Draw Near To Him- Lavish Day 4

God wants you to come close. One of my favourite names of God is Emmanuel- “God with us”

God made you to love you. He made you because he delights in you. He wants you to be close to him always.

When Adam and Eve ate the fruit that God commanded them not to, it created separation. Sin came into the world and man became unholy.

Before Christ came, God created avenues to meet with his people. There was a tabernacle system, which only the Priests could enter to make propitiation on behalf of the people. In this tabernacle, there was the most Holy Place that mirrored the temple in heaven. The High Priest would go into the “Holy of Holies”, only once a year to make atonement for the people.

The Holy of Holies contained the Ark of the covenant (containing God’s sacred laws) and was shielded by a curtain.

'“For the inside of the Tabernacle, make a special curtain of finely woven linen. Decorate it with blue, purple, and scarlet thread and with skillfully embroidered cherubim. Hang this curtain on gold hooks attached to four posts of acacia wood. Overlay the posts with gold, and set them in four silver bases. Hang the inner curtain from clasps, and put the Ark of the Covenant in the room behind it. This curtain will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. “Then put the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement—on top of the Ark of the Covenant inside the Most Holy Place. '

Exodus 26:31-34

The Holy of Holies was very sacred. God’s very presence dwelled there, so the High Priest had to make intense preparation and properly consecrate himself to enter into the Holy of Holies, if not, he would simply drop dead. In fact, God gave a clear warning:

'The Lord said to Moses, “Warn your brother, Aaron, not to enter the Most Holy Place behind the inner curtain whenever he chooses; if he does, he will die. For the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement—is there, and I myself am present in the cloud above the atonement cover. ' 
Leviticus 16:2

God is Holy. He is unable to gaze upon iniquity. His eyes can simply not behold evil, so it was important for the High Priest (who had the sinful nature of the fallen man), follow the appropriate steps in order to appear before God. Before the high priest entered the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement, he had to wash himself, put on the required garments and hold a censer of burning incense to create smoke that would prevent him from directly gazing upon God’s presence. He also came with sacrificial blood to sprinkle on the mercy seat for the atonement of sins.

Entering the presence of God, and the most Holy place was a big deal!

Thankfully, a few centuries later, Jesus himself came to completely fulfill the law by becoming the sacrificial lamb. Instead of yearly atonement for just the Israelites, he atoned for the sins of the world with his own blood, once and for all time.

'Here is the main point: We have a High Priest who sat down in the place of honor beside the throne of the majestic God in heaven. There he ministers in the heavenly Tabernacle, the true place of worship that was built by the Lord and not by human hands. And since every high priest is required to offer gifts and sacrifices, our High Priest must make an offering, too. If he were here on earth, he would not even be a priest, since there already are priests who offer the gifts required by the law. They serve in a system of worship that is only a copy, a shadow of the real one in heaven. For when Moses was getting ready to build the Tabernacle, God gave him this warning: “Be sure that you make everything according to the pattern I have shown you here on the mountain.” But now Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood, for he is the one who mediates for us a far better covenant with God, based on better promises. If the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need for a second covenant to replace it. But when God found fault with the people, he said: “The day is coming, says the Lord , when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and led them out of the land of Egypt. They did not remain faithful to my covenant, so I turned my back on them, says the Lord . But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day, says the Lord : I will put my laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the Lord .’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already. And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.” When God speaks of a “new” covenant, it means he has made the first one obsolete. It is now out of date and will soon disappear.'

Hebrews 8:1-13

A veil separated the “Holy of Holies” from the rest of tabernacle and when Jesus died, scripture clearly records that the veil was torn from top to bottom.

'Then Jesus shouted out again, and he released his spirit. At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart, '

Matthew 27:50-51

He had made the ultimate sacrifice as the High Priest and there was no longer any need for the veil to be there. Because of the sacrifice of Jesus, everyone who believes in Him has become Holy just as He is Holy. Once you believe, you become a Priest unto God, and your very body becomes the tabernacle because the Holy Spirit (The Spirit of God which is God Himself) comes to dwell on the inside of you as a seal of your salvation.

'and from Jesus Christ. He is the faithful witness to these things, the first to rise from the dead, and the ruler of all the kings of the world. All glory to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by shedding his blood for us. He has made us a Kingdom of priests for God his Father. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen. '

Revelation 1:5-6

Since the Holy Spirit dwells in you, how can you refer to yourself as a worthless sinner? It is simply not possible that you are a sinner. Remember, God cannot behold iniquity and if he dwells in you, then you must be righteous.

I know you’re probably asking, “How am I sure the Holy Spirit dwells within me? Surely he has left me. I’ve made too many mistakes and committed too many sins. First of all, the Holy Spirit does not come and go. Secondly, the Bible tells us:

'The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit. Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God. But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you. Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering. '

Romans 8:3-17

So DRAW NEAR TO GOD! You have been made Holy. Come boldly.

'So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. But in the other passage God said, “They will never enter my place of rest.” This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.'

Hebrews 4:5,14-16

I’ll leave you with one last song. Please come boldly to God. He has drawn near to you, and He is in love with you. Cherish this gift, savour this moment.

Please share this post with your friends! See you tomorrow.