A good place to begin would be to speak of something with which we’re all familiar, perhaps: Going into a place of business to purchase something, not being able to find it, and looking for some employee to help us find it—in vain. I went into our Dillard’s store in Denton, Texas, a couple of weeks ago. My wife wanted me to buy a tablecloth that was on sale. I found the tablecloth, but I couldn’t find anybody to sell it to me. I knew I would get their attention if I walked out the door without paying for it, but I didn’t want that kind of attention. So, I had to literally track down someone that could take me to a cash register to take my credit card.
We like to be appreciated when we enter a certain atmosphere. We like for people to know that we are there, and business people in particular should understand that their businesses thrive upon good customer relations, on making people think that it is good for them to be there.
I’ve gone into other stores where people immediately saw to my needs and helped me. If they didn’t have what I was looking for, they would tell me of a competitor that had it. I’ll go back and buy something there that I didn’t go looking for. That’s simply good business and customer relations.
But ought it not to apply to the Lord’s people, of all people? When people come among us, ought we not to make them feel that it was good for them to be among us? Ought we not to make it a point to seek out our visitors that particular service, whether we get to speak with our cousins and aunts and uncles, and so forth, or not, and make our visitors know it was good for them to be here, and we felt that way about it?
If you’ve been on vacation and dropped into a congregation that you were not familiar with, and you’ve had the experience of being treated like the invisible family, you don’t want to go back there. At least, there’s not an appeal to go back there. But in other places where you have stopped as a rank stranger, you feel like you’re a member of that congregation before you leave, they’re so hospitable. That’s the way it should be.
It is perfectly normal for us to register our comfort or discomfort in our circumstances. The reading this morning provides an instance of that. Matthew 17:1 says that the Lord took Peter, James and John with Him up into a mountain apart [“And after six days Jesus taketh with Him Peter, and James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart….”]. Giving his account if it, Luke says in chapter 9 that, He went into a mountain apart to pray. And while He was praying, He was transfigured. His raiment became as white as light, and His face shone [Matthew 17:2: “…and He was transfigured before them; and His face did shine as the sun, and His garments became white as the light.”]. I’ve always understood this to be His receiving some of His heavenly glory at that moment, even while He was upon earth. It was amazing to the three apostles!
But perhaps more amazing was the appearance of Moses and Elijah. I do not know how they identified Moses and Elijah—we’re not told—perhaps by their conversations. Luke tells us what they were talking about in verse 31 of Luke 9. He says they discussed His decease, which was about to be accomplished in Jerusalem. They were talking about His death [“And behold, here talked with Him two men, who were Moses and Elijah; 31 who appeared in glory, and spake of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem,” Luke 9:30-31].
And Peter could contain himself no longer. He was always the impetuous one. He had to speak and act first. And so, in true character, He said, “Lord, it is good for us to be here….” And had he stopped right there he would have been on very good, safe ground. But Matthew 17:4 tells us that he continued and said, “…if Thou wilt, I will make here three tabernacles; one for Thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” Luke adds, ”…not knowing what he said” [Luke 9:33: “And it came to pass, as they departed from Him, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias: not knowing what he said.”]. He didn’t realize the implication of his remarks, that he was placing two mere men on the same level with the Son of God.
The Father could not allow that. And so, no sooner had those words left the mouth of Peter than the voice of God thundered, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!” Moses and Elijah disappeared in a cloud.
Now, there’s so much rich material in this context of Scripture. One thing we see is that God is saying that, the days of the authority of the prophets, represented by Elijah, the authority of Moses and the Law—those are fast fading away. He is saying that, it is My Son through Whom I will speak henceforth. And you couple that with the beautiful opening Words of the Hebrews letter, and you see it simply underscored [Hebrews 1:1-4: “God, Who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, Whom He has appointed heir of all things, through Whom also He made the worlds; 3 Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the Word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.”].
But notice what Peter said in verse 4 of Matthew 17, the beginning of that verse: “Lord, it is good for us to be here.” We could dismiss right now (we’re not going to) and I could say genuinely, “It has been good for me to be here,” because everything that we’ve done thus far has been enriching. We’ve had a wonderful song service and our brother’s prayer was both eloquent and simple. The Scripture reading was done so well. It has been good for us to be here for all of those reasons.
