Look with me at verse 16. Let us, therefore, come boldly
to the throne of grace, that we might obtain mercy and find
grace to help in time of need. Let us. Those who believe Christ, those
who love Christ, those who rest in Christ, come boldly. Come boldly to come without fear
of being turned away because of sin. To come without fear of being
turned away because of our infirmities. To come without fear of condemnation. come boldly to the throne of
grace. Aren't we thankful it's not a
throne of judgment, not a throne of justice, but rather a throne
of grace? The Lord Jesus Christ, he obeyed
the law. He died for our sins. That punishment
that we deserved has already been taken, already been borne. The Lord Jesus Christ bore it
for His people. Back in verse 14 we read this,
seeing we have a great high priest that is passed into the heavens. Who is he? It's the Lord Jesus
Christ, the Son of God. And knowing that, we have all reason to come boldly,
boldly to his throne. And it's a throne. He's exalted.
The Lord Jesus Christ is exalted. He sits on a throne. You see
that? Sovereign. Far above all principality
and power and dominion and might. Scripture says that above every
name that is named. It's at the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ that we come. We come bearing His name. We
come resting in Him. He's exalted. And with that,
the believer can come boldly. Needy sinners. Those for whom
Christ came to save. That's what scripture says. Jesus
Christ came into the world to save sinners. His sheep, we, His people, His
church, His bride, come boldly that we might obtain mercy and
grace to help. Mercy. What is mercy? What does that mean? Well, the
simplest definition I've heard is this. It's God giving us or
God not giving us what we do deserve. God not giving us what we deserve. Mercy and grace. Free, unmerited, undeserved, It's God giving us what by nature we do not deserve. What Christ purchased for His
people. Let us therefore come boldly. When? When's a good time for
that? When can a sinner come boldly
to the throne of grace? What's it say? In time of need. Is there ever a time for a believer
that's not a time of need? Spurgeon wrote this. He said,
the best state in all the world for washing. When is that? It's when you're
filthy. Huh? I'm filthy. Isn't that the description of
a believer, of a sinner? Huh? I'm filthy. What do I need? I need cleansed. And only He can cleanse me. He wrote this. He said, the best
state for asking alms is to be a beggar. Isn't that why a beggar begs?
He's in need, great need. Listen to this statement. The
best state in all the world to obtain help from a physician. When's that? It's when a man or a woman is
terribly sick. Someone who's terribly sick is
in great need, aren't they? They need a physician. Well,
hold your place there in Hebrews and turn with me to Matthew 9.
Matthew 9. Look at verse 9. And as Jesus passed forth from
thence, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the receipt of custom,
and he said to him, follow me. And Matthew arose and he followed
him. And it came to pass as Jesus
sat and meet in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came
and sat down with him and with his disciples. And when the Pharisees
saw it, these self-righteous Pharisees, when they saw it,
they said to his disciples, why eateth your master with publicans
and sinners? But when Jesus heard that, he
said unto them, they that are whole, They that are healthy,
they that are well, they need not a physician. Who needs a physician? They that
are sick. And he said, you go learn what
that means. I'll have mercy and not sacrifice. I've come not
to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. The whole need
not a physician. Who needs a physician? They that
are in need. The whole aren't in need, but
listen, a sick man's in need. The best state in all the world
to obtain help from a physician is to be terribly, terribly sick. To be in great need. What did
we just read from God's Word? Hebrews 4.16. Let us, therefore,
come boldly to the throne of grace that we might obtain mercy
and grace to help when? When? In time of need. Now, for a few minutes here this
morning, I want us to look at just a few examples in God's
words of some people that were in great need. Scripture's filled
with them. We'll just look at, Lord willing,
we'll just look at three. And that's the title of the message.
Help, it's taken from Hebrews there, help in time of need. As we look through this, I would
ask you to consider this question, that we all consider this, am
I in need? Is that my case? Am I in need? Well, first, let's look at a
man in need of cleansing. You know, David knew something
about that. He wrote this in Psalm 119. Listen to this question.
He said, Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? Why does my way need cleansing?
Because I'm dirty. I'm filthy. I'm depraved. I need to be cleansed. Not because
my hands are filthy. I need to be cleansed from the
filth of my sin. Turn to Matthew 8. Would you
turn with me to Matthew 8? Look at verse 1 of Matthew 8. When he was come down from the
mountain, Great multitudes followed him. But there was one in particular
that followed him. There came a leper. You see that?
