I invite you to take your Bibles and let's open up the Hebrews chapter 10. Hebrews chapter 10. We're going to be reading from verse 19 through verse 31. We're going to really be zeroing in on verses 24 and 25. But I want to read the whole context for us. And as you're turning there, those were great words we just sang. Right? In the name of Jesus perfect peace. Amen. Amen. We're going to look at his word now, when you get there to Hebrews 10. Let's all stand in honor of God's Word as I read this passage for us. You can follow along in your own copy of the Scripture. Hebrews 10:19-31. It says,
“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, ‘Vengeance is mine; I will repay.’ And again, ‘The Lord will judge his people.’ It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
This is the word of God. You may be seated. Let's go to the Lord in prayer.
Father, we thank you that we have the word of God, the Bible revelation from you. We know that it's true. We know that it's without any errors. We know that it is powerful. We know that it is the authority. So, I pray for all of us now, that you might help us to put aside any distractions and to give you and your Word the attention that you deserve. We pray, Lord, that you will give us eyes to see and ears to hear what you would have to say to us today, so that we might be able to do them, and honor you by doing what you have commanded. So, we thank you for this time. And we commit to you in our Savior's name. Amen.
It was announced already, we're going to be starting back up our fellowship groups this week. And if you've been around church for any length of time, you've been in different churches, you know, people in other churches, you know that these groups go by a variety of names. There are fellowship groups, there are home fellowship groups, there are life groups, there are Koinonia groups, community groups, small groups, home Bible studies, and flocks. Those are just some of the names I've heard for what we call fellowship groups. And I want you to know that we do fellowship groups, not just because everybody else does it, I want to give you some things to consider as you think about fellowship groups.
And I think on your worksheet under the introduction, there might be four dashes there. Let me give you four things to consider as you think about fellowship groups. And number one would be that they are biblical. They are biblical, meaning that they follow the biblical pattern. Jesus had a small group. Didn't he? Yeah, he did. Twelve guys, he had a small group. And the apostles were told throughout the book of Acts that they would preach publicly, and minister from house to house, so they had big group ministry publicly, small group ministry, house to house. So, this is the biblical pattern started by our Lord himself, to have these kinds of small groups. So, they're biblical.
They're also secondly, practical. You can see, reading through the gospels many times when Jesus would preach to the multitudes, and then he would meet with his small group, his disciples, and they would discuss what he had just taught. They would ask questions, and he would answer their questions ,and he would cause them to think through what he had just preached about. So, they are very practical in that way in reinforcing and helping us to understand and rightly apply God's Word in our lives. So, they're biblical, they're practical.
Thirdly, they are relational. Fellowship group is a place where you can meet other people, get to know other people, and be engaged in the practice of real fellowship. They are relational in that way, you know. Maybe back in the day, when everybody lived in the village and they all walked to church, you didn't have to organize fellowship groups so much, they would kind of happen. But they need to happen because of this relational element. So, they're biblical, practical, relational.
And they're also historical. Like I said, it goes all the way back to Jesus and the apostles. But this has been the practice throughout church history. I've read of Martyn Lloyd-Jones, who was probably the most influential preacher of the last century, and he talked about the value of what they called societies, which would be like we're talking about. Fellowship groups or groups of people would meet, they discussed the Scripture, and they would pray together. He even pointed back to George Whitfield, who you're probably familiar with, who was a part of the Great Awakening in the 1700s. And the value that he placed on these societies as places where people could get together and fellowship with one another and encourage one another in living out what the heard. In fact, Martyn Lloyd-Jones said that George Whitfield considered these societies, these fellowship groups, of inestimable value. So, I told you all of that just so I could say the word “inestimable,” because that's the word you should use every once in a while. They are of inestimable value. You could say, our fellowship groups are of inestimable value, and that's how we should think about it. And the text that we're going to look at here today is going to take us right to the heart of real fellowship
Look at how it introduces it there in Hebrews 10:19. We have confidence we can draw near to God because of the blood of Jesus, because of what he has done, the sacrifice he has made, we are brought into his family, and therefore we have fellowship with one another. It goes on in Hebrews 10:22, it says, “let us draw near” to God. Christ has brought us to God, let's draw near to Him. And Hebrews 10:23 says, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.” I think you could say that that is the theme verse of the book of Hebrews. We believe that the book of Hebrews was a sermon. It's called a word of exhortation. At near the end of the book, which is kind of New Testament speak for a sermon. This is like a sermon manuscript that we have that was delivered, a sermon that was delivered to people encouraging them to endure in the faith, to persevere in the faith through all the trials and difficulties and challenges. It’s calling on them to endure to the end.
