Recently, in my quiet time with the Lord, he asked me a question that went deep into my spirit and made me sad.
Before I give you that question, let me give you a little background so you will understand the question as I do. In the Old Testament, people would come to the temple to make sacrifices and pray. The temple had three parts, the Outer Court, the Inner Court (the Holy Place), and the Holy of Holies. The people had to remain in the Outer Court. The Inner Court was where the priests carried out their duties. Then, there was the Holy of Holies, where the high priest would go into once a year and take the sacrifice in for the sin of the people.
NOTE: Two things here. 1. The high priest had to take a sacrifice in for himself also. 2. The sacrifice he took in did not take the people’s sin away. It simply covered their sin for another year, making it a temporary sacrifice. Hebrews 10:4, “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.”
In the New Testament, this sacrificial system remained the same. Then, just as prophesied all through the Old Testament, a savior would come down from heaven and change it ALL! This is where I start getting excited. Remember the line from the old Superman show years ago, “Look, up in the sky, it’s a bird, it’s a plane, no it’s Superman!” How about this, “Look, up in the sky, it’s the wind, it’s a fire, no it is JESUS, come down in the flesh!” Jesus changed the old sacrificial system with the blood of a new and better covenant, his blood.
You see, when he gave up his last breath and died on that old rugged cross, the veil to the Holy of Holies was torn from the TOP to the BOTTOM, making access for the people to come in from the Outer Court into the Father’s presence. NOTE: Two things. 1. Jesus did not take a sacrifice into the Holy of Holies. He WAS the sacrifice! 2. This sacrifice did not just “cover” the sin of the world; it took away the sin of the world, past, present and future. Hebrews 10:12, “But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins ‘forever,’ sat down at the right hand of God.”
Oh, my are you seeing this picture? Jesus’ death on a cross paid for your sin and my sin. The veil was torn from the top to the bottom so you and I can now come in from the Outer Court into the presence of God himself! This is ALL made possible by the Holy Spirit. It is in the power of the Holy Spirit and the wonderful name of Jesus that we can come to the Father.
Having shared all of this, let me now give you the question the Lord posed to me. “I have done everything I can do to make access to me. Why do so many of my children remain in the Outer Court?”
Ouch and double ouch! God is saying, Hebrews 4:16, “Come boldly to the throne of grace ...” Where are you, my friends? Are you spending most of your time in the Outer Court? May I suggest, some just feel more comfortable with a distant relationship. Distant relationships have very little commitment. Not much repentance required for a distant relationship. Distant relationships let you stay in closer contact with the world. Not much change is required in a distant relationship. May I add, most 911 calls come from the Outer Court. If you get into the Word of God, and prayer to the Father, I guarantee your life WILL change. That is what will bring you into his presence.
Please believe me, this next statement is not meant to bring condemnation, it is simply a wake-up call for us all. If you are not reading the word of God and you are not praying to the Father, you have NO relationship with him. Don’t be the one whom the Father says, “depart from me I do not know you.”
Please, come in from the Outer Court.
Hasselstrom is an evangelist with Cross Tied Ministries.
