Lord’s Day, Vol. 8 No. 34
8th Week of Resumption
Praise the Lord for His grace as the church marks the 8thweek since our resumption of physical worship on 28 June 2020 here at the Worship Centre. We praise the Lord for enabling His people to fulfil this biblical exhortation to meet in person on the Lord’s Day for holy worship.
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.
It is unprecedented for the church not to have in-person assemblies. This verse seemed to speak particularly to believers who are living nearest to the day of the Lord’s return where assembly is restricted or inhibited due to persecution. The exhortation, “not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together”, is used to encourage believers to obey the Lord continually, come together and meet with Him.
John Owen, the puritan writer observed well when he said, “The end of these assemblies were twofold: (1) The due performance of all solemn stated, orderly, evangelical worship, in prayer, preaching of the word, singing of psalms, and the administration of the sacraments. (2) The exercise of discipline, or the watch of the church over its members, with respect unto their walking and conversation, that in all things it be such as become the gospel, and give no offence: so to admonish, exhort, and “provoke one another to love and good works;” to comfort, establish, and encourage them that were afflicted and persecuted; to relieve the poor, etc. Such assemblies were constantly observed in the first churches. How they came to be lost is not unknown, though how they may and ought to be revived is difficult.
Two things are evident herein:
(1) That those assemblies, those comings together in one place, were the only way whereby the church, as a church, made its profession of subjection unto the authority of Christ in the performance of all those duties of sacred worship whereby God was to be glorified under the gospel. Wherefore a voluntary neglect and relinquishment of those assemblies destroy any church, if it to be persisted in.
(2) That those assemblies were the life, the food, the nourishment of their souls; without which they could neither attend unto the discipline of Christ, nor yield obedience unto His commands, nor make profession of His name as they ought, nor enjoy the benefit of evangelical institutions: whereas in a due observance of them consisted the trial of their faith in the sight of God and man. For as unto God, whatever reserves men may have in their minds, that they would continue to believe in Christ though they attended not unto His discipline in these assemblies, He regards it not; because therein men do openly prefer their own temporal safety before His glory.
And as unto men, it is not so much faith itself, as the profession of it in those assemblies that they hate, oppose, and persecute. Wherefore believers in all ages have constantly ventured their lives in the observance of them through a thousand difficulties and dangers, esteeming them always aliens from their communion by whom they were neglected.”
It is true that in our present assembly, we do not sing but meditate upon the words of the hymns as a precaution against the lurking COVID-19 virus with our masks put on, it should not be a reason for believers to stay away from church.
The first sign of the infant church recorded in Acts 1:1-14 was that members were being gathered together for corporate prayer meeting. There were various key words “being assembled together”, “they should not depart” which are significant to describe the process of rounding the flock of God and keeping them together. Jesus was in the midst of them (Acts 1:4-5, Matthew 18:20). The word for the phrase “being assembled together” (Acts 1:4, KJV) means “to cause to be in a place”, from the root words “to cause to come together, assemble, congregate” and “to bring together”, the opposite of “to scatter” as used in John 10:12 “But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.”
The Apostles whom Jesus has chosen and trained during His time on earth, met their Lord in His resurrection body, instructed them to gather the sheep together.
Acts 1:4 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.
The passive voice of the phrase “being assembled together” does in a sense show the passive sheep nature, the congregation had to be gathered in and they should not depart (Acts 1:4), but held together by prayer. Our Lord Jesus Christ, Head of the Church (Ephesians 5:23, Colossians 1:18), the Great Shepherd of the sheep (Hebrews 13:20), gathered the core leaders of His flock at the Mount of Olives to witness His ascension, the nucleus of the infant church, were assembled together, where Jesus presented Himself alive attesting to His resurrection life gave them the Great Commission (Acts 1:8).
How close are we to our Lord’s return? All the signs of His return are on display before our eyes – proliferation of earthquakes, pestilences, Israel in the land and making peace, days of Lot – advocation of alternate life-style against God’s order of the family, deception – world marching towards a global system, wars and rumours of wars, preaching of the gospel to the ends of the world (global broadcast), the love of many shall wax cold, but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
Dear brethren, watch, therefore, for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come (Matthew 24:42). We are down to the last hour, let His church be ready!
Yours lovingly,
Pastor Lek Aik Wee