Hebrews 10:24-25 – And let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good
deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging
one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.
Today I hope to influence your thinking about why you’re here; about why you attend our
worship gatherings, Growth Groups and other assemblies. And if you’ve ever purchased
furniture from IKEA you’re already very familiar with my title this weekend because my title is
Title: Assembly Required
The letter to the Hebrews is one of the most frequently misunderstood New Testament writings
primarily because people forget why it was written and to whom it was written. It was
addressed to First Century Jewish believers who were in danger of deserting Jesus and the New
Covenant by returning to Moses and the Old Covenant. That’s why the author repeatedly
reminded his audience Moses and the Law were tasked with setting the stage for Jesus. Once
Jesus arrived their job was finished. His once for all sacrifice replaced the Old Covenant
sacrifices that pointed to Him. Mount Calvary replaced Mount Sinai forever. So those warnings
about forfeiting forgiveness weren’t intended for believers who sin, but for Jewish people who
wanted to set aside Jesus and return to Moses.
But we all know Hebrews wasn’t intended solely for Hebrews! It was intended to keep all
believers on track. It reminds us that,
1. Continual growth is essential to sustained faith, and sustained assembly is essential to
continual growth. Growth requires assembly.
(PROJECT PIC OF REDWOODS)
Years ago my family and I visited the redwood forests of Northern California. The redwoods are
some of the oldest and tallest trees in the world. Some are over 2,500 years old. Many stand
hundreds of feet high. Given their size and longevity you’d expect their roots would reach deep
into the earth. But they don’t! The reality is their roots aren’t deep at all. Yet they’ve stood for
centuries. Why? Because their roots are connected; they’re linked and locked to each other. So
when the winds blow they hold one another up. And in so doing they offer a compelling picture
of how Christians can stand against the spiritual storms that assault our faith.
2. Jesus’ followers hold up by being connected relationally - not by being deep individually.
The truth is, we can’t be deep individually if we aren’t connected relationally. If we’re going to
stand we must be committed to what the Apostles’ Creed calls “the communion of the saints.”
Assembly is required.
God has good reasons for His commands and one of the good reasons for this one is revealed in
verse 24: “consider how to stimulate one another in love and good deeds.” It sounds safe; but
don’t be fooled! It’s actually a stiff rebuke of the selfishness we all come by so easily - and much
of what passes for “church.” It ghetto slaps those who say, “I’d go to church more often but I
don’t get much out of it.” It informs us,
3. God doesn’t call us to assemble primarily for ourselves but for the sake of others!
We aren’t called to be religious consumers; we’re called to be mature disciples. Religious
consumers think primarily of their own needs and assemble for what they get out of it. Mature
disciples think of the needs of others and assemble for what they can put into it. They hope to
influence their brothers and sisters toward greater maturity by means of their presence, their
prayers, their praises, their love, their giving, their words and their example. Most weeks their
contribution won’t be obvious. Some weeks it may appear to be little more than their
presence. But they know even that’s important, for in an increasingly hostile culture their
presence reminds other believers they’re not alone. Not everyone is drinking the Kool Aid of
unbelief! An elderly saint who’d lost his hearing and most of his vision illustrated what I’m
talking about. Despite his condition he faithfully attended church. When asked why the old
man replied, “I want to show everybody whose side I’m on!”
This not-so-safe command also confronts those who say, “I don’t attend the assembly regularly
but I read my Bible and Christian literature, watch religious television and listen to teaching
online. Isn’t that enough?” To them it says “No; it isn’t enough!” It reminds us of two realities;
First,
4. When obedience to one command becomes a substitute for obedience to another
command it becomes disobedience!
The Word of God isn’t a “choose what you like” buffet. Second,
5. Personal spiritual disciplines are good but never as good as God intended until their results
are shared with others. Personal spiritual disciplines don’t replace corporate spiritual
responsibilities.
Assembly is required. We can’t promote the spiritual maturity of our brothers and sisters
without contact because spiritual maturity can’t just be taught; it has to be caught! Our fellow
believers need to see sermons as well as hear them.
Like all of God’s commandments, the command to stimulate one another to love and good
deeds by assembling regularly is regularly broken. And while there’s never a good reason for
disobedience, we still attempt to create them. And one of the most common excuses we offer
up is offense.
