back to index2019-12-01 Sunday is the Fulfillment of Sabbath
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I have the privilege of sharing God's Word with you this morning and I have to say that 00:00:20.600 |
I haven't done this in a while, coming up and preaching. 00:00:24.560 |
And I really do appreciate in preparing this message. 00:00:28.360 |
I really do appreciate our pastors, I just want to say that because to come every Sunday 00:00:33.000 |
to do this day, week in and week out, and to provide and provide good, expositive, you 00:00:47.680 |
It was a labor for me, just because, you know, what do you say and everything that goes with 00:00:55.520 |
But in any case, this morning I hope that some of this, that being prepared, that it 00:01:02.800 |
was led by the Spirit and that in the end, you know, I feel inadequate up here to preach 00:01:10.080 |
You know, I have to admit to you that, you know, when the thought of coming up and preaching, 00:01:17.960 |
there's a flesh that comes in and I want to entertain you guys so that you would like 00:01:22.360 |
me, you know, like my message and I get praised. 00:01:25.960 |
But I realize that is wrong and that's something that, you know, I have to fight with in myself 00:01:38.600 |
I know that they come and serve the church humbly and to come and preach up here is definitely 00:01:48.000 |
So I want to give props to our pastors, even our elders, you know, props to you guys. 00:01:55.360 |
I really admire them and see their love for the Lord and by challenge of them. 00:02:05.560 |
I've been tasked to review the fourth membership covenant, which states, "I commit to attending 00:02:11.280 |
Sunday worship at BCC to the best of my ability." 00:02:17.400 |
So if you think about it, all around the world, Christians are gathered on Sunday, like us, 00:02:26.080 |
According to Wikipedia, so take it for what it is and I'm not saying it's accurate, but 00:02:30.160 |
I think just to give a kind of a general idea, the number of people who are gathering on 00:02:36.520 |
There are 800 to a billion Protestant Christians around the world. 00:02:41.800 |
If broken down by region, it would look like 300 million in Sub-Saharan Africa, 260 million 00:02:48.560 |
in Americas, 140 million in Asia Pacific, 100 million in Europe, and only 2 million 00:02:58.140 |
So obviously gathering on Sunday is an important Christian tradition, but like any tradition, 00:03:07.720 |
We come to church because we have always come to church. 00:03:10.960 |
When I was young, before I became a Christian, I told myself that once I grew up that I would 00:03:19.160 |
And the reason for that is because my father is pastor, as most of you know, and as a result, 00:03:30.960 |
Since I was born, even before I was born in my mother's womb, I was attending church service. 00:03:36.520 |
So church attendance for me was just something that I had to do. 00:03:43.520 |
Mostly in America, we went to a small church. 00:03:47.160 |
So basically it was our family and maybe an elder's family, so the youth group was very 00:03:53.240 |
small, not too much like the way we started here at Berean, right? 00:03:58.600 |
So I told myself that I wasn't going to go because I didn't see the purpose behind it. 00:04:05.280 |
It didn't make sense to me because it meant nothing to me other than it was a tradition, 00:04:10.120 |
something that I did, something that I had to do on Sunday mornings. 00:04:15.160 |
So in the membership covenant, when it says I commit to attending Sunday worship, it means 00:04:23.520 |
It means that we are committing to attendance, but also committing to understanding the reason 00:04:34.000 |
The Sabbath day, doesn't the Ten Commandments say that we are to observe the Sabbath day? 00:04:38.920 |
Exodus 28 says, "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 00:04:42.800 |
Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath." 00:04:51.200 |
Why do we gather as a congregation and not at home alone? 00:04:55.360 |
So I'll try to address these questions in some part today. 00:05:00.620 |
So at some point when Pastor Peter returns, so we're going to talk about Hebrews, right? 00:05:04.840 |
It might take a year or maybe longer or maybe shorter, that he will be expositing Hebrews 00:05:11.200 |
10, the passage I'll be spotting and talk about. 00:05:15.800 |
So consider this as a shadow of what is to come. 00:05:21.300 |
A better preacher, a better message is coming. 00:05:31.520 |
So let's begin by a word of prayer before we begin the message. 00:05:37.360 |
Dear Heavenly Father, I just want to thank you, Lord God, for this morning as we gather 00:05:44.040 |
We are not alone in gathering here, but we have millions and millions of other Protestant 00:05:50.640 |
Christians, Lord God, coming together to give worship to you, recognizing and proclaiming 00:05:58.480 |
the resurrection of Jesus Christ, that we proclaim who you are and what you've done 00:06:06.360 |
We gather together for our own benefit as well, Lord, because we need that you called 00:06:14.360 |
us, Lord God, as people of worship, Lord God, that we were made to worship you. 00:06:20.960 |
So as we gather together this morning, that you would be with your servant, who is definitely 00:06:26.200 |
inadequate to speak this message this morning, but I pray, Father, that you would work through 00:06:33.040 |
the preparation and that we would all be blessed this morning, Lord God, by your word. 00:06:39.600 |
I want to thank you, Lord, and entrust the time to you. 00:06:44.760 |
So as a reminder, Hebrew is written to second or third generation Jewish believers who are 00:06:51.280 |
thinking of going back to the old covenant ways and its sacrificial system. 00:06:55.800 |
The book of Hebrews is an encouragement and a warning. 00:07:01.120 |
An encouragement to those who are being persecuted to persevere, because there was severe persecution 00:07:07.600 |
going on, some because of the persecution, was falling back. 00:07:12.240 |
