back to index2019-8-18 Let Us Draw Near
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So as you guys know, we've been in chapter 4 for maybe about a month or so, and chapter 00:00:10.480 |
4 basically is leading us in conclusion to the previous chapters of Hebrews where he 00:00:19.040 |
We spent a good time in our retreat talking about drifting and how we ought to be anchored 00:00:23.720 |
in Christ, and so the warning for that has led to chapter 4 where we have the 4 let us 00:00:31.960 |
That if we have been drifting in any way, he says first of all, he says in verse 1, 00:00:35.600 |
let us fear while a promise remains of entering his rest and any one of you may seem to have 00:00:43.440 |
So first call is if you have caught yourself, if you find yourself beginning to drift internally, 00:00:51.240 |
possibly externally, and you hear the word of God, he says today if you hear a voice 00:00:56.760 |
do not harden your heart, he says first and foremost to fear. 00:01:00.800 |
Because he who fears God really in the end will have nothing else to fear. 00:01:05.120 |
In other words, when he's calling to fear, if you see yourself drifting, he says to take 00:01:09.680 |
reverence, take seriously that this is not just something frivolous, that the consequence 00:01:16.540 |
of continuing to drift, that if your heart has become hardened and it's been months and 00:01:21.400 |
years and maybe even longer than that, that if you catch yourself having to have drifted 00:01:28.360 |
or drifted so far away that when you close your eyes you have no presence of God in your 00:01:34.560 |
life, that you don't know what it's like to be in his presence because it's been so long. 00:01:39.760 |
You don't know what it's like to worship God because it's been so long. 00:01:42.160 |
You've been just singing and mouthing words but you haven't worshipped God in a long time. 00:01:50.440 |
If we genuinely believe that Christ is our salvation and we have drifted away from him, 00:02:00.380 |
And then he says if you have found yourself to have drifted and there is a sense of seriousness 00:02:07.300 |
that this needs to be corrected, he says in verse 11, let us be diligent. 00:02:16.080 |
You know what, those messages of yours are true and I feel bad. 00:02:21.120 |
Repentance isn't simply feeling bad about something. 00:02:24.760 |
Repentance isn't just learning things and say, "Well, I ought to be here but I'm here 00:02:29.680 |
He says, "No, if you have found yourself drifting from God," he says, "let us fear and if you 00:02:42.040 |
What changes are taking place that we are actively, diligently seeking to get back on 00:02:52.080 |
And then verse 14, if that is the case and if you, maybe some of you have not drifted, 00:02:58.020 |
maybe you've been walking right for a while or maybe some of you guys are getting back 00:03:02.160 |
on track and if that's the case, he says, "Let us hold fast since our great high priest 00:03:10.480 |
Let us hold on to this tightly so that this does not happen again. 00:03:13.840 |
Because our natural tendency to neglect our faith, once our bills are paid, once the emergency 00:03:21.160 |
is taken care of, once our family is okay and we have a paycheck coming in and we're 00:03:26.160 |
healthy, once everything is back to safety, we have a tendency to just drift. 00:03:31.280 |
Because all you have to do to drift is to do nothing. 00:03:35.040 |
All you have to do to drift is not actively seek what's wrong. 00:03:39.240 |
Just passively to do nothing and you will just drift because this is where we live. 00:03:44.480 |
And so therefore, he says, if you recognize that and you fear and you are committed to 00:03:49.920 |
be diligent in seeking this rest, he says to hold fast so that you do not drift. 00:03:57.880 |
The fourth and final "let us" statement is really where all of this is leading us to. 00:04:03.920 |
The whole purpose of our salvation is really summarized in what he says in the fourth statement 00:04:09.840 |
"Let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace so that we may receive mercy and 00:04:18.640 |
Our whole point of our salvation is so that we can be reconciled to this holy God. 00:04:23.560 |
And so an individual who says that he has a relationship with God but never draws near 00:04:28.600 |
to God is missing the whole point of salvation. 00:04:31.920 |
Because the whole point of salvation is to break down the barrier between us and this 00:04:40.160 |
So an individual who talks about God's love, who talks about church and talks about his 00:04:44.440 |
faith and yet never draws near to God is like buying a nice car and never driving it. 00:04:52.960 |
