse. But the point in the whole context of the passage is this. Our assemblies, as much as they are about us coming together to worship and to praise our God. They’re meant for this reason. That here, on a weekly basis, we have the opportunity to stir up one another to love and good works. And maybe it’s only my presence that’s doing that. Maybe it’s just the fact that when I come in and I see Brother Barry, and I remember how big a scoundrel he was in his life.

But here he is. And he’s faithful. I see Eric, and I think of all the issues that Eric’s had in his life and all the tribulations and the trials. And I say, well, my brother’s here. And he’s worshiping our God. I look around and I see people of different ages, different backgrounds. Those who have had serious health problems, those who have had very few. Those who have family that go back in the church for generations. And those who have no connection to the church whatsoever, other than the fact that they came and they were here with these people, and they learn, and now you serve God together. And what that is is a constant reminder is that we’re not in this alone. And I’ve got all these people around me serving God.

And just their presence should stir me up to love and the good works.

Conclusion

I know that it can become rather difficult to make the assembly. I do not want you to think that I would ask you to be here tomorrow simply because God said you should. Or that you should come next week. Because to do otherwise would be to forsake the assembly. I would ask you to go deeper than that. To go to the theology behind it all. Why should I be here? I won’t be here next week. I’ll be in Tampa. Well, why should I be there? Well, I’m the preacher, so I’m supposed to be there. Okay, so why should you be there? Because you have a high priest. You have a high priest that made the entrance to the Almighty possible. Because you have a high priest who continues to make propitiation on your behalf.

And because of those things, you and I are beckoned to draw close to God in full assurance of faith. That we are called to hold on to our confession, not losing our hope. And we are called because of those things to stir up one another to love and to good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together. It goes so much deeper than simply to say there’s a command you ought to obey. No, there’s a high priest that I should serve. There’s a God who loves me and who made this access to him possible that I should honor. And that I should spend whatever ability and whatever time I have in stirring up his people to love and the good works. I thank you so much for your being here today.

You have stirred me up. And I hope that we have done that for each other. And I hope and pray we can do that a little bit more this week. But let us offer an invitation at this time. And that invitation has nothing to do with me, has nothing to do with even this group here, other than the fact that we have a high priest. We have a high priest who made our access to God possible. He made it possible because of the sacrifice that he made, one sacrifice for all time for all mankind. And the members of this church have taken advantage of that sacrifice. We have come to him in faith. And now we have hope. We have hope that he will continue to serve as our high priest, and we will one day be with our God forever.

And we’d like for you to have the same hope. If you would believe in Jesus as the Christ, as the Son of the Living God, that you believe that His sacrifice is able to forgive you of your sins too, then confess Him. Confess Him as your Lord. Confess Him as the Son of God. Be baptized to have your sins washed away, and you’ll live in hope as well. Can we aid you? Won’t you come as we stand and as we sing?