PRAYING BEFORE THE THRONE II
HEB. 4:16
There was once a young lady who occasionally walked through the park after work. One afternoon she stopped to have her picture taken by a photographer on this particular day. She was very excited about her picture being taken with the sky line in the background. As she walked out of the park, the Polaroid picture slowly began to become clear. She looked at the picture in total amazement. She turned and headed back to the camera man. When she got their she stated, "this is not right! this is not right! you have done me no justice!" The photographer looked at the picture and looked at her and stated, "Miss, you don’t need justice, what you need is mercy."
Thus is our relationship with God. If God dealt with us justly none of us would be here today. Sometimes we think we look good, but if we look at the real picture under the microscope of God’s eye, justice is not what we really want, what we want and what we need is grace and mercy.
Each one of here this morning ought to realize what a wonderful amazing thing the grace of God is. Without we would not even exist. It is by the grace of God we have our being, it is by the grace of God we have all that we have. We have no right to complain about anything, because it all comes to us through God’s grace. The good and what we see as bad. God owes us nothing, and what we have comes by grace. Grace is something that none of us can do without, whether we have acknowledged Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour or not, we are totally dependent on God’s grace for every breath we take.
With that said today I want to talk to about the grace of God. We are going to be continuing to look at the passage we started looking at last week. Heb. 4:16. If you would please turn with me to that passage. That is page 1037 in your pew Bibles. Heb. 4:16; “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Last week we spoke on the fact that it is a “throne” that we are called to approach and that a throne denotes royalty. While the we are to approach the Lord as our Heavenly Father we must not lose sight of the fact that He is also King, even more so King of kings and Lord of lords!
Today I want to focus on the what type of throne our great King sits upon, that is a throne of grace.
Let that sink in for a moment. We called to a throne of Grace. It is not a throne of law, not a throne of works, but a throne of grace.
If you want a throne of law go back to the OT. If you read that account of the Lord coming down to Mt. Sinai, His very presence is upon that mount, it becomes in essence the throne of God, yet it is a throne of law. And because it is a throne law no one but Moses and Aaron who are sanctified by God is allowed to go before the throne of God.
Listen to what God states In Exo. 19 regarding the throne of Law, Mt. Sinai, "You shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, ’Take heed to yourselves that you do not go up to the mountain or touch its base. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. Not a hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot with an arrow; whether man or beast, he shall not live.”
The throne of law could never be approached by mankind because we are utterly unable to keep the righteousness of God. We could never keep the law. Yet there are some who still think they can.
What about you? Do you believe that you can keep the law? Do you believe that you can approach God through your own righteousness. Righteousness that is like filthily rags to the Lord. My friends do not think that you can be saved by keeping the law. Do not think that you can be saved by doing good works, by obeying the standards that you have set for yourself. You are not good enough to get into heaven, you are not good enough to stand before the perfect holiness of God.
Just as the Israelite people were not worthy to approach Mt Sinai, the throne of Law, neither are you worthy on your own merits to approach the God.
But praise be to God that Jesus Christ as changed that. It is no longer a throne of law, but a throne of grace. Through Jesus Christ it is not throne of law, a throne which we could never approach, but it is now a throne of grace, which we are called to boldly approach.
What do you want justice which came by the law, or grace and mercy which come through the blood of Jesus Christ?
While the throne of grace is a throne of justice, we who are under the blood of Christ are justified by faith.
Listen to Romans 3:28, “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.” Again in Rom. 3:24; “being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,”
Through Christ justice as been meant. You can come to the throne of grace through the blood of Jesus Christ and received mercy and grace. Or you can come unwillingly on your own merits and received justice. Which is eternal damnation.
You may not like the sound of that. But there is only two ways to be justified (that is to say two ways by which justice is meant), through confession and faith in the blood of Jesus Christ to cleanse you from all sin, or you can be justified by spending and eternity separated from God.
Those are the only options given in the word of God.
Will you join in with me and praise God that through Christ it is a throne of grace. The very purpose of the throne is to dispense grace. A throne from which every utterance is an utterance of Grace. The very decrees that are proclaimed from that throne are decrees of grace. The gifts that flow from the throne are gifts of grace. The one who sits on that throne is grace itself.
Praise God that it is not an unapproachable throne of law, it is not a throne of wrath, it is not a throne of keeping an account of good and bad, but it is for the believer in Christ, for those washed in the blood of Christ a throne of grace. Amen?
Because it is a throne of grace when I come to the throne in prayer that faults of prayer will be cleansed. Many time when we prayer our prayers are not what they ought to be. Many times, may I say most times our prayers are full of sin. Filled with unholy intentions, and selfish desires. Filled with desires of our own will and not the will of the Father. Our prayers are at times nothing more the stammerings, as our thoughts drift, as we focus not on God but on things of the world. Let us understand that our prayers are filled with faults.
If we were to see our best prayer through perfect and holy eyes, we would cry at such utterances.
But as I stated we come not the throne of law, for were it throne of law the Lord we have no choice but to spurn a faulty prayer. Because it is the throne of grace and mercy there is hope for our lame and limping prayers. Our petitions will not be dismissed in disgrace, but because they have been sprinkled with the blood of the lamb, they reach the ears the King of heaven, the reach the ears of the One who sits in majesty on the throne of grace.
Let us praise God that we do pray to the One who sits on a throne of grace, that every prayers is heard no matter how mangled it may be. Let us praise God that through the blood of Jesus Christ, every one of God’s childrens voice it heard as it accents up to heaven, and reaches that wonderful, magnificent, throne of grace.
Again because it is a throne of grace and not of law the faults of the petitioner himself shall prevent the success of his prayer.
The word of God tells us in Roman 3:23; “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Even after we are saved we still fall short of the glory of God. That situation does not change. For it is imputed righteousness of Christ by which we can come to the throne grace. We come not on our own merits. Because we are justified by Christ we can be sure that our sin will not hinder our prayers.
Because it is a throne of grace I can say to you go before it, go to the throne in prayer. Because through grace God does not look at you as you are, a sinner that falls short of His glory, but He looks at you as He looks at His Son, Holy, without blemish, perfect. He looks not at you in your sinful states, but He looks at the imputed righteousness of Christ in you.
As Paul states in Gal. 2:17; “But if while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have also been found to be sinners, is Christ then one who encourages sin? Absolutely not!” Paul goes on in verse 20; “I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So the life I now live in the body, I live because of the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
We live through Christ, and because it is a throne of grace and not of law, our prayers accent to the heaven through the blood of Christ, and will not be hindered by our sin which as been taken care of through Christ.
To you who have never professed Christ as Lord and Saviour. What better place to confess Him then before the throne of grace and mercy. Go to the throne of grace confessing your sin, because there you will not find an accusing finger, but you will find forgiveness. If you go to the throne of grace and confess your sin you will not find wrath, but mercy. There is a place for you before the throne of grace. By simple faith go to your Saviour, go and find the grace that flows from His throne. Profess Jesus as Lord and Saviour before the throne of grace and receive the eternal life that flows from that throne.
If you have never trusted in Jesus hear the call that goes out to you today, go “boldly to the throne of grace, that “you” may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Trust in the Lord of grace today.
Also because it is a throne of grace we have to bring nothing to the throne, nor is there anything we can bring other then ourselves.
In times past when one came before a king or queen one might bring something to impress them. One might bring something that might please the king so that he may grant to you a favor.
With the King of heaven there is no such dealings. We have nothing to bring Him that would move His hand. We have nothing to bring Him that He would be so impressed by that He might grant out request.
For our request are heard not because we have something of value to bring the King our request are heard because we are in Christ.
It is a throne of grace, a throne by which countless of undeserved blessing flow. We cannot say we come to the throne of grace, while we bring something to bargain with. That insults the meaning of grace. We must realize that we have NOTHING to bring.
Many times we think God has to bless if we to this for Him. We come to the throne of grace bringing our obedience with the thought of “I have done this, now God has to bless me.”
Sometime we come with just the opposite frame of mind, “I have sinned, therefore I have no right to come to the throne”.
My friends it is a throne of grace. If it were a throne of works then we could bring our works to God, if it were a throne of works then we would have no right to come to the throne because we have sinned.
But it is a throne of GRACE. God is not obligated to bless our obedience. And obedience should never be done with the thought of if I do this God has to that. Obedience is an act of love, if it be anything else, it means nothing to God.
This is not a throne by which the King will say “You must bring me gifts”. This is not throne for receiving tribute, but this is a throne from which gifts flow. This is a throne by which all our needs our meant through unmerited favor. All our needs are meant at this throne not because we bring gift to the King, but through grace and grace alone.
So good people always remember that it is a throne of grace, not a throne which we stand before trying to impress the One who sits upon it, for there is nothing we can do to impress Him. It is throne a grace by which we stand before through the merits of another, our Lord Jesus Christ. What has impressed God is the perfect obedience of His Son.
Because it is a throne of grace we know that our desires will be interpreted. If I cannot find the words to communicate my desires and needs to the King, God by the grace He has given me through His Holy Spirit will read my desires without words.
God because He is so gracious to us will read the desires of our souls when we are unable to speak the words. How many of you have ever seen a parent when their child is trying to say something but just can’t seem to say it. The parent knows what the child is trying to say, but they will help them say the words, pronouncing each syllable with them. You all know what I am referring to.
So it is with the Holy Spirit of God, the Spirit of Grace. He will help us to pray, help us to say the words of our heart. The Spirit will write those desires on our heart.
Remember the promise of our Lord, “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever; the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.”
We cannot pray apart from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. For it is by the Spirit that the desires of the Father become our desires. It is by the Spirit of truth that we know what it is we must seek for. All Prayers must be Spirit lead prayers.
Keep in mind the words of Eph. 6:18; “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints;”
All our prayers must be prayers prayed “in the Spirit”.
The Spirit of Truth is the Alpha and Omega of our prayers, just as God is the Alpha and Omega of our salvation. Just as our salvation is from first to last all of grace, so is the sinners approach to the throne of God from first to last that of grace.
Because it is a throne of grace we can be sure that even though our prayers deficient in knowledge our heavenly Father, the King of Glory knows what we have need of. As Jesus reminds us in Matthew 6:7-8 “And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.”
While we may lack the knowledge of how and what to pray for through grace our King already knows before we even have asked.
If our prayers are deficient in faith we know that it is by grace, that it is not how much faith we have but the quality and sincerity of our faith. What matters is who we have faith in. Jesus states in Luke 17:6: “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ’Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”
It is by faith that we receive grace, and it is by grace that we are given gift of faith. Rom. 5:2 tells us; “through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”
In the end we know that no matter how deficient our prayers may be, no matter how deficient we may be, we come to throne of grace. We can only begin to see the wonders of that throne. We will not fully understand or comprehend it until we stand before it in glory.
In closing I just want to say that I did not get as far as I thought I would, so next we will finish up looking at this verse. In the mean time I would ask that you look over that verse this coming week. Meditate on it, let it soak in.
We have call to go boldly to the throne of grace, the very throne of God. Read that passage and understand what that means. The blessing of that, the honor of it. I pray that would praise God throughout this week for that throne of grace, and what it means to it. And I pray that you would obey this call. To go to the throne in prayer, every day. To seek that grace, seek that mercy.
I also pray that if you have never called upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, if you have never sought His grace, never sought His mercy. I pray today would be the day you make that commitment to Christ. That today would be the day you trust in the blood of Christ for eternal life.
LET US PRAY
