Sunday, June 26, 2016 - Let Us Draw Near To God!
Pastor Roger Marcos
June 26, 2016
Sometimes I'm on fire for God, and sometimes I don't feel a thing. How can I stop this up?
By saying this my friend, YOU CAN”T TRUST your feelings, because feelings have nothing to do with the TRUTH, FACTS of God’s Word.
Feelings come, feelings go. And feelings can fool you. Trust the facts, not your feelings.
The farthest distance in the world, Is not the distance between life and death, But you don’t know I love you when I stand in front of you.
This line was originally written by a Hong Kong writer, and was put onto the BBS in Taiwan. Some university students extends this and it becomes quite a famous poem. The original novel describes a secret admirer who dares not reveal her love to the man she likes. This line fully expresses the feelings of this girl. She wants to get closer, to show him her love, but she doesn’t know how.
Million upon millions of believers living a void life because they don’t know how to get closer to God.
The question: If God Is Not As Close As He Use To Be, Who Moved?= DEAR STAY WITH!
James 4:4-9 NIV 4 You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? 6 But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:
“God opposes the proud; but shows favor to the humble.”
7 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. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom.
Is there anyone here feel that way? The reason for that feeling, it might be drain your energy or else your battery charger is broken.
Do you find yourself connecting with God? Or do you still find there is a curtain between you and God, no matter how much you try you still can’t get anywhere near God?
"Do not come any closer," God said. "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. Ex. 3:1-5NIV
Do you feel the furthest distance in the world is the distance between the righteous God and a sinful man?
Even though we believe Jesus has died for us, our sins are constantly accusing us and push us away from God. Or perhaps the furthest distance in the world is the distance between our head and our heart.
The book of Hebrews gives us two important manners we should have in order to draw closer to God - we should draw near to God with a true heart, and we should draw near to God in full assurance of faith.
Relationship is bidirectional.
NIV James 4:8-10 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
Come near to God and he will come near to you. It appears to be conditional, but it is not. This is actually a promise. God is always near, but when we decide to come near to God, we will then realise he is always here. ..
1. With A True Clean Heart.
NIV Hebrews 10:22 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.
If you want to come near to God, there are two manners in which we can draw nearer to God.
The first manner is a true heart, in NIV it is translated as a sincere heart, but the original language it is a true heart, or genuine and real heart. What is a true heart?
A True Heart Is A Heart That Is Not Lying. We are good at covering up things. Often we want to show our friends the best of us. If you ever live with a friend, that is how you can find out the truth about him or her.
There was a guy rented a place with two other friends. At the time they were naive, we thought since they are friends we should all contribute.
Therefore when they purchase new electronic appliances we all share the cost. RIGHT? But when we need to move that is the time when good friends start to take advantage of each other. Through time you can really know what type of friends you have. You may lie for a while, but it is much harder to lie as time goes by. If it is hard to lie to a friend who lives with you for three years, how much harder to lie to God who knows you even before you were born?
Ps. 73:27-28 NKV For indeed, those who are far from you shall PERISH; You have destroyed all those who desert your for harlotry.28 But it is good for me to draw near to God: I HAVE PUT MY TRUST IN THE LORD GOD.
Second A true heart is a heart that is willing to open up itself for God to see. You may ask, God can see through our hearts, why do I have to open up myself? Of course God knows our heart. God knows us longer than your parents. God knows us more than your friends, but we often pretend that he doesn’t. If you have a true heart you will not pretend anymore. You come to God and say to him, “God, this is me. I admit this is who I am. I used to lie to myself, pretending you cannot see. I don’t want to lie to you anymore. Please forgive me.”
Not lying also means being sincere. That is why NIV translates this as a sincere heart. What does it mean to be sincere?
When my two kids makes mistakes, I will ask them to say sorry. Sometimes they will say sorry without looking at you. Sometimes they will say sorry while playing with their toys.
Sometimes they will say sorry with her eyes turning somewhere else. Sometimes they would cry and pretend to be sorry. It is not hard for me to determine whether they were sincere or not, because they were a kid.
Therefore I will tell them, daddy would like to hear a real sorry, to each other. But if you want to draw near to God, you need a real sorry, because God knows you more than I know my kids.
It is easier for us to know if a kid is lying, but it can be really hard when we talk to adults. We Asian people have a problem, especially the older ones, we will not say yes because of politeness. For example, when I visit a young person’s place, when they ask me, do you want any drink, I can ask them what do they have, and ask them directly to provide for me. But when you go to an older person’s place, they may ask, do you want to stay for dinner? You really need wisdom. Sometimes they don’t mean it; they only ask out of politeness. If you think they really mean it and stay, you may cause them trouble. Perhaps you wait after they invited you three times, or you can really sense their sincerity, that is the time when you say Yes.
Why is it so hard? Because a kid is simpler and easier to reveal real thoughts. But an adult is good at protecting themselves, and they would not show you their true feelings easily. But when you want to draw near to God, you have to remove that invisible mask. Those tricks we play on others will not work with
God. To draw near to God, you need a sincere heart.
But simply saying to God “this is who I am” is not enough. A true heart is a heart that is willing for God to change us.
NLT Ps. 139:23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 Point out anything in me that offends you,
and lead me along the path of everlasting life.
NIV Romans 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.
When you first become a Christian do you feel closer to God? But as years gone by, I do find it is harder for God to change me. Like John Gurusamy said in his sermon, I feel there are rooms we do not want God to enter and be our master. A true heart means you allow God to shape you, giving up ownership of your life.
In summary, to draw near to God, you need a true heart. It is a heart that is sincere, without lying, and allowing God to transform your heart.
2. In full assurance of faith.
NIV Hebrews 10:22 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.
The other manner in which we draw near to God is in full assurance of faith. What is this full assurance of faith? In context we know this faith is the faith in Jesus, that through him we can have a relationship with
God forever. What is the difference of faith and full assurance of faith?
We are all very forgetful. 95% of the sermon will be forgotten within the first 72 hours. Therefore to have this full assurance of faith, you need constant reminder of these evidences in the bible and in your life.
In 10:32 the author asks the readers to remember.
NIV Hebrews 10:32-35 Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering. 33 Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. 34 You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. 35 So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.
Bear in mind these people have gone through persecutions and conquer them before. They are willing to give up their life and possession for Jesus. It is very difficult to have faith during persecution and temptations. If someone put a gun on your head it will be hard for you to say you love God. If you have been through persecutions before, and you survived the test, doesn’t mean you can have full assurance again when you face another persecution. Therefore, please do not think that once you draw near to God then that’s it. To have the full assurance of faith, you need to constantly remember how God has helped you throughout your life.
Conclusion
Do you wish to be near to God?
We can only draw near to God, when we become determined to do so!
To conclude, NIV Hebrews 10:22 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.