02-20-2022 - Sermon - Let Us Draw Near

OPENING

I still feel like something good is about to happen. I still feel like something good is on its way. I’ve got a feeling, that everything is going to be alright.

I don’t know about you, but I am hungry for a revival. A true outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Where souls are saved. Where the sick are healed. Where miracles are performed. Where addictions are broken. Where those bound by the power of the enemy are delivered and set free.

Greater things are yet to come and greater things are still to be done. God is not done yet, He’s just getting started! But God is waiting for some individuals to desire to draw closer in their relationship with Him. He’s looking for some worshipers! He’s looking for some who will seek His face! He’s looking for some who will get on the spiritual battlefield and wage spiritual warfare against the enemy! He’s looking for some who will give all they have to reach the next soul that needs saving!

That is why I feel compelled to preach this message this morning. God has been dealing with my heart on this subject for several weeks. I believe what the Spirit is saying to the church today is “Let Us Draw Near.”

I heard someone say the other day, “As a Christian, you are either falling, camping, or climbing.” In other words, in your relationship with God, you are either (1) falling back and moving away from God, (2) camping out, or sitting still and not progressing, or (3) you are climbing, you are moving forward and drawing closer to God. This is not the time to fall back. This is not the time to simply camp out. This is the time to climb!

This is the time to draw closer to God. It’s time to step into the water. It’s time to wade out a little bit deeper. It’s time to let go of whatever you’re holding onto that is holding you back and jump in feet first into the presence of God! The message this morning is simply titled “Let Us Draw Near.”

SCRIPTURE

Hebrews 10:19–22 NKJV

19 Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and having a High Priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

MESSAGE

What a powerful passage of Scripture. Makes me want to shout! Those of you who are part of our Bible Study on Wednesday nights will hopefully recognize the imagery in these verses that are intended to remind us of Old Covenant, the tabernacle, the animal sacrifices, and the Levitical law. But the main point of the book of Hebrews is that Jesus is better! Jesus is better than Moses! Jesus is better than the high priests. Jesus is better than the Law! Jesus is better than the Tabernacle! Jesus is better than animal sacrifices! Jesus has provided a new and a living way through His own blood, by which we can come boldly into the presence of God!

Jesus Has Given us the Boldness to Enter into God’s Presence (19)

Hebrews 10:19 NKJV

19 Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus,

Therefore, brethren

The writer of Hebrews begins verse 19 with, “Therefore.” Every time you see the word “therefore” in the Bible, it means you need to go back and look at what the writer had to say before this verse. The writer is drawing a conclusion based on what he has just written. Here in Hebrews Chapter 10, let’s backup to verse 11 to get a sense of what he’s been writing about.

Hebrews 10:11–18 NKJV

11 And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, 13 from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. 14 For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. 15 But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before, 16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,” 17 then He adds, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” 18 Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.

The writer of Hebrews is trying to get across to us that Jesus is better! Jesus is the once-for-all, eternal, perfect, sacrifice for sins and sits enthroned in Heaven as our High Priest and mediator between us and God. Through His death and resurrection, Jesus has canceled the sin debt and now there is no longer a need for another sin offering. Jesus is our all sufficient sacrifice!

having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus,

The Holiest refers to the Holy of Holies or the Most Holy Place. It was the inner room of the Tabernacle and later the Temple where the Ark of the Covenant rested. The Mercy Seat that sat on top of the Ark was the place where God said His presence would come down and dwell among His people. But under the Old Covenant only one man could enter behind the veil; the High Priest. And he could only enter behind the veil on one day a year; the Day of Atonement. And he entered with fear and trembling, because if he had sin in his heart that had not been atoned for, or if he had not performed the animal sacrifices perfectly, when he went in to sprinkle the blood of the sacrifice, he would die.

But now Jesus presides over the Heavenly reality to the earthly copy. The Tabernacle and Temple were just a copy of the reality of God’s throne and the courts of Heaven. We can now enter into the Holy of Holies, into the very presence of God, through the Blood of Jesus Christ. We don’t have to worry whether our sacrifice is perfect. Jesus’ sacrifice was perfect. We don’t have to worry about if we did everything right today. Because our access to God is no longer granted on the basis of our own works, but on the finished work of Christ! Therefore, we can enter into the presence of God with boldness!

Jesus Has Given us the Promise of a New and Living Way (20-21)

Hebrews 10:20–21 NKJV

20 by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and having a High Priest over the house of God,

By a new and living way

This is an interesting phrase. The word “new” is the Greek word “prosphatos” which means newly or freshly slain. In other words, even though Jesus Christ was crucified some 2,000 years ago, it is as if He was just recently slain. Under the Old Covenant, the blood had to be applied while it was fresh, immediately after the animal was sacrificed. But Christ’s blood is always fresh. In 2,000 years the blood of Jesus has not lost its power or its potency. And it never will! The blood of Jesus is still saving sinners. The blood of Jesus is still atoning for sin. The blood of Jesus is still granting access to ordinary men and women like you and I into the presence of God.

The blood of Jesus still applies today because it is a living way. The animals under the Old Covenant died. Jesus, as the Lamb of God, also died for our sins, but He did something else the animals could not do. He is the only sacrifice to rise from the dead, never to die again. Jesus is our living way! Jesus is our living hope! Jesus is our living sacrifice! And because He lives, we can face tomorrow! Because He lives, all fear is gone! Because He lives, we also live, because His blood has been applied to our lives! Because He lives, we can enter into the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, into the presence of Almighty God!

Which He consecrated for us

The word “consecrated” in this verse is the Greek word “egkainizo” which means to initiate or to open. Jesus initiated this new and living way through His death, burial, and resurrection. When He ascended into Heaven and sat down at the right hand of God, He opened the door for us to be ushered into the presence of God.

Through the veil, that is, to say His flesh

The veil in the Tabernacle and Temple separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies or Most Holy Place where the Ark rested. The veil separated God from man under the Old Covenant. But when Jesus died on the Cross, the veil that was in the Temple was rent from top to bottom. Those people who were standing near the Temple at that moment and had a view of the veil, could have seen directly into the Holy of Holies and looked upon the Ark of the Covenant. This was symbolic of what happened in Heaven. Jesus’ body was the veil that was torn for us on the Cross so that now we have direct access to God. We can come to Him boldly. We can enter into His presence through prayer, through praise, through worship, through reading and studying His Word.

And having a High Priest over the House of God

Not only was Jesus the sacrifice for sins, but He is also our High Priest. He has an eternal priesthood that will never end. Now all that come to God must come through His Eternal Son. Simply put, we come to the Father through the Son. That is the only way. No other way will work.

Jesus Has Given us the Privilege to Draw Near to God (22)

Hebrews 10:22 NKJV

22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

Let us draw near

This is the sum of the matter. Let us draw near to God. The Bible says in James 4:8, “draw nigh to God and He will draw nigh to you.” God desires a close, intimate, personal, relationship with each and every one of us. God has already initiated it. He has consecrated, or opened up, and new and living way through the crucifixion and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ. Now you and I have the awesome privilege of drawing close to God, entering into His presence, and enjoying fellowship and communion with Him every day. We have access to something that the prophets of old only dreamed about. They had the Spirit of God upon them for a limited period of time. We have access to the indwelling power of the Spirit of God all day every day. We also have access to the power of Pentecost that is available to every believer.

How to we draw near? The writer of Hebrews gives us four ways:

With a true heart

Even with all Christ has done for us, we still can’t come to God in any way we choose. We must approach Him with a true heart, with a pure heart. Jesus told the woman at the well that God desires true worshippers to worship Him. God is a spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. God knows our hearts. Out of the abundance of your heart you mouth with speak. Out of the abundance of your heart, you body, soul, and spirit will worship. Remember worship means “worth-ship.” How you worship God is a reflection of how much worth you place on Him. What is the temperature of your worship? Is it hot or cold? If God is truly worth everything to you, how about worship Him like it!

