Where To Turn In Time of Need – Dr. Charles Stanley

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Charles Stanley is a Southern Baptist for everyone to know

👍︎︎ 2 👤︎︎ u/Illustrious-Job-8650 📅︎︎ Jan 24 2021 🗫︎ replies
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[music] Dr. Charles Stanley: Everybody has needs in life. Some of those needs could be material or physical. Or they could be emotional needs, or spiritual needs. When you have a need where do you go for the answer? Well many people go to different avenues for the answer to their needs. And oftentimes those avenues leave them exactly where they were in the beginning. They don't get their needs met. Because there are many very deceptive attitudes and very deceptive avenues to walk in order for a person to get their needs met. And especially is that true in the area of people's emotional needs or spiritual needs. But it's true also in physical and material. Where do you go when you have a need in your life? Is there a place? Are there many places? For example, when you have some emotional need, where do you go for that? When you have a spiritual need where do you go for that? Whatever the need may be you have some place you attempt to go in some way that you attempt to fulfill that need. What I'd like to do in this message is to give you one place you can go that I can guarantee you without a shadow of a doubt, you will get your need met. Now when I tell you what it is you're going to say, "Oh it couldn't be that simple." That's not the way it is. Well just listen carefully. Listen, be wise enough to listen to the truth. Because it may be that you've never thought about it in this light. All I'm going to do is to explain to you what the Bible says, this is God's eternal Word. This is the Word by which we're going to be judged. It's a Word of instruction and motivation. It's a Word of--it's a Word of conviction and support and comfort and direction and all the rest. It's totally adequate for everything. So I want you to simply ask the Lord to speak to your heart. And to show you that maybe you have some need or needs in your life that you've been trying to meet and somehow it's just not working right. I want to show you how it can work right. So if you'll turn to Hebrews chapter four. And I want us to read just a few verses of this chapter. And ah while you're turning there I want to look at the twelfth verse. Just to give you a word to preface our regular Scripture we're going to read. He says in the twelfth verse, "For the word of God, the Bible is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart." Which is His way of saying, when you open the Word of God and you begin to read the Word of God, what you'll do is this, you'll discover God's perspective and His view of what your real thoughts are. What you really feel. What your real desires are, the secret desires, the open desires, what your hurt, your pains. In other words, what the Word of God does, it helps us to understand and to see ourselves as God sees us. So in light of that then here's what He says beginning in verse thirteen, "And there is no creature hidden from the sight, from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confidence, our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with us in our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Now so we ask the question, where do you go to get your needs met? Now, watch this, or the devil will just trick you right up. There is one place you can go that you never have to worry about getting a wrong answer, that He'll always give you the right answer. And He's willing to give you the answer, willing to meet your need. And that is to one person and that's Jesus. Now for the rest of this message I want to show you why that's true. So whatever your hang-ups may be about Jesus and so forth, I want you to be honest enough to listen carefully to what the Word of God says. And why we would say that Jesus is the person to whom we're to go--listen, for our needs no matter what they may be. You say, "But suppose it's some financial needs?" He knows exactly how to give you guidance to meet that need. Suppose it's some health need? He is the Great Physician. Well you say, "Suppose it's some emotional need, I'm depressed." He is the answer to every single need we have. All I ask you to do is to be honest enough and open enough to consider what the Word of God says. So look what He says in this thirteenth verse. Because He makes it so crystal clear that Jesus knows all about our needs. We think we do sometimes. We think for example that we know exactly what our needs are and Lord here's what I want You to do. Sometimes we don't know what they are. So notice what He said, He said in this particular passage and He says in different ways. But He says, "There is no creature hidden from His sight." That is, "God sees every single person." He knows all about us. "No creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open--" And, listen, "laid bare. "That means uncovered, "to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do." Which means, the One to whom we're accountable. He sees every single thing. He knows every need we have every day and every hour of the day and every moment of it. He knows it. So you say, "Well, why do you say, 'go to Jesus'?" Well let me