Focal Point

Pastor Mike Fabarez: The gospel isn't cheap. I want to remember what it cost. This wasn't cheap. You didn't get access to God through God just kind of laying down a few bucks to buy your salvation. As Peter said, you weren't redeemed by things like silver and gold. I mean, I guess that would be impressive, but that's nothing. You were redeemed, Peter said, by the precious blood of Christ.

Dave Drewy: Welcome to Focal Point with author and pastor Mike Fabarez. I'm Dave Drewy. As followers of Jesus, we all want a closer relationship with our savior. But when you look at the direction of your life, are you moving toward God or are you stuck in neutral, maybe even going backwards?

Today on Focal Point, Pastor Mike continues a helpful mini-series from Hebrews he's titled, "A Closer Relationship with God." In the next half hour, we'll discover the biblical ways to move toward the Lord. Here's Pastor Mike.

Pastor Mike Fabarez: Turn with me to the book of Psalms and turn to Psalm 73. It's a Psalm of Asaph. If you drop down to the bottom, I'll just give you the theme of it. It's found in verse number 28. Psalm 73, verse 28. Again, I use this text because it's exactly what we're talking about here in Hebrews chapter 10, verse 22. He says, "But as for me," listen to his resolve, "It is good to be near God." I just want to be near him.

What does that mean? He wants to be physically closer to him? No. He's talking about a relationship that's more deep, more intimate, and more personal. "As for me, it is good to be near God." That's the theme of the text. But let's go back up six verses and start in verse 23. Six simple phrases that summarize what it means. What are the keys to getting close to God? This will summarize the rest of the book of Hebrews. Are you with me?

Verse 23, Psalm 73:23, Asaph says, "Yet I am always with you." This is highly poetic language. "And you hold me by my right hand." He is all poetic about in his mind, he is aware of God's awareness of him. His mind is directing to God. Let's put it this way: Number one, we need to be mindful of his presence. You cannot better your relationship with God unless you, in your brain, are thinking about God's presence. If you're not aware of his awareness of you, if you do not think about a person, you cannot get closer to the person.

If you are not aware of that person's awareness of you, you will not enrich your relationship with that person. You have to be thinking about the fact that you and God are walking this path together, like he is holding your hand. Do you see that? Real simple. Let us be mindful of his presence. Are you aware of his presence every day? What does God say repeatedly in the Bible? "I will never leave you. I will never forsake you." God is trying to make it clear. Think of me. Think of me and think about how I'm thinking of you. No relationship can get improved without that. We need to be mindful of his presence.

Verse 24, letter B: "You guide me with your counsel, and afterwards, you'll take me into glory." Let's think that one through. "You guide me." I've got my hand on his hand. I'm thinking of him. Now as I'm walking down this path, I'm starting to go down this exit. Then I think about God and I think his counsel is not to go there. His counsel is to go here. I start to defer to his counsel and I make decisions in my day based on what God says, based on what God's preferences are.

I not only, letter A, need to be mindful of his presence, letter B, I need to be deferential to his counsel. His counsel is recorded in that book that's on your lap. Here is God's word that's full of his counsel for your daily life. That means I've got to get into the word of God. I need to think about God. I need to get into the word of God. I need to bring that to bear on decisions of my life. I need to defer to his counsel in the pages of scripture. "You guide me by your counsel."

Verse 25, letter C: "Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you." Here all of a sudden, he has this sense that I'm thinking of you, I'm guided by you. When it really comes down to it, when I think about being with you, man, that's a good thing. Matter of fact, I desire that more than other things. When I have an option here between being tantalized and satisfied by the things of the world, I realize it's really not as good as being satisfied and finding joy in my presence with you, in my relationship with you.

Let us put it down: Letter C, let us be desirous of his blessings. The blessings I'm talking about is relating to him. The kind of thing that I have when I say, "I just want to be with God." If that sounds selfish, just recognize that's the kind of hedonism that we want. As C.S. Lewis said, the one thing that is the ultimate fulfillment of all these other little desires in my life is for me to connect relationally with my creator. If I could just learn and cultivate that desire this year and say, "I want to find the joy and fulfillment that comes by deepening my relationship with God."