Purchasing a nice comfortable home up in the hills and never living in it. 00:04:57.720 |
It contradicts the very purpose of our salvation. 00:05:01.400 |
And so verse 16 is the summary not only of what he is saying in chapter 1, 2, 3, and 00:05:06.600 |
4, it's really a summary of Christian living period. 00:05:10.720 |
The whole point of our salvation is to get us back into union with this God. 00:05:21.960 |
But you have to understand that this command to draw near, how that would have sounded 00:05:30.960 |
Because to us, when you say draw near, it's like yes, we need to draw near. 00:05:34.280 |
I feel bad that we don't do that, but I need to draw near to God because the gates have 00:05:38.600 |
But you have to understand a first century Jew, to draw near to God, what that would 00:05:47.560 |
Because in every instance where a Jew in his natural state met God, it meant death. 00:05:57.200 |
Everything about the Old Testament law told people to stay away. 00:06:01.680 |
In Exodus 19, 20-24, Moses said to the Lord, "The people cannot come to the Mount of Sinai, 00:06:07.360 |
for you warned us, saying, 'Set bounds about the mountains and consecrate it.' 00:06:11.520 |
Then the Lord said to him, 'Go down and come up again, and you and Aaron with you. 00:06:15.680 |
But do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the Lord, or he 00:06:23.640 |
When he says he will break forth upon them, that's another way of saying that God's going 00:06:29.840 |
He says, "You come, because I have some things I need to share with you, but the priests 00:06:35.360 |
and everybody else, if they break through and come up this mountain, they're going to 00:06:48.960 |
Exodus 20, verse 19, "Then they said to Moses, 'Speak to us yourself, and we will listen. 00:06:54.280 |
But let not God speak to us, or we will die.'" 00:07:01.800 |
And so not only would they not go up to the mountain, even hearing the voice of God, they 00:07:07.320 |
Think about today, how we want to hear God, where is God, how come God's not speaking 00:07:14.200 |
To a Jew, he says, "Don't let him speak to us, because if that God, that holy God speaks 00:07:23.120 |
Moses, you go speak to him, and you tell us what he is saying, but we cannot. 00:07:30.800 |
Numbers chapter 17, 12 through 13, after setting up the tabernacle, and the whole purpose of 00:07:35.920 |
the tabernacle is designed so that the sacrificial systems can be made, and then they would come 00:07:50.640 |
Numbers 17, 12 to 13, "Then the sons of Israel spoke to Moses, saying, 'Behold, we perish. 00:07:58.520 |
Everyone who comes near to the tabernacle of the Lord must die. 00:08:05.520 |
They were deathly afraid of the tabernacle, because they knew that that's where the presence 00:08:13.840 |
And he was right in the middle of the camp, and even though the whole purpose of the tabernacle 00:08:18.120 |
was to teach them that the sacrifice is going to wash them of their blood, so that they 00:08:22.300 |
may have fellowship with God, the presence of God scared them. 00:08:32.440 |
And again, in Leviticus 16, verse 2, this instruction was given to Aaron, the high priest, 00:08:40.360 |
He says, "And the Lord said to Moses, 'Tell your brother Aaron that he shall not enter 00:08:44.560 |
at any time into the holy place inside the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the 00:08:50.440 |
ark, or he will die, for I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat.'" 00:08:55.720 |
The high priest was given very specific instruction that when he comes to the Holy of Holies once 00:09:01.480 |
a year, that if he doesn't come when I prescribe him to come, if he doesn't come and cleanse 00:09:08.680 |
himself before he comes, and then even if he does come, that if he doesn't do his duty 00:09:13.060 |
and then hurry up and leave, he says he will die. 00:09:18.680 |
Over and over again, they are warned not to come. 00:09:23.400 |
So imagine that to a first century Jew, to hear, "Draw near to God with confidence." 00:09:29.800 |
It won't sound the same the way we would hear it today. 00:09:39.160 |
There's a reason why in Jewish tradition, why they asked the high priest to wear a bell. 00:09:46.000 |
Because they wanted to check if he went in there, if he's going to come out safe. 00:09:49.440 |
So if he went in there and he didn't come out in time, they were afraid he died. 00:09:53.400 |
So they were hearing for his bell, or he's still alive. 00:09:57.000 |
The reason why they started doing that is because other priests prior to him probably 00:10:04.000 |
They didn't just start that practice out of nowhere. 00:10:06.280 |
They probably started that practice because they came in just like Aaron's two sons, 00:10:13.520 |
