Begin our worship now. We're going to sing firstly today from Psalm 122, and that's on page 416,
singing the whole psalm to the Tune Free Church.
I joyed when to the house of God go up, they said to me, Jerusalem within thy gates,
our feet shall standing be. Jerusalem as a city is compactly built together,
and to that place the tribes go up, the tribes of God go thither. Back to the days of Israel
in the Old Testament, when they used to go up to the temple to meet together there, various festivals
and times of worship. And the emphasis in the psalm is one of great joy, which should characterize us
as we come before God, to be joyous in His presence, to rejoice in His salvation, to actually have our
hearts stirred as we come to realize the privilege that is ours every time we come together as
worshipers together. So, Psalm 122, we stand for the singings. If you're able to stand,
I joyed when to the house of God.
Go up, they said to me, Jerusalem within thy gates, our feet shall standing be.
Jerusalem as a city is compactly built together, and to that place the tribes go up, the tribes
of God.
Jerusalem as a city is compactly built together, and to that place the tribes of God.
To Israel's testimony, where to God's name come to pray, for thrones of judgment came the thrones of the
of David's house first day.
Jerusalem as a city is compactly built together, and to that place the earth has been
filled with us and filled with us. And the land of Jerusalem has been filled with us, and
the land of Jerusalem may have peace and felicity. Let them that love thee and thy
And thy peace have still prosperity.
Therefore I wish that peace may still
within thy walls remain.
And ever may thy power see, prosperity retain.
Now for my friends and brethren's sakes,
peace be in thee I'll say.
And for the house of God our Lord,
I'll seek thy good always.
Now we're going to join together briefly in prayer.
And prayer at this point is particularly for the young folks
and for the Sunday school.
So let's bow our heads to pray.
Our gracious and eternal God,
we give thanks today that we're able to meet in this way here,
in this place of worship.
And we give thanks that as we do so,
we have our young people with us.
We thank you, Lord, for the valuable place they have in the congregation.
And we pray for them today as they meet together in Sunday school
and other activities.
And we thank you for all who come
and for all parents who bring children and grandparents
to be joined together with us in worship
and to meet together in the Sunday school.
Bless, we pray, each and every one of these young lives.
And we pray as they begin a new session
that you would help those who teach them and lead them
as we give thanks for them too.
We ask, O Lord, that your blessing will follow them,
that they may come to be more and more rooted in your truth,
that their lives may be developed and be shaped by your word,
that they may be able to resist the many different ways
in which the world around us
seeks to pull us away from those things that are important,
those things that are conducive to our growth
in righteousness and holiness and the biblical morality.
And, Lord, we ask for your Holy Spirit
to bless all of these young lives today.
Be pleased now, we pray, to go before us
in the remainder of the service, hear this, our prayer,
and pardon our sin for Jesus' sake.
Amen.
Right, before you go through,
I'm just going to say a few words to you,
for the young folks especially.
It's for the older ones too, I'm sure,
but it's for the young folks especially.
Right, hands up, children,
all of those of you who like spiders.
Whoops.
Nobody likes spiders.
Oh, there's some of the backs, eh?
Yes, they like spiders.
Well, we should like spiders.
You know why?
Because spiders are really good to remove things like flies
and other beasties that come into our houses
and actually might be carrying some disease or other.
You never know where flies have been
before they land on your bread or on your food or whatever.
So spiders actually kill flies.
They actually, as you know, they weave webs.
The flies get stuck in the web.
The spider then eats them.
Not very pleasant, but it's good to know
that spiders actually help us in that way.
Well, there's a story about a spider
or a man who really was protected by a spider's web.
Long ago in Scotland, this happened,
a man was being chased by his enemies.
The enemies were soldiers.
And they were chasing this man
and he was running away from them.
They weren't really in a great hurry.
They knew they probably,
they realized they probably would catch him eventually.
But he went off at great speed.
And when he was out of sight,
where the soldiers couldn't see him,
he came across a very small cave,
a very low entrance cave
that you needed to crawl into
in order to get inside.
So he crawled into the cave
and laid down there as far in as he could
and just waited to see what would happen.
And he was pretty sure
that the soldiers, as they chased him,
would actually find him eventually.
So he began thinking about
what he was going to do
when the soldiers actually discovered the cave
and saw that he was inside.
But as he was waiting for quite a long time,
a spider began to weave a web
across the mouth of the cave.
And pretty soon,
most of that entrance
was covered by the spider's web.
And a while after that,
he heard voices.
And these were the soldiers looking for him.
And they came to this cave
and he heard one of them
shouting to another soldier nearby.
He said,
there's nobody here.
Nobody,
there can't be anybody in here.
But if anybody had gone into that cave,
he was thinking,
it would have broken the spider's web
and given the clue that he was inside.
So that spider's web
protected that soldier,
protected that man from the soldiers.
