Good afternoon, everyone. Good afternoon. Welcome here again to our afternoon service at Calvary Baptist Church of Trier. And once again, welcome to those in Trinidad via internet. Please open your hymnal to number 256. 256. It is well with my soul. Number 256. Wind beats like a wave attendeth my way. When sorrows like syphilis roll, whatever, my love, thou hast taught me to say, it is well, it is well with my soul. It is well with my soul. It is well, it is well with my soul. Though Satan should laugh at me, Though trial young should cast me, My helpless estate, and ashen his own blood for my soul. It is well with my soul. It is well, it is well with my soul. My sin, O thou place of this glorious death, My sin, at in part, is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul. It is well with my soul It is well, it is well with my soul And Lord, hence the day when my faith shall be sight The trump shall resound and the Lord shall descend Even so, it is well with my soul It is well with my soul It is well, it is well with my soul. Heavenly Father, we're thankful that we can sing that song with conviction in our hearts. We can know that it is well with our soul if we know Thy Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, is our own personal Savior, and we're walking humbly with Thee as Thy child. So we're thankful for that privilege that we have of examining ourselves through thy word to see where we're at, and we're thankful that we can be forgiven if we're saved and in sin, that we can be forgiven and restored to right fellowship, and that lost people can be saved, even in this last time that we're living in. We do pray for our country of Canada again, that many would be saved in these days of grace as our political leaders are crisscrossing the country, trying to convince people that they're the right one to believe in. And our local politicians as well are trying to get people to vote for them. We pray that they might understand their need to be saved, that they might want their truth and thy truth in their hearts instead of their own imaginations. We ask that thy will be accomplished in the United States as well with Mr. Trump as he is. trying to negotiate with Russia and Ukraine and also with Iran at this present time and with Hamas, Hezbollah. We pray that he too might see that he's not the savior of the world, that he needs to be saved himself. that he would want thy forgiveness and truth in his heart. And we do pray for the Christians in Canada and United States that we would not be thinking that there is some man that's going to save us, but that we would want to be helping people to see the importance of trusting in thee, the true God, and understanding that whatever government we have, It's going to be up to thee whether we can preach that word faithfully or whether we're going to have to be more secretive as they have to do in China. But we're thankful that we can still preach openly. And we do continue to pray for the Christians in China that they would be encouraged and strengthened in the inner man and enjoy thy blessings as they live in that restricted area, as well as for Venezuela, North Korea, countries like that where they do not have the freedom that we enjoy here. Help us not to be careless, but to take advantage of the opportunities that we have. to help people to know Thy peace and blessing. So guide us this afternoon that we want to glorify Thee and know Thy peace in our hearts. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. And over to 409. Hold the part 409. O my concord, see the signal waving in the sky Reinforcements now appearing, victory is nigh Hold the fort, for I am coming, Jesus, signal still With the answer back to heaven, By thy grace we will. See the mighty horse advancing, Satan leading on. Mighty men around us falling, her is almost gone. Hold the fort, for I am coming, Jesus signals still. Weave the answer back to heaven, by thy grace we will. See the glorious banner waving, hear the trumpets blow. In our leader's name we triumph over every foe. Hold the fort, for I am coming, Jesus, signal still. With the answer back to heaven, By thy grace we will. First and long the battle rages, But our help is near. Onward comes our great commander, Cheer, my concrete cheer. Hold the fort, for I am coming. Jesus ignores thee. Weave the answer back to heaven. By thy grace, we will. And over to 469. I found a friend. Number 469. I found a friend, oh such a friend He led me here, I knew him He drove me with the cords of love And thus he bound me to him I run, my heart still closely twined Those eyes with love can see For I am his and he is mine Forever and forever I found a friend, oh such a friend He bled, he died to save me And not alone the gift of life But his own self he gave me Not that I have my own I call, I hold it for the giver. For I, heart, my strength, my life, my all, are His, and His forevermore. I found a friend, O such a friend, All power to Him is given, To guard me on my own right course, And bring me safe to heaven. Eternal glories gleam afar, To nerve my faint endeavor, So now to watch, to work, to war, And then to rest forever. I found a friend, O such a friend, So kind and true and tender, So wise a counselor and guide, So mighty a defender. From Him who loves me now so well, What power my soul can savour? Shall life or death or earth or hell, No, I am His forever. Take your Bibles and turn to the book of Hebrews. We're in Hebrews chapter four. Reading there verses 14 through 16 this afternoon. Hebrews 4, 14 to 16, we'll stand please for the reading of God's word. Beginning there at verse 14, it says, seeing then