Hebrews 10:19-25

[0:00] If not, we'll be in the New Testament to save him in the book of Hebrews chapter 10. I love the Old Testament, I love teaching and preaching from it.

[0:15] I've had three opportunities in the past few days and I haven't been in the Old Testament yet. That's okay. We'll do what we feel like good lords want us to do and sleep well tonight.

[0:30] Hebrews chapter 10 begins from the first verse through about the first 18 verses, I should say, talking about Jesus being superior to other sacrifices.

[0:52] He is the superior sacrifice, what the writer to the Hebrews is trying to get across in those verses in a nutshell. That's what he's going for.

[1:04] And I say the writer to the Hebrews, no one knows for certain who wrote the book of Hebrews. We could debate it all day and all night and for the rest of this week and come the end of the week, we still wouldn't know for certain who wrote it.

[1:19] Now some of your Bibles may say the epistle to the Hebrews from or by the Apostle Paul, but there is no definitive proof that Paul wrote this letter.

[1:34] I've got my opinions on who wrote it, you may have your opinions on who wrote it, and I won't debate with you about it, and I won't argue with you about it. You're entitled to your opinion, just as I'm entitled to mine, there's no sense in debating.

[1:46] It's all inspired and breathed by God Himself, and that's what matters. But throughout the epistle to the Hebrews, there's a few things that really take center stage or take the spotlight throughout this letter to the Hebrews.

[2:06] One of them, and possibly the most important thing that takes place, is that the writer is pointing out as the priesthood of Jesus Christ throughout the letter.

[2:20] It ain't just in the first couple of chapters, it's not just in this chapter or that chapter, but that is a very significant thing that's brought up throughout the book of Hebrews.

[2:33] The book of Hebrews contains a few warnings about backsliding or about neglecting salvation, a few other things, but it contains these warnings, and really it's a letter written, of course, to Hebrews, to Jews.

[2:54] If you read through the book of Hebrews, you'll see that it was written to Hebrews that believed Jesus Christ. They evidently believed the Gospel at some point, they believed what they heard, but they were in danger of backsliding back into what God had saved them from.

[3:15] They were in danger of backsliding back into the law and back into the Old Covenant, the Old Testament. Things along these lines.

[3:26] And as I said, you can see that throughout the book of Hebrews. And this was some of the things that the writer to the Hebrews addressed. Another thing that it addresses is not just the priesthood of Jesus Christ, and not just the danger of sliding backwards, but it also addresses the superiority of Jesus Christ over everything.

[3:51] Over everything and everyone. It talks about the superiority of Jesus over angels, the superiority of Jesus over Moses, and over all kinds of things, over the tabernacles, and over the other sacrifices.

[4:11] Chapter 10 begins the first 18 verses talking about the superior sacrifice that Jesus was as opposed to the sacrifices of the Old Law or the Old Covenant or the Old Testament.

[4:26] So these are things to keep in mind if you ever decide to read through the book of Hebrews. But in Hebrews 10, we're going to pick up in verse 19. I don't have but a few verses that I'm going to read here this evening.

[4:42] And what the Lord tells, preach for just a little while. But Hebrews chapter 10 in verse 19 says, Having therefore brethren boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus by a new and living way which he has consecrated for us through the veil that is to save his flesh.

[5:04] And having a high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart and full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

[5:18] 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 more as you see the day approaching.

[5:40] Now am I reading right there for right now? We may get into a few more verses and we may not. But back to verse 19 says, Having therefore brethren boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus.

[5:56] That word therefore puts us back to the previous verses which we didn't read this evening. But I said those previous verses here in Hebrews 10 are talking about the supreme sacrifice that Jesus Christ made that he offered which was himself.

[6:14] And the supreme sacrifice that he was and that he is and always will be. If you read verse 18 it says now where remission of these is, speaking of the course of sin of iniquity, it says now where the remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.

[6:33] Where the remission of sins for a believer in Jesus Christ is there is no more offering for sin. There is no other offering to be made. That's it.

