The Importance of Christians Believing that through Jesus, They Have Direct Access to the Throne of God!

Hebrews 4:16.        Let us therefore come boldly (confidently) unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

One more Sunday to add to our long list of them my fellow believers, which means another time to go to the Lord’s sanctuary to fellowship with other believers; that’s to sing, praise, worship and give thanks for all our good God has done for us, and has promised to do in the future. In return for our praise, worship, and thanksgiving, we receive forgiveness, renewed confidence, faith and spiritual strength, so that we can go back out into the workday world this week and be a good Christian witness for Christ. 

And today for our song of worship, we have a beautiful Christian hymn whose words were penned way back in 18 something by Daniel Herbert (1751–1833) with music written by Clint Wells and Brian T. Murphy, in 2004. The song is most appropriately titled ‘Come Boldly to the Throne of Grace.’ So, since we’re invited to do that, let’s do it nuh, offering up our sweet sacrifices of praise in a mid-tempo, scintillating, sincere and heartfelt version. 

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.’ 

And that’s for certain sure my faithful brethren! If we go boldly to the throne of grace our good God will surely take us in! And why is that a sure thing, you ask? Because the Lord’s Word itself tells us to do so. Listen to this most enlightening scripture from 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 of faith). For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched (sympathize) with our infirmities (weaknesses); but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly (confidently) unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.’ (Heb. 4:14-16) 

What a delightful, encouraging and uplifting scripture my fellow believers! That’s why we can go to the throne of grace boldly, which means with confident humility, not arrogance! For our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, our new high priest, experienced temptation here on earth like we do, yet never sinned, therefore He can sympathize with what we go through, and thus encourages us to come to Him seeking mercy and grace. 

One point the scholars make here is that ‘Temptation can be a reality apart from sin.’ In other words, though Jesus could not sin, He was well able to be tempted, as we see from when the Holy Spirit led Him directly after His baptism by John the Baptist, into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. (Matt. 4:1) 

Then there’s this other scripture from Bruh Paul to the Ephesians, where in talking of the Unsearchable Riches of Christ, he says: ‘In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of (in) him.’ (Eph. 3:12) And the scholars explain that verse 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 upon Christ to gain God’s ear).’ 

Yes friends, all that we have comes through the selfless sacrifices of Jesus! Without Him, we’d have nothing! We certainly could not go to the throne of God with the assurance that we’d be heard. That’s why it’s so foolish not to accept Christ as Lord and Saviour. Just look at what the song says we can do because of him: Wretched sinners that we are; we can still come and lay our burdens at His feet. And why is that? As the song further says: ‘Though lost, and blind, and lame, Jehovah is the sinner’s friend. And ever was the same.’ 

And that’s the gospel truth my brethren. For even when we were yet sinners God would not turn us away if we came to Him in sincere repentance. And if you don’t believe me, then listen to this most wonderful invitation issued by Jesus to all and sundry. ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of (from) me; for I am meek and lowly in heart (gentle and humble): and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ (Matt. 11:28-30) 

Oh my people, what a beautiful invitation to come to Jesus and receive all the good stuff He has lined up for those who believe in Him. And no, it won’t just be a Sunday afternoon stroll in the park, but you will certainly do much better with, than without Him. That’s a proven fact! 

The song says, ‘The sinner lost, He came to save, And set the captive free.’ And that’s exactly what the scriptures tell us. Jesus Himself said this: ‘For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.’ (Luke 19:10) Then the prophet Isaiah, said this about Him. ‘The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath appointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek (poor); he hath sent me to bind up (heal) the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound.’ (Is. 61:1) 

And remember that day in the synagogue when Jesus read those words from scroll, (Luke 4:18-19) what He said afterwards? ‘This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears (hearing).’ Luke 4:21) That just goes to show that all the words of the song are ever so true, and we’d be real foolish not to accept all that Jesus has to offer us. So please, let’s be wise and accept Him as Lord and Saviour…right now! Much LOVE!

…Faith doesn’t make it easy…but Faith surely makes it possible… 

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

The Importance of Believers understanding they have direct access to God’s throne through Jesus Christ!

Hebrews 4:16.       Let us therefore come boldly (confidently) unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

And another beautiful Indian summer day is in the offing for the Lord’s Sabbath. That makes it even more encouraging and intriguing for us to make our way to His sanctuary to give Him praise and thanks for all His many blessings and to fellowship with other believers, as it is right to do. The Bible tells us in no uncertain terms: ‘Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.’ (Heb. 10:25) 

And it is necessary to pray on one’s own, but worshipping together gives the chance to encourage each other, to strengthen and stir up each other which can only be gained by fellowshipping together. And having said all of that, let’s get right to our song for today. It’s one we all know and like, with the apt title of ‘Come Boldy to the throne of Grace.’ Yes, it’s very encouraging and reassuring, so let’s offer up sweet sacrifices of praise in a sincere, soulful, mid-tempo version of this marvellous song. 

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.’ 

And that’s no lie my brethren! If you come boldly or confidently to the throne of grace, our ever-faithful God will surely take you in. That’s one thing about Him, He never turns away anyone who comes to Him in all sincerity and truth. And what’s the basis for this confidence? It all springs from these Bible verses in Hebrews. 

‘For we do not have a high priest who cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities (is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses), but was in all points tempted like as we are (but one who was tempted in every way that we are), yet was without sin. Let us therefore come boldly (confidently) unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. Let us therefore draw near with boldness unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain (receive) mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.’ (Heb. 4:15-16) 

Oh friends, isn’t it wonderful that we have a high priest who can empathize with our problems, because He also faced them, but was without sin, thus was eligible to die on the cross at Calvary and pay our sin debt in full? It most certainly is! That means we can take any problem to Him and He will understand. There are also a couple of other scriptures that encourage us to have confidence and boldness in our faith. 

This one also comes from Hebrews. ‘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 own 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) 

Yes my people, every one else is a servant in someone else’s house, but Christ as the Son of God, has His own house to which we belong, if we continue to be confident and faithful to Him. And this scripture from the passage in Ephesians that speaks about the Unsearchable Riches of Christ also encourages us to have boldness and confidence. It says: ‘In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of (in) him.’ (Eph. 3:12) 

And the scholars explain it 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 upon Christ to gain God’s ear).’ We certainly can’t ask for any more than that my fellow believers. But the wonderful thing about our God is that He gives us more through Christ Jesus, even though we don’t deserve it. 

And if we look at the statements of the song, they all claim that we are lost, blind, lame, unworthy, sinners, guilty etc., not worthy to come to Jesus, but there are many facts to the contrary. Remember what Jesus Himself said? ‘For the Son of man is come to seek and save that which was lost.’ (Luke 19:10) He is also the friend to each and every sinner. Was from the beginning, and will be until the very end. But this one line tells the whole story ‘Ye wretched sinners come, and lay your load at Jesus feet.’ 

For what does Jesus offer to those who are overburdened? The Great Invitation! ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of (from) me; for I am meek and lowly in heart (gentle and humble): and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ (Matt. 11:28-30) 

Yes my fellow saints, that’s Christ invitation to all and sundry to come to Him, regardless of your woes. There’s no one He will refuse. So please, let’s take advantage of the invitation today nuh, and go to Jesus for help, whatever kind of help we may need, because He is the ONLY ONE who can solve all our problems, and will certainly not turn us away, despite our sorry plight. In fact, the sorrier our plight, the more Jesus desires us to come to Him for help. Let’s never forget that! Much LOVE!

…Jesus is only a sincere plea away…for help

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

Today’s Scrip-Bit   17 March 2024 Hebrews 4:16.

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…

 Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