It's okay. It's okay. and you Yeah. ♪ And I want to pray all night ♪ ♪ And watch the whole world fall asleep ♪ children, I think Psalter 53 is a very well-known psalter, isn't it? The Lord my shepherd I'll not want. Maybe one of the first psalters you learned. And so we sung the whole psalter. And then we sung in this last tense and in God's house forevermore, my dwelling place will be." And you'll sing these words too. Is it true in your heart? Is this true? And in God's house forevermore my dwelling place will be." Can you imagine that children, to be in God's house forever? What does that mean? Always sit in church? No, not first of all. But why is this psalmist praying, asking to be, to dwell in God's house forevermore, asking what… I would like to have every day the day of the Sabbath, to be always in thy house. You can imagine it's the Old Testament, yes? And in the Old Testament, they had the temple. And what was in the temple? There was the ark, the most holy place. And in the ark, there was the… No, I forgot a word, but you know what I mean, that covering. And it was the presence of God. So what is actually this soul mist asking? The mercy seat, I was looking for that word. The mercy seat, before the mercy seat, there's the presence of God. And this psalmist is praying and is asking to dwell forever in the presence of God. So children, I ask you again, maybe you were thinking, oh, to sit in church forever, poor, that seems not to be easy for me. But let me ask another question. Do you like to be in the presence of God forever? The presence of God, yeah, that's a holy presence, but first of all, you know, the presence of God is a satisfying presence. The presence of God, that's a presence filled with God's love. That's why God's people like to confess, and in God's house forevermore my dwelling place shall be. And that will be the case in heaven. That's heaven. Heaven is to be in God's presence, to be, to dwell in God's presence forever. That's the pain in the life of a Christian today, that sin is always making a separation between God and God's presence. That's the painful thing. And how often also a Christian can go through this life with an empty heart, with a guilty soul. But oh, therefore they are longing for that day. to be in the presence of God without sin, without any separation. And to have an impression of that and to maintain that that reality and to teach that reality, in the Old Testament God has given His temple service and has given that mercy seat in which was God's presence and the people came through the high priest in the presence of God. And therefore God had given them that specific day, the Sabbath. in creation already. We have spoken about the Sabbath, the meaning of the Sabbath. It's a day of rest. We have seen it is the day in which Israel also remembered their deliverance out of Egypt. We have seen it is the Sabbath, the Old Testament Sabbath and the Christian Sabbath on the eighth day. Do you remember that? That's why we today have our Sabbath on the Sunday, on the first day, on the eighth day of the week. It's the day of the jubilee. It's that day of Christ, of His resurrection. when He has conquered over sin and death and Satan. And right from the beginning of the Christian church in the book of Acts, we have read it, the people came together. Together, why? To experience the presence of God. Because God dwells among His people. God dwells in His Word. Jesus Christ, He is present in the midst of the gathering of His people. He has promised us, the two or three are gathered in My name, I'm there. Just two or three. That's wonderful. I remember a long time ago, children, I was visiting a mission project in Indonesia. And we were in the midst of the jungle, and there were just people were living in like, how do you say that in English? Very primitive people. And I remember that I was talking with that missionary and he said, just where two or three are gathered in my name, I will be there. And it was 10 minutes later, I think, there was a local minister who was starting to preach about that text. There were two or three are gathered in my name. Among this primitive people, Christ was there. And so, this evening we will again dwell upon that command of God given in the fourth commandment. Remember the Sabbath to keep it holy, to keep it separate. So we have already seen the origin of it. The Old Testament background, we have seen also how it is changed in the New Testament to the Sunday as the Lord's day. John was on the Lord's day on that island. And now we are gathered together today on the Lord's day. It's a beautiful name. My dear congregation, it's not your day. It's not my day. It's the Lord's day. This is the day of the Lord. This is the day of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's our Savior's day. So, it answers the question how we have to use that day, not for ourselves, to use it for His glory, to use it for glorifying His name. And I'm sure if you are a Christian, you like to do it. That's why we read from Acts chapter 2. You see, those people under the preaching of the apostle Peter, and to be honest, Peter was not an easy Not an easy preacher, not a, let me say, let me say, he was not using, yeah, always kind words. He was very, very clear. And