Psalm 122:1
“I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.”
Thanksgiving is a time of reflection upon good things. As children of God, we have far more to be thankful for than most. For instance, because of what Jesus did, when He willingly laid down His life for the salvation of all who would believe on Him, we have more blessings than can be numbered. One special blessing we currently have in America is the ability to gather in the house of the Lord where we worship Him, learn from His Word, and fellowship with those of like mind. Sadly, as we see the rapid advancement of the “Great Falling Away,” [1] we are beginning to experience the diminishment of this gathering, even in the most faithful churches. Today, in an effort to combat this, we address “Why We Gather More as We See the Day Approaching.”
Very concisely, the Day of the Lord is a period of time in which the Lord fulfills the remainder of the prophetic events foretold in Scripture. Most believe this ‘Day’ begins with the seven-year Tribulation period, which comes upon the earth after the rapture. Our daily experiences validate the approach of the Day of the Lord as we see the fulfillment of the prophetic words spoken to Daniel about the increase of knowledge and travel in the last days:
Daniel 12:4
“But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” Emphasis mine
Because of the increase of knowledge and the many comings and goings we experience on a daily basis, we usually have more to do than we have time, and because of this, we must prioritize everything we do. Sadly, a lack of understanding of “Why we Gather More as We See the Day Approaching” has caused many to place the lowest priority upon gathering with the saints, the very thing we need the most, especially now.
We find the perfect antidote to the problem at hand in the tenth chapter of the book of Hebrews. After the writer speaks about Christ’s perfect sacrifice that was sufficient to replace the annual sacrifice of insufficient animals, he calls for the saints to persevere. One of the chief points he makes about maintaining our enduring faith is the fact that we are to gather more as we see the day approaching,” not less. Sadly, we see in our ever-so-busy society a growing disregard for this call.
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. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: 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.”[2]
Although our main point is gathering more, not less, this passage provides so much more information than that. In just these three verses, we see the why for meeting. First, we are to draw nigh unto God, which we know from James 4:8 causes Him to draw nigh unto us:
James 4:8
“Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.”
In this same passage from James, we see the call for purification that is akin to what we see from the writer of the Hebrews text. Hebrews – We are to have our hearts sprinkled (James – purify our hearts) Hebrews – from an evil conscience and our bodies washed (James – hands cleansed) with pure water. However, James adds plain language about the things that hinder our ability to draw near to God. Whereas, the writer of Hebrews only alludes to the same.
James boldly calls for sinners to cleanse their hands (turn from sin) and the double minded to purify their hearts (focus on Christ); but, whom is he talking to, the lost ones of the world, or is he talking to supposed Christians? The context of the passage explains this clearly:
James 4:8-11
“Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. Speak not evil one of another, brethren…” emphasis mine
James is speaking to brethren; therefore, by extension, he is encouraging the entire body of Christ to purge any obstruction that prohibits the ability to draw nigh unto God. Remember, sin (self) can never inhabit the same place as God. This means that if we want God to inhabit more of our hearts, we must make room for Him by eliminating the things that hinder this. The story of Noah and the children of Israel, when God informed them to purify themselves so He could draw nigh unto them at Mount Sinai, comes to mind here. Sadly, after God arrived, only Moses drew near to God, the rest of the people were too afraid (Ex 20). Perhaps this is because they had not purified themselves. We can assume this is the case, as they convinced Aaron to make the golden calf shortly after this incident (Ex 32).
Next, we are encouraged to “hold fast to our profession of faith without wavering” (v. 23). We must resist the urge to squelch our commentary on Jesus just because many desire that we stop proclaiming our faith in Him. Sadly, we have seen the steady creep of the removal of Jesus from the public square for quite some time. Case in point: as a child, I would never have dreamed that we would live in a country that removed monuments depicting the Ten Commandments while promoting the rainbow flag as sacred and protected. [3] We must continue to speak the truth in love.
Finally, when we do come together, we are to consider one another, or, said another way, we are to ponder what we can do to encourage each other to love and good works. The latter part of verse twenty-five bears this out and adds urgency by stating that we should exhort one another even more as the day of the Lord approaches.
The ‘ready remnant’ [4] throughout the land is well aware that we are in the closing moments of the age of grace. With our departure at the rapture, the day of the Lord begins as the restrainer, the Holy Spirit within the faithful, ends His mission of restraining and allows the lawless one to rise (2 Thess 2:6). This message is not rapture, restrainer, or lawless one focused; therefore, we will move on with our main purpose, the encouraging of the body of Christ to be even more involved with one another in order to stir each other for the purpose of loving the lost while doing good works as directed by the Holy Spirit of God.
Perhaps the most beneficial way to love the lost is to share the gospel with them while doing good works for them. This is certainly what Soldiers of the Way do. [5] However, we must not embark on this mission without understanding the gospel of Christ. It is also very important to know why we have a gospel in the first place. Here is God’s reason:
John 3:16-21
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.”
The Apostle Paul describes the gospel this way:
1 Corinthians 15:1-6
“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.”
The Word of God has clearly defined why we have the gospel of Jesus Christ and exactly what it entails. In its basic essence, the gospel proclaims the need of a Savior; that Christ (the sinless one) died for the remission of sin; that He rose again; and now sits at the right hand of the Father in heaven. Our belief in the sufficiency of what Jesus did is all that is required of us for salvation. Accordingly, good works stem from salvation; they do not cause it (Eph 2:8-10).
Conclusion
What a privilege to be able meet freely and converse openly about Jesus Christ. What a blessing it is to have the freedom to read our Bibles whenever we wish. Our blessings are abundant. Thank you, Lord, for the opportunity we have to gather and stir one another up by encouraging each other with your Word. Thank you for showing us that we need to do this even more now that we see the day of the Lord rapidly approaching. Grant unto us great boldness to proclaim your gospel to the lost and dying so they, too, come to know you.
I have chosen to end all of my future articles with this ***Special Message***
It is vital that we persevere in our mission to share the gospel of Christ to anyone the Lord places in front of us. Above all, remember, we must not engage the enemy or attempt to engage in evangelism in our own power, for it is only in the Lord that we can succeed in these endeavors. After all, the Scripture tells us that we can do all things through Christ, which strengthens us (Phil 4:13). With this knowledge, after dawning the full armor of God, go forth and “Be – Salt and Light,”[6]as good “Soldiers of the Way.”[7]
Website: In His Commission
View this week’s sermon, which features this article on our Facebook page.
[1] For greater understanding, see the article, “The Falling Away.”
[2] “Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages referenced are in the King James Version.”
[3] For greater understanding, see the article, “The Coming False Flag of Pride.”
[4] For greater understanding, see the web page, “Ready Remnant.”
[5] For greater understanding, see the web page, “Soldiers of the Way.”
[6] For greater understanding, see the article, “Be – Salt and Light.”
[7] For greater understanding, see the article, “Soldiers of the Way.”