Come closer...

"Therefore, let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."--Hebrews 4:16.  The Hebrew writer saying that because Christ was tempted in all things yet was without sin, we can be confident that He can help us in time of weakness.  Because Christ has been tempted in all things but is still without sin, we are invited to come closer to the throne of God.

Come closer.  There is something to be said about the connection we have with someone when they have gone through the same difficulty we have.  By the same token, maybe some of you have seen someone go through a difficulty and you felt that connection because you went through it before.  Either way, this connection gives a person confidence to come closer and talk to you a little more openly about the situation and together you can figure out how to overcome the difficulty.

Come closer.  Have you ever been tempted? If you are thinking about saying no right now, you would be lying because you ARE being tempted to not tell the truth. :-).

Come closer.  Hebrews 4:15 tells us that Christ can sympathize with us because He has been tempted in all things but because He is without sin, He is the source of strength to lean on when we are tempted because He has conquered temptation in every way.  All we have to do is come closer.

Come closer.  Because Christ has conquered temptation and thereby conquered sin in every way, we can be confident that He can deliver us from temptation if we will just come closer.

Come closer.  So what is your temptation?

Is it lust? Come closer.

Is it pride? Come closer.

Is it dishonesty? Come closer.

Is it the love of money? Come closer.

Is it alcohol? Come closer.

Come closer.  I could go down the list of what people are tempted by.  The above are just a handful of examples.

Come closer.  So in closing, something I would encourage you to do in response to your temptation is to pray what is known as the Lord's prayer but better named as the Disciple's prayer as found in Matthew 6:9-13 but rather than the generic "do not lead us into temptation" pray about the specific temptation or temptations you battle yourself.

If you want to overcome temptation in your time of weakness, don't only come to the throne of grace but with confidence, COME CLOSER!

DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! PRAY ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS!