WEBVTT 00:00:03.040 --> 00:00:17.120 We'd like to invite you to uh turn in your scriptures to our scripture reading for this morning, which is found in the book of Hebrews, the New Testament book of Hebrews, chapter 4, verses 14 through 16. 00:00:18.160 --> 00:00:23.440 And if you're using a Pew Bible, that should be on page 1002. 00:00:37.840 --> 00:00:40.479 Hebrews 4 beginning in verse 14. 00:00:42.799 --> 00:00:53.840 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 00:00:54.960 --> 00:01:07.599 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 00:01:08.640 --> 00:01:20.079 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in our time of need. 00:01:20.799 --> 00:01:22.799 The word of the Lord. 00:01:26.640 --> 00:01:27.519 Prayer. 00:01:31.840 --> 00:01:39.040 What is it about prayer that is such a challenge for us? 00:01:39.920 --> 00:01:42.400 Let's just own that right at the beginning. 00:01:42.640 --> 00:01:45.359 Prayer is a challenge for us. 00:01:45.840 --> 00:01:47.519 Even the people of God. 00:01:48.400 --> 00:01:51.599 We live in a fallen world and it is a challenge for us. 00:01:51.680 --> 00:01:52.640 And what is it? 00:01:53.359 --> 00:01:54.879 Is it understanding? 00:01:56.079 --> 00:01:57.439 We don't know how it works. 00:01:57.840 --> 00:01:59.120 We don't know the rules. 00:01:59.840 --> 00:02:01.120 Is it desire? 00:02:02.159 --> 00:02:06.640 We find it hard to just have desire to come before God. 00:02:07.439 --> 00:02:09.280 Is it trust issues? 00:02:09.680 --> 00:02:12.240 You know, can God really relate to us? 00:02:12.560 --> 00:02:19.199 We are weak human mortals, and He is divine and exalted and glorious and eternal. 00:02:20.080 --> 00:02:28.080 And is even interested in hearing my boring, small, jabbering prattle, we might think. 00:02:29.360 --> 00:02:35.599 Does he really want to initiate blessing and kindness in my life? 00:02:37.599 --> 00:02:39.680 Maybe it's a relational issue. 00:02:39.840 --> 00:02:41.919 You know, does God even like me? 00:02:42.319 --> 00:02:51.120 Well, I know I'm one of his and I know he's committed to me, but is his prevailing mood toward me one of disappointment? 00:02:53.840 --> 00:02:56.639 And do we have to be so formal with God? 00:02:57.759 --> 00:03:03.360 Do we have to be so careful not to cross some line of respect with him? 00:03:05.599 --> 00:03:12.080 I heard someone say recently that you better be careful what you say to God. 00:03:12.319 --> 00:03:14.960 You better be careful how you speak to him. 00:03:17.039 --> 00:03:27.759 And maybe the question of our heart is can we ever just be who we really are, warts and all, naked and unashamed, figuratively, before Him. 00:03:30.719 --> 00:03:42.080 Well, in our passage this morning, God, God has a lot to say to each one of us about our practice of prayer. 00:03:44.319 --> 00:03:49.919 He's out to persuade us that prayer really matters. 00:03:50.159 --> 00:03:52.639 It matters more than you think it does. 00:03:52.960 --> 00:03:55.599 And that you dare not give it up. 00:04:00.159 --> 00:04:05.680 But of course, God is not interested in mere behavior. 00:04:06.879 --> 00:04:19.759 We're not going to talk today about just the outward acts of prayer, techniques and what you have to do to say the right words and to get your prayers accomplished. 00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:23.519 Kind of like children, when we we teach children how to pray. 00:04:23.680 --> 00:04:31.519 There is a process that we do, and it's not a bad process because little children are very highly distractable, as are some bigger children. 00:04:31.759 --> 00:04:40.639 And uh, you know, we teach them to put their hands together and close their eyes so they're not looking at who's eating while we're saying our prayers. 00:04:40.879 --> 00:04:46.720 And we might teach them things about being on their knees and all kinds of things like that. 00:04:46.879 --> 00:04:53.600 But but that is the behavior of prayer, if you will, or some behavior of a kind of prayer. 00:04:54.079 --> 00:04:57.759 But God is interested in transformation. 00:04:59.199 --> 00:05:01.040 That's what God is interested in. 00:05:01.199 --> 00:05:03.759 He's interested in transformation. 00:05:04.319 --> 00:05:08.399 He is interested in you and I engaging with him. 00:05:09.920 --> 00:05:19.519 I think as I start right off here, there's something kind of unfortunate, if you will, and please hear me how I mean this, about the terminology of prayer. 00:05:19.759 --> 00:05:30.079 Just saying prayer, I think, triggers something in our minds about a kind of engagement that's very formal, that's different from any other kind of engagement that we have. 00:05:30.480 --> 00:05:33.120 And in one sense, it's rightly so. 00:05:33.600 --> 00:05:42.959 Prayer is a scriptural word, it's a word God gave us to talk about and describe the communication we have with the one who made us. 00:05:44.560 --> 00:05:48.000 And yet, many of us here are church people. 