HINDRANCES TO THE ACCESS TO STAND

Justification is a once and for all act. From the moment God declares us righteous, He sees us like we have never sinned. As sinners, we were under the Law. God saw us as rebels and enemies. But now, we have changed kingdoms and kings. In the past, we were outside Grace. Now, we are inside Grace. King Grace has given us “access by faith in which we stand” before God. The word ‘access’ is defined as the liberty, the key, permission or ability to enter, and approach someone and the right to see him often. In Greek, the word ‘access’ means admission, an introduction, the right to approach someone. It describes the coming of the believer to the throne of God. This act is done by faith. Try to imagine this holy act: Newly justified by faith, The Lord Jesus Christ takes you by the hand, and brings you before God the Father, who sits on the throne. You remember Him as the Great Judge of the universe, who was angry with you because of your sins. Now, you discover that the same Judge is your Father. Jesus introduces you to God as His younger brother, sister, or as His future Bride. This is a form of official introduction to God. This access is your spiritual personal space of authority, peace, joy and freedom before God. We access that space only by faith in the Blood of Jesus. No unbeliever has access. To be invited to see God is the highest privilege known to man.

DOING GOOD AND PRAYER IN GOD’S PRESENCE (Matt 6:1-13). 

Our Lord is teaching His disciples how to live a righteous life. His lessons here apply to doing good deeds, prayer and fasting. But the principle is universal. Prayer, praising God, and doing good deeds are done because you have access to God. But there is a danger! Jesus exposes the power of sin, which can corrupt the heart, even after we become saved. Pride is sin. It manifests as a desire to be seen, honored and worshipped as a Christian. These words are not only to criticize the Pharisees. These are words from the great Sermon of the Mount preached by our Lord. The Christian life is not easy. There are many dangers and warnings that we must heed. The devil attacks the mind with lies, fears, doubts, and especially pride. To successfully live as a Christian is a great achievement highly rewarded by God.

The main scripture is this: “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise, you have no reward from your Father in heaven” (Matt 6:1). The first thing we see here is that the Christian lives his life in the presence of God. He is always conscious of that. He truly desires to please God, not himself or others. The purpose of doing good deeds is to obey God’s Word and to be like Jesus. “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him” (Ac 10:38).  The danger is that you may do good deeds, you are seen as a good person, but in your heart, you want to please people. By receiving praise from men, you reject the praise from God. The Pharisees “loved the praise of men more than the praise of God” (Jn 12:43). They don’t care about hearing these words from Jesus: “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord” (Matt 25:23). All they want is that men on earth compliment them for their religion, beauty, wealth, or achievements.

What is the sin? It is the desire to take the glory, to be admired by men because we are religious, generous, help people, attend a local church, we fast, pray and praise God. Jesus warns us to be careful about this sinful tendency of pride in our hearts. This desire for fame comes from selfish ambition. Its deep root is pride. To live a life pleasing to God, you need divine wisdom. As a Christian, you are ‘a city on a hill that cannot be hidden’ (Matt 5:14). You can’t avoid becoming visible. But actively seeking visibility, honor and promotion, that is a sin. At the same time, you cannot live like a monk. You can’t totally hide your life to avoid men seeing you. These words reveal the danger or pride and hypocrisy even for us who are Christians and have access into God’s presence. Even when we go into the presence of God to pray, we expect men to worship us because we are prayerful! We allow the devil to follow us in the presence of God! That is a great sin! God will judge it! This is a warning! Watch yourself very carefully! Jesus wants us to search our hearts and not just to do good religious things. Our motives in serving God must be right. We should not seek the approval or the admiration of men. We should desire to be holy as God is holy, pleasing God alone! Accepting praise from men blocks your reward in heaven. This is a reminder that in everything we do, we should never forget God and heaven. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matt 5:8). “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord” (Heb 12:14). Purity, Peace and Holiness in the heart, are the passwords to enjoy access into God’s presence! Hallelujah!  

