As I have been reading How To Worship A King, the Lord has shown me what living the New Covenant life looks like through these ancient “old ways.” The revelation that I have received is that there is a process involved. Just as the process of long ago was to demonstrate the Lord in all His glory, today when we receive Jesus Christ the Savior of the world, our development begins. It is through learning to truly worship the One who came and died for us—to live and to live through Him—that we are made right with the King of Kings. Throughout it all, we learn what love truly is.
As we shed the ways of the world, more light is exposed in us to be revealed outwardly to the world. As we remove layer after layer of worldliness, just as it was for the priests to get beyond the veil in the tabernacle, we begin to see God face to face. We develop a friendship with the One who always intended for us to see Him in this manner. It was always our sin that delayed our timing.
God wanted those of old to have a way to experience His presence, so the tabernacle was designed as a sanctuary to be close to God and get a taste of His presence. Through Jesus we are truly blessed, because we no longer have to wait behind the veil, but can come directly in and sit at the table with the Lord. The Bible states we are priests and our Father has a special seat for us when we arrive. Priests are holy people. God prepared the way for us, using His Son as an acceptable sacrifice for the offering. We become holy when we accept Him and His Spirit within us. Our vessel then contains His holiness within. He has been waiting for us patiently. However, life is a process because this world is evil. We’ve been forgiven through God’s wonderful plan of redemption when we are saved. We will then be empowered to fulfill God’s mission for each of us, through the Holy Spirit.
The church today is still as many of the old churches were throughout scripture. Man still has his hands in everything. In fact, some churches are keeping the people from entering in and sitting next to the Father. The process is throughout life that we will have to cut ties with worldly ways. We must learn to let go of the past to see what the Lord wants to reveal to us. He has His shekinah* glory just waiting for us. We cannot see it because we have either chosen to not take steps of faith, or we have not chosen to cut ties with the ways of the world. Just as in Old Testament days when people entered into the courtyard and had a chance to put their conviction to use as they washed at the bronze laver, we today through Christ not only can be forgiven for our sins but also through the redemption of the cross, grace and mercy of the Lord, we can continue to be cleansed.
Entering into the courtyard (the tent of meeting leading into the Holy of Holies) is comparable to how we live our lives after accepting Jesus Christ. We have been forgiven, transformed, and are living as new creations as God always intended. The difference is that through Jesus we are invited in to the Holy of Holies—God’s presence—with His Spirit in us. In the presence of God the Father, we are no longer conformed to the world. He transforms us through the renewal of our minds into the image of Christ (Romans 12:2 NKJV). This process of worshipping the almighty King brings us to a place where all distractions have ceased, and we can give our undivided attention to the One who gave His life for us to live.
Just as the Israelites, Gentiles, and others needed to be cleansed in the courtyard, we are cleansed and forgiven of our sins when we choose the door to the Father, Jesus Christ. When we choose baptism, we announce to the world that we are choosing to die to sin, and that we have been raised to life through Christ. Unlike the courtyard experience, salvation is a one-time experience—not a yearly thing that we have committed to. This prepares us for the sole purpose of our existence: to co-labor with the Lord. This is true worship when we hunger and long to be with Him in the same way that Moses, David, Elijah, and others of the Bible did.
I see the tabernacle and all the inner workings as steps that were needed to be made back then for atonement and also for next steps. The correlation is that Jesus is our next step, and that we no longer have to wait behind the veil, but can come boldly to the throne and ask for forgiveness of sin. We also now have gifts that God has been waiting to bestow upon us for use in the world. Now being activated through the Holy Spirit we can learn to use what we have received through Christ our Lord. The key is that with Christ as our mediator, we do not need anyone else to go for us to ask for forgiveness—we no longer have to wash and cleanse or do any of the old practices to get the opportunity to be intimate with the Lord. We get all of that when we say Yes to Him!
In the old days, the Spirit of God hovered, and there were certain ways to do things. But now there is one way that gives us eternal blessing and is sustained by the power of the cross. God made the way once again for us and even in this dying world He is still giving us opportunity each day to become priests of His household. God has demonstrated to us throughout the Bible of ways to receive Him. Today through fully surrendering, He invites us into the inner court the most High, Holy of Holies. He is worthy for He alone is the One true everlasting God who has invited us to be love to the world. Heaven on earth starts with us today when we choose to receive Him.
It is through Christ that world transformation occurs. I believe that what started many years ago from the garden to the tabernacle has evolved for us to go deeper in our calling and reestablish the lost connection to the Father. Through Jesus it is a done deal, and through learning to know Him in worshipping Him through love, we are restored to our original design to be close and grow close with God. We are His meeting place, the place where all His splendor can dwell. We are the earthen vessels made to house all of Him for His purpose on earth. We have direct access to Him because we have become the sanctuary, the tabernacle that was established so long ago.
In old days, when God created the tabernacle to allow for people to be close to him, the time was not yet perfected to be established between God and the believer. Christ came at the right time in God’s plan—He is still inviting us is to receive Him and all His majesty. This new model of worship begins in the heart of the believer.
*Visible manifestation of God on earth