Let God Be Magnified

Everyone –

I was listening to a sermon the other day and there was an interesting bit of information that I thought we could all use. The pastor was discussing the Temple which was the place where God dwelled during the time of the Old Testament Israel. Only the priests could minister directly before the Ark of the Covenant above which the glory of the Lord would present Himself. However, Israel would come to the Temple to worship God because that is where He was. But, as you walked up to the Temple one of the first things you would encounter would be the altar where they made the sacrifice of the animals to atone for sin or the various other offenses where God required a sacrifice. It was meant to reinforce the price for sin and how grievous sin really was as a offense to God.

The important thing here is the fact that before the priests could go into the Temple to worship there was always an offering for sin that had to be made. You could not approach the Ark without first passing by the altar for sin offerings. Likewise, in our worship, we must admit to the sin before we may have that relationship with God. The sacrifice of the animal for the Israelite is comparable to our confession of our sin to God. It purifies us and cleanses us so that as we go to the Lord in prayer the sin that is behind us doesn’t weigh us down as we approach the glory before us.

“Seek the Lord while He may be found;
Call upon Him while He is near.
Let the wicked forsake his way
And the unrighteous man his thoughts;
And let him return to the Lord,
And He will have compassion on him,
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon.” – Isaiah 55:6,7

“Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called ‘Today,’ so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” – Hebrews 3:12,13

Come to the Lord while it is still ‘today’ for ‘tomorrow’ may come and there will be no opportunity. While these verses speak more to the unbeliever or to the one who has walked away or strayed from the faith, it still is relevant to us. For the longer we go without praying, the longer we go without confession, the further away God feels to us and the more worldly we become. It’s that close relationship between the believer and God that sustains us through the hard times. There is comfort in submitting and humbling yourself under the hand of the Lord. Confession allows us to submit and humble ourselves before God. It confirms He is in control and reassures that He is our Lord. Many times He is just our Savior and hardly ever our Lord. But His Lordship is just as important as His role as Savior.

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my Yoke is easy and My burden is light.” – Matthew 11:28-30

I encourage you to confess your sin before God. Admit to Him that you have fallen short of what He desires. It will strengthen your relationship with Him and bring you to a place where your love for Him is deeper.

“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory, blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.” – Jude 25

Later

Eriek