LET US APPROACH GOD'S THRONE WITH CONFIDENCE! (3 OF 12)
Scripture: Hebrew 4:14, Hebrew 5:10
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Let Us Approach God's Throne With Confidence! (3 of 12)
Series: Let Us
Dennis Marquardt
Hebrew 4:14-5:10
INTRO: Fear can be a devastating thing! When we are not confident in something or someone we feel fearful, and this can keep us from moving forward in life.
One really great example of this was after World War II:
ILLUS: A Japanese soldier by the name of Shoichi Yokoi lived in a cave on the island of Guam to which he fled in 1944 when the tides of war began to change. Fearing for his life, he stayed hidden for twenty-eight years in the jungle cave, coming out only at night. During this self-imposed exile he lived on frogs, rats, snails, shrimp, nuts and mangoes. Even when he figured out the war was over he was afraid to come out for fear he would be executed. Two hunters found him one day and escorted him to freedom. He was living all this time under the indictment of sins that had all been dealt with--but he simply had not appropriated the atonement that was available. -- James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988) p. 36.
In the same way many people view God as a fearsome and frightening entity. They either believe God doesn't care, or doesn't exist, or if He does He in unapproachable. This is so far from the picture we have of Christ in the Bible, in fact, the opposite is true - Jesus Christ is not only approachable, He literally experienced our humanity, including temptations to sin in order to become a perfect high priest to help us, and to heal us from our sinful ways.
No human being other than Jesus Christ can offer to mediate between God and man, if they are just another human being they are flawed and don't even know what it means to stand in God's presence - they therefore can't qualify as our mediator. And God the Father is so perfect that we could never stand in His direct presence as we are as sinners. Christ therefore became a living breathing fully human being and experienced our hum ...
Series: Let Us
Dennis Marquardt
Hebrew 4:14-5:10
INTRO: Fear can be a devastating thing! When we are not confident in something or someone we feel fearful, and this can keep us from moving forward in life.
One really great example of this was after World War II:
ILLUS: A Japanese soldier by the name of Shoichi Yokoi lived in a cave on the island of Guam to which he fled in 1944 when the tides of war began to change. Fearing for his life, he stayed hidden for twenty-eight years in the jungle cave, coming out only at night. During this self-imposed exile he lived on frogs, rats, snails, shrimp, nuts and mangoes. Even when he figured out the war was over he was afraid to come out for fear he would be executed. Two hunters found him one day and escorted him to freedom. He was living all this time under the indictment of sins that had all been dealt with--but he simply had not appropriated the atonement that was available. -- James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988) p. 36.
In the same way many people view God as a fearsome and frightening entity. They either believe God doesn't care, or doesn't exist, or if He does He in unapproachable. This is so far from the picture we have of Christ in the Bible, in fact, the opposite is true - Jesus Christ is not only approachable, He literally experienced our humanity, including temptations to sin in order to become a perfect high priest to help us, and to heal us from our sinful ways.
No human being other than Jesus Christ can offer to mediate between God and man, if they are just another human being they are flawed and don't even know what it means to stand in God's presence - they therefore can't qualify as our mediator. And God the Father is so perfect that we could never stand in His direct presence as we are as sinners. Christ therefore became a living breathing fully human being and experienced our hum ...
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