On more than one occasion people have informed me they stopped attending the assembly
because someone offended them, or because a friend was offended and they’ve taken up the
offense as their own. Our text offers a subtle but clear corrective to such thinking.
When the writer spoke of stimulating one another to love and good deeds he used a Greek
word that appears only one other place in the New Testament; the account of Paul and
Barnabas ending their partnership. Their division was stimulated by opposing opinions of
Mark’s performance and potential. The fact Hebrews uses the word “stimulate” in a positive
way while Acts uses it in negative fashion reminds us
6. Sometimes we may need other believers to irritate us toward love and good works!
Proverbs 27 says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” But you don’t sharpen
iron by pampering it. You sharpen iron by getting another piece of iron and rubbing it the
wrong way! In the case of Paul and Barnabas, the Spirit used their disagreement to stimulate
new growth in both of them, and in Mark. In similar fashion, in God’s assembly your true
friends aren’t the people who always agree with you, affirm your errors, cosign your agenda, or
own your offense. No,
7. Your best friends are the ones who make you better.
And sometimes the people who ultimately have that effect initially offend us and in so doing
are used by God to make us aware of our pride, our defensiveness, our selfishness, our
misguided notions of why we assemble, our temper, our insecurity, our love of reputation, our
love of power or any other love that betrays Jesus. The truth is,
8. Holiness is often found on the other side of some offense.
But it’s rarely found by those who walk out to door! Sometimes friends need to rebuke us in
order to stimulate us to holiness. That’s why the command to assemble doesn’t have an
exception clause for offenses! Assembly is required!
The command to assemble stands in stark contradiction to our technology saturated,
scandalously superficial, inordinately busy, and extremely mobile contemporary Western
culture. In this culture many embrace the illusion of unlimited relational possibilities. If people
currently in their lives disappoint them, they quickly abandon them in search of the "right
people." But in the church, God calls us to cultivate friendships with people we might not
choose ordinarily and then stick with them and stick by them. The world builds relationships
upon "chemistry;" the assembly demands we build relationships upon a divine command, a
common identity, and a shared commitment to Christ. When offended the world walks out and
seeks alternatives; the assembly demands adjustments. The world discovers the grass is never
greener on the other side of the fence. Those faithful to the assembly discover the temporary
loss of chemistry in relationships is more than made up for by eternal gains in maturity.
We’re prone to think of the early church as pure and uncompromised. It was not. By the time
Hebrews was written, some of Jesus’ followers were already in the habit of neglecting the
assembly, and habits aren’t formed overnight. The reasons for their omission aren’t mentioned;
probably because there are an infinite number of reasons for disobedience and the reasons
don’t matter as much as the disobedience itself. Suffice it to say the Spirit didn’t see the habit
of missing the assembly as a positive. The Spirit knows if we’re going to grow spiritually regular,
intentional, planned assembly is required.
I’m not suggesting you need to attend every meeting the church holds. And I’m not going to
suggest some benchmark for faithfulness. But I would like to suggest,
9. If you can miss church without missing church something is missing!
And that something is an appreciation of and obedience to one of God’s good and necessary
commands. I want to draw your attention to the fact that the contrast in verse 25 isn’t between
showing up and not showing up; it’s between forsaking the assembly and encouraging one
another. That indicates
10. God desires more than our attendance; He desires our participation. We can neglect the
assembly even though we attend it!
We neglect it when we only look for what we can get out of it; or when we show up late and
leave early; or hang outside rather than coming in; or show up with a bad attitude; or come
totally unprepared; or spend the time looking for things to criticize; or act distant and
unfriendly, or spend the time sleeping, talking, texting or checking Twitter and Facebook.
The American church desperately needs a renewed commitment to the assembly! Believers
here now assemble less frequently than ever before, despite the fact our passage says the
assembly becomes increasingly important the closer we get to Jesus’ return and the widespread
deception and departures that will precede it! The answer to this trend isn’t religious
entertainment and an exhausting tiring quest to be creative! It’s a return to understanding and
obedience. When people are addicted to the heroin of selfishness you don’t liberate them by
creating new designer strains of that heroin for their consumption! You show them the path to
liberation leads through an ancient biblical command; the command to shun selfish religious
consumerism and replace it with selfless service in the knowledge that
11. When we assemble for the benefit of others our own lives expand.