During a time of vacation my wife and I stopped by to spend the night with her brother in Georgia. They had invited me to sing and play for the Friday night service of a week-end of revival in their small church outside of Atlanta. What a blessing to experience a group of people hungry to see God work in their midst, hungry to see folks saved this week-end. Several were saved and there were many recommitments in the service last night, with more reported this evening and six people saved. Praise be to the Lord for this great work of God in this small church in Georgia where a small group of people have been earnestly praying for revival.
I was reminded of how, especially on vacation, you often see the words on your computer or electronic device - "access denied" when you don't have a password for web access, etc. Knowing the password is of the utmost importance when trying to gain access. I was reminded in that revival service last night the password into the presence of God.
When we approach God through Christ, "we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in Him" (Eph. 3:12). "Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water" (Heb. 10:19-22).
Without the finished work of Christ we have no access to God. He has entered a holier place, the heavenly sanctuary, having atoned for our sins and having torn down the veil separating us from God. As the High Priest and perfect sacrifice, Jesus is our "password" into the presence of God. It is only Jesus Himself who can bring us into God's presence. Our access is not based on our skill, our musicianship, or even our sincerity. Only the finished work of Christ makes our offerings of worship acceptable in God's eyes. I took the platform last evening with my brother-in-law on guitar, a young teenager on drums, and me at the piano. With a bi-vocational music minister, we, in simplicity, led worship. I was reminded that it is not the excellence of our offering that makes our worship acceptable, but the excellence of Christ. We cannot worship the eternal Father apart from the eternal Son. Our worship is accepted not on the basis of what we have done, but on the basis of what Christ has done. mjm