The first sacrifice that was made by the two first priests, they died because they didn't 00:10:20.880 |
They offered up strange fire and the punishment was capital punishment. 00:10:27.800 |
So this history of Israel's history about God's presence in the midst of Israel scared 00:10:40.480 |
You call us to come to the tabernacle, but when we come to the tabernacle, we die. 00:10:44.400 |
The high priest, you call him to come in and make sacrifice. 00:10:51.760 |
So for a first entry to here, therefore draw near to God. 00:11:18.200 |
My guess is that's probably what they were asking. 00:11:20.400 |
Part of the reason why there's this elaborate explanation about the atonement of Christ 00:11:32.580 |
You can draw near now because of what Christ has done. 00:11:37.240 |
I want to look at four things that it says about drawing near in this text. 00:11:41.320 |
One, it says we can draw near to God because the throne is the throne of grace. 00:11:46.200 |
That's why it says come near to the throne of grace. 00:11:50.080 |
Now we already talked about how the throne that he's talking about, he's talking about 00:11:54.000 |
That in the Holy of Holies, you have the Ark of the Covenant, and you had the wings of 00:11:57.680 |
the cherubim, and the high priest would go in on the day of atonement. 00:12:02.600 |
After he's cleansed himself and purified himself, he would go there and sprinkle the blood on 00:12:06.960 |
the curtains and all the articles, representing that the sins of the nation is covered. 00:12:12.120 |
His own sin is covered, and God would speak to him at that mercy seat. 00:12:17.360 |
The scripture says that when Christ came and he made his sacrifice and was resurrected, 00:12:26.200 |
Where God was going to come and meet the nation of Israel, meet God's people, it was at that 00:12:33.200 |
So all this time, everything that Israelites did was to prepare for Christ to come and 00:12:40.240 |
And that's the throne he's referring to when he says to come to the throne of grace. 00:12:45.640 |
But the first thing to recognize about this is first and foremost, it is a throne. 00:12:54.600 |
When we think about a throne, we typically think about the king who rules. 00:13:00.860 |
If you are at a monarchy, none of us lived under a monarchy, or I'm just assuming, so 00:13:08.000 |
we don't know what it's like to live in a monarchy. 00:13:12.360 |
A monarch basically means that he is completely sovereign. 00:13:17.680 |
So if the monarch says, if the king says, "I don't like the way you're dressed," put 00:13:30.520 |
So if the king says, "I need to talk to you," your immediate response isn't, "Yes!" 00:13:38.880 |
If I go, king must have something to give me. 00:13:42.000 |
The first thing that we probably would think is, "Oh my gosh, if I go in there, and what 00:13:55.880 |
We don't automatically think a gift is waiting when the king calls you. 00:14:02.240 |
Our generation has learned about the cross on this side of the covenant almost exclusively 00:14:11.040 |
to the point that we don't understand the God of the Old Testament, the God of righteousness 00:14:16.840 |
And so when we think about coming to Christ, we automatically think of coming to this great 00:14:21.680 |
grandfather or grandfather who just has candy in his pocket all the time. 00:14:30.440 |
Even Christ, when we think about Christ, we always talk about him as the humble servant 00:14:34.120 |
who's on his knees and washing the disciples' feet, and that's the Christ that we see, which 00:14:38.200 |
is all true because that's the image that he left us. 00:14:42.520 |
But in Philippians chapter 2, 9 through 11, it says, "For this reason," because he did 00:14:46.480 |
that, "God highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, 00:14:51.800 |
so that at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow of those who are in heaven and on earth 00:14:57.360 |
and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory 00:15:02.880 |
He says because he humbled himself, what happened? 00:15:11.880 |
And every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. 00:15:16.960 |
In fact, in Romans chapter 10, 9, it says that if you confess with your mouth that Jesus 00:15:21.240 |
is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 00:15:29.160 |
If you know Jesus as a Savior but not as your Lord, it is not the Lord of the Bible. 00:15:36.120 |
It is not the God of the Bible that you have met. 00:15:40.040 |
You met the version of him that is preached in our generation, but that is not the God 00:15:45.800 |
When he says, "If you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord," he's not just talking about 00:15:51.020 |