Jesus spoke about the Pharisee and the Tax Collector (Lk 18:9-14). Both were Jewish, religious men. Both men went to the temple to pray. The Pharisee stood proudly. His prayer focused on himself, on his achievements. He was praising himself in God’s house! The Tax Collector stood “afar off”. He did not see himself worthy of God’s attention. Broken in repentance, he only asked for mercy. Jesus saw into their hearts. Jesus said that the Tax collector had faith in Christ crucified. He went home Justified by faith. He humbled himself at the Cross and God ‘exalted’ him, by justifying him, by granting him salvation and access to God! The proud Pharisee lost a great opportunity to humble himself and to give his life to Christ. This is a great lesson: sin is internal. Sin is more than not doing fornication, for example. Sin is a state of the heart, the attitude we have to God. The most important lesson is that sin dwelling in our hearts can follow us everywhere, even into the presence of God!!! Here we see the dangerous and deceitful power of sin. The second lesson is a reminder that all sinners need to be born again! There is no other way to access God’s presence except thru faith in Christ crucified and resurrected. After becoming born again, we must press on thru the process of sanctification, to die to sin and to the world, taking our cross daily, following Jesus! Hallelujah!  

What can you do then? Stay humble! “Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God [set aside self-righteous pride], so that He may exalt you [to a place of honor in His service] at the appropriate time” (1Pet 5:6; AMP). Be sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit. Do not advertise your good deeds. Do not attract attention to yourself. If attention comes, stay calm, stay humble! Remember to always acknowledge God for every drop of success you experience. Your life should direct people to Jesus, and never to yourself or to other men. God openly rewards this attitude of humility and faithfulness! Kneeling before God, in worship and prayer, is the highest privilege given to man. Prayer is a holy work. Christ shed His Blood on the Cross to give us this access to God’s presence. We enter being conscious that God sees us and His ears are open to us in a special way. We enter the closet, we shut the door. We respect God’s presence. We forget the world, the people, both friends and enemies. In a way, we forget even ourselves. In God’s presence, the only thing that matters is God. Any remembrance of other things is a distraction and disrespect to the King upon His throne. We do not pray like the pagans, repeating many words. We speak simply, from the heart, to God who already knows all our needs. If you pray well, you will live well. Remain in an attitude of worship. God’s will is better than yours. You are an ambassador of Christ! His Kingdom is where you live now. Pray for its expansion on earth. Lastly, make sure that you give God all the glory! You do not become over-familiar with God, but more familiar with your place of standing before God. Your prayer life and your praise life become established. You are now a mature Christian. God will reward you openly!

SPIRITUAL BLOCKAGE TO ACCESS GOD  

The access to God is thru the door of faith in Christ crucified for your sins. Thieves try to access God by false doors. They can never enter. Jesus said: “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (Jn 10:9,10).

“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in” (Matt 23:13). Our Lord cursed the religious hypocrites. These words coming from the mouth of Him who loves us forever, are fearful. One reason why Jesus cursed the Pharisees is that they blocked the door of faith to God’s presence. These proud religious people blocked the access to Jesus by their very bodies. They refused to enter and block other seekers. They are ready to commit spiritual suicide to block other peoples’ access to God. This is wickedness in high places!

This is a reminder that the devil also attends church! What is the devil’s purpose in going to church? He tries to disrupt the service. First, the devil tries to hinder the believers from worshipping God or to listen to God’s Word. He tries to make them proud during the service. Secondly, he blinds the eyes of the unbelievers who are seeking God. He makes them sleepy, tired, distracted, or sick, so that they leave the service. About half of people who attend church go home untouched by God. Ignorance of the devil helps the devil. You must do spiritual warfare! The devil attacks your mind with lies and deception. He succeeded planting doubt in the mind of Adam and Eve when he asked them: “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” (Gen 3:1). The devil wants to damage your faith. Without faith, you cannot enter the access God has provided. The devil wants you to doubt God’s Word, God’s plans for your life, God’s Wisdom, and God’s Love for you. Once you doubt God’s character, you are already falling. Never forget: The devil is a thief and a liar. But “God cannot lie!” (Tit 1:2; Heb 6:18). When in doubt, run to the Cross! See Christ crucified for you! Stand strong in faith! Reject the devil! He will flee from you! Amen!