Psalm 28:1-2 "To you, Lord, I call; you are my Rock, do not turn a deaf ear to me. For if you remain silent, I will be like those who go down to the pit. Hear my cry for mercy as I call to you for help, as I lift up my hands toward your Most Holy Place."
Psalm 79:1 "O God, the nations have invaded your inheritance; they have defiled your holy temple, they have reduced Jerusalem to rubble."
As I was perusing the Psalms speaking about holiness this morning, my eyes were drawn to the above verses. They weren't really glowing like a neon sign or anything, but they caught my attention.
The reason? Well, when some of us worship the Lord, we lift our hands in praise - sort of like an act of surrendering. Our hands are open and are arms are in a receiving mode. I thought, "Well, that's cool." BUT the Lord whispered in my ear and said, "YOU are My Most Holy Place". When you think about it... wow. The Holy Spirit indwells us, so WE are His Most Holy Place! He lives in US.
So, when I read Psalm 79:1 and saw the nations defiling His Holy Temple. I thought about how the world, the flesh (our own wants and appetites), and the devil are always trying to defile us - God's Holy Temple - His Most Holy Place.
To understand the significance of this, we should know some things about the Most Holy Place. It was the most sacred part of the temple. A veil separated the Most Holy Place from the rest of the temple. The veil was about 60 feet high 30 feet wide and 4 inches thick. The veil shielded the Presence of a Holy God from the presence of sinful man. Only the priest could enter and that at his own risk. If he was not ceremonially unclean, he would die - and he could only enter once a year, on the Day of Atonement.
When Jesus died on the Cross and the temple veil was torn in two... it was God saying 'let My people go' to the enemy. After all was said and done, and Jesus was resurrected from death, God was also saying 'let My people come'. As we invited Jesus to be Lord and Saviour of our lives, then God sees the Blood of Jesus covering us - He has made Atonement for our sins. We have been made Holy for Him to indwell!
The wonderful thing about life after the Cross is that we don't have to be afraid to come to Father when we do screw up. Hebrews 4:16 "Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." He is set/poised to forgive us, when we come to Him humbly accepting our guilt and asking for His forgiveness. He will even give us strength to resist temptation in the future if we ask...
If you've never given you heart and life over to God, it's very simple really. Assume a humble posture, if you want. Ask the Lord to forgive you of all the sins you've ever committed (and He will) - name them as many as you can remember. Tell Him that break agreement with those sins and want to live a life with His Presence living inside of you. Ask Him to come into your heart, your life and to fill you with His Holy Spirit to give you the strength to walk out what you're doing. And then wait for Him.... listen for Him... open your mouth and if a different language comes out - go with it. That's called
He is still Holy God and Father, but now He is approachable... when we come with an attitude of holy reverence for His Name and His Presence.
Take Me Into the Holy of Holies --- ??
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5B5N43RiaQ
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