Before Him Series

Title: The Bloodline of a Champion – 6

“Before Him”

Text: Hebrews 10:19-22

Before we left for Conference I preached on the subject of: “Access Granted.” What a powerful message that was! We have access into the very presence of God through the blood of Jesus Christ. That will preach for weeks. Today, I want to talk about the term, “Before Him.”

Ephesians 1:4, “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame BEFORE HIM in love.”

Genesis 19:27, “And Abraham got up early in the morning to the place where he stood BEFORE THE LORD.”

Romans 4:17, “(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) BEFORE HIM whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.”

The words BEFORE HIM stood out to me as I read Romans 4:17. After reading it, I wanted to read the whole context in which it was written. Listen:

Romans 4:17-21, “(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were. 18 Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. 19 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara's womb: 20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; 21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.”

We always use Abraham’s life as a guide to our faith. He is the prime example of faith to all believers around the globe. God has not changed and neither has the way faith works today.

I. IN HIS PRESENCE

I want you to notice in this Scripture the words, “Before Him whom he believed.” The words “Before Him” are also translated (even in the NKJV) as “In His Presence” or “In His Sight.” Some may think, why does that matter so much? Well, I believe it matters so much because Abraham’s faith was not just loaded with promises that he was able to tap into, Abraham’s faith was loaded with the presence of God. He was God-conscious. Abraham had a habit of praying and standing before the Lord. He did not just have the promises of God, he also had the presence of God. He stood “Before Him whom He believed.” Abraham knew how to fellowship with God and practiced standing in His presence. He didn’t just know the Word of God, he knew the God of the Word.

I spend a lot of time preaching about the importance of knowing God’s Word, the importance of practicing God’s Word, the importance of speaking God’s Word and confessing it, but I don’t want us to forget that we need the presence of the Lord just as much as we need the Word of the Lord. And Abraham realized that.

The Doddridge Version says in Hebrews 10:22, “Let us not stand at a distance as if God were inaccessible; but on the contrary, let us draw near with a sincere and affectionate heart, in full assurance of faith, supported by such considerations as these, which may well embolden us, to make our approach unto Him in the most cheerful expectation of His blessing.”

We can’t stand at a distance and quote God’s Word and expect Him to come through for us. Sometimes it seems that believers today try to win the faith fight without getting before God. No! We need to get into His presence just as much as we need to get into His Word. You can’t have one without the other. The two extremes among believers is obvious:

1. One extreme is the one who is living from one experience to another while never cracking open their Bible. It is all about the goosebumps and feelings, while

2. The other extreme spends hours in the Word, quoting the Word, confessing and speaking the Word and never taking time to sit in His presence.

We need a balance of the Word and the presence. One without the other doesn’t do any good. We can’t quote Scripture and meditate on Scripture and not know how to access the presence of God. We try to believe without getting BEFORE HIM. Some try to believe at a distance. There is no such thing as long distance faith. We must draw near! This relationship with God goes way beyond just being in His presence: