The Throne of Grace 10/24/22

HEB. 4:14-16

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. She was very excited about her picture being taken with the skyline 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 there, 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 God’s grace and mercy.

Each one of here this morning need to realize what a wonderful, amazing thing the grace of God is. Without the grace of God, we would not even exist. It is by the grace of God we are here; 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 about the grace of God. The throne of grace. We are going to be looking at the passage, Heb. 4:14-16; Read along if you will.

14 So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. 15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. 16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

It is in fact a “throne” that we are called to approach and a throne denotes royalty. While 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, He is King of kings and Lord of lords!

Today I want to focus on what type of throne our great King sits upon, and that is a throne of grace.

Let that sink in for a moment. We are 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 the 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 of 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. 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 God.

But praise be to God that Jesus Christ has changed that. It is no longer a throne of law, but a throne of grace. Through Jesus Christ it is not a 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 has been met. You can come to the throne of grace through the blood of Jesus Christ and receive 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 are only two ways to be justified, through confession and faith in the blood of Jesus Christ to cleanse you from all sin, or you can be justified by spending an eternity separated from God.

Those are the only options given in the word of God.

Let’s all give thanks 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 expression is an expression of Grace. The very commandments that are proclaimed from that throne are commandments 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 the faults of prayer will be cleansed. Many times when we pray, our prayers are not what they ought to be. Many times, our prayers are filled with 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 than sputterings, 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 some of our prayers through perfect and holy eyes, we would cringe.

But as I stated we come not to the throne of law, for were it the throne of law, the Lord would have no choice but to spurn our faulty prayer. Because it is the throne of grace and mercy there is hope for our imperfect 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 of the King of heaven, they 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 prayer 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 children’s voices is heard as it ascends 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 shall not prevent the success of his or her 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 the righteousness of Christ by which we can come to the throne of 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 say to you go before 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 state, but He looks at the 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 who 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 ascend to heaven through the blood of Christ and will not be hindered by our sin which has been taken care of through Christ.

To those who have never professed Christ as Lord and Saviour, what better place to confess Him than at 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 you will find 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 do not have to bring anything to the throne, nor is there anything we can bring other than 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 them 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 our request.

For our requests are heard not because we have something of value to bring the King our requests 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.

Sometimes, people think God must bless them if they do this or that for Him. They come to the throne of grace bringing their obedience with the thought of “I have done this, now God has to bless me.”

And sometimes 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 do that. Obedience is an act of love, if it is 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 a throne for receiving tribute, but this is a throne from which gifts flow. This is a throne by which all our needs are met through unmerited favor. All our needs are met at this throne not because we bring gifts to the King, but through grace and grace alone.

So, friends 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 the throne of grace by which we are able stand through the merits of another, our Lord Jesus Christ. The perfect obedience of God’s Son allows us to stand before His throne of grace and mercy.

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, and they will help them say the words, pronouncing each syllable with them. I think 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.

Remember the promise of our Lord, “And I will pray to 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;”

Because it is a throne of grace, we can be sure that even though our prayers may be 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 heathens 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 our King already knows before we even have asked.

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 the 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.

If you have come to Jesus Christ and have received Him as your Savior, you have been justified once and for all by Christ. You don’t need it again. You only need His continued grace! You don’t have to beg to get God’s mercy. It is already yours!

I think that God is more honored by a fearless man or woman who runs to His presence after failure and sin than He is by one who beats himself up and dares not approach His throne.

It is said of Alexander the Great that on one occasion a courtier asked him for some financial aid. The great leader told him to go to his treasurer and ask for whatever he wanted. A little later, the treasurer appeared and told Alexander the man had asked for a large sum and that he hesitated to pay out so much. "Give him what he asks for," replied the great conqueror. "He has treated me like a king in his asking, and I shall be like a king in my giving.”

God is approachable—even the worst sinner can approach Him.

Here is the lie of Satan, “Don’t bring that to God, He will be disgusted with your terrible, awful sins.”

Here is a scenario that is played out a million times. A person who is trying to live for God fails miserably, the devil comes to them with condemnation, and assures them that they have crossed the line and God will not hear their prayer.

So, they don’t approach God and become even more bound in those sins until they hit bottom. In desperation they cry to God and God hears and comforts them and they regret not coming to Him sooner because sins do have consequences in our life.

Give it to Him! Go to His throne of grace boldly and give it to Him! He understands. He sympathizes.

He knows your need. His grace is there for you to come and get. Don’t delay. Give it to Him!

I pray that you will praise God throughout this week for His throne of grace, and what it means. 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