The Trek To The Throne

THE TREK TO THE THRONE

Hebrews 4:16 "Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."

One angle to tie these attributes, these qualities together is to relate it to a backpacking trip. People who do backpacking for several days or more at a time, plan for the journey. If they are climbing K2 or Mount Everest, they make sure they have everything they need to approach the mountain and to summit successfully. The Bible instructs us about ‘approaching the throne of grace’ with the right gear, or heart attitude. As we examine the Word of God there is spiritual equipment we’ll need for our trek to the very throne of God. Do we have what it takes in your spiritual backpack for your trek to the very throne of God? (These can be taught in a different order.)

As you discover different helps to the approach to the summit, you will discover some come naturally to you and others are much more challenging. One suggestion would be to thank God for your natural approach and ask God to impress just one piece of equipment that would assist you in your approach to the Throne and ask God for growth in that area.

TODAY, LET'S APPROACH THE THRONE OF GOD...

1> INTENDED for God's glory…

[Our supreme purpose]

1 Kings 18:37 "…'Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God.'"

Luke 19:10 "For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”

John 14:13 "You can ask for anything in My name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father."

John 17:1 "When Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: "Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you."

2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 "We always pray for you, that our God may . . . fulfill every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you."

"It is the answer to prayer which makes praying a power for God and for man and makes praying real and divine. Unanswered prayers are training schools for unbelief, an imposition and a nuisance, an impertinence to God and man." - E.M. Bounds

2> IN AWE, Worship, God Most High...

[Bring binoculars – to see the grand perspective]

John 4:23 "Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks."

1 Timothy 1:17 "Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen."

Revelation 4:8b "Day and night they never stop saying: "'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,' who was, and is, and is to come."

"What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us." -A.W. Tozer

3> IN LOVE, Adoration, God Most Nigh...

[Bring Food, Water, the raw energy that fuels the body and soul.]

Psalm 42:1 "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God."

2 Corinthians 5:14 "For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died."

Ephesians 2:13 "But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ."

Psalm 27:4: One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple."

4> INTIMATE, Reveal, Raw, Honest, Transparent…

[Bring Socks – underwear is messy and personal but necessary]

Psalm 139:1-3 "Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me."

2 Chronicles 16:9 "For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him."

Psalm. 62:8 "Trust in Him at all times, O people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us."

"Untutored, we tend to think that prayer is what good people do when they are doing their best. It is not. Inexperienced, we suppose there must be an “insider” language that must be acquired before God takes us seriously in our prayers. There is not. Prayer is elemental, not advanced, language. It is the means by which our language becomes honest, true, personal." - Eugene Peterson