Introduction
We all have needs. Some of our needs are physical, perhaps a need for healing or relief from pain. Some of our needs are mental. We need to make decisions in our life and we don’t understand all of the different factors involved and so we need wisdom. Some of our needs are emotional. We have fears and are in need of assurance and peace. Some of our needs are spiritual. We face temptation or doubt. What do we do with our needs?
This morning I would like to draw your attention to Hebrews 4:14-16. Although we will look at the entire passage, I would like to particularly ask you to take note of the invitation found in verse 16. There we read in the TEV, “Let us have confidence, then, and approach God’s throne, where there is grace. There we will receive mercy and find grace to help us just when we need it.”
I. We Approach A Throne!
I want us to notice first of all that we are invited to approach a throne. “Let us then approach the throne.” What does a throne represent? Why is an invitation to approach a throne important?
A throne represents several things. In one way, it represents power. Earthly thrones, or if we want to use language we are more used to, seats of government, have power. Our government makes laws, enforces them, protects citizens, leads the country. There is power there to accomplish things. If I break the law, the government has the power to arrest and put me in jail. In northern Canada, our government is exercising its power to indicate Canadian sovereignty in the north. So as we think of approaching the throne of God, we know that we come to a place of power. God has the power to help us in our time of need.
If we think of the power Canada has to defend itself, we would not feel too confident. Our army is small and if the US decided to invade, we would not have much power to defend. The power of God, however, is not weak. He is the creator of the entire universe. The throne we are invited to approach is that of one who has made our bodies, sustains the universe and knows the beginning and the end. So as we approach His throne, we know that we come to one who has the power to help us.
But a throne not only represents power, but also authority. Some groups have power, but not authority. There are rebel armies, like the warlords in Afghanistan, who have power, but do not have legitimate authority to carry that power. As we think about God, we are encouraged that when we come to the throne, we come to one who also has the right to rule. God is sovereign over all. He is Lord. Some people make promises, but do not have the authority to actually fulfill those promises. That is no problem with God. He has both the power and authority to fulfill the promises He has made to us and therefore is able to help us.
We do not have access to many places of authority. Even going to get a passport is an exercise which reminds us that we come to ask for this document at the mercy of the government. If we wanted to go see Stephen Harper, we would not just be able to drop by as we might visit a friend. We would have to have a reason and an appointment and even then it would have to be a pretty good reason. In Hebrews 4, however, we notice that we do have access to the power and authority of the presence of God because of Jesus. By faith, we know Jesus who is in the place of power. At His ascension, He went into the presence of God and is seated at His right hand as our high priest. The imagery of a priest reminds us of the Old Testament high priests who also had access to the presence of God, but the access was only for the high priest and only once a year. How privileged we are to have access to God through Jesus at all times.
So as we think about the fact that we approach a throne, it is good to know that we have access into the place of power and authority.
II. It Is A Throne Of Grace
The second thing I would like us to notice is that we approach a throne of grace. It is not enough that we have access to power and authority. It is also important to have access to someone who will listen to us. If we had a concern and were able to get an appointment with the most powerful person in Canada who had the authority and power to help us, but if that person did not understand or care about our concern, we would still not have the answer we would need.
Hebrews 4:15 tells us why we can also expect to receive sympathy at the throne of God. There it says that Jesus is able to “sympathize with our weaknesses.” He fully understands what it is like to be human. This text says that He “has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin.” Sometimes we do not recognize the extent to which Jesus understands the human condition, even in the area of temptation.
One writer wonders if it is not possible that Jesus was tempted to lie to save his life when on trial; to covet all the nice things that Zacchaeus owned; to take revenge when he was wrongly accused; to pout with self-pity when his disciples fell asleep in his last hour of trial and to murmur at God when John the Baptist died at the whim of a dancing girl. Jesus faced all of these temptations. Sometimes we think that because he was God it was easy for him to resist, but we need to take this verse seriously when it says that He was tempted in all things as we are. C.S. Lewis points out an interesting perspective. He invites us to consider who experiences the power of temptation more, a person who yields to it right away or a person who resists for a long time before they yield. I think we would have to say that the person who really knows the power of temptation is the person who says “no” for a long time. If that is the case, then Jesus knows more about temptation than any of us because he resisted to the point of never yielding.