This is also, the book of Hebrews is also a warning to those who are drifting and who 00:07:16.720 |
have neglected the great salvation they have received. 00:07:20.880 |
They have forgotten the greatness of Christ's death and sacrifice on the cross and started 00:07:32.040 |
The warning of drifting is a warning that is so relevant to us today, right? 00:07:37.360 |
There's so much distraction around us, especially this time of the year, right? 00:07:43.720 |
Black Friday doesn't start on Friday anymore, right? 00:07:50.960 |
Black Friday is not enough, so we have Cyber Monday. 00:07:54.440 |
Some of you are getting ready to do your Christmas shopping at work, right? 00:08:00.960 |
So this is also a big movie time, a lot of big bluster movies, because people are spending 00:08:10.440 |
The final trilogy before another one is made, right? 00:08:15.320 |
You have Disney+ that came out, the streaming service, free seven-day trial. 00:08:24.560 |
We got to see some Disney movies this holiday. 00:08:28.580 |
So if you're a sports fan, right, we have sports galore. 00:08:32.560 |
You have the college football championships, you know, coming together. 00:08:39.960 |
Now football is becoming more, because the championships are coming, the playoffs are 00:08:47.720 |
And then some of you who play fantasy football, right? 00:08:51.240 |
The end is coming, you're going to win that championship, the little prize that you get, 00:08:56.240 |
I guess, to say you're better than your friends. 00:09:00.360 |
Lakers versus Clippers are coming this Christmas Day. 00:09:04.360 |
Lakers finally, for a long time, is relevant. 00:09:08.500 |
It's a great time of the year to be a sports fan, right? 00:09:11.920 |
And people are traveling to see family or going on vacation. 00:09:15.320 |
If you love to ski, right, you're looking for that storm like we had and waiting to 00:09:20.080 |
go up and put on your skis and hit the slopes. 00:09:24.040 |
And I can go on and on and on, and there's nothing wrong with any of this. 00:09:28.760 |
However, they are all distractions, and if we are not careful, these things can cause 00:09:37.080 |
That's why are you not glad that in the sea of distractions that once a week we set aside 00:09:43.520 |
Sunday to gather at the body of Christ to sing songs, hear God's Word, and fellowship 00:09:58.220 |
So Elder Joe read the passage this morning, but I'd like to focus first on the first two 00:10:07.140 |
"Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, 00:10:14.460 |
by a new and living way which he inaugurated for us through the veil that is his flesh." 00:10:21.260 |
So when we see the phrase, "since we have confidence to enter the holy place," it reminds 00:10:26.420 |
the reader of Hebrews chapter 4 about entering his rest. 00:10:30.620 |
And Pastor Peter preached the sermon on Hebrews chapter 4, 1 through 10 about this rest in 00:10:42.700 |
I hope many of you were blessed, and I commend you to continue to review that message, because 00:10:50.020 |
it's rich and blesses the content really a blessing. 00:10:54.780 |
So this, the Hebrews chapter 4 is a reference to Genesis chapter 2, the rest, right, that 00:11:04.580 |
God in six days created the heavens and the earth, all of its worth, right? 00:11:10.740 |
In Genesis 31, just before chapter 2, God makes all creation, he says, "it was very 00:11:17.820 |
He looked at his creation, he said, "it was very good." 00:11:20.460 |
And he set aside the seventh day to rest, and he blessed it and set it aside as being 00:11:31.460 |
But because of the fall, as Pastor Peter preached, because of the fall, the rest became restlessness. 00:11:41.740 |
So the command of observing the Sabbath is given to the nation of Israel at Mount Sinai 00:11:48.860 |
Sabbath, the word Sabbath doesn't come on in Genesis chapter 2. 00:11:53.100 |
It first comes up in Exodus when the law is being given. 00:11:58.380 |
So we see the connection of the Sabbath and of Jesus Christ, right, when the law is given, 00:12:12.180 |
So we see that the rest that is talked about in the Sabbath rest, the rest that is in Genesis 00:12:19.580 |
chapter 2, is the rest that comes only through Jesus Christ. 00:12:23.860 |
Matthew 11, 28 to 30, it says, "Come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden, I will 00:12:30.900 |
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will 00:12:35.660 |
find rest for your souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light." 00:12:42.740 |
I just want to make one statement here, that I gave my outline, and since I gave my outline, 00:12:48.380 |
all the verses are there, but I might have moved it around, okay. 00:12:51.900 |
So I know somebody who follows along, okay, don't get freaked out, okay, if somehow the 00:12:57.820 |
Alright, so just in general the passages are there, don't freak out, but just hear the 00:13:06.900 |
So the Sabbath, like our Sunday, was a day of rest for the nation of Israel, but it was 00:13:15.020 |
Jesus is a rest, and because of the sin, there was restlessness in man. 00:13:21.260 |
So Sabbath Sunday, although the command is to rest, there was no real rest for the nation 00:13:29.380 |
So under the old covenant with Israel, the Sabbath day was extremely strict. 00:13:34.340 |
Not only was no work to be done by the Israelites and their children, they also were to give 00:13:39.900 |
rest to all their household servants, livestock, even sojourners, right, sojourners, so visitors. 00:13:46.600 |
So if you think about it, if you're livestock and you're slaves and no one is to work, and 00:13:54.760 |
For these people, this is their livelihood, that to take a break and to do no work is 00:14:05.080 |
Because I'm pretty sure they're thinking about, "Oh, who's going to feed this, who's going 00:14:08.320 |
to do that, how are we going to take care of this?" 00:14:10.360 |
Maybe some of you who are busy at work, that's what you're thinking about. 00:14:13.400 |
Even though it's vacation, you can't take a break because there's work to do. 00:14:19.400 |