that we have a great high priest that is passed into the heavens, Jesus, the son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us, therefore, come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Our Heavenly Father, we're thankful this afternoon again that we have thy word. We're thankful again that we can study thy word, that we can know the truth, we can be encouraged in the fact that our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, is in heaven today. Thankful that he is the one that is the mediator between thyself and us, that we come to thee in his name, and we have access to that throne of grace once we are saved. We're thankful for that privilege that we have, And we do pray for each one that's listening today that each one would know thy son, the Lord Jesus Christ, as their own personal savior and would be walking with thee in obedience to thy word. We pray that if there's someone listening that's not saved, that they might see the importance of true biblical salvation, understanding that no one is born a Christian, that baptism does not save, that a person needs to personally turn to Thee in repentance and trust in Thy Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, alone for salvation in order to know Thy peace and forgiveness. May Thy will be accomplished as we look into these verses, we pray in Jesus' name, amen. You may be seated. Title of the message is Grace to Help in Time of Need. Grace to Help in Time of Need. Our world is looking for answers as we struggle in different areas in the world right now. As I mentioned already earlier, that our United States is busy. The president has his crew that are out there looking for peace in Ukraine, in the Middle East. And at home, even as well, the United States is expelling illegal immigrants. It's very interesting to listen to the discussion that goes on with the Democrats in particular and with some of the news reporters. And they have these bleeding hearts, people that are illegally in the United States, and somehow they get the idea that they should have rights to appeal their eviction from the United States before they are sent out. Someone that has snuck into a country illegally is a criminal. It's plain and simple. They've broken a basic rule of the country. You didn't have a visa. You didn't come through the normal channels. You just snuck in somewhere and tried to stay there. So by that very fact, they already deserve to be deported. and come in properly. And so it's interesting how that the U.S. government has to go to the courts and even have to go to the Supreme Court on some cases. They have a man right now that is still being held in the United States. He's, I think, from, I don't know, he was in Columbia University. Can't remember what country he's from, but anyway, he's, oh yeah, he's a Palestinian. fictitional Palestinians and Arab. So he's been in the United States and he's been promoting Hamas on the university campus and involved in sit-ins and things like that. And finally this government has arrested him and they're going to deport him. And his lawyer, he has a lawyer, And that lawyer is saying that that's not fair, that he hasn't done anything wrong. Well, yes, he has. He's encouraged people to support Hamas. And he's in the United States. And Hamas is a terrorist organization. So he needs to be deported. But meanwhile, the taxpayer is paying a lot of money to fight this thing in the courts. And it should be the government that runs the government, not the courts. The courts are not, they're appointed by different people. They're not chosen by the people, but they're appointed by government individuals based on what they believe. So our country, United States, across the world, there's lots of trouble and there's no answers, no solutions to the problems. And so as we look at our text here, we see, first of all, that we have this great high priest. And the high priest in the Bible was to be a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. Aaron was the first high priest. He was not a great high priest. Jesus is the great high priest. But Aaron was the first high priest, chosen by God, anointed by Moses, in preparation for his service as the high priest. Now the high priest could only go into the holiest place once a year, and he could only go into there if he first of all offered a sacrifice for his own sins, and then he could go into that holiest place and offer a sacrifice for the sins of the nation of Israel. The high priest was the one who would give instructions to the priesthood and to the Levites. He was the man who was to be in charge of the spiritual direction of the nation. And he had a very important task to fulfill. But as we find with the high priests on the earth, all of them were fallible. And that's why it talks about later on in the book of Hebrews about that the high priest had to continually offer sacrifices for his own sins, whereas Jesus Christ offered a sacrifice once, not for his own sins, but for our sins. And then he sat down in the right hand of his father in glory. So a big difference, but then here too, Jesus is called a great high priest. So he is exceptional. He is above the high priests that were on this earth. And that's because he was without sin and he is the second person of the Godhead. And it tells us also here that Jesus Christ is passed into heaven. So is passed, present tense, he's there now. He is in heaven now. The Bible tells us he's seated on the right hand of his father. and he is our mediator. When a person prays, when a Christian prays, a Christian needs to pray to God the Father in Jesus' name. Lost people may not