Be Still and Know That I Am God

 Temple Baptist Church - 5-31-2026

Psalms 46

Introduction: 

A.  Psalm 46 is a psalm of confidence in troubled times.

 

1.  Many believe this psalm inspired A Mighty Fortress Is Our God, and rightly so, because Psalm 46 presents God as the unshakable refuge of His people.

 

2.  It was written both during and for future days of shaking, uncertainty, fear, and warfare. The earth is moving, mountains are collapsing, waters are roaring, kingdoms are raging — yet in the middle of all the chaos, God’s people are called to confidence, calmness, and faith.

 

3.  This psalm reminds us that while the world changes, God never changes.  Though we live in the 21^st century, we still face these things both mentally and physically. 

 

B.  Three Enemies that you and I face each day can cause us to “look back” if we are not careful.  The devil is on a rampage today and is doing all that he can to disable, discourage, defile, or destroy God’s people. 

 

1.  Worry - Philippians 4:6  Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

 

2.  Fear - Deuteronomy 31:8  And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.

 

3.  Discouragement - Joshua 1:9  Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

 

C.  Let’s look at the breakdown of the psalm.

 

1.  A Declaration of What God is - 1-7

 

a.  A Refuge (hiding place)- 1a

b.  A Strength - 1b

c.  A VERY Present Help - 1c

d.  A calm in the storm - 2-3

e.  A river of joy - 4

f.  An ever-present Saviour - do not have to run to our Refuge - He is there – 7

 

2.  A Declaration of What He Has Done - 8-9

 

a.  He has been victorious in every past circumstance

b.  He has never failed in His purpose

 

3.  A Declaration of What We Are To Do - 10-11

 

a.  Remain still- 10

b.  Remember who He is - 10

c.  Place your confidence in Him - 11

 

BE STILL - (When & Why?)

 

A.  Be Still When?

 

1.  Be Still When You Are Disappointed

 

Isaiah 40:31  But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

 

2.  Be Still When You Are Discouraged

 

John 16:33  These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

 

Psalms 4:4  Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.

 

3.  Be Still When You Are Distressed

 

Philippians 4:6-7  Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

 

4.  Be Still When You Are Doubtful

 

Proverbs 3:5-6  Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

         

B.  Be Still Why?  (Circumstances Can Alter Our Perception Of God)

 

1.  Be Still Because God's Time May Not Be Our Time.

 

Psalms 145:15  The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season.

 

2.  Be Still Because We May Not Have The Proper Perspective

 

Exodus 14:13  And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.

 

3.  Be Still Because God's Will May Not Be Ours

 

2 Corinthians12:9  And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

 

4.  Be Still Because We Need To Remain Confident In Him

 

Hebrews 10:35  Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.

 

5.  Be Still Because He Is Still God!

 

Isaiah 43:11  I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.

Do You Love the Church?

 Temple Baptist Church - 5-31-2026

Ephesians 5:22-33

 

Introduction: 

A.  Last week, I started a series of messages on the local church.  You may ask why such a series is important.  Because of the falling away from the local church in our day.  We need to fall in love with the local church!  I personally do not want to be “as the manner of some is!” 

 

B.  “Do you love the church?” is a question easily answered by those believers who love God! 

 

1.  Our text tells us of God’s love for the Church.  I fully understand that in this context, Paul speaks of the Body of Christ.  This phrase, though, is corporate! 

 

2.  We know that God loves every believer because He died for the individual as well as the whole of humanity.  John 3:16 speaks of the love of God for “the world,” which is corporate.  He died not only for the individual but also for every individual in the world.

 

3.  The contextual comparison is Christ’s love for His church and the love of the husband for his wife.  I do not believe that we men can love our wives and forsake them at the same time.

 

C.  A verse concerning our love for Christ says, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”  (John 14:15)  Though there are many commandments, I want to look again at one that deals with the local assembly called the local church.

 

D.  Last week, we saw God’s commandment concerning the local church:  “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together.” 

 

1.  Though this verse is not the subject of this morning’s message, it entails the truth of our loving or not loving the Lord as we should.  Love God, and you will love His church!  Plain and simple, isn’t it? 

 

2.  If Christ loved the church enough to die for it, then, if we love Christ as we should, we should love the local church!

