Day 6 | Approaching God Without Fear

As we have been pondering this week about having a hunger for more of God’s presence in our lives, I was reminded of a quote I read in one of my favorite books. In the third chapter of The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer, he says, “The church waits for the tender voice of a saint who has penetrated the veil and has gazed with inward eye upon the Wonder that is God.”
I remember back in Bible college studying Old Testament worship. As you look at worship in the Old Testament, you see that it revolved around a place. The physical presence of God resided in the Tabernacle and then later in the Temple. Furthermore, the temple was divided up into the outer courts, the inner courts, and the Holy of Holies. The Holy of Holies was where the very presence of God resided and it was separated by a large, thick veil because no one was allowed to enter except the high priest, who entered once a year to offer a sacrifice for the sins of the people.
But something amazing happened when Jesus died on the cross. Matthew 27:51, Mark 15:38, and Luke 23:45 tell us that when Jesus died, the veil separating the Holy of Holies was torn from top to bottom, signifying that God’s presence was now accessible to all. Because Jesus had paid the debt for all sin, we can now approach God without fear. We no longer need a high priest as our mediator. We can now bask in the beauty, wonder, and awe of the divine presence of God. Nothing prevents us from entering in.
Unfortunately, for many of us, we have attempted to reconstruct the veil. I’m not speaking about a physical veil. These are fleshly veils of pride, shame, fear, unforgiveness, and unconfessed sin. Veils in our hearts that hide the face of God from us. Or worse … there are many who have convinced themselves that they are content to remain in the outer courts never experiencing the presence of God for themselves.
Tozer goes on to say, “God waits to show Himself in ravishing fulness to the humble of soul and the pure in heart.” But first, we must tear down our patchwork veils that we have constructed in our hearts. We must press in with determination until we reach the place where we are looking upon His majesty. We must allow the work of the cross to do a work in us. To put to death the things of the flesh that keep us from entering in.
I will leave you with the quote I started with. “The church waits for the tender voice of a saint who has penetrated the veil and has gazed with inward eye upon the Wonder that is God.”
Pastor Greg Carr
I remember back in Bible college studying Old Testament worship. As you look at worship in the Old Testament, you see that it revolved around a place. The physical presence of God resided in the Tabernacle and then later in the Temple. Furthermore, the temple was divided up into the outer courts, the inner courts, and the Holy of Holies. The Holy of Holies was where the very presence of God resided and it was separated by a large, thick veil because no one was allowed to enter except the high priest, who entered once a year to offer a sacrifice for the sins of the people.
But something amazing happened when Jesus died on the cross. Matthew 27:51, Mark 15:38, and Luke 23:45 tell us that when Jesus died, the veil separating the Holy of Holies was torn from top to bottom, signifying that God’s presence was now accessible to all. Because Jesus had paid the debt for all sin, we can now approach God without fear. We no longer need a high priest as our mediator. We can now bask in the beauty, wonder, and awe of the divine presence of God. Nothing prevents us from entering in.
Unfortunately, for many of us, we have attempted to reconstruct the veil. I’m not speaking about a physical veil. These are fleshly veils of pride, shame, fear, unforgiveness, and unconfessed sin. Veils in our hearts that hide the face of God from us. Or worse … there are many who have convinced themselves that they are content to remain in the outer courts never experiencing the presence of God for themselves.
Tozer goes on to say, “God waits to show Himself in ravishing fulness to the humble of soul and the pure in heart.” But first, we must tear down our patchwork veils that we have constructed in our hearts. We must press in with determination until we reach the place where we are looking upon His majesty. We must allow the work of the cross to do a work in us. To put to death the things of the flesh that keep us from entering in.
I will leave you with the quote I started with. “The church waits for the tender voice of a saint who has penetrated the veil and has gazed with inward eye upon the Wonder that is God.”
