Hebrews 4:16. Let us therefore come boldly (confidently) to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
And the sun was also a strong warrior yesterday friends, holding off the dark clouds and their precipitation until the early evening hours. Hopefully it will be able to do the same thing on this the Lord’s day, as we make our way to His sanctuary to sing, praise and worship Him, and in return get bountiful shares of His everlasting LOVE, grace and mercy! And all of God’s people said, ‘Praise the Lord for His goodness and mercy to we the underserving children of men!’
And today we’ll open with this marvellous song titled ‘Come Boldly to the Throne of Grace, with lyrics penned by Daniel Herbert in 1838 and music written by Clint Wells and Brian T. Murphy in 2004. It’s basically a song about life, a sinner’s life, who, through faith, can find relief at God’s throne of Grace. And as somebody so wisely said: ‘Faith doesn’t make it easy; faith make it possible.’ And that’s the indisputable truth, because without strong and courageous faith in Christ Jesus, getting to the throne of grace would be impossible, since it’s ONLY through Christ, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, can one get close to Almighty God.
So, having ascertained that only through faith in Christ is it possible to approach the throne of grace, let’s sing a nice, soulful, heartfelt, mid-tempo version of the song, letting all and sundry know the amazing power of knowing Christ. Singing: ‘Come boldly to the throne of grace, Ye wretched sinners come, and lay your load at Jesus feet, And plead what He has done. How can I come? Some soul may say, I’m lame and cannot walk; My guilt and sin have stopped my mouth, I sigh, but dare not talk.
Come boldly to the throne of grace, Though lost, and blind, and lame; Jehovah is the sinner’s friend, And ever was the same. He makes the dead to hear His voice; He makes the blind to see, The sinner lost, He came to save, And set the prisoner free. Come boldly to the throne of grace, For Jesus fills the throne; and those He kills, He makes alive; He hears the sigh or groan; Poor bankrupt souls, Who feel and know, the hell of sin within; Come Boldly to the throne of grace; The Lord will take you in. Come Boldly to the throne of grace; The Lord will take you in…the Lord will take you in…Yes the Lord will take you in…take you in’
Oh friends, there is everlasting truth in those words! Once you come to the Lord in all sincerity, He will take you in. You can never get too low, lost, sinful or ungodly that He will refuse your sincere advances. That’s because His LOVE was so great for us, and it pained Him to see us going to hell in a handbasket, (smile) so He sent His Son, Jesus Christ to earth to be crucified and pay for our abominable sins. And from whence comes this amazing promise? Right from God’s unadulterated and ever-true Word, the Bible.
Listen to the author of Hebrews. ‘Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into (through) the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession (confession). For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched (sympathize) with the feeling of our infirmities (our weaknesses); but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.’ (Heb. 4:14-15) Oh my faithful brethren, that’s the beauty of living for Jesus; He knows exactly what we go through on this vile and ungodly earth, because He also experienced the same vile temptations and evil, but never succumbed to it because of His inherent godliness.
So when we go to Him with all our worries, pains and problems, He knows just how much we’re hurting, and has the remedy for our ailing souls and bodies. That’s why the author of Hebrews continues thus: ‘Let us therefore come boldly (confidently) to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.’ (Heb. 4:16) Now, those are what you call uplifting words, words that encourage and uplift both our souls and our faith, knowing that there’s a place we can safely go to find help in our times of need.
And one of the most important privileges we have by being followers of Christ is that we don’t have to go begging for help, but boldly, confidently but humbly. And Bruh Paul in his letter to the Ephesians, while talking about the unsearchable riches of Christ, tells us in no uncertain terms: ‘In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of (in) him.’ (Eph. 3:12) And the scholars explain that most important scripture thus: ‘This verse affirms that Christians have boldness (freedom of speech before God) and access (the right of entering His presence) with confidence (assurance of being heard by God) by the faith of him (through relying on Christ to gain God’s ear).’
Furthermore, the author of Hebrews in telling us about the house of Christ, writes: ‘For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God. And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after (afterward); But Christ as a son over his house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.’ (Heb. 3:4-6) Now another translation of that last verse puts it a little plainer. ‘But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are His house, if we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope of which we boast.’
Oh my brethren, that serves as a serious warning to not doubt God’s promise. And if you read the rest of that section (vs. 7-15) you’ll find that the writer of Hebrews uses the disbelief and hard heartedness of Israel as examples of doubt, and not listening to God’s warnings, even under the godly leadership of Moses and Joshua. Then there’s this last scripture from the Book of Hebrews warning us to hold fast our faith.
‘Having therefore, brethren, boldness (confidence) to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus (the room in the temple separated by a veil or curtain, where only the high priest could go once a year to make atonement for the people’s sins), By a 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; Let us draw near with a true heart in 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 (confession) of our faith (hope) without wavering (for he is faithful that promised.’ (Heb. 10:19-23)
There’s nothing left to say friends, except, let’s take it all to heart and be totally encouraged and uplifted by all the wonderful scriptures we’ve heard this Sunday morning, and go home and put them into action in this upcoming week! Much LOVE!
…faith is the anchor that keeps us anchored to Jesus…
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