And there were some reasons to which we can point in Matthew 17 as to why Peter would say, “Lord, it is good for us to be here.” He was in the presence of the Lord. That made it good. He was in the presence of those who loved the Lord, Moses, Elijah, his two fellow apostles. And he was not out somewhere getting into mischief—he was about the business of the Lord. Yes, it was good for him to be there. Anytime we can be in the presence of the Lord, as we are in a special way when we come into an assembly of the saints and in the presence of others who love the Lord, where there is good influence and fellowship, and about the business of the Lord, we had better say, “Lord, it is good for us to be here.”
But I want to pursue this thought, “It is good for us to be here,” a little bit further for the balance of our study. I want to point you to five specific reasons why, when the saints meet together, IT IS GOOD FOR US TO BE HERE.
The one that I suggest first is first not just randomly, but first in priority. IT IS GOOD FOR US TO BE HERE BECAUSE GOD AND HIS SON ARE EXALTED. When we lift up our voices in praise and worship as He has dictated in His Word, it is good for us to meet together and exalt the God of heaven and His Son. That is the purpose of worship, incidentally, the exaltation of Deity. That’s involved in the very meaning of the word, “worship.” Perhaps the definitive simple and succinct statement on worship is that which the Lord made to the woman at Jacob’s well in John, chapter 4. In verses 23 and 24, He said, “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and Truth: for such doth the Father seek to be His worshippers. 24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship in spirit and Truth.” We note one thing in this passage, in verse 23, that there is worship that is true and, therefore, there must be worship that is not true, or that is false. God seeks true worshippers, defined as those who “worship Him…in spirit and Truth.”
To worship in spirit has to do with putting our spirits and our hearts into it. It is not just going through the motions. It is not just something superficial. It’s not just a ritual, brethren. It is not just tradition. When we worship God in spirit, our hearts must be in it
And “…in…Truth” has to do with “according to Truth.”—Truth as defined by God and by the Lord Themselves. “Thy Word is Truth,” John 17:17, the Lord said. And so it is in Truth; it is worship as dictated by what the Bible says. There is not a person on the face of this earth who knows one thing about what pleases God Almighty in worship but that they read it from this Book right here [Brother McClish is holding up the Bible]. The minds of men cannot invent ways to please God in worship, though they have been trying for centuries, beginning with Cain just outside the Garden of Eden. And they haven’t stopped. But to worship in Truth means that we do what God says pleases Him, not what pleases us as we call it worship.
The question should not be on our minds as we leave this building this morning, “What did I get out of that?” The question should be, “What did GOD get out of that?” We’re all participants in worship, not just the men who stand up at this pulpit. Each of us is to be singing our praises unto God as we’re led by one [man], to be joining the brother who leads us in prayer with our own thoughts. We’re to be listening right now just as I’m speaking. That’s part of worship. All of us are to partake of the Lord’s supper, remembering the death of our Lord. And all of us are to give as we have been prospered. We’re ALL participants. God is the audience as we worship, my brethren.
There are some who have confused worship and service. There is some overlapping between them, admittedly. Everything we do in worship that is according to God’s Word is, indeed, service unto God, but not everything that we do to serve God is Worship. There are some who have advocated the idea, some among us, that everything that one does twenty-four hours a day, if he is a Christian, is worship unto God. But brethren, that cannot be so. We cannot worship unconsciously as we sleep. We do not worship while we’re mowing the yard or washing the dishes. Now, we ought to have our lives so in harmony with God that those can be service unto God. We belong to Him twenty-four hours a day, absolutely. But worship draws us into a tighter atmosphere and activity.
Now, we can worship at home, and we ought to daily as we pray and as we read the Word of God. God knew that His people needed to come together and worship together, and that’s why He commanded us to do so. And that’s why we have the numerous examples of the churches in the New Testament doing so. And so, it is good for us to be here, because, as we meet together to worship God in spirit and in Truth, He is exalted. We are pouring out our thanksgiving, our love, our praise, our adoration, unto HIM. We are recognizing that we are His creation; that we are subject to His Will, and that we fallible and we creatures are in need of strength from above. O how we need to be here, to be reminded of those things and, therefore, how good it is for us to be here, because God and His Son are exalted.
Now, when God tells us to do something and has a specific purpose for it, such as gathering together to worship and exalt Him, there are always good byproducts that surround it. And one of those is our edification. When one comes, enters into a service of this kind, worships God sincerely and according to Truth, he cannot keep from being edified. The word, “edify,” is an interesting word. It has its origin in the building and construction trade. That’s why we call a building like this [where we are worshipping] an “edifice.” It’s something that has been built, or edified. But the inspired writers, particularly Paul, take this generic and secular word and bring it over to a spiritual meaning having to do with “building up one another, and the church as a whole, in spiritual ways.” And so, to the Romans he wrote, chapter 14:19, “So then let us follow after things which make for peace, and things whereby we may edify one another.” We have a responsibility to one another to build one another up, brethren—to edify each other.