And the book of Hebrews can be compared to, you know, you're driving down this windy, kind of a dangerous road, and along the way, there are warning signs, warning you to stay on the road, don't go off the road. There's danger if you do, and the idea is to keep you on the road. And then every once a while, there's these great big billboards that remind you why you're why you're on this road. And in the book of Hebrews, the billboards are the presentations of the greatness of Jesus Christ that you see throughout the book. No, that's why I'm on this road, that's why I don't want to go off this road, because of Jesus Christ. That's what the book of Hebrews is all about. And a key element to this persevering faith is real fellowship. In fact, look at it there in Hebrews 10:22. It says, “let us draw near,” verse 23, “let us hold fast,” verse 24, “let us consider how to stir up one another.”
So, the point being made here in our text is that fellowship is essential. Fellowship is essential. And many are familiar with this passage because Hebrews 10:25 gets used and abused so frequently, when it says, “not neglecting to meet together.” That's often used to as an exhortation to people who are kind of erratic at their church attendance. Hey, you shouldn't be neglecting to be here. You need to be here, and this verse will get pulled out. Often when I hear that people using the verse that way. I think of those famous words you keep using that word, but I do not think it means what you think it means. This is not an admonishment to not be erratic church attendance, the word “neglecting” there is a very strong word. It means to desert, to abandon, to leave behind, to forsake. And in the context here, Hebrews 10 is referring to apostasy; it’s talking about people who forsake the church, they forsake the truth. In 2 Timothy 4:10, Paul, referring to a man who had been part of his ministry team, a man named Dimas, he said, Dimas, having “loved and this present world has deserted me.” Same word. And that's the idea. To renounce meeting with Christians is to turn against Christ. That's a great danger.
The point is fellowship is essential. Fellowship is essential to the sanctification of the believer; fellowship is essential to the persevering in the Christian life. Your fellowship groups have great importance. And as we look at the text. As we look at Hebrews 10:24-25, I want to point out three essential attitudes that we need to bring to fellowship if we're to really act like fellowship is essential, and for our fellowship to be really fruitful. And as we get into it, I just want to make sure that you understand we're going to be talking about real biblical fellowship, as opposed to standard church fellowship. Fellowship gets used in a lot of different ways. Fellowship is used to describe hanging out in front, eating donuts, and drinking coffee. I’ve got nothing against hanging out in front, eating donuts, and drinking coffee. I'm all for that. But to call it fellowship might be saying more than what it really is. It's probably just hanging out, for most people, and that's okay. And hopefully that could lead to some real fellowship. But we're not talking about just developing nice church people. We're talking about practicing real biblical fellowship.
So, let's look at the first attitude that we need to bring. And it's that you need to care about one another's souls. Care about one another's souls. And I get that from the first part of Hebrews 10:24, where it says, “And let us consider.” Let us consider. We need to look beyond the external and care about what really matters the most. How are people around you doing spiritually? Really, how are they doing? And what can you do? What will you do, to minister to them in a way that would be helpful and fruitful? Well, you're going to have to do some considering if you want to do that. The word “consider” is another very strong word. This whole passage is packed with these kinds of powerful words. It means to make a careful observation. So, it requires that you engage your mind and think carefully about the others that you're in fellowship with, and how you can serve them. It's the same word used back in Hebrews 3:1; it calls on us to consider Jesus Christ. So, the same attention that you would give to Jesus Christ is the same attention that you need to give to his body, the church, the people. That's the same kind of consideration, same kind of attention, that you need to give to fellowship. And so, just looking at that word informs how we would approach fellowship. We’ve got to think about and pray for others so that we're prepared to serve them in the best way possible. You’ve got to get to know one another if that's going to happen. You have to invest time in others. In other words, it can't just be spontaneous. Sometimes it is. But for the most part, you need to consider, you need to be prepared, you need to be thinking and praying. We need to be intentional in our fellowship. The phrase that's used around here is prepare and share. When you come to your fellowship group, you need to have prepared yourself ahead of time and show up ready to share to be involved, to participate, to encourage one another. And it's important that you understand that it's about serving others. It's not about how are others serving me. That's the wrong way to think about it. I am supposed to be thinking my thoughts are to be on considering how I can serve others.
