The death of the middle man.

Have you spent any time speaking to God today?

Have you communicated your affection for him? Have you asked him for guidance? Have you cried out for his provision? Have you asked him for forgiveness?

But have you spent any time being thankful to God for the ability to speak with him?

It hasn't always been that way. God has not always been available to the average rank-and-file believer. There was a time when you and I could not have gained access to the throne of God for our prayers.

And that is what we see happening in Jeremiah 42:1-6 when a group of Jewish military leaders come to Jeremiah and ask him to go to God for them with their requests.

Then all the commanders of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least to the greatest, came near and said to Jeremiah the prophet, "Let our plea for mercy come before you, and pray to the Lord your God for us, for all this remnant--because we are left with but a few, as your eyes see us--that the Lord your God may show us the way we should go, and the thing that we should do." Jeremiah the prophet said to them, "I have heard you. Behold, I will pray to the Lord your God according to your request, and whatever the Lord answers you I will tell you. I will keep nothing back from you." Then they said to Jeremiah, "May the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act according to all the word with which the Lord your God sends you to us."

So, these commanders were seeking the will of God for their lives (although if you keep reading you might end up doubting their sincerity) but they could not go directly to God. Instead, they were forced to go to Jeremiah, the prophet with whom God spoke, and have him take their request to God.

Can you imagine? For most of the people who read this blog, I am one of your pastors. What would it be like for you to have to bring your requests for guidance, your requests for provision, or your prayers of repentance to me, so that I could bring them to God?

What would be like to have to deal with a "middle man" in your prayer life?

Thankfully, we don't have to worry about that because the middle man is dead. The New Testament teaches us that because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross we have direct access to God in heaven.

Let me point to a few verses that make this point very well.

First, there is an amazing passage on how the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ gained us access to God the Father in Hebrews 10:19-22

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places [places in the temple where the priest would meet with God but where you and I were not allowed] by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain [of the temple that kept regular believers out of the Holy of Holies],that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near [in prayer] with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

Jesus' work of living a sinless life, dying on the cross, and resurrecting from the dead has given us an all-access pass to God. In other words, there are no more doors in God's "temple" that say "Access Restricted."

Second, in Revelation 5:8 we are given insight into where exactly prayers go in God's kingdom--

And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell own before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

There is no "mail room" in heaven! Our prayers, because of what Jesus accomplished, now go directly to the throne of God.

So, take time this morning to thank Jesus for earning you access to God through prayer and if you haven't prayed yet today do so. Exercise the privilege to send your requests straight to the throne of God.

Text of the Week

The "text of the week" this week was in response to my arguing that Christians should not be abandoning their local churches.

Here is this week's text:

I thought the church was made up of the people?

Here was my answer:

The church is made up of all who love and follow Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. The church has not ever been nor will ever be a building or an institution.

However, God has given the church certain parameters to operate under. The church is to be lead by godly men called to the task of pastoring (I Timothy 3), to participate in the sacrament of the Lord's Supper (I Corinthians 11:23-26), to participate in the sacrament of baptism (Matthew 28:18-20), to participate in the work of global missions (Matthew 28:18-20), and to be place where individual giftedness is used for mutual edification (I Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4:11-16).

In other words, the church is the people but the people gather together under the context of the local church.

Jesus is not your Homeboy. (outline from 11-15-09)

What we think about Jesus and our relationship to Him matters because it affects everything.

So, it is imperative that we maintain a biblical Christology.

Colossians 1:15-22

A. Jesus is the exact image of God. Colossians 1:15 / John 14:8-9

B. Jesus is the active participant in creation. Colossians 1:16 / Genesis 1:26

C. Jesus is the point of creation. Colossians 1:16

D. Jesus is the rightful king of creation. Colossians 1:17 / John 1:3

E. Jesus is the glue that holds the world together. Colossians 1:17

F. Jesus is head of the church. Colossians 1:18 / Ephesians 5:23

G. Jesus is the first of the resurrected. Colossians 1:18 / I Corinthians 15:14

H. Jesus is the reconciler between God and man. Colossians 1:20 / II Corinthians 5:19

I. Jesus is the cleanser of your soul. Colossians 1:21-22 / Ephesians 5:25-27