I'm reading a passage of scripture
this morning from the book of Hebrews, the 4th chapter. I'll be reading verse 16. Now,
in a few moments I'll go back and read the 14th and 15th verse,
but this is my text, verse 16 of Hebrews 4. Our subject today
is boldness at the throne, boldness at the throne. Paul says in Hebrews
4, 16, Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace. that we may obtain mercy and
find grace to help in times of need. Now, I believe I speak
for many of you when I say that I want to learn to pray. Don't
you? I want to learn not just to say
words or to go through a ceremony, but I want to genuinely and sincerely
learn to pray. I want to learn how to pray,
and I want to learn the things for which to pray. I realize
that much of what we call prayer today is not prayer at all, and
confidentially it leaves me questioning its sincerity and its effectiveness. Prayer is more than asking and
receiving. I know there's a famous book
by a famous preacher that's been out many years entitled Prayer,
Asking and Receiving. But my friends, I'm convinced
that this thing of prayer is much more than just asking and
receiving. It's much more than just petitions
for blessings and benefits. Most prayers that we pray and
most prayers that we hear can be summed up in one word, give
me, give me. Lord, give me. I want this, I
want that. Give me this or give me that.
But the word of God teaches us that prayer is not just asking
and receiving. Prayer is worship. It's the worship
of the Lord. Prayer is thanksgiving. Paul
tells us that, that we are to offer supplication with thanksgiving. In everything he said, give thanks.
This is the will of God for you. And then I'm convinced that prayer
is not only worship and giving of thanks, but prayer is praise,
just praising the Lord, praising His attributes, praising His
glory, praising His mercy, praising His presence, praising the Lord.
I think it might be summed up in one word. Prayer can be summed
up in this word, communion. Communion with God, or fellowship
with God. John writes about that in the
first chapter of 1 John. He says, our fellowship is with
the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. You know, I believe
that's the only way that you can sum up prayer in the light
of these scriptures. The scripture tells us to pray
without ceasing. Now, if prayer is only asking
and receiving, you can get that job done pretty quickly. If you
need something, you can just ask God for it, and then the
matter is settled. But if prayer is worship, then
we worship without ceasing. If prayer is praise, then we
praise God always. We rejoice in the Lord always,
the writer of Scripture says. We rejoice in the Lord. If prayer
is worship, thanksgiving, praise, communion, fellowship with God,
then we can pray without ceasing. Paul said men ought always to
pray. And then our Lord continued all
night in prayer. If prayer is only asking and
receiving, why should the Master spend all night long in prayer? But prayer is more than asking
and receiving. It's more than just seeking benefit. It's more than just offering
petitions to God. It's the worship of the Lord.
It's a continual attitude of thanksgiving before God, an attitude
of praise. It's a continual fellowship and
communion with God. And then prayer occupies a most
important part in the life of a believer. Old John Bunyan wrote
this years and years ago, and John Bunyan was a man of worship
a man of prayer. He said prayer is the breath
of a believer. Prayer is the breath of a believer.
He added, you might sooner expect a natural man to live without
breathing as to expect a believer to live without praying. Saul
of Tarsus was converted. Saul the Pharisee was brought
to the knowledge of Christ. And the Lord sent a messenger
to Saul by the name of Ananias. Ananias was already a believer.
