Hebrews 10:22-25 "Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. (23) Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) (24) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: (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."
We are now given instructions as to how we are to receive and apply in our
lives that which Jesus has done for us. We have been given boldness to
approach the throne of God. This boldness is not through our own works or
goodness; rather, we can be bold because the blood of Jesus Christ has been
offered and accepted by the Father. We are given access, not through a dead
animal's sacrifice, but through the sacrificial offering of the risen Lord
Jesus Christ. He is alive and bids us come to His throne to find mercy
and grace to help us in our times of need.
Now the writer of Hebrews gives us directives concerning the applied work of
Christ to our hearts. The first directive is to "draw near." We
cannot have any boldness in our own ability. We have the boldness of Christ and
His shed blood. We have the boldness of the very promises of God which are
recorded in His Holy Word. We draw close to God holding tight those very
promises by faith. "He is faithful that promised." I am
repeating myself often this morning, but it is very important that we
understand we have the God-given right to approach Him because of His grace. We
have the privilege to approach Him through relationship that has been bestowed
upon us. We are His children. Let us draw near. Let us hold tight to our
profession of faith. He is faithful.
"Let us not forsake the assembling of ourselves together." If recent events taught us nothing else, we should have learned how important it is to
be together in God's House. If God's people do not miss being in God's
House, it just might be the result of what we wrote about yesterday: Our
conscience may have been seared as with a hot iron. We need one
another. When God created this universe, there was only one thing He
declared to be "not good". After creating Adam, God said ,
"It is not good for man to be alone."
Each one of us needs the encouragement that can only be received when being
together in worship unto the Lord. Yes, I realize it is possible to worship God
alone in our homes. We all have those times. But we also need the
"recharging" that is received when being together in worship and
praise unto the Almighty. As the old hymn states, we "need the prayers of
those we love." But, if there is no other reason given, God's Word
directs us to be together in worship unto Him.