 

3.  I love the church!  Not because I am a pastor.  It has been a place of separation from the world for God.  It has been a refuge in the time of storm.  It has been a place of companionship with the family of God.  I am a pastor because I first loved the Lord and then His church. 

 

4.  Though the Church that Christ died for was the body, He also loved the assembly of the local church.

 

E.  So many of God’s children in our day commit “spiritual adultery.”  This is plainly stated in 1 John 2:15:  “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”  If we love the world more than we love God, then the love of God is not in us.

F.  Now, back to the analogy that the Scriptures give here: men, we are to “love” our wives as Christ “loved” the Church. 

 

1.  Christ gave His all for the Church.  We are to give our all to our wives!

 

2.  Christ did this because He loved the Church.  We are to do the same out of the “same” love.

 

3.  We cannot love as Christ loves, but we are to love in the same way He loves. 

 

a)  The love between a man and his wife is an ever-changing love.  I have often said that the first love between a man and his wife is not the love that will hold their marriage together. 

 

b)  Though we need to keep that first love alive.  Trials and tribulations are what God has chosen to strengthen and change that love over time.  When Barbara and I were saved, we fell in love with the local church.  That first love still exists but has transformed. By finding the local church a refuge in times of trials and tribulations, our love and respect for it have strengthened!

 

c)  Our wedding vows have been kept! 

 

d)  I, ___, take thee, ___, to be my wedded wife/husband,
to have and to hold from this day forward,
for better or worse, for richer or poorer,
in sickness and in health,
to love, honor, and cherish,
forsaking all others,
till death do us part,

 

e)  Through “think and thin,” the local church has always been there for us, and we have been there for the local church.

 

G.  Why is loving the local church so important?  We cannot love the church and be unfaithful to it any more than we can love our wives and be unfaithful to them!

 

1.  Because It Is The Place That God Loves - Ephesians 5:25  Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it.

 

2.  Because It Is The Place Of Worship - Psalms 5:7   But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.

 

A place of Singing, A place of Praising, A place of Giving, and A place of Preaching!

 

3.  Because It Is The Place Where I Can Tithe and Give.  Malachi 3:10  Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

 

4.  Because It Is The Place Of Preaching And Teaching God’s Word - 1 Timothy 3:15  But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

 

What a joy to open God’s Word and just read it together.  What a joy to study God’s Word in Sunday School.  What a joy to be reproved rebuked, exhorted, and challenged by the preaching of God’s Word.

 

Job 23:12  Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.

 

5.  Because It Is The Place Where God’s People Gather - Psalms 55:14  We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company.

 

The greatest people on earth are there!

 

Psalms 122:1  A Song of degrees of David. I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.

 

6.  Because It Is The Place Where Sinners Are Both Sought And Loved - Luke 14:23  And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.

 

Matthew 9:10  And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples.

 

7.  Because It Is God’s Instrument For World Evangelism - 1 Thessalonians 1:6-8  And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost:  So that ye were ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia.  For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God–ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing.

 

8.  Because It Was There That I Heard The True Gospel Preached And Was Gloriously and Eternally Saved – Luke 18:10, 13-14  Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican …  And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

 

9.  Because It Is A Place Of Comfort And Spiritual Joy - Psalms 122:1 I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.

 

10.  It Is An Encouragement Filling Station - 2 Timothy 4:2  Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.

 

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.

 

10.  Because It Is Just A Little Bit Of Heaven On Earth - Psalms 84:1-12  How amiable are thy tabernacles, O LORD of hosts!  My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.  Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God.  Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah.  Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them.  Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.  They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.  O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer: give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah.  Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed.  For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.  For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.  O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.

The Blessedness of the Gospel

 Temple Baptist Church - 5-27-2026

1 Corinthians 15:1-8

 

Introduction: 

A.  The very word gospel simply means “good news” or “good tidings.” 

 

1.  The good news for a world dying in sin! 

 

2.  The good news that God’s Son, Israel’s Messiah, and our Lord and Saviour died once for all!   “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son!” 

