Good morning. Thankful for the
opportunity to be with y'all this morning. This congregation
is dear. So, so dear to our family and
your pastor. I just, I just love Brother Paul. He is, he and Mindy are so, so
dear. We had a chance to worship with
them Friday night and it was It was such a blessing. Such
a blessing. Saying all that, I kind of wish
I'd have went first this morning. That wasn't an option for me. Turn to Hebrews chapter 4. Hebrews chapter 4. in verse 16. Brady and I, other than sharing
text with each other, didn't prepare our messages together. He prepared his. The Lord enabled me to prepare
mine as well. And though we have different
texts, my desire is to tell you the exact same
thing that He told us just a few minutes ago. Look at Hebrews
4, verse 16. come boldly unto the throne of
grace, that we might obtain mercy and find grace to help in time
of need. Let us, let us, let believers,
those who love the Lord Jesus Christ, those who rest in Christ,
those who would look to Christ, come boldly. Isn't that an amazing
thought? God sits on the throne, and yet
we're instructed to come boldly, boldly to Him, without fear of
being turned away. Why would we be turned away?
That's easy, isn't it? We could just start a whole list
of reasons we could be turned away. We could be turned away
because of our sin. We could be turned away because
of our infirmity. We could be turned away by Him
condemning us. He's God. We're men. We're sinners. But we're told
to come boldly. without fear of any of those
things. Come boldly unto the throne of
grace. Not a throne of judgment. Not a throne of justice. How easily could He condemn us? But a throne, it's a throne of
grace. Christ obeyed the law. Christ put away our sin. Back in verse 14, we read this,
seeing we have such a great high priest that is passed into the
heavens. Who is this great high priest?
Jesus, the Son of God. Oh, let us come boldly. boldly to the throne of grace. And listen, you think about that.
He sits on the throne. He's not a beggar. He's exalted. Far above all principalities
and powers and dominion. He's above every name that is
named. And yet, what are we instructed
to do? Come boldly. boldly to the Lord
Jesus Christ, that we, we, God's sheep, God's people, His church,
His bride, that we might obtain mercy and grace to help. Mercy, mercy. Listen, God not
giving us what we deserve. And what else? Grace. We obtain
mercy and grace. What is grace? Free, unmerited,
unearned, undeserved mercy. God giving us what we don't deserve. Well, when should we do this?
When should we approach unto Him? What's Scripture say? When should we come to Him? In
time of need. Spurgeon wrote this. Brady read
this to us. Okay? He said this, the best
state in all the world for washing is what? To be filthy. Huh? A person who is filthy is
in need, aren't they? In need of cleansing. The best
state for asking alms. He used to be a beggar. Why does a beggar beg? A true
beggar begs because he's in need, isn't he? Listen to this statement
here. The best state in all the world
to obtain help from a physician is to be terribly sick. Someone who's terribly sick is
in need, aren't they? In need of a physician. Now,
I'll tell you this, and maybe some of you are like me. I am
very slow to go to the doctor. I mean, around the house, I will
come up with whatever remedy we can to avoid going to the
doctor. If Abby was here, she could quickly
defend me on this. She would agree with me. I can't
tell you how many times I have cut fingers or done things that
stitches would have been in order, like a need to go to the doctor. But I guess I'm convinced that
peroxide and some paper towels and black tape make a fantastic
first aid kit. A couple weeks ago, three or
four weeks ago, on a Sunday morning, about 1 a.m., I woke up struggling
to breathe. And you know what I did? Rather
than wake Abby up and say, take me to the hospital, I continued
to struggle to breathe. Trying to get some air. I don't
know what I was thinking. Maybe if I walk around the house
long enough, I'll start breathing again, you know. Well, as I was
gasping to get some air in my lungs, Abby woke up. And she'd seen my condition.
And she said this. She said, we need to go to the
emergency room. And you know what I said? I was
in agreement. I knew right away that needed
to happen. You know, there's an emergency
room that's about three miles from our house. I drive by it
all the time. About every day I pass by it.