And he told Ananias, he said, I want you to go to a street
called Strait. There's a man, Saul of Tarsus,
who's been converted, a notorious Pharisee. And Ananias said, Lord,
I've heard about this man. I've heard how he persecuted
the church. I heard how he took men and women out of their homes
and put them in prison. I heard how he hated the name
of Christ and the church and the gospel. But the Lord said
to him, Ananias, you go to the strait called strait, and you
minister to this man Saul of Tarsus, for behold, now listen,
he prayed. For behold, he prayed. This was the greatest evidence
that Saul of Tarsus had been genuinely converted because now
he was praying. And then it's because of the
supreme importance of prayer in communion with our Lord that
we find so much about this matter in the scripture. I suppose you
find as much about prayer in the Word of God as any other
subject. And then our Lord called his
house the house of prayer. He said, My house shall be called,
not the house of entertainment, not the house of socializing,
but the house of prayer. Thy house is called a house of
prayer, a solemn and holy place. O let us, Lord, thy presence
share. while before thy throne of grace. With holy boldness may we come,
though of a sinful race, thankful to find there's always room for
us at the throne of grace. Listen to my text again in Hebrews
4, 16. Let us, therefore, come boldly unto the throne of grace,
that we may find mercy and grace to help in time of need. Now
let's break this down. I want to offer you some suggestions
about this matter of fellowship with God and communion with God
and coming before the Lord. I want to speak to myself as
well as to you this morning. And let's deal with five things.
First of all, where do we come? It is said that we come to a
throne of grace. Well, who is invited to come?
It's let us come. Let us, therefore, come boldly. And then how do we come? boldly
before the throne of grace. Why do we come? Why do we come
to the throne of grace? That we may obtain mercy, that
we may find grace to help in time of need. And then last of
all, I'm going to speak about the basis on which we come. What
right do we have to be there at all? What right do you and
I have to come into the holy presence of God Almighty? Now
let's look at these five things. From Hebrews chapter 4, verse
16, Paul said, Let us therefore come boldly. unto the throne
of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help
in time of need." Now, the first question is this. Where do we
come? Let us come boldly unto the throne
of grace. We're talking about the presence
of God. Now, back in the Old Testament,
under the law, there was a tabernacle. And in that tabernacle, there
was a holy place and a holy of holies. And in that holy of holies
was an arch. the Ark of the Covenant. In that
Ark was Moses' law, the tables of stone, there was Aaron's rod
that budded, and there was the pot of manna. But over the top
of that Ark was a solid gold mercy seat. And over that mercy
seat, the cherubim, facing the center of it. And over the cherubim,
the Shekinah glory of God Almighty. In other words, this small space,
only 15 feet by 15 by 15, In this small space dwelt the presence
of God Almighty. This was where God met men and
men met God. It was a picture of the presence
of God. It was actually a type of the presence of God. But into
this most awesome and holy place, the high priest came once a year
into the very presence of God, into the very awesome presence
of God whose name is holy and reverent. And that high priest
would come under the veil into the Holy of Holies only once
a year, bringing the blood of atonement, the sacrifice. Also
the censer with the incense burning, and the smoke would fill that
place. But he came into the very presence of God only once a year,
the great high priest with the atonement. Now, but when our
Lord died on the cross, that veil in the temple was rent in
two. The Scripture says from the top to the bottom, not a
small space torn from the side or even from the bottom to the
top, but as if God himself had taken that veil and torn it in
two, an opening for us into the presence of God, into the Holy
of Holies, opening for us an entrance into the presence of
God. And that's where we come. Where the high priest could only
come once a year, we can come every day. That's what we're
saying. It's the presence of God. Let us come boldly unto
the throne of grace, which is literally the presence of God. But I must suggest two things.
And let us remember, where do we come? We come to a throne.
It is a throne. Now, I know God is our Father,
and we cry, Abba, Father. And we have a relationship with
him as sons of God. But don't ever forget, we come
to the throne. A king sits on the throne. Isaiah
said in chapter 6, verse 1, in the year that King Uzziah died,
I saw the Lord, high and lifted up, sitting on a throne. His train, or his glory, filled
the temple. And the cherubims and seraphims
cried, Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God Almighty. My friends, when
we pray, or when we worship, or when we give thanks or praise
God, or when we come into His presence, let us always know
that though we're coming into the presence of our Father, we're
also coming into the presence of the King of kings and the
Lord of lords. He is God. And the scripture
tells us the Lord is in his holy temple, let all the earth keep
silence before him. And it says in Ecclesiastes,
don't be hasty to utter anything before the Lord. He's infinite,
eternal, unchangeable, sovereign, mighty over all. One of the great
old writers said, you're coming to the king. You're coming to
the King, large petitions with you bring, for his grace and
power such that none can ever ask too much. We're coming to
a throne. Don't ever forget that. When
we offer prayer or praise or thanksgiving or whatever, let
us remember that this is the presence of the Lord God of the
universe. But thank God it's a throne of
grace. I never get tired of that word grace. Grace is the choice
word in the description of communion with God. It's all of grace.
