Sociologists have a term for the way many of us live now: \u201cnetworked individualism.\u201d We have traded smaller, tightly connected communities for sprawling networks of online relationships.<\/p>\n
We may have hundreds of followers and still not have a friend to call at two in the morning. We know what someone we have not seen since high school ate for lunch, yet we may have no idea that the woman sitting two rows away has not slept in a week. We are more reachable than any generation in history, yet somehow harder to truly reach. Digital contact may represent connection, but it cannot fully replace it.<\/p>\n
In the book of Hebrews, the author urged believers, who were in danger of drifting and withdrawing, to live faithfully in fellowship as God\u2019s family because of the access they share through Jesus Christ. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":14423,"template":"","meta":{"audio":"https:\/\/eastgatechurch.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2026\/07\/07262026.mp3","video-id":"1213070278","notes":"https:\/\/eastgatechurch.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2-From-Followers-to-Family-Hebrews-10.19\u201325-072626.pdf","scripture_reference":"Hebrews 10:19-25","transcript_status":"published","transcript_text":"
Good morning, church. It's great seeing all of you here this morning. We're in part 2 of a series we've entitled, \u201cConnected: Finding Real Community in a Digital World.\u201d And technology can draw us closer together, but it can also drive us apart if we don't know how to manage it. And this sermon is not about challenging you to ditch your devices, but it is a sermon that wants to continue to challenge you that face-to-face fellowship is better than digital connection.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
And so it can be a tool that's helpful, but it's no substitute. And so this series is calling us back to the importance of that. Our series theme is found in Acts 2:42 (ESV) \u201cAnd they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.\u201d And so we're kind of focusing on each of those 4 devotions with each sermon.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
So last week we focused on the apostles' teaching, being devoted to God's word. And that if we want to find truth, it's better to look in God's Word than it is to look to Google. So then this week, it's about fellowship, being devoted to the fellowship, and that there's no real substitute for what we're doing right now, being together and sitting together and worshiping and singing and sitting under God's Word. And so it's important. And so today, as we focus on this, I've been doing some research this week.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
I'm trying to keep up to speed with what psychologists and sociologists are saying about this new movement of increasing amounts of social media being used. And sociologists are now calling this \u201cnetworked individualism.\u201dIn Rainey and Wellman's book, \u201cNetwork: The New Social Operating System,\u201d they say, \u201cWe have traded smaller, tightly connected communities for sprawling networks of online relationships.\u201d And so we've somehow thought the exchange was the same, but it's costing us. We may have hundreds of followers, but not one single friend that we can call at 2 AM when we're in trouble.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
We know what someone we have not seen since high school had for lunch, but we don't know about the woman that's two seats over this morning who hasn't slept in a week because she's going through a crisis. But why don't we? Because we don't know her. We haven't talked to her. And here's the trap.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
We're more reachable in this generation than any generation that's ever lived, but we're harder to reach than any generation who's ever lived. The phone is always there. It feels like enough. And so you send a text, you make a quick comment, you see that somebody is in the hospital, so you send 'em a prayer, a praying hands emoji. And if you really are praying hard, you send them 2.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
And so you think to yourself, you say to yourself, okay, I visited with them, I sent them double praying hands, and I even threw in a heart. And so somehow that's a substitute we tell ourselves. And we watch worship service in our bed between our feet in our pajamas. And we say that, yeah, we were in fellowship. I saw you online, Pastor.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
We stream it online. We put it online for when you're traveling out of town or when you're not feeling well. But it's no substitute for what you're doing right now, friends, sitting right here in person. And we're glad you're here. Digital contact may represent connection, but it's no substitute for face-to-face fellowship.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
You can watch a video of a fire in a fireplace and it might be soothing to watch, but you can't warm your hands to it. And in a similar way, we need each other in person. In May 2023, the Surgeon General issued an advisory concerning what he called, \u201can epidemic of loneliness and isolation.\u201d He reported here that 1 out of 2 American adults have reported that they are extremely lonely. And the advisory went on to warn that the health consequences of social disconnection can shorten your life.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