understand that, but again, a lost person is not generally going to be calling out to God unless there's some individual that has taught him some things regarding salvation. If you go back in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 28, and Jesus commanded the disciples, and by extension Christians, throughout the ages, tells us in verse 19, go ye therefore and teach all nations. So it's up to us, those that are saved, to teach all people. What are we teaching them? Well, what we talked about this morning, the importance of repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. There isn't too much point in teaching the lost eschatology because they're not going to understand it. When we're teaching that, we're teaching it for the Christians or maybe lost people listening. But lost people are very limited in what they're going to grasp from the word of God. Anything that they're hearing usually is going to come across to them in a distorted fashion until they are saved. Because the Bible says, the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God because they're foolishness unto him, neither can he know them because they're spiritually discerned. So the natural man, the lost person, is limited in his ability to understand the deeper things of God. But we are told to teach all nations. And if we go to Romans chapter 10, Romans chapter 10, and we're gonna cut into it there at verse 13. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? So we see there that there's a need for lost people to hear the truth. That's why people need to go to the Amazon and to Africa and wherever else. People need to go there. Christians need to go there and teach those people. Everybody knows that there is someone, the Bible tells us, the heavens declare the glory of God. But because of the fall of man, many people build their religious beliefs on mythology. Every individual at one time knew of Noah's flood. You can talk to people, I'm told, from some of these third world countries, and they will tell you of something like a flood that happened years ago, long time ago, but it's all a mythological story to them, because over the years it's been distorted. So that's why it's important that people that are saved are willing to speak the truth, tell other people, about the Lord. So that's why we need to be students of the Word of God once we're saved, so that we make sure that we have our facts correct. So Jesus Christ is passed into the heavens, that's where he is. And he is there interceding for us. Bible says as well that all things consist by him as a second person of the Godhead. He is in heaven and keeping everything on this earth and in space operating properly. So while man talks about that we're in danger of an asteroid coming very close to the Earth, I can't remember what date they have pinned it on now, but they claim that there's a possibility of a collision with an asteroid. Well, our world is not running by chance. It's under God's control, Jesus Christ being the second person of the Godhead. It's under God's control and everything is functioning very well, yet considering everything that man has done to try to destroy the world. He's not been very successful at it. So Jesus Christ is passed into heaven, and it tells us here that it's Jesus, the son of God, that's this great high priest that we have. And so because of that, those of us that are Christians, because of that, we need to hold fast our profession. Now, holding fast is not talking about that we're holding onto a rope and have to be careful that we don't let it slip out of our hands. Holding fast is staying true to what we know to be true. So it's the same thing that Jude was told, contending for the faith once delivered unto the saints. What we see in modern day Christianity is we don't see very much holding fast. We see a lot of changes. In my lifetime, there's been a lot of changes in what people believe to be true. And that's because people are not holding fast to the truth. Now, some of the things that people held fast to needed to be thrown off. There are people who profess to be Christians who believed in the flat earth theory. Well, the Bible tells us that God sits on the circle of the earth in the book of Isaiah. So we know that the flat earth theory is a false theory. It's false, it's wrong. And yet people believed that. Probably some people still believe that today. But it's not true. "...but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin." So this High Priest, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is unique in the sense that He has been touched by all of the infirmities that we are touched by. There's not a temptation that man faces today that Jesus did not face. So that's important as well to understand as the Bible requires that Christians be without sin. We know we're not, but that's still the requirement. And it is also a possibility if we always walked humbly as we should with God once we're saved, but we don't do that. So the possibility is there, that doesn't make us little gods, but it is the fact that we can walk with God, we can walk with him faithfully as God requires. So the reason for that is because we have this high priest. Again, the high priest, what did he do? Well, in the Bible times, the Old Testament times, after Jesus Christ went to the cross, that was the end of the Old Testament priesthood. He finished that. So we have religions today that have priests. The Anglicans have priests. The Catholics have priests. They are a non-entity. They are false teachers, false religionists. They're not presenting the Word of God faithfully and truthfully. There are no