Some ministers Present God to their congregations as if God is so far away and that, he can not be approachable. This is a wrong way of seeing God and relating with him, God so much loves us and he always seeking to have communion with us.
Let’s look at our core point of emphasis which says made us to know that we have direct access to God. ” For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin”. verse16 says”Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need”.
Hebrews 4:15-16 (NKJV)
The Hebrews 10 verses give us the right to come to the throne; the Hebrews 4 verses give us the reason to come to the throne.
Think about your relationship with the President of your country. Most likely, you can’t easily approach the President on your own. If someone gave you a “pass” to get to him, that would be great. But even then, other than for the novelty of it, what would be the point? He is in a totally different place in life than you and me, and he has a lot of things going on, so he’s probably not going to be able to connect with what you need from him. I’m sure he would listen kindly with the best of intentions, but ultimately, he’s probably not going to be able to personally help you.
With Jesus’ blood, we have that “pass” to get to God, our Father in heaven. But what would be the real value of that if we only found God to be some high and mighty king who reigned from a distance, who couldn’t directly connect with His children? It would be an honor to be in His presence, but it wouldn’t be an intimate encounter.
That is not at all the case, though! When we come before the throne of God, He is thrilled. He has extended an invitation: come, draw near. He has told us to come boldly, with confidence. Why? Because He understands what we are going through – because He, Himself endured everything we will ever face and He can relate first-hand!
By the way, it’s important to know that the word for “tempted” in Hebrews 4:15 can also be translated to indicate enduring “trials” or “tests.” (Sometimes in our language today, we don’t think of temptations, trials and tests as having the same meaning, and that could cause you to miss the value in that verse.) How comforting it is to know that Jesus relates to us on such a real level. No one can compare to that.
Here is a popular passage from the book of Isaiah that foretold Jesus’ life, and which gives us further insight into His ability to relate to our trials: Isaiah 53:3-4,7 (NKJV)
He willingly lived that life for us, so now He can understand what you’re talking about when you come to His throne aching from your trials and tribulations.
And here’s just one more word study for this lesson: The word for “mercy” that Hebrews 4:16 says will be extended to us, indicates an outward expression of pity, or sympathy that is expressed by helping someone, and not just by remaining passively interested.
God invites us. He gives us the right to come boldly. He understands our needs. And He will respond with love and compassion.
Keep that in mind the next time you pray. See if it doesn’t change the way you talk to Him. Let’s walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. HEBREWS 4:16 TM
If you’ve been to an amusement park you know that it’s designed to transport you to another world. The goal of the entire experience is to help you lose yourself in its joy and excitement. In prayer, we’re transported to another world. Now, a theme park is all make-believe; you have to leave it and come back the real world. But there is no make believe with prayer. It takes us into the heavenly realm where Jesus is sitting at the right hand of God. It positions us to hear from God. Hear what? Hear God’s voice applying His Word to our specific needs and circumstances. But let’s admit it, prayer can be hard work; it requires discipline. It’s not as easy as running around having fun at an amusement park. All of us know what it’s like to get down on our knees with the best of intentions, and either fall asleep, run out of things to say, or find our minds wander- ing after just a few minutes.
“Prayer changes things,” as the old saying goes, but it first has to change us: to turn us from a self-focus to a God-focus so we can understand and do His will. The writer to the Hebrews puts it this way: “We don’t have a high priest who is out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all-all but the sin. So let’s walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help” (verse. 14-16 TM). Today you have direct access to God through prayer and studying the word of God. Use it and the Lord will meet you at the point of your need. Amen.