00:05:48.800 --> 00:05:53.519 And when you hear prayer, something clicks. 00:05:54.399 --> 00:05:58.000 You process that in a way you're probably not even aware of. 00:05:59.839 --> 00:06:04.240 Today I'd like you to think about prayer in terms of engaging God. 00:06:05.360 --> 00:06:14.240 Engaging him relationally, engaging him like you would a friend, like you would your spouse, like you would a sibling. 00:06:15.519 --> 00:06:16.800 Engaging him. 00:06:17.839 --> 00:06:25.199 Heart to heart, soul to soul, eye to eye, face to face, engaging the living God. 00:06:29.839 --> 00:06:39.839 So as we talk about engaging today, one of the way I'd like us to kind of think about this, I've kind of ordered my comments today around a question. 00:06:40.639 --> 00:06:49.680 It's a question that comes from some wise people who think deeply about spiritual transformation. 00:06:51.600 --> 00:06:58.879 And they've often asked the question of, what kind of people do we have to become? 00:07:00.800 --> 00:07:05.680 What kind of people do we have to become in order to obey the commands of God? 00:07:06.160 --> 00:07:07.759 We don't normally ask that question. 00:07:07.920 --> 00:07:12.000 We ask the question, what do I have to do to obey the commands of God? 00:07:13.120 --> 00:07:21.360 But the question God's interested in is what kind of people do we have to become to obey the commands of God? 00:07:21.439 --> 00:07:30.000 And so today, as we're looking at the idea of prayer, here's the question I'd like us to sit with for the next half hour. 00:07:31.120 --> 00:07:53.680 What would it take for us to become the kind of people, to become the kind of people who enjoy engaging God with all aspects of our unedited everyday life, including the underbelly and the dark side of our lives. 00:07:54.639 --> 00:08:12.560 In other words, what would it take for us to be the kind of people who enjoyed walking with God all through the day and engaging Him with every aspect of your life? 00:08:15.839 --> 00:08:18.639 That's not an easy question. 00:08:24.000 --> 00:08:33.919 There are some things that would come to the surface, and our passage this morning is going to begin right away with several of them. 00:08:35.840 --> 00:08:44.399 In order to be those kinds of people, first of all, we're going to have to be people who believe some things about God related to prayer. 00:08:45.039 --> 00:08:48.080 We're going to have to believe some things about prayer. 00:08:48.320 --> 00:08:54.960 We're never going to be the people who enjoy engaging God if we don't believe some things specifically about prayer. 00:08:55.600 --> 00:08:59.120 Now, what would it take for you to enjoy gardening? 00:09:01.360 --> 00:09:03.279 A lot of laughing out there, right? 00:09:05.759 --> 00:09:08.799 Well, you might say it's a very starting point. 00:09:09.360 --> 00:09:23.360 You would have to believe that if you take this seed and put it in this soil, prepared in a certain way, and water it, you're actually going to get something worthwhile and delicious or beautiful to look at. 00:09:24.240 --> 00:09:28.159 You're going to have to believe that something's going to happen in that. 00:09:29.120 --> 00:09:38.960 This isn't some kind of fictitious exercise where these crazy people go out on their hands and knees and get their hands all inside the dirt. 00:09:39.440 --> 00:09:41.279 Something happens. 00:09:43.039 --> 00:09:49.200 Well, our passage is encouraging us in three ways. 00:09:49.360 --> 00:09:59.679 First of all, we need to believe that God's throne is a welcoming place for us. 00:10:00.799 --> 00:10:02.799 Don't you think about that a moment? 00:10:03.120 --> 00:10:06.960 The throne of God is the throne of the entire universe. 00:10:08.080 --> 00:10:19.919 It's the place, figuratively speaking, God doesn't have a physical body, at least the eternal God, Jesus who came, he does, he became one of us, he's exalted. 00:10:20.080 --> 00:10:24.320 Yes, there is a, he has a physical body that's an exalted body now. 00:10:24.720 --> 00:10:30.480 But when we think of God, Scripture accommodates us and talks about a throne. 00:10:30.720 --> 00:10:35.440 In our passage, talks about a throne, a place where God reigns and rules. 00:10:36.080 --> 00:10:41.759 And this place is a welcoming place. 00:10:42.480 --> 00:10:44.639 We have to believe that. 00:10:45.120 --> 00:10:54.639 If we're going to become people who love engaging God, it's going to make all the difference in the world. 00:10:56.799 --> 00:11:00.159 Now, granted, this passage is speaking to Christians. 00:11:02.399 --> 00:11:10.879 But I think Scripture as a whole says that if you're open to God, if you're truly open to God, the throne of God is a welcoming place for you. 00:11:11.120 --> 00:11:15.519 It's a place for you to come and pour out your heart and engage God. 00:11:15.600 --> 00:11:21.279 And maybe you're not at the place that you've come to know the gospel and have been reconciled with Him yet. 00:11:22.240 --> 00:11:23.200 But you can. 00:11:24.159 --> 00:11:34.320 There's a welcoming throne for you to come and to own your failures and to receive the grace of God in Christ and to have your sins forgiven. 00:11:38.159 --> 00:11:48.320 The way this is spelled out in this passage is very interesting because it talks about Jesus, the one who occupies the throne with his Father. 00:11:48.639 --> 00:11:50.879 He is seated at God's right hand. 00:11:51.120 --> 00:11:53.039 He has been exalted on high. 00:11:53.279 --> 00:12:01.200 Hebrews chapter 1 says that he, Christ, upholds the universe by the word of his power. 00:12:02.960 --> 00:12:10.159 And the one who sits on the throne welcomes us and can relate to us. 00:12:12.080 --> 00:12:19.440 The one who sits on the throne can sympathize or empathize with our pain. 00:12:20.639 --> 00:12:23.360 He can empathize with our weakness. 00:12:24.480 --> 00:12:29.600 He knows our weariness and our discouragement because he became one of us. 00:12:29.840 --> 00:12:31.919 And he lived in this world. 00:12:32.240 --> 00:12:35.279 He lived among fallen mortals. 00:12:38.159 --> 00:12:40.639 He lived in a hostile world. 00:12:41.759 --> 00:12:45.759 He knows what it's like to be tried deeply. 00:12:49.519 --> 00:12:54.720 And he doesn't know that in some kind of far away kind of way. 00:12:55.840 --> 00:13:02.080 The actual language here talks about that he actually feels our pain. 00:13:02.639 --> 00:13:06.480 That's really some implied meaning in the language. 00:13:06.799 --> 00:13:08.080 He actually feels it. 00:13:08.159 --> 00:13:16.000 So sometimes maybe you've heard your grandmother or some of these old-timey songs talk about this bottle of tears that God has. 00:13:16.399 --> 00:13:23.039 That actually comes from a passage, and it actually has a lot of connections with Scripture, including this passage. 00:13:24.879 --> 00:13:28.960 It's not just some sentimental, fuzzy feeling. 00:13:29.039 --> 00:13:34.799 There's a sense in which God really does know where we are. 00:13:35.679 --> 00:13:38.159 And he's able to feel our weakness. 00:13:40.080 --> 00:13:47.360 He is able to feel the deep pain that is down in your heart that maybe you haven't even got to the bottom of yet. 00:13:47.519 --> 00:13:48.960 But he's able to feel it. 00:13:49.200 --> 00:13:50.639 He knows it's there. 00:13:51.840 --> 00:13:57.919 And he has a welcoming presence for us before his throne. 00:13:59.679 --> 00:14:11.279 Not only that, the passage goes on to actually describe this throne with words that we probably would never have come up with if we hadn't read them in Scripture. 00:14:12.080 --> 00:14:20.960 Like, what would you think of would be, would describe the throne of the one who reigns over the universe? 00:14:22.720 --> 00:14:30.799 And how would you think you might come before that throne as a rebel to the one who sits on it? 00:14:35.200 --> 00:14:46.480 Our author describes this throne as a throne of grace and a throne of mercy, a throne of kindness, an undeserved favor. 00:14:47.759 --> 00:14:51.120 Because the one who sits on it is committed to us. 00:14:53.679 --> 00:15:01.919 The one who sits on it has opened up the way for us to come before Him. 00:15:03.360 --> 00:15:10.320 The one who sits on it did everything it took for sinners and rebels to be reconciled to Him. 00:15:11.679 --> 00:15:28.399 And in this massively bold event that happened on the cross, God gave this symbolic proclamation for all time that the way to the throne room has been opened for you and for me. 00:15:28.879 --> 00:15:37.440 No longer through earthly priests or men or women who would help us somehow mediate between us and God. 00:15:38.960 --> 00:15:58.480 But you remember when Jesus dies, the curtain of the temple that separated the inner court, the symbolic presence of God from the rest of the temple, that curtain was torn from top to bottom. 00:15:58.879 --> 00:16:02.399 And the writers make a point of saying it was from top to bottom. 00:16:02.559 --> 00:16:04.799 It wasn't from bottom to top. 00:16:05.039 --> 00:16:08.399 Like if we tore it, it would be from the bottom to the top. 00:16:08.639 --> 00:16:12.799 Because we can't reach a 30-foot curtain or however tall this thing was. 00:16:13.039 --> 00:16:16.480 But God tore it from the top to the bottom. 