It has a physiological effect. On the other side of the coin, people are lonely, but on the other side, this report entitled, \u201cReligious Service Attendance and Deaths Related to Drugs, Alcohol, and Suicide,\u201d was reported in Psychiatry magazine, and it reports this, \u201cResearchers studying religious-service attendance repeatedly discovered that people who gathered regularly for worship experienced significant benefits. One major study found that those who attended religious services at least weekly had a 68 percent lower risk of deaths related to suicide, drug overdose, and alcohol than those who never attended.\u201d And so some looked at it and they said, \u2018Well, it's because of the social interaction. Well, it's because they've got friends.\u2019<\/p>\r\n\r\n
But that did not account for 25% of the whole. What they ultimately decided, there's 75% that science cannot explain. But John explained it. We referred to this verse last week in his verse of his second epistle. He says, 2 John 12 (ESV) \u201cThough I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Instead I hope to come to you and talk face to face, so that our joy may be complete.\u201d Now, John was not against paper and ink. He didn't say paper and ink is bad or evil. He just said that being in person is better. And then likewise, I'm not saying that screens are poison.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
I'm just saying they're a poor substitute for face-to-face. And I think that was the part that science couldn't see, that this \u201cjoy would be complete\u201d has to do with the spiritual aspect of believers gathering together in God's name. In the book of Hebrews, the author urged believers who were in danger of drifting and withdrawing to live faithfully in fellowship as God's family. And I believe today we can hear the book of Hebrews speak to us through the power of the Holy Spirit, and we can live faithfully as members face-to-face in fellowship with God's family. As we look at the text, I think we'll see 3 ways that we can do this.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
So let's dig in to the book of Hebrews, chapter 10, starting in verse 19, Hebrews 10:19\u201325 (ESV) 19 \u201cTherefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 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. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 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.\u201d This is God's word. We're looking for 3 ways today that we can live faithfully in fellowship together as in God's family. And the first is this: <\/p>\r\n\r\n
By drawing near together in faith. If you look at the text we just read, you'll notice that there are three \u201clet us\u201d instructions \u2014 not \u201clettuce.\u201d You know, we're having problems with lettuce right now, the news tells us, but three \u201clet us\u201d commands here. But before he gives these, and the first one he gives is in verse 22 before he gives these. He lays a foundation before he gives these instructions in 19 through 21. And what is that foundation that he gives us?<\/p>\r\n\r\n
He gives us two \u201csince\u201d words. He says,19 \u201cTherefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus,\u201d Therefore, brothers, you can have confidence since what? Since the body and the blood of Jesus have opened up a new and living way. Let's look at what he says here, \u201cTherefore, brothers, since we have confidence\u2014 this is his first one, his first foundation that he lays here before he gives any instructions.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
He says19 \u201cTherefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh,\u201d And so as we look at this, be reminded the title of this book is Hebrews. And the reason it's named Hebrews is because it's so full of these Jewish imageries and these Jewish backgrounds. If you didn't understand what was being read here, then you'd probably be from a Gentile audience. And so they named it Hebrews because it was obviously written to Jewish background believers in Jesus. They'd been Jewish, they'd come to faith in the Messiah.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
And so, he's using this imagery from the Old Testament to describe what Jesus has done for us. And so he's saying to just \r\nbe reminded, brothers, we have confidence, we have boldness. We have a holy boldness that we can enter into the Holy of Holies before the Father. And so the imagery here is in the temple, they had a curtain that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies where the Ark of the Covenant was, where the mercy seat was, where the throne of God is represented by the Ark. And so the only person allowed to go in there in the Old Testament was the great high priest.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The high priest could go in there once a year carrying the blood from the sacrifice that he would sprinkle on the mercy seat, and he could only go in there on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, in order to set the blood there atoning for his sin and as a representative for the sin of all of Israel. And so that's the imagery. But here's what Hebrews tells us that since we now, because of Jesus, have passed through the curtain. Did you see the curtain there in verse 20? And it says, 20 \u201cby the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh,\u201d So since the curtain now has been torn because Jesus' body was torn, His flesh was torn, His blood was spilled, by the payment of His blood and His body, we now can come boldly into the Holy of Holies.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