ask you this, who else knows you so perfectly? You can go to the physician, they can take a health stethoscope all this, all over you, take your blood and this, that and the other. And all these things and come back and give you a report. They know very little about you. As honest and as intent as they would be to discover what's going on inside of you. God knows all about it. He created these human bodies. He knows how you think. He knows why you get depressed. He knows why you're afraid. He knows why you're lonely. He knows why you're discouraged. He knows what you're concerned about and worried about and fretting about. He knows all about-- listen, He doesn't only know what's going on, He knows why it's going on and He knows the solution to solve that. And when I think about that, I think about when He says, nothing is hidden, everything is laid bare, everything is open. And you'll recall for example in one of the most familiar Psalms, the hundred and thirty ninth Psalm. Listen to these first four verses here. He says, "O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up, You understand my thoughts from afar. You scrutinize my path and my lying down, and are intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, behold, O Lord, You know it all." So why would we come to Jesus? Because He is the only person. He is the only person in existence that knows everything about us, inside, outside, what we think, how we think, why we do, what we do, our actions, our motives, our desires, the secret sins of our life, the open things that going. He's the only one who knows. So why would I not come to Him? He knows for example-- He says in Matthew chapter six in the Sermon on the Mount. You remember what He says in this sixth chapter and eighth verse? He says, "Do not be like them that is the unbeliever, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. The reason we come to Him is because He is the only one who perfectly knows everything there is about us. He said, nothing's covered from His eyes, every single thing. No secrets with God. You and I can fool each other maybe or somebody else but the Father knows it all. Jesus is the One to whom we should go for all our needs no matter who and what the need may be. Now there's a second thing I want you to notice here. And that's this, He mentions here, listen, Jesus is our High Priest before the throne of God. Now listen very carefully because somebody says, "Well, High Priest-- I'm not too interested in that." You ought to be. And here's the reason why, in the Old Testament for example, God set up the whole system for the nation of Israel to grow this nation and send a Messiah. And so He began all the way back in the Garden. And all through the Scriptures there are sacrifices and in this system which God set up among His people there was a great high priest, who was the one who went into the holy of holies. Where no one could go without losing their life except the high priest once a year, to place the atoning blood of the lamb at that time, to acknowledge the sinfulness of their nation. Now that great high priest was a symbol of many things. But most of all he was a foreshadowing of the Great High Priest who would come. Whom John the Baptist identified down by the Jordan as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Now watch this carefully because this is something that oftentimes causes people disagreement or sometimes anger and animosity. Or what oftentimes say, "Well, you folks are just are narrow-minded and you're not loving, you're not understanding. God's God would not be so narrow-minded as that." But I want you to listen to what this passage says. Because He says here, "Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. That is, Jesus who died on the cross, was buried, resurrected, back to heaven. And the tenth chapter says He is now seated at the right hand of the Father making intercession for us. Now what is all that about and what does that have to do with God meeting my needs? Well the throne of God is where He sits beside the Father. And that throne is a very, very important place. And in the Scriptures for example, there are many references to the throne. There is the throne of grace in this chapter. The throne of God in Matthew. The throne of God and the Lamb. The Glorious Throne. The Great White Throne. The eternal throne. It is a word that suggests royalty, power, authority, ruling and reigning. Jesus is the ruling, reigning Lord who sits at the Father's right hand making intercession for us. Now what does that have to do with God meeting my needs? Simply this, the Bible says, "For all of us have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Listen very carefully. "All of us have sinned and come short of the glory of God. The Scripture says, that our sins have separated us from God. So therefore, the truth about our relationship to Him before there is a salvation experience is, that we are sinners. That we've sinned against God. We live as we please. We do as we want to do. And our sins have separated us from God. And so, we have to ask the question. Now listen carefully, because I want to repeat something about four or five times. Ask yourself this question, all of us know that we've sinned against Him. Upon what basis can you go to Holy God, who has no sin in His