If this were only a throne of justice, how terrified I would
be to come, because I'm guilty. I'd feel just like Job when he
said, Lord, I've heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but
now mine eyes see of thee. Wherefore I hate myself, I abhor
myself. I repent in sackcloth and ashes.
Thank God it's not a throne of justice. to which we come. No,
is it a throne of power? If it were only a throne of power,
like Daniel, we would say our strength melted into corruption. It's not only a throne of wisdom,
though it is a throne of wisdom. And yet not only a throne of
wisdom, because we'd have to say, what are we doing here?
How foolish we are. The wisdom of man is foolishness
with God. If it were only a throne of holiness,
we'd be like Isaiah, woe is me, woe is me. I am undone. I am a man of unclean lips, and
I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. Where do we
come? We come to a throne, but thank God it's a throne of grace. Grace for the guilty, grace for
the helpless, grace for the weak, grace for the sinful, grace for
the needy. God has grace, and he delights
to show mercy. That's what the Scripture says.
He delights in mercy. He's merciful. I will be merciful,
he said. I will be gracious. So that's
where we come. All right, the second thing about
this thing of prayer or worship or fellowship or communion with
God, who is invited to come? Now just who is invited to come? Well, it says, let us. Let us. Paul didn't say, come to the
throne of grace. He didn't say, go to the throne
of grace. He said, let us come to the throne of grace. You know
who's writing these words? Some of you are reluctant to
worship and reluctant to pray and reluctant to approach God.
because of your sin, because of your feeling of unrighteousness,
unworthiness. You know who this man is that's
writing these words? You say, Paul. I know, but he was Saul
of Tarsus. You remember? He was Saul of
Tarsus. He was the man who hated the
name of Christ. He was the man who consented
to the death of Stephen and held the clothes of those who stoned
this godly man. Saul of Tarsus was the man who
persecuted the church. He said, I was a blasphemer.
I was injurious. Saul of Tarsus is the man who
styled himself the chief of sinners. That's who says to you and to
me, let us come boldly before the throne of grace. So we should
certainly be able to summon up enough courage to come to the
throne in such company, a man of like passion and needs and
guilt as we. Let us, that's what Paul says,
let us come to the throne of grace. And here's another thing
about this invitation. He's not only speaking for himself
and for you and me, but he's writing under the power and direction
of the Holy Spirit. This is the word of God. This
invitation just comes not only from an apostle, but it comes
from the Spirit of God himself. You need not question the authority
of the invitation. Let us. Let us. And I, sinners
in need of God's mercy, let us come to the throne of grace.