There came a leper and worshipped him. And he said this, Lord,
if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus, the Lord
Jesus Christ, put forth his hand and he touched him, saying, I
will, be thou clean." And immediately, immediately his leprosy was cleansed. Now in Luke's account, this man
is described as a man that is full, full of leprosy. Nothing to commend him to man,
certainly nothing to commend him to God. And I'm confident,
it said that there was a great multitude. No doubt, when this
leper came into the crowd, when the others saw him, they probably
turned their heads. I don't even want to look at
him. He was such miserable condition, full of leprosy. And as awful
as that sounds, and you take time, if you go back and read,
these folks that had leprosy, I mean like, it wasn't nothing
for like an ear or something like that to fall off, or a nose
or anything, I mean it was just a horrible, horrible sight to
behold. And you read and you think about
that, you think that would just be terrible. You know what's
even worse than that? Our sin. Our sin. You and I. This man was full
of leprosy. We're full of, by nature, we're
full of sin. In Isaiah 1, 6, God's word declares
from the sole of the foot even to the head. There's no sound
in the sin. Nothing but wounds and bruises
and putrefying sores. They've not been closed, they've
not been bound up, they've not been mollified with ointment.
And this leper, he knew. He knew he was defiled. He knew
that he was unclean. He knew that he was in need of
healing, in need of cleansing. Has the Lord revealed that to
us? I pray he'll reveal that to me,
my need. And this leper, what did he do?
He came and he worshiped the Lord and he said, if thou wilt. I'm the sinner. You're the savior. If thou wilt. Thou canst make
me clean. He knew the Lord had power to
save, but this must have been the question that just burned
his mind. I know he's able, but will he
save a miserable soul like me? Does that question linger in
your heart? Do you ever think about that?
When we consider how filthy we are, how sinful we are, will
the Lord in mercy cleanse me? What right do I even have to
ask Him? What does Scripture say? Let us therefore come boldly. unto the throne of grace that
we might obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. This leper says, Lord, if thou
will, you can make me clean. He's able. He's able. But will he cleanse me? He's able. He's able to justify
me. by his righteousness. He's able
to cleanse me by his blood. He's able to save me by his grace. Scripture declares this, come
boldly. Come boldly in time of need. He came to the Lord. That's what
that leopard did. He came to the Lord and he said,
if thou will, you can make me clean. He believed. And you know the Lord cleansed
him. The Lord reached forth his hand
and touched him. Again, that great multitude,
I guarantee you, they scattered. I don't want to take a chance
on getting leprosy like this man, but the Lord in love and mercy,
reached forth his hand and he touched him. The Lord Jesus Christ,
who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, he reached
forth his hand and he touched this leper. No one else could do that. For
anyone else to touch that leopard, he no doubt came down shouting,
I'm unclean, I'm unclean, just so people could scatter and get
away from him. But not the Lord. He touched
him. He touched him in his goodness
and his grace. In his mighty healing power,
he reached forth his hand and he touched him and he said, I
will. Be thou clean." And Scripture says this immediately. Think about that. Immediately. His leprosy was cleansed. You know the high priest, he
could have went to the high priest and they could have done a few
things and he could have pronounced him clean. The Lord Jesus Christ cleansed
him. He declared him to be clean. Purge me. Purge me with hyssop,
and I shall be clean. Wash me, and I shall be whiter
than the snow. Are you in need of cleansing? Then come boldly. Come boldly
to the throne of grace to obtain mercy and find help in time of
need. Here's a second example of a
man in need. Here we read of a beggar. Turn
with me to Luke chapter 18. Luke 18. Look at verse 35. Luke 18, 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. And they told him that Jesus
of Nazareth passeth by, And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou son
of David, have mercy on me. And they which went before rebuked
him that he should hold his peace. But he cried out so much more,
thou son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stood, and he
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 he followed him glorifying God and all the people when they
saw it, they gave praise unto God. There was no other explanation
concerning what happened here. Now here we read of a beggar
and this is his condition. He's blind. He's blind. I read somewhere that the Lord
healed more blind people than any other ailment in scripture. Blind. Again, a clear picture
of us. Blind to our lost estate. Blind to our sin. Blind to the
wrath to come. Blind to the gospel. For a person that's blind, it
could be something just right in front of them. Think about
that. Right in front of them and they
can't see it. We have family. We have loved ones. We have neighbors. Those that we would, more than
anything in this world, desire that they see this gospel that
the Lord has revealed to us, this gospel that we love. Yet they can't. They're blind
to it. And that's where they'll remain
until the Lord's pleased and mercy to open their eyes, just
like He did every one of you who know the gospel. He has to reveal that. And in this passage, we see a
picture here again of another sinner. Again, by nature, we're
blind and we must be brought from darkness to light, from
the power of sin and Satan to God, to the living God. And here,
blind Bartimaeus sits by the wayside. I find it interesting,
he starts out begging alms. That's his desire. He wants somebody
to come and put some change in his hand. His concern, just like the rest
of us, huh? This flesh. No regard for eternity. No regard
for this soul. Isn't that a picture of our natural
state? Taken up with the things of this
world. But then we read this, the Lord passed by. Jesus of Nazareth passes by. The Lord in mercy is passing
by. And in the presence of the Lord,
Bartimaeus goes from begging alms to begging for mercy. That's our need, isn't it? Mercy. And those around him, they tried
to silence him. Can't you just see that? Bartimaeus,
trying to hush him. But he wouldn't be silenced.