He's not talking about the Beatles who became lords. 00:15:53.480 |
They got the title Lord in England because their songs were so great and that they brought 00:15:59.960 |
some honor to England, and as a result of that, they were crowned as lords. 00:16:15.080 |
So when he says that if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, you're confessing 00:16:20.480 |
his Lordship in your life, that he is my sovereign, he is my king, he is the one I submit to, 00:16:26.720 |
he's the one I honor, he's the one I follow, he's the one I obey. 00:16:31.580 |
So first and foremost, we need to understand, he says, to draw near to the throne, to the 00:16:44.800 |
If we understood all that the first century Jew understood about who God was, the natural 00:16:51.440 |
question that we wouldn't have been asking is, "Why is God so severe?" 00:16:55.180 |
He would have been asking, "Why is God so gracious?" 00:17:00.220 |
He who does not know Christ as Lord does not know Christ at all. 00:17:09.860 |
Why would the throne of God, a holy, righteous God, the same God who in his anger destroyed 00:17:21.820 |
You know, in our day and story, the flood has become a nice Sunday school VBS story. 00:17:35.380 |
Flood gave us a glimpse of what may come at the end. 00:17:38.260 |
Not may come, what is going to come at the end. 00:17:42.500 |
That's what it looks like when God is angered and he carries out his anger. 00:17:47.080 |
That's the same God that is calling us to come to him. 00:17:50.500 |
The same God who wiped out Jericho completely. 00:17:54.320 |
The same God who opened up the ground and swallowed up the grumblers. 00:17:58.540 |
It's that same God who brought plague upon nations because they angered him. 00:18:04.580 |
It's the same God that brought upon judgment upon nation upon nation because they would 00:18:12.420 |
It is that same God that the nation of Israel was terrified just looking at the tabernacle. 00:18:19.660 |
It didn't cause warm feelings in their heart. 00:18:28.260 |
That God that we couldn't go up to the mountain is here. 00:18:33.860 |
He says, "Come, draw near to that throne of grace." 00:18:40.180 |
It is that throne that became grace in Christ. 00:18:48.460 |
That mercy seat was preparing for Christ's rule. 00:18:54.980 |
That's where God was going to come and meet the nation of Israel. 00:19:03.020 |
He says, number two, we can draw near to God because Jesus sympathizes with our weakness. 00:19:07.300 |
The word sympathy basically means to come alongside. 00:19:13.340 |
He sympathizes because he stepped in our shoes. 00:19:21.060 |
You ever have a situation where you have a hard time understanding somebody but once 00:19:25.380 |
you step in their shoes, you say, "Oh, I get it." 00:19:31.220 |
I've done probably every poor paying minimum wage job that you can possibly think of. 00:19:42.380 |
And so I have compassion for every time I drive through McDonald's and I see the workers. 00:19:53.060 |
But when I see adults in there, simply because they were born in a different country and 00:19:58.420 |
they're working their tail off for minimum wage. 00:20:12.700 |
These guys are working their 40 hours a week, working their tail off. 00:20:15.980 |
Their legs are tired at the end of the day and they do all of this for minimum wage for 00:20:23.300 |
Every time I drive through there, I respect this person. 00:20:34.220 |
Years ago, and I think I shared with some of you or I think I've shared in the past 00:20:38.620 |
years that in the beginning of my relationship with Esther, that we really thought that we 00:20:43.820 |
were going to be going into homeless ministry. 00:20:46.700 |
And so the more I got into it, the more it started to dawn on me that if I'm going to 00:20:51.660 |
really do homeless ministry and our goal was to set up a shelter and disciple them and 00:20:56.140 |
help them off the street, I need to really know what it's like being homeless. 00:21:00.220 |
So I had this crazy idea, I'm going to go out on the street. 00:21:06.780 |
And it may sound crazy, but I already had made some friends, a couple of friends that 00:21:11.700 |
we would come out every Tuesday and then I would meet them sometimes on Saturday and 00:21:15.740 |
I was meeting up with them, trying to share the gospel and discipling this one particular 00:21:20.420 |
And so I felt comfortable enough that if I hung out with him, that I would be okay. 00:21:25.140 |
So I asked him, "Hey, I'm planning to come out here." 00:21:27.140 |
I'm trying to say, obviously he thought I was crazy. 00:21:32.580 |
So I went out and again, I journaled during that period. 00:21:38.020 |
And so I went back and as I was thinking about this, I went back to try to read the journal 00:21:42.420 |
that I wrote of my experience of being out there. 00:21:47.260 |
I just wanted to read you a small clip or a blip of what I wrote in my journal. 00:21:59.260 |
The biggest problem is not food or shelter, but it's the feeling of hopelessness and emptiness. 00:22:04.780 |
The Santa Ana Civic Center would not open up for homeless until 6 p.m. each day so that 00:22:09.700 |
we just spent the day walking around just killing time. 00:22:15.160 |
I had no worries or problems to deal with, at least for the moment. 00:22:19.580 |
These two guys were no longer just homeless people to me that I hung around with. 00:22:30.540 |
I knew I would go back to my comfortable home in a day while these guys would stay out here 00:22:37.060 |
When I asked, "What's the hardest thing about being homeless?" 00:22:41.420 |
They said that they just didn't matter in this world. 00:22:48.980 |
That short period, even though it was just a couple of days, completely transformed my 00:22:52.620 |
paradigm because they weren't just homeless people. 00:22:56.020 |
They were just people that just didn't have shelter. 00:23:00.980 |
As I was going back and reading this, there are some names that I put there that I completely 00:23:04.940 |
forgot because it's been a couple of decades since I thought about them. 00:23:09.300 |
This one particular guy, I remember his name was Angel. 00:23:16.900 |
He was the guy who protected me while I was out there for a few days. 00:23:22.180 |
To be honest, I completely forgot until I was reading that. 00:23:33.580 |
By the time he came out, his family basically disowned him. 00:23:43.020 |
It's just him going to jail and coming back just ruined his life. 00:23:54.180 |
He wanted to get right with God, but then the temptation of crack at that time was so 00:23:58.380 |
strong that he was going back and forth, back and forth. 00:24:01.620 |
I remember we tried so hard to get him off the street and get him into a shelter. 00:24:05.900 |
I remember spending about a year and a half with this guy. 00:24:10.260 |
All these memories started coming back, just wondering where he is, what's going on. 00:24:17.260 |
What really stuck with me during that period was we naturally think when we think of homeless 00:24:26.380 |
They don't have food, so we need to give them food. 00:24:28.880 |
They don't have a job, so let's help them get a job. 00:24:32.460 |
But I realized that being out there, I realized that that wasn't their problem because each 00:24:39.020 |
of the day I was there, they knew exactly where to go to get food. 00:24:42.900 |
Tuesday you come here, Wednesday morning you go there, so if you need a shower, you go 00:24:46.220 |
down the street and this Catholic church has this door open. 00:24:49.820 |
If on Thursday you need to go get some clothes, you can go down to this street and they have 00:24:54.620 |
There's food that they can eat, at least one meal. 00:24:57.700 |
Some days there's like three or four of them, like churches come and compete with each other 00:25:05.660 |
My natural thought is, okay, let's get them off the street and get them into a hotel or 00:25:11.780 |
So we tried doing that and I realized that that wasn't a big deal to them. 00:25:19.300 |
We're going to take care of all your bills and then get you back on the street. 00:25:22.860 |
But I realized something happened in their life that got them there to begin with. 00:25:28.540 |
And in California, it's not that hard because the weather is pretty nice. 00:25:39.140 |
There's maybe about a month out of the year that it's maybe too cold and then a few times 00:25:44.120 |
So whenever it rains, it gets too cold and the church down the street opens up their 00:25:49.940 |
And so I got to sleep there one day because it happened to be cold and rainy. 00:25:54.020 |
And so outside of those few times, it's actually comfortable sleeping outside, at least the 00:26:01.120 |
Think about how hard we work to put away money to retire so you don't have to work. 00:26:06.460 |
The homeless people found a quick way to get there. 00:26:11.740 |
And I'm not talking about people who have mental issues. 00:26:13.300 |
I'm talking about people who just kind of learn to be out there. 00:26:17.160 |
And I realized what I thought they needed wasn't what they needed. 00:26:23.020 |
The primary problem with homelessness is not homelessness. 00:26:32.420 |
And that problem isn't any different with people who have homes. 00:26:39.220 |
I would have never understood that until I stepped into their shoes, even if it was just 00:26:51.140 |
He became an infant and lived his whole life simply so that he could sympathize with our 00:26:56.780 |