When Paul said what he thought were his final words to elders of the Ephesian church in Acts, chapter 20, and verse 32, he said, “And now I commend you to God, and to the Word of His grace, which is able to build (you) up, and to give (you) the inheritance among all them that are sanctified.” Through the Word of God, we’re built up. As the Word of God is taught in our Bible classes, as it’s preached from this pulpit, there is strength; there is building material in it for our souls and our spirits, brethren. And do we not need it in this wicked world in which we live!
Even the songs that we sing are designed for that purpose, according to Colossians 3:16 [“Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly; in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms (and) hymns (and) spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts unto God.”]. We’re to teach and admonish one another as we sing these psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. They edify us; the build us up.
As we join our voices in prayer, there is edification in that. Our minds are brought away from the mundane and the secular, and they’re brought into the spiritual and the sacred. There’s spiritual strength in that.
There’s edification as we remember the price that was paid four our redemption around this sacred table. And even as we give from the bounty that God has given to us, if we give as the Scriptures teach, that is, with forethought, with purpose, we are reminded of how abundantly we are blessed. We are, thereby, encouraged to give abundantly and generously. There’s edification and spiritual strength in that.
And so, IT IS GOOD FOR US TO BE HERE BECAUSE OF EDIFICATION. Do not all of us need it!
I’d never met your preacher [John Phillis] before yesterday. We had exchanged E-mails. I looked forward to meeting him. I got to know him a little bit better yesterday afternoon and last night. But I could tell you something about him before I ever laid eyes on him. I’d met two of your elders before coming here today. I didn’t know them well. But I could tell you some things about them. This one thing I can tell you about each one of you [members of the Northeast congregation], though I don’t know some of you, yet. You sometimes get discouraged living the Christian life. I get discouraged living the Christian life.
Living in the sort of world in which we live today, how could we not occasionally get discouraged in trying to fight the good fight of the faith? It seems sometimes that all of the odds are in Satan’s favor. Our nation is becoming increasingly not only secularized, but drawn into more and more humanism and hedonism. The movement to stamp out the very Name of God and His Son and to debunk the Bible on every hand can be seen and heard. It is politically incorrect to criticize and judge everyone nowadays except those who claim to be Christians. Now, it’s open season on us by the powers that be.
Discouraging, isn’t it? We go to work, and we work among people who, the only use of the Name of Deity they know is as a curse and a swear word. They never think of God, except in those terms, apparently. And some of the filthiest stories and words spew forth from mouths that were intended to bring forth the sweet waters of purity and Truth by the Creator.
Oh, we get discouraged! How can we not get discouraged? And yet, I’ve known some of our men to stand in pulpits and leave the impression that’s almost sinful for a Christian to ever be discouraged about anything. I sharply disagree. Now, that is totally unrealistic. It is not even Biblical!
Some of the greatest spiritual giants and heroes of the Bible were men who became discouraged at times! I know of no greater spiritual hero in the Old Testament than the prophet Elijah. But you read about him in 1 Kings, chapter 19, and see how that fleeing from the death sentence that wicked Jezebel had put upon him, he fled all the way to the desert south of Beersheba, and there said, “God, just kill me; take me out of my misery. I’m the only one left in Israel who has not bowed the knee to Baal!”
Well, Elijah thought that he was giving a proper perspective, but, as always, men do not see things as God sees them, because God sees all. God said, “No, Elijah. There are seven thousand who have not yet bowed the knee.” Now, admittedly, that was a small percentage of the population of the nation of Israel in that day. But it was seven thousand percent BETTER that Elijah was able to perceive!
But God did not chastise Elijah for becoming discouraged. He didn’t say, “You have no right to be discouraged! You’re one of My children! You’re a prophet! You’re inspired! You can work miracles! Why are you discouraged?” None of that did God say. He simply explained to Elijah that there were seven thousand yet in Israel, and sent him on his way to do more work for Him.
I know of no greater spiritual giant in any age who has lived, who was a mere man, besides the apostle Paul. But Paul became discouraged at times.
On his way to Rome as a prisoner for a hearing before Caesar, he was shipwrecked. All possessions were lost on that ship. They finally made their way to the Italian mainland and started up the boot toward Rome. A group of people, brethren in Rome, somehow found out that he was coming, and they timed their departure from Rome to intercept that party on its way. And about 40 miles south of Rome, they met.