And so we read in this record of the crucifixion in Matthew chapter 27, Matthew 27:51 (ESV) \u201cAnd behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom\u2026\u201d The Father did that. He sent an earthquake and he tore it in two, showing us that now there's a new and living way through Jesus. So have that foundational truth in your head first of all before we even get to the instructions. And then he gives us another \u201csince.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Verse 21, \u201cand since we have a great priest over the house of God,\u201d So not only has he paid for access to the Father by his body and his blood so that the curtain is now torn and it's wide open, but also he's already there as an advocate, a great high priest, praying for us and advocating for us. Now here, we have these three \u201clet us;\u201d what I would call, um, invitational imperatives. They're not like commands so much, about \u2018do this,\u2019 like with a sharp point on it, but more like, \u201clet us.\u201d And notice it's in the plural.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
It's not let you; it\u2019s \u201clet us.\u201d So this is something we're called to together. Let us together draw near. Draw near. Now we're getting to it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Now we're at verse 22, right? Let us draw near. Let us approach. This is not a command to try harder, like I gotta try real hard. I really want to focus on God.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
I've got to really\u2026 No, it's like a ladder you're trying to climb. It's that Jesus has already come down the ladder of love. And opened the way. And so now it's an invitation to come on in, come on home. Come in, because the way is wide open, the door is unlocked. Come on in.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
It's that kind. And it's also this, since you have this, listen, since you have all this and since this price was paid, why wouldn't you come on in? Why would you forsake being together as God's people and draw near under God's word and sing God's praises? Why, since such a price has been paid, would you devote yourself to anything else prior to that? And so the impetus is this idea of invitational command.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Let us go in. Draw near, come near, approach. How? Well, let us do it with a true heart, with a sincere heart. In verse 22, do you see that sincerity?<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Get your heart lined up with where you're drawing near with full assurance, not partial assurance, but knowing that you know that you know that Jesus has saved you. And he's keeping you and he has you and you have him and full assurance that you belong to him, full assurance of faith that you placed your faith in Jesus with our hearts sprinkled clean. So this is still this Old Testament imagery, the idea of the sprinkling that would be on the sacrifice that would make it holy, setting it apart, that you have your heart. I can't sprinkle my heart, it's in here. But it's the idea of your, of your soul, of your will, of who you are.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The center of your being has been changed. It's been sprinkled clean now by the blood of Jesus. You've been sprinkled clean. And so it's this imagery. Let us draw near because he's changed our hearts.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
He's given us a true heart that's fully assured. And not only that, our evil conscience, our former way of thinking has been changed and our bodies have been washed with pure water. Still that Old Testament imagery, it kind of points towards baptism in a way, doesn't it? The idea of not only that you've been changed on the inside, but that you've made an outward testimony of your faith. And so let us come near<\/p>\r\n\r\n
because God has done all this for us. Now why does he start here? You know, he's got three instructions. I don't think the order is accidental; he starts with draw near, and I think that's important because you have to draw near to God before you can truly draw near to each other. I'll say that again, you have to be made right with God before you can really know how to be right with other people <\/p>\r\n\r\n
because he changes your heart so that you're more other-centered than self-centered. He changes you. John writes in his first epistle, 1 John 1:7 (ESV) \u201cBut if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.\u201d <\/p>\r\n\r\n
And cleanses is in the present tense as a continuous thing that he's keeping. He not only cleanses us, but he's\u2014 he not only cleansed us, but he's cleansing us. And he's making us right with God. He's advocating for us, but he's also making it possible, having reconciled us to the Father, to reconcile us to each other so that our character is more other-centered and so that now we care about each other more than we ever did, more than we ever could have. The book of Ephesians chapter 2 talks about this reconciliation.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
It says, Ephesians 2:13-14 (ESV) \u201cBut now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility.\u201d Now, there's all kinds of racism and different kinds of warfare in our culture, political differences and divides, but in the house of God, the wall of hostility has been broken down and we are one in Jesus.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Red and yellow, black and white, elephants and donkeys, one in Jesus. And so we put aside those former identities and cling to this new identity that we draw near. We're the people who draw near to God and to one another. We draw near to God together. When my children visit my house, they don't ring the doorbell.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
They don't knock on the door. They just come in. They all have keys to my house. All 3 of my kids have keys to my house. Sometimes they come to my house when I'm not home.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