Some of us don't even try to cultivate that. We're so busy with all the glitz and the flash of the world that we're sucking all that in. God says, "Could you put all that aside for a little bit? Can you warm up to a little bit of the desire of verse 25, to where you can start to say time with me is really better than time with these other things?" I think the older we get as people, we start to recognize that because we start to see how cheap a lot of the things in the world are. We start to recognize it really doesn't fulfill anyway. The only thing that is really fulfilling is for me to find that joy in God's presence. That's the kind of pursuit that we want.

Matter of fact, keep your finger here and turn back with me to Psalm 16. In Psalm 16, a great text, verse number 11: "You've made known to me the path of life." It's much like letter B in Psalm 73:24, guiding me with your counsel. I'm walking on your path. It's great. "And you fill me with the joy of your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand." There's a key verse for the Christian hedonist. There's the idea of saying, "I really want to desire that more. The more I taste that, the more I experience that, the less these other things on earth are in terms of fulfillment for me." There's nothing wrong with that.

Letter D, number four, Psalm 73, verse number 26: "My flesh and my heart may fail." Now that may sound dramatic, like a guy in cardiac arrest at Mission Hospital. That's not what we're talking about. We're talking about something less than that. We're talking about the times when the psalmist sits back and goes, "Oh, my heart aches. It hurts. I'm bummed out. I'm depressed." But look at this: When I feel that way, God is the strength of my heart and he is my portion forever. He's the satisfy. He's what I need.

I love that phrase. It's great. The concept that when I have a need, when I'm hurting, when I'm struggling, I look to God and he's going to be the answer to that. He's going to fulfill that. Let's put it down this way: We need to not only be mindful of his presence, deferential of his counsel, desirous of his blessing. Number four, let us be dependent on his help. If again that sounds like we want a more equal relationship here, you don't have an equal relationship with God. God is perfect. You are not. You will have needs and struggles. He will not.

What we need to do is recognize that his role in this relationship is to be a helper. I know we've demeaned that word in our society. But you've got to realize that is such an important word that God applies to himself. The same Hebrew word that we sniff at in the beginning of the creation story when Eve is called a helper to Adam, God takes that word and he says, "That's what I am to you. I'm going to be the one that is going to come alongside of you and support you and give you help because you're a needy person."

The bottom line is when it comes down to New Testament truth, what does Jesus say? He calls the spirit that's going to live in our lives the paracletos, the helper. He's going to come alongside and shore me up. That's God's role. Here's the problem: When he offers that and he's qualified for that and we don't take him up on that, that's not good. That won't help our relationship. To fulfill the roles in our relationship is to say, "God, this year I'm going to depend on you and seek your help more than I've ever sought it before."

I'm going to be mindful of your presence, deferential to your counsel, seek you and want to be with you and desirous of your blessing, and I'm going to be dependent on your help. Those things will improve your relationship with God. Next verse, 27, letter E, number five: "Those who are far from you," now look at this radical change. We're just talking about how great it is to be with God and God is a great helper. Now all of a sudden, we get this from left field: "As for those that are far from you, that's not good." You can see him shudder. He just has this chill.

"Those that are far from you, they perish. And you destroy all those who are unfaithful to you." Those people walking away from you, those people that don't want you, those people that are turning their backs on you, that's bad. He has this time of going, "Oof." The text here, and I think it's helpful in any good relationship to invert it every now and then, it makes us thankful and grateful and it enriches our relationship when we can be—this may be a bit of an overstatement but jot it down—number five, letter E, let us be fearful of his absence.

That's helpful in so many ways. Let us be fearful of his absence. Not that I can lose my standing with Christ if I'm adopted into his family and a genuine Christian. We're not talking about that. I'm talking about I want to contrast my relationship with God with those that don't have one. Does that ever make you shudder? It ought to. You know what that ought to do? It ought to make you cling to Christ a little closer. It ought to make you reach out for God and want to bring him closer into your life. It should make you want to draw closer into the presence of God.

Why? Because you're looking at people that don't have this relationship. You're looking at people that turn their backs on this wonderful privilege and opportunity to relate to their creator and it ought to drive you to say, "I want more of this." We ought to be fearful of his absence. Not that we're going to lose our standing with God, but in contrast, I'm so grateful for standing here in the presence of God. I'll cherish that relationship when I consider what it would be like to be without it. The implications for evangelism are huge.

If you don't have a good relationship with God, you may look at what Pete got up here and said, "Well, let's do evangelism together," and you go, "Ooh, wow, that sounds scary. I don't want to do that." If people have a good relationship with God, they shudder when they think about the non-Christians that live around this building. They shudder when they think what is it going to be like for those people that do not relate to God. They will incur the wrath of God. Man, I want to do something about that.

You ought to be desirous of trying to share your faith because you experience that sense of intimacy with God and you shudder at what it would be to be on the other side of the street. One of the most important things you can do is share your faith with other people. Letter F, number six, verse 28: "But as for me," this is the whole theme of the paragraph, "it's good to be near to God. I've made the Sovereign Lord, Yahweh, my refuge." That's a summary. Now, one last line. It's not a throwaway line. He puts this right here and he says, "Listen, I will tell of all your deeds."

After all of that and pondering the greatness of God and what it would be like to be without him, he says, "I'm going to boast about you." Let's put it down this way: Last one, letter F, number six, let us be proud of his accomplishments. Again, if that doesn't relate to the evangelism class, let us be willing to say, "I want to talk about God. God is great. God has done great things." He's done great things for me. He sent his son to reconcile the world. I am ready to talk about God. I'm not going to be ashamed of that.

The inversion is to be ashamed of it. What does Paul say? Romans chapter one: "I'm not ashamed of the gospel. It's the power of God to save people." I'm going to stand up and talk about God. Again, you can kind of see where you're at in your intimacy with God by how much fear wells up in you when it comes to standing up and saying something about our great God. You need to measure that and you need to say, "I'd sure like to have a whole lot less fear and shame about my relationship with God."

When Paul says to Timothy in 2 Timothy chapter one, he says, "Don't be ashamed not only of God and the gospel," he says, "don't be ashamed of me, his prisoner, his servant." I think too it will be: Am I ashamed of church? Am I ashamed of Christians? Am I ashamed of my pastor? That one may happen. But am I ashamed of great Christian leaders and friends and mentors and preachers? Am I ashamed of that? Am I ashamed of God? Don't be. You need to be proud. We need to stand up and say God has done great things and I'm ready to talk about it.

Now look at that list. Just go through it. You've jotted it down: Be mindful of his presence, deferential to his counsel, desirous of his blessing, dependent on his help, fearful of his absence, and proud of his accomplishments. Could you not apply that list to any relationship? If you did all that, would it not be a better relationship? If you practiced that list right there in any—and this is not a marriage seminar—but think about any relationship you have.

If you said, "I'm going to think about the person more. I'm going to defer more to what they say and their preferences. I'm going to be desirous of being with them and the blessings that come from being with them. I'm going to depend more on their help. I'm going to be fearful if I'm not with them. I'm going to be proud of what they do." Do you think that would enhance any relationship you have? Same thing with God. God is not an equation, he's a person. These are the things that Asaph says that's what it's about to be near to God.

The rest of the book of Hebrews is going to unpack this whole theme. But there's one more thing to underscore in our passage that we went by quickly. Let's go over to Hebrews chapter 10 and look at what we've left. Which, by the way, we've tried to summarize also verse 23. It's the holding unswervingly without ashamedness, without any equivocation to the hope we profess because he who has promised is faithful. What hope? The hope of his presence, the hope of his counsel, the hope of his blessing, the hope of his help, the hope of his accomplishment and continued accomplishment in my life and in the world because he who has promised is faithful.

Great, we've really covered the whole text. What did we miss? I don't think we missed anything. We did. Verses 19 and 20. We went by this real quick and because we're all inoculated churchgoers, we really didn't catch this. It is the motive in this text for the main verb in verse number 22. I'm to draw near to God since, verse 19, I have this confidence by the blood of Christ, by a new and living way opened through the curtain, that is his body. We looked at that and go, "Yeah, we know all that."

But that is supposed to conjure up some kind of motivation in my heart. I think we need to recognize that you and I will be motivated to do this when we consider the poignancy of those two words: Verse number 19, the blood of Christ; verse number 20, the body of Christ that was rent like the curtain in the temple. Mark 15, remember what happened when he breathed his last? What does the Bible say? God performs this little miracle in the temple. He takes the curtain between the holy place and the holy of holies and he tears it apart and he rips it.

The Bible says as Christ is being pummeled and executed on a Roman execution rack, the Bible says when he breathes his last, here this entrance into the temple is rent, it's torn, it's opened up, it's cleft. The Bible says just like Christ was murdered on this Roman execution rack as the Lamb of God, he's opened up the way through that high cost. He's opened up the way for us to have access to God. If you're sitting back and thinking that's a lot of work, that's a lot of purposeful work, that's a lot of adding to my schedule this year to do all that stuff to draw near to God and you might say why. Here's why: Because the cost was so high.

Number three, let's just put it that way: When it comes to bettering my relationship with God, I want to remember what it cost. This wasn't cheap. The gospel isn't cheap. You didn't get access to God through God just kind of laying down a few bucks to buy your salvation. As Peter said, you weren't redeemed by things like silver and gold. I mean, I guess that would be impressive, but that's nothing. You were redeemed, Peter said, by the precious blood of Christ.

I know that we've missed the point so much in this regard because I know you parents are so protective of your kids. You don't want them to see violence in the movies or the TV. You would as much want them to see the hanging of Saddam Hussein as you would want to stick needles in their eyes. You don't want to do that. Yet we come to church and we see our kids come out of Sunday school and they're coloring pictures of the crucifixion of the son of God and go, "Oh, that's nice, honey. You really drew in the lines really well. That was great." We're talking about the execution of a person that did nothing wrong.

We're talking about the gory pummeling of Roman fists into the face of the perfect Lamb of God and we go, "Oh, that's nice, honey." What are we talking about? This was something that was so dramatic, it was so tragic, we ought to pause every time we think about it. That's why you don't even see crosses around here for us. One reason is I don't want us to become immune to it. It's not a logo for us. It was the thing that led to his death and his suffering. It was the high cost of our forgiveness.

Both my boys play in Little League. You know, I'd like them to work hard at it, I'd like them to practice, I'd like them to do well and all that. But I'd like them to do well about this much. You know why? Because I didn't pay much for them to get in it. The cost to get in Little League is relatively cheap. Cost of a glove—I don't know, I had a hand-me-down for one, and the other one we got on sale at Big 5 for 19 bucks. Not a big deal. Bats are fairly cheap, at least the ones I buy my kids. Not a big deal. Do I want them to practice after school? Yeah, I guess if you want to. Go ahead, that'd be good.

Problem is my fourth grader came home and he wanted to join the orchestra. So I said, "Okay, we've got to go find a violin." I look online and I'm thinking I can buy one at Walmart.com or something. Then I get the sheet from the music teacher at school. That stuff's junk. It's like trying to bow on a piece of wood that you cut off the tree in your backyard. No, you've got to buy them a good one. Got to rent one if you have to. So I go out to try and rent one. Do you know what these things cost? Astronomically expensive.

They're not even my size, so I couldn't play it if I wanted to pick it up. These are little things for kids. Out of control expensive. So dad's forking over big dollars. Now I'm bringing this thing home like this: "Hey son, here's your violin." I'm picturing him dragging it to school and I'm thinking, "Ah!" Now dad has laid out a lot more dollars for the violin and orchestra than he did for the baseball team. You know what I'm thinking when it comes to the orchestra? You better practice that thing, kid. You better work hard at it. You better think about it. You better do a lot to make this thing happen.

I've got a whole different perspective about the investment I want from my kid because of the cost involved. Are you seeing where this illustration is going? Can you imagine now if something my kid wanted to join cost the blood and life of his sibling? Can you imagine what kind of investment I would expect from him? If it cost the life of his sister and now he wants to join this, but to join it I'd have to give up the life of his sister and now I'm going to see him going, "Take it or leave it. I don't know if I want to practice today."

