and unto Laodicea. And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks, or lampstands. And in the midst of the seven candlesticks, one like unto the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girded about the pats with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were as a flame of fire. and his feet like undefined brass, as if they burned in a furnace, and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars, and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, fear not, I am the first and the last. I am he that liveth and was dead. And behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And have the keys of hell and of death. Write the things which thou hast seen and the things which are and the things which shall be hereafter. the mystery of the seven stars, which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels, or the messengers, or the pastors of the seven churches, and the seven candlesticks, or lampstands, which thou sawest, are the seven churches. Now in our text here this evening, we see many things regarding the Lord's Day, and we'll bring them out at the proper time in the message. But I want to say this, that it is near impossible to separate what we say about the Lord's Day from the Lord's Church. Because everything that we believe about the Lord's Day, as far as the day that we're to worship, the day that we are to come and give our tithes and offerings, the day that we are to come and meet with Jesus, is all done in His name. church. That's where it is. And the Lord's day is the day in which God has set aside. As we read here in verse 10 of Revelation 1, John wrote and he said, I was in the spirit on the Lord's day and heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet. And I'll say this, That you can come to the house of God, we'll mention this later again, you can come to the house of God, you can be here on the Lord's day, but unless you are in the spirit on that day, you will not hear the voice of the Lord. And I've been there many a times. And you know, we come into the house of God, we sit down, the preacher preaches, we sing songs and hymns, we pray, and we depart, and we never worship God. Because we were never in the Spirit on the Lord's Day. Certainly that is a key requirement for the Lord's Day, is to be in the Spirit. We'll note that further in the message. Look to Ephesians chapter 3. Ephesians chapter 3, the Bible says, as you know and we'll run scripture reference to it, that the Lord's day is the first day of the week. And we find that this is the day that the Lord chose for his people to worship. It's the day in which his apostles met. It's the day in which the first church met to worship the Lord. And here in Ephesians 3 in verse 21, the Bible says, unto him be glory. in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages world without end. Amen. And so we read that and we read here that the Bible says that you have to give God the glory in his church. And you know, what day of the week do we do that? Well, we do it on the Lord's day. We do it every day. that we meet in church capacity to worship the Lord. And that's what glory means. It means we glorify him or we lift up his name. God has or there are two glories mentioned in the Bible. Referring to God. Number one, His being. God is a glorious being. Everything about Him is honorable. It is majestic. It is glory. But this word here, unto Him be glory, tells us that we are to praise Him. We are to exalt Him. We are to lift Him up above everything else. That's what it means. Unto Him be glory. And we see here that you don't lift the preacher up, the Sunday school teacher, the deacons or anybody else in the church. You don't even lift the church up. We lift the Lord up unto Him. be glory in the church. And what day should that take place? Well, as we are here this evening on Wednesday night, that is proper as well. We'll show that in the message. But our primary concern tonight is the Lord's Day, the first day of the week. And I want you to note again, if you look back in Revelation chapter one, we noted that it must be done in the Lord's house. This is where we come and worship him John here was exiled onto the Isle of Patmos for Due to the persecutions of which he suffered during his day But we find this and I want you to take a note here that the Bible says in John spoke verse And he declares in verse 9 why he was where he was. But in verse 10 he says this, I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day. And I will say that the Lord's day ought to be the first day for God's people. It ought to be the first day for every member of this church. It ought to be the most important day. It's kind of like we sing sometimes that song known as the Sunday school song. If I could only have my way, I would make every day Sunday or however that it goes, used to have it memorized. But what we find is that we really need to focus on being in the house of the Lord on the Lord's Day. Many people And a great many feel that they are not required to attend the Sunday school hour nor Sunday evening, but