[6:44] If you look in the Old Testament you see how the laws were given, how God gave the laws. And those of you that were here for several Wednesday nights we went through the first seven chapters of the book of Leviticus and talked about some of those laws that God gave and the sacrifices that were to be made for this offering and that for that offering and so on.

[7:09] And it was just sacrifice after sacrifice after sacrifice animal after animal after animal. Whether it was turtle doves or whether it was hawkson or whether it was sheep or goats they had to continually be bringing sacrifices even in the morning and the evening oblation.

[7:28] It was a continual sacrifice but it was a new animal killed, a new innocent animal that had its blood shed for each one of these sacrifices. But there in verse 18 he says, now where the remission of these is, the sins and iniquities, where the remission of these is there is no more offering for sin.

[7:47] Jesus Christ is it, He is the offering that we have. And it says having therefore in verse 19 brethren boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus Christ.

[8:00] Church I'm happy to tell you that we can have boldness going into the holy of holies. We can have boldness going in before Almighty God and this isn't because of our own arrogance.

[8:14] It isn't because of our own deeds. It isn't because of anything that we have done or that we could do. But it says that we can have having therefore brethren boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus.

[8:29] If we get into the presence of God, if we get in close with Almighty God, if we are in relationship with Almighty God and reconcile with Almighty God.

[8:41] It is by and only by the blood of Jesus Christ and it is because of the blood of Jesus Christ that we can do this. We can go under God. We can go in boldness. We can go in faith.

[8:54] We can go in competence to our heavenly Father anytime that we need to, anytime that we want to. We can get along with Almighty God and we can pour our hearts out to Him.

[9:06] Whether it's something that's eating away at our flesh or eating away at our minds or eating away at our heart. Or whether we just want to get away alone with God and praise Him for everything that He's done in our life.

[9:20] Praise Him for the hair that's in your lungs. Praise Him that we have somewhere to stay. And we have food in our bellies and food in the cupboard. And praise Him for all of these things regardless of why or how you would need to get along with God.

[9:37] You can do it with boldness because of the blood of Jesus Christ. Praise God. It says, Having therefore a brethren boldness to enter into the holiness, to the holiest by the blood of Jesus Christ by a new and living way.

[9:54] Well, what was the old and the dead way? If Jesus Christ has made a new and living way, there must have been an old and a dead way or an old way, an old way, an old way that has come to pass once Jesus Christ came in on the scene, once Jesus Christ offered Himself.

[10:12] This was the way of the Tabernacle. This was the way of the Temple. This was the way of the Law and the Sacrifices that we were talking about just a couple of minutes ago. This was the old way. And this is the way that Jesus Christ came and He done away with praise God.

[10:29] He done away with the old covenant that God had with man. And in Jesus Christ there is a new covenant. It was a blood sacrifice in the Old Testament and by the Law and Hallelujah.

[10:41] It is a blood sacrifice in the new covenant with Almighty God. But the blood sacrifice has been made once and it has been made for all by Jesus Christ.

[10:52] And because of Him we can go into the Holy of Holies when the veil in the Temple was written in twain at the time of Jesus' death. That showed that all of mankind, Jew and Jewtel alike, had access to God through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

[11:11] And because of this with boldness we can go into the holiest of the holy place and we can have communion with our Father. Praise God! Which He have consecrated for us through the veil that is to say His flesh.

[11:30] Now in the Old Testament and in the Law at the time of the Tabernacle and even at the time of the Temple there was a veil or a curtain very thick that separated the Holy of Holies from the Holy place.

[11:42] This would have been, this was the place where the mercy seat was and there was only one person per year that was allowed to go back in there. This was the High Priest and one day per year he was allowed to go back there and he would carry the blood of the sacrifice, of the atoning sacrifice on the day of atoning.

[12:02] He would go back to the Holy of Holies and he would sprinkle the blood upon the mercy seat and this was to symbolize and it was to show the propitiation that was being made for the sins of all of Israel, for the sins of the entire nation, for all of the children of Jacob.

[12:20] This High Priest would go back and he would sprinkle the blood but folks this is just like the sacrifices that I was talking about a little while ago. Except for instead of every day this was done once a year but once a year a new sacrifice was made, a new animal had to be killed, had to be slaughtered, an innocent animal that had never done anything wrong.