Luke was traveling with Paul and his company. In Acts 28, and verse 15, here is what Luke says about that joining of those two groups: Paul “thanked God, and took courage.” What does that tell us about his emotional state? Paul was discouraged. God did not blame him for that.
Our Lord never sinned, but He did get discouraged, and I know discouragement, in and of itself, is not sinful. After the most scathing rebuke that one can imagine, taking most of the 23rd chapter of Matthew in your New Testament, the Lord then concluded by saying, in verse 37, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that killeth the prophets, and stoneth them that are sent unto her! how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!” In Luke’s account of it, he says the Lord wept over Jerusalem! Here were the people He had come to, His Own nation, as the fulfillment of all the prophets—Christ, the end of the Law, not meaning that He brought the Law to an end, but that He was the aim and purpose toward which the Law pointed! And they rejected Him wholesale, as far as the leaders were concerned.
And so He said in verse 38, “Your house (talking about the temple) is no longer God’s house. He’s already deserted it. You’ve driven Him out.” “Your house is left unto you desolate” as indeed it was. And it was finally torn down level with the ground in the assault of AD 70 under General Titus.
No, my brethren, it is not wrong to be discouraged. No. It’s wrong to wallow in discouragement. It’s wrong to refuse every effort God has put forth to revive us when we become discouraged. And I think one of the great by-products of the assemblies of the saints is that it provides the constant encouragement that we need. We’ll go to work tomorrow; we’ll go to school tomorrow; we’ll go about our daily activities; we’ll shop tomorrow; we’ll be among people who care nothing for the Word of God. And it can start having that effect of discouragement.
We come back in here on Wednesday night and sing together, pray together, enjoy fellowship with one another, study God’s Word—and there is encouragement to make it to the next Lord’s day. Brethren, we need those continual jumpstarts in our spiritual strength that the assemblies of the saints give us. Surely God KNEW what He was doing when He told His people to ASSEMBLE and to do so regularly! “NOT forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another….” The way that passage is constructed, the exhorting takes place IN THE ASSEMPLY, not just exhorting people ahead of time to be present at the assembly, but the exhortation that goes on IN the assembly is the emphasis, Hebrews 10:25.
IT IS GOOD FOR US TO BE HERE BECAUSE THERE IS ENCOURAGEMENT, EXHORTATION that we ALL need to keep our spiritual batteries charged.
There’s another thing that I know about every one of you that none of you had to tell me, and that is that, you are an example to other people. Good or bad, you are an example. I am an example. And through that example is one way in which we exert influence, and every one of us has influence. Do not deceive yourself by saying, “Aw, I’m a nobody. Nobody pays any attention to me. My life doesn’t affect anyone else.” Not so; it does.
A brother will sometimes stand and pray, “Lord, help us to be an example.” We he doesn’t have to do that. We are examples, brethren. What he means, of course, is, “Help us to be the right kind of example,” which we ALL ought to be conscious of.
Why is it when we get ready to select elders, we would not even think about appointing a man who might be here next Sunday night, and he might not be here next Sunday night? Or if he’d rather go fishing Wednesday night, then he’ll to fishing next Wednesday night? We don’t think about those kinds of men in terms of serving as leaders in the church, do we? We’d better not! We cannot follow the qualifications of 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 if we do so! These men are to be blameless about such matters!
I dare say that when John [Phillis] started preaching here, if he had talked to you, brethren, and said, “Now you brethren need to know that on Sunday afternoon, when my favorite team is playing during the NFL season, that if the game’s not over by 5:00 P.M., you’ll have to get somebody else to preach that Sunday night because I’m gonna watch the rest of that game!” Would John be your preacher? Hope not. He wouldn’t deserve to be.
Why is it we expect these things of people who we know must be spiritual leaders, but we don’t expect these things of ourselves often times? Where is that double standard ever found in the New Testament that, Christian “A” doesn’t have to pay attention to what the Bible says about such matters as faithfully assembling with the saints, but Christian “B,” “C” and “D” gotta be there?!? It’s not in the Bible I’ve studied all my life. Don’t think it’s in yours.
What about the children who are watching us? Children are great observers. And they take more into that little mind than sometimes we think. Only those who have never been parents would disagree with that. Sometimes they take in what they see in daddy and mommy that we didn’t want them to take in, and they give it back to us!
