Draw Near
Draw Near • Sermon • Submitted
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· 7 viewsin this time of fasting and praying to start the new year, we want to draw nearer to God and further from the world.
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He Will Meet You
Good morning CHURCH! (You are looking righteous today)
Are you ready to be equipped today?
Start your timer.
Let me see your Bibles.
Let’s go to the book of John and Romans for this week’s wisdom Vaccination.
This Week’s Wisdom Vaccination
John 1:12
John 1:12
But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,
If you have believed that Jesus is the son of God and he also is God and that he died, was buried and rose from the grave, you are now a child of God.
And remember that this belief is not just that it happened but also that it brought about a great exchange, from sinner in God’s sight to righteous in God’s sight.
Romans 8:17
Romans 8:17
And if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
Heirs – kleronomos in the Greek.
One who receives his allotted possession by right of sonship.
Joint-heirs – sugkleronomos in the Greek.
A joint participant who obtains something along with others.
Whatever Christ is in line to receive from the Father is also what we should be expecting to receive.
Today we are starting a new series.
Draw Near
Draw Near
Today’s message title is:
He Will Meet You
He Will Meet You
I’m reminded of this movie where this guy who had a reputation as one who played the field caught eyes for this stunningly attractive woman. She was different from the one’s he was used to dating. The more he got to know about her, the more he realized that what was different about her was her relationship with God. He really wanted to be with her, but she wasn’t the kind of girl that would give up the cookies without marriage. If he was going to eventually have her as his girl, he would have to give up all the other girls and that lifestyle. He couldn’t have it his way. He would have to draw closer to her and at the same time pull away from all the others.
Well, I’m happy to tell you that in his eyes she was worth it. He forsakes all of the others and engaged in a relationship with her God and they eventually became one.
Point #1
Point #1
He will come to you
He will come to you
James 4:8 ESV
James 4:8 ESV
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Acknowledging that our hands and hearts need washing along with humbling ourselves so that God may be exalted, is how we draw near to God.
You cannot be the lover of God and a lover of the world.
God will not enter into relationship with someone who hasn’t been spiritually cleaned.
Let me share something with you.
You can’t clean your hands enough or your heart enough on your own.
But you don’t have to.
God has some special dial soap that will wash sin all away.
It’s called dial up Jesus.
Just as the young man in the movie had to resist all the other girls.
Drawing near to God requires us to resist the devil.
James 4:7 ESV
James 4:7 ESV
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Let me ask you a question.
Are you convinced that submitting to God is the best thing for you?
Or is there something deep down inside you that still feels like the world has your best interest at heart.
We can’t draw near to God, which is the best thing for us, when we are hanging near the world which is the worst thing for us.
It’s not even a case where we can say that God is good for us, but the world has some good for us too.
No way Hosea! The world is anti-God and only desires to lead you astray.
What does the Bible say about the world?
1 John 5:19 ESV
1 John 5:19 ESV
We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
James 4:4 ESV
James 4:4 ESV
You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
Here is another benefit to drawing near to God.
The more we come to God and communicate with God, the more likely we are to uncover hidden problems or flaws in us.
Often, our real problems are obvious to others but not to us.
And they affect our relationships in ways we don’t even realize.
So continue to draw near to God and correct whatever he tells you or shows you along the way.
Ask for His grace.
And go to others and ask for forgiveness.
Point #2
Point #2
He will rescue you
He will rescue you
How many of you are familiar with the words of the song that say I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
And oh magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt his name together.
This was during a time when David drew near to the Lord in the face of danger.
Psalms 34:4 ESV
Psalms 34:4 ESV
I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.
I sought the Lord. (Sought – Hebrew word daw-rash which means to seek God in prayer and worship, to inquire, to consult, to investigate and to seek with care.)
David experienced God’s care and protection and those who trust in him, call to him for help, honor him will experience the same.
Matthew 7:9 ESV
Matthew 7:9 ESV
9 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?
And these fears that David was delivered from were not just internal fears, but these were real, external life-threatening fears.
And think about this. This was the man that killed the giant Goliath.
We are to learn by the experience of David, who tasted the goodness of the Lord.
But know this, even the righteous meet hardships, but the Lord limits them and delivers them.
Psalm 34:17-19 ESV
Psalm 34:17-19 ESV
When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. 18 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. 19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous,but the Lord delivers him out of them all.
In the end, the righteous will be totally vindicated.
Point #3
Point #3
He will make you righteous
He will make you righteous
Hebrews 4:15-16 ESV
Hebrews 4:15-16 ESV
15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.
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.
Jesus was compared to the position of high priest who was the one chosen by God to offer the sacrifices for sin for the people in the Old Testament.
And as high priest he also has been tempted as we have, yet without falling to the temptation of sin.
So let’s not be afraid to come to him but let’s draw near to the throne of grace.
This concept is a paradigm shift to most of us.
When we find ourselves troubled, we were used to hiding from our parents.
Now we no longer hide from the presence of God like Adam and his wife did in Genesis 3.
Genesis 3:8-10 ESV
Genesis 3:8-10 ESV
And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
9 But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”
10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.”
I could say it like this. Adam and Eve hid because they no longer felt righteous.
Now that we are righteous, we can fully expect to receive mercy and find grace to help in times of trouble.
If you’re watching online or here in the room, I have a very important question to ask you.
What is Holy Spirit saying to you right now?
What is Holy Spirit saying to you right now?