[12:43] It had to be spotless, it had to be blameless and it had to be sacrificed and its blood must be sprinkled on the mercy seat. But praise God we have one now that once and for all he has offered himself upon a tree that you and I can have eternal communion with our Father.

[13:04] Hallelujah, hallelujah. This is consecrated for us through the veil that is to say his flesh, the veil he is speaking of here of course being the flesh of Jesus Christ and having a High Priest over the house of God, having a High Priest over the house of God, having a High Priest.

[13:24] Now this is another thing that we can take into consideration that the High Priest back in the Old Testament and the High Priest even at the time that Jesus roamed the earth at the time of his incarnation and the time of his teachings and the time of his preaching.

[13:42] The whole time he was here, hey those High Priests would rise up and they would get those positions and they would fall, they would die, they would have to elect another High Priest or put another High Priest into that office.

[13:54] We have an eternal High Priest in whom there is no veribleness, in whom he will never die for he is life, he grants life, he is the life and the light of man. He will never die and we have a High Priest over the house of God.

[14:12] He is over not only this church, not only the other Bible believing, Bible preaching churches in this area or in this state or in this world. He is over the house of God as a community. He is over the bride of Christ.

[14:28] He is over each and every one of us that are guaranteed the ticket because of faith and repentance in the Gospel and in the blood of Jesus Christ. He is over the entire house of God. Hallelujah.

[14:43] He will never, ever die. He said that he was eternal. He said I am he that liveth, him was dead and behold I am alive forevermore and I hope that he is of hell and of death. Amen.

[14:58] This is the words of Jesus Christ. These are the things of Jesus Christ that we are reading and having a High Priest over the house of God. Hopefully we have a High Priest and he will not die. There is no need to be preparing someone else for that office.

[15:13] No one else could hold the office that Jesus Christ does. No one else could do what Jesus Christ has done. No one else could offer themself as he did. Hopefully he wasn't murdered. He freely gave himself over to be sacrificed. He freely gave himself for you and for me.

[15:30] He freely was made a curse for us. He that knew no sin became sin for us. That we may be, it might be made the righteousness of God in him, in Jesus Christ. We are made the righteousness of God. This is the High Priest that I want. This is the High Priest that I have and there is no need to be looking for another for no other will ever rise.

[15:54] Praise God. Let us draw nearer with a true heart and full assurance of faith. Let us draw nearer to what? Or to who? What we are talking about? A High Priest in the previous verse. Having a High Priest over the house of God. Let us draw nearer with a true heart and full assurance of faith. Who could we not draw near to before Jesus Christ?

[16:18] We could never draw nearer to the Father. The Father had cast us off. The Father had cut us off. The Father was angry. The Father was furious with the sin of the world. But Jesus Christ gave himself that we could be reconciled back to the Father. That we could be grafted in. That you and I could be adopted in as sons and daughters into the family of the Most High God.

[16:43] So when he says, let us draw nearer with a true heart and full assurance of faith. Folks, I understand that it's a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. I understand that these Jews that this writer was writing to here in the book of Hebrews, we got to understand their understanding of the Old Testament God.

[17:06] Their understanding of the God that flooded the world. Their understanding of the God that rained fire and brimstone down on Sodom and Gomorrah and opened up the ground and swallowed up the tribe of Korah. And all these other things that we read about in the Scriptures.

[17:21] These Jews would have had a very good understanding of the times that the children of Israel were given over into bondage. They were given over into slavery. They would have an understanding of all of these things. But here it says, let us draw nearer with a true heart and full assurance of faith.

[17:39] These Jews in the Old Testament times, yes, sometimes they would go right along with God. Sometimes they would do exactly as God wanted and then they would go a whoring after the other gods and after idols, after other cultures that were all around in the heathens and the pagans would draw them in.

[17:59] God would give them over into slavery and give them over into bondage and then after a while they would cry out to Almighty God and God would deliver them. But they had this understanding of God that he would punish them over and over and over again.