00:16:16.799 --> 00:16:19.679 That way is open to us. 00:16:20.399 --> 00:16:23.440 That way is no longer hostile to us. 00:16:24.480 --> 00:16:27.840 The throne of God is welcoming to us. 00:16:28.320 --> 00:16:38.480 You have to believe that in an increasing measure for you to become the kind of person who loves to engage God. 00:16:38.960 --> 00:16:45.039 If you don't believe that, you won't love to engage God. 00:16:45.759 --> 00:16:50.320 You can talk yourself into it all you want, but you won't love to engage God. 00:16:51.120 --> 00:16:53.440 And you'll struggle to pray. 00:16:56.720 --> 00:16:59.279 You have a voice in your head just like I do. 00:16:59.440 --> 00:17:00.720 It comes from the flesh. 00:17:00.879 --> 00:17:07.359 It comes from the enemy who is constantly assaulting our souls. 00:17:19.200 --> 00:17:19.759 No way. 00:17:20.079 --> 00:17:21.599 It's not welcoming there. 00:17:24.319 --> 00:17:25.599 Not your life. 00:17:25.920 --> 00:17:28.079 Have you looked at your life lately? 00:17:28.880 --> 00:17:29.519 Really? 00:17:30.000 --> 00:17:31.599 Welcoming for you? 00:17:34.319 --> 00:17:36.400 Do you see what you do every day? 00:17:36.559 --> 00:17:38.880 Do you see the kinds of things you think? 00:17:39.680 --> 00:17:43.119 Do you think that throne room is welcoming for you? 00:17:44.319 --> 00:17:46.480 Oh, you know, it comes out in all kinds of ways. 00:17:46.640 --> 00:18:04.880 There's all kinds of ways that we feel shame and grief and guilt about our lack of performance, about our active sinning and rebellion, about the ways we give in to temptation. 00:18:06.000 --> 00:18:13.440 We have a million reasons why we could easily believe that the throne of grace is not a welcoming place. 00:18:15.119 --> 00:18:17.759 Are you going to keep listening to those voices? 00:18:18.000 --> 00:18:19.759 Or can you hear the word of God? 00:18:20.000 --> 00:18:24.720 Can you listen to what God says in the rock of his scripture today? 00:18:24.960 --> 00:18:26.559 He's encouraging you. 00:18:26.960 --> 00:18:28.880 Lay those voices aside. 00:18:29.119 --> 00:18:31.200 Quit listening to the enemy. 00:18:33.519 --> 00:18:45.599 I'm here to tell you, he says, you have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, and you can follow his trail right into the heavens. 00:18:46.400 --> 00:18:50.880 Because he lives to intercede for you, and he sits on a throne. 00:18:51.440 --> 00:18:55.200 He knows you and he's welcoming for you to come. 00:18:57.119 --> 00:19:03.039 Well, there's a second thing that I think we're going to have to believe if we're going to become these kinds of people. 00:19:03.680 --> 00:19:11.359 We're going to have to believe that God is interested in actively helping us and in helping us in a timely way. 00:19:11.839 --> 00:19:17.119 So it's one thing to say, okay, I believe that the throne is welcoming. 00:19:17.680 --> 00:19:22.559 I'm not so sure I believe that God actually wants to actively help me. 00:19:24.000 --> 00:19:28.960 And I'm not sure that he actually wants to help me before it's too late. 00:19:30.319 --> 00:19:33.759 Because he's disappointed me a lot of times before. 00:19:34.400 --> 00:19:35.920 I've asked him to show up. 00:19:36.000 --> 00:19:37.119 I've asked him for help. 00:19:37.279 --> 00:19:43.759 I've pleaded him, I've called out, and bad things still happened. 00:19:44.000 --> 00:19:45.599 Life didn't work. 00:19:45.759 --> 00:19:47.039 It was still a mess. 00:19:47.200 --> 00:19:48.559 It was still chaotic. 00:19:48.720 --> 00:19:50.880 The unthinkable happened. 00:19:51.200 --> 00:19:55.359 And it seemed like he didn't hear me and wasn't engaged and didn't care. 00:20:02.000 --> 00:20:08.480 This past week I was really wrestling with anxiety about some things. 00:20:09.839 --> 00:20:15.599 Whether God was going to meet some needs that were very palpable to me in my life. 00:20:16.240 --> 00:20:22.400 And I was just staring out the glass doors into the backyard. 00:20:24.720 --> 00:20:28.480 With kind of one of those blank stares. 00:20:29.599 --> 00:20:36.160 And in my heart I was just talking to God, not very believing. 00:20:38.000 --> 00:20:44.000 And all of a sudden, in the middle of the yard, a crow landed. 00:20:44.480 --> 00:20:46.079 Like a big crow. 00:20:49.119 --> 00:20:52.559 And he started hopping toward me. 00:20:53.680 --> 00:20:56.079 And honestly, I said, Really, God? 00:20:58.000 --> 00:21:00.640 I immediately thought of this passage in scripture. 00:21:00.880 --> 00:21:02.160 He brought it to mind. 00:21:03.200 --> 00:21:06.319 Consider the birds, you of little faith. 00:21:06.559 --> 00:21:13.279 They don't plant, they don't sow, they don't have warehouses, and yet God feeds them. 00:21:13.680 --> 00:21:15.200 Oh, you of little faith. 00:21:15.359 --> 00:21:19.039 And aren't you more valuable than many birds? 00:21:19.759 --> 00:21:21.519 Sparrows and crows. 