I have not even scratched the surface of what I will talk about today. This is a revelation that I wanted to share, one which we will hopefully, by God’s grace, get to touch more on in the coming weeks as I understand and dive deeper into this topic more.
I think it’s imperative to keep our eyes focused on the holiness of God.
Holiness means to be set apart or separate from. God is so unlike us, and even the Bible says our ways and our thoughts are not like His.
Let’s start by looking at Prophet Isaiah, who saw the Lord in His Holiness. Pay attention to his response to this vision:
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.
“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”
Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar.
With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”
Isaiah 6:1-6 NLT
Even the angels covered their faces in God’s Holy presence. This encounter with the Holiness of God led Isaiah to realize his mess. When Isaiah saw the holiness of God, he saw the wretchedness in himself, and cried out in despair. The only thing that could take away his guiltiness and sins was something that was holy, that had been at the altar of God (the coal).
The holiness of God forces us to look at ourselves in despair, but the good news is that we are now able to turn to Jesus, the ultimate Holy Sacrifice, who is clean, pure, and without blemish. The only One who helps us stand in the presence of God without being consumed. The One whose death tore the veil and allows us straight access into God’s Holy place through church, prayer, fasting, and many other things.
Read this verse below; where the men of Beth-shemesh were astonished after God struck down 70 men for *looking* inside the ark of the Lord:
“Who is able to stand in the presence of the LORD, this holy God?” they cried out. “Where can we send the Ark from here?”
1 Samuel 6:20 NLT
They cried out because there was none who could stand in the presence of God.
However, because of Jesus, the holy and righteous One, we are now able to stand in God’s presence, to worship, talk, commune, and look onto His loving face no matter who we are, or what we have done. The Blood of Jesus is the atonment for our sin and despair in reaching out to God. This is why we come in the name of Jesus. Because in our own selves, we are nothing, but when we pray in Jesus’ name; God hears and answers us.
This is way more than just access to the Father. God is also calling us to live a holy life. This is so crucial to living a genuine Christian lifestyle. [One day He will come back and spit out those who were lukewarm. Because unholiness cannot be associated with Him.]
There is still a holy ground. Remember in Exodus, God told Moses to take off his shoes for the ground he stood on was holy. Today, we have not come to a physical holy ground with physical shoes but a spiritual one. When you come to God you must take off your ‘shoes’. The way you used to walk, talk, where you used to go, and whatever it is that will defile the holy ground on which the King of Kings, God Himself abides. Ask God to help clean you from the inside out. To rest in His holy place by the way of Jesus Christ. What love is this! That Jesus Christ made a way for us to be in the presence of this Holy God.
joy-full 