They bring their kids, my grandkids. I call them the \u201ccrumb snatchers.\u201d I come home. They didn't ask if they could come into my house. They don't have to.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
It's their house too. They grew up there. It's the same house they grew up in. They come in. I see evidence that they were there.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
I come home. Somebody has been sitting in my chair. Somebody has been laying in my bed. Not laying in it, jumping up and down on it. Stop jumping up and down on the bed; <\/p>\r\n\r\n
you don't do that at home, do you? I see evidence that they got into the gummy bears by the wrapper they left on the floor. But that's the kind of family we want. It's their home. Come whenever.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
You don't have to have an appointment. All of them have a key to the house. Because this father and my wife, their dear mother and grandmother, they just want them to come all the time. We're glad when they leave too sometimes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
But that's the invitation: draw near. Look what the Father did. Look how he sent his Son. Look how\u2014 look at the price he paid in his body and his blood. Look how he continually advocates for you.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
And you're deciding to do other things rather than drawing near. When's the last time you drew near? When's the last time you leaned in and said, \u2018God, I need you. I want you in my life. Thank you, Jesus\u2019 When's the last time? I'm glad you're here today.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
There's no substitute in this digital age of drawing near to God except through the Son Jesus. And then let us do it together, because there's something special that happens when we draw near together. Don't you agree? He's present when you're alone. Oh yeah, he never leaves you nor forsakes you.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
But there's something special about a family reunion, and we have one right, right here. Every Sunday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Come on in. That's the first instruction. That's the first way we can faithfully live in fellowship as God's family. Here's the second: <\/p>\r\n\r\n
You probably noticed that Paul's triad of faith, hope, and love is in this little section. The first one here is let us draw near in faith, and then now we see let us hold fast together in hope. We're in verse 23, let's dial in there a little tighter, \u201cLet us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.\u201d \r\nOkay, let us hold fast.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
So again, it's in the plural, it's an invitation. Since Jesus did this and since He did that. Since He gave His body and His blood, since He's our advocate in heaven, since He's done all that foundationally, we don't have to earn that. He's already done that for us; we can receive that. Let's draw near and let's hold fast. Let's get a grip on what \u2013 the hope of our confession of hope. The word \u201cconfession\u201d in the original language literally means \u201cto say the same word.\u201d Say the same word.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The Greek word is \u201chomologeo,\u201d the same word. To say the same word. And so we gather together and we say the same word together. We say, \u2018I believe in Jesus, God's only Son. I confess him as my Lord and Savior.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
I by faith have placed my confidence in him that he was raised from the grave.\u2019 We say the word. We say this confession of hope. When we use the word hope, hope is not as we use it in the common way where going into this weekend we said, \u2018I hope it rains.\u2019 What we meant was, \u2018I wish it would rain.\u2019<\/p>\r\n\r\n
It's just like we have no control and there's no promises. The weatherman says it's going to rain, but they said that previously and it didn't. And so, we cast hopes like a wish. We said, \u2018I hope it rains\u2019 and then today we say, \u2018I hope it stops,\u2019 because we're never satisfied. But that's not the kind of hope, that's not biblical hope.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Biblical hope is more like a rope, anchored in the past to the cross and the empty tomb, to those historical events that really happened. So picture hope is like a rope, anchored and tied off, and it passes through the present, into beyond the veil, which the curtain has been torn, to the right hand of the Father where the Son is seated and He's got the other end. He's coming again. So hope is something that we can take hold of. Biblical hope is like a rope. It's made of sturdy stuff.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
It's based on the reality of what He has done and what He promises He will do. It's a different level of hope, so take hold of it, get a grip on it. You know what helps? It is if we do it together. And if you get a hold of a rope like that, that's not loose on either end, so you're not just flying out in space, but you got a grip on something that's anchored. And when storms come, you won't waver.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