And off they went to look for him somewhere else.
And somebody wrote,
when they heard about that incident,
somebody wrote this.
If God is on your side,
a spider's web
is as good as a stone wall.
If God is not on your side,
a stone wall
is no better than a spider's web.
We're talking about protection.
How God looks after his people
and how believing in Jesus
brings us into the protection of God.
It doesn't mean protecting from everything
that's going to happen to us in life,
but protection especially
from the result of our sin,
where God's own anger,
where God's own displeasure
is directed against us
till we come to believe in Jesus.
And when we come to believe in Jesus,
then we're protected from that
by being safe in Jesus.
Paul,
when he wrote to the Romans,
said,
there is now therefore no condemnation.
Teachers can explain that
to the young ones
in the Sunday school.
What's condemnation?
There is therefore now
no condemnation
to those who are in Christ Jesus.
When we come to believe in Jesus,
we come to be taken
into the protective care of Jesus.
And therefore we are safe.
We are saved.
We come to belong to God's people.
And whatever happens to us in the world,
we're safe
because we're then on the way
to heaven
where we're safe forevermore.
So next time you see a spider
or next time you see a spider's web,
remember that story.
Remember to ask yourself,
am I living a safe life?
Do I believe in Jesus
for my protection forevermore?
Or am I still not one of those
who are in Christ Jesus?
Now we're going to say
the Lord's Prayer again together.
So let's just say the Lord's Prayer
before you go through to your rooms.
Our Father,
which art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth
as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts
as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory forever.
Amen.
Let's sing once more now.
We're singing this time from Psalm 42.
Psalm 42.
Again, it's in the Scottish Psalter,
page 262.
And singing to the tune,
Glencairn.
And in this psalm,
we find the psalmist who wrote the psalm.
We find him longing for God.
He is actually away from the people of God
at that time.
In verse 4,
you can see when he's thinking about
what happened in the past,
for whatever reason,
he's not able to join with God's people,
the multitude,
when he went with them to God's house.
That would be to the temple
with voice of joy and praise.
So he's thinking back to that
and he's longing to be back again
with those people of God
as they come together to worship him.
So it's like us,
the heart for water brooks
and thirst at pant and bray.
So pants my longing soul,
O God,
that come to thee I may.
The heart for the young folks,
the heart was a kind of deer.
And the deer,
when it's out in a desert area,
especially at times,
longs to get water if it's thirsty.
And so the psalmist is comparing himself
to these deer
and he himself is longing
to take a drink of God's word
in worship with his people.
Let's sing verses 1 to 5
to the tune Glencairn
to God's praise.
Like as the heart for water brooks,
in thirst doth pant and bray,
so pants my longing soul,
O God,
that come to thee I may.
My soul for God,
the living God,
that first when shall I near,
and to thy countenance approach,
and in God's sight appear.
My tears have unto me been meed,
both in the night and day.
While unto me continually,
where is thy God they say?
My soul is poured out to me,
when this I think upon,
because that with the multitude
I here tofore had gone.
With them into God's house I went,
with voice of joy and praise,
yea, with the multitude that kept
the solemn holy days.
O why art thou cast out my soul,
why in this soul is laid?
Thus God,
for I shall praise him yet,
his countenance is mine.
Now if you turn with me please
to Matthew chapter 18.
I'm going to read God's word there
at Matthew chapter 18,
the Gospel of Matthew.
And we're going to read
the first 20 verses of this chapter.
Matthew 18, verses 1 to 20.
At that time the disciples came to Jesus saying,
Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?
And calling to him a child,
he put him in the midst of them
and said,
Truly I say to you,
unless you turn and become like children,
you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Whoever humbles himself like this child
is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Whoever receives one such child
in my name receives me.
But whoever causes one of these little ones
who believe in me to sin,
it would be better for him
to have a millstone
fastened round his neck
and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.
Woe to the world for temptations to sin.
For it is necessary that temptations come.
But woe to the one by whom
the temptation comes.
And if your hand or your foot
causes you to sin,
cut it off and throw it away.
It is better for you
to enter life crippled or lame
than with two hands or two feet
to be thrown into the eternal fire.
And if your eye causes you to sin,
tear it out and throw it away.
It is better for you
to enter life with one eye
than with two eyes to be thrown
into the hell of fire.
See that you do not despise
one of these little ones.
For I tell you that in heaven
their angels always see
the face of my Father
who is in heaven.
What do you think?
If a man has a hundred sheep
and one of them has gone astray,
does he not leave the ninety-nine
on the mountain
and go in search of the one
that went astray?
And if he finds it,
truly I say to you,
he rejoices over it
more than over the ninety-nine
that never went astray.
So it is not the will of my Father
who is in heaven
that one of these little ones
should perish.
If your brother sins against you,
go and tell him his fault
between you and him alone.