it was very painful. He was putting the finger on the right spot, and he was pointing to their sins. Very clear, very openly. And then, verse 37, we start reading there. And then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. And then we read in verse 41, And then they that glad to receive that word, his word, were baptized. And the same day were added unto them about three thousand souls. added to the church, added to Christ, to the body of Christ. So, this is very important to realize congregation. When we read the answer of the Heidelberg Catechism on the question, what is God requiring in the fourth commandment, then it speaks about that the ministry of the gospel and the schools be maintained, and that I especially on the Sabbath, that is on the day of rest, diligently frequent the church of God. It does not, and it's translated with the church of God, I think in the original it was the congregation, but both words are beautiful words, the church. What's the church, children? When you say to, when your dad will say to you, come, we go to church, what are you thinking? Oh, then you think, oh, now we go to Frankfurt and we go to that building, that's the church. And that's great. That's a church building. But actually that's not the church. What is the church? Now the word church, that's a very specific word. I'm using little difficult words, but maybe you can remember them, or you might also forget them, but please try to remember the meaning of that word. In the original language, it's called Kyriaké. And from that word, is the name church, Kyriaké. And what does that mean? It's a difficult word. And you hear maybe in that word, the word Kyrios. That's also a Greek word, and what's kurios? That's the name of, that means Lord. In our Bible it's translated with Lord. And kuriake means that what belongs to the Lord, those who belong to the Lord. That's the church. So the church is not a building. The church is also not a denomination. Oh no, the church are those who belong to Christ. So, when your dad will say, children, we go to church, you keep that in mind. You're not going to a church building, but you are going to those people who belong to Christ. And you take a place in the midst of the children of God. That's very important. That's what you are doing. You are confessing, I like to be among the children of Christ. That's the church. So, on the Sabbath, we come together as the church of Christ. So, and that needs to be our focus and our starting point when we talk about the church and when we talk about how we have to deal with the Lord's Day with Christ. Christ is the very center of the church. That's the church. And God has given us already in the Old Testament a way of service. And we know in the Old Testament it was the service of the Levites and the priests. And the Israelites need to offer for that and need to maintain that Old Testament service, and so we also need today to maintain the worshiping of God's name, of Christ's name. That's why we are together. And that's what God's requiring in the fourth commandment, remember the Sabbath. to keep it holy, to have that day to worship Him, to worship Christ. And therefore, we need to maintain that. And that's the reason that there needs to be an order in church. We need to come together frequently. and otherwise we will easily lose everything. Oh, Christ is worthy that His name will be worshiped, and in particular God, as already mentioned, has given us that day, the day of the Lord, the Sabbath. And therefore, we need to have the office bearers. Last week, we have the reinstallation of two office bearers, and we have spoken about that, the calling and the ministry. And that needs to be maintained. That's important. And also, the ministry of pastors. And that's why also the Heidelberg Catechism is pointing to schools. It's a little bit remarkable when it comes to the Lord's Day that our fathers, when they explain that Word of Christ and the Word of God, remember the Sabbath to keep it holy, that they also speak about that the ministry of the gospel and the schools be maintained. So, they are also using the schools for explaining that biblical Word. And then we have to think first of all about the schools for teaching the pastors, the theological seminaries, the theological schools to teach the pastors to maintain the service of God. That's a very important thing. And of course, it's also important that our children learn to read. to be able to read the Bible, to sing the Psalters, to maintain the service of the gospel, the ministry of the gospel, and the schools. Otherwise, when there will be no ministers, you know then that something is wrong. You know, it's very clear in the Bible, you know, there is… I know it's not always easy, but I only can conclude that when I read, for example, in the book of Revelation about the seven congregations, they all had a minister. They all had a minister. So, this is the biblical way. Every congregation needs to have a minister, and God provided also in that time. And as a church, we need to maintain that. We need to pray for it, that Christ's name might be lifted up. And what is it a wonder when God calls people, young people to the ministry and to become a minister and to become an evangelist or to