 

3.  The good news is that the sinful do not have to spend eternity in a devil’s hell! 

 

4.  The good news is that all that is necessary for a sinner to be saved has been done.  Salvation is a finished work! 

 

5.  The good news is that every sinner who ever lived could be saved!  (2 Peter 3:9)  “The Lord is … not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

 

6.  The good news is that God’s prepared heaven is now freely accessible to both the greatest and the least of mankind!  The ground is level at the foot of the cross; no man stands higher than I.”

 

B.  Now, for the great danger of the Gospel: 1 Corinthians 15:2  By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

 

1.  In the next few verses, we find the best definition of the Gospel found in the Scriptures. 

 

1 Corinthians 15:3-4  For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;  (4)  And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

 

2.  Notice the word “also” found in verse 3.  Paul states that both the Corinthian believers, along with himself, had “received” the Gospel.  A saved man writing to saved people.

 

3.  Here, we find that the perversion of “another gospel” can occur when false doctrinal teaching finds access in the local churches. 

 

a)  The Bearers of another Gospel.  They are agents of Satan.

 

2 Corinthians 11:1-4  Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly: and indeed bear with me.  (2)  For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.  (3)  But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.  (4)  For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.

 

b)  The Beguiling of another Gospel.  God said twice that they were accursed. 

 

Galatians 1:6-9  I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:  (7)  Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.  (8)  But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.  (9)  As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

 

Colossians 1:20-23  And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.  (21)  And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled  (22)  In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:  (23)  If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;

 

4.  What is a perverted Gospel?  Adding to or taking away from the Scriptural account of the Gospel by introducing personal merit to both or either side of the Gospel.  In both the Books of 2 Corinthians and Galatians, we find the perverting of the gospel.  In the First Century, as false teachers infiltrated the local churches and found willing followers, the gospel fell under attack.  Satan hates the gospel!  The gospel is God’s power unto salvation to those who believe on Christ. 

 

a)  Another Gospel.  Personal merit essential to the Gospel for Salvation.  By adding baptism, good works, etc., to the finished work of Christ!  Teaching that the Gospel is both ALL sufficient for salvation, and also ONLY sufficient for salvation.

 

b)  Another Gospel.  Adding personal merit to the Gospel for Security.  Personal merit is essential to maintain salvation.  The teaching that they said is kept by personal merit or good works instead of the power of God through the Gospel alone.

 

c)  I fear, my beloved brethren, that we have become acceptant of these denominations of false teachings concerning salvation, which are perversions of the Gospel of Christ.

 

Romans 1:1-4  Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,  (2)  (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,)  (3)  Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;  (4)  And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:

 

Romans 1:15-17  So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.  (16)  For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.  (17)  For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

 

5.  Once saved by the pureness of the Gospel, we must preach and share that same pure Gospel to the lost so that they can be saved and have full assurance of their salvation.

 

6.  To the unlearned and ignorant, this may sound hard, but we can neither allow the infiltration of a false Gospel, nor can we associate with those who preach such!

 

C.  This evening, I want to look at some aspects of the Gospel found in these verses of Scripture. 

 

1.  The Purity Of The Gospel - The Gospel Defined – vs. 3-4  Many do not understand the gospel and refer to themselves as “full gospel” by adding other things to it.  This is “another gospel which is not another!”

 

a.  Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures.  (Involves the prophecies [such as not having a bone broken, etc.], doctrines of sin, Christ, and salvation.)

 

b.  Christ was buried.  (Involves prophecies fulfilled, such as that He made His grave with the rich.)

 

c.  Christ rose again the third day according to the scriptures.  (A glorious bodily resurrection.)

 

2.  The Preaching Of The Gospel - The Gospel Delivered – vs. 1, 3  The gospel must be preached in all of its purity in order to be effective.

 

a.  The Gospel Daringly Declared – vs. 1 “declared”  (Unashamedly and boldly preached.)

 

b.  The Gospel Dutifully Delivered – vs. 3 “delivered”  (In fulfillment of the Great Commission, preached to every creature both at home and abroad.)

 

3.  The People Of The Gospel – The Gospel Desired – vs. 1  A realization that salvation is through Christ alone brings about two things.

 

a.  The Gospel Brings Conversion – vs. 1 “received”  (A realization that works cannot obtain salvation.)

 

b.  The Gospel Brings Confidence – vs. 1 “stand”  (A realization that works cannot maintain salvation.)

 

4.  The Power Of The Gospel – The Gospel Demonstrated - vs. 3-4  The Gospel message works as well today as it did two thousand years ago.  It is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth.

 

a.  The Power Of Propitiation – vs. 3 “Christ died” (For every man, woman, and child who ever has or ever will live.)

 

b.  The Power Of Salvation – vs. 3 “our sins” (For all of our sins, past, present, and future.)

 

c.  The Power Of Resurrection – vs. 4 “rose again”  (Brings resurrection presently in holiness of life and then resurrection future into His eternal presence.)

 

5.  The Protection Of The Gospel – The Gospel Defended - vs. 2  The Gospel has always been under attack because it alone brings salvation.  The Gospel was attacked through the denial of the resurrection of the Sadducees, those who were religious zealots who crucified Christ, the soldiers who were to keep the tomb.

 

a.  Against Apostasy’s Deviation – vs. 2 “keep in memory”  (We live in days where the virgin birth, blood atonement, and other major gospel doctrines are under attack.)

 

b.  Against Apathy’s Dereliction - vs. 2, 10 “believed in vain…I laboured”  (If the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation, and it is, then we must be busy telling others the glorious news that Christ died for them and they can be eternally saved through trusting His finished work at Calvary.)

The Importance of Worship

 Temple Baptist Church - 5-24-2026

Psalm 145

 

Introduction:   Psalm 145 sets the stage for Psalms 146-150 as each of those Psalms begins and ends in the phrase of praise: “Praise ye the Lord!”

A.  I often say that this generation will never know the America we grew up in.  There is truth to that statement because of the degradation of the society in which we must live. 

 

1.  The change affects us older people because of the drastic shifts from the 40s and 50s to the present day.  Common sense, integrity, submission to authority, truthfulness, honesty, modesty, and self-respect are becoming things of the past. 

 

2.  Unfortunately, our children and grandchildren have never experienced these things.  If evolution is moving toward a higher plane, this generation we see today did not evolve in the right direction.

 

B.  Thus, it is with true worship: spirit and truth.  I go to many churches today and am uncomfortable.  This newfangled form of worship steals my worship away because I have known days when church was a place of reverence, holiness, order, and separation from the world.  I find little of these things in present-day churches.

 

C.  I said all that to say this: Our children and this present world will never know these things unless we praise the works of God to them.  This is an action, not just words spoken.  I believe the key verse of Psalm 145 is verse 4.

 

Psalms 145:4  One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.

 

D.  We have a lot of visitors who come here a time or two, then never come back.  Why?  Great question!

 

1.  They do not like our music.  They are so used to churches being entertainment centers, with music that has the beat and lyrics of the world.  We sing as our spiritual fathers once sang.  Ever heard of singing out of a Hymn Book?

 

2.  They do not like our Bible.  Having never been taught doctrine, they have worldly bibles in their hands, not the Holy Bible of our fathers.  Many do not even bring a Bible, as the TV screens on the walls are available for them to read.

 

3.  They do not like our preaching.  Let me rephrase that.  They do not like my preaching!  Straight and to the point!

 

E.  There are no complaints here, no petitions, no cries for deliverance. This psalm is filled with worship. Why this introduction?  Because the Bible tells us, through the personal life of King David,  how and why to worship.

 

1.  The Responsibility of our Worship.  “I”  I cannot worship for you, and you cannot worship for me!  Every child of God is admonished to worship their Creator.

 

2.  The Resolve of Worship.  “Will”  Psalm 100 sets the pattern of worship that God wants and requires.  When it is church time, resolve to come into His presence with praise, singing, and thanksgiving.

 

3.  The Reverence of our Worship.  “Extol Thee”  To place in a place of high esteem.  Reverently as His name is Reverend!  I refuse to be called Recverend because of my esteem and love for God.  He is worthy, not I.

 

4.  The Reason of our Worship.  “My God, O King”  He is LORD.  You do not make Him LORD!  He is also Ruler: King.

 

a.  Verses 5-13.  For Who He Is!  “My God, O King”  He is our God, but He is also the child of God’s King!  This is reason enough to worship Him. We will take a short look at what God does for us, but if God never did anything other than save us, that’s enough! 

 

1)  Verses 5-6.  His mighty works, His majesty, and His greatness.