[18:15] But here it says, let us draw nearer with a true heart and full assurance of faith. In other words, because of Jesus Christ, because of this high priest that we have through and by and in Jesus Christ, because of him, we can approach God at any point during our day, any point during our week, at any point in our lives.

[18:38] We can come to our heavenly Father with assurance of faith that he will hear us. Hallelujah. That includes with repentance, with repentance of sin. Folks, us Christians, us who are saved and us who are born again, we said every day, every one of us do.

[18:59] None of us are exempt from that. None of us are immune to that. It's in our body, it's in our works, it's in our makeup. It's what we do. We sin. We have simple thoughts. We do simple things. Sometimes we say simple things. We sin.

[19:18] But when we come to God in repentance, we can come to him with full assurance, with full assurance that he will hear us. Let us draw nearer with a true heart and full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience.

[19:34] This is why we can come with full assurance. It's because we've had our hearts sprinkled with the blood of Jesus Christ. We have been cleansed. We have been washed by the blood of Jesus Christ. And this is why we can come to God in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

[19:57] We can go before God with full assurance of faith. We can come boldly before the throne of grace and obtain mercy and grace in a time of need according to the fourth chapter of the book of Hebrews.

[20:09] We can come before the throne of God in full assurance of faith. We can go with the utmost confidence that Almighty God will hear and that Almighty God will forgive. Hallelujah.

[20:23] I'm glad I've got that assurance. I don't know about you, but I'm glad that I've got that assurance. It says having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience.

[20:34] Our conscience will work against us. Our conscience will condemn us. Our conscience will tell us all kinds of things. But we've had our consciences. We've had ourselves washed with the blood of Jesus Christ sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

[20:58] When this is the case, we can have full assurance that God will hear us. What about this washing with pure water? That could be symbolic of one of two or maybe both of these things.

[21:14] The Bible makes it plain that sometimes the Word of God is symbolized by water and sometimes the Bible makes it plain that the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit is symbolized by water.

[21:28] Paul, when writing to Titus, talked about the washing and the regeneration by the Holy Spirit of God. Jesus Christ said to his disciples that he said, now you are cleansed by the words that I have spoken.

[21:44] So the Word of God and the Spirit of God can be being talked about here. But I also think that maybe vaguely it could be talking about water baptism here, which is non-essential as far as salvation goes.

[22:00] No part of creation can be added in with the one who wasn't created as far as salvation goes. Only Jesus Christ is needed and only faith in him is needed. Only his blood is needed in order to be saved.

[22:14] But when we get baptized, when we are submerged into the water, it is symbolic of us being crucified with Christ and us being laid into the ground with Christ. And when we come up out of the water, it is symbolic of us being raised into a new life with Christ.

[22:31] So this could vaguely be a picture of that as well, but either way, the entire verse says, 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.

[22:47] The blood of Jesus Christ is strong enough to wash away every sin on this planet, on every person, and in every person on this planet. The Word of God is all powerful enough to convict every person on this planet off their sin and cause them to repent and to believe the gospel.

[23:07] But folks, that, and then once the gospel has been preached, once the Word of God has been preached, there's a decision, there's a response that must take place. There's a decision that must be made by the person who was heard, whether they will believe and whether they will repent or whether they will reject the Word of God.

[23:32] Hallelujah. Help us to pray for them people that reject the Word of God. Let us hope fast the profession of our faith without wavering, for he is faithful that promised.

[23:43] We have something here in verse 23, something that the writer is telling us to do. He says, let us hope fast the profession of our faith without wavering. Let us all hope fast the profession of our faith. What profession of faith are we talking about? Are we talking about the very moment that we got saved?

[24:04] Are we talking about whether we were 5 or 10 or 50 years old when we got saved, when we were born again? Are we talking about that initial profession that we made of Jesus Christ? We could be talking about that because if that's the point, when you got saved, that is when you truly believe.

[24:23] But the profession, I believe that the writer to the Hebrews here is saying, let us hope fast the profession of our faith without wavering. This is a continual profession of Jesus Christ. A continual profession that Jesus Christ is Lord.

[24:39] A continual profession that Jesus Christ saved. A continual profession that he is the spotless and sinless Lamb of God. The continual profession that Jesus Christ and no other has all power to save and that we need to repent and believe the gospel.

