Draw Near With Confidence

In one paragraph

This message centered on humility before God and confidence at the table he has set for us. The pastor worked from the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector into Hebrews 10, tying the two together through the thread of a man who knows he has no standing before God and yet is justified by grace. The service closed with communion as a shared declaration of that grace. the pastor came back to...

Read together

1. Matthew 11 opening encouragement: come to me all you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, I will give you rest
2. Luke 18:10-14 parable of the Pharisee and tax collector, the one who humbles himself will be exalted
3. Hebrews 10:19-21 confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus through the new and living way
4. Hebrews 4 let us fear, let us be diligent to enter the rest, so that no one falls through disobedience
5. Hebrews 4:14-16 since we have a great high priest, let us hold fast our confession and draw near with confidence to the throne of grace
6. Hebrews 6:1 let us press on to maturity, leaving elementary things about Christ
7. Hebrews 10:22 let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of the faith, hearts sprinkled clean
8. Hebrews 10:23 let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful
9. Hebrews 10:24 let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds
10. Hebrews 10:25 not forsaking our assembling together, encouraging one another as you see the day approaching
11. Acts 15:36-39 Paul and Barnabas sharp disagreement over taking Mark, used to illustrate the word for provocation
12. Jeremiah 31 referenced as the prophecy of the new covenant that Jesus inaugurated at the Last Supper
13. Joel referenced alongside Jeremiah as anticipating the new covenant
14. Romans 12:1 closing benediction: offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your true and proper worship

Talk about it

1. The parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector came up early in the sermon. The tax collector asked for mercy while the Pharisee listed his credentials. Where do you find yourself more naturally landing when you come to God, and what does that reveal about how you see yourself before Him?
2. The pastor described the encounter with Abdele the taxi driver, who prayed that God would reveal the truth and committed to following it no matter the cost. Have you ever made that kind of open-handed commitment to God, and what did it cost you or change in you?
3. Hebrews 10 says we can draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of the faith. The pastor said that if someone is holding on to unforgiveness, that is what is keeping them from the table, and that unforgiveness is a poison pill that kills you, not the person you are upset with. Is there anything you are holding on to that is making it hard for you to draw near with a sincere heart?
4. The sermon looked at the phrase translated as stimulate or stir up in Hebrews 10, and noted that the same word is used elsewhere to describe a sharp disagreement between Paul and Barnabas. What is the difference between stirring someone up toward love and good works and stirring up conflict, and how do you know which one you are doing?
5. The pastor connected the Morocco story, the parable, and the communion table by saying that none of us deserve the grace God has given, and it would not be grace if it were deserved. How does that reality shape the way you think about who belongs at the table and how you treat people outside the church?