Now here's the third thing. Where do we come? We come to
the throne. It's the very presence, the awesome
presence of God. Don't ever forget that. Let us,
you and me, ordinary people, we don't have to be a priest
or a preacher. We don't have to be a bishop or an elder. We
don't have to be a cardinal or the chief in the church. Let
us come boldly. How do we come boldly? Let us
come boldly." Now, brethren, let's not mistake the meaning
of that word, boldly. We do not come proudly. We do
not come proudly, God forbid. I think every one of us ought
to study the prayers of Abraham in Genesis 18. Jot that down,
Genesis 18. When God told Abraham he was
going to destroy the city of Sodom, Abraham began to intercede
for that wicked city. He began to approach the presence
of God on behalf of the people of Sodom. His nephew Lot was
there, his family. And Abraham began to pray for
Sodom. You remember he asked God if
he found 50 righteous men, would he spare the city, and then 40,
30, 20, 10? Well, every time, if you read
Genesis 18, you'll find that every time that Abraham approached
God, he would approach God with these words, Behold, behold,
I have taken upon me to speak to the Lord. I am but dust and
ashes. O Lord, let me come into thy
presence. Consider me not proud nor presumptuous. I have taken
upon myself to speak to the Lord." See the humility? He came boldly
but not proudly. And then this word boldly does
not mean arrogantly. I hear some prayers today and
there's a taste of arrogancy and presumption and pride. It
is a throne. We are his servants, and he is
the king. And we come humbly. And even
our Lord Jesus Christ, when he prayed, said, not my will, but
thy will be done. I believe the word boldly might
be translated this way. I mean, I believe it might rightly
mean, first of all, to come boldly into the very presence of God
before the throne of grace would be to feel free to come at all
times. You're always welcome. That's
a boldness, to always feel welcome. There are places where you go
that you just open the door and walk in. Anytime, you just feel
welcome, a part of the family, you walk right in. There are
other places where you stand outside and knock and even then
hesitate to come in. But a boldness, you have a boldness
of friendship. And he said, come at all times.
And then secondly, I believe the word boldly also might mean
come freely with simple words. I wonder if our children petitioned
us like we do God in the same vein what we would think about
it. For example, one of our children
comes to us and he needs a new pair of shoes. And he says, Father,
whereas I am your son, and whereas you are my father, and whereas
you have the means and the facilities to supply my need, and whereas
I am in need of certain things, and whereas I have to have a
pair of shoes, I wonder if you could take it upon yourself to
supply me with the means to purchase a new pair of shoes. You'd say,
son, what in the world's the matter with you? Have you lost
your mind? No, we go to the Father, and we say, Dad, I need some
new shoes. These have holes in them, just
in simple, everyday words. Why don't we pray like that,
with simple words? We listen to our children. They
talk to us. They may be two or three or four
years old and butcher the King's English, but we think every word
is precious and cute. And we're just glad to do what
they say. A little fella can't even ask for a glass of water.
He just mumbles what he thinks is water. And everybody just
gets so happy about it and runs and grabs a glass and gives him
a glass of water. Listen, he asks for water. Let's
come to God in prayer in simple, everyday words. We're not heard
for our much speaking. We're not heard for our eloquence.
We're not heard because of the number of our words. We're heard
for the sincerity, the sincerity of heart from which that prayer
comes. And then I believe the word boldly
might mean this, hopefully, expecting. If we expect great things from
God, we'll receive great things. He said, if your child asks for
bread, would you give him a stone? If he asks for meat, would you
give him a serpent? Well, if you being evil know
how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall
the Father give good things to them that ask Him? Come hopefully
and expectantly. And then I believe we should
come perseveringly. Bold, it means to stay around,
don't leave. You know the scripture that says,
ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and
it shall be opened unto you, really is translated, I think
in a better translation, keep on asking, keep on seeking, keep
on knocking. For example, Jacob said, Lord,
I will not let thee go, except thou bless me, just as I am,
without one plea, but that thy blood was shed for me, O Lamb
of God, I come to thee. just as I am, and waiting not
to rid my soul of one dark blot, but that thy blood will cleanse
each spot, O Lamb of God, I come." Come boldly. Now, here's the
fourth question. Why do we come? Why do we come? Do you feel your need to come
into God's presence? Do you feel your need to come
boldly to the throne of grace? I do. And here's a twofold reason
to come. First of all, that we may obtain
mercy, M-E-R-C-Y, mercy. And my friend, this is the first
matter on the agenda. This is the first order of business.
In worship, prayer, praise, thanksgiving, rejoicing, fellowship, communion,
whatever, we have no place speaking with God on any other matter
until this question of sin has been settled. I need mercy. You need mercy. Ruined sinners
need mercy, and redeemed sinners need mercy. We need mercy to
forgive our sins. We need mercy to put away our
transgressions. We need mercy to make us acceptable
in the beloved. We need the mercy of God. And
this mercy is in Christ. God can receive us and hear us
and grant mercy unto us because Christ Jesus, our Lord, has come
to this earth in the flesh and borne away our transgressions
and put away our sins and paid for our iniquity and honored
the holy law for us and sacrificed the justice of God. So God can
be just and justifier. He can be merciful and righteous.