become a missionary to actually to maintain the ministry of the gospel. It's the responsibility of the church. May I ask you, my dear people, is it a part of your prayer? Mission work, our congregation, the office bearers, your pastor, it's part of your prayer. Lord, use them, bless them, help them, strengthen them. That's what God is asking from us in the fourth commandment. Remember the Sabbath. Why? If not a purpose in itself, but it's that Christ's name might be lifted up in our midst. How? How we need to worship God. That's also an important question, isn't it? And for that reason, we need to go also to the Scriptures. We cannot start as a way of serving God in our own ways, according to our own thoughts, according to our ideas. No, it needs to be Scriptural. And that's also why we read together this evening Acts chapter 2. You see right from the beginning, you see what is the church. The church is not a building. The church is not a group of people who call themselves Christian and maybe do confession and all these things and more. No, no, no, no, no. That's not the church. The church are those people who belong to Christ. That's the church. And yes, they confess His name. That's what they like to do. That's the love of their soul. That's what we can read from the book of Acts, from the very beginning of the Christian church. That's the church. Oh my dear congregation, let's always go back to the scriptures to find an answer on all these topics. It's very clear, right from the beginning, after their conversion, they came together. Christians come together on the first day of the week in particular. and what they are doing. Please turn with me to Acts chapter 2, verse 42, and they continued stat, firstly, in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship and in breaking of bread and in prayers. So, here we find four aspects of Christian worship, biblical aspects of Christian worship. First of all, to continue steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine. Secondly, in fellowship. Thirdly, in the breaking of bread. And fourthly, in prayer. These are the four pillars of a biblical congregation, the four pillars of the Christian church. The doctrine of the apostles, the Christian fellowship, the administration of the sacraments, and prayer. And our Heidelberg Catechism is pointing to those four aspects of the Christian worship on the day of the Sabbath. Why we need to come together on the day of the Sabbath? What we need to do? No, we cannot make our own order. No, we need to go back to the Scriptures. And then first of all, and that's the most important part of it, you know the order given in the book of Acts is not just a human order. No, this is the Holy Spirit who has inspired the Scriptures, who has given the Christian church an order of service. And the first one mentioned is important for all the three others. So, it's said, the first is to continue statistically in the apostles' doctrine. That's the first important thing, what we need to do on the day of the Sabbath. No, we have not to use the day for ourselves. I have mentioned that. It's the day of the Lord. And how we can know the Lord? Children, how you can know the Lord Jesus? How do we know what He has done and who He is and what He is asking from us? Then we have to go. to the apostles' doctrine. And who are the apostles? Then we have to go to the New Testament. Then we have to go to the epistles, the epistles of the apostle Paul. We have several of them. The apostles' doctrine, is it easy to read them? To be honest, When I was young, I preferred to read the historical parts of the Bible. It was more easy. The epistles of Paul often were too... I couldn't understand them. Those Christians in the early church, they were steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine, what they have heard from Peter when Peter was preaching. And so, congregation, the first thing what we need to do on the day of the Sabbath is to study the apostles' doctrine. It's a biblical word. The word doctrine now today, it seems to be a bad word. They say, don't teach us doctrine, don't teach us just Jesus. And that's true. But then again the question, who's Jesus? And what's the meaning of Jesus? And what does it mean to be that He is a Savior? And what is the meaning of His work, of His name, of His offices? You all can find it in the apostles' doctrine. O congregation, therefore, we need first of all to teach the scriptural doctrine of the apostles. No, it's not that they are pointing back to the Old Testament, first of all. It's remarkable. Lord Jesus has spoken, search the Scriptures, because they are speaking about Me." That's the Old Testament. No, here we find that the New Testament church is first of all focused on the Apostles' doctrine. And the Apostles are, what are they doing? They are explaining the Old Testament. So, we have to read and to study the Old Testament through the teaching of the New Testament of the apostles, and not the other way around. We have not to use the Old Testament to explain the New Testament, and then we can make our own theology, what sometimes will happen. But we need to, and therefore I have spoken it before to you, and it's not my words, it's just John Calvin, who makes clear, he said, you need