they come to the, if you would, the high service of the 11 o'clock hour. But certainly, we who are children of the Lord, we must realize and recognize that when His church meets, we ought to be here every time. And now the Bible declares this, and John said, I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day and heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet. Now remember that. But I want to say this. A lot of people use the Lord's day to do work. And if you can't get things done in six days, certainly a seventh isn't going to help you out. It's just not going to do it. If you can't get everything that you need to have done in six days, surely that seventh isn't going to help you out. And I think maybe some folks need to cut back. It's kind of like with the tithe. If you can't do everything that you need to do with less than 90%, then you've got a problem. And God will show you how big a problem you have when he starts not even letting you have any of it. Look over into 1 Corinthians this evening. 1 Corinthians chapter 16, if you would. And note, if you would, here in verses 1 and 2. The Bible tells us, as Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, why do we observe this day, the Lord's Day, and why do we do it on Sunday? The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 16 in verse 1, it says, Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye, upon the first day of the week, let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come. Now that ought to settle it. Because there are people today who say, well, we meet on the seventh day, we meet on Saturday, but God's word says upon the first day of the week. And you know what also this verse teaches? It teaches the fact that tithing and offering is only done when it's given unto the Lord in and through his church. You can't give your tithe or the Lord's because the Bible says the tithe belongs to the Lord. You can't give your tithes and offerings to any charitable organization and say that you've given it to God. It has to come into the Lord's church first. And then whatever the church decides to do with it at the leadership of the Holy Spirit. We'll have more to say on that when we get to the next article of faith. But our focus here this evening is this. Paul told the church at Corinth and he tells me, he says, I'm telling you the same thing I said for the churches of Galatia. Upon the first day of the week, that's the Lord's day, that's Sunday. Then we find, well, where did Paul get this from? Well, let's look over to the gospel of John chapter 20. Here we find that the Bible tells us, John chapter 20 in verse 19, We have here what the Bible says. The first day of the week is a day that we worship the Lord. It's a day that we commemorate Him rising from the grave. We don't just commemorate it once a year. We remember Him rising from the grave 52 Sundays a year, every Sunday we meet. We remember that he rose from the grave. Isn't that what Jesus told John on the Isle of Patmos when he was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day? He said, I am he who is dead, but is alive forevermore. We remember that he rose from the grave on the Lord's Day, John 20 and verse 19. Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut, where the disciples were assembled, Now who was assembled there? Well, it was the 10 out of the 12 apostles, Judas having gone and hung himself, Thomas being absent, so you've got 10 left over. Well, who were they? Well, the 10 apostles comprised the Lord's Church. And it says they were assembled, and they were assembled for fear of the Jews. And the Bible says that when the doors were shut, where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst and said unto them, Peace be unto you. Now, what day did he do that? Upon the first day of the week. The Bible says in Matthew chapter 18 and verse 20, for where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. And then we see an instance. Now, where is Christ in the midst of them? In church capacity. You can't get three Christians, Baptists or three Christians, people who are different denominations, get them around a flagpole and Christ be in the midst because that's not what he was talking about. Matthew 18 and verse 20 was speaking of that he will come and dwell in the midst of his church when they meet when there's two or three. And that tells us as well that the smallest number a church can be is two people. Two people can comprise the Lord's church. And here we find that here they had 10. Here they had 10 the same day. And the Bible tells us in verse 24, but Thomas, one of the 12 called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. So here we find that there were 10 apostles, 10 disciples of the Lord, 10 church members assembled together upon the first day of the week, the Lord's day. And Jesus came and he preached a message unto them. And he said, peace be unto you. That's what he told them. That was his sermon. And then we find in verse 21, Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you, as my Father has sent me, even so send I you. Now