The Pursuit // Beyond The Veil

Scripture

Hebrews 10:19–20 CSB

19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have boldness to enter the sanctuary through the blood of Jesus—20 he has inaugurated for us a new and living way through the curtain (that is, through his flesh)—

Hebrews 10:19–20 The Message

19 So, friends, we can now—without hesitation—walk right up to God, into “the Holy Place.” Jesus has cleared the way by the blood of his sacrifice, acting as our priest before God. The “curtain” into God’s presence is his body.

Observation

“Among the famous sayings of the church fathers, none is better known than Augustine’s “Thou hast formed us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in Thee.”

“God made us for Himself; that is the only explanation that satisfies the heart of a thinking man, whatever his wild reason may say.”

Luke 5:8 CSB

8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’s knees and said, “Go away from me, because I’m a sinful man, Lord!”

This is the season to go further into God’s Presence.

“as the Chinese sage Lao-Tze has said, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

“The interior journey of the soul from the wilds of sin into the enjoyed presence of God is beautifully illustrated in the Old Testament tabernacle. The returning sinner first entered the outer court where he offered a blood sacrifice on the brazen altar and “washed himself in the laver that stood near it. Then through a veil he passed into the Holy Place where no natural light could come, but the golden candlestick, which spoke of Jesus the Light of the World, threw its soft glow over all. There also was the shewbread to tell of Jesus, the Bread of Life, and the altar of incense, a figure of unceasing prayer.

Though the worshipper had enjoyed so much, still he had not yet entered the presence of God. Another veil separated from the Holy of Holies where above the mercy seat dwelt the very God Himself in reverential and glorious manifestation.”

God’s presence in the Old Testament Tabernacle was reserved for the elite.

“God wills that we should push on into His presence and live our whole life there. ”

“This flame of His presence was the beating heart of the Levitical order. Without it, all the appointments of the tabernacle were characters of some unknown language; they had no meaning for Israel or for us. The greatest fact of the tabernacle was that Jehovah was there; a presence was waiting within the veil. ”

Do you desire the fire?

“Only fire can give even a remote conception of it. In fire He appeared at the burning bush; in the pillar of fire He dwelt through all the long wilderness journey. The fire that glowed between the wings of the cherubim in the Holy Place was called the shekinah, the presence through the years of Israel’s glory. And when the old had given place to the new, He came at Pentecost as a fiery flame and rested upon each disciple.”

“With the veil removed by the rending of Jesus’ flesh, with nothing on God’s side to prevent us from entering, why do we tarry without?”

Song of Solomon 2:14 The Message

14 Come, my shy and modest dove— leave your seclusion, come out in the open. Let me see your face, let me hear your voice. For your voice is soothing and your face is ravishing.

“The answer usually given, simply that we are “cold,” will not explain all the facts. There is something more serious than coldness of heart, something that may be behind that coldness and be the cause of its existence. What is it? What could it be but the presence of a veil in our hearts? It is a veil not taken away as the first veil was, but which remains there still shutting out the light and hiding the face of God from us.”

“To be specific, the self-sins are these: self-righteousness, self-pity, self-confidence, self-sufficiency, self-admiration, self-love, and a host of others like them.”

What veils have we erected in our hearts?

Application

Identify the Veil

Destroy It

Set it on Fire

Prayer

“Lord, how excellent are thy ways, and how devious and dark are the ways of man. Show us how to die to our selfish desires, that we may rise again to newness of life. Rend the veil of our self-life from the top down as thou didst rend the veil of the temple. We would draw near in full assurance of faith. We would dwell with thee in daily experience here on this earth, so that we may be accustomed to the glory when we enter thy heaven to dwell with thee there. In Jesus’ name, Amen.” - AW Towzer