presence. God is light, there is no darkness in Him at all, the Scripture says. On what basis can you go to God the Father and pray and expect God to hear and answer your prayer? And you see the word holy is not a very popular word anymore. Let me ask you this question, when is the last time you heard anybody even mention holy? What about your friends? What about people you go to church with? What about people you work with? When is the last time you-- anybody mentioned holy? Holiness is a characteristic of Almighty God. Sinless, perfect, holy. Now, listen, I ask you this question, on what basis can you go to Him to answer your prayers, your petitions, to have your needs met? Well one or two. You say, "Well, I haven't been too bad. I've been doing pretty good. I'm not a bad person. And therefore being as good as I am, even though I'm not perfect and the fact that He said I could come. Therefore, I can come and He will answer my prayer." And the answer is, absolutely not. Now here's the reason, the Scripture says your sins have separated you from God. So you have to ask yourself the question, on what basis can you as a sinner come to Holy God and expect Him to hear and answer your petition? Only on the basis of how good you think you are. Things that you haven't done. And He should accept you on that basis. Do you recognize how absolutely-- well you won't recognize it unless you understand holiness. You recognize how prideful that is, that you, a sinner, separated by your sins from absolutely Holy God and you're expecting Him to hear you on the basis that that you have not been too bad and you've been pretty good? Now you may not like the way I say this but it's the truth, it is an act of pure pride. And deception and ignorance and misunderstanding. Because here's what the great high priest did in the Old Testament, presented the presented the blood of a sacrifice to atone for the sins of the nation of Israel. When Jesus came, He came as the Great High Priest. When Jesus came, He came as the Father's final and ultimate sacrifice for the sin of all mankind. When Jesus Christ went to the cross, He went to the cross as a Lamb, the Lamb of God. He came into this world, not just to teach and preach and heal, though He did those things. He came primarily in order to die and shed His blood at Calvary. And the shedding of His blood at Calvary, atoned for, paid the sin debt of all mankind in full in one act in one moment of time. So that you and I would have access to Holy God. If and when we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior, which means that we accept Him as our atoning sacrifice for our sins. And receive Him as our Savior through the death of His Son, the Son of God. Now that's how we have access. Because now our sins have been atoned for. It is the blood of Jesus that makes it possible for us to approach Holy God. Now I know that many people would say, "Are you saying to me that Jesus Christ is the only way?" I'm simply saying to you, there is only one Great High Priest and He is Jesus. And without the shedding of the blood of Jesus Christ there is no access to Holy God. I know you may have many other beliefs. But I want you to answer the question. If you disagree answer the question, how does sinful man approach Holy God apart from the covering of the blood of Jesus Christ? There is no answer. And for example, I think about this passage in the thirty second Psalm, and there are many of them. But on the thirty second Psalm and the very first verse. Listen to what He says, He says, "How blessed is he whose transgression," listen, "whose sins are forgiven, whose sin is covered!" It is the blood of Jesus Christ that covers our sin." This is how you and I, sinful human beings, can approach Holy God and be accepted in His sight. And heard by Him to answer our needs because our sins have been atoned for. Forgiven. That is, we've been pardoned. Now when you reject the Lord Jesus Christ, what you do is you do this, you reject the only thing that covers your sin. When you reject the Lord Jesus Christ, you reject the only way that has access to God the Father. When you reject the Lord Jesus Christ, you reject His blood as a waste. His crucifixion was a waste. Because you're saying that you can go to the Father without Him. And what you're saying is, there's something in you, sinful human being, having been separated from God by your sins that somehow there is something in you that's good enough to be made acceptable in the eyes of God. And there's not a single verse in the Scripture to prove that or to defend that. He says, not by works of righteousness which we've done. But by His mercy, His grace, His love. And the shedding of His blood that we're saved. So why do you go to Jesus? Because He's the only way. And people say, "Well, I pray and these things happen." There may be some things that happen about which you pray but it isn't God answering your prayer. When you reject the only access to Holy, Righteous God, Jehovah God of the Bible, you have no other access. Now the devil will do everything in his power to get you to doubt that. But one thing for certain, you cannot prove it any other way in the Word of God. This is, listen, this is why Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except by Me." He knew that His death would atone for all