Enter the Throne Room

[0:00] I want to talk about entering into the throne room of God.! Entering into the throne room of God.!

[0:30] I can remember as a little boy going to the Tower of London and seeing the displays of crowns and crown jewels and maces and tiaras and crowns and thrones.

[0:54] And the dazzling impression that made on me. And likewise we can enter into the throne room of God.

[1:05] The throne room of God. And that's a wonder isn't it? That such as we can enter into the throne room of God. Not just a throne room of any earthly king or queen as high and mighty as they might be.

[1:21] But into the very throne room of Almighty God. The Almighty King. And Hebrews 4 verse 12 through 16 tells us of that.

[1:32] It says, The Word of God.

[1:50] Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight. But all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

[2:02] Seeing then that we have a great high priest that is passed into the heavens. Jesus the Son of God.

[2:12] Let us hold fast our profession. For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. But was in all points tempted.

[2:25] Like as we are. Yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace.

[2:36] That we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4 verse 16. Hebrews 4 verse 16. Let us therefore. Let us therefore.

[2:48] Hebrews 4 verse 16. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace. How do we, how are we to enter the throne room?

[2:59] Get bold. Get bold. Come boldly. Come boldly. Exactly. Come boldly unto the throne of grace. It says come boldly. There is a throne.

[3:10] Not just any throne. But the very throne of grace. The throne of God. We are called here to come boldly unto the throne of grace. Get bold. It says.

[3:22] Get bold. This throne to come to is a mercy seat to flee to. Seated thereon is a gracious king to speak with.

[3:37] Amen. Come boldly. Get bold. It tells us here. Christ. Our high priest is there. This high priest. This one who intercedes.

[3:48] He intervenes. He draws us in to the presence of the almighty. Our high priest. Our great high priest.

[3:59] Our Lord Jesus Christ. God. Man. The God man. Our great high priest. It tells us this great high priest is one such that he is one who can be touched with the feeling of our infirmities.

[4:18] You know it's like someone has said that he is God with skin on. Isn't he? It says in 1 Timothy 3.16. God was manifest in the flesh.

[4:33] Our Lord God clothed himself in human skin such that he has moved with the feelings of our infirmities. When we are going through some tough things.

[4:45] When we are going through testing and trial. Temptation. He has been there. He has been through the times of grief. He knows human emotion.

[4:57] There are times where he wept. He was hungry. He knows the human frailty as it were.

[5:08] He knows human pain. He feels the grief. The suffering. That we at times go through. We have not a high priest who cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities.

[5:24] He listens. He cares. He understands. This God who we know is moved. And Psalm 34.17. It says the righteous cry and the Lord heareth.

[5:38] And delivereth them out of all their troubles. What a promise. The righteous cry and the Lord heareth. We have admission into his presence.

[5:51] We have one who opens wide the door. He swings it wide open. This great high priest. We have admission. We have access. It tells us in Ephesians 1 verse 6.

[6:03] Paul says to the praise of his glory. To the praise of the glory of his grace he says. Wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

[6:14] Accepted. There is acceptance in Christ. We are accepted. No matter our standing or state. No matter our background.

[6:27] Our culture. Our lack. Our need. Our emptiness. We are accepted. In the beloved. In the beloved. In the beloved. And this word accepted.

[6:38] Some have defined it. As it stands. In the language that was pending. That this word. Occurs only one other time.

[6:50] In the New Testament. And that's. As it was in the words of the angel Gabriel to Mary. Hail thou. Hail thou. That art favoured. Highly favoured.

[7:01] The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou. Among women. The angel Gabriel says to Mary. Hail. Thou that art highly favoured. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou. Among women.

[7:12] The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women. And this word highly favoured is the same word accepted. Aren't we favoured?

[7:22] Aren't we blessed to be accepted? What a blessing. You're blessed. You're blessed. You're accepted in the beloved, in Christ, in the beloved Son, in the love, the Son of love, the beloved Son.

[7:39] God has accepted us. He has especially favoured us. And it speaks of a privilege and a blessing to think that we can enter into the very throne room of God.

[7:50] That's a blessing beyond words, isn't it? And as we pray, we can enter into the throne room of God and know that he has accepted us.

[8:03] He hears us and we have the privilege and blessing to be the object of divine love. The object of his love, the Father's love. It says in, there's an account of a woman who saw divine intervention in answer to prayer.

[8:21] And this woman, Cindy Hartman, is her name. And at one time, Cindy, a pastor's wife from Conway, Arkansas.

[8:35] Or Arkansas, they say. Don't they? Weird how some names get pronounced. But she's in Arkansas. And she had a divine intervention in answer to prayer.

