A Time of Personal Reflection and Confession as we approach Easter

Coming Before

The Holy God

For those who want more of Him…

a personal time of reflection and confession

Coming Before The Holy God

(Scripture from NKJV and NIV) 

We want to hear from God.   We know we need Him.   We know our own strength will only carry us so far.   

But we sometimes need to stop and reflect on Who He is.  

He IS God.

You say you want to hear from Him….. Are you ready?

We know He is all good (Ps 119:68) and completely wise (Job 9:4). We know His ways are best (Ps128:1), and He goes before us (Deut 31:8).  We know as we submit more of our lives to Him we find greater peace, hope and joy (Rom 8:6) .   So of course, we want to hear from Him.   There have been times in our lives when we have been desperate to hear from Him.   He is the Alpha and Omega, The Great I AM, the Comforter, the Prince of Peace, the Lion of Judah, the Most High God, the King of Kings, the Savior, The Perfect Lamb, Jehovah, and He is Completely HOLY.

He is HOLY.

Hearing from Him means coming near Him.

Do YOU want to come near a Holy God?  Do you want to hear from Him?  Do you really?  Do you know what you ask?  

 ¹ Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said: 

 ² “Who is this who darkens counsel
      By words without knowledge? 

 ³ Now prepare yourself like a man;
      I will question you, and you shall answer Me.” (Job 38)

Job 40

   
³ Then Job answered the LORD and said: 

 ⁴ “ Behold, I am vile;
      What shall I answer You? 
      I lay my hand over my mouth. 

 ⁵ Once I have spoken, but I will not answer;
      Yes, twice, but I will proceed no further.” 

God’s Challenge to Job

   
⁶ Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said: 

 ⁷ “Now prepare yourself like a man;
      I will question you, and you shall answer Me: 

 ⁸ “ Would you indeed annul My judgment?
      Would you condemn Me that you may be justified? 

 ⁹ Have you an arm like God?
      Or can you thunder with a voice like His? 

 ¹⁰ Then adorn yourself with majesty and splendor,
      And array yourself with glory and beauty. 

 ¹¹ Disperse the rage of your wrath;
      Look on everyone who is proud, and humble him. 

 ¹² Look on everyone who is proud, and bring him low;
      Tread down the wicked in their place. 

 ¹³ Hide them in the dust together,
      Bind their faces in hidden darkness. 

 ¹⁴ Then I will also confess to you
      That your own right hand can save you.”

Just like Job, when we look upon THE Holy God, we (you and I) must conclude that we are completely vile, utterly powerless, and unable to save ourselves.

You and I are sinners.   We know our sins, yes even our secret sins; and when we look at ourselves and behold the Holy One, we have no response except that of Isaiah:

 ¹ In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. ² Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. ³ And one cried to another and said:

      “ Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; 
      The whole earth is full of His glory!” 

 ⁴ And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.
⁵ So I said: 

   “ Woe is me, for I am undone! 
      Because I am a man of unclean lips, 
      And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; 
      For my eyes have seen the King, 
      The LORD of hosts.” Isa 6:1-5

To come into THE HOLY GOD’s presence, to hear His voice, would surely kill us …. except for His precious Son.  

The sinless, perfect Lamb, Jesus Christ, and He alone (not your works, your religion, your try-to-be better) is our only way to come near a Holy God.  

Will you thank God?  … Please stop… and really, really praise The Great I AM for making a way for you, for your salvation right now.  Do you realize the enormity of the Holy Father, God who has everything, needed nothing… including our love… giving His only Son for a people who had rejected Him?    

Oh, Praise Him!   He Alone is Worthy of ALL Praise and Glory!!

Now is the time to draw near to the One who knows all things, who sees all things, who goes before you and whose desire is to bless you (yes, YOU!) exceedingly, abundantly beyond all you can ask or imagine (Eph 3:20) 

Of course, you want to draw near to HIM!

Yet, to draw near THE ONE TRUE GOD we must reverently regard Him as Holy.  Read Leviticus 10:3 below.   Soak it in.    

‘By those who come near Me 
      I must be regarded as holy; 
      And before all the people 
      I must be glorified.’” 

Indeed, God is Holy.  He alone is HOLY.    He must be glorified.  He will be glorified!  As a Christian, God lives inside of you, and you are to live in such a way as to give Him glory.

WAIT… STOP… did you read too quickly over that last sentence?  The God of the Universe, The Holy One, Jehovah really lives inside of you!  

I Cor 3:16

¹⁶ Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? ¹⁷ If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.

You (fill in your name) are His temple.  

Does that not shake you to the core?   This is not a figure of speech.  Those are not just words.   The King of the Universe, The Alpha and Omega, The Holy One of God lives inside of you!  Right now, this minute… The HOLY SPIRIT is inside of you.   HE is God.   He is not just some aloof, ghostly, figure of speech… He is the third part (and in no means a lesser part) of the HOLY Trinity.   

Do your actions, your words, your thoughts, reflect this incredible truth?   He is with you… do you live like you know that?   Do you talk and think like you know that?  Do you work like you know that?   Do you daily seek to bring this God Who-is-in-you glory?  

