Hebrews 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching
I recently thought that people are a little bit like monkeys, swinging from end to end, branch to branch, and totally missing the trunk in the middle of the tree. A wonderful truth is that in Christ I can come directly to God. There is nothing and no one that should be between me and God. There is no mediator other than Jesus Christ.
On the other hand, there is the idea that because I have direct access to God, I don’t need to worry about meeting with other believers. I can worship God on the lake when I’m fishing or in the mountains. You can obviously see God’s handiwork in His Creation, but if we think we don’t need to meet with other believers, then we are missing the middle, something very important. Jesus is the mediator. He is a new and living way.
It is important for us moderns to remember how important the temple was in the life of the Jewish people. There is one passage where God talks to Solomon, giving him a number of scenarios for what would happen if different sins were committed. Then God basically says, “If you will pray toward this place, I will hear from heaven.” So, God always hears from Heaven. That is instructive to note, but over and again God says, “If you will pray toward this place.” He is talking about the Temple. Think about Daniel who prayed to an open window that faced toward the Temple. We moderns do not tend to think so geographically, but even today many modern Jewish communities live within walking distance of the synagogue. There is a community there that can be mutually beneficial.
If we are not careful, we can swing from one end to the other, from knowing that I have direct access to God to totally missing that I need to have access to other believers. You see, free access to God does not limit your access to other believers. Free access to God does not limit your access to the church. You and I do that.
Hebrews 10:19-20 says, “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way.” We have direct access to God. Verse 22 says, “Let us draw near.” Verse 23 says, “Let us hold fast the profession of our faith.” And verse 24 says, “Let us consider one another to provoke unto love and good works.” So, free access to God does not limit your access to other believers or to church.
Consider one another. When I go to church, it is not just a matter of what I can get from church from the preaching, fellowship, or music. The point here in Hebrews is that I am to consider other people when I go to church. The reason I go to church is not what I can get, but what I can give. As I give, I will receive. I am to consider other people. What does considerate or thoughtful mean? It doesn’t just mean being nice. It means I’m considering and thinking about other people. Most of the time people think about themselves, not other people. So, we have free access to God, but that does not limit our access to other believers. We are to consider others.
Verse 25 says we are to exhort one another. “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is.” Some people avoid fellowship and church. It continues, “But exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” Time is drawing short. I am to consider and to exhort others.
What is missing when you are absent from church? You shouldn’t be missing, but if nothing is missing when you are missing, then something is wrong. I am to be contributing and giving. Consider three actions. First, just show up. As an evangelist I travel a lot, but in the summer months I am home consistently. This last summer I was able to teach a Sunday School class at my home church. It was temporary, but nonetheless I experienced something I had never experienced before. When I preach in other churches, I am a guest, so if someone is missing, I am not disturbed because I am not normally there. As a Sunday school teacher, when people did not show up on Sunday, I had a confusion of feelings. I was concerned about them, but we as a class were missing what they filled in by their very presence. So, just show up.
Second, sit up. I don’t have a proof text for this, but don’t get to church early to get the back seat. Sit up. My wife and I often sit toward the front because I am often preaching, and sometimes she might say, “Hey, can we sit three rows back?” When I’m at my home church, I don’t sit in the front row, but I don’t sit in the back. It helps the service to have people sit up and not leave a lot of room between the first people and the last.
So, show up, sit up, and then speak up. I can think of many times when people in my church said just a word that was an encouragement to me, and I think to myself if I have said anything recently that was an encouragement to others.
We have free access to God, a new and living way, and we can with boldness enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. But free access to God does not limit your access to other believers or the church; you do. So, consider one another and exhort one another.