So I liken this maybe to Chick-fil-A, that they close on Sunday. 00:14:23.600 |
It's not an easy thing to do, but they do it and God has blessed them for it. 00:14:29.520 |
So it's not easy to rest when there still is work to do. 00:14:34.400 |
So God even gave regulatory laws over what could and could not be done. 00:14:38.360 |
For example, if one even went out to gather sticks on the Sabbath in order to kindle fire, 00:14:47.520 |
So you're in the desert, it's cold, you need to warm up, you want to go out and you want 00:14:55.880 |
He worked on the Sabbath and he was put to death. 00:15:03.560 |
And I used to work for an Arab Jew when I was in college, and I remember coming to work 00:15:11.080 |
He said, "I normally don't work on Saturday because it's the Sabbath." 00:15:21.280 |
And he said, "Well, you know, on the Sabbath there's about over 600 things I'm not supposed 00:15:27.080 |
So I said, "Okay, of the 600, how many do you comply with?" 00:15:33.080 |
Not working on Saturday and maybe not eating meat on a particular day." 00:15:42.600 |
Even though it was commanded to rest, there was no real rest. 00:15:46.560 |
If Israel was commanded to rest on the Sabbath, but they could not because of all the laws 00:15:51.880 |
and regulations they had to observe, and the penalty if they did not, so in the end, what 00:16:04.360 |
So that takes us to our first point in the sermon, which is that the Sabbath was a reminder 00:16:15.320 |
And there's nothing more illustrative of this fact than the Day of Atonement. 00:16:23.800 |
So the Day of Atonement was a central point of the book of Leviticus. 00:16:30.200 |
And during our Bible study on Leviticus, some of you are part of that, some of you are not, 00:16:34.400 |
we learned that Leviticus is written in what's called a chiastic structure. 00:16:40.160 |
And what the chiastic structure is, you kind of bookend, or you can kind of see it as a 00:16:45.200 |
pyramid, that you start off and there's another bookend, and in the middle of another bookend 00:16:51.600 |
there's a parallel passage, and in the end, the central point that does not have a parallel 00:17:01.000 |
And that's how the book of Leviticus is divided. 00:17:04.520 |
So the ritual ceremonies are discussed in chapter 1 through 7, as well as 23 to 27, 00:17:15.080 |
then priesthood 8 to 10, 21 to 22, purity 11 to 15, and 10 to 20. 00:17:25.480 |
And then chapter 16, the Day of Atonement, is the only chapter there is no parallel to. 00:17:33.320 |
So you see that the main point of the book of Leviticus is this day in chapter 16. 00:17:43.840 |
So I don't want to spend too much time on this, but as a reminder of what we learned, 00:17:48.080 |
I have some pictures to help us, I hope, to visualize the tabernacle, if that's up, if 00:17:59.960 |
All right, so this is how the tabernacle is set up. 00:18:06.320 |
So you have the altar, burnt incense, and the laver where they wash up. 00:18:13.200 |
And then as soon as you go into the first tent in the Tent of Meeting, that's the holy 00:18:17.440 |
And then behind the second room is the Holy of Holies, where the Ark of the Covenant and 00:18:30.960 |
So on the Day of Atonement, when it's talking about entering, and even the Hebrews, about 00:18:35.120 |
entering his holy place, that is what it's talking about, being able to enter that room, 00:18:45.060 |
So to get an idea what Israel had to do, so now in Leviticus, that talks about the law, 00:18:52.440 |
the ceremonial religious law, and chapter 16 being the main focus, and the center, let 00:19:00.120 |
me quickly go through what the high priest had to do. 00:19:04.680 |
Because the high priest is the only one, once a year, who's able to enter in that room. 00:19:10.880 |
And even when he enters, he has no confidence that he's going to survive because of the 00:19:18.680 |
separation between God and man because of sin. 00:19:22.800 |
So the high priest, first of all, is to take a bowl and sacrifice it for his own sin, and 00:19:30.360 |
even before that he had to prepare himself by washing, and also putting a special robe 00:19:36.400 |
So once he gets a bowl and gives a sin offering for the sins of himself and for his family, 00:19:44.520 |
he's also to take a censer full of coals, a fire from the altar, two handfuls of sweet 00:19:51.600 |
incense, beat in small and bring it inside the veil, so he would go inside the veil, 00:19:57.080 |
put it on the fire before the Lord, so the smoke is rising. 00:20:01.060 |
He has to do that so that when the presence of God is there, that he is not killed, because 00:20:13.960 |
So he has to do that for his own safety, basically. 00:20:18.640 |
And all this is done to cover the mercy seat, right? 00:20:21.560 |
He takes the blood and he sprinkles it, the smoke is there, right? 00:20:26.520 |
And then blood of the bowl is sprinkled with his fingers from the mercy seat on front of 00:20:34.540 |
See how intricate and accurate it is that if he does not follow the letter of the law, 00:20:43.560 |
And after that, he would take two goats, take them to the entrance of the tent of meeting, 00:20:48.840 |
that's just before you get into the holy place. 00:20:52.920 |
Lots are cast to see which goat is chosen to be the goat for the Lord. 00:20:59.280 |
That's the one that's sacrificed for the sin, right, for the sins of the nation of Israel. 00:21:04.080 |
The other one is chosen as a scapegoat, specifically to Azazel. 00:21:10.520 |
And the one that the law fell to the Lord is used for all for sin offering. 00:21:14.160 |
And the same thing is done, the blood is taken, sprinkled, right, as the high priest did for 00:21:22.440 |
He does that for the blood with the goat, right? 00:21:26.640 |
Then afterwards, then he would take the scapegoat and pray over or put his hand over the goat 00:21:36.040 |
and speak the sins of the nation of Israel, and then after that they would release it 00:21:42.560 |
outside the camp, symbolizing sin being taken away from the nation, sin being atoned for. 00:21:51.720 |