of our sin. It isn't that God wants anybody to be lost or separated from Him. He's made the way. He's paved the way. He wants us to come to Him. But there is a way. Either I'm coming on my own prideful goodness and works, which are unacceptable. He says, our sins are like are like filthy rags in His sight. Not by works of righteousness which we've done. According to His it's His mercy. And His mercy is what brought about the shedding of His blood and the forgiveness of our sins. Now I recognize you work with people and you live around people, maybe somebody in your family. They say, "No, no, no, no, no God isn't such He's not so narrow-minded." Listen, is it narrow-minded that God, Holy God, would send His only Begotten Son into this world to die for our sins? Is that narrow-minded? No it is not. It is an expression of love. Now one thing that makes this so important is this, and that is, when you when I when I turn back to the--turn back to the second chapter. Listen to this, second chapter of Hebrews. And I want us to look at two verses here. Here's what He says, verse seventeen, Therefore, He that is Jesus. Watch this had to be made like us, like His brethren in all things, that is-- He was--listen, watch this. He was both God and man. As a man He was just like any other man as far as far as His being, flesh and blood and bone and so forth. So that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation or sacrifice for the sins of the people. He said, watch this, He said He had to be made like us in order to be a legitimate, acceptable sacrifice. Now let's think about that for a moment. Because we said, where do you get your needs met? Jesus is the One who meets our needs. He knows us perfectly. And He's the One who died for us and paid the price for our sins. Now the third thing I want you to notice here is this, that the Scripture says that Jesus sympathizes with all of our needs. Look at this passage. I want to read it a couple of times. Watch this, verse fifteen, "For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with us. That is, Jesus is One who sympathize. That is, He can feel and sense this, experiences this, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Now let's think about that for a moment because that's an awesome statement. We just read in that second chapter in the seventeenth verse what He said. And He said it so clearly. Therefore, He had to be made like us. That is, the Incarnation is that God the Son came into this world in the form of a baby, born of the Virgin Mary. He had to be like us growing up as a child, as a teenager, as a young man. And He says here, "Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, for a reason so that What? He might become merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. Now why was that? He says, "For since He Himself was tempted in that which He was--He suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted." Now let's look at this for a moment. When we think about Jesus being tempted we usually think about Jesus being in the wilderness being tempted by the devil. Do you think that's the only time He got tempted? He was tempted, listen. He was tempted from the time He was young. He was tempted in those early years. He was tempted in His adult years. He was tempted, listen, He was tempted even to the cross. Tried in every way. Somebody says, "Now wait a minute, you mean to tell me that Jesus was tempted in every way just like we are?" Well what does it say? It says He was tempted in all points such as we. Watch this, this is the reason He says that He sympathizes with us. To sympathize with somebody is to enter into their feelings, their hurt, their pain, their losses, their whatever's going on in their life. That He was tempted in all points as we. So whatever you might think, for example, when He began His ministry, people rejected Him. So He understands what rejection's all about. And He was tempted by the devil to become prideful and throw Himself off the temple. He was tempted in every single possible way. And He was tried. He had sorrow just like any other man would have sorrow. Over Judas who betrayed Him and Lazarus for example who died. He certainly felt the pain and rejection of the fact that His whole nation rejected Him. So He knows about rejection. He knows about sorrow at Lazarus' tomb. And sorrow about people who were around Him. And I think about the loneliness He must have felt the night of His crucifixion, before His crucifixion. All of His disciples left Him. Of all the moments in His life that He needed the assurance and the help. He said to them, "Look will you just go over here and pray a little while and then He went and found them asleep." He knew all about loneliness and rejection. He knew all about pain on the cross. He knew all about--listen, this is the one thing that He knew all about that we forget. Jesus knew all about the weight of guilt. If I should ask you, when you sin against God do you feel guilty? Amen? That's really weak. Let me tell you the issue here, if you sin against God and you feel no conviction whatsoever of the Holy Spirit, when we give the invitation you need to come down the aisle and get saved. Because the Spirit of God, one of His primary responsibilities is to make us aware of our sin and our guilt. What I want you to see