I want mercy. We come to God's presence to
obtain mercy. Mercy, not justice. If thou,
O Lord, shouldst mark iniquity, who would stand? If God gives
us what we deserve, we'll perish. But mercy is God giving us what
we do not deserve, and grace is God not giving us what we
do deserve. And then the second thing, that
we may obtain grace, obtain mercy and grace to help us in our time
of need. When is your time of need? Well,
I'll tell you this, every hour of every day, every moment, in
every way, I need His grace. I need grace to live. I need
grace to forgive. I need grace to love and grace
to labor. I need grace to rejoice, always,
even in time of trial. I need grace to walk with Christ
and walk by faith and not by sight. I need grace to understand
his words. I need grace. I need grace right
now. Grace to preach. Grace to understand
the scriptures. Grace to feel a compassion and
affection for those to whom I preach. I need grace. You need grace.
Every hour, every moment of every day, we need the grace of God.
So let us, Paul said, let us therefore come boldly, frequently,
at all times, freely, perseveringly, hopefully, expectantly, to the
very presence of God that we may obtain mercy. That's where
mercy is obtained in the presence of God. That's where grace is
received for our time of need from the hand of God. He's the
source of grace. He's the source of mercy and
the only source. It was grace that taught my heart
to fear, and grace my fears relieved. How precious did that grace appear
the hour I first believed. Now last of all, on what basis
do we come? I said we go to the throne, the
very presence of God, to obtain mercy, to find grace to help.
On what basis? Paul said, let us therefore.
Let us therefore. See that little word, therefore?
When you find the word therefore in the scripture, read the preceding
verses, the verses above it, to see what it's there for. Now
you can remember that. That's very simple. When you
find the word therefore, see what it's there for. So we go
back to two verses, as I suggested at the beginning of this message.
Let us therefore. What has he said before that
that gives us a reason to come to the throne of grace or a right
to come? What right do we have to come
into God's presence? Verse 14, seeing that we have a great high
priest. Now, my friends, the high priest
was always chosen of God, Aaron, Levi, and their son. And the
high priest always had a sacrifice, a sin offering and atonement.
And Jesus Christ is our high priest. He's a high priest forever
after the order of Melchizedek. He is our high priest. And seeing
we have a high priest, we have a representative, we have a mediator,
we have an advocate, Jesus Christ. And it says in verse 14, he is
passed into the heavenlies. He's not in the holy place made
with hands. He's entered into heaven itself
to appear in the presence of God for us, not with the blood
of an animal, but with his own precious blood. And it says in
that verse, he is even Jesus, the Son of Man, and the Son of
God, the God-man. You see what right we have to
come into his presence? We have a high priest who is
seated at the right hand of God. It's even Jesus Christ, listen,
who can be touched with a feeling of our infirmities, for he was
tempted as we are, and yet without sin. Because our high priest
loves us and understands us. He knows your need. He knows
your sins. He knows your heart. He knows your trials. He knows
your temptations. He was a man, too, yet without sin. So let
us boldly, because we have a high praise, come into God's presence.
And we'll obtain mercy, and we'll find grace to help in time of
need. Now, then, I have two messages
on this cassette tape. It's a small cassette tape. And
if you want this message, Boldness at the Throne, and the one I'll
preach next week on Christ in the Old Testament, write to me.
The address will be given to you. Until next week, may God
bless you, everyone. Then sing, my God, my Savior
God, to Thee. How great Thou art! How great Thou art! You have just heard a sermon
by Henry Mahan, pastor of the 13th Street Baptist Church of
Ashland, Kentucky. Address all correspondents to
Henry Mahan, Box 1700, Ashland, Kentucky.