And then in chapter, and then at the end, 29 to 34, it kind of summarizes the point 00:22:03.840 |
So in Leviticus 16, 29 to 31, this is what it says, read that, "This shall be a permanent 00:22:10.040 |
statute for you in the seventh month on the tenth day of the month. 00:22:13.600 |
You shall humble your souls and not do any work, whether the native or the alien who 00:22:20.120 |
For it is on this day that atonement shall be made for you to cleanse you. 00:22:25.080 |
You will be clean from all your sins before the Lord. 00:22:28.620 |
It is to be a Sabbath of solemn rest for you, that you may humble your souls. 00:22:36.520 |
So in the summary of the day of atonement, it is a call, it is called the day of affliction, 00:22:46.280 |
It is a day to be cleansed from their sin, for the sins to then, but it doesn't cover 00:22:54.620 |
It is a Sabbath of also a solemn rest, right? 00:22:58.040 |
And also, you see the word Sabbath here, it was a solemn rest of remembrance. 00:23:04.960 |
So in the scripture, the Sabbath always looked back to the original creation. 00:23:11.080 |
So if you think about it, at this point, especially on the day of atonement, looking back to the 00:23:16.600 |
creation, Genesis chapter 2, and the rest God gave, right, commanded on the seventh 00:23:21.680 |
day to rest, it really is a reminder of the fall, because they lost the communion, right? 00:23:31.640 |
There was no reason to sacrifice animals to come before him, to come near to him, draw 00:23:37.000 |
to him, but now because of the fall, Sabbath has become a reminder of what had happened. 00:23:43.200 |
It also is a foreshadowing, right, of the coming Messiah who will restore them to the 00:23:50.200 |
original state that they were, they had with the Lord. 00:23:56.000 |
That is why in Hebrews 10 it says, "For the law, since it has only a shadow of the good 00:24:01.600 |
things to come, and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they 00:24:07.600 |
offer continually, year by year, make perfect those who draw near." 00:24:14.000 |
So the whole purpose of the day of atonement was the ability for sinful Israel to be drawn 00:24:20.280 |
near to God, and only the high priest is able to do it once a year, only after killing a 00:24:27.960 |
bull, taking its blood for his own sins and his family, and also killing a goat, and spreading 00:24:35.760 |
the blood, and cleansing, and atoning for the nation of Israel, then he could enter, 00:24:43.060 |
not in confidence, but in fear, because if he did not follow every part of the law, he 00:24:50.080 |
And that is to the extent Israel could have a relationship with God, right, other than 00:24:59.680 |
So but in this day was repeated over and over and over, it was a perpetual covenant with 00:25:09.480 |
So if the atonement is a reminder of sins to cover the sins that they've committed, 00:25:14.480 |
and if you have to do this every year, what does that say? 00:25:18.160 |
It means that it's inadequate, right, that we continue, that sin is always in our lives, 00:25:24.680 |
that we are sinners, so that's why it is a shadow of what was to come, which was Jesus 00:25:31.840 |
So the sacrifices of animals and all the ceremony system was a shadow of what was to come, which 00:25:38.820 |
The yearly ritual of the Day of Atonement could not make perfect those who came near. 00:25:44.600 |
The curtain was closed for them, they could not enter God's rest by the Old Testament 00:25:51.940 |
They could not enter God's rest by the Old Testament sacrificial system. 00:25:59.200 |
If it could make perfect those who come near, then there would have been no need for more 00:26:08.020 |
But it was a continual, continual ceremony, continual thing that they had to do. 00:26:13.400 |
And because it could not, the Day of Atonement and the Sabbath was a reminder of sins year 00:26:29.680 |
Jesus inaugurated a new and living way because the old system was inadequate. 00:26:42.400 |
So when Hebrew writer says he takes away the first in order to establish the second, he's 00:26:48.860 |
not saying that Jesus nullifies or abolishes the Old Covenant. 00:26:53.620 |
And that might be maybe the thought that you have, or we might have, but that is not the 00:27:00.460 |
Even though the law brought death, but the intent of the law was good. 00:27:05.740 |
But because of the sin in man, it only brought to light the sin in us. 00:27:13.220 |
The law was there to bring about the sin in us because we were sinners. 00:27:19.700 |
So Jesus said, because he was criticized, are you coming to abolish the law? 00:27:25.340 |
But this is what Jesus says in Matthew 5, 17 to 18. 00:27:28.660 |
Do not think that I came to abolish the law or the prophets. 00:27:35.340 |
For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke 00:27:40.700 |
shall pass from the law until all is accomplished. 00:27:44.540 |
So God was going to establish a new covenant through Jesus Christ, a covenant that is not 00:27:49.180 |
about rules and regulation, but one where the law is fulfilled in us because it is written 00:27:59.220 |
In Jeremiah 31, 33, this is after the nation of Israel is taken, right, sacked by the Babylonian 00:28:10.060 |
The temple is destroyed and God prophesies through Jeremiah and this is what he says. 00:28:16.600 |
But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days 00:28:22.680 |
I will put my law within them and on their heart I will write it and I will be their 00:28:30.380 |
They will not teach again each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, Know the 00:28:38.220 |
From the least of them to the greatest of them, declares the Lord, for I will forgive 00:28:43.260 |
their iniquity and their sin I will remember no more. 00:28:48.200 |
Sin and judgment, God prophesies mercy, God prophesies redemption. 00:28:56.940 |
By one offering, Jesus Christ perfected for all time those who are sanctified. 00:29:03.260 |
