Hebrews 4:16 tells us that
we can, “Draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so
that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” What a promise! I’m just not sure we really understand its
significance. I think all too often we
take these powerful words for granted.
Perhaps a story from the political world can help us to wrap our minds
around this great truth. It's a story that takes place during the administration
of President John F. Kennedy. As you
well likely now, the time of the JFK administration was often called Camelot. One of the reasons for this was because it
was the first time in many years that children ran and played through the halls
of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
The story is told of the
day when President Kennedy was in the oval office and in a high level meeting
with some of the greatest military minds in the world. Those were tense and turbulent times for our
country. The Cuban Missile Crisis and
the Bay of Pigs had America on what seemed in the minds of many to be the brink
of nuclear war. Meetings such as these
were certainly top priority.
The story goes that as
this meeting was taking place, a little boy called “John-John” came racing down
the hall of the west wing. He ran by
armed security guards. He ran by secret
service agents. He ran by administrative
hierarchy, and he ran right in to the oval office where he leaped into the lap
of President Kennedy. You would think
that little “John-John” was about ready to get into a whole lot of trouble for
disturbing this high-level meeting of the President. However, just the opposite happened. President Kennedy stopped what he was doing,
turned his attention away from the greatest military minds in the world, and
focused his attention on little “John-John.”
How amazing.
I have just one
question. Why was “John-John” able to do
that? How come “Scott-Scott” couldn't do
that? What makes “John-John” so different? The answer is simple. “John-John” had something true about him that
will never be true of “Scott-Scott.”
“John-John” was the child of the President of the United States. That's why “John-John” could do this and why
“Scott-Scott” better never try such a bold move.
But guess what? Through faith in Christ I have become a child
of the living God. John 1:12 says, “But as many as received Him, to them He
gave the right to become children
of God, even to those who
believe in His name.” That makes me a
child of Almighty God. That means that any
time I want, and as often as I want, I can run down the portals of heaven
through prayer. I can run past angelic
honor guard. I can run past the cherubim
and the seraphim, and I can run right in to the throne room of God and I can
leap into the lap of Almighty God. And when
I do, the very God of the universe will focus his attention on me. Not because of anything I've done, but
because of everything Jesus did for me on the cross.
Because of the cross of
Jesus, I can leap into my Heavenly Father's lap and talk to him. Because of the cross of Jesus, I can leap
into my Heavenly Father’s lap and sing to him.
Because of the cross of Jesus, I can leap into my Heavenly Father's lap
and laugh with him. Because of the cross
of Jesus, I can leap into my Heavenly Father's lap and cry with him. And because of the cross of Jesus, I can leap
into my Heavenly Father's lap and sit there, simply being still and knowing
that my Heavenly Father isn’t just the President of the United States – He is God.
Folks, Listen, that's what
Christianity is. It's not a
religion. It's a relationship that
allows us to come boldly into the presence of God. That's what worship is. I think sometimes we focus on the wrong
things when it comes to our worship. Worship
isn't an hour-long church service.
Worship isn't a worship team.
It's not a song. It's not an
instrument. It's not even a singer. Worship is entering boldly into the presence
of God through faith in the cross of Jesus Christ and finding His mercy, His grace,
and His help in our time of need!
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