What are you talking about? This cost the body and blood of your sister. You better make this your top priority. Why is it that I should draw near to God with a sincere heart, verse 22? Why? Because I can't even get into this relationship without the spilling and executed blood of Christ and the rent and torn body of the Savior. I can't have a relationship with God without that. This is not just a neat little privilege and, "Boy, wouldn't it be great for you to have a better life by kind of getting in tune with God?" No, it's not like that. It's like this ought to be our passionate, singular focus. Why? Because it cost everything. It is such a high price.

Our salvation is not cheap. Oh, it may be free to us, the free gift of salvation. Why? Because it's not based on my work. But it certainly isn't cheap, as Bonhoeffer said. We ought to be the most precious thing about us. In our lives I recognize that you have a lot of competing interests. But realize this: Everything from fulfillment at work, good marriage, good parenting relationships, good extracurricular activities, fulfilling hobbies, whatever it might be for you—I'm telling you, all those fulfillments are pale reflections.

As every thoughtful Christian has said and some have articulately written, they're simply pale reflections of the kind of fulfillment and gratification that comes in knowing and relating to the living God. We are in a world of imperfection laden with sin. God says, "I am the perfect one. Please draw near to me." Because as you do with the high cost of Christ attached to it, you'll recognize there is nothing more gratifying, fulfilling, or meaningful. It is the most important thing we can do. Let us make this our passion and our calling. Let's pray together.

God, please help us to recognize there's nothing more important than for us to improve our relationship with you. God, that means that we need to give it some attention. We need to make it our priority. God, help us to recognize what a tremendous opportunity we have to connect with the very reason that we were created: To know you, to relate to you. As Augustine said so well, our hearts are going to be a mess, they're going to be restless, until they find that connection, that telos, that satisfaction in a relationship with you. So let us find it, God, in increasing measure this year. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Dave Drewy: You've been listening to Focal Point and a message from Pastor Mike Fabarez called, "Motivated by All that Christ has Done for Us," part of the mini-series "A Closer Relationship with God." We'll pick up where we left off tomorrow, and every lesson in this study is available anytime at FocalPointRadio.org or through the free Focal Point app. This program reaches you each day because of the generosity of listeners who believe it matters.

Right now every gift comes with our thanks in the form of this month's featured resource, "The Pursuit of God" by A.W. Tozer. Tozer asks the hard question: Are we actually pursuing God or just going through the motions of religion? The answer he offers is at once convicting and deeply freeing because the God Tozer describes is not distant or hard to reach. He is near and he welcomes the soul that genuinely wants him. Send your gift today and request "The Pursuit of God" by calling 888-320-5885 or give online at FocalPointRadio.org. Well, now Pastor Mike has a special announcement.

Pastor Mike Fabarez: Thanks, Dave. I'd like to invite you to join me September 19th through the 26th, 2026, on a Christian cruise through New England and Canada. We'll sail Holland America's Zaandam, known for its elegance and exceptional hospitality, to historic cities like Boston, Halifax, and Quebec City. We'll gather for devotional times in God's word followed by thought-provoking Bible teaching throughout our journey.

Grammy-winning musicians Keith and Kristyn Getty will lead us in worship. You'll enjoy the stunning autumn landscapes as we explore charming coastal villages, all while building friendships with like-minded believers. It's a unique opportunity to deepen your faith and see some of the most beautiful scenery on the eastern seaboard. Space is limited, so don't wait to sign up. Secure your cabin today at FocalPointRadio.org.

Dave Drewy: Tomorrow Pastor Mike turns to a part of the Christian life we don't always think about: The people around us. Is there someone in your life who challenges you, who won't let you settle? Pastor Mike says we all need that person. That's Wednesday on Focal Point.

Pastor Mike Fabarez: Pastor Mike here. I pray today's message will help you live out your faith with truth and love. After all, that's the kind of biblical faith that changes lives and transforms a crooked culture. But if you haven't truly surrendered your life to Christ, then I'd like to invite you to get in touch. We'd love to pray with you and help you discover God's plan of salvation. Visit FocalPointRadio.org.

Dave Drewy: Today's program was produced and sponsored by Focal Point Ministries.