What the continual yearly sacrifice that was done on the day of atonement could not do 00:29:10.140 |
what Jesus by his one sacrifice paid, the price for sins and purchased forgiveness of 00:29:17.280 |
So also the Sabbath was a shadow of what was to come. 00:29:21.020 |
So once Christ came, the true and living rest, Pastor Peter talked about the true and living 00:29:33.220 |
Observance of the Sabbath was no longer needed. 00:29:36.540 |
So once Christ came, he fulfilled the law as a result, he fulfilled the requirement 00:29:43.120 |
of the Sabbath, then we are no longer under the Sabbath, right? 00:29:50.060 |
So in Colossians 2.16 says, Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food 00:29:56.220 |
or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day, things which are 00:30:02.020 |
a mere shadow of what is to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. 00:30:08.440 |
This is why we do not meet on the last day of the week, like the seventh day Adventists 00:30:14.340 |
do because Jesus fulfilled the Sabbath in himself. 00:30:18.700 |
So this brings us to our next point, why Christians have service on Sunday and not Saturday. 00:30:26.620 |
So the point is, and I put an exclamation when he is alive, I wanted to scream and put 00:30:34.220 |
the emphasis because how important it is, right? 00:30:38.220 |
This is the excitement of coming together on Sunday. 00:30:42.060 |
We have to think about what happened on Sunday that those Jews who are meeting together, 00:30:49.180 |
right, religiously, literally, on Saturday change their service and gathering to Sunday. 00:30:58.460 |
So one of the problems with the old covenant priesthood was that the high priest would 00:31:06.140 |
Their days were numbered, and I love the way the Hebrew writer puts it in Hebrews 7.23. 00:31:12.500 |
The former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were prevented 00:31:20.580 |
Hebrew says we have a greater priest because the high priest died and as a result could 00:31:30.180 |
not continue as a result of death, but instead we have Jesus Christ who lives forever. 00:31:39.580 |
So the fact that he was resurrected tells us that he is able to save for eternity, which 00:31:48.460 |
the high priest in the old covenant system was not able to do. 00:31:58.220 |
Put it another way, if Jesus was not resurrected from the grave, we would still bear the guilt 00:32:05.700 |
So we gather to worship on Sunday because Jesus was resurrected on Sunday. 00:32:14.260 |
Let's turn to Luke 24, examine the greatness of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, okay? 00:32:20.900 |
On Luke 24, "But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing 00:32:36.620 |
And they found the stone rolled away for the tomb, but when they entered, they did not 00:32:45.140 |
While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling 00:32:51.940 |
And as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to 00:32:57.940 |
them, 'Why do you seek the living one among the dead? 00:33:06.500 |
Right, on Easter we gather together to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ because of 00:33:16.340 |
So I want to quote John MacArthur on this passage and what he says about it. 00:33:21.780 |
"Very early in the morning that the Lord is risen and he is alive, which means that he 00:33:31.180 |
He has been raised for our justification, he has conquered sin and death and hell. 00:33:37.500 |
He has borne our sins in his own body on the cross, been made sin for us, and he has risen 00:33:46.260 |
Second Corinthians 520, "He who knew no sin became sin for us so that we might become 00:33:56.100 |
The day of resurrection is why we gather on Sunday to celebrate the greatness of Jesus 00:34:03.020 |
Christ because everything that the old covenant symbolized, the shadow, was realized on the 00:34:14.300 |
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the single most important event in history. 00:34:24.980 |
It is our testimony and the testimony of the church, of the living God, that confirms his 00:34:32.980 |
Jesus is risen and now sits at the right hand of God because his work has been completed. 00:34:39.260 |
There's no more work to do and that is the symbolism of somebody who sits down. 00:34:44.940 |
The priest had to continually work because there's so much sin, there's so much work 00:34:50.700 |
to do in sacrifices, covering up sin, but Jesus Christ by his one sacrifice finished. 00:35:06.580 |
So every time the church gathers on Sunday, we proclaim the resurrection of Christ to 00:35:16.380 |
So at the beginning of the message, I've read somewhere, not at the beginning, but I've 00:35:20.580 |
read somewhere that some people say that we worship on Sunday because it was kind of a 00:35:29.620 |
But instead, there's evidence to show that the early believers, early Christians, started 00:35:39.760 |
So this was happening soon as the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 00:35:45.780 |
So in Acts 27, it says, "On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together 00:35:51.400 |
to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to leave the next day, and he prolonged 00:35:59.060 |
So this is the story where Paul on his third missionary journey is traveling through and 00:36:04.620 |
he is gathering together at Troas, I believe, and then it says, "On the first day of the 00:36:11.980 |
week they're meeting because his message was so long there was a guy who dropped and he 00:36:16.740 |
died, right, fell off the window, he brought him back to life." 00:36:20.340 |
But that shows that they were gathering on the first day. 00:36:24.260 |
And this was, you know, Paul by this time was ministering, what, 20, 30, 40 years in 00:36:31.020 |
In 1 Corinthians 16, 1 to 2, "Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed 00:36:36.660 |
the churches of Galatia, so do you also on the first day of every week. 00:36:42.540 |
Each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper, that no collections be 00:36:49.740 |