to understand, first of all, the epistle to the Romans, where God is teaching us the justification of the ungodly. What does that mean? To explain the rest of the Scriptures, and not the other way around. So, the first part is to be continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine. That's, you know, in the answer of the Heidelberg Catechism, it's called that we have to hear God's Word, not a minister's word, not a minister's ideas. Hopefully you don't come for a minister to church, but hopefully you're coming to hear God's Word. And this is a responsibility for a minister, not to preach my ideas, but to just preach the Word of God. It's a responsibility of the office bearers. We have heard it last week, in particular from elders. They are responsible for the preaching, that the Word of God has been preached. And if not, then they have a task. But it's also for the congregation. How often we like, we have, and of course, we are all human, and we have our favorites. Also, when it comes to pastors, they're all different, you know. You have all different characters, and the one has a more nice character, and then the other one. But my de-congregation, don't go to church, first of all, for a minister. You will not get a blessing from that. But come for the Word of God, let it be your prayer, Lord, before you come to church, that I may hear Thy Word, that I might see who Thou art, that the Word of God may go open." Yes, and if a person who calls himself a minister doesn't preach the Word, then he is not a minister of the Word. He is called to be a minister of the Word. And we need to be a minister of the Scriptures. And that's why we come on the Sabbath to God's house of God to hear the Word of God, what we can learn from the first Christians. Yeah, it's also mentioned in the catechism. It says that we diligently frequent the church of God. And that's actually what happened in the Christian church right from the beginning. We read it, isn't it? Verse 42, they continued. It was not just one time and the other time they didn't come. No, they continued stat firstly in the apostles' doctrine. And you can find again it in verse 46, and they continuing daily with one accord in the temple and breaking of bread from house to house that eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart. So congregation, that's why when it comes to come under the preaching of God's Word We need to be there when the Word will be preached. And yes, also in the time of the Bible, there were people who had a kind of a custom not to show up when the congregation gathered. And that's why the Apostle writes in Hebrews 10 verse 25. not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is. but exhorting one another, and so much the more as she sees the day is approaching. So when we see the coming of Christ and we are longing for the day of Christ, oh when the church is gathering, and it says very specific, Hebrews 10, the assembling of ourselves, that means from our own congregation, that congregation to which I belong. Now, in the time of the Bible, you had a congregation in Corinth, you had a congregation in Ephesus, you had a congregation in all different places, but the apostle says you cannot go to the other congregation. No, you need to go, you need to be in the midst of your own congregation. Do not forsake the assembling, the gathering of ourselves together. not just only in the morning, but also on the evening service. So important, parents, what's the image we are giving our children when we only go once to church? When you look in church history, you can easily see what happened. It starts with coming one time to church, it's parents and the children, they never go anymore. Oh, be faithful in attending the church service, also during the week. Those people came daily in the first church, continuing daily. This is actually what you can, also in the time of John Calvin, he had his daily meetings in church explaining a part of Scripture. We don't have that in our times, we're living in different times, but we have every two weeks our week services. Congregation, if you want to get more knowledge of your Savior, of the Lord Jesus Christ, go in the way God is pointing us, teaching us from the Scriptures, Acts chapter 2. But they were not only steadfast in the apostles' doctrine, also in the breaking of bread. And what does that mean, children? That's very clear. The breaking of bread, when it happened, it happens with the Lord's Supper. Then we are breaking the bread. The minister is breaking the bread and sharing the bread. So that's also part of a worship service, that's also part congregation, and that's what I want to ask and make clear for you, how the church right from the beginning have seen the fourth commandment. So to be a partaker of the Lord's Supper, that's not up to us. It's a command. It's a command given by God using the sacraments. And I know, oh, I know very well it can be a struggle. It can be a struggle. Oh yeah, I know. But when we think, oh, I'm free, I can, you know, and I don't make the discussion tonight again about confession of faith and all these things, but you know how I think about these things and how I think this is the biblical way. How I can confess the name of the Lord in a confession