You'll hang in there. Verse 23, \u201cLet us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.\u201d \r\nRemember, hope is anchored on promise on this end and that which He's already done on that end. And it's good for us to get together and confess our hope together because one of the most important imperatives in the Bible is the word, \u201cremember.\u201d Why?<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Because we're a forgetful people. And so we gather together weekly, on the first day of the week, when Jesus rose from the grave. And many of us are in home groups, community groups, and we gather together in small groups. Why?<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Because we need to be constantly confessing our hope together. Because we're forgetful, and it helps us remember that which we believe, and it increases our hope. So when storms come, we're not wavering, but we hold fast to his faithful promise. In fact, you could say the book of Hebrews was written to keep people from drifting so that they held on. It says in Hebrews 2:1 (ESV) \u201cTherefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.\u201d We don't wanna drift.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
And then, Hebrews 3:13-14 (ESV) \u201cBut exhort one another every day, as long as it is called \u201ctoday,\u201d that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ\u2026\u201d And so we can drift because we've not been reminded regularly that we're to keep hold of hope, but we can also be tempted by the deceitfulness of sin and cause us to drift. So we need this, this second invitation to let us together hold fast to the confession of our hope.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
I've mentioned I have three children. They're all grown. They have their own children now, my grandchildren. But when they were little, I can remember when we had all three of them in the back seat at various stages of car seats. And so the oldest one was in a booster seat.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The middle one was still a car seat, but it was kind of in between. And then the baby, the youngest one, was in one of those car seats that looked like it was made by NASA or something. You know what I'm talking about. We have two boys and a girl; the baby's the girl. And so, it would be time to get them out. And when I would take the baby girl out and put her down, the first thing I would do is reach my hand out.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
And she's a girl, the boys, you just grab them 'cause they won't take your hand when you want 'em to. But she would reach her little hand up and look up at me and I would take her hand. And that's what a good daddy does, right? You don't just set 'em loose in the parking lot. And so, we would be walking up to the grocery store or walking to the store and she would hold my hand and I would hold her hand.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
And you know what? Do you know what she was thinking? She was thinking, I'm holding fast to my daddy's hand. That's what she was thinking. But what she didn't know was that I had her hand.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
All she did was reach up. That's all she did. I took her hand. I held it fast. She thought she was hanging on, but she wasn't hanging on because I wasn't letting go.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
And so I was circumspect. I was watching. I had my radar on. Okay, there was a car cutting through the parking lot sideways. You know, I'm going to pull her back.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
She didn't know that. She couldn't see over the car. She didn't know when to cross and when not to cross. She didn't have to worry about it. All she had to do was look up.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
There's daddy's hand. That's all she had to do. That's all you have to do. That's the invitation. Since by his body and his blood he's opened up a new and living way, since he is our great high priest who sits at the right hand of the Father, all you have to do is look up.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
There's his hand, reaching down. Just take it and hold fast, and he won\u2019t let go. And he's going to watch over you. Some of you are holding on by a thread today. Some of you came in by a thread.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
You barely got here. You're lonely. You need a friend. May I say, the first friend I would introduce you to is Jesus. His hand is reaching down.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Reach up. Take hold. But then around you are believers who are followers of Jesus, and they want to be your friend too. And you need them because the invitation is not let you, but let us together.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Let's take hold of this confession we have together. I invite you today because when you drift, you'll end up lonely and isolated. We need each other. Now this leads us to the third way. We've said the first two \u201clet us\u201d commands, (1) Let us draw near (2) Let us hold fast.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Let us stir up one another in love. This is the third way we'll see the conclusion of Paul's triad that we see him say in 1 Corinthians chapter 13, \u201cThese three remain: faith, hope, and love.\u201d And here we see the triad concluded here in verse 24, \u201cAnd let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works\u201d <\/p>\r\n\r\n
To stir one another up to love. This is the third \u201clet us\u201d command; the third is the third invitational instruction. And the verb literally is let us consider how to do this. So you're to think about it; think of others.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
How could I stir them up? Now \u201cstir up\u201d is an unusual kind of verb. Here it's in the positive sense; normally, it's used in a negative sense \u2013 \u201cDo not provoke your children to wrath,\u201d for instance. In other words, don't provoke, don't poke people.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