If he listens to you,
you have gained your brother.
But if he does not listen,
take one or two others along with you
that every charge may be established
by the evidence of two or three witnesses.
If he refuses to listen to them,
tell it to the church.
And if he refuses to listen
even to the church,
let him be to you as a Gentile
and a tax collector.
Truly I say to you,
whatever you bind on earth
shall be bound in heaven,
and whatever you loose on earth
shall be loosed in heaven.
Again I say to you,
if two of you agree on earth
about anything they ask,
it will be done for them
by my Father in heaven.
For where two or three
are gathered in my name,
there am I among them.
May God bless to us
by reading anew of his word
to his own praise.
Before we come back
to look at the final verse
that we read there,
verse 20,
we're going to sing again
this time in Psalm 87.
Psalm 87 from the Sing Psalms version
this time on page 115.
We're singing to the tune,
in Sussex.
On Jerusalem's holy mountain
he has founded his abode.
More than all of Jacob's dwellings,
Zion's gates are near,
are dear to God.
Glorious things of you are spoken,
Zion, city of the Lord.
Many drawn from all the nations,
as your people I record.
When you find Zion in the Old Testament
referred to in this way,
it refers to Zion as the church of God
gathered in different places,
especially here.
He's talking here about
Zion gathered together,
and how the blessing of God
accompanies the gatherings of his people,
and how God delights
in Zion's gates,
it says there in verse 2,
more than all of Jacob's dwellings.
That's generally been interpreted as
how the Lord delights
in the gatherings of his people,
even more than to meet with them individually.
So we'll sing these verses,
Psalm 87,
to Tune Sussex,
on Jerusalem,
Jerusalem's holy mountain.
Amen.
Glorious things of you are spoken,
Zion, city of the Lord.
Many drawn from all the nations,
as your people I record.
I will name as those who know me,
Egypt, Tyre, and Babylon.
Eilestine, along with whose sight,
I will count as Zion born.
Yes, it will be said of time,
this and that on here belong,
and on earth the highest blessing
will descend and make her strong.
Born in Zion,
what will enter?
Then the peoples register,
they will sing our family music,
all my pountains are in love.
Amen.
Well, let's turn now for a short time
to Matthew 18.
Matthew chapter 18.
I'd like us to consider verse 20
of this chapter.
For where two or three
are gathered in my name,
there am I among them.
This is, of course,
Jesus speaking to his disciples.
Where two or three are gathered in my name,
there am I among them.
Now, as mentioned in the intimations,
I want to begin a short series of studies today,
maybe some 10, 11, 12 studies the most,
and it's going to be on the theme
of the gathered church.
By the gathered church,
we're going to be looking specifically
at the church gathered as we are today
in a congregational setting,
and some of the important aspects
of how we gather together
and why we gather together,
particularly in worship,
though there are other activities
for which we gather together as well.
And, of course,
God is gathering his church
from all over the world.
According to the promise of the Bible,
God is busy all the time
gathering his church together,
different denominations,
different countries,
different backgrounds,
all of that,
and building them into the one church of God,
the one people of God,
wherever we're based,
and however much we may differ
from other different parts of the world.
So that's one aspect of gathering,
but here it's specifically referring
to the gathered church
in a congregational sense,
which two or three,
where they are gathered in my name,
there I am among them.
And so we're looking at the gathering
of the church.
We're actually very conscious
of the benefits we've received
ever since the pandemic
of having online services
and having live stream services.
I don't want to minimize that.
That's a real blessing from God.
But it can actually be something
of a drawback as well,
because we can come to rely on the fact
that we don't need to actually
physically attend
in order to join with a service
that's live or that's taking place.
And what we want to see
through these studies
is the importance
of actually gathering
physically together
and the benefits that accrue
to us from doing that
compared with actually
watching a service
or taking part in a service
virtually without actually
gathering with the Lord's people.
A pastor in Atlanta
called John Onwuchekwa,
I think that's how you pronounce it,
but this is what he said
at one time of his own experience
as a youngster.
He said,
I thought I hated baseball.
I watched it to cure insomnia.
Then one day in elementary school,
my friends came to the door
with aluminum baseball bats
and tennis balls.
We used cars and landposts
in our cul-de-sac as bases,
and we started playing baseball.
And you know what?
Baseball wasn't all that bad.
In fact, baseball was great.
It was suddenly engaging
and enjoyable.
We played for hours,
and the time just flew by.
It wasn't baseball I hated.
It was just watching it.
What made the difference?
Participation, he says.
The worth of the sport
shouldn't be judged
by spectating,
but by participating.
And I want to change
that last sentence a bit
just to swap the word sport
for the word church.
The worth of the church
shouldn't be judged
by spectating,
but by participating.
And that's what we're really about
in thinking of the church
as gathered
or the gathered church
in the different ways
in which we can see
the importance of that.