And let me give you some examples of those who cared about others’ souls. Turn with me to Philippians chapter 2. Philippians chapter 2, because Paul uses the example there of Timothy, starting in verse 19. Philippians 2:19. Timothy, who we just met in Acts 16, Timothy who became a part of Paul's ministry team, and here Paul is in a prison in Rome, the Philippian church has sent him a gift. And now he's writing back to them. And this is one of the things he says in Philippians 2:19. He says, “I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you.” Why Timothy? Why is he sending Timothy? Philippians 2:20 answers, “For I have no one like him.” I'm sending you Timothy; I'm sending you the best. There's nobody else like Timothy. Well, what makes Timothy stand out? Who will genuinely be genuinely concerned for your welfare? I’m sending Timothy because there's nobody like him. The thing that makes him stand out is that he will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. He's going to care about the condition of your soul. That's why I'm sending Timothy, and I’ve got nobody else I could send that would be like him; I'm sending you the best. To say, well, what about the other people that are around him that he could have thought about sending? What's the story for them? Philippians 2:21, “For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.” See, a person like Timothy is rare.
A person who will genuinely care about the souls of one another, that's a rare person. That could be you. That could be you at your fellowship group. You can be one who considers the condition of the other people in your fellowship group, and shows up, and you're ready to be involved with them. Because you care about the condition of their souls. Look at one book over to the right Colossians chapter 4. Let me show you another example. Colossians 4:12-13, we need another man named Epaphras. From the church in Colossi, he's apparently visiting Paul in Rome as well. And here's what Paul says about Epaphras. He says, “Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God. For I bear him witness that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis.” So, here's another man that is being commended by the apostle Paul, somebody who's always struggling in prayer on behalf of the other people in the church. And he's not just praying in general, he's praying that they may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God. He's concerned about their spiritual well-being. And that's what he's struggling for in prayer. He's working hard at his prayers; he's concerned about the spiritual well-being of others. That could be you. You could be a person who prays, works hard at praying for the spiritual well-being of the other people in your fellowship group. For fellowship groups to be fruitful, everyone in the group must care about one another’s souls. Everyone in the group is that it's not enough just for the leader to prepare for the fellowship group. But everybody needs to consider, everybody needs to be involved.
Let's go back to our texts in Hebrews 10 and let me show you a second attitude. Second attitude that you need to bring to fellowship. And it's in the rest of Hebrews 10:24. Where it says, “let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.” So, here's number two: Be a spiritual catalyst. Stir up is the phrase that's used there in the text. It's another one of those really strong words here in this passage. It means to stimulate, means to spur on, to provoke. Sometimes it's used in that way. Sometimes it's used in a negative way. In fact, this word is used in Acts 15:39 to describe the sharp disagreement between Paul and Barnabas. It's a strong word. And it can be used in a negative way to provoke. Or it can be used in a positive way to stir people up in a good way.
And so, how would you do that? Well, you have to be active in fellowship. Fellowship is not a passive feel-good kind of activity. It's a conscious and intense activity. And it can't be something that just happens once a week. Your group might meet all together once a week, but fellowship needs to be all the time. It needs to overflow out of the group so that in between the meetings, you're praying for one another, you're texting one another, you're calling one another, you're meeting up with one another. Because you want to be a spiritual catalyst, and you’ve got to spend time with one another, you’ve got to be active, you must aggressively seek true fellowship. And here's a good way to say it that I have found helpful. You want to be intentionally intrusive. Not obnoxiously intrusive, we’ve got plenty of that going on. Not being judged mentally intrusive, there's too much of that going on. We're talking about being intentionally intrusive, I want to stir others up for love and good works. I'm going to get involved. I want to reach out. I want to minister to others, I'm going to be intentional, because we're all a part of Christ's body. And we care about the honor of Christ as it’s represented in his church, caring about the spiritual well-being of others. I’ve got to be aggressive about this fellowship.
