Overview
Coming boldly to the throne of grace means taking mercy as your own. The words we may obtain in Hebrews 4:16 are the Greek word lambano, which is best translated take: an active acquisition that means to take ownership of and utilize. In this teaching Rev. Rico Magnelli shows that mercy is merited judgment withheld and grace is unmerited divine favor, and that the two work dynamically together, because mercy gets us unstuck and grace moves us forward. Working through Peter walking on the water in Matthew 14, David’s words in Psalm 59, and the mercies of God in Romans 12, he shows that taking mercy is not making excuses, and that when we take it boldly God’s timing to help in time of need is always perfect.
Transcript
What the Throne of Grace Means in Hebrews 4
Please turn to Hebrews chapter 4. We want to consider the Throne of Grace. And this phrase, Throne of Grace, is a very unique phrase in the Word. And it’s in the context of Jesus Christ being tempted in all things like we are yet without sin.
We do have Jesus Christ being tempted in all things and yet proving the Word that it works in every situation. And in that context, we come to the Throne of Grace. And a throne in the Word represents dignity and authority.
Come Boldly, Not Sheepishly
And we are to approach this throne with boldness, not sheepishly. In other words, we take mercy as our own. When at times we fail or fall short or are challenged, that’s the time we must embrace mercy to move ahead with grace.
And we’ll see how this works, this dynamic. But it starts with making mercy personal. Personal.
Because mercy gets us unstuck and grace moves us forward. Here in Hebrews chapter 4, verse 16, it says, Let us therefore come boldly, again not sheepishly but boldly, unto the Throne of Grace. But it doesn’t stop there.
Lambano: Taking Mercy as Your Own
It says that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Those words, we may obtain, are actually the Greek word lambano. Many are familiar with this Greek word.
A great translation of the word lambano really is take. T-A-K-E. Take.
It’s an active acquisition, if you will. It’s not passive. Lambano means to take ownership of and utilize.
And in this verse, how tremendous that is because we’re to come boldly before the Throne of Grace and take as our own and use mercy. Mercy. And as a result, we’ll find the grace to help in time of need.
How to Apply Mercy When You Fall Short
So how do we apply this? Well, we apply mercy by taking it to ourselves when we’re challenged, when we fall short, when we miss the mark. And this is a tool, an avenue that many Christians don’t necessarily take to themselves. At times, we can get caught up in a worldly false humility.
But this mercy is based on the accomplished work of Christ. Because to move forward, we must take mercy and make it our own. We use it.
We apply it to us personally. Then we can move ahead with grace. Because it says, and find grace to help in time of need.
Mercy Is Merited Judgment Withheld, Grace Is Unmerited Divine Favor
The word help actually could be translated rescue. We have mercy, which is merited judgment withheld. And we have grace, which is unmerited divine favor.
And they work dynamically together. And in life, we all run into challenges. We all at times fall short.
Help in Time of Need Means God’s Well-Timed Rescue
And that’s when we embrace mercy as our own. And what that does is it opens the door for God’s grace to help in time of need. And the time of need here refers to what is well-timed, like an opportune time.
Sometimes what happens is people miss the timing because they don’t embrace the mercy. We are going to fall short, even though we’re seated in the heavenlies. But when we embrace and take mercy boldly, that gets us unstuck.
And then what happens is God’s timing unfolds. God’s wisdom is tied into the perfect timing of things. But we have to come boldly before his throne of grace and take mercy.
Taking Mercy Is Not Making Excuses
You know, taking mercy doesn’t mean we make excuses for what we do wrong. We own up to what we do wrong. That’s not what I’m talking about.
It’s talking about your value as a son of God. That never diminishes in God’s sight, whether we fall short or not in our walk. It never diminishes the treasure that we have in earthen vessels, ever.
Peter Walks on the Water in Matthew 14
So when we need help in time of need, God’s timing is going to be perfect. Look at Matthew 14, please. Matthew 14.
Here Jesus Christ comes to the disciples while they’re on the water, and he’s walking to them, which is spectacularly and miraculously breathtaking. And it was a stormy conditions that they were under. And here in Matthew 14 and verse 25, and in the fourth watch of the night, so this is very late, Jesus went unto them walking on the sea.