In full assurance of faith

We enter into God’s presence with faith, not fear. And we do not simply have blind faith. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Our faith is not blind because the object of our faith is Christ and the Cross. God desires us to approach Him through faith. In fact the writer of Hebrews says, without faith you cannot please God, for He that comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. We can’t be partially persuaded. We must be completely convinced. What about your faith in God? Are you partially persuaded? Or are you completely convinced that He is who He says He is and He can do what He says He can do?

Having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience

The first two items have been things primarily that we do. These next two items are primarily the work of God in us. The writer of Hebrews says we are to approach God having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience. The priests under the Old Covenant would sprinkle objects and people with the blood of the sacrifice in order to cleanse them and sanctify them for God’s use. In fact, the Bible says that Moses sprinkled all the people of Israel to set them apart from all the other people of the world and to confirm the covenant between them and God.

If you are saved and you have repented of your sins, then you have been sprinkled, let’s just go ahead and say covered, by the blood of Jesus. He has cleansed you and washed you of your sins. Therefore, there is no reason to carry around an evil or a guilty conscience of your past sins. A lot of times people don’t approach God because they don’t feel worthy. Well join the crowd because there is no one that is worthy. We have access to God not based on our own righteousness, not based on our own worthiness, but based on the righteousness and worthiness of Christ! Don’t let your past keep you from pursuing God. If you haven’t repented of your sins, then repent. If you have repented, but you’re still carrying around the weight of your past, then let God sprinkle your heart from an evil conscience and start living like a child of God! Stop bringing up things to God that He has already cast into the great big sea of forgetfulness!

And our bodies washed with pure water

This sounds like a reference to baptism. But remember, baptism is just an outward sign of an inward change that has already taken place. So I think the writer of Hebrews is referring to the spiritual application of what baptism represents. I think the key word in this phrase is “pure.” We are to be washed in “pure” water. The priests under the Old Covenant would wash their hands at the brass laver and were sometimes required to wash their whole bodies in order to remain clean. As we talked about last week, Jesus is going to present His bride, the church, as a glorious bride without spot or blemish. One of the ways He does this is by cleansing her by the washing of the water of the Word. When we come to God initially for salvation, we repent of our sins, and He forgives us and cleanses us. But the cleansing process does not stop there. When we sin after becoming a Christian, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. We come to Him and confess and repent of our sins and He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

The primary ways we are convicted of sin is through the unction of the Holy Spirit and through the application of God’s Word. We need to be washed with the water of the Word on a daily basis.

CLOSING

Church, “Let Us Draw Near!” What and honor and a privilege we have to have fellowship and relationship with the One True Living God. The Creator of Heaven and Earth. What an awesome thought that God desires to have fellowship and relationship with us. Jesus has provided everything we need in order to draw near to God. He has provided a new and a living way. He has torn down the veil that separated us from God and He has opened up access for us into the presence of God. God wants you to approach Him with a true heart. He wants you to approach Him in full assurance of faith in who He is and what He can do. He wants to remove your sin, your shame, and your guilt. And He wants to wash you daily in the pure water of His Word.

If you are still standing on the outside looking in, what are you waiting for? Draw near! Stop falling back and stop camping out. Start climbing! Has it been a while since you’ve experience the presence of God? When is the last time you experienced the power of Pentecost in your life? If you’ve never experienced it, then you’ve got at least one reason to draw closer to God. Even if you feel like you are close to God or you are closer to Him today than you’ve ever been in your life, I guarantee you that there are still some areas in your life that you still draw closer to Him.

ALTAR CALL

Draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord. To the Cross where Thou hast died. Draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord. To Thy precious bleeding side.

Are you ready to surrender and draw nearer to God? How about let go of that pew and come to the altar and let God surround your with His presence. Come on and step into the water and wade out a little bit deeper. Come on and pray. God, if there is anything in my heart that is not true, take it out. God if there is any seed of doubt in who you are or what you can do, take it out. God if there is any shame or guilt from my past, take it out. God if there are any areas of my life that don’t line up with your Word, take them out.

Why don’t you come to Jesus and let Jesus change your life!