[8:48] And in July 1994, Cindy was at home. And she was confronted by a pistol-wielding burglar. And she was confronted by a gunman.

[8:59] He came upon her with a pistol drawn. And this unknown man surprised her when she came in to answer the phone. And he ripped the cord from the wall and ordered her into a closet.

[9:13] Now, she was obviously fearful for her life. But she did not panic. And to the shock of the gunman, Cindy immediately fell to her knees and began to pray for God's help.

[9:27] And even more stunned was he when she boldly asked if she could pray for him. And she proceeded to tell him about Christ's love and expressed her forgiveness for his actions.

[9:42] Here was this robber. And she suddenly started praying for him. And praying for his forgiveness. And apparently, this was more than the robber bargained for.

[9:52] And he began to break into tears. As he knelt and prayed with her. And to her relief, the man then yelled out the window to a woman outside with a pickup truck.

[10:05] We've got to unload all of this stuff. This is a Christian home. And we can't do this to them. So Cindy remained on her knees in prayer. While her furniture was returned to the house.

[10:18] And the man then used a shirt to wipe off his fingerprints off the gun. Apologised and departed, leaving the gun behind. Prayer.

[10:30] Prayer. We enter into the throne room. The throne room of God. We can enter in through prayer.

[10:41] With an assurance and a boldness. Get bold. 1 John 5.14 It says, And this is the confidence that we have in him. That if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us.

[10:55] We can have a boldness in prayer. Knowing that we have a confidence that we have in him. That if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us.

[11:10] If we ask anything in accordance to his will. So get bold. Come boldly unto the throne of grace. And then get mercy.

[11:25] How do we... What do we have at the throne as we enter the throne room of God? We are to get bold and we are to get mercy.

[11:40] It says, Come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy. James 5.11 It says, Behold, we count them happy which endure. You have heard of the patience of Job.

[11:54] And have seen the end of the Lord. That the Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy. We see the patience of Job. His perseverance through trial.

[12:05] Through great testing. Job endured. And we see the Lord. And we see the Lord. With great pity and tender mercy.

[12:17] We can get mercy as we enter the throne room. In Psalm 100 verse 5. Psalm 100 verse 5. It says, For the Lord is good. His mercy is how long?

[12:29] Everlasting. And His truth endureth to all generations. Even till the 21st century. We have His truth. Amen. It endureth to all generations.

[12:40] For the Lord is good. His mercy is everlasting. And His truth endureth to all generations. His mercy. We can get mercy as we enter in.

[12:51] In Ephesians 2.4 in part it says, But God who is rich in mercy. For His great love wherewith He loved us. His mercy is rich.

[13:01] It's bountiful. It's overflowing. In Matthew 20.31-34. We read of our Lord walking by. And it says, And the multitude rebuked them.

[13:13] These ones crying out. Because they should hold their peace. But they cried the more. Saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, Thou Son of David. Have mercy on us, O Lord, Thou Son of David.

[13:26] And Jesus stood still. And called them and said, What will ye that I shall do unto you? And they say unto him, Lord, that our eyes may be opened.

[13:40] So Jesus had compassion on them. And touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight. And they followed him. They cried the more saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord.

[13:56] Get bold. Get mercy. As you enter the throne room of God. There's pardon there. There's forgiveness there. Mercy. Mercy. Mercy. There was a time where Napoleon was moved by a mother's plea for a pardon for her son.

[14:17] The emperor of Napoleon, you know, was the great judge of the time. The very firm leader of France of that time.

[14:30] And he had rule over life and death as the emperor of that time. And he was this man. It was the second offense. You know, he'd had his chance and blown it.

[14:43] He'd done it again. He'd broken the law again. And the mother came. Crying out for mercy to this awesome judge of the day.

[14:56] And the emperor said, It's the second offense. Justice demands death. The mother cried out, I do not ask for justice.

[15:11] I plead for mercy. But, said the emperor, He does not deserve mercy. Sire, cried the mother. I know, truly, he doesn't deserve mercy.

[15:26] If he deserved it, it would no longer be mercy. Mercy is all I ask for. And so, the mother's plea, her logic, her cry, prompted Napoleon to respond.

[15:43] Well then, I will have mercy. Mercy. Justice demands death. Sorry, justice demands death.

[15:57] Rather. Justice. The judgment of God. The wages of sin is death. Death. But the gift of God.

[16:09] The gift of God is eternal life. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. And mercy is a gift. Mercy is a gift given. Given. To those who do not deserve it.

[16:20] We do not deserve God's mercy. But, it's all the more reason why we need it. Amen. And so, Napoleon was moved. By the mother's request. He extended mercy.

[16:32] And likewise, our Lord. He extends mercy to us. As much as we do not deserve it. As much as we do not deserve it. There are many examples we could cite of such.