Because the Bible tells us
that it's as gathered together,
especially as gathered together,
that we grow
in our understanding
of the Bible,
that we grow
in our appreciation
of each other.
It's as we gather together
that we actually come
to grow spiritually
in our development
in a spiritual
and moral development.
It's as we come together
and grow together
and be together
and meet together
and discuss together
and worship together
that we find ourselves
using the gifts
that God has given us
for the growth
of his kingdom.
All of that is packed
into the important matter
of being gathered together.
And you'll notice
all the way through the Bible
that you have many times
plurals used
to describe
what God's people do.
If you go through
the letters of the Apostle Paul,
even when he's thinking
of such things
as being sanctified,
being made holy,
which we tend
to individualize
perhaps too much.
Of course,
we all need to develop
individually.
We all need to grow
spiritually
as individual Christians.
We all need to
be sanctified individually.
All of these things
are important
in an individual basis.
But if you go through
the letters of the Apostle Paul,
more often than not,
you'll find him saying,
these things are done together.
You are sanctified
as you meet together,
as you actually gather together,
as you are seen together
and appreciate being together.
All of that,
that's why he uses
the pronouns they
and we
and you
in the plural.
Pronouns.
Well,
they're important
in today's society
and for all the wrong reasons.
But the Bible's use
of plurals
is itself
significant for us
because it's one way
in which it reminds us
that we are a plurality,
that we meet together
not as disjointed individuals,
but as a spiritual body
of people,
as the gathered church
of God.
And in a world
where individualism
has for so long
been a feature
of people's thinking
and people's behavior,
the church
in this world,
the church on earth,
the gathered church,
should be
the least
individualistic
body
on earth.
There should be
no room
for individualism
here in this congregation,
any other congregation
of God's people,
because individualism,
as you find it all
too often
in the world
out there,
really says,
I'm in charge
of my own life.
Nobody needs to tell me
how to run my life.
I'll do this
because it feels right
for me to do it.
I'll think of my identity
the way I want to feel
about my identity.
I'll see
to my genders,
I'll see to all the things
that affect me
as an individual.
It doesn't matter
what anybody else says,
and especially
it doesn't matter
what the likes
of the Bible says
or the church says,
I am the boss
of my own life.
And as you meet
together as a church,
and as we seem
to meet together
as a church,
the gathered church
is one of the main ways
in which we counter
the worldly culture
of the world.
That's so important
to us
as individuals
but also collectively.
So that's where
we're coming to
this theme
from the gathered church.
And if you come now
to this verse
in verse 20,
Jesus saying,
for where two or three
are gathered in my name,
there am I among them.
And two things
really strike you.
We'll use these
just as our headings
briefly from that verse.
First of all,
he talks here about
being gathered
in his name.
As many as
two or three
are gathered
in my name.
So they're gathered
in Christ's name.
And the second thing
that comes across strongly
is the fact that
he in these gatherings
is there among them.
Christ's presence
in his church,
in the gatherings
of his church.
And the two things
are very closely connected.
Look at the context here.
It's to do with the church.
We're not going to go through
the various parts
of the passage,
but you can see
how it goes
step by step
from what he looks at
as a matter of
pastoral importance
or even discipline.
A brother sins
against another.
How you go and try
and gain that brother,
reconcile to your brother
or sister.
And if he refuses
to listen,
then you take with you
some witnesses.
You try and do it
in that way,
first of all.
And if that fails,
then you tell it
to the church.
You get the church
to come in.
In other words,
this is a passage
that's always been regarded
as a passage important
regarding the discipline
that ought to be
taking place
in the church.
Now, don't think
of the word discipline
as just punishment.
Discipline is a matter
of order,
keeping order,
keeping good order
in the church.
And it's an important feature
of the church
described in the Bible.
I'm not going to go into that,
but it's the context.
That's the context
in which Jesus
is speaking these words.
And then he widens it out
by talking about
those who ask God,
the Father in heaven.
And verse 19,
if two of you agree
on earth about anything
they ask,
it will be done for them
by my Father in heaven.
And that takes you
into the area
of prayer
and of being together
in prayer
and of having
God's people
sharing in prayer
to God the Father
and seeking His blessing.
And then it widens out
even further,
I think,
in verse 20,
where two or three
are gathered in my name.
In other words,
it's moving out
of the area
of just looking
at the discipline
of the church
into all kinds
of gatherings,
especially worship
gatherings of the church,
where two or three people
are gathered together
in my name.
I am there
in the midst.
And that word gathered
is very close,
actually,
to another passage
we'll look at,
God willing,
in the course
of these studies,
in Hebrews chapter 10,
where the writer
to the Hebrews
was aware
that some people
were just drifting away
and falling away
from being gathered together
or didn't want to gather
anymore with God's people.