[24:58] Don't believe anyone that tells you you need to add anything to the gospel other than repenting of your wicked ways and believing the gospel when you hear it preach. Believe this profession and hope fast to that profession.

[25:16] Now listen, you read here the writer here to the Hebrews, he says, let us hope fast to the profession of our faith without wavering. Don't doubt it.

[25:28] Folks, if you profess Christ and Christ saved you and you've continued to profess Christ and Christ has continued to work in your life and Christ has continued to bless you and God has continued to answer prayers because you have a high priest and you have a mediator and you have an intercessor between you and Almighty God.

[25:49] If this has continually happened for you, don't waver from it. Don't try another path. Don't try another way. Don't try another scripture. Don't try another gospel. Don't try anything.

[26:02] It don't matter how good that it might sound. If it has worked up to this point, there is no reason that we should waver in our faith. We should hope fast to the profession of our faith without wavering.

[26:15] But it tells us how we're to do that. He says, for he is faithful that promised. It tells us the how and it tells us the why. And both of them are in God.

[26:26] How are we to hope fast to the profession of our faith because of God? Why are we to hope fast to the profession of our faith because of God, for he is faithful that promised.

[26:39] He promised us. Did he not say that if a man confess with his mouth that Jesus crossed his Lord and if he believed in his heart that God had raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

[26:52] Is that not found in Romans? Is that not part of the inspired and God-breed word of God? Paul not quote the prophet Joel when he said there should come a day when anyone that should call upon the name of the Lord shall be delivered.

[27:09] And folks, that is the promise of Almighty God. And he is faithful that promised. He is faithful that said, I will be with you always, even to the end. He is faithful that it were written in the very words of the book, in the book of Hebrews. Jesus crossed the same yesterday, today, and forever.

[27:28] He is faithful that promised. And if God is faithful and he is, I'm happy to report to you. And if he is faithful, there is no reason that our faith should waver, nor the confession of that faith.

[27:43] Hang on to it, folks. Hang on to it. Not for your salvation. That's not what I'm saying. That you don't get dragged off in one direction or another. That you don't get raked over, raked over coals or raked over gravel when there's something a lot softer in the path that God has provided you.

[28:02] I'm not saying your life as a Christian is going to be a bed of roses. I ain't saying that it's going to be easy. I ain't saying that it's going to be a piece of cake as we would pray nowadays. In fact, Jesus told us quite differently in the Gospels. He said, you should be hated of all men, for my name's sake. He said, no, if they hate you, they hated me first.

[28:22] It was the words of Jesus Christ. So we're not going to be a cakewalk for us. That's not what I'm trying to get at here. But we should have no doubts as far as the confession of our faith goes. We should have no doubts with our faith because He is faithful. That promised everything that we read in this book.

[28:43] He promised these things. And that's what the writers of the Hebrews get down. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering. That's what we're going to be in the book of Acts chapter 4. Substitute that word for with because. Because He is faithful. That promised. That's why we can hold fast.

[29:02] Why and how we can hold fast the profession of our faith. And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works. Let us consider one another. Let us think about one another. Sounds like he's addressing the church. Sounds like he's addressing fellow believers.

[29:24] Maybe it was a specific congregation of believers that the writer was writing to in this letter to the Hebrews. Maybe it was to several different congregations. This letter was, he was intending for it to be passed around to several different congregations.

[29:42] But regardless, it says let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works. Let us consider one another. You need to consider me as a born again Christian.

[29:53] I need to consider you as a born again Christian. It ain't all about me. It ain't all about Spencer Baum Garner. And it's not all about you. It's not all about one individual. It's not all about one congregation for that matter. It's not about one denomination. It is about Jesus Christ.

[30:11] And we need to consider one another and we need to provoke one another unto love and unto good works. We need to encourage one another to love other people, to love ourselves or the people within our congregations, to love our neighbor as ourselves, to love those that are still out in sin.

[30:31] We need to provoke one another to do these things. Hallelujah. The church needs to do these things. Let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works.