is this, Jesus knows, watch this, He knows exactly what guilt feels like. Because, listen, not because He sinned. Because He didn't. He says in this passage, without sin. The reason He knows what guilt feels like is because He took upon Himself--listen, the guilt of all of your sin and mine and the sin of the whole world. So think about something that He would, He was tempted in every way. You say, "Well, wait a minute, now wait a minute. He couldn't be tempted like something men are tempted." For example, let's say tempted morally, or women, either one wouldn't make any difference. When He says in all points, all points. When He says tempted in all points such as we, because, listen, if there were some area that you and I could be tempted or tried in, some difficulty or hardship we're facing. If there were some area that we could be tempted and tried in that He wasn't, we'd say, "Yeah but Jesus here's the thing about it. You don't understand what I'm going through. You don't understand how I feel. If You understood how I felt--" you'd go on with a lot of excuses for sinning. Everyone. He knows exactly how we feel. So it would be foolish to try to go to somebody else to answer all of my needs. And to meet all my needs. When there is only one who can meet them all. You can go to a soothsayer, you can go to a fortune teller, you can go to a psychologist or a psychiatrist. You go to a lot of people and just vent what you feel and your needs and the things that are going on in your life. And how pitiful things are and a little sympathy and so forth. The fact that you told somebody may make you feel better but it does not mean that God heard you. Now I know that rubs against somebody's grain. Ooh I can feel it. But let me tell you something, only because I care, only because it's the truth and because I love you enough to say, this is the truth of the Word of God. At least consider it before you to turn it off. So when He says He was tempted and tried in every way such as we. Listen, the reason He said that was, He wants us to understand, He understands us. He--listen, He says He sympathizes. That means, that Jesus can sort of get into my emotions, and He knows exactly how I feel. When you have fears in your life and when you're worried and anxious about things, does He understand it? Yes He does. Did He sin by being worried? No. But He understands. This--listen, this is why He said in Matthew twice there, that He knows our needs even before we ask Him. He understands why we do what we do. He understood why Judas betrayed Him. Did it hurt Him? Sure it hurt Him because He knew what the end result of that was going to be. Listen, not for Himself, but for Judas. When Peter denied Him just think about, this this was Peter, James and John, His three most intimates. And Peter number one at least as far as outward expression is concerned. And what did he do? He denied that he even knew Him on the night before His crucifixion. But He told him, He said, "You're going to nigh-- deny Me." Did it hurt Him? Yes. Anybody ever reject you? There's no such thing as being rejected without feeling it. Every divorced person, every separated person, every runaway child. They know what rejection, they know what feelings that are hurt, that are painful. They know all about that. He says, "I know about everything you feel." There are some things that go on today for example that didn't go on then. But listen, the end result's the same. End result, sin is sin. And He says, "What I want you to know is that I understand that I am sympathetic, that I understand that I've taken upon Myself the feelings. And when you come to Me weeping and crying. You've been deserted, walked away from, of lost everything," He says, "I know how you feel." Who else can tell you that? Only Jesus. So this whole passage is about this awesome Great High Priest, the Son of God, our Savior, Lord and Master. Of how much He loves us, how much He understands us, and listen, He wants us to come to Him. This isn't about, don't go to God. This about, come to Him. Because, listen, He is ready and willing and able to help us with our needs. He's certainly able because He's all powerful. And omniscient, He fully understands. For example, when you go through some difficult time in your life of personal disaster, whatever it might be, who do you want to talk to? You want to talk to somebody who's been there. Somebody who can feel what you feel. Well what He's saying in this passage, whatever your hurt, your pain, your suffering, your sorrow, your temptation, your trial, Jesus says, "I've been there." That is, He has felt something equal to what we feel no matter what situation we may be facing in life. And so when you think about this, His very title, the Great High Priest. He's the One who's covered our sin at the cross. The Son of God, the Incarnate Son of God who came into this world to die for our sins. Our relationship to Him, He's our Savior, and our Lord and our Master. He knows our needs and He desires that our needs be met. And when I think about that, I think about the way He expresses love toward us. And notice in this passage there, twice He says, "therefore". Look at this, He's just said that He knows all about our needs and so forth. And He says on the basis of that, "Therefore, since we have a great high priest." And