priests today. Jesus Christ is the final priest, and he is the great high priest, and when he shed his blood, that was the end of the priesthood. That's why The veil in the temple was rent from the top to the bottom, making access to all people to the holiest place through the blood of Jesus Christ. The Old Testament priests as well, they brought animal blood by the brazen altar as well as into the holiest place and sprinkled it on the mercy seat. That blood, the blood of animals, could never take away sin. It could only atone for the sin. It could only cover for the sin. Those people in the Old Testament times who believed in the purpose of that sacrifice, their sins were removed when Jesus went to the cross. That's what the Bible teaches. So Jesus, when he shed his blood on the cross, Ephesians chapter four says he went and led captivity captive. That's talking about the Old Testament saints who were held in what's called in the Bible as Abram's bosom, or it's called paradise. Luke chapter 16 talks about that. And when Jesus died on the cross and shed his blood, the Bible tells us, as I believe it's in chapter, 11 of Hebrews, we'll come to that yet, that Jesus presented his blood before his father and that blood takes away the sin of man. The Bible teaches us that no sin can enter heaven and since the Old Testament saints like Moses and Abraham and Job and David and others Their sins were covered by the blood of animals, but because they believed in the promise of God, when Jesus died and shed his blood, his blood was applied to their souls, and now they could enter into heaven. So that's what the Bible teaches. So it tells us here that Jesus Christ was touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but he was without sin. Tempted in all points like as we are, in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. That's what we needed in order to be forgiven. That's why Aaron did not have the ability to forgive anybody's sins in the sense of what Jesus can do. As a person, he could have forgiven Moses if Moses had done something wrong, but that forgiveness was only between people because Jesus Christ, it's only through his blood that there is forgiveness of sin. So that's important to understand as well. And we have, again, confidence here. Someone was asking on the Zoom meeting how we can know for sure. Well, we can know for sure if we're saved if we have put our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as that great high priest that he is. That's where our confidence comes from. It comes from knowing that Jesus Christ is God, that he is without sin, and therefore he can take away our sin. I can't take away anybody's sin. I can't even deal with my own sin. I need to confess it to God, and he needs to forgive me. And the same thing if I sin against someone else. That's why 1 John 1, 9, we need to confess our sin to God. We need to confess it to the person we've sinned against, but we need to also confess it to God. He is the one that we need to be forgiven by in order to have that clean slate. We cannot lose our salvation once we are saved, but we can lose the joy of that fellowship that God wants us to have if we are harboring sin in our hearts as Christians. So it's good for us to know these things. The apostle, not to say that, we don't know who the writer is of Hebrews, but the writer here directed by God is telling us that we can have this confidence, as we read in verse 16, that we have an ability to come boldly before the throne of grace. And so we need that throne of grace. That's important for us. That's our third point. We need God's throne of grace. So it says, let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace. So we're given an invitation here. So God is writing, we said already, the original context of the book of Hebrews is to Jews, first century Jews, saved Jews, who knew the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. And the invitation to them, as well as to us by extension, is to come boldly unto that throne of grace. Now boldly, doesn't mean that we're coming with arrogance, boldly comes that we're coming with confidence. We know that we have access to that throne of grace. We talked this morning about how that the disciples were afraid to ask Jesus about what he was teaching them. Well, that is the opposite of what we're supposed to do when we're coming to Jesus as Christians. Let us therefore come boldly. Again, the fear of God is important, but that fear that we're supposed to have is not the fear that the disciples had in our text this morning. The fear that we are supposed to have is that reverence for God. We're coming into the presence of a holy God, and so we're coming before him in humility. We never come before God, should never come before God with the brazen attitude of the charismatics who come to God demanding things of him. They might even take a Bible verse and quote a Bible verse to God and say, God, you said this, now you have to do this. We don't come to God that way. We come to God with a humility, and yes, God has made promises, but we need to understand that many times God's promises are dependent upon our obedience. If we want to realize that promise, we need to be obedient to God. So if I'm walking in sin, and I expect to have the peace of God in my heart, I'm not gonna have it until I deal with my sin as a Christian. So our boldness here is the fact that Every day and every moment of the day I have access to this throne of grace and it tells us what this throne of grace is for. Now the word grace in the Bible, we've talked about this before, it is used in Ephesians chapter 2 and elsewhere speaking