note, and when he had said this, he breathed on them and said unto them, Receive ye the Holy Spirit. Whosoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them, and whosoever sins ye retain, they are retained. Now that's a tremendous sermon that Christ preached on the first day of the week, the Lord's Day. And you know who missed out on it? Thomas. He missed every word that Christ preached. He missed every word that was said by the Lord. He missed the presence of God. That's what we miss when we miss worshiping God on the Lord's Day. We miss the presence of Christ. It's not important to see me. It's important to see the Lord. I had a friend of mine, his mother-in-law, the sorry dope that she was, and I mean that in the nicest possible way. But when you tell a minister of God, and you tell him that it's important to go to church because of the social atmosphere, and because that it's good for social habits, and to get your kids involved in the community, you're a dope. You're a sorry one at that. This church is not built by the Lord for us to be social to one another. It was built to worship the Lord. He ought to have the preeminence unto Him be glory in the church. by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. Now we find here that these met upon the first day of the week and the Bible says in Malachi and again in Hebrews that the Lord hasn't changed. He hasn't changed it one bit. He said in Malachi, I am the Lord. I change not. And so it's still the Lord's day. It's still the first day of the week. And we meet here because this is the pattern handed down to us by the first church. There they were, John 20, 19. Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut, where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst and said unto them, peace be unto you. And I'll tell you this, one of the worst decisions a parent can ever make is to let a young child And you decide what age it is for you. But I tell you, one of the worst things they can do is let a child decide whether or not they're going to come to the house of God on the Lord's day. That's one of the worst things you can do. You remember what the wise man said in Proverbs 22 and verse 6, he said, train them up in the way that they should go. And when they're old, they'll not depart from it. I remember being too tired to come to church. It didn't matter, it was the Lord's Day. And we went. And certainly that ought to be the attitude that God's people have today. What we find is this, that it is our duty to be in the house of God on the Lord's Day. Turn over to Colossians. And let us note this, why is it the first day of the week? Why is it that? People say, well, the Jews in the Old Testament used to worship the Lord on the Sabbath day. Well, they used to worship God every day because every time they sinned, they had to go down to the temple and offer a sacrifice. It wasn't just on the Sabbath day. They had to go and offer burnt offerings, and sin offerings, and trespass offerings, and meal offerings, and free will offerings, and offerings of men's sins every single day. And they did it under the law. You and I, as the Bible says, we're under grace. We ought to want to come to the house of God. Remember what David said? A day in thy courts is better than it is elsewhere, and let me find that verse, because I want to get that right. But he also said this, he said, I'd rather be a doorkeeper in the house of the Lord than to dwell in the tents of the wicked. Here in Colossians 1 and verse 15, why do we observe the Lord's day? Why did God make it the first day of the week? Colossians 1 and verse 15, he's speaking here regarding Christ. He says that Christ He says, who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature? For by him were all things created that are in heaven, that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created by him and for him. And he is before all things. And by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he might have the preeminence. And that means the first place. That's why we worship God on Sunday, the first day of the week, because it gives God the first place. It's the first thing we do at the first part of the week, every week. Every time we start a week over, we're at the house of the Lord. because we want to give him the preeminence, not the leftovers, but the first place. Certainly, that's what you and I ought to want to do. Many folks, as you can see, are having difficulty with that. We have pews empty every Lord's Day because people do not want to give God the preeminence in their lives. I've known some folks who had absolute time They could stay up, stay up, and do whatever they wanted the night before the Lord's Day, but they couldn't give God the glory on His Day. Let me read it unto you, Psalms 84 and verse 10. He says, For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. David said, I'd rather spend one day in your house than to spend a thousand elsewhere. And you know, certainly that's true. We ought to have that desire. I'm afraid that myself included, we don't always have that desire, but certainly we ought to want to be where the Lord is. Why is it then? Why is it that the Church of Rome has services now, Saturday, for several years? They've had Saturday services. Well, it's so they can get their religion over with and out of the way. It's a matter of convenience. You remember what Jesus said in Mark chapter 7 and verse 9? Full well ye reject the commandment of God that ye may keep the tradition or traditions of men. If God sold people to worship the Lord on Tuesday, they wouldn't do it then either. People go out of their way to disobey what the Bible says about the Lord's day. You know what the Bible said in John 14, 15, if you love me, keep my commandments. The Lord's Day is the simplest commandment to keep. It is. All you have to do is show up outwardly, but we also have to be in the spirit on the Lord's Day. Now, that's the hard part. Showing up is easy. It's not difficult to do. Don't make any plans for the Lord's Day. Get your calendar out, write down every Lord's Day, church. Our times haven't changed. And so this is what we need to do. It is amazing. All the things. I believe in providential hindrances. I believe in three. Weather, sickness, and death. If the roads are so bad you can't get here, don't come. If you're sick, physically sick, I mean, nigh unto death, or you got some communicable disease, don't come. But I'll tell you this. You know what the Bible said in James? We read it. If you're sick, call for the elders that they may pray and have the oil of anointing. Like I said, I don't have any oil except, well, I can't remember any oil right now. I got some WD-40 I'll anoint you with. But the point is, I believe that's indicative of the Holy Spirit of God who has the power to heal. And we'll certainly pray. But if you're sick and you can't make it because you're ill, don't come. But if you've just got, you know, little tiny aches and pains, I want you to remember this, that Jesus was nailed to a cross for your sins and mine. He had a spear pierced his side. He didn't miss that appointment. He was forsaken by his father. He didn't miss it. He bore our sins. Those are the two greatest. It wasn't the nails that held Jesus to the cross. It wasn't the spear that pierced His side that blood and water came out of that was the grievousness of it. The grievousness of the cross is our sins and the forsaking of the Father. Those were the two greatest things that injured Christ. And He never missed that appointment. I understand there's times when I hurt, when I'm sick, when I don't feel good. But remember what Christ endured. We also, as I said, if you're dead, don't come. Unless it's your funeral. But we find here that these are the providential hindrances. I have yet, and as I said Sunday morning, when we do not obey the command to be in the house of God on the Lord's day, did Christ offend you? Because if He didn't, then you have no reason not to be here. And if He did, then you needed to be offended and you needed to come back. And again, I have yet to see a reason not to be in the Lord's house on the Lord's day. Let me give you an example from my own life. I have a picture of it hanging up in my study. I've always kept this picture. I went round about the age of 18, wanted to get my picture for my senior pictures on a bull. They had bull riding Sunday and they had it Wednesday. I didn't miss services on Sunday, and I tried to do it all Wednesday and make it back to church. And it certainly happened that between the hour of 7 o'clock and 8 o'clock on a Wednesday evening, I was on the back of a bull. And I got the worst concussion I've ever gotten in my life. And people say, well, of course you did. You were trying to ride a bull. But if I'd been in the Lord's house, where I should have been at God's appointed time, it would have never, ever happened. When I went to the police academy, I made a vow between me and the Lord, and I said, if I ever get through this and get into law enforcement, I said, I will never miss services to be in a patrol car. And I never did. God provided me with a job. He gave me a chief who would ride on Sunday because he wasn't going to church. He would come in and work while I was at church, then I would go back. But I'll say this, that we must realize that we ought not to put ourselves in positions where we'll miss the services of the Lord. And I tell you, one of the greatest ways to put yourself in a position to miss the Lord's Day service is to squander your Saturday night. I tell you what, it's really sad how people just waste away Saturday and they're too dog tired to worship God on the Lord's Day. I've been there. You drag yourself into the house of God. You're not in the Spirit on the Lord's Day. All you want to do is lay down and hope the sermon will get over quick. You know what Saturday is named after? Remember that Saturnalia Festival we talked about a few months back? That's where it got its name from. You look at the world. You come down here to Caldwell. You can barely drive down main street Saturday evening. There's so many cars parked outside the beer joint. That's