A lot of times I don't even look over at it. I mentioned earlier
there are many times before that I should have gone, but I refused. I didn't need it. I didn't need
it. What was different on this occasion? I was in need. I couldn't breathe. I was in need of a physician.
And I can't think of a time in my life where I needed to be
there more than on that night. I needed to be there. Now, apparently, what I had was
an asthma attack. And the doctor knew that immediately.
They didn't even give me an IV. They just gave me a breathing
treatment, and all of a sudden, I was better. I was better. The best state in all the world
to obtain help from a physician is to be terribly sick. What did we just read from God's
Word in Hebrews 4, verse 16? Let me read it to you again.
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace that
we might obtain mercy and find grace to help when? In time of need. Now for a few minutes here this
morning, I'd like for us to look at a few folks in God's Word
that were in a time of need. A time of need. And that's the title of my message
this morning. A message? This message isn't
for everybody. I'll tell you who it's for. It's
for the needy. A message for the needy. Well, here's the first one. in need of cleansing. You know, David knew something
about that, didn't he? David knew something about the
need to be cleansed. He asked the question in Psalm
119. He said, Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? Why do he need to cleanse his
way? He's filthy. Filthy. I'm filthy and I need
to be cleansed. Turn with me to Matthew 8. Matthew
8. Let's begin reading in Matthew 8, verse 1. Here we have Here we read of a man that needed
cleansing. Verse 1, when he was come down
from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. And behold, there
came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, thou wilt, thou
canst make me clean. And Jesus put forth his hand
and touched him, saying, I will. Be thou clean, and immediately
his leprosy was cleansed. Now in Luke's account of this
scripture, this man is described as being full, full of leprosy. Nothing, nothing in this man
to commend him to man let alone to commend him to God. And I'm
confident of this, if you or I saw this man walking toward
us, I'm just confident of this, we would have went away from
him. Maybe even like covered our eyes
because of this man's condition. We wouldn't have even wanted
to look upon him. Full of leprosy. In the same manner, we're full
of sin. That's a description of every
one of us by nature. Full of sin. Isaiah 1, verse
6, we read this, from the sole of the foot even to the head,
there's no soundness in it. Nothing but wounds and bruises
and putrefying sores They haven't been closed up. They haven't
been bound up. No dressing put upon them to
cover them up. Neither been mollified with ointment. That's us. That's every one of us. And this
leper, no doubt, he knew. He knew he was defiled. He knew
he was unclean. He knew he was in need of cleansing. Otherwise, he would have never
said, if you will, You can make me whole. And yet we read this. What's the first thing he did?
He worshipped. He worshipped the Lord. Isn't
that where we need to be? At His feet? To fall before Him
and beg mercy? And he said this, if thou wilt,
if thou wilt, thou canst make me I believe it's evident by reading
this, he knew, he did know a few things, right? He knew the Lord
had power to save him. But this question must have been
in his mind. Would he save a miserable soul
like me? Would he do that? He's got the
power to do it, but would He? Has that question lingered in
your heart? When I consider how filthy I
am, when I consider the greatness of my sin, will the Lord cleanse
me? I know He's able, but will He? I know He is able to justify
me by His righteousness. I know He is able to cleanse
me by His blood. I know He is able to save me
by His grace. What did we start out with? Come boldly to the throne of
grace that we might obtain mercy and find grace to help in time
of need. This man needed cleansing, didn't
he? This man needs cleansing. He came to the Lord and he said,
if you will, you can make me clean. He believed the Lord could
cleanse him, and the Lord reached forth his hand and touched him. Nobody touched this man in a
long time, had they? Huh? Ever since the day where
it started out with a spot and that priest had said, you've
got leprosy. You're unclean. And yet the Lord
in mercy reaches forth and touches him. The Lord Jesus Christ, He's
holy, He's harmless, He's undefiled, He's separate from sinners. Reached
forth His hand and touched Him. You know to touch a leper? You
and I touch a leper, we're unclean. Not the Lord Jesus Christ. Listen,
consider His goodness and grace in touching this poor creature,
this leper. Our Lord in His mighty healing
