Drawing near to God Heb 10:19-22
Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.
In these verses there is one main, straightforward command, namely, "Draw near!" That is what this writer wants you to do. Draw near.
Look at these verses: there is only one exhortation, once you pull away all the defining and qualifying phrases and clauses. Since therefore, brethren, we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our body washed with pure water.
There was a song several years ago,By Seals and Croft,,called closer to you,, and it goes like this........
Darling if you want me to be closer to you
Get closer to me
Darling if you want me to be closer to you
Get closer to me
God is telling us, that if we want Him to get closer to us, we will have to get closer to Him.
(ILLS.) An elderly couple were out on a Sunday afternoon drive, and the wife says to her husband " honey, why is it that when we were first married, we sat so close together when we were riding in the car? The husband replied " I didn't move.
That is what God is telling us, when we ask HIm why we aren't as close to Him as we used to be.
God is telling us, that it is up to us to get closer to HIm.
Hebrews 4:16 - Let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 7:25 - He is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
Hebrews 11:6 - Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who draws near to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.
The great passion of this writer is that we draw near to God Drawing near is not moving from one place to another.
It is a directing of the heart into the presence of God who is as distant as the holy of holies in heaven, and yet as near as the door of faith.
He is commanding us to come. To approach him. To draw near to him.
God's will, is that we draw near to Him..
That you will speak like the psalmist in Psalm 42:2, "My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; when shall I come and appear before God?" Answer that question like this: "Now. I will come now, while John is preaching. I am praying. Father, I come, I come. I draw near."
Jer 29:13-14 13And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. 14And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.
James 4:8 -10 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
One of my favorite gospel songs, is Your all I want,,,,,,
Draw me close to you
Never let me go
I lay it all down again
To hear you say that I'm your friend
You are my desire
No one else will do
'Cause nothing else can take your place
To feel the warmth of your embrace
Help me find the way
Bring me back to you
You're all I want
You're all I've ever needed
You're all I want
Help me know you are near
Jeremiah 31:3 The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.
•• When you determine to get closer to God, be assured that you are not presuming or imposing, because God is “draw[ing] you”. He loves you, and He loves to draw you close to Himself. That being the desire of His heart, it is good and uplifting for you to draw near to God often.
•• As you draw close to God in prayer, in worship, and in His Word the Bible, remember and be encouraged by the fact that He loves you!
•• And know that His love for you is “everlasting;” it won’t disappear because you’ve faltered or sinned.
Psalm 55:17, KJV Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.
•• Jesus modeled prayer, and He prayed extensively. He taught His followers to pray. Paul spoke often of his continual prayers. The apostles in Jerusalem “gave themselves to prayer” (Acts 6:4).
•• A suggestion from this verse — try a three-times-daily prayer schedule.
(1) When we wake up first thing in the morning we should pray to God. Thank Him for giving us another day, Tell Him, This is the day that the Lord has made, let me rejoice and be glad in it.
Ask him to let you be a good Christian ifluence, and wittness to someone.
(2) Remember to pray last thing at night. Thank Him for keeping you safe, and in good health.
(3) Set aside one period of time during the day to pray. Maybe at lunch time,, or while working, or driving in your care, ask God to make His presence known to you
• These can be short times; just try be faithful to them.
Psalm 119:164 Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous laws.
•• Consciously, deliberately cultivate the habit of uttering brief exclamations of praise to God throughout the day.
• This develops a God- and Christ-awareness in us.
Matthew 11:28-30 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and i will give you rest. [29] Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. [30] For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
•• “Come to [Jesus].” He wants you close to Him. He’s called “the Bridegroom.” That means He loves you.
•• Are you feeling “weary” and “burdened”? That’s the time, not to “zone out,” but to “come to” Jesus.
•• You’ll find gentleness there with Him, not scolding or reproof. He will “give you rest ... for your soul.”
• So come — and come often daily — to Jesus.
Hebrews 4:14-16 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. [15] For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are — yet was without sin. [16] Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
•• As you come with confidence to Jesus on His throne of grace, remember that He sympathizes with your weaknesses; He does not despise them (or you!).
•• Remember that the Savior you are approaching has been through what you are going through. He was “tempted in every way, just as we are”, yet without sinning.
•• In His presence you will find, not condemnation, but “mercy and ... grace”.
James 4:7-8a Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. [8] Come near to God and he will come near to you.
8a, KJV Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you.
•• “Submit yourselves, then, to God.” This means we basically abandon ourselves to Him and place ourselves totally in His hands.
•• “[You] draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you.”
The old gospel song, Nearer my God to thee,,,,,,,,Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!
E'en though it be a cross that raise'th me,
Still all my song shall be,
Nearer, my God, to Thee.
Though like the wanderer, the sun gone down,
Darkness be over me, my rest a stone.
Yet in my dreams I'd be
Nearer, my God to Thee.
There let the way appear, steps unto heav'n;
All that Thou sendest me, in mercy given;
Angels to beckon me
Nearer, my God, to Thee.
Is your desire to get nearer to God?
Psalm 42:1 -2 1As a deer pants for flowing streams,
so pants my soul for you, O God.
2My soul thirsts for God,
for the living God.
acts 17:24-28 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. 26 And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, 28 for
“‘In him we live and move and have our being
as even some of your own poets have said,
“‘For we are indeed his offspring
Here are five actions to draw closer to God:
1) Draw near to God by humility.
Humility is essential to submitting to God. Jesus is the author of salvation to those who obey Him (
2) Draw near to Christ by being crucified with Christ
Draw near to Jesus, by being crucified with Him daily'
3) Draw near to God by hungering for righteousness.
4) Draw near to God by overcoming evil.
5) Draw near to God for salvation with a true heart.
I hope that is how much you desire to be close to God.
God tells us to Love the lord thy God, with all thy heart soul and mind