because everybody's out worshiping the devil and all the things that they do. They're not preparing themselves for the Lord's day. I tell you what, we are going to be in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, we can't live like the world on Saturday. It's not going to happen. That's one way we can be in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, is to use Saturday for a day of preparation. One member once told me, and I'll share this with you, he said he didn't come to church Sunday because he had to go to work, And by the time he got done with the work that he had to do, he would have been late. He knew I didn't like people coming in late. Well, he's right. I expect more from members of the Lord's church than I do from people who aren't members. I expect people who are saved and members of the Lord's church to be in God's house on the Lord's day at God's appointed time. I don't think that's too much to ask. But you know why people don't show up on time in the house of the Lord on the Lord's Day? It's because, as this fellow did, he had put his work before the work of God. And when you do that, Christ doesn't have the preeminence. He doesn't have the first place in our lives. Let's look over to Exodus. I want to answer a question here. We've said much. We'll let the Holy Spirit take it. Make it effective. But I've heard this question asked, is the Lord's Day, is Sunday the Christian Sabbath? I don't believe so. I've yet to find the term Christian Sabbath in my Bible. The Lord's Day is not a day of rest. It's a day of work, of spiritual work. It's a day of worship. If Sunday is the Christian Sabbath, then nobody should be cooking food on the Lord's Day. Nobody should be doing anything because it's a day of rest if it's the Christian Sabbath. Here we find in Exodus chapter 20 in verse 8, he says, Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God. In it thou shalt not do any work, thou nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates. Exodus 20 and verse 11. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day. Wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. He separated unto him. You see, he still says it's the seventh day. This is the law. God didn't institute the Sabbath until the Mosaic law. There was no signs. There was no speaking of the Sabbath before the law was instituted. Adam didn't have it. Seth didn't have it. Noah didn't have it. Abraham and Isaac and Jacob didn't have it. It didn't exist until Moses. And what do we do now? We observe the resurrection of Christ on the Lord's day, the first day of the week. If you want to observe the Sabbath, don't do anything on Saturdays. Because that's the Sabbath day. I will say this, we really need to devote more time to the Lord on the Lord's day. We really do. We ought to use the Lord's day as a day of not only worshiping the Lord and His church, we ought to use it for a day of prayer. We ought to use it for a day of witnessing. We ought to use it for a day in which we examine ourselves. Remember what the Bible said there? I believe it's in 1 Corinthians chapter 13 or 2 Corinthians chapter 13. Examine yourself whether you be in the faith. Remember what Peter said, that we are to make our calling and election sure. That's one day we can do it, is on the Lord's day. Remember that it's called, as John said, I was in the spirit on the Lord's day, not the Lord's hour, not the Lord's minute, not the Lord's morning or evening, but the Lord's day. And I realize that day means a period of time. But we need to be in his spirit. Let me say this. I used to have a t-shirt. I may still have it. It had a picture of football players and it said, who said Sunday is a day of rest? No one did. God never said that Sunday is a day of rest. It's a day of worship. It's a day in which your spirit will fight your flesh and your flesh will fight your spirit. It's a day when Christ, through the spirit that lives within those who are saved, rises up and we sit in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. It's a day in which Satan tries to assault us to keep us from worshipping the Lord. Beloved, I'll tell you this, that's no day of rest. That's the greatest day of spiritual warfare that you and I fight is the Lord's Day. I remember that it is to be a day of spiritual labors. My grandmother used to tell me stories, grew up on a farm. She said the only labor they were allowed to do was milk the dairy cows because they had to be milked every day. The boys couldn't go off hunting, though they hid their slingshots in the barn. but they couldn't take the rifles. It was a day that was reserved for the Lord. We've gotten far from it. So far from a day that is devoted unto God. Rarely are our thoughts upon the Lord. It amazes me. I grew up, we had school started around about seven or something like that. I don't remember. It's been too long ago. I was telling Brother Clay, and then when we got to college, classes started at 10 a.m., and I thought that was too early. But you know, you brothers and sisters, you know, we get to our employment jobs before 10 