The word "weakness" just literally means "sickness." 00:27:08.020 |
But when he says he sympathized, he has compassion, he knows what it's like to live and to be 00:27:12.900 |
raised in a sinful world with all the temptations. 00:27:17.980 |
So he knows and recognizes our weakness, and that's why he's able to come to rescue us. 00:27:25.180 |
Because he knows exactly what our struggle is. 00:27:31.740 |
You know, to me, the strangest scene in the gospel is when Jesus is crying out to the 00:27:43.540 |
God, the Son of God, he's anxious and he's crying out to God. 00:27:53.300 |
He's the one who told his disciples this is why he came. 00:27:56.620 |
It was prophesied from the beginning, all the way from Genesis, that this is what he 00:28:01.540 |
He deliberately stirred up the leaders so that he would get caught. 00:28:05.300 |
And even when Peter was going to fight him, he told him to put his sword away because 00:28:10.660 |
Yet at the Garden of Gethsemane, he cried out, "God, is there another way?" 00:28:16.500 |
Just like any other human being about to face the biggest torture the next day, biggest 00:28:24.420 |
humiliation, the greatest pain that he's ever experienced, physically and spiritually, to 00:28:31.620 |
Just like any other human being, he cried out, "Is there another way?" 00:28:47.940 |
And as a result of that, he says, he can sympathize with our weaknesses. 00:28:56.600 |
He made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness 00:29:09.940 |
See, somebody who kind of hears that and is like, "Oh, he did that for me. 00:29:15.620 |
That person is not worshiping because the difference between a man and woman who worships 00:29:21.180 |
is a person who comes to the cross and recognizes that this mystery is beyond my comprehension, 00:29:32.780 |
And so for the rest of his life, he is seeking to understand, "Why would you do this for 00:29:41.120 |
And it is that mystery, it is that pursuit that causes you to worship in spirit and in 00:29:47.220 |
But an individual who says, "Oh, yeah, he's gracious. 00:29:52.580 |
You're doing the right things, but you know you're not worshiping because there is no 00:29:59.740 |
It is this mystery, it is this cross that he tells us to come that creates awe. 00:30:19.580 |
Draw near to God to the throne of confidence. 00:30:22.180 |
Number three, draw near to God, he says, with confidence. 00:30:31.700 |
Do you remember what happened to Aaron's children? 00:30:35.980 |
Remember what happened to all these people who entered the tabernacle without proper 00:30:46.820 |
The first-century Jew, just that alone, draw near to God. 00:30:50.580 |
But then he says, "Draw near to God with confidence." 00:30:55.540 |
I mean, like I said, in our generation, we've been presented this God like a grandfather 00:31:03.980 |
who always has candy, is never angry, and he just kind of just lets you go. 00:31:10.300 |
And so when we say, "Draw near to God," yes, and we have this image of just jumping into 00:31:17.020 |
Now, we're not saying that God is not merciful. 00:31:21.880 |
But if we don't understand his holiness and his righteousness, then even grace you don't 00:31:32.380 |
Hebrews 10, 19-22, "Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy 00:31:36.900 |
place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which he inaugurated for us through 00:31:42.300 |
the veil that is his flesh, and since we have great priests over the house of God, let us 00:31:47.980 |
draw near with sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean 00:31:53.540 |
from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water." 00:31:58.580 |
To be able to enter the throne of grace with confidence, you have to believe. 00:32:04.940 |
Because only those who genuinely believe, who have been covered by the blood of Christ, 00:32:09.540 |
can even enter, can even imagine that we can somehow have access to this God. 00:32:16.660 |
Sin, unconfessed sin is what causes timidness to come to Christ. 00:32:22.460 |
Unconfessed sins is what causes timidness to speak of Christ. 00:32:26.740 |
Unconfessed sin causes us to be timid in our fellowship with others, and unconfessed sin 00:32:35.560 |
But those who have been covered by the blood of Christ, we have confidence. 00:32:44.820 |
We have confidence because the only person that ultimately matters, the one who created 00:32:57.860 |
Part of the reason why so few people go out and evangelize and share their faith is because 00:33:03.580 |
It's not because they don't know how to say something. 00:33:06.900 |
It's not because they don't have the words, that they're not smart. 00:33:16.500 |
Sin makes us timid in our fellowship because we're afraid to be open and honest. 00:33:20.480 |