then after He talks about being sympathetic again, He says, "Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne for grace and mercy." So when there is a need in your life you have access to the One who knows exactly how you feel. Exactly how to heal that. And how to help through that and how to meet that need no matter what it might be. But I would ask you this, where do you go first? Do you call your friends? You tell somebody else how you feel? He says, "I want you to tell Me." That He says, "Therefore, because everything is known to Me and I'm the Great High Priest and I can handle it." Therefore because I am and I'm sympathetic, therefore I want you to draw near to Me with confidence. And we're yet we're so often prone to want somebody else to answer our needs and somebody else to help us through situations and circumstances. And when He says, "We're to draw nigh." That is, draw nigh to the throne. What is He talking about? He's talking about coming to Him in prayer. We're l now but watch this, we're to come to Him on, listen. He says, "The throne of grace, mercy. This is where you--this is why you found not condemnation, not judgment, not God rejecting us." But, watch this, because you are a child of God. You have accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior. You have personally the Great High Priest who--listen, who is interceding for you. Because by His blood, He's covered your sin. And you're coming to Him asking for forgiveness. And that forgiveness is available because He's atoned for your sin at the cross and you r received Him as your personal Savior. You have access to Him. And He says, "I want you to come confidently. That's where I want you to come. I want you to come joyfully." That is, when you're thanking Him or whatever it might be. You can come under great conviction. But He says, "What I want you to do is I want you to come without hesitation, openly, without a doubt knowing that you're going to be heard as a child of God." But now watch, if you come to Him and you have excluded out of your life Jesus. No High Priest, you don't believe in any of that. And you're coming to Him, asking for Him to do something. I ask you again, on what basis when you have rejected His only Begotten Son, the Savior of the Word, the Lamb of God who was slain before the foundation of the world for your sin and mine? On what basis is God going to ignore all of that and answer your petition? He's not going to. You say, "Well, that frightens me." It'll ought to. Because you don't have any access. The blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin. But if you ignore that--listen, watch this, if the Bible says, "If we walk in the light as He is in the light, the blood of Jesus Christ His Son is what He's saying is it's continually cleansing us from all sin." So let me ask you this, you don't believe in Jesus, you rejected Him, what about your sin? Here's what I want you to see and I say it in absolute love. What separates us from the Father is sin. The blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from sin. When you eliminate that, I ask you again, what do you have? What basis are you coming? It is a prideful thought that you could be good enough in your sins for God to accept you when He has already said without the shedding of blood, there is absolutely no forgiveness. That's God's Word. So therefore, on the basis of that and twice He says therefore here. Notice what He says, therefore He says we're to come to Him confidently. Why does He say that? Because we have a right to. We're coming under the blood of Jesus Christ. He's atoned for our sin. He's opened the door. He says, "We're to come-- listen, boldly to the throne. Now, watch this, He says, boldly to the throne of grace find mercy and help in time of need. Now, watch this, here's what mercy is. In mercy--watch this, in mercy, God is not giving me what I deserve. Did you get that? In mercy, He's so--He's not giving me what I deserve. In grace, He gives me what I don't deserve. I don't deserve grace. But He graces us anyway. In mercy, what is He doing? He's not giving me what I deserve because if He did, He'd cast me out. He says, "Come boldly". Now, listen, that doesn't mean irreverently-- and the man upstairs, He'll-- I talk to Him, who whoever it is up there. Very irreverent. We've forgotten the fact that God is holy. And we come to Him, we're to come to Him in a spirit of submission and humility and humbleness before Him. I'll tell you a way you can check out whether you reverence and honor God or not. Now He says, "When you come you can come boldly, confidently because I want you to come." He says, "Look this is not the throne of judgment. This is not the throne of condemnation. This is not the throne of rejection." This is not the throne of rewards or final rewards. It's a throne of grace, mercy, love, forgiveness, cleansing, a new start. All that we need, whatever it might be. So I want you to think about something for a moment. You say, "Well, I'm a humble person. I'm not prideful." Well let me ask you this, if I said to you, I want to suggest to you that beginning tonight before you go to bed, that you-- and whatever your need is that you want to bring to the Father. I want to suggest that here's what you do, you get on your knees beside the bed and you