Pastor Jonah Sage preached from Hebrews 4:16a. He taught that we pray because we are welcomed in the throne room of God. Lector: Erin Warmbier
Pastor Jonah Sage preached from Hebrews 4:16a. He taught that we pray because we are welcomed in the throne room of God. Lector: Erin Warmbier
On our first stop during our Summer travels, we found ourselves behind the Ponce de Leon Hotel in St. Augustine, Fl. The Palace in Paradise as it was called.
This was a gilded age hotel built by railroad tycoons for rich folk to vacation in this untamed pirate country known as Florida.
When I tell you this building was gorgeous…words don’t do it justice.
It’s currently the home of Flagler College, no longer a hotel. Pictures don’t do it justice, but here are a few shots:
Pic 1
Pic 2
Family Pic for oohs and ahhhs
All around the building were signs that said “no trespassing” or “tours and students only”. So we didn’t go in.
Until I found a door under a little stone bridge with no sign on it.
No sign might as well have been a “come on in” sign for me.
The inside was even more gorgeous than out…but four steps in and I knew we weren’t supposed to be there.
A sweaty man with three children and a nervous wife…it was obvious we didn’t belong.
Security guards staring and I just smiled awkwardly…then a tour came by.
30 college students all with stickers on their shirts and brochures.
It was obvious we didn’t belong, and that made it hard to stay there.
So we quietly walked out the front door back to where we were supposed to be.
Have you ever been somewhere you knew you shouldn’t?
Ever been somewhere and knew you were an outsider?
Can you remember what it feels like to realize you’re an outsider?
Perhaps nothing keeps us from praying like feeling we don’t belong.
Here are some phrases I’ve often heard as I sit with people in broken places
“I was too guilty to pray…I didn’t think God would listen after what I did.”
“too embarrassed to pray…I always felt like God had more important things to do.”
“Too ashamed to pray…felt like God was so disappointed in me…”
And if you don’t pray, you can’t know God. Not really. Not truly.
Sure, you may know about him…but that won’t mean you know what his voice sounds like or his presence feels like.
So, if you don’t pray, you can’t know God, and if you don’t know God, all of your religious activity will end up feeling more and more dull, more and more pointless, and you’ll just get tired. This is why we have the book of Hebrews.
Tired congregation. Worn out. Doing the right things, really trying hard.
But…just worn out and discouraged and not sure it’s really worth it after all.
Perhaps they feel like they don’t belong or are far away from God, and so the Preacher has spent 4 chapters now trying to help them see and remember how beautiful Jesus is.
He’s the hero who won a battle over death for you.
He’s a liberator who has set you free from the fear of death
He’s a high priest who has cleansed you of your sins.
He is eternal, he is in control, he is good, and he is for you.
Those messages have repeated and intertwined back and forth for four chapters.
If you remember back when we started in chapter 1, we said God speaks to us diversely, emphatically, and repeatedly so we won’t miss his love for us.
Hebrews 1-4 has shown that to us in many ways and it brings us to this first real stake in the ground moment of Hebrews.
No one is an outsider anymore because Christ has brought us near.
Why pray? Pray because you are welcomed in the throne room of God!
Did you see that? Can you BELIEVE that? Listen again:
So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God.
-Hebrews 4:16
Listen! “So” is therefore…because our sins are forgiven, because we are weak, because God loves us…therefore LET US!
Not a special holy person like a priest or a pastor.
Not someone with a set of specific qualifications, but those who by faith belong to Jesus, we are invited to come together.
And we come BOLDLY. This is such a wonderful word.
Listen to the definition of this Greek word:
a use of speech that conceals nothing and passes over nothing.
No churchy language. We come using words that conceal nothing, pass over nothing.
Where do we bring those words?
To the throne of our gracious God. Let me try and put this simply for all of us.
Who is allowed on a king’s throne?
Who belongs there? Who can sit on the throne without the guards rushing in?
As far as I can tell, there are only two people that can do it.
One is the king. He belongs there, because it is his throne. That is where he rules.
It is the seat of his power, the symbol of his authority and reign. So he can sit there.
The only other people that can sit on the king’s throne are the children on his lap.
A guard would not let a child play on the throne, but would a guard take a child from his father’s lap?
That is the imagery the Preacher has built up for us…a great King, the matchless eternal ruler of heaven and earth, sits down on his throne and invites his children to come boldly onto his lap.
You belong there! You are wanted there, you are listened to there.
Pray because you are welcomed in the throne room of God.
And I want to tell you something about how to pray in the throne room of God.
Every parent knows that when your child asks you for something they are also telling you something
In their requests, they’re telling you about what they love, what they think about, what they desire…in other words, children making requests of their parents reveals the hearts of the children. And wise parents use those moments to teach their children.
A parent's lap is not the place of wish granting, amen?
Neither is the throne room of God.
Before saying a word, you have to get some expectations straight.
The throne room of God is not the place of wish granting…it is the place of transformation.
Come to the throne room of God not only to get what you want, but to become who God wants you to.
In the presence of God, you are changed. Your desires change, your perspective changes, your wounds heal, and your hopes abound. Let me show you how this works.
So…how do you pray? I recommend learning to pray by praying. Just start doing it.
How long? Where? When? As long as you can, wherever you’d like, whenever you can!
Back to the word we translate “boldly.” Other fair translations would be “plainness”, “frankness”, and “boldness”.
So when you’re praying as long as you can wherever you’d like whenever you can, here are some principles to put into practice.
If you’re able to pray that way, you will become invincible.
You will be buoyed against the pain of prayers unanswered.
You will be strengthened in the presence of your father.
Your confidence will grow because you will experience his welcome.
Old wounds will fade, and the hope of future glory will abound.
Christ will grow in familiarity to you. And the more you pray this way, the more you’ll want to pray this way. Because when you pray like this you experience the reality that you belong in the throne room of God.
Not because you prayed right, or lived right, or have done it all just as you should.
No, you belong because of everything HEbrews has taught us!
Jesus is your great high priest who has purified you, who understands your weakness, who suffers alongside of you, who ascended into the throne room of heaven to sit down on HIS THRONE, and if the king on HIS THRONE invites you near, you are welcomed indeed.
Why pray? Because we are welcomed in the throne room of God.
There, we can pray boldly, like we belong. We can pray something real, and we can pray filled with the hope that God is changing us.