a.m. on the Lord's Day. And yet, how many times do we come into the house of God, and it seems as if we're exhausted already. And we're not spiritually exhausted. for whatever reason, and you watch, and you know coming this Saturday that the devil will try to do anything and everything. He'll use your children, he'll use your spouse, he'll use family, friends, relatives, he'll use your neighbor's dogs, I know, to keep you from being ready to worship the Lord on the Lord's Day. He absolutely will. But I do want to say this, that there are benefits, that the Lord's Day has benefits. They cannot be numbered. They cannot be counted. They cannot be set at their cost because they are the unsearchable riches of Christ. Remember what Thomas said eight days later? The following Sunday, when he entered into the assembly of the saints, and there was Jesus, and he said, Peace be unto thee, and Jesus showed him his hands, and Thomas said, My Lord and my God. He missed out on the presence of the Lord in a special manifestation. And John here, if you'll note our text of Revelation chapter one, He said, I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day. How do we get in the Spirit on the Lord's Day? Don't squander Saturday. I'll tell you that right now. We have in our covenant that we will have family devotions, private devotions. I recommend Saturday. Saturday evenings. Have a set time. It'll be the hardest thing to start. I guarantee you that. But you sit down, and I commend you heads of the households to say, we're going to pick this time, and no matter what, we're going to turn the TV off, we're going to shut the computers off, we're going to turn the phones off, and we're going to sit down, and we're going to have a time of devotion. We're going to read some scriptures, we're going to talk about them, we're going to have prayer, we're going to go over the prayer ban list, and we're going to devote some time to prepare for the Lord's Day. And you'll do it once, and I guarantee you the services will be better on the Lord's Day. And then by the time you get back to the next Saturday, you'll be like, ah, it'll be the hardest thing to keep going. I guarantee it. But it can be done. And it will make the services all that much better. But I want you to know, here the Bible says in Revelation 1 and verse 10, I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day and heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet. As I mentioned in the offset, if John had not been in the Spirit, he never would have heard the great voice. He never would have heard the trumpet and you and I would not have a revelation of Jesus Christ and what's going to happen during the tribulation period about the Antichrist, and the Lord's coming, and the marriage of the bride unto the Lamb of God, and we wouldn't know anything if John hadn't been prepared. He was in the Spirit. And you don't hear what it says. Verse 11, here's what the voice said, saying, I am Elf and Omega, the first and the last, and what thou seest, write in a book and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia. You know what that is? That's the Lord Jesus telling his servant, even as the Father sent me, even so send I you. He said, I'm going to give you something, and I want you to go, and I want you to tell it to others. That's what the Lord does on the Lord's day. He feeds us. He gives us things. He says, go ye therefore. Then we want you to look, if you know it over, into verse 17. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. That's indicative of the fact that John fell down and worshiped the Lord. He trembled in fear. Have you ever trembled in fear when God's word was preached? It's an awe-inspiring thing when God's word cuts you right to the heart. And it happens when his word is preached on his appointed day in his appointed place, the Lord's house. That's when it happens. And then we find he says this, fear not, I am the first and the last. It's amazing when the Lord, you can read that clause before it, and it said, and he laid his right hand upon me, saying, isn't it wonderful when God cuts you to the heart, and then he lays his hand upon you, and he puts that healing balm, and he says, it'll be all right. I am the Lord, I will not leave you. And then he says in verse 19 and 20, we'll read verse 19 only, Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter." He says, write them down. This was because John was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day. And he heard all of these things. How many things do you and I hear on the Lord's Day? And we must realize this, that they come not from me, but from the Lord. I believe it's the 49th Psalm. When the psalm is penned, my tongue is the pen of a ready writer. And that simply means that when I speak, we must try to realize that it's not me, it's the Lord who is speaking through his minister. Now in closing this evening, regarding the Lord's Day, look in Hebrews chapter 10. Hebrews chapter 10. and verse 19 down to verse 25. Here are some instructions for the people of God. Certainly we need to be