of that grace by which we are saved. that unmerited favor that nobody can come to God and say, you have to save me. Again, we're coming at the mercy of God and we're asking God to forgive us and to save us. And then once we're saved, now we have access to this throne of grace. And the purpose again is to obtain mercy. Well, why do we need mercy? Well, because we are fallen creatures and we're going to fail God more times than we are going to want to admit. But the fact is that we're very much at the mercy of God in order to be able to walk with him as we need to walk. So we need that mercy at all times and that is available to the child of God so that he doesn't strike us dead every time we commit a sin. There were times in the Old Testament when Aaron's sons played around with the fire from the incense fire that they were struck dead immediately. They weren't given another opportunity. There was no second chance for them. They were struck dead. And the reason being that this was a new thing that God was introducing as he was setting out the priesthood And the people needed to understand the importance of the holiness of God. And so those boys, they were a picture to Aaron, to his other sons, and to the nation. You don't play around with the holiness of God. Moses, when he struck the rock the second time, instead of speaking to it, he was not given another opportunity. God said, you can't enter the promised land. That was it. Again, why? Because Moses destroyed a very important picture. And the picture was just a picture, so if there's a picture on the wall and someone goes and spray paints it, it doesn't take away from the real thing. But the picture is destroyed. And so what Jesus did, or what Moses did, is he made a mess of the picture. He didn't destroy the fact that salvation is still through the blood of Jesus Christ, that Jesus went once to the cross, but the picture was destroyed. So Moses wasn't struck dead right away. He did obtain mercy, could continue to lead the nation yet, but he could not enter the land of Canaan. So we need mercy as Christians so that when we sin, that God will look at us and be willing to hear our prayer of forgiveness as he did with David and many others, that he will hear our prayer, forgive us and allow us to continue to serve Him. Now again, there are things for myself as a pastor. If I was to be unfaithful to my wife, I would cancel out the opportunity to be a pastor. The Bible teaches that. I need to be faithful to my wife. It's a high standard that God has. It's a standard that we can meet as people, but we are dependent upon God's grace to do that. So I can still have mercy, doesn't mean I'm going to be struck dead immediately, but I would lose that place of being able to be a pastor. That's what the Bible teaches. There's a reason for that. The pastor needs to demonstrate that high standard that God has for all Christians. And if the pastor is not leading properly, how can he help anybody else? So there are things that God requires of us and things where he holds us to a high standard, and we need God's mercy in order to be able to meet that standard in Christ. So then it says there, let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Now the problem that we face as people oftentimes is that we're not aware of our need. It's not that we don't have the need, but we think that we can manage things on our own. So that's again, we talked about that this morning as well, that we need to be constantly mindful of the fact that every step that I take needs to be under God's direction. If you go back in your Bible to Psalm 37, Psalm 37, these verses have been put to music as well, much of the Psalms were, but in Psalm 37 and verse 23, it says, the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. So God has a plan, a path for every born again Christian. as a way that he wants me to walk, as a way that he wants you as a Christian to walk. And so the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. God has a design. Notice the word Lord there is all capitalized. That's Jehovah God, the self-existent God who knows everything. Nobody interferes with him. And so every Christian, our steps are ordered by the Lord, and he delighteth in his way. So that's the duty of the Christian is to delight in God's way. And again, that's because God changes the way that a Christian thinks. He does that in our hearts. He changes how we think. so that we are thinking differently than the lost person. The lost person looks at Christianity. There's a couple that I've been contacting recently, that I've been inviting them to church, and several times the man has promised that he's coming, but they don't come. And so if that man were to be saved, he would have a different attitude. So the Christian delights in God's way. In verse 24, though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down, for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand. So the Christian tells us here, though he fall. It's not if, but though he fall. So any Christian, the Nazarenes, the church of the Nazarenes, they believe that you come to a place of sinless perfection. I believe the The apostolics also believe that same thing, the holiness movement. You come to a place of sinless perfection and you don't sin anymore. Well, according to the Bible, that happens when the Christian gets to heaven. On this earth, we're going to sin. And that's not written in the scriptures as an excuse to allow for sin, but it's pointing out the reality. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down, for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand. That's God's grace. God upholds his child with his grace. We're held in the Father's hand, John chapter 10, verse 29, and that's God's grace that keeps us from losing our salvation. We can't lose it because we're held in the Father's hand, and protected by his grace. So the devil, as he tried to play around with Job, he needed God's permission. He had to go to God and ask God if he could play around with Job. He said, your only reason Job is faithful is because you're protecting him. So God says, well, you can touch his assets, but not him. And so Job did, or not, Satan did. Satan was quick to act upon whatever he could do. So he attacked his family, attacked his wealth, and then after that didn't cause Job to sin against God, then he went back to God, Satan went back to God and said, it's only because you're protecting him and you're not allowing me to touch him, that's why. If you let me touch him, he'll curse you and die. And so God says, okay, you can touch him, but you can't take his life. And so what did Satan do? Well, he caused boils to come on Job and his wife even counseled him. Why don't you just curse God and die? Get over with it. You're suffering. Why bother? And Job says, naked came we into this earth and naked we're going out. Why should I curse God? And so he didn't. He needed to learn some things, but again, That's a picture there of that grace that we can find to help us in time of need. The Apostle Paul had a thorn in the flesh and he prayed three times that God would remove that thorn from him. God says, no, I'm not taking it away. My grace is sufficient for thee. And so what did Paul do? He rejoiced in the fact that he could walk in God's grace. And so we today as well, We can, even though the Apostle Paul had that thorn in the flesh, which we're not told what it was, but it did not hinder him from being able to serve God. He could still travel, he could still preach, and he could still help others and help to start churches. It didn't stop him, but what it did help him with is it kept him from getting proud. It kept him from having a fat head, and that's what he needed. And so again, God knows what we need to keep us humble once we're saved so that we don't get the idea, well, I'm just such a good preacher. I'm such a good storyteller or whatever it is that a person might want to think that they are. God has a way to keep us humble so that we glorify him because that's the whole purpose of Christianity. People need to know the Lord. And so they don't need to know us. They need to know the Lord. And that's important that we keep pointing people to the Lord. What makes you different? Someone asked me the question a while back, what made me different than someone else that they knew? And, you know, why was I different? Well, the difference is because I'm saved. That's the difference. It's not me. It's just because I'm saved. And that would be the difference for anybody that's saved. What makes us different from the world? It's because we've been saved. And that's, again, why it's so important that Christians demonstrate that in their lives. This ease of believism that is promoted so much today makes a mockery of Christianity. And Christians go around and don't look any different than their unsaved neighbor or coworker or whatever. That's contrary to the word of God. So the difference is that the Christian comes boldly unto that throne of grace. We understand that we need God's help. It's like the child that is in trouble and he runs to daddy or mommy to help them. Or if they're stuck in the mud, they cry out for help to get out of the mud. They're not ashamed to do that. Now, sometimes they may be scared because they've been told don't go play in the mud puddle, but then they do it anyway, and then they get stuck in there, and now they have to call out for help. But they still do that because they need help. They gotta get out of there. We have the privilege as Christians to call on God before we get stuck in the mud. We can ask God to direct us so that we don't get stuck in the mud, but when we do, we can also run to God and be forgiven. David did that when he sinned with Bathsheba. He called out to God. It took him a while. He had to be confronted by Nathan the prophet, and he lost his son as a result of his sin, but he cried out to God. Psalm 51 talks about that, how he cried out to God and ask God to forgive him. Now that was before Jesus Christ went to the cross, but David believed that there was forgiveness available and that forgiveness was in Jesus Christ for him, just as it is for us. That forgiveness came to David after Jesus went to the cross. When Jesus shed his blood, Then that sin was removed from David, and then his soul could go to heaven. It was in paradise before that. So it was a holding place, but they were still free from condemnation because they were covered by the blood of the animal until the Lord Jesus Christ went to the cross. For us, Because Jesus Christ is that great high priest, because he did his work, he laid down his life, he shed his blood on that cross, therefore, we now can come boldly onto that throne of grace and we are forgiven at that moment when we ask for it. And we also are directed in the right way to walk. So when we are facing temptation, again, as we've looked at before, that way of escape is found at that throne of grace. When we talk to God and we ask God, maybe we've got a couple of options. We're thinking of something and we've got a couple of options in our mind. And how should we move forward on this? Well, we ask God, we talk to God, and maybe God doesn't give us an answer right away. Maybe it's not that critical that we