Pastor Greg Carr
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2023
January
Don’t Waste Your Year | Week of January 1stFasting and Prayer ResourcesWhen You Feel Like You Need A Comeback | Week of January 8thFamily Resources | Week of January 8th21 Days of Prayer & FastingFamily Resources | Week of January 15thHow Is My Appetite? | Hungry | Week 1Day 1 | Hunger Produces ActionDay 2 | Praising God For His MovementDay 3 | Revealing With Dulls My AppetiteDay 4 | Delighting In The LordDay 5 | Constant Access To Living WaterDay 6 | Approaching God Without FearDay 7 | Enlarging Your Capacity For LoveFamily Resources | Week of January 22ndHungry To Love And Be Loved | Hungry | Week 2Day 8 | Contagious CommunityDay 9 | Designed With Desire And Need For CommunityDay 10 | Unity Is Not An Optional StrategyDay 11 | Desiring For Our Neighbor's GoodDay 12 | Community As ProtectionDay 13 | Many AdvisorsHungry To Make A Difference | Hungry | Week 3Family Resources | Week of January 29thDay 14 | Where Do You Take Your Watering Can?Day 15 | Created To Make A DifferenceDay 16 | To Cultivate And Keep It
February
Day 17 | Good WorksDay 18 | A Community Of Civic BenefactionDay 19 | Vision and DirectionDay 20 | Divine PotentialLaws of Attraction | Song of Solomon | Week 1Family Resources | Week of February 5thDay 21 | Koinonia ContributionDating | Song of Solomon | Week of Sunday, February 12thFamily Resources | Week of February 12thSexual Intimacy | Song of Solomon | Week 3Family Resources | Week of February 19thFighting Fair | Song of Solomon | Week 4Family Resources | Week of February 26th
March
Making Love Last | Song of Solomon | Week 5Family Resources | Week of March 5thThe Kingdom: This Is What You Want | Week of March 12thFamily Resources | Week of March 12thJesus Shows Us What Real Love Is | Why Did Jesus Die? | Week 1Family Resources | Week of March 19thJesus Died To Set Us Free | Why Did Jesus Die? | Week 2Family Resources | Week of March 26th
April
Family Resources | Week of April 2ndJesus Died To Take Our Place | Why Did Jesus Die? | Week 3Family Resources | Week of April 9thWhy Did Jesus Die and Rise Again? | Why Did Jesus Die? | Week 4Family Resources | Week of April 16thMercy For Those Who Doubt | Reasonable Doubt | Week OneFamily Resources | Week of April 23rdCan Science and Christianity Coexist? | Reasonable Doubt | Week 2Family Resources | Week of April 30thSometimes I Doubt Because of Christian Hypocrites | Reasonable Doubt | Week 3
May
Emotions, Impossible Questions, and Doubts | Reasonable Doubt | Week 4Family Resources | Week of May 7thGod Loves It | Week of May 14thFamily Resources | Week of May 14thCan Worry Increase Your Life? | Questions Jesus Asked | Week 1Family Resources | Week of May 21stHow Can We Be Made Salty Again? | Questions Jesus Asked | Week 2Family Resources | Week of May 28th
June
Why Are You Asleep? | Questions Jesus Asked | Week 3Family Resources | Week of June 4Do You Want To Be Made Well? | Questions Jesus Asked | Week 4Family Resources | Week of June 11Do You Believe I Am Able To Do This? | Questions Jesus Asked | Week 5Family Resources | Week of June 18Why Are You So Afraid? | Questions Jesus Asked | Week 6Family Resources | Week of June 25
July
Sabbath Keepers | Questions Jesus Asked | Week 7Family Resources | Week of July 2Who Touched Me? | Questions Jesus Asked | Week 8Family Resources | Week of July 9How Many Loaves Do You Have? | Questions Jesus Asked | Week 9Family Resources | Week of July 16What If I Want John To Live Forever? | Questions Jesus Asked | Week 10Family Resources | Week of July 23What Can Anyone Give In Exchange For Their Soul? | Questions Jesus Asked | Week 11Family Resources | Week of July 30
August
Family Resources | Week of August 6Expectation Deficit Disorder | Immeasurably More | Week 1Day 1 | Monday, August 7th | Immeasurably More: God-Sized VisionDay 2 | Wednesday, August 9th | Immeasurably More: The ExamenDay 3 | Friday, August 11th | Immeasurably More: KnockImmeasurably More For Your Family | Immeasurably More | Week 2Family Resources | Week of August 13Day 4 | Monday, August 14th | Immeasurably More: Eternal PrioritiesDay 5 | Wednesday, August 16th | The Deep Stillness of MorningDay 6 | Friday, August 18th | Family TraditionsImmeasurably More In Our Church | Immeasurably More | Week 3Family Resources | Week of August 20Day 7 | Monday, August 21st | Pray, Bless, and Do GoodDay 8 | Wednesday, August 23rd | How to Know if You've Really Been to ChurchDay 9 | Friday, August 25th | Praying Big, Bold, Specific PrayersImmeasurably More In Our Friendships | Immeasurably More | Week 4
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