And notice it's one another, stirring up one another. It's got to be a mutual thing. It's a necessary activity. It carries with it a sense of accountability. You know, within my fellowship group, we're all accountable to one another, we're all accountable for one another. And to stir up, you could say means to bring out the best in one another. And what is the best? Well, it's love and good works. It’s love and good works. And when you're in a group like that, where everybody is into it, everybody comes prepared, everybody's actively involved in the fellowship, that group is a joy to be a part of. And you're experiencing the love and good works. You're seeing people be patient with one another, and kind to one another, and forbearing with one another, encouraging one another, being tender-hearted and forgiving towards one another. And we're bearing one another's burdens, we're serving one another, we're praying for one another. And yeah, we're even submitting to one another, like I'm treating you like you're more important than me. We need to be involved actively, aggressively involved.
It's kind of summed up back in Hebrews 6:10. As the writer is encouraging the people that he's writing to, he says, “For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do.” So here it is, they're working, they're loving. They're serving one another. That's what it looks like. That's love and good works. They go together. Love and good works being displayed there. And so, you need to be committed to being a spiritual catalyst, that I'm here to minister to others, to encourage them, serve them in any way that I that I can.
But as we think about that, and we think about this kind of fellowship, at this point, we need to kind of park the car and stop and take a look at something. Because there are some things that can hinder this kind of fellowship, some things that we need to talk about. And one of the things is, if you've been around the church any length of time, you may have noticed that different Christians, well they’ve got different opinions on things. Have you noticed that? We're at church; you’ve got to be honest. Christians have different opinions on just about everything. And it's okay to have your opinions, not saying that it's wrong to have opinions or that we all should have the exact same opinions. But in the context of fellowship, you need to think carefully about how you hold your opinions and how you express your opinions. We don't want to have your opinions become a divisive thing in the church. We're not wanting to stir up sharp disagreements. We're wanting to stir up love and good works. Christians have different opinions.
And let's look at Romans chapter 14 for a minute and just think through how we are to hold those opinions. You know, nowadays, it's not only that people have opinions, but you’ve got all kinds of forums for how to express your opinions, so that the whole world can know your opinions. You need to think carefully before you click Send. Look at Romans 14:1. The Apostle Paul's dealing with the same kinds of things in the church there, and he says, “As for the one who was weak in faith, welcome him. But not to quarrel over…” what's the next word? “Opinions”. The Bible is up to date. It's talking about things happening today. Are Christians today quarreling over opinions? Yeah, they are. I would say, in all the years I've been a Christian, this last year and a half has been the worst. People quarreling over their opinions. And what the Apostle Paul's dealing with here is issues related to food, like meat offered to idols. That was an issue in their pagan culture that the people lived in those days. Also, the observing of certain days, you know, the traditions. What do we have to do if some what do it, some doesn’t want to do it. He's dealing with those kinds of things. But he's saying, hey, we're not here to quarrel over our opinions on these things. Look down at Romans 14:10-13. He says, “Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written, ‘As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.’ So then each of us will give an account of himself to God. Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.” Decide. It sounds like you got to consider. Sounds like you need to think about these things. Not just say what's on your mind, you need to think carefully, and so that you would never… Why would I ever want to do anything that would hinder a brother in their growth in Jesus Christ? That should be the exact opposite of what I want to do. So why would I do that?
Now some of you are thinking, no, I don't have opinions. I’ve got the facts. Well turn with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 8, because the Apostle Paul has some facts dealing with this issue of eating meat offered to idols. The apostle Paul says, here are the facts, idols and the gods representing certain gods, those gods aren't real. It's not real. So, this meat offered to idols, it's no big deal. And if you can get the best deal on your meat down at the idol meat market, go for it. That's the facts right there. That is the facts, but it doesn't end with the facts. Look at verse seven, 1 Corinthians 8:7-11. He says, “However, not all possess this knowledge.” The knowledge that he just expressed. “But some, through former association with idols, eat food as really offered to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block for the weak. For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol's temple, will he not be encouraged, if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols? And so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died.” Do you want to be responsible for that? Do you want to be responsible for destroying the conscience of a brother for whom Christ died? You might want to think about how you hold your opinions. 1 Corinthians 8:12-13 says, “Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak,” here it is, it’s even worse, “you sin against Christ.” You sin against Christ you’re sinning against his body. “Therefore,” one of the most amazing statements I’ve ever read, “Therefore if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.” If this is an issue, this is something that's going to hinder a brother in their walk with Christ, I'll never ever do it.