of faith? and not confess His name at His table. And of course, nothing is automatically, don't take me wrong. And I know the fight, and it's a huge step to leave your place and to come to the table, I know. But it is often the fear for man, isn't it? Or it is that I still am expecting something from myself. But when I understand the message given by the Apostle Peter. who is pointing to those people that they are lost sinners, and that they start to cry, men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter says, repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ. And then we have read 41, then they that gladly received His word were baptized. And that was in that time. What I mean, it was in that context. But today, when we make confession of faith, actually the same thing happened. And those people, here we read it, and they continued. Start firstly, yes, first in the apostles' doctrine, but also in the breaking of bread. Yes, it is true. Without knowledge of misery, without knowledge of the redemption in the Lord Jesus Christ, Without knowledge of the gratitude, I'm eating and drinking at the Lord's table a judgment. But at the same time, if you have been invited for probably ten years and it did not come, that's not something to be proud of. Remember, every time you didn't come, and just as this what I say according to this commandment, it's a sin against the fourth commandment. And if you have to say, I made confession of faith, not in truth. then you are a liar in front of a holy God. There is no way in between. But what you have to do today, bow your knees and confess, Lord, that is who I am, a liar. That you may come to the same questions as those first Christians, man and brethren, what have we to, what we must do, what you must do. But what Paul says, what Peter says, repent, that's first. Repent, that means a changing of your mind. That means to be sorrowful for your sins. The sin of unbelief, the sin of lying in front of church, the sin of lying in front of an all-knowing God, that sin to confess. Like those people who had crucified the Lord Jesus, maybe you did it also. Why? To condemn you? No! To save you, my dear people, or maybe, yes, there is forgiveness also for those people who have lied in front of church, maybe on the day of marriage, maybe on the day of baptizing the children, maybe on the day to be installed as an office bearer, maybe on the day that they were making confession of faith. But come, come in front of God, bow down before Him, confess your sins. And the blood of Jesus Christ washed away every sin. They continued steadfastly in the Apostles' Doctrine and in the breaking of bread. Then there's also the third part of the prayer, that's the prayer, the prayer. Oh, that's also a part of the Christian worship. that publicly to call upon the Lord, or to come together as Christians, as His church, to call upon God's name. So, when the minister is praying, children, he is not praying for himself. When I'm praying in front of the church, I'm not praying for myself. I am praying on behalf of you. I am actually the mouth of the congregation to God. And maybe you say, Pastor, I know you a little bit, and I know the way you are praying, but there is something in my life, and you never mention that in your prayer. Please come to me and say, Pastor, do you also want to pray for that? You know, that's what we are doing. When we are praying, not only the minister is praying, but we are uniting the hearts of the Christians to call upon the name of God, to cry to the Lord Jesus Christ who is in heaven. Oh, that's such a wonderful thing that God has opened the throne of grace in the Lord Jesus Christ. All those four pillars in the center, it's the Lord Jesus Christ, the preaching of the Word, it's Jesus Christ and Him crucified. The sacraments, it is Jesus Christ and Him crucified, and in prayer. It's only because of Jesus Christ and Him crucified that we can come and approach the throne of grace. Oh, what a wonderful, what a wonderful thing. And those people in the beginning, they were steadfastly continuing daily in one accord. In one accord. That's why we also have coming Saturday night, prayer meeting. I have explained this a little bit this morning to students of the catechism class. We come together with a bunch of people, and I introduced that with a small meditation out of the Scriptures. And after that, we have a prayer together. We pray in turns. Several men out of the congregation are praying in turns, all to cry to God. And we know a little bit of the history of the church. You know, you can know how many revivals given by the Holy Spirit in church were answers on the prayers of God's people who came together, sometimes three or four, to call upon the name of God, to cry, to confess our sins, praying. And then the fourth pillar is to, like we can find, they were continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship. Fellowship is also a part of the church. To be together. Yes, to be part of the Christian church. To live in fellowship. And it's very clear, or therefore it is beautiful that first, that chapter 2 from the book of Acts, where the apostle before has spoken about that these who belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, that they