Security: Grace and Mercy in Time of Need

I can find grace and mercy in time of need.

Hebrews 4:16 ESV
16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

First a few comments on the context of this verse. If we go back to verse 12, we are told that the Word of God is living and active, able to cut into the very deepest part of our being. Verse 13 tells us that no creature is hidden from the eyes of God. Every aspect of our life and being is available for his scrutiny - and judgment, for to Him we must give account.

Verses 14 and 15 talk about our great high priest who is now established in heaven, but yet this same high priest can fully empathize with us. He was fully tempted and yet did not sin.

First there is God's Word to faithfully show us who God is and who we really are. Then we see the sovereign God watching and knowing everything about us. God's Son Jesus conquered the cross and death and is now seated at the right hand of God the Father, yet He knows our struggle here below.

If you approach the throne of grace with a sincere heart, and come believing and trusting in only the blood of Jesus Christ your Savior, then you need not be alarmed at the Sovereign God who holds people accountable for their sin; for the blood of Jesus has removed all of your sin, and you now wear the robe of His righteousness.

There is grace and mercy at the Father's throne. This is not grace and mercy to merely solve our problems, which it does, but grace and mercy so that we may enjoy a true heart to heart relationship with our loving Heavenly Father.

No matter the sin, the believer is confident that the blood of Jesus can cover that sin. The barrier is gone - run to the throne!

God Bless You,
Dennis

Accepted: The Review

To recap the ways that we are accepted by God:

• I am God's child
• I am Christ's friend
• I have been justified
• I am united with the Lord, and I am one with Him in spirit
• I have been bought with a price - I belong to God
• I am a member of Christ's body
• I am a saint - a holy one
• I have been adopted as God's child
• I have direct access to God through the Holy Spirit
• I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins
• I am complete in Christ

If I rephrase these, we may benefit from a different perspective:

• God has made me His child
• Christ has declared me His friend
• God has provided my justification
• God has made me one with Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit
• God sought me out and bought me, at great price
• God has placed me into the body of Christ, in just the right place
• God has separated me out for His purposes and His glory
• God chose to adopt me, even though He knew all about my sin
• God give me constant access to Himself through the Holy Spirit
• God has provided my redemption and forgiveness through Jesus Christ
• God has made me complete in Christ with new life

This exercise was to drive into our minds that it is God who has made it His charge to care for His children. We must not take such wonderful grace for granted, or even worse taking credit for the good things in our lives.

Accepted

In the last several messages we have looked at numerous ways that the believer is accepted. The believer is wholeheartedly accepted by God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Not only is God accepting, but it is only by His plan and His grace that we are accepted.

In the dictionary being accepted means being treated as one that belongs, as one that satisfies the requirements and as one that is wanted. The same can be said about the believer.

The context of our discussion laid out in the beginning is that some of us have a problem with anger. Most people respond to an angry person by excluding them and pushing them away. Note the outstretched, accepting arms of Jesus Christ. If we strive to come with a humble, repentant heart, then He says to us, "Come to me, I will give you rest". In this context that might be rest from the anger that simmers in our heart, the angry response that we feel throughout our being and the angry response by which we sin against others. We cannot communicate God's message to others out of a heart of anger.

So we lay this piece of the foundation: Even with my sin, I am accepted by God the Father through the redeeming blood of Jesus Christ and the powerful working of the Holy Spirit. We must pray that we can truly understand this and rejoice in it. The first step toward our healing is to receive the acceptance that Jesus Christ offers. Realize that what Jesus Christ has for us supersedes anything else we can imagine.

God Bless You,
Dennis