So it makes sense if you're going to collect, right? 00:36:52.260 |
Paul was collecting money for poor churches, mainly in Jerusalem, and he says, "When you 00:36:58.220 |
gather on the first day of the week," which is Sunday, "collect." 00:37:02.700 |
So they were gathering on Sunday, the first day of the week. 00:37:06.300 |
And also in Acts 2, 1-4, this is about the Pentecost, it says, "When the day of Pentecost 00:37:11.940 |
had come, they were all together in one place." 00:37:15.700 |
And the day of Pentecost is when the Spirit is given, right? 00:37:18.940 |
Jesus said, you know, "Stay," Acts 1a, "until the Spirit has come upon you and given you 00:37:27.860 |
So it's 50 days from the start, the Sabbath, of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. 00:37:34.820 |
So if you go seven weeks, that will take you to 49 days, rest of another Sabbath, so one 00:37:43.900 |
So we see that they were gathering on Sunday. 00:37:48.540 |
So gathering on Sunday is not a random occurrence. 00:37:51.140 |
We gather on Sunday to proclaim the resurrection of Jesus and all that it symbolizes. 00:37:57.360 |
We gather for our own purposes as well, for our own encouragement. 00:38:04.140 |
So what about the question, "Why do I have to come to church to have service with other 00:38:08.580 |
Okay, we could have it on Sunday, but why with other people? 00:38:11.380 |
Why can't I do it at home by myself as long as I am doing it on Sunday? 00:38:16.980 |
If this is you, this type of attitude is contrary to the teaching of Scripture. 00:38:22.940 |
Let me ask you this question, do you have a personal relationship with Jesus or do you 00:38:32.180 |
And before you answer it, in other words, if you do not have a relationship with the 00:38:37.180 |
Church of Jesus Christ, then you do not have a relationship with Jesus because it is so 00:38:44.660 |
integral that our relationship with Jesus, that it is through the Church, right? 00:38:49.940 |
When we are baptized into Christ, we are baptized into His body, His Church. 00:39:00.480 |
So this brings us to the next point, that is that Jesus called us to a gathering. 00:39:11.100 |
In 1 Peter 2, 4, 5, and 9, it says, "As you come to Him, a living stone, rejected by men, 00:39:19.980 |
but in the sight of God, chosen and precious. 00:39:23.740 |
You yourselves, like living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house." 00:39:28.780 |
So we as the Church are being built up because the door is open now for those who are elect, 00:39:37.300 |
those who do not know Him yet, can come into the Church and be built up to be a holy priesthood, 00:39:44.620 |
to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 00:39:49.700 |
Verse 9, "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His 00:39:57.060 |
So very precious to our Lord, for what purpose that you may proclaim the excellencies of 00:40:03.220 |
Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." 00:40:08.860 |
So when He called us, He called us to the body, right, which is being built up, the 00:40:15.980 |
So the definition of the Church is, the word itself is ecclesia, right? 00:40:21.980 |
And ecclesia means a gathering of citizens called out from their home into some public 00:40:32.140 |
So the fact that we are a Church means that it's a place of gathering of believers. 00:40:41.100 |
And Paul's letters were written to local churches in a particular region. 00:40:45.340 |
It says, you know, "To the church of Philippi," or "To the church of," it doesn't mean to 00:40:50.220 |
the universal church, but it's the church gathering in a particular location. 00:40:55.780 |
So we are called as believers to worship and express our calling in the local church setting, 00:41:06.720 |
So we are the body of Christ, so we are baptized into His body, and we are members of His body. 00:41:13.520 |
So in 1 Corinthians chapter 12, 12 to 13, "For just as the body is one and has many 00:41:22.100 |
members and all the members of the body, though many are one body, so it is with Christ. 00:41:28.560 |
For in one spirit we were all baptized into one body, Jews or Greeks, slaves or free, 00:41:40.320 |
So some are a pinky, some are a hand, some are other parts of His body, but we are all 00:41:47.280 |
And I love what Pastor Mark talked about and said, that we are like pillars, that we are 00:41:55.120 |
So when you do not come to church, it makes a difference. 00:42:01.800 |
So what about, I'll come to church on Sunday with other people, some I don't like, but 00:42:06.480 |
I'll do it, but I'm just going to be an observer. 00:42:09.820 |
I'm going to come on Sunday, I'll commit to that, but I'm just going to come and be an 00:42:23.560 |
So the next point is that God expects us to live out our Christian lives in the local 00:42:30.960 |
So we are to proclaim the excellencies of Him, right, who called us, and we are to do 00:42:43.720 |
So verse 25, focusing on verse 25, it says, "Not to neglect to meet together," this is 00:42:53.200 |
reference to the local church, as we gather as a local church, "not to neglect meeting 00:43:00.920 |
So we are baptized into the universal church, but our membership in the body of Christ is 00:43:10.520 |
So for us it is at Borean Community Church, it is in the local church that we exercise 00:43:23.640 |
So I hope all this does not sound like an obligation, that I have to come every Sunday, 00:43:29.580 |
I have to miss important events like vacation or other commitments, because I'm committed 00:43:37.600 |
Sunday was given to us as a gift, and let us think that way when we come on Sundays. 00:43:45.840 |
I am encouraged every Sunday when I am at church with fellow believers. 00:43:51.800 |
Throughout the week, even Bible study is different. 00:43:53.680 |
I feel like when we come on Sunday, that I am personally encouraged, when I am of the 00:44:01.400 |
right mindset and heart and know what this day represents, on Sunday, that I am always 00:44:13.120 |