In fact, he cried out louder and louder. He said, Jesus, thou
son of David, have mercy on me. Bartimaeus is in need. And he
cries out for mercy and the Lord hears that cry. And he doesn't just hear, he
answers. He answers that cry and he says
this, what shall I do for you? Bartimaeus, what is your need? And he says to the Lord that
I may receive my sight. And what happened? Immediately. Immediately he received his sight,
given more than his heart could ever desire. The Lord who's able
to do abundantly, more than we could ever think or ask. I ask
you, is there any question Bartimaeus was in need? He came boldly. When? In time of need. Well, third. Third, we see a woman in need
of healing. Turn with me to Luke chapter
8. Luke chapter 8. Look at verse
43 of Luke 8. Luke 8, look at verse 43, a woman having an issue of blood
for 12 years, which she had spent all of her living upon physicians,
and neither could she be healed of any, and she came behind him,
she came behind the master, and she touched the border of his
garment, And immediately, immediately her issue of blood
was stanched. Now here we read of this woman.
She'd had this issue of blood and she had suffered. She'd suffered
this condition for 12 years. I can tell you, I can think of
my own impatience. You know, a headache goes on
for an evening or something. This woman had suffered for 12
years. Any question, any question, she
was in need. Again, this is another picture
of sin. This issue of blood, by the law, that would have made
her unclean. And she spent everything she
had everything she had trying to rid herself of this illness. But she couldn't. In Mark's account,
it says that she suffered many things from many physicians. She spent all that she had. And what happened? She was nothing
bettered. In fact, Not only was she nothing
better, she only grew worse. How many, how many are conscious
of sin but ignorant of the cure? How many would look to our works
of righteousness to save us? To look to outward religious
duty to save us? I've heard of men and women coming
up and standing in front of the church and pretty much just telling
the whole world of every sin they ever committed. I just think that'd be awful. They pray to a God. This is what
Scripture says. They pray to a God that cannot
save. And that's a little g, okay?
They pray to a God that cannot save. not without their help,
not without their obedience. We read our Lord, He chastised
the scribes and Pharisees. He said they compassed land and
sea to make one proselyte, and when he's made, what's the result
of that? He's two-fold more the child of hell than when he first
started. Worse off, worse off than they
were to begin with. Going from no hope to a false
hope. What's the result of that? Men
resting in their works, men resting in the deeds of the law for salvation.
Well, it's the same as this woman here. She spent everything she had
trying to be healed of this ailment, and she was nothing better. She
only grew worse. But you know, after years of
suffering, she hears of the Lord Jesus Christ. And she says this,
if I can just touch the hem of his garment. I love that song. Reach out,
reach out and touch the Lord as he passes by. That's what
this woman did. She reached out and she touched
the Lord. He touched her, didn't he? She came behind him in the crowd,
maybe knowing something of her sin, knowing something of her
need, conscious of her condition. She didn't even want to be seen
by him. And she reaches out and she touched
his garment. I ask you, what happened? What happened? She touched the
hem of his garment and immediately, Immediately the issue of blood
was stanched. Immediately she was healed. That's beyond imagination, isn't
it? God's Word declares He is able
to save to the uttermost them that come to God by Him. Now all three of these examples
They share a common problem. Every one of them are pictures
of a sinner in need, a leper in need of cleansing, a beggar
in need of mercy, a sick woman in need of healing. They all came boldly. Now, that
word boldly, don't get that confused with arrogance, okay, or a haughty
spirit. They came boldly. Think about
that leper. What did he say? If you will,
if you will, you can make me whole. What about that beggar? What did he do? He simply cried
out for mercy. Have mercy on me. This sick woman
in need of healing, this issue of blood, what did she do? She didn't even come in front
of him. She came in from behind him and just touched the hem
of his garment. Come boldly. Come boldly. Again, not arrogantly, but without
fear. Without fear. Listen. He's gracious. It's a throne
of grace. It's not a throne of justice. It's a throne of grace. And you know what? I read of
every one of these that came to Him, what did they receive? Mercy. They found help in time
of need. Matthew 15 verse 30. Let me just
read this to you. It says that great multitudes
came to Him. They didn't come to the front
of the church. They came to Him. They came to the Lord Jesus Christ. Having them that were, listen,
blind. and dumb and maimed and many
others. And I can tell you this, this
was a description of all of them, they were all in need. And they
cast him down at the Savior's feet. And Scripture declares
this, He healed them. He healed them. We started the service reading
from Luke 9-11. It says the people followed him
and he received them and he spake to them concerning the kingdom
of God and he healed them. He healed a particular group
of people. He healed them that had need
of healing. Listen to the words of this hymn.
Let not conscience make you linger, nor fitness fondly dream. All
the fitness he requires is this. What? To feel your need of him. Has the Lord revealed that to
you? Has he revealed to you your need
of him? There's one thing to do. Let
us Therefore, come boldly that we might obtain mercy and find
grace to help when in time of need. I pray the Lord would cause
us to see our sin, cause us to see him, cause us to flee to
him, cause us to rest in him and him alone. All right.