Before the Throne

In these verses, we find the author, most likely the Apostle Paul, encouraging us to stay faithful to the faith, our belief system, and to whom our faith is founded upon – Jesus Christ. That same Jesus, whom we have our faith in, underwent temptation – the same temptation we go through – and he was able to weather the storms of temptation without sinning.

Paul continues to say, because of Christ’s understanding of temptation and struggle, that He is our “high priest” – our advocate – who not only understands but also sympathizes with us in our weakness. He invites us to his “throne of grace”…to receive mercy and find grace in the midst of our temptation.

Allow me to dig deep here for a moment:
I’m convinced that too often we focus on the subject of the temptation and ignore the root of temptation. Some would argue whether or not Jesus ever dealt with the temptation of ___________ (fill in the blank with some “verb or action”). We don’t know if Jesus ever dealt with the temptation to do drugs, look at pornography, steal, or fill in the blank with whatever sin you could imagine. What we do know though is that Jesus was tempted and that his temptation was less about the action of temptation and more about the heart underneath.
Notice a couple of realities when Satan came and tempted Jesus after his wilderness prayer retreat. Matthew 4

• Jesus was led to pray in the wilderness because soon He would be launching his ministry – temptation is meant to sabotage the will of God in your life.
• Jesus had spent 40 days fasting and was full of prayer – Jesus was FULL of prayer and fasting. He had just spent 40 days in seclusion WITH God. Jesus wasn’t just having a “weak” moment, he was rejuvenated spiritually.

Remember temptation doesn’t just come to the weak.

• Each temptation presented to Jesus was within his ability (power) to do so – Satan will work your mind when tempting you. He may present you with something that is within your own reasoning. It is not always the extremes that he tempts us with, in fact it rarely is.

Remember, you may have the “right”, but it doesn’t make it right.

• Satan first tempted him with food because Jesus WAS hungry. – The first entry point Satan tried to use was Jesus’s humanity, but he is never satisfied with just our humanity. Satan touched on the reality of the moment – Jesus WAS hungry, and Satan was offering Jesus an opportunity to quench his physical hunger. Temptation won’t stop at your humanity. He will come after everything.

Remember the temptation is deceitful, it won’t stop.

• Satan’s second temptation was to get Jesus to question his belief, specifically what he believed about WHOSE he was. – Even before his wilderness prayer retreat, Jesus had just heard God – his father – say “this is my son in whom I’m well pleased.” Satan is now testing Jesus’s trust in God – his father. Will God save you? Will He send down angels on your behalf? Satan’s temptation is actually less about what Jesus will do, and more about what he believes. This is how temptation is deceitful. Satan doesn’t care about what you do, He can’t actually overcome your doing – unless you’re demonically possessed the excuse “Satan made me do it” will NEVER stand trial. You are not controlled by Satan ….or God. You are a free-willed being, making decisions based upon your own beliefs. What Satan is after is your beliefs – your thoughts – which is why we are “take hold of every thought” (2 Corinthians 10:5). Satan is trying to rewrite the truth Jesus knows about himself – he is his father’s son. Never before has a possessive apostrophe been more significant. And since Jesus KNOWS this and is secure in this he is able to overcome the doubt the enemy tries to cause him to wrestle with.

Remember the enemy wants your beliefs, not just your actions.
One of my favorite quotes is, “Every action is born out of a belief.” Hold tight to your beliefs.

• Satan’s third temptation dealt with the promise over Jesus’s life. – The enemy knows the greatness in you and the promises for you. God is a good father – Luke 11:13. He has great things in store for your life. The enemy knows that because you are His, your potential to make an impact in the world is unparalleled. You are unstoppable when your life is fully surrendered to the Lord. You don’t have to settle in life, because God’s plan for your life is not pathed with just what you can see. Satan said to Jesus all that you can see I’ll give you, but because Jesus knew that what God had for him was greater than what he could see at that moment, Satan’s offer was foolishness.

Remember you have a promise over your life, don’t sell it short for what you see today.

Paul finishes the passage in Hebrews 4 stating that in the midst of our struggle with temptation we are to “draw near” to the throne room. Drawing near seems so anti what we are supposed to do. It wasn’t what Adam and Eve did when they fell to the temptation of the enemy. Remember? They both eat of the fruit they weren’t supposed to and God enters the garden, as he so often did, and they were hiding. Isn’t that what the enemy wants us to do when we fall? Run and hide. Run away from the one who can forgive us. Hide from the one who makes us pure again. The enemy of our soul is entirely more deceitful than we know.

Jesus says come. The Holy Spirit says come. The Father says come – draw near to my throne room where there is an abundance of grace and mercy for you.

So today, I encourage you to overcome the temptations in your life…..draw near and receive before the throne of grace and mercy.

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About the Author
​j. Taylor Choate

​J. Taylor Choate is a gifted communicator with a passion for the Lord and His Church. He has earned his Bachelor of Arts in Church Leadership with a minor in Church Revitalization and Planting from Southwestern Assemblies of God University (SAGU), and is currently completing a Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership from SAGU. He shares his life with his wife Morgan and their daughter Matilda. Taylor serves as Treasurer of Refining Fire Ministries, and Bridge Community Church as the Associate Pastor.
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