were, that they have to save themselves unto this untoward generation, verse 40. It says, save yourself from this untoward generation. Be separated from the world because you belong to Christ. Be separated from the world. That's part of the fellowship of the Christian. That means also in outwardly things. We need not to walk, to dress, to think, to do our business according to the standards of the world. But according to the standards of Scripture, the Scriptures, because congregation, please, when we see in verse 42, they continued statelessly in the apostles' doctrine. I mentioned that's the first part mentioned. That's the first pillar mentioned. That means that's the most important thing. So, when it comes also to fellowship. When it comes to prayer, when it comes to sacraments, they need to be according to the apostles' doctrine. So also the fellowship of Christians, also the community of Christians, also the life of Christians need to be according to the Scriptures, to the apostles' doctrine. And then we need to have an eye, to keep an eye on one another, to help one another in practical things. We need to help in material things. That's why we have collections. We do contribute to the relief of the poor, the poor in the congregation, but also to reach out to people who need help. And I mentioned this morning to the students of the catechism class, and I think I mentioned it before to you also, that minister in, I think it was in South Korea, big church, and he has to announce the collections. And yeah, why we are keeping collections? To get money, to gather money as much as possible, you know? Often as churches, we can be so proud about the numbers we have. But this minister was not, it was not important for him the numbers of the money. No, he was asking to his congregation, he said, please, let only those who are in Christ, put money in the bag. And if you are not in Christ, please do not offer. Pastor, you will never get money. Or maybe you, and I think that's right, but that minister was not It was for him not important to have a huge collection with a lot of money. Oh, no. It was just important for him that everyone who is given money is given in faith. So when we have collections, it's part of the Christian worship. But that's first of all a matter of faith. that the Lord will use, and maybe it's that one single coin of a poor widow. But given in faith, it's more the Lord Jesus teaches us than all the money of the rich people of the world. You know, the church is so totally different from the world. And so, these four aspects, don't forget them children, are the four pillars of the Christian worship. The Apostles' Doctrine, the breaking of bread, the sacraments, prayer, and the worship, the fellowship of the Christian among themselves. And then the question is how I can contribute to that. And may I ask you, my dear congregation, this is sometimes such a longing in my soul, you know. This is what we need. We need not a big church. We need not lots of money. No. But we need a church according to the biblical standards, a church who continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine. in fellowship, in breaking of bread, and in prayer. And what happened with that church? And the Lord added to the church daily, daily, such as should be said, God will bless those gatherings, the worshiping of His name and the keeping of the Sabbath. Amen. Let's sing together Psalter 226. And we will sing the second stanza, 226 verse 2. Let's pray. For Thee, Lord Jesus, Thou art still the same, like Thou hast promised in the Scriptures, Jesus Christ is yesterday and today the same until eternity. Thou art building Thy church in the book of Acts, in a time it seems to be impossible, and also in our times, Lord. Oh, there are millions of reasons to leave us to ourselves. With, O Lord, may we call upon Thy Name, united in prayer as a congregation in one cry. Have mercy upon us, sinners. Glorify Thy Name, O precious Lord. in the hearts and lives of each and every one of us, that Thou might be in the center of the preaching, that Thou might be in the center of the sacraments, that Thou might be in the center of our prayer, and that Thou might be in the center of our fellowship. Oh, precious Lord, remember us. Bless thy word, thou hast given us this day. Be with us in the furtherance of this week, that thy word may go with us in this week. Instead, that the week go with us into the day of the Sabbath. And we don't have the rest in our minds to worship thee, O Lord. Thy word we pray in the forgiveness of all our sins, for Jesus' sake. Amen. Let's sing in closing Psalter 367, the fourth stanza, 367 verse 4. you. ♪ There is no place like home forever ♪ ♪ Give us grace until tomorrow ♪ ♪ In her womb, her tent they lie ♪ ♪ And her grave shall stand before me evermore ♪ The race shall stand before thee, with salvation's power bestowed. Oh, say can you see, by the dawn's early light, name, to you all eternity. And all our land is glory filled, forever The people go in peace and lift up your hearts and receive the blessing of our Lord. The Lord bless thee and keep thee. The Lord make his face shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee. The Lord lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. Amen.