But those who draw near to the throne of God, through the grace of God, who have been covered 00:33:26.020 |
by the blood of Christ, automatically there's boldness. 00:33:32.100 |
Because it doesn't matter if the whole world is against me because God said it's okay. 00:33:37.540 |
It doesn't matter what the rest of the world thinks because God said it's okay. 00:33:44.540 |
Not because of people, not because of adoration, not because of our accomplishments, because 00:33:53.860 |
Fourth and finally, we need to draw near because that's where we will find help in time of 00:34:04.300 |
You know what I see the difference between a nominal Christian and a Christian? 00:34:21.800 |
And when I say challenge me, I'm not saying let's go wrestle, right? 00:34:26.660 |
When I say challenge me, it's like read the scripture yourself. 00:34:36.600 |
I use the term nominal Christian because we've created this term for people who are in the 00:34:43.200 |
We've created this term for people who are in the church and not worshiping God. 00:34:47.440 |
We've created this term to describe people who've been raised in the church, who are 00:34:50.440 |
at the church, who attend the church, but clearly Christ is not their Lord. 00:34:56.240 |
Well, they're not non-Christians because they're in the church. 00:35:00.000 |
Well we can't call them Christian because this is what Christian looks like. 00:35:03.280 |
So we've created this nominal Christian as nominal Christian. 00:35:21.840 |
Now having said that, the difference between a nominal Christian and a Christian is the 00:35:31.080 |
See a nominal Christian is always looking for help from other people with God. 00:35:47.800 |
So you're always looking for people to help you with God. 00:35:51.800 |
But if you know God and you have access to God, and God says, "Come to me." 00:36:13.000 |
If you know Christ, for Isaiah 55, 6-7, "Seek the Lord while he may be found. 00:36:21.400 |
Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts. 00:36:24.760 |
And let him return to the Lord and he will have compassion on him and to our God for 00:36:41.020 |
If you have access to the God of the universe, why would he not be your first that you go 00:36:49.760 |
Before you cry out for people's love, before you cry out for community, cry out to God 00:37:02.920 |
He's the only one who can actually do anything about anything. 00:37:07.480 |
Other human beings can make promises with the best of attentions, but eventually, if 00:37:12.240 |
your faith is founded upon the kindness and grace and love of other people, it will eventually 00:37:18.160 |
crumble because there are people just like you, just like me. 00:37:27.480 |
That's why he says, "Draw near to him because that's where we will find help in time of 00:37:33.640 |
Matthew 7 and 8, "Ask and it will be given to you. 00:37:40.520 |
And he who seeks finds and to him who knocks it will be opened." 00:37:50.440 |
You ask but you do not get because what you're asking for has nothing to do with him. 00:38:02.240 |
First Peter 5, 6 through 7, "Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God and 00:38:07.480 |
he may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on him because he cares for 00:38:13.880 |
Let me ask you, when was the last time that you really realized that he loves you? 00:38:30.960 |
When was the last time that you knew that he loves you? 00:38:35.960 |
My guess is if you can't think of a time, that your heart probably has hardened already. 00:38:46.680 |
That God is somebody that you need to appease. 00:38:50.000 |
That somebody that you need to appease so that he can answer your prayers or make you 00:38:58.520 |
Because you see him as a figurehead but you don't have a personal relationship with him. 00:39:05.840 |
But those of you who know him, those of you who taste the goodness of God, where the eyes, 00:39:13.280 |
our eyes have been opened to the glory of the gospel of Jesus Christ, for rest, not 00:39:18.840 |
just the rest of our lives, for rest of eternity, we're going to be looking at that cross and 00:39:31.320 |
And that hungering and thirsting for righteousness that can only be found in Christ is going 00:39:36.320 |
to cause you to go to him for rest of eternity. 00:39:41.800 |
I don't think any of us, once we get to heaven, is going to face in any other direction than 00:39:53.320 |
It's like going to an NBA championship game and then having your seat turned around and 00:40:03.320 |
Everybody's going to be fixated on the throne of Christ. 00:40:13.800 |
To recognize what it is that we have in Christ and fear lest we drift. 00:40:19.120 |
Be diligent, hold fast, and draw near to the throne of grace.