power reaches forth His hand and He touches him and He says
this. Boy, what joy I had to fill his
soul. Think about that. He said, if you will, if you
will, you can make me clean. And what does the Lord say? I
will be thou clean. And immediately. I remember Brother
Henry used to say, nobody got put on a waiting list. Immediately
his leprosy was cleansed. You know the priest could pronounce
a leper clean. But only the Lord Jesus Christ
can make us clean, to cleanse us from all sin. God in mercy
cleansed him. I ask you, are you in need of
cleansing? Come boldly. Come boldly to the
throne of grace, that you might attain mercy, and find grace
to help in time of need. Well, second, here's another
example of a man in need. Here we read, turn to Luke, Luke
chapter 18. Luke chapter 18. Look beginning with verse 35. Here's another man in need. This
man's a beggar. A beggar. Look at verse 35. It came to pass that as he was
come nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the wayside
begging. And hearing the multitude pass
by, he asked what it meant. What's this commotion? And they
told him that Jesus of Nazareth passeth by. And he cried, Jesus,
thou Son of David, have mercy on me. And they that went before
rebuked him that he would hold his peace. Be quiet. Settle down. Don't make such
a scene. What did he do? He cried so much the more, Thou
son of David, have mercy on me. And look at verse 40. Jesus stood
and commanded him to be brought unto him. And when he was come
near, he asked him, saying, What wilt thou that I should do unto
thee? And he said, Lord, that I might receive my sight. And
Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight. Thy faith hath saved
thee." And immediately, immediately he received his sight and followed
him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they
saw it, gave praise unto God. Now here we read of a beggar. And in his condition, he's blind. He is blind. You know, I don't know where
I read this. I read somewhere that in God's Word there's more
examples of God healing the blind, the Lord Jesus Christ healing
the blind than any other ailment. We're blind. That's a picture
of sin. We're blind to see our lost estate. We're blind to see our sin. We're blind to see the wrath
to come. We're just blind. Again, another picture here of
a sinner. A sinner. And that's what, by
nature we're blind. And we must be brought, we must
be brought from darkness to light. In the beginning, remember that?
Nothing but darkness. God spoke. He said, let there
be light. Only God can do that. And here,
blind Bartimaeus sits by the wayside. I find this interesting. He sits there by the wayside
begging for alms. He's begging for money. But when
the Lord Jesus Christ passes by, He begs mercy, doesn't he? Huh? Begging for money. No concern for his soul. Not
just the concern for this flesh. Right? But the Lord passes by. He passes by in mercy. And he
begs mercy. Again, isn't that a picture of
our natural estate? Huh? Taken up with the things
of this world. what we can get and what we can't
get, or what we have, what we can get more of, taken up with
this world. And the Lord Jesus Christ passes
by. We sing that hymn, Pass Me Not,
O Gentle Savior. Hear my humble cry. While on
others Thou art calling, do not pass me. Don't pass me by. Don't pass me by. And again,
in the presence of the Lord Himself, Bartimaeus forgets about them
alms, doesn't he? And he begs for mercy. And those around him, they tried
to silence him. Huh? What'd he do? Would he be silenced? No. He
cried louder and louder and louder. Thou Son of David, have mercy
on me." I ask you, was he in need? Was he in need? Was he helpless to do anything
about it? Imagine that, telling a blind man, well, you know what? Once you can see, you come back
and see me, right? Foolish, right? Did the Lord pass him by? No. No, he was merciful. In verse
40 we read, listen, the Lord commanded him and said, bring
him to me. Bring this man, this one that's
begging for mercy, bring him to me. In Mark's account it says
this, that Jesus commanded that he be called. There are no mistakes
in God's Word, that He be called. Romans 8, Romans 8, verse 29,
let me just read this to you. For whom He did foreknow, them
He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His
Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover,
whom He did predestinate, them He also what? Called. Called. and whom he called, them
he also justified." He glorified. What shall we say
to these things? If God be for us, who can be
against us? Bartimaeus, the master, has called
you. I wonder how quickly he got up
off his feet. You reckon he sat there on the
ground and thought, well, I don't know. No, the Master called. And he said this, the Lord said,
What shall I do unto thee? Bartimaeus, what is your need?