[16:45] But, there is nothing compares with his mercy. The mercy of God. The mercy of God. The mercy of God to undeserving sinners.

[16:57] The mercy of God. And so, as some have compared it. Grace and mercy. God does give us what we do not deserve.

[17:12] Grace. Grace.! Grace.

[17:37] Grace. Grace. Grace. condemned, we're rightly judged, guilty, yet in mercy he brings forgiveness to us, he grants forgiveness and pardon. And so we say get bold as we enter the throne room of God, get bold there, let's boldly go in, in confidence, knowing our Lord has promised admission, acceptance, access get bold, secondly get mercy, knowing that his rightful judgment is our condemnation yet he's given pardon. And so thirdly get grace, get grace the grace of God, grace that God does give us what we do not deserve, his love his favour, his blessing, the joy of being made sons and daughters of the living God that's grace. And so grace how can we picture that?

[18:48] Following the Civil War in America, the American Civil War there was a dejected Confederate soldier who was sitting outside the grounds of the White House they wouldn't let him in. And a young boy approached him and asked him, why are you so sad?

[19:16] And this soldier related how he had repeatedly tried to see President Lincoln to tell him he was unjustly deprived of certain lands in the South following the war.

[19:27] On each occasion, as he attempted to enter the White House, the guards crossed their bayonets in front of the door and turned him away. He wasn't allowed admission.

[19:38] The boy motioned to the soldier to follow him. And when they approached the guarded entrance, the soldiers came to attention, stepped back and opened the door for the boy.

[19:50] And he proceeded to the library where the President was resting. And he introduced the soldier to his father. The boy was Ted Lincoln, the President's son.

[20:03] And the soldier had gained an introduction, an audience with the President through the President's son. How much more for us? How much more for you? For me?

[20:16] That the son grants admission unto the Father, the Heavenly Father. How much more should we rejoice that we're granted access to the grace?

[20:30] To the grace of the King of Kings. You know, not everyone gets to go into Buckingham Palace. Not everyone gets to enter into the throne room, as it were.

[20:41] But the throne room of Heaven is the door is swung wide open for you that know Him, that know Him, that know the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

[20:55] And you are sons and daughters of the King that know Him. And we can find grace. Grace to help in time of need. Sometimes when we're in a time of need, we feel maybe God's far, far away.

[21:13] But He's never closer than at such a time. And grace is never more available as in such a time of need. Amen? The grace to help in time of need.

[21:26] So, if you're a needy saint, if there's a need, there's grace to help in such a time as this. Grace to help in time of need.

[21:37] Because in time of need, He's here. He's with you. A shelter in the time of storm. A shade from the heat. He hasn't left you. He's with you.

[21:48] He goes with you in the time of need. As the fourth man in the fire, as it were, in Daniel's day. That He is there through the thick and thin.

[21:59] He never leaves us nor forsakes us. Now, some people think that grace is somehow something we have to measure up to.

[22:12] That grace is something that we have to somehow earn or deserve. There's some people, Seventh-day Adventists for one, who think like this.

[22:26] They follow the teachings of a woman they elevate to, as it were, a prophet status.

[22:38] That her writings are so esteemed that they're considered virtually scripture. These sad people, the Seventh-day Adventists, make a great error in this.

[22:51] And this is what Ellen White wrote. Jesus has purchased redemption for us. It is ours, but we are placed here on probation to see if we will prove worthy of eternal life.

[23:06] So it's like you're kind of saved, but you've got to wait until you've done your probation, whether you pass the test, to see whether you're proved worthy. worthy of eternal life.

[23:19] Who can prove worthy of eternal life? Eternal life depends on proving worthiness, they say. But this is opposite to what the Bible says. Because our worthiness is not about what we do.

[23:34] It's about what he has done. What he has done. What he has done. And that's grace, isn't it? That's grace. It's grace from beginning to end.

[23:44] It's grace from alpha to omega. It's grace from the beginning to the ending. It's grace from the start to the finish. He's the author and finisher of our faith.

[23:56] Grace. It's grace from beginning to end. 100% grace. Not grace with our working for it or deserving of it or proving worthy of it.

[24:07] None of that. That's a lie. We need grace. Absolute. We need grace. 100% grace. And so God gives eternal life by his grace.

[24:20] And many still think a bit like that. Like that woman and like that belief system. That we've somehow got to measure up as if God measures us.

[24:35] As if God evaluates is our faith good enough. Trust him. Trust him.

[24:48] He who has begun a good work in you will complete it. He promises to. Psalm 46.1 It says God is our refuge and strength. A very present help in trouble.

[25:00] He's a God He gives grace to help. When? In time of need. Brother, sister, if you're going through some time of need there's grace to help.