And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit. And they cried out for fear. They’d never seen anything like this.
But straightway Jesus spake unto them. He didn’t let them stay in fear. He spoke to them, saying, Be of good cheer, it is I. Be not afraid.
Be not afraid. This could be an intimidating situation, being out on the water in a boisterous situation, wind and waves and being at night. But bless Peter’s heart, Peter says in verse 28, And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.
I love his boldness. I love it. And he said, Jesus said, come.
Jesus said, come. We don’t know how far he was from the boat. But nevertheless, Peter gets out of the boat.
Jesus Was the Object Peter Had in View
And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. The object that Peter had in view was Jesus. He was looking at Jesus when he got out of the boat.
And when he was walking on the water, he was looking at him, looking at Jesus. That was the object. That’s who he had in view.
And he did walk on the water. Absolutely. But what happened here is Peter fell short.
Peter Cried Out and the Help Was Immediate
But when he saw the wind boisterous. So he took his eyes off of Jesus and he was afraid and began to sink. But to his credit, he cried saying, Lord, save me.
He come. He came boldly for help. To his credit, he came boldly for help.
And the help was immediate. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand and caught him and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? Look at God’s timing. There is immediate.
Whatever God Offers You, He Provides What You Need
He said, O thou of little faith. Faith is to believe God. And in that relationship of believing God, God always has to provide something for man to believe.
In this situation, God provides something for Peter to believe. He offered to Peter to walk on the water by way of the ministry of Jesus Christ. It’s what he offered to him.
Peter took it. Whenever God offers you something, he will always give you, provide everything you need to fulfill it. Whatever you need, if he offers it to you, he never will leave you high and dry, so to speak.
He will always provide what you need to fulfill it. So what has God offered you? What is he offering you? You know, people are in different situations in life. Perhaps at one time we walked for a while, but we got distracted by the noise of life and then got afraid.
The key is you take the master’s hand and continue on your journey with God. You take mercy as your own, and then you move ahead with grace. This is just an illustration, but it’s something that we can rehearse again and again and again.
The more the word lives within us, the more significant what God did in Christ for us becomes. And it builds an appreciation of the mercy of God. And then we just move ahead with grace.
What It Means to Doubt: To Stand in Two Ways
The word, see that in verse 31, it says, Wherefore didst thou doubt? That word doubt means to stand in two ways. You’re hesitant. He got distracted by the things that were around him.
He lost sight of the master. And then what happened was those things that were around him became too overwhelming for him. And he started to sink.
But to his credit, he walked on the water. And secondly, he cried out for help. He got help.
David and the God of My Mercy in Psalm 59
This is fantastic because we come boldly before the throne of grace. And God’s timing is always perfect. Look at Romans chapter 12, please.
Romans chapter 12. These are familiar themes in the word. There’s a tremendous record in the word regarding David.
When David was approached by the messengers of Saul and they were coming to kill David, Psalm 59 has some great insight into that situation. But I’ll just read you the last two verses of that psalm. This is Psalm 59, 16, and 17.
But I, this is David writing when Saul sent messengers to kill David. But I will sing of thy power. Yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning.
For thou hast been my defense and refuge in the day of my trouble. Unto thee, David writes, O my strength, will I sing. For God is my defense.
And he closes with the statement, and the God of my mercy. It was his mercy, my mercy. See, we can go through all this rigmarole and rationale about this and that and regrets about the past and so forth.
You’ve got to take mercy as if it’s your own. As if God really wants you to have it. David said it beautifully.
Grace, Mercy and Peace in the Leadership Epistles
The God of my mercy. Because we’re going to make mistakes. We know that in the leadership epistles of Timothy, Titus, God adds mercy in there.
Grace, mercy, and peace. Oftentimes, when we’re in positions to help people, you know, maybe we fall short at times. We need that mercy.
But every believer needs it. And it’s something not to pass on as if, oh, I’ve got that down. I understand that.