[30:45] This term one another has found several times throughout the New Testament. James twice in the fifth chapter of the book of James talks about one another.

[30:57] He says to confess your faults to one another and to pray for one another. Paul says in Galatians, I believe it was chapter six, he says, bearing you one another's burdens so fulfilling the law of Christ.

[31:10] Bearing you one another's burdens. And several other times throughout the New Testament we can think of the phrase one another that's used. But here the Ritual of Hebrews says, let us consider one another. When we're considering one another, I'm putting your knees.

[31:28] I'm putting things that you might need in your life or in your Christian walk, things that you need spiritually before I'm thinking of myself. And folks, if we're a born again child of God and we're loving our neighbor as ourself, we should be looking at the entire world in that regard.

[31:45] We should be looking at everyone putting their needs before our own, putting what they need before anything that we may need. And folks, it says that we are to provoke one another under these things. We are to urge one another. We're to exert one another.

[32:02] We're to help one another under these works of love and under these good works in general. And how do we do that? The very next verse tells us, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another.

[32:20] And so much more, the more as you see the day approaching. So in verse 24 again, let us consider one another to provoke unto love and the good works of your reading.

[32:31] Verse before that, verse 23, let us hold fast the professional of our faith. If you notice these verses here, begin with, let us, let us, let who, let the church, the verse previous to that, let us draw near with a true heart of full assurance of faith. Let us, the church, let us, the church, let us, the church.

[32:51] And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works. And he tells us how, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together.

[33:02] We're assembled together tonight. Praise God. I'm glad, I'm glad for the people that are here. Would I like a house full? Absolutely. And any preacher, I tell you, I tell you no, I call him a liar to his face.

[33:15] Every preacher wants a house full of people, not for their own pats on the back, not for kudos for themselves. But every preacher should want people to hear the gospel, they should want people to learn of God and to learn the love of God and the word of God.

[33:31] But all these lettuce lines here. It all leads up to verse 25, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together. Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together.

[33:42] There's a danger, there's a danger in some thoughts that I know go around. I ain't saying that it's any of you or anything along those lines, but I've heard people that have said, well, I can worship God just fine out on the lake, or I can worship God just fine in the park.

[34:01] I can worship God just fine at the racetrack. I can go to the beach and I can sing songs under God. And I can worship God and I can praise God anywhere that I want to. And I'm not going to argue any of those points. Hey, I can worship God in my vehicle.

[34:16] I can pray to God in my vehicle and I can sing the songs of Zion under God in my own personal vehicle, driving down the road. I can worship God in my place of work. I can worship God in my home. I can worship him in Walmart or at the ball field or anywhere else.

[34:33] But the question is, will I worship him in those places? It's not a matter of can we. The question is, will we? Will we? Wherever we're more likely to worship God in the house of God.

[34:48] And who are we more likely to worship God with, with those that have locked mind and locked faith? Where are they going to be found at the house of God? Not forsaking the assembling of yourselves.

[35:01] Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is. And there's some theological debate as to exactly what the writer of Hebrews here was getting at.

[35:12] Folks, I think it's plain black and white. He was talking about people that were forsaking the assembling of themselves. Now, I understand that at the time that the book of Hebrews was written, there was some pretty severe persecution going on with Christian believers.

[35:26] There was some severe persecution with the church. People were being ridiculed. People were having derision for it all over them. People were being persecuted.

[35:37] They were being hanged. They were being lit on fire. They were being killed in all kinds of manners that you can think of. And I understand this, but folks, just because the persecution comes and just because someone might put a gun to our head, one of these days are we really going to deny like Peter did three times that you ever knew Jesus Christ.

[35:59] Will we really deny the Lord in that time or will we say, I know the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the Lord that saved me. This is the Lord that saved it. Shed his blood for me. This is the Lord that died for me. And he is currently my high priest up in heaven.

[36:17] What are we going to give up? What we deny. There's some writings by a Roman governor in the town of Athenia. His name was Pliny.

[36:31] And there's some writings of his that have been preserved over the years. And he wrote about the persecution of Christians that was going on. And he wrote about those that would deny Jesus because they were given an option.