 

2)  Verses 7-9.  His goodness, righteousness, graciousness, compassion, long suffering, and mercy.

 

3)  Verses 10-13.  His kingdom, both now and to all generations, and eternally.

 

b.  Verses 14-20.  For What He Does!  The things that God does for us are beyond numbering, so I will briefly mention a few of them found in this Psalm.

 

1)  Verse 14.  He upholdeth and raiseth up.  When we fall, He catches us.  When we stumble, He stabilizes us.

 

2)  Verse 15.  He watches over and provides for us.

 

3)  Verse 16.  He satisfies the hungry.

 

4)  Verse 17.  All His work is holy.  You can depend upon that.

 

5)  Verse 18.  His is nigh and hears our prayers.

 

6)  Verse 19.  He is always there with and for us.

 

7)  Verse 20.  He preserves and delivers us.

 

5.  Verse 20.  The Regularity of our Worship.  “Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever.”

 

6.  Verse 4.  The Relegation of our Worship.  “One generation … to another” – In this present evil world, our children and converts MUST see the reality of our Saviour and the change that our salvation brings.  If they do not see it in us, they probably will not see it in the world.

The Importance of Attending Church

 Temple Baptist Church - 5-24-2026

2 Thessalonians 2:1-5; Hebrews 10:22-27

 

Introduction: 

 

2 Thessalonians 2:1-5  Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,  (2)  (Be not shaken) That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.  (3)  (Be not deceived) Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, (Be not except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;  (4)  Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.  (5)  (Let us be reminded)  Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?

 

Hebrews 10:22-27  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)  (Let us be faithful to assemble) Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but (Let us exhort) exhorting one another: and so much the more, (Let us be watchful) as ye see the day approaching.  (26)  (Let us be obedient) For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,  (27)  But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.

 

1 John 2:28  And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.

 

1.  Just allow me to preach to us all this morning!  We live at the end of the last days with rampant sinfulness all around us. I am not here to fix that this morning because it will wax worse and worse.  My greatest fear is that we will allow the things of this present world to change us also.

 

2.  I want to tie some phrases together this morning as I begin a series on the Church. “A falling away” in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 and “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together” in Hebrews 10:25.  Both “falling away” and “forsaking the assembling” mean the same thing.  You had to be somewhere to fall away and also to forsake something.

 

3.  Now, for a good biblical example of these phrases, let's go to 2 Timothy 4:

 

2 Timothy 4:10a  For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica…

 

4.  This “present world” that drew Demas away from the Lord first and the Apostle Paul later continues to have an effect on both the pulpit and the pew!  So, hang on for a little while as every one of us needs this message!

 

A.  This November will be the Golden Anniversary of my salvation.  Fifty years!  I was once young (28 when I was saved), and now I am old (78 and counting).  In my years of salvation, bible college, and pastoring, I have witnessed 2 Thessalonians chapter two, verses 1-5, come to fruition.

 

1.  During the early years of salvation, Barbara and I saw the excitement of our home church as it was 1,000+ strong, hundreds coming in on the buses and making professions of faith.  It was all new to us, so we sat and watched with awe.  What we did not see but were quickly introduced to was the church's foundation, which was cracked.  Great preaching and tremendous singing, but a church that was in the process of falling away.  The pastor was soon to resign, and a power struggle raised its ugly head. And the huge crowd dwindled in a couple of years to about 85 people sitting in that massive sanctuary.

 

2.  During those years, God began to groom Barbara and me by allowing us to step up and help the church stabilize.  I was a babe in Christ, and Barbara was not yet saved (which took place in 1982).  Driving a bus, teaching Sunday School, chairman of the board of deacons, school board, radio board, plumber-electrician-grounds keeper, but a soul winner.

 

3.  Less than a year after Barbara was saved, God, in His infinite mercy, called me to preach.  I did not know what He wanted me to do or where He wanted me to go.  I only knew that God knew all the details, and my desire was to follow Him.  I didn’t know where to go, but God led us in the way He wanted us to go. 