00:21:23.519 --> 00:21:30.160 So I'm watching this bird, and I said, He don't have anything to eat. 00:21:32.240 --> 00:21:33.680 And he kept hopping. 00:21:33.839 --> 00:21:35.279 And he got really close. 00:21:35.519 --> 00:21:36.720 I'm not making this up. 00:21:36.880 --> 00:21:39.359 This is an honest event that happened. 00:21:39.519 --> 00:21:41.359 He turned sideways. 00:21:42.720 --> 00:21:49.440 In one swoop, he pecked on the ground and he pulled out about a six inch earthworm. 00:21:50.480 --> 00:21:54.880 I kid you not, my backyard is like concrete, hard. 00:21:55.279 --> 00:21:59.359 He pecked it and he pulled that thing right out, stuck his head way back. 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:01.519 Sucked it right down. 00:22:05.519 --> 00:22:07.359 I really couldn't believe it. 00:22:09.759 --> 00:22:19.279 But really, God was just giving me a living picture of what was an old living word that He's preserved for eternity. 00:22:19.440 --> 00:22:22.000 That He does take care of us. 00:22:22.640 --> 00:22:27.680 He is interested in actively helping us. 00:22:28.960 --> 00:22:32.079 And He's interested in doing it in a timely way. 00:22:32.799 --> 00:22:36.240 The only catch to that is it's His time. 00:22:36.880 --> 00:22:38.480 And it's His way. 00:22:40.240 --> 00:22:46.799 And if it seems like He didn't show up, it's because that actually was best for us. 00:22:47.440 --> 00:22:51.680 And that's not some kind of, well, that's just putting a good face on it. 00:22:51.920 --> 00:22:54.480 No, it's not putting a good face on it. 00:22:54.880 --> 00:22:58.559 Talk to people who have walked through the deepest sufferings in their life. 00:22:58.799 --> 00:22:59.680 Talk to them. 00:22:59.920 --> 00:23:01.359 Find out from them. 00:23:02.400 --> 00:23:05.440 It might take a while, it might take some years. 00:23:05.920 --> 00:23:13.279 They will tell you, I wouldn't trade it for anything. 00:23:13.680 --> 00:23:19.200 Because God taught me some of the best lessons of my life when it felt like he didn't show up. 00:23:21.119 --> 00:23:27.680 As long as everything was going smooth and I just said the prayer and God came through, it was like a vending machine. 00:23:27.920 --> 00:23:29.680 Put in the quarter, get the blessing. 00:23:29.839 --> 00:23:31.920 Put in the quarter, get the blessing. 00:23:33.039 --> 00:23:35.119 That's just God serving us. 00:23:36.559 --> 00:23:41.039 That's not us being transformed to be people of faith and trust. 00:23:42.880 --> 00:23:45.039 And God is really going to be out. 00:23:45.200 --> 00:23:48.400 If we haven't learned this, we'll learn it soon enough. 00:23:50.160 --> 00:23:53.519 God really is going to shatter all of our dreams. 00:23:54.079 --> 00:24:01.039 At some level in your life, God is going to engage you sooner or later, and he's going to shatter your dreams. 00:24:01.119 --> 00:24:06.480 And he's not going to do it because he's harsh, because he doesn't want you to be blessed. 00:24:06.720 --> 00:24:10.319 That will actually be one of the greatest blessings in your life. 00:24:10.640 --> 00:24:18.559 Because every time he shatters a dream, every time he puts you in a hard place, he's there. 00:24:19.440 --> 00:24:20.480 He's there. 00:24:20.799 --> 00:24:22.559 But he's teaching us. 00:24:22.960 --> 00:24:24.480 He's teaching us that he's there. 00:24:24.640 --> 00:24:26.480 He's teaching us about ourselves. 00:24:26.720 --> 00:24:32.240 He's teaching us about our idols that are going to come to the surface, our rebellion, our entitlement. 00:24:32.400 --> 00:24:38.880 He's teaching us about our false views of him and about our self-aggrandizement. 00:24:43.519 --> 00:24:47.279 He can help in a timely way. 00:24:48.079 --> 00:24:49.279 We have to believe that. 00:24:49.440 --> 00:25:02.720 If you don't believe he's actively out to help you and that he'll do it in a timely way, you will never love to be the kind of person who engages God with everyday life. 00:25:03.039 --> 00:25:04.160 You won't. 00:25:04.880 --> 00:25:06.000 You just won't. 00:25:06.240 --> 00:25:10.160 You might grind it out with words, but you won't do it in your heart. 00:25:16.720 --> 00:25:23.920 One more thing, and I really want to spend some time on this, and this is kind of the heart of what I want to say today. 00:25:26.000 --> 00:25:41.200 To be that kind of person, you're going to have to believe that God wants you to freely and routinely come to Him as you really are with your real face. 00:25:42.559 --> 00:25:44.960 That's what you're going to have to believe. 