[36:45] You recant your testimony of Jesus Christ. Not only that though. You not only recant that you know Jesus Christ or that you believe the gospel, but you stop living like you know Jesus Christ or that you believe the gospel.

[37:02] Pliny wrote about some people that recanted and went on about their lives, denying that they ever knew the Lord Jesus Christ. But they lived.

[37:13] That's all they were going for. Folks, that's not truly life. If you ask me, people that would deny their faith like that, they're not holding fast the profession of their faith like we were talking about just a few verses ago.

[37:27] People like that, did they ever have it to begin with? Were they ever really saved? Did they ever truly believe? And if they did truly believe, did they truly repent of their ways?

[37:40] Did they? I would say not. I would say not. But not for taking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner some is. Some people were neglecting the assembling of ourselves, or as the scripture here says, forsaking the assembly. There's actually a difference between neglecting and forsaking.

[37:59] If you think about someone forsaking you, how does that make you feel? And when do people normally do that? They do it when you're at your darkest. They do it when you're at your lowest. They do it when it seems like every demon that knows that hell is going to be home one of these days seems like it's pounding against you, and pounding against your heart, and pounding your head. It seems like the assailments of the devil are just one right after another.

[38:27] And this is when we would feel the most forsaken. Or even not even talking about spiritual matters, and physical matters. When sickness comes to the home, when sickness comes to yourselves, or when death comes knocking at your door, or whatever the case is.

[38:46] And we think that we can depend upon someone to be there, and they don't show up. We feel forsaken in those times. And this is what I believe the writer of Two The Hebrews was getting at here when he said not forsaking, the assembling of ourselves as a manner of some is.

[39:02] I believe that the church was experiencing persecution, and that there were people not going to church because of that persecution. But folks, I can understand that a whole lot better than I can.

[39:15] Someone that says, I've got a little bit of a headache. I'm not going to the house of God. Or I've got a little bit of a tummy ache. I'm not going to the house of God.

[39:26] And if mommy or daddy feels just a little bit sick, they keep the entire family out of church. Shame on the church for being that way. Shame on people that act that way.

[39:38] I understand things happen. I've had to miss church for being sick. And I'm sure every one of you that probably had to miss church at some point in your life because you were sick. But let me tell you something. Those of you that are raising children, maybe raising grandchildren, or nephews or nieces or whatever the case is. If church is optional for you, I promise you one day those children that you are in their lives, those children that you are raising, those children that you are significant part of their lives, if church is optional to you, it will be insignificant and unnecessary to those children.

[40:11] Keep them in church. Keep them in the house of God. Don't forsake the assembly of yourselves together as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another.

[40:22] And so much the more as you see the day approaching, exhorting one another, encouraging one another, lifting one another up, helping one another. And so much more as you see the day approaching, folks.

[40:37] The day has approached that much closer today as opposed to yesterday. And tomorrow it will be even more, even closer than it is today.

[40:48] It tells me that forsaking the house of God in these days in which we live is, it is paramount that we not do it.

[40:59] It is imperative that we not do it, not forsaking the assemblies of ourselves together as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another, encouraging one another. And so much more, we encourage one another to do what?

[41:12] What's the subject matter at the beginning of the verse? Not forsaking the assembly of yourselves together. I'm encouraging you now. I'm exhorting you now. I'm pleading with you now, not to forsake the assembly of yourselves in the house of God.

[41:28] And if the day ever comes and someone comes along, someone in authority, and they say, you've got to close down the church, all the churches that truly preach the Bible, and we've got to lock the doors and go to the house, praise God, we need to find a way to assemble.

[41:45] Why is that? Because it's a commandment out of the scriptures of Almighty God, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another.

[41:59] And so much more as you see the day approaching. I'm exhorting you now, and I'm encouraging you now. Stay in the house of God. Stay in the word of God.

[42:11] Stay around the people of God. Stay in the things of God. Learn more about God. Learn more about His Word. Pray more to God. Worship Him more. Do all these things toward God and for God, for His glory.

[42:28] And exhort others to do the same. Exort brothers and sisters and Christ to do the same. Encourage them to do so. Folks, that's tonight's message. God bless you all.