Because that is the case, Jesus understands all of the things that we go through. He understands grief as is seen when he responded to the death of Lazarus. He understands pain when he was whipped and later crucified. He understands temptation, as we see when Satan tempted Him. Therefore, we know that we approach a throne of grace, a throne where we are understood and our struggles are known and we are cared for.
III. Let Us Approach With Confidence
Therefore, because we have a place to go that has the power and authority to help and because we know we will receive sympathy there, we are invited to approach the throne of grace.
This is an invitation. A funny thing about invitations is that we recognize that some of them are not very serious and we tend to ignore them. Others are serious and we respond to them. If we are talking to someone and they say to us, “come over some time,” we may believe that they want us to come over and we might be quite happy to go, but because the invitation is so vague we will probably ignore it. On the other hand, if we receive a hand delivered, hand written invitation to come to a birthday party on a certain day and at a certain time, we will probably take it seriously, we will respond to the invitation.
What kind of an invitation is the one we receive here? It says, “Let us then approach the throne of grace.” As we recognize the preparations which have been made by God to extend this invitation in sending His Son to die on the cross and open the way into the holy presence of God, we know that this invitation is meant to be taken seriously. God is sincerely inviting us into His presence. Just because it is an open invitation, does not take away from the sincerity of it.
Sometimes we respond to invitations with fear and trembling. We are insecure within ourselves and we doubt that we would really be invited. A few years ago when the queen celebrated her 80th birthday, she invited people who had a birthday exactly the same day as she to have a party and quite a number of people attended this party. Can you imagine receiving such an invitation? If we received an invitation from the queen to meet with her, I suspect we might question whether it was genuine. Would you take it seriously? Would you believe that you could actually go? As we read this text, we understand that we have an even greater privilege. We can approach the throne of God with confidence. Because it is a throne of grace and because we have this invitation, we should not hesitate, but we should be bold to respond with confidence.
IV. We Receive
As we approach the throne of grace we do so with the hope that we will receive help. We are invited to come, and because we come to one who has power and authority, we have the hope that we will receive the help we need. I think that this is much more than a verse which presents a hope or a possibility. I think we need to take this as a promise. Because of all the things that we have seen here – the fact that we approach a throne, a place of power and authority; the fact that we will receive a sympathetic hearing; the fact that we have an invitation to come – all suggest that this is a promise which assures us that when we come, the need we have will be met by God.
What we can rejoice about is that we will receive mercy and grace. If we need forgiveness, we will receive it. If we need comfort, it will come. If we need guidance, it will be given.
The other thing we see is that it will be timely help. Not every translation brings this out, but in the Greek, the phrase is “unto timely help.” This is the point at which faith and maintaining hope become so important. Given the background of this invitation and promise, the one thing we can be sure of is that it will happen. God will answer in a way that reflects His love and grace and mercy. The problem is that we do not always see the answer in the time and in the way that we would like. But we need to trust the promises of God and the timing of God. Hebrews 11:13 says, “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance…” In the same way, we need to continue to hope in God that in His time, which will be the right time, He will fulfill the promises He has made and meet the need we bring to Him as we approach His throne of grace. Psalm 31:15 reminds us, “My times are in your hand…”
Conclusion
So my invitation to you this morning is to have confidence to respond to this invitation.
We have so much reason to do so. Because we approach a throne, with all its power and authority; because we know we will receive a sympathetic hearing; because we have the invitation, let us respond to God’s invitation and approach His throne of grace boldly. I invite all of us to pray about our needs and have confidence that God will answer!
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