Be With Me: 7 Minutes of Biblical Wonder
Be With Me is a daily 7 minute chronological walk through the New Testament hosted by Michael Smith. It is for everyone who is curious about what Jesus actually said and did in the gospels. Most episodes will leave you with at least one good thought to chew on for the rest of the day. We start with the Bible and hopefully end with Awe. We are walking through the chronological events of Jesus' life and then thoughtfully considering them. It is meant to spur the devotional life of the Christian and the not-yet-Christian. We occasionally venture into the Old Testament when it helps our understanding of the New Testament events. Everybody has 7 minutes. Everybody needs to wonder. Be With Me is hosted by Michael Smith who has absolutely no special qualifications to do a podcast. He is not a pastor. He has not been to seminary. He does not lead a mega-church. He is not a professional and he has no more credentials than you do. He does, however, follow a great God with an observant eye and a curious heart. Each day, he starts with a study bible and aims for astonishment. ‘be with him’ for 7 minutes as he sets out daily to discover the God who invites us to ‘Be With Me.’
Be With Me: 7 Minutes of Biblical Wonder
Would the inability to attend church be a punishment for you? S29e54 Dt23:2
Would it sting to NOT be able to go to church? If assembling is a privilege, then being prevented from attending should hurt.
It is even used as a disciplining tool in the Old and New Testaments. The ultimate ecclesiastical censure is to be banished.
Let's value, appreciate and profoundly treasure our access to the Assembly of God.
https://youtu.be/srKj7TyEcFA
Deuteronomy
Would the inability to attend church be a punishment for you? S29e54 Dt23:2
Start with Story: frequently, “Another great day at church…”
Perhaps it will be the sweetness of fellowship, the honor of bearing burdens, the joy in using my gifts, the appreciation in seeing others useing their gifts, the conviction of His Word, or the reverence in Worship
Most Sundays, “another great day in church.”
Our passage teaches what it is like to NOT be able to gather on the Lord’s day: it is a punishment .
Not every one may enter the assembly of the Lord
Assembling is a privilege
Denying access to the family of God can be used as a punishment
Here, generations of descendents are prohibited from entering the assembly as the sentence against egregious violations against God
23: 2 “No one born of a forbidden union may enter the assembly of the Lord. Even to the tenth generation, none of his descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord.
3 “No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the assembly of the Lord. Even to the tenth generation, none of them may enter the assembly of the Lord forever, 4 because they did not meet you with bread and with water on the way, when you came out of Egypt
Think with me about those who cannot come to Sunday am worship.
My church as 60!!! Shut ins. They desire nothing more than to come.
They are not being punished, but they weekly feel the sting of age or health in not being able to assemble.
We read today about a group who cannot assemble because of SIN.
There are consequences for violating the clear teachings of God
Of note, the chastisement utilized, is denial of one of the great benefits of being a JEW: 1. identification of a people group, to be seen as part of the clan. 2. Cannot enter the assembly of the Lord. Privileges.
Being of the clan comes with particular benefits.
Not the least of which was Access to God.
Remember, at this time in human history, God was particularly GEOGRAPHICAL; He was particularly ethnic. Access to Him was uniquely of a people, in a place, following a pattern. Most of the world was not a part of this.
Because by your behavior you have separated yourself from the people of God, You are punished by losing your opportunity to continue in the assembly of the Lord
They may be long lasting: They may echo down the corridors of time long past the original sinners offense.
This is like the sin of Adam and Eve. We are all tainted and cursed with the consequences that we protest
“I had nothing to do with it.” I wasn’t even born yet. And nevertheless, childbirth, the power dynamics of marriage, work and yes even death itself now affects me.
I’m cursed even though it happened generations ago
There is a theological term Oxford dictionary of Christianity: excommunication. An ecclesiasticalcensure imposed by competent authority which excludes those subjected to it from the communion of the faithful and imposes on them other deprivations and disabilities.
Similarly in the NT: a restraint on people coming to the Lord, was this very fear: John 12: 42 Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.
They did not want to be put out of the synagogue
Other terms used in the NT:
Put him out of the church put out of the synagogue
Let him be to you as a gentile and a tax collector
Handed over to Satan: go back where you came from
Have nothing more to do with Him—ultimate censure is to be banished
Here is my conclusions, re-evaluating, re-valuing
Assembling should be valued, appreciated, and treasured
Recognize The severe punishment when it wwas taken it away
So this Sunday, or Saturday night as you anticipate it, as you get ready for it by going to bed early, lets multiply our affections for the Lord’s people on the Lord’s dayof the Lord’s assembly in the Lord’s house
Hey: pinch me, I get access in a special way to the Lord’s assembly
Would the inability to attend church be a punishment for you? Hopefully yes. Assembling should be valued, appreciated, and treasured
And that you’d be able to get in the car next Sunday and say.”another great day at church…”