Drawing Near to God #6

Drawing Near God Overview

In this sixth message of his series on Drawing Near to God, the pastor of NTC Ministries delivers a powerful and deeply personal teaching on what it truly means to come close to God in a noisy, chaotic world. Drawing from James 4:7-10, Colossians 3:1-3, Romans 10:17, Psalms 46:10, and an extended study of John 6, the message centers on one foundational truth: everything in creation is made up of voices, and the believer must learn to distinguish God’s voice above all others. The pastor unpacks the concept of strongholds from 2 Corinthians 10:3-6, explaining that these are echoing patterns of thought that block God’s voice and keep believers from maturing. Using vivid illustrations including Vietnam-era shell shock, the psychological concept of cognitive dissonance, and a striking pastoral story of a young man unable to face his guilt, the message calls Christians to humble themselves, deny self, and allow God to wash and cleanse their souls through His Word. The sermon concludes with a moving reflection on John 13 and Ephesians 5, revealing that communion and foot washing are pictures of God’s ongoing work to present a pure and spotless church to His Son.

Drawing Near God Outline

• 00:00 – Opening and Series Context: The pastor introduces the sixth installment of the Drawing Near to God series, reflecting on the blessing of reviewing foundational truths and the importance of meditating on God’s Word repeatedly.
• 06:30 – Everything Is Made of Voices: A core theological premise is established: God created through His Word, and everything in life carries a voice. The challenge for believers is to elevate God’s voice above all competing voices including circumstances, people, and internal fears.
• 14:00 – Strongholds and the Echoing Mind: Drawing from 2 Corinthians 10:3-6, the pastor explains the Greek concept of a stronghold as a military fortification with echoing guard posts, describing how negative voices replay in the mind and block God’s Word from taking root.
• 22:30 – Cognitive Dissonance and Divided Loyalty: The pastor introduces the psychological concept of cognitive dissonance as a biblical reality described in James 4, illustrating how believers rationalize sin rather than repent, using a powerful personal pastoral illustration.
• 32:00 – Jesus as the Living Bread in John 6: An extended study of John 6:43-66 reveals that eating Christ’s flesh and drinking His blood means receiving God’s Word into the heart. Many disciples turned away because this teaching was too hard to accept.
• 42:30 – Denying Self and Bearing the Cross: Matthew 16:24-26 is opened to show that the true cross to bear is the ongoing discipline of hearing God’s Word even when it is uncomfortable, resisting the urge to deflect, blame, or flee.
• 50:00 – Jesus Washing the Disciples Feet: John 13:1-8 is examined to show that foot washing represents Christ cleansing the soul of what believers have walked through in life. Peter’s refusal becomes a warning: without this cleansing, one can have no part with Him.
• 57:30 – A Pure Church Without Blemish: Ephesians 5:25-27 reveals that Christ loves and washes the church through His Word in order to present her to Himself without spot, wrinkle, or inner blemish, defined by the Greek word amomos as purity of soul.
• 01:03:00 – Communion and the Call to Draw Near: The service closes with communion, connecting the Lord’s Supper to foot washing and the ongoing work of cleansing. Believers are exhorted to keep drawing near, resist excuses, and allow God to tear down every stronghold.

Scripture References

James 4:7-10, Colossians 3:1-3, Romans 10:17, Psalms 46:10, 2 Corinthians 10:3-6, Proverbs 4:20-22, John 6:43-66, Matthew 16:24-26, John 13:1-8, Ephesians 5:25-27, Hebrews 4:16

Key Takeaways

• Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God, which means believers must be diligent and intentional about what voice they allow to dominate their heart.
• A stronghold is not merely a bad habit but an echoing pattern of thought that repeatedly replays a voice contrary to God, keeping believers spiritually weakened and distant from Him.
• Drawing near to God requires actively silencing the competing voices of circumstances, people, fear, and self in order to let His voice rise above them all.
• Eating Christ’s flesh and drinking His blood, as taught in John 6, means receiving God’s Word into the deepest part of the heart until the Father speaks it into the soul and life is transformed.
• Denying yourself and taking up your cross means choosing to keep hearing God’s Word even when it is offensive, painful, or deeply uncomfortable to receive.
• Christ washes His church through the water of His Word so that He might present her to Himself without spot or inner blemish, which is a work that requires the believer’s humble cooperation.
• Cognitive dissonance in the Christian life occurs when the heart holds a stronghold so tightly that it deflects, rationalizes, or runs from the very truth that would set it free.

Drawing Near God Notes

Voices Compete for the Believing Heart

The pastor builds his entire message on a profound biblical observation: God created the universe through His spoken Word, which means everything in existence carries a voice. Your job speaks to you, your circumstances speak, your fears speak, and the enemy speaks. Romans 10:17 establishes that faith itself comes by hearing, which means the believer who is constantly feeding on the wrong voices is actively weakening his or her own faith. The call to draw near God is fundamentally a call to tune in to the right voice and to guard the ear of the heart with diligence and intentionality.

Strongholds Are Fortresses of Repeated Voices

Unpacking the Greek word for stronghold from 2 Corinthians 10, the pastor reveals that it literally refers to a military fort with multiple guard posts that communicate constantly with one another, creating a repeating echo. This is the mechanism of a stronghold: not a single wrong thought, but a voice that has been heard so many times it has built a fortified structure in the mind. The weapons of our warfare are not physical but are mighty through God to pull these structures down, which is why persistent engagement with God’s Word is the only lasting solution.

A Pastoral Story of Guilt and Avoidance

One of the most gripping moments of the sermon involves a young man who came to the pastor at a Bible college, confessing that years earlier he had caused great grief to a family through an accidental act he had never disclosed. The man was tormented but ultimately unwilling to follow the pastor’s counsel to go and ask for forgiveness. He and his wife left and never returned. This story powerfully illustrates cognitive dissonance in action: the pain of repentance felt greater than the pain of continued torment, and so the man chose avoidance. The pastor uses it as a mirror for believers to examine their own areas of deflection.

John Six and the Bread That Offends

The extended study of John 6 is the theological heart of this message. When Jesus declared Himself the living bread from heaven and said that unless His followers eat His flesh and drink His blood they have no life in them, many disciples were offended and walked away. The pastor clarifies that this eating and drinking is not sacramental but refers to receiving His Word so deeply that the Father speaks it directly into the soul. This is how Peter knew Jesus was the Christ: not through flesh and blood reasoning, but because the Father revealed it in his heart. That revelation is the true body and blood.

Letting Christ Wash What Life Has Dirtied

The foot washing in John 13 takes on deeper meaning in this message. The pastor teaches that feet represent where a person has walked, the experiences, wounds, and accumulated grime of life. When Peter refused to let Jesus wash his feet, Jesus warned him that without this washing, he could have no part with Him. This is not merely a lesson in servant leadership but a picture of ongoing soul cleansing. Christ loves the church and gives Himself for her so that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the Word, preparing a bride without any inner blemish for His return.

The Pure Church He Is Coming Back For

Ephesians 5:25-27 anchors the sermon’s closing exhortation. Christ is not returning for a church that merely has its theology right or its services organized. He is returning for a church whose soul has been cleansed of strongholds, divided loyalties, and inner blemishes. The Greek word amomos describes an absence of anything inside that would render a sacrifice unworthy. The pastor connects communion directly to this purifying work, reminding believers that every time they take the bread and the cup they are proclaiming the Lord’s death until He comes, and He is coming for a holy, spotless, and mature bride.

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