00:25:46.160 --> 00:25:50.559 God is not interested in your mask. 00:25:50.960 --> 00:25:51.920 He's just not. 00:25:53.039 --> 00:25:55.039 He receives us in our mask. 00:25:56.880 --> 00:25:58.720 He's not interested in it. 00:25:59.119 --> 00:26:00.720 He wants your real face. 00:26:02.240 --> 00:26:05.519 If your face is angry, he wants your angry face. 00:26:05.839 --> 00:26:09.359 If your face is disappointed, he wants your disappointed face. 00:26:11.599 --> 00:26:15.839 If your face is unbelieving, he wants your unbelieving face. 00:26:16.079 --> 00:26:17.920 He wants your real face. 00:26:20.319 --> 00:26:22.400 Because he's a God of truth. 00:26:24.079 --> 00:26:28.400 In our passage today, this comes out in a really dramatic way. 00:26:29.599 --> 00:26:39.759 Because the author says that after telling us that this throne is a welcoming throne and that the God who sits on it is disposed to us and to help us in a timely way. 00:26:44.079 --> 00:26:49.039 And there's this kind of a present tense, a little technicality here, but it's a present tense. 00:26:49.119 --> 00:26:52.640 It means come every day, come routinely, come, come, come. 00:26:52.799 --> 00:26:55.599 I don't want you to never stop coming. 00:26:55.759 --> 00:26:59.039 And I want you to come with confidence. 00:27:01.200 --> 00:27:02.400 Confidence. 00:27:03.279 --> 00:27:05.119 Before the throne of grace. 00:27:05.440 --> 00:27:06.720 That's a little weak. 00:27:06.960 --> 00:27:08.079 Confidence. 00:27:10.000 --> 00:27:16.559 There's some rich ideas that's behind this term that's translated confidence in our text. 00:27:17.680 --> 00:27:27.039 It was a word that was used in everyday life to talk about free, honest talk, one person to another. 00:27:28.559 --> 00:27:35.440 It involved the ideas of boldness, boldness, and frankness. 00:27:36.960 --> 00:27:38.160 Honesty. 00:27:38.559 --> 00:27:39.920 A bold frankness. 00:27:40.079 --> 00:27:48.960 That is, I think, the best translation I've come across by a linguist who has really spent some time researching these terms. 00:27:49.279 --> 00:27:56.079 Let us then with bold frankness draw near to the throne of grace. 00:27:58.000 --> 00:28:06.079 Now you know that we are not naturally disposed to be true-faced in any relationship. 00:28:06.240 --> 00:28:07.680 I hope you know that. 00:28:08.079 --> 00:28:10.799 We're not naturally disposed that way. 00:28:11.839 --> 00:28:22.559 A part of being healthy emotionally and maturing and even being spiritually healthy is learning to be true-faced all the time. 00:28:23.119 --> 00:28:26.960 To be on the outside who you really are on the inside. 00:28:28.559 --> 00:28:37.599 But for all kinds of reasons, we have learned from the earliest days to not be true-faced toward the Lord in prayer. 00:28:38.319 --> 00:28:42.559 We think of prayer, formal talk with God. 00:28:42.880 --> 00:28:45.920 That means I put on my formal face. 00:28:46.640 --> 00:29:00.240 Maybe it means I put on my formal, you know, figuratively speaking, my suit and my tie, and get cleaned up and showered and edited, and I come before him all cleaned up, ready to ask a blessing from him. 00:29:03.200 --> 00:29:06.000 We've just learned to bring personas with him. 00:29:10.720 --> 00:29:14.000 But you know, God already knows us what we're really like. 00:29:14.480 --> 00:29:25.920 If your Bible is still open, just right before that passage, there is in verse 13, in the passage we read in Hebrews 4, just listen to this. 00:29:26.319 --> 00:29:37.359 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. 00:29:37.680 --> 00:29:40.240 Wow, you couldn't say it clearer than that. 00:29:40.799 --> 00:29:45.920 God knows us to the dividing of soul and spirit and joint and marrow. 00:29:47.759 --> 00:29:58.880 And so why is it that we struggle to come with bold frankness before Him and to put ourselves out there the way we really are? 00:30:01.039 --> 00:30:08.799 Now, one of the ways that this is going to play out in our lives, it's going to be in the messes of our lives. 00:30:09.839 --> 00:30:15.920 Now, our lives aren't defined by messes, but they play a huge part. 00:30:16.480 --> 00:30:29.599 And someone has said this that we are actually preoccupied and spend most of our energies on the difficulties, the chaos, the disorders, and the disorientations of life. 00:30:31.279 --> 00:30:32.960 I find that true in my life. 00:30:33.200 --> 00:30:37.039 I can't say that unequivocally that's true in all your lives, but I'm guessing it is. 00:30:37.599 --> 00:30:40.319 Pastorally speaking, I think it's true. 00:30:40.640 --> 00:31:02.559 We spend most of our energies, most of our time dwelling on, spinning on, working on the messes of our lives, the things that aren't going well, the things that are causing us anxiety, the things that we can't manage, the things God's put in our path to teach us we can't manage life. 00:31:04.480 --> 00:31:06.640 But we're to depend on Him. 00:31:07.759 --> 00:31:11.519 Do you know God wants us to bring this to Him? 00:31:13.119 --> 00:31:17.759 Like, how long are we going to sit and spin on that and not bring it to Him? 00:31:18.000 --> 00:31:23.279 What good does it do you to sit and spin on this over and over again? 