Courtney Gilmore “Draw near to God & He will draw near to you.”
James 4:8
Because of Jesus, we can enter into His Presence with confidence.
Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy & find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 4:16
When God announced the 10 Commandments, the people were afraid. Because of their sin, they were not allowed into God’s Presence & could only approach the foot of the mountain where He met with Moses. He came down in a thick cloud, with thundering & lightning, & the whole mountain shook. When God spoke to Moses, His voice rumbled like thunder & carried with it a power that terrified the Israelites. They stood far away from His Presence & asked that God not speak directly with them anymore but would instead deliver His words only to Moses. So, Moses became the mediator between them & God. After Jesus came, that all changed.
There is one God & one Mediator between God & men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all.
1 Timothy 2:5-6
We have a more sufficient Mediator in Jesus. Unlike Moses who could only bring the people to the foot of the mountain, Jesus grants us full access to the Father. They could only approach Him, but we can live in His Presence. They were afraid to go near because they knew their cleansing rituals & animal sacrifices were not really sufficient to make their hearts clean or pay the debt for their sins. But because of Jesus, we have no need to be terrified in God’s Presence.
God demonstrates His own love towards us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.
Romans 5:8-9
Jesus not only paid the price for our sins, but He gave us His righteousness. That is why we are allowed in the Presence of a Righteous & Holy God.
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
2 Corinthians 5:21
Because of Jesus, we do not need someone else to mediate between us. We can talk to God ourselves & hear Him speak to us directly through His Word & the Holy Spirit.
I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers… I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts. I will be their God & they shall be My people… I will be merciful to their unrighteousness. Their sins & lawless deeds I will remember no more.
Hebrews 8:8-12
We have full access to Him now & one day we will live forever in His Presence.
Now I saw a new heaven & a new earth, for the first heaven & the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men & He will dwell with them, & they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them & be their God. God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.’ Revelation 21:1-4
Revelation 21:1-4
What a glorious day that will be!
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence & godly fear.
Hebrews 12:27
Excerpt from Episode 62, “Meeting with God” Exodus 19-20 on YouTube & Podcast