So, we want to stir each other up to love and good works. We don't have time to be quarrelling over opinions, and we don't want to do anything that's going to cause a hindrance to a brother. Go back to Romans 14, as Paul has more to say about that. Romans 14:20, where he just says more about the same thing, “Do not for the sake of food, destroy the work of God.” Well, that's an amazing statement to think that you could even do that. Do not for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it's wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. That's the kind of commitment that we need to bring to fellowship, where we really do care about one another. And we want to see people grow; we want to see them stirred up to love and good deeds. We don't want to put stumbling blocks or hindrances in front of them. We don't have time to waste on stuff like that.
Romans 15:1-7, “We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, ‘The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.’ For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.” Are you thankful that the Lord has welcomed you? Then welcome one another in the same way. It was a much bigger step for him to welcome you than for you to welcome one another. We’re to show love and forbearance patience. I know that that's really contrary to the American independence spirit where, hey, I got freedom of speech, and I'm going to say whatever I want to say. Well, that may be the American thing to do. Is that the Christian thing to do? You know, we need to consider what are trying to do here. You don't want to be in a place where everything's got to be the way you want it to be. Everybody's got to agree with the way you see things. You can't be that way. You can't be the Burger King Christian where it's got to be my way. You’ve got to be asking, what can you do to stir up one another so that their lives and our church can be characterized by love and good works. Love and good works. Love like it's described in the Bible, like in 1 Corinthians 13. And good works like even Jesus demonstrated when he knelt down and washed the disciples’ feet. Then Judas was a part of the group at that time. And the good works that Jesus did in selflessly dying on the cross for us. That's what we're aiming for. For fellowship groups to be fruitful, everybody's got to care for one another’s soul, and everybody has to come with a commitment to be a spiritual catalyst.
One more thing. Go back to Hebrews chapter 10. One more attitude that comes out of Hebrews 10:25, which says, “not neglecting to meet together as is the habit of some but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” Here’s number three. Here's the third attitude: Develop a sense of spiritual urgency. We are to encourage one another, come alongside one another, help one another. And we must do it all the more if you've been a Christian for a long time, you should be more engaged in fellowship now than you have ever been. A Christian should be doing it all the more. And the motivation for that is because the day is drawing near, the day is drawing near. And that day that he's referring to there is the Day of the Lord, a day when Christians will be delivered and unbelievers will be judged. And some of those who will be judged might be sitting right here today. This is written to a church. That's a major theme, a major point of Hebrews. It's why the warnings are there. The warnings are massive warnings. They're designed to keep the true believer on the road. But not everybody that comes to church is on the road. So, let's look at some of those warnings, starting in chapter two verse one. Hebrews 2:1 says, “Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.” Pay much closer attention to what we've heard, what we’ve heard about Christ, what we've been taught about Christ, who he is, what he's done. All that we know about Christ. We need to pay much closer attention. And the other alternative is drift away. Those are your two options. Be paying much closer attention or drift away. And that's how it happens. People come to church, they've heard all these things about Christ, they paid attention up to a point, but then they start kind of drifting. They start kind of checking out, they start drifting away from the truth. So, look over at Hebrews 3:12-13, where it says, “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” As the people sitting in the church, they start drifting away, then they start thinking through this sin that that they've been holding on to in their heart, they become hardened in their hearts, they become hardened by the deceitfulness of their sin. And they start to drift away from the Lord. And there could be people sitting here today, you're sitting here today, you look like nice people, but you could be holding on to some bitterness. Or you could be holding on to some anger. You'd be holding on to some selfishness. And, over time, that's going to harden your heart, you're going to be hardened by the deceitfulness of that sin, you're going to keep thinking about how those people didn't treat me the way I should have been treated. And maybe it was something that happened years ago, and you're accumulating a bitterness, you keep playing this over in your mind. And Hebrews 12:15 warns about a root of bitterness springing up and causing trouble. So, we need to exhort one another every day, every day as long as it's called today. Every day. Fellowship is an everyday kind of thing. And when you think about it like this, that we're taking fellowship to a whole another level.