And he says to them
in terms of their hope
and their faith
and all the rest of it,
don't, he said,
neglect the assembling
of yourselves together
as is the habit of some.
But all the more
as you see
the day approaching,
he means by that
the last day,
the day of Christ's return,
all the more
as you see
that day approaching,
meet together,
gather together,
be together,
share together.
And it's very close,
that word in Hebrews,
to this word gathered here.
It really means gathered
in a sense of worship.
And one thing
we need to remember
is this.
When we gather together
in worship,
we're not just following
a decision
on our own part,
although that's involved in it.
We meet together today
by Christ's appointment.
And that's important.
We meet together
by Christ's own appointment.
Not just that he's foreseen it
or appointment in that sense,
but appointment in the sense
that he wills it.
In fact,
he orders it.
It's a command on his part
to meet together.
And so by Christ's appointment,
that's why he says here,
meet together in my name.
In other words,
we're meeting together
under his authority,
by his leave
and by his express command,
by his appointment,
under his authority
as the Son of God,
the Savior of his church.
And in relation to that,
there's something
very important.
And that's the visibility
of God's church
in this world.
The visibility
of the church
in this world.
We are a visible body
of people,
but we're not visible
if we individualize everything.
Yes,
our individual lives
should show
that we're committed
to God,
that we're committed
to Jesus,
but it's as people
come to see us
gathering together
and as we do so regularly,
as they see us
gathering together,
then that makes
an impression
upon their minds,
doesn't it,
that why are these people
meeting together?
What is it that draws
these people
to be together?
What is it that they
actually have
as they come together
to worship this God
that they claim
is their God?
That's the way
of the world,
but they're seeing,
they're noticing it.
Jesus,
remember in John chapter 13
in verse 35,
he says,
by this shall all
people know
that you are
my disciples
if you have love
one for another.
Now,
you can't love
on your own
unless it's love
for yourself.
When he says,
by this shall all men
know that you're
my disciples
if you have love
one for another,
that's love
made visible.
And how is love
made visible?
Well,
especially in God's
people actually
coming to gather
together from time
to time
to share together
in the worship
of God,
in the exploration
of God's word,
in listening to his voice,
speaking to us
from the scriptures.
Yes,
you can do that
individually.
Yes,
you can do that
online.
And I'm not taking
issue with those
who simply cannot
for various reasons
meet together
with others.
That's where
online services
are truly appreciated
and beneficial
and good.
But when we can,
when we don't have
reasons like that
not to gather together,
then the blessings
of gatherings
are blessings
that are noticed
and make their mark
to others around us.
By this shall all men
know that you're
my disciples
if you love
one another.
And if you love
one another,
then you'll love
to be together
is really pretty much
what Jesus is saying.
And there's a question
for us today,
there's a challenge
for us today,
here.
Do we love
to be here
on an individual
basis?
Is our presence
here today
with others
just on a personal
sense,
just for what I might
get out of it
or what I might
contribute to it?
Or do we just
simply love to be
with God's
worshiping people?
That's how it should
be, isn't it?
And I'm sure
that's the case,
I'm sure,
I hope,
for all of us
here today.
We love to be here
because we love
to be with other
people who worship
God.
We love to be
with like-minded
people for whom
it is so important
that we gather
together to worship
God together.
For whom it's
important that the
world out there
sees that we do
love God and that
we love Him to the
extent that we love
to worship Him
together.
You see,
all of that's
behind this emphasis
on gathering
together.
We're gathered
together today
by Christ's
appointment.
we're gathered
together in
His name.
He's laid the
responsibility of
gathering together
on us.
And it's not just
a responsibility.
I want us really
to think, as we go
through all of these
studies, indeed all
the time, to think
that yes, it's our
responsibility by
Christ's appointment
to come together, to
share together in the
things of worship, but
it's also our
privilege.
It's our privilege.
Because the nearest
thing you get to
heaven is not when
you're worshiping God
on your own, great
though that is, and
you might have very
heavenly thoughts and
heavenly experiences
from the blessing of
God while you're on
your knees, when you're
reading your Bible, just
yourself and God.
But the nearest thing
to heaven is when
God's people are
gathered together to
worship Him, to
sing His praises, to
listen to His voice, to
admire His beauty.
That's the nearest
thing to heaven you
can get in this
world.
As we sang in the
psalm, the Lord
delights in Zion's
gates and the
gatherings of His
people more than
all the dwellings of
the individual Jacob.
And that's why
today as we come
together, here is
one of the great
privileges we have
in life, to be
able to gather
together willingly and
under Christ's
disappointment and by
Christ's authority to
come to be here
together as the
gathered church in
worship.
Secondly, we have the
reference there to
Jesus being in the
midst.
Where two or three are
gathered in my name,
there am I among
them.
Of course, you know
that Jesus is God.
He's the second person
of the Trinity that
God is.