That's usually how it's used. But it's the same word here except in an unusual fashion.Stir people up to love. Provoke people to love. It's an unusual use of the verb, but that's the use here. It's to irritate, to incite them to love.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Be the kind of person in the church family that you're so thinking about other people all the time that you're just making them love you. You will love me. God says you have to.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Provoke people to love and good works. Let's think about how to do it. Let's think about that person in the church that runs out of here like their hair's on fire and never talks to anybody. Run them down.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
This is the South. I know some of you moved down here from the North, but the people in the South are huggers. Now, I know we have to be careful in this modern age about that; ladies, give them a side hug. Shake hands.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
There's probably someone here today that has not been touched\u2014 and I mean this in the Christian sense\u2014with the hand of love all week. And they'll come here today, and the fact that you'll pat them on the back, that you'll put your hand on their shoulder and pray for them, that you'll stir them up to love\u2014 that's the kind of community that God's calling us to be. Let's consider, let's think about how to stir one another up to love and good works. The word, \u201cgood,\u201d here is unusual. It's not the usual Greek word for good, which is usually good versus bad as an antonym; <\/p>\r\n\r\n
this is a good thing and that is a bad thing. It's not so much that meaning as it is good as in beautiful, beautiful works, works that are otherworldly. Let us do beautiful things. Let's stir one another up to beauty and love. And it's a beautiful thing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Then, he tells us how to stir them up and then how not to stir them up. Verse 25, \u201cNot 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.\u201d Do you know how you can't stir one another up to love and good works? By not showing up, by not going to church, by not being in a community group. That's how you can not obey this command, as is the habit of some.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
And may I say to you, I've been at this, I'm in my 35th year of planting this church, pastoring this church. In the '90s, I could say, \u2018Hey, this coming Wednesday, we're gonna go have a picnic,\u2019 and everybody in the room would show up and invite people. And then at the turn of the century, maybe 80% would show up. Then another 10 years, maybe 70% would show up. Now, where we're at in the 2020s, it\u2019s even less. It used to be people would say if they were a member of a church, active in a church, they went to church 3.5 times per month, 3.5 times out of 4.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Then it became 3. Then as the century turned, it became 2. Now it's like 1.5 according to statistics. People say, \u2018I'm a member of that church, I'm a part of that church.\u2019 Where do you go to church?<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u2018I go to Eastgate. I go 12 times a year. I go once a month.\u2019 And then we wonder, parents, why our children graduate from high school, go to college or go to work, and never come back to the church. Well, we trained them, didn't we?<\/p>\r\n\r\n
We train them, as is the habit of some. And that's become a habit. The word, \u201chabit,\u201d is where we get the word \u201cethos.\u201d It's become the cultural ethos; we put everything ahead of let us encourage one another, stir one another up, not neglecting. We put everything ahead of that instead of doing what we're being instructed here, not to fall into that bad habit.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
And then you should increase it all the more based on what? All the more as you see the capital D Day. What's that? Christ returning, the Day of the Lord. He's coming again, and every day that goes by, it's closer.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
And so we need each other all the more. We should meet all the more as the day approaches, thinking about how we could stir one another up. It is kind of based on where they're at. That's why you should think about it. 1 Thessalonians 5:14 (ESV) says, \u201cWe urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.\u201d <\/p>\r\n\r\n
So if they're lazy, admonish them. Encourage the fainthearted. If they're fainthearted, encourage them. Help the weak, be patient with them all. Be wise about how you stir one another up.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal where they're at, think about where they're at and try to give appropriate stirring, right? And then also, it's by being together and having a rhythm. If you look at the first century church, in \r\nActs 2:46 (ESV) \u201cAnd day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts.\u201d And so they had a rhythm, they met in large groups in the temple courts, and then they met in smaller groups in homes. And so we try to follow that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
That's our rhythm in our church is house-to-house temple courts. And so we gather together like this, in large groups, for encouragement, and then we scatter and we gather in homes. And we're just trying to follow what the scripture says. Now, what I want to ask you is, are you a stirrer or a spectator? If you're a spectator, you're just showing up.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