00:31:23.519 --> 00:31:25.200 You get no solution. 00:31:25.519 --> 00:31:26.640 You won't manage it. 00:31:26.799 --> 00:31:31.200 You won't come up with a golden key that will let you break through that. 00:31:31.519 --> 00:31:36.319 Because most of the kinds of things we spin on are things that are way beyond our control. 00:31:36.960 --> 00:31:38.319 They're other people. 00:31:40.160 --> 00:31:41.440 They're other people. 00:31:42.319 --> 00:31:45.440 We have no access to other people's hearts. 00:31:48.079 --> 00:31:51.599 In the way of actually controlling them and making them do things. 00:31:51.839 --> 00:31:54.480 We try in unhealthy ways. 00:31:58.880 --> 00:32:15.759 Do you know that the Psalms, this whole book of Israel's prayer, was given to us in good measure for this very purpose, to teach us to be a people who come to God with bold frankness. 00:32:16.400 --> 00:32:22.880 Like 40% of the Psalms are either complaint psalms or psalms of lament. 00:32:23.359 --> 00:32:27.359 They are psalms where the psalmist is pouring out his heart. 00:32:28.079 --> 00:32:30.319 Let me read a quick sample of one. 00:32:30.640 --> 00:32:31.680 Psalm 13. 00:32:32.240 --> 00:32:35.119 Really, this is there could be many ones just like this. 00:32:35.680 --> 00:32:38.880 How long, O Lord, will you forget me forever? 00:32:39.119 --> 00:32:41.440 How long will you hide your face from me? 00:32:41.680 --> 00:32:47.839 How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all day long? 00:32:48.079 --> 00:32:50.160 Spin, spin, spin, spin. 00:32:51.359 --> 00:32:55.279 How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? 00:32:55.759 --> 00:32:58.319 Consider and answer me, O Lord my God. 00:32:58.880 --> 00:33:09.200 Light up my eyes, lest I sleep, the sleep of death, lest my enemies say, I prevailed over him, lest my foes rejoice because I'm shaken. 00:33:10.319 --> 00:33:12.880 But I have trusted in your steadfast love. 00:33:13.039 --> 00:33:15.519 My heart shall rejoice in your salvation. 00:33:15.759 --> 00:33:19.680 I will sing to the Lord because He's dealt bountifully with me. 00:33:20.400 --> 00:33:23.119 Some very interesting thing that happens in the Psalms. 00:33:23.680 --> 00:33:30.880 There are these movements from being disoriented to being reoriented. 00:33:31.440 --> 00:33:38.559 And it's a common movement in the Psalms because it's a common movement in our own lives, in our lives of faith. 00:33:41.119 --> 00:33:48.319 Somehow, there's something in us that wants to always stay in the realm of reorientation. 00:33:48.880 --> 00:33:50.960 Like the last verses here, right? 00:33:51.119 --> 00:33:53.119 Don't those last verses sound good? 00:33:53.359 --> 00:33:58.720 I'll bet you as I read those, some of you, something in you just clicked, and like, I like those last verses. 00:33:58.960 --> 00:34:06.640 Like, I'm gonna rely on your steadfast love, and my heart rejoices, and you've dealt bountifully with me. 00:34:06.880 --> 00:34:08.880 Those are all good words. 00:34:09.360 --> 00:34:13.199 But you know how, you know how the psalmist got to those words? 00:34:13.519 --> 00:34:21.199 He got to those words because he went through the bold frankness with God where he brought his real face to the Lord. 00:34:21.360 --> 00:34:23.280 That's how he got to those words. 00:34:23.440 --> 00:34:26.880 And that's how you and I will get to those words. 00:34:27.119 --> 00:34:36.000 That's how we will become a people who love to engage God with everyday, real, messy, underbelly life. 00:34:39.280 --> 00:34:49.119 Because we know God invites us to come to this welcoming throne where He has strength and grace and mercy to dispense in a timely way. 00:34:49.199 --> 00:34:55.199 And he wants us to bring our real selves without any editing or shaping or cleaning up. 00:34:55.360 --> 00:34:58.880 Like what other invitation could we possibly ask for? 00:35:00.480 --> 00:35:02.880 What could encourage our hearts more? 00:35:05.039 --> 00:35:18.800 The one whose word upholds the universe cares for you, and can actually feel and engage the difficulties and messes of your life. 00:35:22.079 --> 00:35:24.960 There's just something so important about this. 00:35:27.440 --> 00:35:29.280 I wish I had more time to develop this. 00:35:29.360 --> 00:35:37.280 I'm just gonna say this quickly, but there is a power that happens by naming. 00:35:38.639 --> 00:35:42.000 Naming and putting words and creating. 00:35:42.079 --> 00:35:49.840 There's a creative act that happens in your soul when you put words to something in real time in a relationship. 