And in that sense,
Jesus is everywhere,
just like the
Father and the
Holy Spirit.
The one God is
everywhere in the
creation.
And as they are
everywhere in the
creation, so it's
true of Jesus that
He is as the Son of
God, as the divine
person He is, and in
that sense He is
present more than
just in one
locality.
But this is a
specific presence
that's keyed into
the gatherings of
God's people, where
two or three are
gathered in my name
there.
There.
Wherever that is,
there am I in the
midst of them.
I am actually there
present with them.
The church on earth
is God's dwelling
place.
The church on earth
is God's people.
We sometimes refer to
this building as the
church on Kenneth
Street, the free
church, and it is
that.
But that's not what
the Bible means in the
highest sense by the
church.
The church is not a
building.
The church in the
highest sense is the
people of God, the
worshiping people of
God, the people who
gather together and are
gathered as the people
of God from time to
time to worship Him.
That's the church.
That's where Jesus
dwells.
That's where His
presence is made
known.
There am I in the
midst of them.
There's a sense in
which all who are
God's people, all who
are saved people of
God, come to gather
together with others
and take Jesus with
them.
Why do I say that?
Because the Bible
tells us that when we
come to trust our
lives to Christ and
trust in Christ and
believe in Him and
look to Him for our
salvation, we're told
that the Holy Spirit
comes to live in our
hearts and our souls.
Now, we can't see that
physically, but the
Bible tells us it's a
truth, it's a fact.
And therefore, every one
of you today who is in
Christ, every one of you
who lives by faith in
Christ, everyone here
saved has come to this
building carrying Jesus
with you.
Jesus lives in you.
And when you come
together with other
like-minded people, you
bring Christ with you as
you come together.
I'm not saying that that
is a complete definition
of how Christ is present
in the gatherings of His
people.
What's really important is
not to be able to
necessarily understand
all the various aspects
of that or be able to
explain all the various
aspects of how can God be
with His people, how does
God live in the hearts
of His people?
The important thing that
Jesus is saying is, I am
there.
I am there.
It's not to be questioned.
It's not something that's
spoken of as something in
the future.
He's not saying where two
or three are gathered in
my name, I will be among
them.
Or I will come and go from
amongst them.
I am there.
It's a statement of fact.
The Lord's also, in a sense,
a promise as well, of
course.
He promises that that's
what is true when we
gather together.
He is there.
But it's a statement of
fact that that is where
He is.
And it's actually true here
and now.
Just pause for a moment.
Think how amazing that is
that God, that Jesus, is in
this building, in this
gathering, in these hearts,
that where we are gathered
together today as we are,
this is a fact.
I am there, He says, in the
midst.
And you know, that's
something that should give
us pause for thought, for
reflection, for appreciation,
for thanksgiving.
As we come through these
doors and take our place in
the pew or in this pulpit, it
affects all of us, whether
we're preaching or listening
to the gospel.
It should be something that
gives us pause, cause for
thought, and just to pause
for a moment, reflect upon how
this is true always when we
come together.
How this amazing fact is
actually true as God Himself,
as Jesus Himself says it
truthfully to us, there I am in
the midst.
There I am in the midst.
And if we haven't thought too
much of that in coming to
church today, think about it
now.
Think about it as you leave and
as you go back home or
wherever you're going to go.
Think of where you've been and
that you've been part of a
gathering in Christ's name and
by Christ's authority where He
was present.
Where He, according to His
promise and His fact, is there.
And you can say to people quite
honestly, quite sincerely, I was
in a gathering today and God was
there with me.
Jesus was in our midst.
Because that's His own word of
assurance to us.
Is there anything better than
that?
Is there anything more privileged
than that?
Is there anything that you would
put above that?
Well, John Calvin, that great
reformer whose teachings based on
the Bible, of course.
The Bible was so important to
John Calvin.
And in his writings you find his
emphasis constantly, his
emphasis is, is that what the
Scripture says?
Is that what the Bible says?
This is what he wrote.
He's talking here about this
promise, where two or three
calls it a promise, there am I
among them.
He says, therefore, this promise
should stir us up not a little
to grow into a godly and holy
unity.
For whoever either neglects the
sacred assemblies or separates
himself from his brethren
demonstrates by this fact that he
cares nothing for Christ's
presence.
Those who desire Christ's presence
will meet together in His name.
Those who desire Christ's presence
will meet together in His name.
In other words, if we today are
thinking, or if people are
thinking, I really want to have
Christ's presence, but I don't
want to go to church, you see,
that's an inconsistency.
Calvin is saying, if we really value
God's presence and Christ's
presence, if we want to have
Christ's presence, if we want to
experience what it's like to be
aware of Christ's presence, then we
we must be, he says, regularly
with the gatherings of God's
people.
We cannot separate, you see,
things which God has tied together.
And where God has tied together,
meeting in the name of Christ,
with Christ being there, we can't
separate the one from the other.