 

4.  I spent 4 years in Bible College with app 250 men of God that, like my family, brought their wives and kids in.  Those were the glory days as God was calling and sending families around the world to once again turn the world upside down.  I still did not know what God wanted me to do, but I was “bucking in the traces”.  I wanted to do something for the glory of God because of what He did for Barbara and me!   We owed a debt that we could not pay to the One who paid a debt that He did not owe.

 

5.  God sent me to a faithful handful of people who loved God and loved the church.  God used these few precious saints to stabilize the church and help it grow. 

 

6.  Over this past half-century, I have had many opportunities to quit and go back to the world from which Barbara and I came.

 

7.  I said all that to say this: I have seen a generation that loves God and continually serves Him around the world today.  But, throughout the years, I have also seen the decline in spirituality and faithfulness come to pass.  The “falling away” has taken its toll upon the people of God, from the pulpits to the pews, as spirituality and faithfulness are quickly becoming a thing of the past.

 

B.  There has been a serious decline in church attendance in the past few decades, and this decline is simply a fulfillment of Scripture.  The days of Noah (eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage), Lot’s Day (they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded), and Demas’ Day (having loved this present world … departed unto Thessalonica).  Pastors preach Hebrews 10:22-26 to little or no avail as more and more of God’s people have fallen in love with the world at the expense of the local churches.  Decline in church attendance is a direct result of a decline in spirituality and a love for the world! 

 

1.  It has been prophesied that in the last days there would be a falling away, and we are in the middle of it.  Normally, we classify the “falling away” as the spiritual apostasy that is certainly in full swing.  But I have seen such a fearful change in believers and churches in general over these past 39 years. 

 

2.  I remember the faithfulness of God’s people here at Temple and the loss that we have suffered as we watched them grow older and pass on to heaven through the veil of death.  Years ago, the crowds on Sunday night and Wednesday night, along with Sunday School,  were virtually the same as on Sunday morning. 

 

3.  The older generation treated the Lord’s Day as the Lord’s Day.  Though we still have families like that, across the Bible Belt, we find more and more churches canceling services each week or making them optional.  They love the things of the world more than the things of God!  That bothers this old preacher!

 

C.  The “form of godliness” has permeated the ranks of the professing believers with little or no conviction or holiness of life.  “As the manner of some is” has become the rule instead of the exception, with more and more of the once faithful now either slack in their faithfulness or completely out of church. 

 

D.  The Importance of God’s House.  The phrase “The house of the Lord” is used 213 X  in the Bible.  The phrase “house of God” is used 87 times in the Bible.  That is a total of 300 references.  This does not include other references such as “temple” and “tabernacle.”  God’s house is a place of great importance.

 

E.  In Hebrews 10:25, we find the command of God to assemble.  That in itself should be all that is necessary to get God’s children to be faithful, but faithful attendance will never be accomplished until we see the value of the church, along with having a love for the church.  There is an old saying, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink!”

 

F. Hebrews 10:25 shows the importance of the assembly of the local church.

 

1.  The Emphasis of God’s House - 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.  Why the emphasis?

 

a.  It Is A Place Of Rallying.  (When you are down.)

 

b.  It Is A Place Of Relying.  (When you are devastated.)

 

c.  It Is A Place Of Renewing.  (When you are defiled.)

 

d.  It Is A Place Of Revival.  (When you are defeated.)

 

2.  The Exhortation of God’s House - 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.

 

a.  Let us draw near in holiness.

 

b.  Let us draw near in faithfulness.

 

c.  Let us draw near in consideration of others.

 

d.  Let us draw near in exhortation.

 

3.  The Excitement of God’s House - Psalms 122:1  I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.

 

a.  What a Privilege.

 

b.  What a Pleasure.

 

4.  The Ecstasy of God’s House - Psalms 27:4  One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.

 

Psalms 55:14  We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company.

 

a.  Ecstasy means an overwhelming feeling of great joy, delight, or intense emotional excitement.

 

b.  The Joy of coming to church and worshipping God!

 

c.  The Joy of coming to church and seeing the brethren.

 

d.  The Joy of coming to church and leaving this old, sinful world behind for a while.

 

e.  The Joy of serving God in obedience to His command.

 

Conclusion:  Don’t let the things of the world draw you away from church.  Let the Love of God draw you to church!  Don’t let “falling away” be a vivid description of you.  The Lord is coming, and we are leaving one way or the other soon.