But what about the children? They see a brother who maybe is never here on Sunday morning for Bible class. They know he could be. He’s physically able to be here on Sunday night, but he never comes on Sunday night. And yet, he’s called on to lead a prayer before the assembly. What’s that teaching our children? Maybe he’s asked to serve at the Lord’s table. What’s that saying to those children? It’s saying, “Well, I guess it’s not too very important to be here every time the doors are open. One can get up and lead in worship whether he’s here, or whether he’s not—it doesn’t make that much difference. Why should I bother?”
You see, our example and influence is very important. And we ought to be very conscience of it. Jesus said, in Matthew, chapter 18, concerning the little children who were brought to Him, that “if one causes one of those little ones to stumble, it would be better for him that a millstone be hanged about his neck and he be drowned in the depths of the sea!” Now, some of you’ve not lived long enough to know what a millstone is, unless you’ve visited one of the old restored mills back on the Eastern seaboard, or back in one of the southern states. But the millstone was the upper stone that would grind the wheat or the corn against the lower stationary stone. The upper stone, the millstone, would be turned—a very, very heavy stone. The Lord’s saying, “It would be better for you not to be born than to cause a little one, by your influence or your example, to not follow Me.” It’s serious business, brethren.
IT IS GOOD FOR US TO BE HERE BECAUSE IT IS THE RIGHT EXAMPLE FOR US TO BE HERE when we are physically able. I know and the Lord knows and faithful brethren know that there are some who cannot come because of physical reasons beyond their control every time the doors are open. We’re not talking about you, brethren. We’re talking about the able-bodied, who choose to be somewhere else when the saints are worshipping God! It is GOOD for us to be here.
Our Lord came for one principle purpose to this earth. It’s summarized in a very brief statement in Luke 19, verse 10: “…for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Everything else Jesus did, all of His miracles and everything else, they ALL come into this one focal point—they ALL have to do with establishing this one purpose and carrying it out. He came to save the world from sin. That’s EVANGELISM! That’s EVANGELISM!
Now, when we meet together, brethren, evangelism takes place. The Word of God is declared. Usually, the invitation of the Lord is offered, encouraging people who have not obeyed the Gospel to do so, encouraging those who have strayed from the Truth or from faithfulness to come back to the Lord. It’s evangelism. It is good for us to be here because of evangelism, if there were no other reason. We are saying by our very presence that we’re concerned not only about our own souls, but about the souls of others that will be there. Is there anything more precious to a devoted child of God than to be in an assembly like this, and when the invitation song is being sung, someone or ones make(s) their way to the front saying, “I’m ready to confess the Name of my Lord, and I want to be baptized into Christ for remission of my sins”? Now, where would you rather be when that’s taking place? In that assembly? Or out on the hill somewhere doing your own thing? Or maybe it’s a brother or sister who’s been away from the Lord for maybe years. Maybe you have talked to them; maybe you prayed for them; maybe you’ve tried to encourage them, and nothing you’ve done has helped. But, in this particular assembly, or just before it sometimes, something has been said or done, the right word or the right deed. And here comes that brother or sister with tears streaming down their cheeks, coming back to the Lord, just like the prodigal. Where would you rather be when that happens? Here, rejoicing in all of that and participating in the evangelism by being here? Or out somewhere doing what you want to do? Brethren, IT IS GOOD FOR US TO BE HERE BECAUSE OF EVANGELISM.
And in case you didn’t get it, I had five points in this lesson. And to help you remember them, each one of them starts with the letter “E”: Exaltation, Edification, Encouragement, Example, Evangelism.
Now, we’ve met here for all of those purposes today, and surely we can say, “It has been GOOD for us to be here.” The only thing that could make it better would be if, when we sing this song of invitation in a few moments, someone, or more, would make their way to the front and let their spiritual needs be known, whether it be to come to the Lord upon repenting of their sins, turning away from all others, wanting to serve Christ alone, ready now to confess the most precious Name of all, and ready to put their Lord on in baptism wherein the blood of Christ cleanses them from their sins, or coming to say, “I’ve wandered away and I’m coming home; I’m coming back; I’m coming back to my Father’s house from which I had strayed. Pray for me that the Lord will forgive me.” Oh, He will forgive the penitent sinner. Or maybe there is someone here who simply needs prayers for some other reason. How wonderful it would be to see this be the day that you make your move toward God and toward serving Him, becoming His child if you’re not one, becoming His faithful child if you’ve become unfaithful. Oh, it is good for us to be here. Let us stand; let us sing; let us invite you to come now as we stand together.