We can't say, well, I can have
Christ, but I don't need to be in
church.
I don't need to belong to the
church.
That's taking apart what Jesus
has joined together.
And it's so important for you and
for me always to remember that.
There am I in the midst.
I am there with them.
I am there in their midst when two
or three have gathered in my name.
And you notice the emphasis there on
two or three.
Where two or three are gathered in
my name.
He doesn't say two or three dozen.
He doesn't say two or three hundred.
He doesn't say two or three thousand.
He just says two or three.
Supposing there was just myself
preaching the gospel and two others
here in this church today.
This promise, this statement of fact
would still be true.
That where they meet in his name,
he is there.
What an encouragement that is to us.
Not only an encouragement,
but a stimulus.
Because all of these empty pews that
are still empty,
we want to see them filled.
Why do we want to see them filled?
Because we want to see people
experience what it is to share
together in the kind of gathering
for worship where Christ guarantees
his presence.
We want them to come to know Christ.
We want ourselves to experience more
of what it is to grow in the knowledge
of Jesus.
In our commitment to Jesus.
In experiencing the love of Jesus.
All the things the Bible tells us
are the privileges of God's people.
We come to experience them,
to sharing them together.
And as the gathered church,
that too is our privilege today.
That even if it's just two or three,
we actually can use that
as a matter before God
that we seek his presence
even as two or three.
Now, please don't misunderstand me.
I think this has been misused
over the years as well.
This emphasis on the twos and the threes.
Because there are places, of course,
where there are very, very small
gatherings of God's people
faithfully meeting together today.
And we pray for them
and we remember them.
Not just in our own country,
in our islands,
but throughout the world.
But we mustn't take this verse
and say,
well, there's just the two or three of us
and that really, that'll do.
I'm satisfied with that.
Because the promise of God
is it's not about numbers.
It's not about hundreds
or thousands
or dozens
or whatever.
It's just about the twos and the threes.
As long as two and three
are faithfully meeting together,
that's really it.
That's pretty much all we need.
Is it?
Well, why do we evangelize?
Why has Jesus said
that he requires
his worshiping people,
his gathered church,
to be gathered
in a sense as well
to think about evangelizing,
thinking about
how do we actually
transmit the gospel
and the privileges
that we have
as a gathered church?
How do we actually
communicate that
to the world
in which we live?
We go forth
and we evangelize.
Luke chapter 14,
verse 23,
part of that great passage
that deals with
the great banquet
as Jesus described it.
Invitations given out
to come to the banquet
were refused.
So then others were invited.
Some of them refused.
And then Jesus said,
well,
go out into the highways
and hedges
and compel them
to come in
that my house
may be filled.
Now, don't
misunderstand that.
We don't compel people
by forcing people.
We're not in the business
of trying to actually
force our views
upon others.
We're not here
because we're forced
to come to church,
but we're here
because we're willing
and because we want to come.
And when God
makes us willing,
he gives us the mind.
He gives us the mind
that's made willing
to come.
And so when Jesus said,
compel them to come in,
what he meant was
use every reasonable
argument you can
to try and persuade people
to come into
the gatherings
of God's people
so that my house
may be filled,
so that my kingdom
may be filled up.
And today,
as we pray
for that world out there,
for those who don't
come near a church,
for those who would,
if God
wills it,
fill these empty pews
that we'd long
to see filled,
well,
he is saying to us
today,
well,
it's your business
as well as the church
of God.
As you gather
from time to time,
what you share together
is not just matters
of worship,
but how we're going
to actually get out there
and bring the gospel
to the world around us.
You share together
in discussing that
and thinking about
how we increasingly
would want to do that.
And, of course,
Matthew's gospel
ends like that,
doesn't it?
He talks,
Jesus says,
all authority in heaven
and on earth
has been given to me.
Therefore,
go and make disciples
of all nations.
You see,
he didn't say
go and make
saved Christians.
He didn't say
go and make converts.
That's God's business.
What he said was
go and make disciples.
Gather people
under the teaching
of the Bible,
under the teaching
of the Word,
into the worship of God,
into the gathered church.
Go and make disciples
of all nations.
And how did he finish it?
And I am with you
to the end of the age.
I am with you.
I will be in your midst.
I will be with you.
I will not leave you
as you go about the business.
of evangelizing
in his name.
I was reading a book
just now by
another pastor
from America
called Tony Marida.
It's a book
that I'm going to be using
in some ways
regarding these studies
as well.
But he talks about
how as a congregation
or as a church
in America,
they were supporting
a church plant,
new church,
in Frankfurt,
in Germany.
and the pastor
of that church
was a man,
Stefan Poues.
And he says that Stefan
one time came over
to America
to spend time
with him,
with Tony
and his people
there in America.
And on a particular
Lord's Day,
he joined
that congregation
in worship.
