Turn back with me in your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 4. It was challenging in so many ways, but it's lovely to be able to read this verse in the presence of my daughter and family as they go to Sudan. Let's just read it again. Hebrews chapter 4 verse 16. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Let's do that now.

Heavenly Father, we thank you that we are called by your word to come to a throne of grace, that we might find mercy and obtain grace in our time of need. Heavenly Father, I thank you for you causing your people to be needy, causing them to call out on your name, Heavenly Father. and we thank you and praise you that there is a throne. A throne upon which your dear and precious Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, is seated right now at this very moment. And on that throne, our precious Saviour still bears on His body, His glorified body, the marks of the forgiveness of the sins of all His people.

And remarkably, even more remarkably, Heavenly Father, Your Word tells us that all, all who are united to Him, all who are in Him, all in whom He indwells, are seated together with Him. Heavenly Father, we are constantly confronted with wonders of your glory which are way beyond our puny brains, and we are so thankful that that is the case, Heavenly Father, that we might just come and worship in the simplicity of childlike faith. in what you say, you who cannot lie, our great God and Saviour.

Bless our short time here together, Heavenly Father, as we contemplate these remarkable words that you have given for us this day. I pray in Jesus' name and for His glory. Amen.

So obviously the circumstances of my daughter's going have been very much on our minds now for six months. They'll be gone, and by the time we meet next week, they will be somewhere in South Sudan, and we'll still be needy, and our God will still be sitting on the throne of the universe, and He still will be working all things for the good of His people. He will still be doing everything for His glory.

And so we are told here, let's just look back at our verse. We are told to come boldly. What is our warrant? What is our reason for believing in the Lord Jesus Christ as he's revealed in the scriptures? He commands us to believe. Our warrant for coming to a throne of grace is His command to come to a throne of grace. And the reason God's children come to the throne of grace is because they're made needy by Him, but they are made willing in the day of His power.

We're coming spiritually in faith to the throne of grace. As he works, he says, my children, all of his people, shall be made willing in the day of his power. Psalm 110 verse 3. And the Lord Jesus Christ said to those people in John 6 who walked away from him, he said, no man can come to me unless the Father draws him. So what a remarkable privilege to hear the command to come And what a remarkable privilege to come, to come. And what a remarkable throne that we come to. So what a remarkable God we have.

What God commands, God provides. God provides to, He commands us to come and He provides everything needed for our coming. All he provides and all that God provides and all he promises are all in the Lord Jesus Christ. Everything, please hear me, everything that God requires of us. He looks to His Son for, and everything He requires from us, He looks to His Son for and is satisfied. I just love to think that that is what is happening right now in heaven. God commands, God provides. and God's promises are what? They're yay and amen in the Lord Jesus Christ. Is he able, Finn? Is he able? He's able, isn't he, Aidan? He is able. That's what he says. Whether we believe it or not, he's still able. He's able.

Okay, so let's look at this extraordinary word boldly. That word boldly means to come with to come with confidence. If you turn over in your scriptures to Hebrews chapter eight, it says in verse two, the ministry of the sanctuary. We come, there's a minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched and not man. We come with liberty. We come with liberty because he who sits on the throne is merciful.

While you're turning in your Bibles and Hebrews, turn over to chapter 10. Hebrews chapter 10 is just one of the most remarkable passages in all the scripture. I know all the scriptures are remarkable. I just love the first words of the scriptures. In the beginning, in the beginning of absolutely everything is God.

But let's read Hebrews chapter 10 verses 19 down to 22. Therefore, brethren, having therefore, brethren, boldness, confidence, liberty, to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. We enter into the holy of holies in heaven. When God set up a tabernacle on this earth and set up a temple, there was a court on the outside, there was a great big wall around the whole thing, and then there was a court on the outside, and then there was an inner court, and there was a holy place, and then there was a holy of holies.

How did you get into the holy of holies? You couldn't. There was one man, one day, allowed in there just once, and he went in there, you can read about it in Leviticus 16, he went in there with blood. He had to take blood in there, and he had to sprinkle blood on the mercy seat. And if you went in there in any other way at all, or touched that ark, You were just killed. Just like that. And yet, listen to what we have. We have therefore having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. That's how we enter in, by the blood of Jesus.