00:35:50.000 --> 00:35:52.400 It happens in earthly relationships. 00:35:52.960 --> 00:36:01.599 I'm thinking of friendships or marriage, better yet, where you have a deep tension that happens in your marriage, those of you who are married. 00:36:01.920 --> 00:36:04.480 And you know there's something wrong. 00:36:04.880 --> 00:36:05.760 It's there. 00:36:05.920 --> 00:36:07.920 You're just not talking about it. 00:36:08.480 --> 00:36:15.440 And if you can ever get away together, and if one thing can happen, you'll get some traction. 00:36:15.679 --> 00:36:27.119 What has to happen is you have to be able to get with someone, you have to be able to sit down and face each other, and you have to give each other the grace to kind of create with words a portrait. 00:36:27.280 --> 00:36:38.559 You're gonna paint a portrait of how you have experienced what's going on, where your stress is, what the mess is as you see it, what's taxing you, what has you upset. 00:36:38.960 --> 00:36:49.760 And for that to be honored, for that not to be, oh, you're overstating, oh, that's not like that, and just coming in and just, you know, clarifying all your borders. 00:36:51.679 --> 00:37:03.360 There's something powerful for you to be able to be honored in saying how you have experienced life with this person in that problem in that moment. 00:37:03.760 --> 00:37:13.440 And when both of you can do that, when you can both honor each other's souls in that kind of way, I think you're gonna get traction. 00:37:13.519 --> 00:37:14.719 That's been my experience. 00:37:14.960 --> 00:37:17.440 You will get traction forward. 00:37:17.920 --> 00:37:20.480 Something powerful happens in that moment. 00:37:20.639 --> 00:37:23.440 And I've experienced the same thing with God. 00:37:23.840 --> 00:37:25.199 It's no different. 00:37:25.440 --> 00:37:40.239 It's like words, once they begin to flow and you begin to show your real face, and you're not worried about being precise and giving some scientific description, you're just using metaphor, you're using embellishment like the psalmist does. 00:37:40.400 --> 00:37:43.039 I'm crying on my bed all night long, Lord. 00:37:43.199 --> 00:37:45.760 The tears have flooded my room. 00:37:48.480 --> 00:37:58.639 Once you start engaging God in that kind of way, and even though that feels like unbelief, it's actually faith and belief. 00:37:59.840 --> 00:38:06.079 Because you believe He can hear you and do something about it and he cares for you. 00:38:07.760 --> 00:38:10.239 Something powerful happens there. 00:38:14.239 --> 00:38:17.039 Well, we have to bring this to a close. 00:38:18.559 --> 00:38:23.039 I had some more things, but I'm just gonna kind of cut to the chase here. 00:38:24.000 --> 00:38:26.639 I'd like you to go away with something today. 00:38:28.400 --> 00:38:33.440 I'd like you not to go away with an idea that I'm gonna try harder in prayer. 00:38:34.000 --> 00:38:35.280 You've done that. 00:38:36.079 --> 00:38:40.079 I've done that a thousand times over. 00:38:42.559 --> 00:38:52.960 I'd like you to go away with an encouragement from God's word that you can open to God. 00:38:54.239 --> 00:38:55.840 You can just open to him. 00:38:56.239 --> 00:38:58.320 You can say, Lord, here I am. 00:39:01.679 --> 00:39:05.199 I'm on right terms with you through the gospel of Jesus. 00:39:05.360 --> 00:39:07.440 I hold to Jesus, I trust in him. 00:39:08.800 --> 00:39:12.800 And I need your spirit to teach me about prayer. 00:39:13.119 --> 00:39:15.519 I need to be led in prayer. 00:39:16.639 --> 00:39:19.119 I don't know how to pray as I should. 00:39:20.079 --> 00:39:23.679 I need the Holy Spirit to teach me. 00:39:26.559 --> 00:40:02.480 I'd like you to go away with the encouragement to take a courageous step this summer, this week, and begin to ask God on a regular basis for him to teach you, just for him to teach you what it is to completely open yourself to him and to be willing to see anything that he brings to the surface, to be willing to see the idols, to be willing to see the things that are discouraging you and hindering you. 00:40:07.440 --> 00:40:19.840 I'd like you to go away and courage that you can be yourself and you can bring bold frankness to the Lord who loves you and gave himself for you. 00:40:21.119 --> 00:40:25.039 Join me as I lead us in a closing prayer as the worship team comes forward. 00:40:33.039 --> 00:40:35.599 Our Father, we are a weak people. 00:40:37.360 --> 00:40:42.320 But you are a strong God. 00:40:43.360 --> 00:40:45.360 The strongest, the only one. 00:40:45.840 --> 00:40:47.119 All our hope is in you. 00:40:47.280 --> 00:40:48.320 We sang about it. 00:40:49.840 --> 00:40:53.039 Lord, would you initiate fresh things in each of our lives here? 00:40:53.119 --> 00:40:55.039