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How important is access for us today? I heard the story of a young Union Army soldier who, during the Civil War, lost his older brother and his father in the battle of Gettysburg. The soldier decided to go to Washington, D.C. to see President Lincoln to ask for an exemption from military service so that he could go back and help his sister and mother with the spring planting on the farm.

When he arrived in Washington, he went to the White House, approached the front gate, and asked to see the president. The guard on duty told him, “You cannot see the president, young man! Don’t you know there is a war going on? So, the young soldier left, very disheartened, and was sitting on a little park bench close to the White House when a little boy came up to him.

The lad said, “Soldier, you look unhappy. What is wrong?” The soldier looked at the little boy and began to spill his heart on him. The little boy listened and said, “I can help you, soldier.”

He took the soldier by the hand and led him back to the front gate of the White House. The guard apparently did not notice them, because they walked straight to the front door of the White House and walked right in. After they got inside, they walked right past generals and high-ranking officials, and no one said a word. The soldier could not understand this. Why didn’t anyone try to stop them? Finally, they reached the Oval Office—where the president was working—and the little boy did not even knock on the door. He just walked right in and led the soldier in with him.

There behind the desk was Abraham Lincoln and his Secretary of State, looking over battle plans that were laid out on his desk. The president looked at the boy and then at the soldier and said, “Good afternoon, Todd. Can you introduce me to your friend?” And Todd Lincoln, the son of the president, said, “Daddy, this soldier needs to talk to you.” The soldier pled his case before President Lincoln, and right then and there he received the exemption that he desired. (oumc.com/blog/2024/03/21, “I Know a Guy”)

As we can see from this story, access is very important.  Here is the thing with the Lord, He will never turn away an honest seeker. That is why Jesus came and that is what our text tells us.

 Because of Jesus we have Direct Access to God. We do not have to go through a priest or a pastor to have fellowship with God. We can go to directly to God because of the Holy Spirit that lives within us. To understand this access, we must understand what the cost of this access was. It cost us nothing, it cost God everything. That is grace.

On Good Friday when Jesus took his last breathe on the cross He declared "It is finished!" (John 19:30). The work of atonement was done once and for all, with nothing else to be added. He cried out and gave up His spirit. At the Temple, the thick curtain was torn from top to bottom. This curtain is not one that we would have in our house.  This curtain was massive, sixty feet long, thirty feet wide and four inches thick. This was specially made by special people that God called to make for His temple.

When Jesus died on the cross, that massive curtain that separated the people from the Holy of Holies, it was torn in two from top to bottom by the supernatural act of God.  What did this mean? It was showing to the world that there was now nothing between God and humanity. We now have access, the relationship between God and His crown jewel of creation, humanity, was reinstated. There would no longer need to be any sacrifices on the altars, and no more blood was to be shed for our atonement. Jesus Christ's sacrifice settled that issue once and for all.

“Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body,” (Heb. 10:19-20).

The Old Covenant was at its end, and the New Covenant had been established forever. The New Covenant included not only the chosen people of God, the Jews, but also the Gentiles who were now grafted into the promise of salvation in Christ, where all would be brethren united around the cross and the throne.

We can Confidently to Enter God’s Presence. During the Day of Atonement, the only one who could enter behind the curtain was the High Priest; this he could do only once a year. In fact, he had to take extraordinary measures like wearing cymbals on his hands and bells on his clothes and a rope tied around his ankle.  The reason they did this is because, if people did not hear those clinging cymbals, or the bells ringing, they would pull you out with rope around your ankle because they knew you were dead and they did not want you stinking up the place. 

It was a scary thing to enter the presence of God. I remember early on when I came to faith, I was in the process of beginning my ministry. I am a recovering perfectionist. Recovering because I still struggle with those challenges that say I am not good enough. When I was first starting ministry, I remember thinking that if anything would go wrong, then I was letting God down. So, I would have to work extra hard to show that I was worthy of God’s love. That is a lie of the enemy, because the truth is that God will never love you any more or any less than He does today. There was nothing that I could do wrong that would make God love me less and there was nothing that I could do to make God love me more. All I had to do was live into that love that you and I have right now. When I realized that, it was so freeing. I did not have to fight or fear letting God down with every mistake that I made. I could just be me the way God intended me to be.

Are you holding on to things that you need to let go? Maybe there are sins that are holding you back? Maybe you are so concerned about other people’s opinion? Maybe you, too, need to need to hear those words that there is nothing that you can do to make God love you any more or any less, so stop trying to work to win God’s approval. That is the confidence that the author of Hebrews is talking about. That we can confidently know who and whose we are. We don’t have to work to try and earn God’s love, it is there for us, all we must do is accept it. 

Until Next Week When We Meet at the P.E.W.

(Pastor’s Encouragement Weekly)

Pastor Joel