read this passage to God. Now I know He knows it all. You read this passage to God and you say, "Lord, You said that You know it all anyway. And You said that Jesus, You've shed Your blood for in my behalf. And You said You understand exactly what I'm feeling and what my needs are. And You said that I have the right to come to you. And what I'll find mercy and grace to help in this time of need." Are you willing to get on your knees and read that Scripture to God and tell Him what your needs are? And the reason that you would bow on your knees before Him is simply because who He is. He's the Righteous, Holy God who has no equal whatsoever. I'll tell you something, it will transform your prayer life. Because what you're doing is you're getting on your knees before Holy God and you are acknowledging His holiness, His righteousness, His perfection. You're acknowledging His omniscience, that He knows all about you. You're acknowledging His omnipotence, He has the power to change any circumstance of your life. You're acknowledging His grace and His mercy. That He would invite you to come to be forgiven or to be helped, whatever that might be. What would keep you from doing that? You may say, "Well, I don't have to get on my knees to pray." No you don't. Why wouldn't you? I know some people may have a physical problem. But I want to ask you this very seriously, what would keep you from opening His Word to this simple passage of Scripture? Which is a passage of all-- it's all about encouragement. What would keep you from getting on your knees and acknowledging that you need Him? And that you don't have the right to come to Him except by the blood of Jesus? What would keep you from doing that? One thing primarily, pride. I don't need to do that. God understands me. I got along this along without it. I don't need to do that. Which is one of the worst sins you can commit is pride. Because what you're saying is, I don't need it. Or maybe some sin in your life that you don't want to give up. You don't want to lay it down. So you're certainly not going to get down and read this passage about the fact that He knows all about your sin. It will transform your prayer life. Here's what'll happen, you'll get serious about coming to Him. You'll get serious about your relationship to Him. You'll get serious about the recognition of His holiness. When I think about all the desires of the heart of God, what's worship anyway? We're not to worship anything other than the person of God. Pride will keep us off our knees. Pride will cause us to rationalize and say, "Well, I don't think that's necessary." No it may not be necessary. But let me ask you this, when is the last time you did anything that was an indication of your recognition of His holiness, our unworthiness and His awesome love to save us? I challenge you to do it. Because you see, this is all about what He's doing for us. It's all about Him meeting our needs. He knows all about them. He's paid the price. He's willing to do it. We have access to Him. And He says, "Come boldly, come confidently, I'm waiting. I want to help you. I want to meet your needs. But you have to come His way, by the blood of Jesus." And I would say to you my friend, if you've never been saved, if you've never trusted Jesus as your Savior. Here's what I want you to understand, no matter what somebody tells you, what somebody claims, how many books you read, how many sermons you hear, how many times you go to confession, here is a truth that is absolutely, eternally undeniable. Jesus Christ, the Virgin born, Incarnate Son of God came into this world for the primary purpose of dying on the cross. And shedding His blood at Calvary. So that all who will accept Him as Savior also receive Him as the Great High Priest who sits at the Father's right hand making intercession, making it possible for you and me to come to Him to get our needs met. That is an eternal expression of love. And to reject Him is to reject your only hope. And to receive Him is to begin life from a whole different perspective. And that's my prayer for you. Father how grateful we are for Your awesome love. That You would say to us, "Come boldly to My throne. And you will find mercy and you'll find grace, My forgiveness and My cleansing and the answer to every need of your life. Father, You couldn't make it any simpler than that. And we just want to say we thank You. And pray that every person who hears this message will be honest, intellectually honest enough to consider this truth and the fact that You're the God before one day they will stand and give an account for their life. In fact You made it very clear that one day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to Your glory and honor. And we pray this in Jesus' name, amen. announcer: If you've been blessed by today's program, please visit us at intouch.org.
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Channel: In Touch Ministries
Views: 480,875
Rating: 4.8270669 out of 5
Keywords: Charles F. Stanley, Charles Stanley, In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley, In Touch Ministries, Preaching, Bible teaching, Dr. Stanley, Intouch ministries, intouch
Id: PlgFpXJXW38
Channel Id: undefined
Length: 46min 53sec (2813 seconds)
Published: Wed May 06 2020
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