Direct Access (Ephesians 2:18)

At one point in American history, the public had direct access to the President of the United States

Thomas Jefferson would hold open-houses where the public walked freely among the White House

First heard about this at Andrew Jackson’s house, “The Hermitage” where people had free and direct access to him.

Impossible to do today and for obvious reasons

We do have unlimited and direct access to the Most High

He will never deny His children

Through faith in Christ, by the Spirit of God, we have direct access to the Father.

Christ Paved the Way.

Took away the sins of the world

John the Baptist (John 1:29 “On the next day, he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” )

Foretold and Foreshadowed

Isaiah — He would bear our iniquities and receive our chastisement

Foretold in His Name, “Jesus”, for He would save His people from their sins

Foreshadowed in Egypt when death passed over those who were marked by the blood of the lamb.

We can now stand before Him where we once could not.

Now we pray to our Father who is in heaven, as our Savior taught us.

Tore the veil to the holy of holies

From the Tabernacle to the Temple

The place God would dwell was set apart, separated by a veil. (60’ tall, 30’ wide and approx. 2”-4” thick)

Only for the high priest and that but once a year on the day of atonement.

Matthew 27:50-51; Mark 15:38; Luke 23:44-45

Veil was torn from top to bottom when Christ surrendered His Spirit

Christ, the veil Himself was torn and through this faith one has access to the Father

The infinite wisdom of God provides us with this amazing parallel

Hebrews 10:19–22 LSB

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

“Full assurance of faith” (Romans 8:16 “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,”)

(Ephesians 1:13-14; 2 Corinthians 1:22)

Gave to the faithful, the Spirit of God

He dwells within us and goes wherever we go

John 14:16 ““And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate, that He may be with you forever;”

1 Corinthians 6:19–20 “Or do you not know that your body is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you were bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.”

He knows our hearts, our inner man.

He testifies that we are children of God.

Takes us to the Father Himself.

Holy Spirit Takes Us There

Prepares us for His presence

Sanctification

The act of setting us apart and making us holy.

Making us what we are not apart from Him and what is required when in His presence.

Works to remove all impurities from our hearts

Pride, Lust, Greed, Malice and all unrighteousness

Fills the gaps that are left by the removal of them

Humility, Purity, Contentment, Love and the righteousness of Christ.

Reminds us and makes known to us Who it is we are coming before.

The ground has no power to be holy on its own, only when blessed with the presence of God

The holy and righteous King of the universe

Sees all, Hears all and Knows all

1 Corinthians 6:11 “And such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.”

Transports us into His presence

Not a physical transportation

Nor an “out-of-body” experience

In spirit we are brought before the Throne of the Most High.

Our flesh is naturally sinful, like Paul said, there is a different law within our members (Romans 7:23)

The Spirit of God works the power of Jesus Christ within us to purify our spirits and make us holy and He is holy.

For God is Spirit and is to be worshipped in spirit (John 4:23-24)

By having the Spirit of God within us, we ought to live in the presence of God. “Coram Deo”

Living in the presence of God is what Paul meant when He said to pray without ceasing. ( 1 Thessalonians 5:17)

Comforts us in His presence

Speaks on our behalf when words seem to fail us.

We know not what to say but desire desperately to say it.

Romans 8:26 “And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;”

Testifies that we are His and are welcomed before Him

Testifies that we are where we belong, where we are welcomed and removes our anxiety of being before the Holy One.

Testifies that we are invited to come before His majesty.

The Father Waits for Us.

He longs to be with us

He sent His Son as proof

Sent Him to pave the way for direct access for His children to Himself

His Spirit which lives in us moves to draw us closer to Him.

His will is that we would be with Him for eternity.

He plans to send His Son again to receive those whose hearts desire the same thing.

He shows no partiality among His children

Matthew 20:16 ““So the last shall be first, and the first last.””

Whether you are new to the faith or decades in His service, you have full and direct access to God.

He invites us to come to Him

He is not nonchalant about it; indifferent or unconcerned

He is reaching out to us

“Come to Me...” He says, “...you who are heavy laden...”

You will never inconvenience Him for He has invited you and expects you

You are on His calendar for today and tomorrow and forever, every minute of every day.

Why does mankind reject His invitation?

He is patient and relentless toward us.

He is always willing

Never too tired or too busy. These are excuses that we use, not Almighty God.

We need to take advantage of the willingness of God to listen and be there for His children

Go to God directly and speak often with Him.

You need nobody but Jesus to help you with that.

It will change your life forever.

Isaiah 55:6 “Seek Yahweh while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near.”