And listen to what he goes on to say, by a new and living way, which he has consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say, his flesh. That new and living way by which we enter into the holiest by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, That word living way means freshly slaughtered. The blood of the Lord Jesus Christ is ever, ever new, which he has consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say, because there was a veil that separated the holy of holies from the holy place. That is to say, his flesh.

And having a high priest over the house, God let us listen to this 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 boldness, we enter with confidence. We enter because of the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. And I can't go past this word confidence without going to Norm's favourite verse, and it ought to be ours as well. Thank you, Norm.

In verse 17 of 1 John chapter 4, you can turn over there. I'd like you to read the words with me. I'd like you to just say, this is what it says. This is what God says. These are God's words about his people. Verse 17, while you're turning there, here in us is our love made perfect that we may have boldness in the day of judgment because, I'll just wait till you get there. I want you to read it with me. 1 John 4 verse 17. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment. We may have confidence in the day of judgment. Do you think about the day of judgment? It's a good thing to think about the Day of Judgment, isn't it? That day when all of humanity will be there before the throne of God Almighty, and there'll be a people there on that day. We have boldness in the Day of Judgment, and listen to the reason why. Because As He is, so are we in this world. Is He accepted? So are we. Is He holy? So are we. We are accepted. You think of all of the attributes of the Lord Jesus Christ, and all of those attributes are the attributes of his people in him.

Listen to what verse 16, the previous verse says, and we have known and have believed the love that God hath to us. God is love and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God in him. That's why when God looks at the Lord Jesus Christ right now, he sees all the members of his body. We can come boldly, we come boldly to a throne of grace.

Don't you love the fact that our God reigns? Don't you love the fact that our God reigns? Everything that moves, everything that happens, the Lord Jesus Christ has power over all flesh. Thank God he has the power over the flesh of his people. But he has it every time you walk through this world as a child of God, you look around at every other human being and it doesn't matter whether they're big or small, famous or not, the Lord Jesus Christ rules over them. People are concerned about what's happening in all parts of this world, and you can name the famous people, good, bad, or ill, and it doesn't matter your opinion about them. The one thing that really matters is that God reigns. He has power over all flesh. Whether it's Donald Trump, or Mr. Putin, or whoever you want, just name any of them. He has power over all flesh. He sits on the throne. The king of the universe sits on the throne.

We have boldness to come to this throne. I love what the picture is in Revelation. For you children who like drawing pictures, this is a great picture. We're not to make pictures of the things in heaven or on earth, but we can make pictures in our mind. My children used to love drawing rainbows. Just love drawing rainbows and all sorts of the colours. If you've seen a rainbow, it's just wonderful. There is a throne in heaven and around the throne, encircling the throne completely, is a rainbow. And what's a rainbow? It's light broken up into colours that we can see. The Lord Jesus Christ is the light of the world, but around that throne is a rainbow. And that rainbow represents the eternal covenant. It has no beginning and no end. It goes around the throne. It's a throne where light is seen by human beings. And what the picture is in the scriptures is that absolutely nothing goes from the throne or to the throne except through the rainbow, except through the eternal covenant in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

How secure and how safe are we when we have needs? Isn't it wonderful that we're not just going to someone who can try? We're not going to someone who makes his best effort. We're not going to someone who makes an offer of salvation. We're going to someone who actually saves. That's what it is for him to be a king. He really saves. If he says he's going to save someone, they're saved. If he shed his blood for someone, they are saved. If he loves someone, they are saved. If he pours his grace upon someone, they are saved. It's as simple as that. That's what it is for God to be God. That's what this verse is saying. We can go to God being God. There's a rainbow around the throne. We ought to be so thankful. I'm so thankful that our Saviour's throne is a throne of grace. It's a throne of grace that we may obtain mercy.

Who's in need of mercy? Who's in need of mercy? Only sinners are in need of mercy. I've told you this story.