That Sunday is for our benefit, that you think that it's a gift for our encouragement, because 00:44:21.600 |
the last point, we were made for corporate worship. 00:44:25.400 |
Think about it, we were made for corporate worship. 00:44:32.680 |
Read Hebrews chapter 12 and just set this up. 00:44:40.440 |
This is a comparison between Mount Sinai, where the law was given to the nation of Israel. 00:44:48.040 |
This is a description of God and the people's reaction to God's presence when they drew 00:44:52.440 |
near to him at Mount Sinai, representing the old covenant. 00:44:56.680 |
And this is what it says, "For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched, and 00:45:01.760 |
to a blazing fire, and to darkness, and gloom, and whirlwind, and to the blast of a trumpet, 00:45:08.600 |
and the sound of words which sound was such that those who heard begged that no further 00:45:17.440 |
For they could not bear the command, if even a beast said, 'I am full of fear and trembling.'" 00:45:25.640 |
This was the old covenant, this was their Sabbath. 00:45:29.260 |
The Sabbath under the law was not rest, but a reminder of sins, of the fall, and of judgment. 00:45:37.160 |
In Christ, we are under a new covenant of grace. 00:45:40.800 |
The original rest Adam and Eve had in the Garden of Eden has been restored in Christ 00:45:47.240 |
through, though not fully, until we either die or after Christ returns. 00:45:53.200 |
Now the contrast drawing near to God at Mount Sinai to drawing near to God at Mount Zion, 00:45:59.400 |
the city of God, is this, "But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living 00:46:06.760 |
God, to heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the General Assembly and Church 00:46:13.600 |
of the Firstborn, who are enrolled in heaven and to God, the Judge of all, and to the Spirit 00:46:18.800 |
of the Righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the Mediator of a new covenant." 00:46:27.120 |
The picture here is the entire church is gathered in heaven. 00:46:31.280 |
God is there, Jesus is there, myriads of angels, believers who have passed away and now are 00:46:38.940 |
The church is still growing, we are being built up. 00:46:44.040 |
So I shared at the start of this message that there are 800 million to about a billion Protestants 00:46:53.520 |
This does not include the myriad and myriads of angels and those believers who have gone 00:46:59.600 |
before us, gathered together on Sunday, worshiping and celebrating what Jesus did on the cross. 00:47:08.720 |
We only see ourselves here, but on this day, there are millions of people on earth that 00:47:16.340 |
But not only that, heaven is stirred, that the angels and the elders, in the presence 00:47:24.400 |
of God and Jesus, is also worshiping with us, that we are called to worship. 00:47:32.480 |
That Sunday is not a day that is just a day, but it's a day that represents the resurrection 00:47:40.260 |
of Jesus Christ and all that it represents, that we are proclaiming His resurrection when 00:47:46.080 |
we gather, that we are not the only ones praising and lifting up our voices, but there are millions 00:47:53.580 |
of other Christians, as well as heaven, angels are proclaiming worship to God. 00:48:02.760 |
And this is what Martin Luther says about corporate worship. 00:48:06.500 |
At home in my own house there is no warmth or vigor in me, but in the church when the 00:48:11.840 |
multitude is gathered together, a fire is kindled in my heart and it breaks its way 00:48:20.960 |
We are made to worship, that Sunday is for our benefit, because we are made to worship 00:48:33.040 |
So if we are not gathering and not worshiping together, then we are missing something in 00:48:42.960 |
We are members of Christ's body, which is growing and being built up. 00:48:47.320 |
Once all the elect are gathered, Christ will return. 00:48:52.500 |
So in Revelations, I'm almost at the end, here's a depiction of what worship will be 00:49:01.440 |
If this does not get you excited and juiced up, you don't want to be in heaven, because 00:49:11.400 |
Sunday gathering is the closest thing to heaven, if you really think about it, that we get 00:49:18.320 |
When we are saved, the whole idea of here and not yet. 00:49:22.400 |
So here we experience and taste the flavor of being in heaven, as we gather together, 00:49:32.200 |
until the fullness is realized in Jesus Christ when he returns. 00:49:38.520 |
So Revelations 5, 11-14, "Then I looked and I heard the voice of many angels around the 00:49:44.120 |
throne and the living creatures and the elders, and the number of them was myriads of myriads 00:49:50.080 |
and thousands of thousands, basically probably a sea of heads. 00:49:55.660 |
And there is no end, saying with a loud voice, 'Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive 00:50:01.640 |
power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing and every created 00:50:07.980 |
thing which is in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea and all things 00:50:13.460 |
in them I heard saying, 'To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and 00:50:20.060 |
honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.'" 00:50:27.660 |
So Sunday worship is the closest thing to a taste of heaven that we will get. 00:50:33.460 |
At the man's prayer or man's breakfast list prayer meeting, okay, although we ate very 00:50:39.100 |
well thanks to our loving sisters, I shared my experience at my first Shepherds Conference. 00:50:47.500 |
You know, Shepherds Conference is held at Grace Community Church and it's really for 00:50:53.260 |
So I don't think, you know, women, okay, don't get offended, but I don't think women generally 00:50:57.940 |
are not to be at the main service because it's for pastors, for men. 00:51:02.860 |
So I was there for the first time and I think it holds about 3,000 or more people and we 00:51:14.820 |
These were old men, you know, you look at me, I'm old, right? 00:51:23.440 |