By the Mercies of God: Romans 12:1
Well, look at Romans 12. This is the first practical admonition to the Christian church in Romans 12, verse 1. And look at what it says. I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, by the mercies of God, plural, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
It’s embracing the mercies of God. Really making it your own. Not feeling bad about your past.
Not feeling bad about the mistakes you make. But you take on mercy. That’s what the cross is for.
And then we can move to the power of the resurrection and the grace of God. It says, and be not conformed to this world or this age. They’re always apologizing for everything and feeling bad about everything.
You take mercy boldly. But be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good, acceptable, and perfect will of God. Here it is.
The Measure of Faith Is the Faith of Jesus Christ
For I say through the grace. He starts out with mercy, and here’s the grace. Given unto me to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly according as God has dealt to every man the measure of faith.
The faith of Jesus Christ is what each and every one of us have. So it’s not based on my works. It’s not based on your works.
It’s based on the faith of Jesus Christ. What he accomplished by his mercy, God allowed Jesus Christ to take my sins and yours. And then by God’s grace, we find help in time of need because we lambano, we take as our own mercy and we should do it every day.
We should be so comfortable with mercy, not excuses. That’s not what I’m saying. Mercy is applying the accomplished work of Christ to your situation.
Not any reasoning of man. It’s applying the accomplished work of Christ in every situation. And that’s what allows us to find grace where we need help in time of need.
Showing Mercy to Others Cheerfully
And the timing will be perfect. And then what can happen is we can show mercy to others cheerfully. Like Romans goes on to say, because people need it.
People need it. The accuser is there constantly on their heels, telling them that they’re less than what God says they are. So these are great days to embrace mercy and find grace in time of need.
And God’s timing will be perfect to move us forward.
Key Takeaways
- A throne in the Word represents dignity and authority, and Hebrews 4:16 tells us to approach this one boldly, not sheepishly.
- The words we may obtain in Hebrews 4:16 are the Greek word lambano, best translated take: an active acquisition that means to take ownership of and utilize.
- Mercy is merited judgment withheld and grace is unmerited divine favor, and they work dynamically together, because mercy gets us unstuck and grace moves us forward.
- Time of need refers to what is well-timed, like an opportune time, and people miss the timing because they don’t embrace the mercy.
- Taking mercy is not making excuses. We own up to what we do wrong, but our value as a son of God never diminishes in God’s sight.
- Peter walked on the water while Jesus was the object he had in view, and when he took his eyes off him and cried out for help, the help was immediate.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does it mean to come boldly unto the throne of grace?
It means approaching the throne with boldness rather than sheepishly, and taking mercy as your own. Rico Magnelli points out that the words we may obtain in Hebrews 4:16 are the Greek word lambano, which is best translated take. It is an active acquisition, not passive, and it means to take ownership of and utilize. Mercy gets us unstuck and grace moves us forward, so we take mercy and then find grace to help in time of need.
What is the difference between mercy and grace?
Mercy is merited judgment withheld and grace is unmerited divine favor, and the two work dynamically together. When we fall short or are challenged, we embrace mercy as our own, which means applying the accomplished work of Christ to the situation rather than any reasoning of man. That opens the door for God’s grace to help in time of need, and the word help there could be translated rescue.
Why did Peter begin to sink when he walked on the water?
The word doubt in Matthew 14:31 means to stand in two ways, to be hesitant. Peter came down out of the ship with Jesus as the object he had in view, and he did walk on the water. But when he saw the wind boisterous he took his eyes off Jesus, the things around him became too overwhelming, and he started to sink. To his credit he came boldly for help, and the help was immediate.
Scripture References
Hebrews 4; Hebrews 4:15; Hebrews 4:16; Matthew 14; Matthew 14:25; Matthew 14:26; Matthew 14:27; Matthew 14:28; Matthew 14:29; Matthew 14:30; Matthew 14:31; Romans 12; Psalm 59; Psalm 59:16; Psalm 59:17; 1 Timothy 1:2; 2 Timothy 1:2; Titus 1:4; Romans 12:1; Romans 12:2; Romans 12:3; Romans 12:8
This text was prepared from the teaching audio. Please verify scripture references against your own Bible.