[25:13] There's grace to help. Because God is our refuge and strength. A very present help in trouble. He's very present. In Psalm 62.8 it says Trust in him at all times you people.

[25:29] Pour out your heart before him. God is a refuge for us. Selah. Psalm 62.8 What does it say? Just to underline and repeat it and endeavor to print that in your mind in my mind in your heart.

[25:52] Trust in him when? At all times you people. Pour out your heart before him. God is a refuge for us. So when are we to trust him?

[26:04] In all times. Whatever you're going through. Brother, sister, at all times trust in him. Don't stop trusting him. Don't let your trust be dependent on how rosy life is for you, how easy it is, or how comfortable it is.

[26:21] At all times trust in him. I know that's an important word, isn't it? Trust. Trust, not in man, in him. In him. Ephesians 2, 5-9 it says, even when we were dead in sins, he hath quickened us together with Christ.

[26:38] By grace are you saved, and hath raised us up together with him, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace and his kindness towards us through Christ Jesus.

[26:55] For by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.

[27:08] Grace, the gift of God, saved by grace.! Someone has said, sin conquered man, grace conquered sin, therefore the power of grace is greatest.

[27:25] You know, you might feel, preacher, I'm conquered by sin. The truth is that grace conquered sin. You must trust his grace, walk in his grace, know the power of his grace.

[27:40] Another preacher said this, perhaps the most difficult task for us to perform is to rely on God's grace and God's grace alone for our salvation.

[27:51] It's difficult for our pride to rest on grace. Grace is for other people, for beggars. We don't want to live by a heavenly welfare system. We want to earn our own way and atone for our own sins.

[28:06] We like to think that we will go to heaven because we deserve to be there. That's a falsehood, isn't it? We like to think that we will go to heaven because we deserve to be there.

[28:22] So that makes us think, well, this one and that one, they don't deserve to be there. We're all equal in his sight. There's particular sins that are more blatant and more in the media of late, but all have sinned.

[28:40] All are undeserving. All our only plea can be his grace. We do not deserve to be there, but grace makes it happen.

[28:54] Amen? And friends, just to wrap up, we see the call to each one is the same as it was then. let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace.

[29:11] The doors are swung wide open. Don't stand back on the threshold. Don't stand timidly. Oh, can I come in? Get bold.

[29:23] Go to the throne room. Go to his throne. Come to his feet. Come into his presence. The doors swung wide open. There's no need to stand timidly outside.

[29:33] Get bold. Get mercy. Know that you're rightfully condemned in your natural state, yet mercy is extended.

[29:45] And get grace, his welcome, his pardon, his gift, his salvation. Know that it's all his working, that at the cross everything then was done for your saving.

[29:57] You simply have to trust that, that he has done. And he gives us newness of life. He gives us a new heart.

[30:10] He gives us a new will. He gives us a new direction. He gives us a new love. And the old have passed away. The old things have passed away. He changes us from the inside out.

[30:22] But it's all about grace, not about proving worthiness, not about deserving any part of heaven. And so, do you know him?

[30:37] Let me draw this to a close by issuing a plea to you here today. Don't make the mistake of thinking heaven is something you deserve.

[30:49] Because none of us deserve heaven. you know, someone came to me one day and said, do you think I'm a good person?

[31:03] That's a kind of trick question, isn't it? I mean, there's good people. There's good people going to hell. Good as the world would say good.

[31:15] Noble people, generous people, kind, kind-hearted people, thoughtful people. The world would call them saints. The Pope will make them saints.

[31:28] But they're not good because they don't know Christ as their only saviour. That is the only question that counts.

[31:41] And there's people who come to church week in, week out, midweek, whenever the doors are open and still go to hell. Because they don't know him. They don't know his grace.

[31:51] friends, don't make that mistake. Our only plea must be his grace. Let's pray. Lord, we want to come boldly unto the throne of grace.

[32:04] We know our own condition is never good to the degree of God.

[32:14] We know, Lord, that we come short of the glory of God. Yet, Lord, you receive, you grant access, you grant pardon, you grant mercy, you grant grace.

[32:28] And Lord, how we need to know that. And as believers, let us have the confidence to pray so that in time of need we can find help. We can find your help is something we can rest in and be assured of because you promise it.

[32:49] We pray for any believer here that's struggling, that each one would know that the throne room is always open to us.

[33:01] And for anyone that is yet to know that grace that saves, they'll simply trust you now. They'll simply let go of all their own effort and plead your mercy and grace and receive it by faith that at the cross everything was done, that we can know eternal life.

[33:25] Help us, Lord, to walk in this truth. May we never neglect to come to the throne of grace when there's time of need and at any time to give you the praise and to find your grace.

[33:40] In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.