But then he was due
to leave
early next morning
to go back
to Frankfurt
in Germany.
And Tony said,
I had to apologize
to him
because there was
no time for me.
I really wanted
to show him
something of the city.
I wanted to show him
some of my favorite
restaurants
and eating places
and other aspects
of the city
that were worth
looking at,
that people always
went to see.
So he apologized
to Stefan.
Really sorry
that it wasn't time
to do that.
He would have loved
to have done that.
You know what
Stefan's reply was?
He said this,
There's nothing
greater we could
have done together
than we've done.
There's nothing
greater that you
could have shown me.
I just got to
worship with the
saints at your
church.
We got to enjoy
the end for which
we are created
together.
There's nothing
greater that you
could do today
than to be here
as a worshipping
gathered people
of God.
There's nothing
greater that I
could show you.
Supposing if you
are a visitor
today I would
take you around
all the sites
of the island,
show you all
these wonderful
beaches,
show you all
these great
sites of long
ago,
all these remnants
of temples or
brochs or
whatever.
Remember what he
said,
There's nothing
greater that you
could have done
for me and to
have me join you
in the worship
of God.
For where two
or three are
gathered in my
name, there I
am in the
midst.
Let's pray.
Amen.
Lord, our
gracious God,
we have so
many privileges
in gathering
together as your
word tells us.
Forgive us, we
pray, for the
times when we
fail to appreciate
as we should
to the extent
we should, O
Lord,
how great our
privilege is.
And we pray
that you would
help us as we
value these
privileges,
to be all the
more concerned
and determined
to be together
with your
people as
often as we
can.
We thank you
for worship.
We thank you
for congregational
worship.
We thank you
for the benefits
of fellowship
together,
for the ways
in which you
enable us to
interact with
each other,
so as to
share the
experiences of
life and to
bring these
also under
the teaching
of your
word and
spirit.
We pray,
Lord, today
as we begin
what we
anticipate to
be,
a series
of studies
and your
word's
teaching of
the gathered
church of
God.
O Lord,
of God,
help us,
we pray,
all the more
to be visible
in the world
and to be
seen as
your people
and to be
concerned to
transmit the
gospel and
its values and
its teaching and
its principles
to this needy
world around
us.
We pray for
any today
who heard
your word
and have not
yet come to
give their
life to you,
to come to
trust in you,
come to
receive you
as you are
offered in
the gospel.
We ask,
O Lord,
that your
Holy Spirit
will be active
amongst us,
teaching us,
drawing us,
bringing us
more and more
into that
living fellowship
with yourself
through which
we know
we come to
be saved.
And so
continue to
bless us in
all our
activities as
a congregation.
We acknowledge,
Lord,
we come
together in
so many ways,
not only
for worship
but in
other aspects
of the
congregation's
life.
And we
pray your
blessing today
to follow all
that we
endeavor to
do in
your name.
Be with us
now as we
spend time
in fellowship.
Blessed to
us,
we pray,
refreshments
provided for
us.
Make us
thankful also
that you
look after
our bodily
needs so
well.
Hear us,
we pray,
and pardon
our sin
for Christ's
sake.
Amen.
Well,
let's
conclude our
service this
morning by
singing to
God's praise
from Psalm
27.
That's on
page 32.
Psalm 27,
verses 4 to
6.
Here is the
psalmist again
talking about
being in
God's house
in those
days in the
Old Testament
so that he
would gaze
upon the
beauty of
the Lord
as God
made himself
known to
them in
those times.
So one
thing I'll
plead before
the Lord,
and this I'll
seek always,
that I may
come within
God's house
and dwell
there all
my days,
that on the
beauty of
the Lord
I constantly
may gaze
and in
his house
may seek
to know
direction
in his
ways.
For in
his dwelling
he will
keep me
safe in
troubled
days.
Within
his tent
he'll
shelter
me
and
on a
rock
me
raise.
My head
will then
be lifted
high above
my enemies
and in
his tent
I'll
sacrifice
with
shouts
of joy
and praise.
And we're
singing to
a tune
Grafenberg
these
verses 4 to
6.
one thing
I'll plead
before the
Lord
and this
I'll seek
always
that I
may come
within
God's
eyes
and dwell
there all
my days
that on
the
beauty
of the
Lord
I
constantly
may gaze
and in
his eyes
may seek
direction
in
his
ways
for
in
his
dwelling
he
will
keep
me
safe
and
troubled
way
where
than
his
tent
he'll
shelter
me
and
on
a
rock
me
raise
my
head
will
then
be
lifted
high
above
my
enemies
and
in
his
tent
I'll
sacrifice
with
hearts
of
joy
and
praise
if you
allow me to get to the main door please I'll greet you on the way out
now may grace and mercy and peace from God the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit
be your portion now and evermore
Amen
thank you
Thank you.