What do you truly need? He didn't ask for alms, did he?
He didn't say, give me some gold or give me some silver. No, no.
He said this, Lord, that I might receive my sight. What happened? And immediately, immediately
he received his sight, given more, given more than his heart
could ever desire. And he followed the Lord. Scripture
says he followed the Lord and he glorified Him. Any question? Any question that
blind Bartimaeus was in need? Well, third, here we have a woman
in need of healing. Turn with me to Luke chapter
8. Turn back just a few pages to
Luke. Chapter 8. Beginning with verse 43. Luke
8, verse 43. A woman. Here we read of a woman who had
an issue of blood twelve years. And she had spent all her living
upon physicians. Neither could be healed of any. And she came behind him, touched
the border of his garment, and immediately her issue of blood
was stanched. Here we read of this woman. This
woman, she had this issue of blood, this ailment, for 12 years. Well, you know, I just think
a toothache or a, I don't know, like a small ailment, and we're
like those children in Israel, murmuring and complaining. Twelve years she had suffered. Any question? Any question, she
was in need. This woman, any question, she
was in need. Again, this is another picture
of sin. This issue of blood, by the law,
she would have been unclean. And we read that she spent all
that she had, and she couldn't be healed. In
Mark's account, it says that she suffered many things of many
physicians and spent all that she had and she was nothing better. In fact, her condition grew worse. Isn't that what false religion
does to folks? takes their money, constantly
asking for money for this or that or the other, and then a
whole list of things to do. Many physicians, you know, bouncing
around from church to church, looking, looking. Woe unto you, scribes, and Pharisees,
hypocrites. You encompass land and sea to
make one proselyte, and when he's made, what's the result of that? Two-fold more the child of hell
than yourselves. Nothing better, nothing better,
only worse. What would they tell? Look to
your works of righteousness, your so-called works of righteousness. What are those in the sight of
God? Filthy rags. Look to those outward religious
duties, coming with the robes and all that religious garb. I've heard of this. I've even
heard of men and women required to publicly confess their sin. Just being humiliated. What's the result of that? Nothing
better. Nothing better. Only growing
worse. But this woman, apparently she
had heard something of the Lord Jesus Christ, hadn't she? She hears of Him. She hears of
the Lord Jesus Christ and she says, if I can just touch the
border of His garment. And she came in behind Him. I don't doubt for a minute, she
didn't want to be seen, did she? She knew her condition. Huh? If I can just come in behind
Him and touch His garment. What happened to this woman in
need of healing? Huh? She touched the hem of his garment
and immediately, immediately, that issue of blood was stanched. You still have Luke 8. Look at
verse 45. The Lord Jesus Christ said, Who
touched me? And when all denied it, Peter
and they that were with him said, Master, We're in this great big
crowd. I remember we were in New York
one time, and I remember my nephew said, he said, I feel like I
need to go home and take a shower. I feel like I've been touched
by everybody in the city. It was a big crowd, this big
throng of people. Who touched me? Who touched me? Peter said, Master, this great
crowd, there's people bumping into us and you, And you ask,
you ask who touched you? Think about that. However big
a crowd that people was, there's one, isn't there? There's one
in this crowd that's His. There's one in this... I don't
reckon anybody else was in need, were they? This one touched Him. And Jesus said this, He said,
The Lord Jesus Christ spoke, He said, Somebody had touched
me, for I perceived that virtue was going out of me. And when
the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, falling
down before Him, and she declared unto Him before all the people
for what cause she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately. And He said unto her, Daughter. Daughter. She's mine. Daughter, be of good comfort.