Look over Hebrews 5. Here's another step in the progression. They stopped paying close attention. We start, you know, holding on to that sin, getting their hearts hardened. And Hebrews 5:11 says, “About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.” So now not only are they not paying much closer attention, they become dull of hearing, they're not really even paying attention anymore. And so, by the time you get to Hebrews 6:6, it just talks about those who have fallen away. And if you've been around church for any length of time, you've seen this, you've seen it happen.
And going back to our text in Hebrews 10:26, it talks about those who go on sinning deliberately. Deliberately. And this is why it's so urgent that you have this sense of spiritual urgency that Hebrews 10:25 calls us to, because there's going to be some amongst us who are sinning deliberately, and we need to be reaching out to them, warning them, encouraging them. We can't be assuming everybody that shows up at the church, even everybody that shows up to a fellowship group, is on the road of salvation. And note, the author says there if we, if we go on sinning, and that “we” would be the any of you mentioned back to Hebrews 3:13. It could happen to anybody. And we're warned there that in the case of those who know the truth, to have claim to have embraced the truth, who keep on sinning, well there's nothing left for them, but judgment. And it's a fearful thing, there’s a raging fire that is awaiting them. That's what you would expect for people who trample underfoot the blood of Christ, those who mock it and despise it, treat it with contempt. So, notice something really important here in this in this text, verse 23, talks about holding fast. Verse 26, starts a section of warning of those who would walk away. And what's in between those verses? The two verses on fellowship. Fellowship is what helps us to hold fast. Fellowship is what provides the warning for those who are going on deliberately sinning. But we can't be casual about fellowship in the church, because souls are at stake. There must be a proper sense of urgency. A lack of true fellowship not only weakens the believer, but it could lead to disastrous results.
So, fellowship is essential. Amen? Fellowship is essential. That's why we have fellowship groups. And if you're not in a fellowship group currently, we want you to be in one. So that's why we're going to be starting up the Foundations class, because that's the on ramp into the fellowship groups. And here's how you should look at fellowship groups. Your participation in a fellowship group should be non-negotiable. My fellowship group meets on Thursday night, I'm going to be there. My schedule is going to get pushed around this non-negotiable. That's going to happen, I'm going to be there. That's got to be the priority. That's God's design for the church for us to be involved in fellowship. That's the means by which we are built up and strengthened in the faith. Why would I want to miss out on that? And that's going to be the help. That's what's going to help us hold fast to the very end. You must make fellowship a priority. And when you have tasted the real thing, you know that you won't be disappointed. Because when you're in real fellowship, where there's real love, there's real care, there's real praying for one another, there's really serving one another, you know, that this is where it's at. That's where we have so much joy. So, I would encourage you to think carefully to consider and to see that fellowship is essential, and examine your own life and your own commitments in light of what God's Word says. And I would pray that this year, our fellowship groups would be the best, most fruitful, most joyful year ever. Anybody else up for that? That's good. Thank you. Let me pray for us.
Father, we do thank you for the amazing work that you do, not only in reconciling us to yourself through the Lord Jesus Christ and the sacrifice that he made on our behalf but placing us into the body of Christ where we can enjoy fellowship with one another, or we can love one another and encourage one another. Lord, I pray that we might all be encouraged to pursue that, with all that we have, I pray too Lord that you might help us to examine anything that we might do that would be hindering our opportunities to encourage others to walk with you. Lord, we pray that our fellowship here would be sweet that it would be true, that it would be according to the Word of God and that as a result, we would be built up and stronger in our faith, and that our testimony for Jesus Christ would shine all the brighter because, as the Lord said, we'll be known by our love for one another. So Father, I pray your work to that end. And we thank you for the opportunities we have even starting this week. And we pray this all in our Saviors name. Amen.