have that answer right away. So what do we do then? Well, we wait. We keep doing what we need to be doing, and we wait for God to give us direction on that next step that maybe it's not even something we need to even consider. Maybe God needs to show us that. But how do we find that out? We find that out by going to this throne of grace, where God will direct us and help us to make the right decision. So that place is there for us that gives us the ability to be able to walk with confidence. We have a God who will never lead us astray. Psalm 23, God leads us beside the still water. He sets a table before us in the presence of our enemies. So in everything that we face in life, if we're saved, we have a God who wants to guide us through the challenges that we face so that we come through them successfully. That's what God's design is for his children. So it's up to us to be walking humbly with him and having that boldness to understand, I need help here. This is what my plan is. I need to make sure it's the right plan. That's, again, why you begin your day reading God's word and praying to God and asking God, OK, here's my day. Here's what I see happening today. What do you want me to do today? And so, you're going to work, okay, you know you've got a job you're going to be doing today, that's set, you know that that's your job, but there's going to be decisions that you need to make on that job. Your boss is going to talk to you, maybe he's got something that he wants you to do, maybe he's got some complaint about something that you did, how are you going to respond to that? or your coworker may not agree with what you're doing, how are you going to respond to that person? So that's where we need this grace to help us so that we respond the way that God would want us to so that we don't lose our testimony. It's very hard once you slam that door on your testimony to open it and get that opened again because now you have given that person, that other person, an impression of yourself that they may not be willing to overcome for quite some time. Sometimes they never do. So it's very important for us to learn to, as Isaiah says, to wait on the Lord, or the psalmist says, wait on the Lord. Again, I say, wait. And Isaiah talks about they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. So we need to be those who wait on God, trust in him and follow him faithfully so that we can be that help to others who are looking for answers. Our world today is in big trouble. Many people are struggling. They're not coming running to Christians. But they're struggling. And so it's up to those of us that are saved that we live in the light of who we're supposed to be so that people can see that person has a different approach. I'm going to go and talk to that person and find out. what makes them tick. There was a collapse of a nightclub in Dominican Republic recently, and they showed a picture of this young woman that had been there and was killed. Over 200 people were killed when that roof collapsed. And of course, right away as they talk about all the good of these people that die, well, if you're in a nightclub, there's nothing good about you. But in the secular mind, this woman was a very good woman, outgoing and so on. People need to see Christians as different. They need to see us as being different in a way that they can see that they can come and talk to us and ask us about why we respond a certain way to pressures and why they don't respond in that same way. And God gives us those opportunities. He sets up things in our lives so that we can have opportunity to show others What makes a difference? Why do we respond in a different way than what they do? And so when we're given that opportunity then to speak to them, we need to also be quick to let them know what makes a difference. And it's because we have access to this throne of grace where we can find help in time of need. So it's written to Christians. So those that are listening today and you're saved, you know the Lord Jesus Christ is your own personal savior. Let's make sure that we are relying upon God's grace to guide us so that we're making wise decisions so that we can have that testimony that we need to have to help others to know God's forgiveness and peace. If you're listening again and you're not saved, you need to come to this high priest for your salvation. Jesus Christ shed his blood on the cross of Calvary, making it possible for you to be forgiven and to be saved. It's only through his blood that you can be forgiven and saved. You need that if you're not saved. Once you have that, then you can come to this throne of grace and find help to need or grace to help in time of need. It's only for those who are saved that this grace is available. Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, we're thankful again for thy word, thankful again for the truthfulness of thy word, for the privilege that we have of studying the book of Hebrews, the concern that our God, the true God, has for us as people, wanting us to know how to live the Christian life, wanting us to have full confidence in thy son, the Lord Jesus Christ, as our own personal savior and the master of our lives, that we can be guided in the right way, and we can be a help to others. We're thankful for that grace that is available to us. I pray that thou would help us, each one that's saved, to be mindful of that throne of grace, to be constantly in prayer with thee, to seek thy help in thy direction, so that we can be a help to others around us who need to know the truth. Thank Thee for this time together, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.