Thy faith hath made thee whole. Go in peace. Immediately. Immediately she was healed. Hebrews 7.25 says this, God's Word says this, He is able
to save to the uttermost them that come to God by Him. By Him. Through the Lord Jesus
Christ. Now all three of these examples
share a common problem. They all had a different ailment,
didn't they? But they all had the same problem. Whether it's
a leper in need of cleansing, a beggar in need of mercy, A
sick woman in need of healing. All of them are pictures of sinners.
All of them were in need. And that need had been revealed
to them. I won't have you turn there.
Matthew 15, 30. Let me just read it. It says this, great multitudes
came to him. Now how is it a man can come
to the Lord Jesus Christ? Scripture is clear about that.
No man can come unto me except the Father which hath sent me
draw him. These folks had been drawn to
him. They came to him. They came to the Lord Jesus Christ.
And there were those that were lame, they were blind, they were
dumb, they were maimed, and many others. all of them in need. And they
cast them down at the Savior's feet. What did he do? What did he do? Did he say, pick
yourself up by your bootstraps? Did he say, get your life in
order and then come back to me? Did he say this? Did he say,
are you one of mine? Are you one of my elect? Remember
that woman? That woman came to him, wasn't
her daughter healed? He said, I'm not sent but to
the... What happened? He said, you're
a dog. What's she say? You can't talk
to me like that. No, she said, I am. But even a dog eats crumbs
that fall from the master's table, right? What does it say here? It says
this. It says, He healed them. Patrick read this from Luke chapter
9. Luke 9 says this in verse 11. It says, The people followed
him, and he received them, and he spake unto them concerning
the kingdom of God, and he healed them. Listen to me. He healed them that had need
of healing. I believe it was in Matthew 9.
Our Lord sat and ate there with a bunch of publicans and sinners.
Aren't we thankful that He's a friend of sinners? And one
of the Pharisees saw it and they asked, why does your Master eat
with publicans and sinners? This is what our Lord said. He
said the whole, they don't need a physician, do they? Who needs
a physician? They that are sick. They that
are in need. You go and learn what that means.
I'll have mercy and not sacrifice. I came not to call the righteous
But who? Sinners. Sinners to repentance. I ask you again, are you in need? Are you in need? I won't have
you turn there for sake of time, but back in Genesis 41, back
there in Genesis 41, there was a famine that had went throughout
all the land of Egypt. In fact, it says that the famine
was over the face of the whole earth. Is it any different in
our day? Huh? Remember, seven years is plenty,
right? And then seven years of famine. And in chapter 42 we read that
Jacob, now I just picture this, here he is sitting in the living
room with his sons. And they're out of food. Famine
was sore throughout the whole land. And he looked at his boys
and he said this, why do you sit there looking upon one another? Why are you sitting there staring
at each other? I've heard there's corn in Egypt. There's food. We don't have to
sit here and starve to death and die. There's corn in Egypt. Get ye down thither and buy from
thence. Why? That we might live and not
die. What was he saying? Boys, we're
in need. And we know where the food is. So go and buy it that we might
live. Interesting point, they never
paid a dime for any of that corn, did they? Huh? Joseph stuffed
it in their sacks and sent them back home with it. Isn't that
pretty simple? Let me ask you the same question
this morning. Are you in need? Huh? Then why do you sit around staring
at each other? Go to Him. Flee to the Lord Jesus
Christ. Turn back to Hebrews 4 verse
16 and I'll quit. Hebrews chapter 4. Verse 16, "...let us therefore come boldly
unto the throne of grace, that we might obtain mercy and
find grace to help when in time of need." in time of need. I need Him. I must have Him. The old songwriter wrote this.
Let not conscience make you linger, nor fitness fondly dream. All the fitness He requires is
what? To feel your need of Him. Oh, I pray He'd reveal that to
us. I need Him. I need Him. And cause every one of us not
to run to the front of the building, not to run to a profession or
to run to Him, to run to the Lord Jesus Christ. All right. May God bless His Word.