Is there anything holding you back?    We are to examine ourselves routinely because sin is creeping at our door.  My door.  Your door.  The enemy has taken notice of you.   You are in a battle because of what you do, and he would love nothing more than to take you down.   So, let us take a few moments and examine ourselves.  

If you want more, if you want to press on, if you want to grow even one centimeter closer to a Holy God, if you want to leave this exercise with more than just an emotion that will not last… If you want more freedom, more joy, more power to walk the hard roads…if you want to feel God’s peace and hear from Him, will you boldly ask God to show you anything… anything in your life that displeases Him and is holding you back?

⁷ But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.  ⁸ If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰ If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. (I John 1:5-10)

The old preacher teacher, Oswald Chambers, said:

“There is only one thing God wants of us, and that is our unconditional surrender.  When we are born again, the Holy Spirit begins to work His new creation in us, and there will come a time when there is nothing left of the old life.  Our old gloomy outlook disappears, as does our old attitude toward things, and “all things are of God” (2 Cor 5:18).   How are we going to get to a life that has no lust, no self-interest, and is not sensitive to the ridicule of others:   How will we have the type of love that “is kind… is not provoked, (and) thinks no evil”? (1 Cor 13:4-5).  The only way is by allowing nothing of this life to remain, and by having only simple, perfect trust in God- such a trust that we no longer want God’s blessings, but only want God Himself.  Have we come to the point where God can withdraw His blessings from us, but only want God Himself?  Have we come to the point where God can withdraw His blessings from us without our trust in Him being affected?  Once we truly see God at work we will never be concerned again about the things that happen, because we are actually trusting in our Father in Heaven, whom the world cannot see.” 

Let’s break this up a bit….and see if God will reveal some things to us.  Remember, we are asking God to show us anything that is keeping us from giving Him glory, from being used more effectively and if He shows us sin it is for our good- so we can move on!   Romans 2:4 says, “God’s kindness leads to repentance”.   

So, remembering God kindly shows us sin so we can repent and move on, let’s take a look at ourselves.  

Will you pray and ask God to use the following questions (or others that He brings to your mind) to reveal anything that may be holding you back from all He has to do in and through you?  

Stop… and pray.

Oswald Chambers mentioned that as a mature Christian our “gloomy outlook disappears.”  How is your outlook on life? Are you a person who has a gloomy outlook?  Would people say you “hope in the Lord”, or are you constantly complaining and trying to fix everything yourself?    Do you rely on God on a daily basis or are you a slave to your circumstances? 

Do you look at your life saying, “all things are of God’? And if you do believe all things are of God, are you holding on to something that happened long ago?   Do you wonder how God could have let THAT happen to you?  What about that miscarriage? Divorce?  Abuse?  Are you still just a little bit mad at God?  Do you wonder how He could possibly use that hard thing for good?  Is this holding you back?

What about other hard things?  What about people who have hurt you?  Has someone said or done something that continually comes to your mind over and over again?  Have you been hurt?  Have you been offended?  What about that person in the church, of all places, who may have hurt you?  Have you been lied to?   Have you been overlooked and ignored?   Have you been treated unfairly?   Have you forgiven this person(s)?   Could unforgiveness be holding you back?

Maybe you are not sitting around worrying about what has happened to you.  Maybe you sit around and worry about what MIGHT happen to you or someone you love.  Do you lie awake at night worrying?  Friend, is worry holding you back from all God has for you?  Maybe you want desperately to trust God for your tomorrows, but you just don’t’ know how.  Is it time to ask the Holy Spirit to release you from the grip of worry?  Is this your thing?

I wonder.  Are you feeling weak from worry or something else because you are not in God’s Word like you used to be?   It is daily bread because it is where we find strength.  

Now, I know you are busy.  We all are.  But how much time do you spend on social media? Shopping? Texting?  If you are doing this more than you read the Bible – you are missing strength, direction, comfort, hope and so much more.  We are to be in God’s Word every day.   Every day.   Is your lack of time in God’s Word making you weak and vulnerable to the enemy’s attacks?  Is how you allocate time your thing?

Are you a kind person?   Are you good at “zinging” others with your words?  How about your husband?   Have you hurt someone else?  Have you cheated?  Lied?  Ignored?  Gossiped?   Do you owe someone an apology?  Yes, an apology.  Are you saying … anything but THAT God?   “That would be so humiliating, embarrassing, etc. … who wants to admit they are wrong and ask for forgiveness?”    Let me tell you, the enemy would love for you to skip right over this part (or any other thing God is identifying) … excuse yourself and make you think you are okay to move on.   The truth is God wants, “unconditional surrender”.  He wants it all.  Don’t be like the rich young ruler and pat yourself on the back … but then walk away knowing you are holding on to this one thing.  STOP.  Don’t do it!  Pray.  Remember “nothing will be impossible for you” with the Holy Spirit.  And sweet surrender… it is just that –SWEET surrender!  Even if it means asking for forgiveness.

Now, don’t let me lose you here.   The enemy is probably turning up the guns and telling you this is not fun.  This is too hard or you don’t need to do this.  Remember, your adversary does not want you to see what is holding you back, because he doesn’t want you to reap the wonderful blessings that God always gives when we surrender all!   Say this with me… surrender to God brings blessing for ourselves and those around us.  

So, put on your big girl strength and let’s keep asking God to identify anything that is keeping us from being the soldiers for the Cross we are intended to be.

What about lust?  I know we all think that is a man thing.   But women are not immune.   Women today are involved in pornography at levels like never before.   So, I ask this question even to women involved in ministry.   Don’t let the enemy make you believe this is something you can’t overcome with God.  The enemy is a liar.  God is your way out… and your way to walk away from the grip of shame.

What about other forms of lust and addiction?  Do you secretly lust for what others have?  Their house? Their husband?  Their job?   Are you not satisfied with what God has sovereignly placed in your life?   Is this your thing?  

Let me say this again… because I know this is hard stuff.  And to ask women these questions seems ridiculous.  Yet, we have to be brave and transparent to totally surrender everything.  Remember, your adversary doesn’t want you to see what is holding you back, because he doesn’t want you to reap the wonderful blessings that God always gives when we surrender!

So, let’s look a little more for those mountains that need to move….

I know we all like to have fun… and this may not feel fun.  But speaking of fun, how do you have fun?   What shows do you watch on TV?  What music do you listen to?  What movies do you attend?   Would you feel okay having Jesus sit beside you?  Please know – he isn’t sitting beside you… He is inside you!  Are you quenching the spirit by watching things, by allowing your kids to watch things, by laughing at things that are not – good, pure, noble?  Do you love a little dirty joke every now and then?  Maybe, the enemy helps you excuse yourself by reminding you that you live in a world where you are much more choosy, much more moral than everyone else.  That might make us feel good, but the truth is Jesus is our standard – not the world.   Are you ready to walk away from “the world’s best” and trade it in for God’s best?  Oh girl, His ways are always so much better… and surrender in media is a sweet thing.   

Surrender to Jesus is indeed a sweet thing.   Will you say that with me?  Surrender to Jesus is a sweet thing.  A HAPPY SWEET THING!

Friend, you cannot expect more, you cannot go on to more “solid food, to all God has in store for you, to the new thing He wants to do if you are holding on to sin.   Oh, confess it!  He is faithful and just to cleanse you from all unrighteousness!

⁷ But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.  ⁸ If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰ If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. (I John 1:5-10)

What has God brought to your mind?   We are all still flesh, and the enemy is still trying to mess with us. Satan is like a prowling lion.  He has come to kill, steal, and destroy (John 10:10).  You need to know the evil one doesn’t want you to walk away from sin that is keeping you from all God has for you. (God wants you to have life and have it to the full (John 10:10 second part).  

The enemy doesn’t want God to use you, and he certainly does not want you to bring Him glory.   The Bible says Satan is the father of all lies (John 8:44) He is probably whispering right now… “you don’t have to apologize to her.” or “She doesn’t deserve your forgiveness.” Or “You’ve always had a temper.  You can’t walk away from that.” Or “You have always blown it… and you always will.”   

GARBAGE!!! You CAN come before The GREAT I AM clean.  You NEED to come before The HOLY GOD clean.  

Clean!  You can come before Him clean!  

Is the enemy telling you, you cannot?

Will you refute those lies?   You can quench the fiery darts of the wicked one (Eph 6:16).  You are no longer in bondage to sin.   If the Son has set you free – YOU are free indeed! (John 8:36)   ³ For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. ⁴ The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. ⁵ We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (2 Cor 10:3-5)

Has God shown you something?  Are you ready to lay that burden down for something exceedingly, abundantly more than you can ask or imagine?  Don’t you want to give Him glory?  You absolutely cannot give Him the glory He deserves if you are holding on to sin in your life.   Confess it.  Turn from it!  God is faithful and just to forgive it.   He cannot lie (Titus 1:2).

Oh friend, aren’t you excited to draw near our wonderful, powerful, HOLY Father?  He must be regarded as Holy by those who want to draw near Him.  

If you regard Him as Holy, will you bow your head?  Get down on your face… if you are so bold.   

Pray to Him to show you your sin, confess that sin to Him, and agree with Him that it is wrong.  Thank Him that He has given you the power, HOLY SPIRIT power to walk away from what is holding you back to greater freedom for you and more glory for HIM.   

Ask THE MOST HIGH GOD to forgive you and to prepare your heart for what He has to say to you and how He wants to further use you to set the captives free! 

Now thank Him.  Do you feel that burden lifted?  

…Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.(John 8:36)   It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.  Gal 5:1)  

Rejoice in your freedom!  

And prepare your heart… as you regard God as Holy, you will be draw nearer to Him and The MOST HIGH GOD, THE HOLY GOD will speak… He will speak to you.

……Are you ready??