I really need, you know, I come to church because I need it. Well, that's good that you do, but don't just \u201csit and soak.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Become a stirrer. Start serving and start thinking about the people around you so that you're not self-centered but other-centered, so that you obey the invitation to let us consider how to stir one another up to love and beautiful good works. And so that's what we're called to, moving from being spectators to stirrers. So I've given you 3 ways to live faithfully as God's family. The first, we see in verse 22, draw near. <\/p>\r\n\r\n
We see in verse 23, hold fast, get a grip. Then in verse 24, stir one another up to love and good works. But I don't want you to leave here with a list. I don't want you to leave here thinking this is something you've got to work at or do. I want you to see it back to verses 19 through 21.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Christ has already done it all. His body and his blood paid for our access, and he, he forever is at the right hand of the Father advocating for us. So the invitation is, now you're free. You're free to draw near. You're free to hold fast because he won't let go.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
You're free to stir one another up, knowing that it's the Spirit in you that reveals how to do that in the right ways and to live together like this. That's the gospel. It's not do, it's believe. It's take hold of faith. And if you're here today and you're lonely, you feel isolated, know this, that Jesus did that for you, too.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
He is forever at one with the Father, never separated for eternity, came down the ladder of love, became one of us, took on sin, death, and the grave. And as the land became dark and the earthquake came, He cried out to the Father, \u201cMy God, my God, why have you forsaken me?\u201d He took your separation. He took your isolation. He took your loneliness.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Can you imagine the pain of his heart, who had never at one moment been separated from his Father? Now he's taken that. He took that so that you and I could be at one with the Father who says, come on in, come home, come on in. Jesus is the key. The door's unlocked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Come on in. And when you come in, you're coming into God's household where all of God's people are. Amen. Let's pray.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Lord, thank you for your word. Oh, we love your word. And thank you for Jesus, who gave his body and his blood and made a new and living way of access to you. He's seated right now. Lord Jesus, thank you that you're advocating for us even now, and by your Spirit, you're speaking to hearts.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
And I pray for that one that's here right now and he's knocking at your door, your heart's door, and he's saying, in Matthew 11:28-30, \u201cCome to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.\u201d Jesus is saying to come in. Is that you, my friend, right where you're at? Why not say yes to Jesus? Why not pray right now and say, I'm a sinner?<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Just follow me in this prayer. Dear Lord Jesus, I'm a sinner. I repent of my sins. I turn from my sins and I turn to you.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
I believe you died on the cross for me. You died for my sins and you were raised from the grave and live today. Come into my life. Forgive me of my sins. Adopt me into your family.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
I want to follow you all the days of my life as Savior and Lord. If you're praying that prayer of faith believing, God will save you. Others are here today and you're a follower, you have Jesus, you've been born again, but you've been drifting. You've fallen into a habit. You're isolated.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
You've put other things ahead. Would you come home? Would you come home? Say, Lord, forgive me. I want to draw near.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
I want to hold fast. I want to be stirred up and stir up others. Lord, help me. In Jesus' name, Amen.<\/p>","footnotes":""},"tags":[2399],"series":[3005],"scripture-book":[1325],"scripture-chapter":[1343],"speaker":[2007],"class_list":["post-14422","message","type-message","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-community-groups","series-connected","scripture-book-hebrews","scripture-chapter-1343","speaker-gary-combs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/message\/14422","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/message"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/message"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/message\/14422\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14424,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/message\/14422\/revisions\/14424"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14423"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14422"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14422"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=14422"},{"taxonomy":"scripture-book","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/scripture-book?post=14422"},{"taxonomy":"scripture-chapter","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/scripture-chapter?post=14422"},{"taxonomy":"speaker","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/speaker?post=14422"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}