Wayne's World...(20Apr08)

Peace with God and Confidence to approach the throne.

 

Are you at peace with God?

 

When you think about standing before Jesus do you feel scared, or excited?

 

Do you feel you can easily approach the King on His throne, without fear of Judgment?

 

A secret to the Christian life, is to learn to live life out of the overflow of being with Him. To live from the place of strength and assurance that comes from being with Him. I'm not talking about 5 min of prayer here, I'm talking about connecting with the life giver. About being "in Him". A deep connection as deep cries out to deep. In john 15 we read that we can do nothing apart from Him. So nothing of value can be achieved, or sustained without being found "in Him".

 

Friends if we are going to live a life born out of being in the secret place with God, the place of intimacy. Then we need to find within ourselves, the place of confidence and peace before Him. This is essential if were going to be found in Him, and if we are going to remain in Him.

 

So today were going to ask, how do we find that peace with God? And how do I gain total confidence before Him?

 

The perfume that God uses to attract us to heaven is His sweet gift of righteousness.

 

The gift of being right with Him. Without this gift, and without accessing the security of this truth, we can never sustain the "in him". Without understanding that God is not surprised or intimidated by our failures and shortcomings, but does not count them against us, or remember them, without understanding this, we will never have sustained confidence. God's desire is to reassure us that despite our performance, we have confidence before Him.

 

2 Cor 5:21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

 

We're looking for the fruit of righteousness. Peace and confidence forever.

 

Not temporary peace of confidence, but lasting and permanent.

 

In order to get this we must understand that righteousness comes to us as a gift. How do we become righteous...which means right with God?

 

Romans 3v20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin. 21But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.

 

Firstly this scripture tells us something very important, it tells how NOT to become righteous. We don't not become righteous by observing the law. But rather by believing in Jesus. If living right would place us in right standing with God, then "all have fallen short of the glory of God". Fortunately the law can been cancelled (Col 2:14).

 

The Christian life is not about right living but right believing. If we believe right we will live right.

 

If we believe right, we will have the confidence God wants us to live in. This will then enable us to live right. We can't live right, to be right. Right living comes through right believing!

 

So righteousness is apart from the law. It comes from believing. In what though? In Jesus and his blood and his sacrifice.

 

Hebrews 10v17 Then he adds: "Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more." 18And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin. 19Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22let 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. 23Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

 

Our confidence is in the blood of Jesus. His blood washes away or sin and guilt and shame.

 

Our confidence is in Him. He made the way open to God. He destroyed the dividing wall. The barrier of hostility that was between God and man, and now we are reconciled with Him. The writer of Hebrews is going to great lengths here to try and instill confidence in us. He says come, approach God. Come. Let us draw near to God. Hold onto the hope, Jesus is faithful.

 

His blood was a gift to us. His life a gift to us. He lived the perfect life God demanded for righteousness, he lived it on our behalf, so we might become the righteousness of God.

 

There is another scripture that speaks about having confidence in Hebrews 4v16 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.

 

His throne is a throne of grace and mercy.

 

It's the same every time, when you approach His throne, you will not find a angry God. You will find mercy and grace. When you approach the throne, all the Father sees is the precious blood of His son. He does not look for how you've been living, but looks to the heart, to see how you're believing. He always extends mercy and grace, and then gives us whatever we need. What we need for this life is found in the throne room. In His throne room, there is no pretence. No pretending, he sees all and knows all. We cant pretend to be perfect, or righteous. We are naked before Him, the one who sees all. Grace is that in this place, He does not find fault with us or reject us, but gives mercy and grace. In this place of humility, coz that's what it is. Humility, "Lord I'm not perfect, I have no righteousness of my own but I come, I come because you call me in, you draw me in. I come through what Jesus did on my behalf."  In this place of humility, we are lifted up.

 

Why is this confidence so important? When we are in the secret place abandoned, and free before him, this is where we receive a mighty weapon. We receive the Holy Spirit, all the power and guidance, comfort, teaching, revelation…all these things flow from God in the secret place. His Spirit fills us, and keeps filling us…then we reach a beautiful place…the place of being Spirit led.

 

How can we be Spirit lead without being Spirit filled?

 

Disaster and disappointment and failure come from trying to live the spirit filled life, without the empowering of the Holy Spirit. This is dry works, death performance and religion. 

 

Isaiah 32:17 The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever.

 

Do you have peace, do you have confidence before God…always…if you do you've understood your gift of righteousness from God.

 

If you lack peace and confidence, you're still focused on right living instead of right believing.

 

2000 years ago Jesus gave the world the best gift ever. Today he wants you to unwrap it. Inside is fellowship with God, peace with God and confidence before Him, which leads to a powerful Spirit filled life. Toady will you accept His gift? The gift or righteousness. If you do it will change you forever.  

 

It will give you peace. It will give you confidence before God. Confidence before God plugs you into the source, the source of all life. You'll live, and live it abundantly, to the full! Accept; believe in this great gift through the sacrifice and the blood.