instructed. Hebrews 10 and verse 19. The writer records for us and he says this, Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, My new and living way which he hath consecrated for us through the veil that is to say his flesh And having an high priest over the house of God Now know let us draw near with a true heart and full assurance of faith Having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering For He is faithful that promised. Let us consider one another to provoke unto love and unto good words, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the day approaching. Now the Bible tells us in verse 21, He says, Let us draw near. Can you do that? Because verse 21 or 22 23 and 24 all focus on verse 25 Which has to do with being in the Lord's house on the Lord's Day. Can you draw near to God? Not if you're not observing the Lord's Day correctly Can you hold fast a profession of your faith without wavering? Not if you're not in the Lord's House on the Lord's Day Can you consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works if you're not in the Lord's house on the Lord's day. No, they're intertwined, they're connected. You all know and I know and I can say this with assurance that the members of this church are more firm and more grounded and more settled in the truth today than we were two and a half years ago. Now, how'd that happen? How did that happen? Because we came to the Lord's house on the Lord's day and were instructed in righteousness. That's how. And I don't mean to take out the work and the power of the Holy Spirit of God, but it's a fact. Can't guarantee that you or I are gonna grow spiritually because you come here on the Lord's Day But I again can guarantee you that if you don't you will not You will not You can sit in these pews for the next 30 years under my ministry and never grow But if you never come I can guarantee it it'll never happen I People who do not observe the Lord's Day and get away from it will end up in a terrible backslidden condition. You and I have seen it and know we've seen people who have come end up in that condition too. But it's so true. Remember what the Lord said upon the first day of the week. This is the most important day. of our lives, the Lord's Day. It's a day in which we remember that he rose from the grave. Always remember that. It's a day we commemorate that he rose from the grave and he's here with us, meeting with us, and we are worshiping him. And he says, peace be unto thee. Boy, we need peace. Peace with God and peace with one another. We want to stand if the song leader will come at this time and sing a verse of imitation. The Lord has spoken unto you. We invite you to come for whatever reason that may be. What number shall we set? 466. 466. I need Thee every hour, most gracious Lord. No tender voice, no tongue can peace afford. I need Thee, oh, I need Thee, every hour I need Thee. Oh, Lincoln, meet out my favor. I come unto thee. Well, I'll let other kids say it. I have him and his wife. We do our own willful ignorance. Sunday evening, we would miss services. And it wasn't providential ignorance. We chose not to be here because we were things that happened. We were upset. So we chose not to be here. We just wanted to say we're sorry for not being here during the services. That's all I have to say. OK. Does anybody have any further questions for him? All right. Yeah, I'm ready to look for you. Go ahead. Do you have any questions? We talked earlier. OK. Well, we appreciate that, we really do. And that certainly, it takes a lot for God to humble people and to admit their own faults. And we all have our own faults, but like I said before, if we were honest, we'd all come at the end of every service and ask the Lord and the church to forgive us of our sins. But we do appreciate that. And there's a unity that this church has. And from what I understand, it's never had that before. And we really need to focus on keeping that and growing further in that. You tell him we'll not do it at this time, but you tell him tonight before you leave that you appreciate him, apologize to him, and that you love us. And you're thankful to the War Reform for being here, because we do. And everyone needs to remember that. We all are not one of us perfect. And so we all have things that we need to take care of. Let's go to a word of prayer. It's time. Brother Jacob, you lead us. We'll close in three minutes. Oh, most gracious Father, we thank you, Lord, for allowing us all to be here this evening. Thank you. And we count the breath of blessed prayer before you, Lord, to be in my house. And we pray, Lord, that you'd be with each and every member as we leave here tonight, Lord, so you might keep us safe. Bring us back again in the Lord's day, and hear us say thy word. We pray, Lord, that you'd be with those and family and friends among us, Lord, that aren't saved, that you might see fit to save their souls, Lord, and add them to your work. We pray, Lord, that you just, most of all, forgive us our sins as we sinned against Christ. Amen. I think that the Lord gave us bravery to do that.