They were pastors who have ministered, right, in ministry, suffered for years, persevered. 00:51:31.980 |
Some of them probably pastored larger churches. 00:51:36.900 |
Some of them are struggling because, you know, ministry is tough. 00:51:42.520 |
But 3,000 men who have experienced personal relationship with God, know Him in an intimate 00:51:50.200 |
way because they walked the walk, were gathered together and singing a song. 00:52:00.460 |
It was just a piano and you hear the voices of this men, 3,000, singing a hymn. 00:52:07.860 |
And I have to say my soul was so filled, so filled. 00:52:13.540 |
It was like a buffet for my spiritual soul when hearing them. 00:52:20.780 |
And to me that looked like the closest thing to heaven that I would experience. 00:52:27.260 |
I was in awe because I knew that every one of those pastors, every one of those men, 00:52:37.340 |
They were not here just clapping because there's something on the screen and they got to say 00:52:42.240 |
it and somebody next to them is looking, so they got to do it, right? 00:52:49.260 |
They were looking and they were thinking of Jesus. 00:52:52.500 |
They're thinking of the time when they are going to be in heaven and see Him face to 00:53:01.180 |
So our Sunday worship is a time that we can experience heaven, taste of heaven. 00:53:09.380 |
But it really depends what your attitude is, right? 00:53:12.140 |
If you come to Sunday worship because you're dragged here, you had a bad morning or that 00:53:19.220 |
the night before you did something you weren't supposed to do, you feel very guilty in coming, 00:53:24.820 |
burdened by sin, you slept, you know, you didn't sleep all night. 00:53:30.340 |
You know, if it was for studying for your finals, that's one thing, but it was for something 00:53:37.580 |
How can you experience the benefit and the grace and the mercy and the love and all that 00:53:45.260 |
resurrection of Jesus Christ means to us on Sunday, right? 00:53:58.380 |
It would be great if I could just end here, we are all encouraged, but there's also a 00:54:04.380 |
part where we have to talk about the application of this. 00:54:11.700 |
I'm going through the covenant, the fourth covenant that I commit to coming Sunday service 00:54:24.740 |
So looking at verse 25 of Hebrews chapter 10, so when the Hebrew writer was writing 00:54:32.280 |
this letter, I wonder if he paused at verse 25, I wonder if he paused there and was thinking 00:54:38.200 |
to himself, okay, I'm going to call out some people, but do I need to do it? 00:54:51.300 |
And I feel the same way because in calling out some of the, you know, some of, you know, 00:55:01.060 |
maybe the deficiencies, you know, no one wants to do it, but I realized it needs to be done. 00:55:07.820 |
So I am going to address a couple of issues that one, regarding the idea or the question 00:55:20.380 |
And the other is in a general sense and also a couple of specific things. 00:55:26.840 |
In a general sense regarding coming and committing to coming on Sunday, you know, I can't come 00:55:34.380 |
It's hard to say, okay, on this you can, on this you can't, this is not good or not. 00:55:39.800 |
But if you look at verse 25, it is calling out those people who, it says, not forsaking 00:55:45.640 |
our own assembly together as is the habit of some. 00:55:50.440 |
So the word habit here, in other, the same Greek word in other passages, it means custom, 00:56:00.180 |
So here is a group of people who are not gathering, who are neglecting to gather, and it had become 00:56:08.880 |
So I say to those that a habit is something that is done on a regular basis, that there 00:56:14.780 |
are some who regularly miss the Sunday service and it does not, you know, pass you by or 00:56:26.460 |
So that is the people who Hebrews 25 is talking about, that if missing Bible studies or Sunday 00:56:35.460 |
service is a regular thing in your life, that when people look at you, they almost assume, 00:56:40.540 |
okay, I can't rely on this person because I know he's very non-committed to this, then 00:56:48.740 |
this passage is calling you out and that you are in danger of drifting. 00:56:59.940 |
A more specific sense is we have live streaming. 00:57:06.180 |
We have live streaming that happens and we do it for the convenience of people who cannot 00:57:11.800 |
come to Sunday service, who cannot come here physically just because you're sick, you're 00:57:19.100 |
This year, I had my gallbladder removed and I could not come to Sunday service. 00:57:31.920 |
But I think just looking at the rise of the number of people who are streaming, that maybe 00:57:37.720 |
it's becoming a little too relaxed for some people that you could come but because either 00:57:44.880 |
you're tired or that you are for other reasons. 00:57:49.160 |
For you, I am saying you are missing out on coming because on Sunday, we are made to gather 00:57:58.340 |
And being here is different than being even sitting somewhere else. 00:58:03.080 |
I know that it can easily be a habit of, you know, if your child is sick, to have both 00:58:11.080 |
Go out, but that's why I said to the best of your ability, right? 00:58:16.960 |
To call out specifically, it's going to seem very legalistic, but it is an attitude of 00:58:25.040 |
I said the idea of we commit to Sunday service is that we are committing to understanding 00:58:31.680 |
what Sunday is about and then give it the props that it deserves, that as members that 00:58:37.240 |
we are giving Sunday worship all the props that it deserves, right? 00:58:42.520 |
He said the world looks at the resurrection of Jesus Christ and they don't believe it, 00:58:48.840 |
but it is the church gathering on Sunday is the one who's proclaiming it. 00:58:53.640 |
So if you are not here, you're missing out on corporate worship, missing out on the blessing, 00:59:01.060 |
So I encourage you to the best of your ability that you attend as much, as best as you can 00:59:11.520 |
I hope that doesn't bum you out, but with that, let me pray and we'll end our service.