Jesus came to make the way back to our Father – in this life
Yes He says He did… and He did. But as the saying goes, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink. Jesus has cleared the way for us to re-approach our God, but we have to want to do it and we have to try and do it. Let me encourage you again… Jesus made a way to go back into the Holy of Holies. He made a way for us to go boldly before our Father.
How?
That's the big question. How. He said the way is… through Him. We have to be reborn. Paul says the same thing in Romans and Galatians and Colossians and Hebrews and 2 Thess… Hmmm. I'm seeing a trend here.
Ok… so… through Jesus, through His New Covenant. But HOW?
Let's be real about this. We don't know how. Almost everyone who reads that we can go before our Father in heaven through the body of Jesus will probably have no idea HOW to do it and I don't think many of us have done it.
Warning!
Currently there are people teaching a way of doing it is to enter into the spirit realm. Is that what the bible teaches? Really? Is that what Abraham and Moses and David did? Do we need a PHD in bible studies to go before God?
The new tabernacle!
You might have heard that God says He prefered David's tabernacle over the house of Cedar? But now Jesus has made a new tabernacle. Check it out!
[Then] through the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with [human] hands, that is, not a part of this material creation, – Hebrews 9:11
Let's dig into the bible to find out what it says about going into the new tabernacle of God.
First… do you want to go in?
I've shown the declining intimacy in this post Intimacy with God #3 – More details and I'm saying you can reverse that in your life. Do you want to?
Please consider reading these two posts: Want and ask and ASK for revelation to encourage you to understand the importance of WANTing to go in and ASKing Him to explain this to you.
It must be real, not fake
If I tell you that I've given you a bunch of houses worth millions of $, you'll get excited. Pumped. You'll scream and dance. You'll phone everyone you know. Knowing you're rich may make you feel great, but unless you actually go and live in those houses and use them… unless you accept and live the truths, unless it makes a difference in your life… it's almost like it never happened and the emotion of excitement will wear off eventually.
You can get as excited and pumped as you want about the existence of the new tabernacle, but unless you go in… the emotion will wear off eventually. Nothing will have changed.
I remember being in a home group (a "home cell"?) and we had a soft presence of the Lord with us. I was trying to explain that this is not the Holy of Holies, it's a great foretaste – that there is so much more to what He is offering… but the leader stubbornly refused to hear me and publically disagreed. That person wouldn't contemplate that there is much much more. That person refused to go into the Holy of Holies and as a result that person wouldn't let anyone else in the group go in either.
BTW – I know the problem was with me, I couldn't show the reality of what I was saying – it wasn't a part of my life and so they couldn't see it. It was my limitation, not that person's limitation.
A new generation
We do not need to accept the status quo by saying "Oh well, it's always been this way and it's how things are". No. Praise God that there is a generation alive now that won't accept less and wants all the promises . Both the new testament and the old calls these promises our inheritance as the sons of God.
We can return to the great intimacy that they had all those thousands of years ago.
By this the Holy Spirit points out that the way into the [true Holy of] Holies is not yet thrown open as long as the former [the outer portion of the] tabernacle remains a recognized institution and is still standing, – Hebrews 9:8
So… this is interesting… it's not thrown open to us… until something else is abandoned. THEN we can go in. I wonder what has to be abandoned?
Let's find out what Paul says about going in…
Seeing that that first [outer portion of the] tabernacle was a parable (a visible symbol or type or picture of the present age). In it gifts and sacrifices are offered, and yet are incapable of perfecting the conscience or of cleansing and renewing the inner man of the worshiper. For [the ceremonies] deal only with clean and unclean meats and drinks and different washings, [mere] external rules and regulations for the body imposed to tide the worshipers over until the time of setting things straight [of reformation, of the complete new order when Christ, the Messiah, shall establish the reality of what these things foreshadow–a better covenant].
That's the "New Covenant" that has been mentioned so often in the bible.
But [that appointed time came] when Christ (the Messiah) appeared as a High Priest of the better things that have come and are to come.
So… "that appointed time came" did it? Woohoo! It's here! It's for us!! 😀
[Then] through the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with [human] hands, that is, not a part of this material creation, He went once for all into the [Holy of] Holies [of heaven], not by virtue of the blood of goats and calves [by which to make reconciliation between God and man], but His own blood, having found and secured a complete redemption (an everlasting release for us). For if [the mere] sprinkling of unholy and defiled persons with blood of goats and bulls and with the ashes of a burnt heifer is sufficient for the purification of the body, How much more surely shall the blood of Christ, Who by virtue of [His] eternal Spirit [His own preexistent divine personality] has offered Himself as an unblemished sacrifice to God, purify our consciences from dead works and lifeless observances to serve the [ever] living God? [Christ, the Messiah] is therefore the Negotiator and Mediator of an [entirely] new agreement (testament, covenant), so that those who are called and offered it may receive the fulfillment of the promised everlasting inheritance – Hebrews 9:9-15
So Hebrews 9:8 says the way is only open to us when we abandon the old covenant and enter into the new covenant made by Jesus blood. It is in this way that "Jesus is the way in". He went in through His own blood and we can go in through His blood too.
So the New Covenant is the key to going in. Cool! But the HOW question still remains doesn't it? I have a bit of an idea of how. The New Covenant is spoken about over and over in all the books of the New Testament and Revelations and throughout the Old Testament as well.
…make good whatever may be imperfect and lacking in your faith. – 1 Thess 3:10
Our faith and our understanding of what Jesus did for us is lacking. I explained this in this post Why are we not seeing Christians doing the stuff?
That's ok. I'll just keep working on it and praying about it (pray for me too if you want!). I'll post after I've worked it out.
PS: If you get in, let me know how you did it! 😀
Faith + Hope + Love 