It is written: Matthew 27:50-51 (NKJV) And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split,
This veil is the heavy, ornate curtain in the Jerusalem Temple that separated the “Holy Place” from the “Most Holy Place” (or Holy of Holies). This highly restricted inner sanctuary was the earthly dwelling place of God’s presence, which only the High Priest could enter once a year to atone for the sins of the people and himself.
Hebrews 9:3-5 (NKJV) and behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of All, which had the golden censer and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which were the golden pot that had the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant; and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.
Hebrews 10:19-22 (NKJV) Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
God’s throne of grace
Hebrews 4:14-16 (NIV) Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
I can’t explain how I missed such profound truth which has huge impact on the effectiveness of our prayers. I believe the posture of our heart act as a filter, that will block what the Scriptures clearly reveals. As Jesus said: (Matthew 16:25) For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it I have to admit I wasn’t prepared to pick up the cross each day and die to the self, so I known the vocabulary but not the real meaning.
Many God’s children have suffered so much and so long, while this massive grace our Savior gave us through his sacrifice has gone unnoticed or neglected. Even if a fraction of the visible church’s leadership had guided the flock approaching God’s throne of grace, the outcome would be vastly different today.
As it is written: Hebrews 9:11-14 The Blood of Christ When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
Due to the lack of knowledge, many still remain lukewarm, have very little of the anointing and are lead astray, as it is written: 1 John 2:26-28 I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him. And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.
What I See Now
The Scripture instruct us in James 4:8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. It is a direct invitation to approach His throne of grace with the promise that He will come near to us. When we neglect this calling, we inadvertently forfeit the privilege described in Hebrews: “having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus“. As a result, most of us are unable to: “approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” That’s why many prayer meetings produce limited result. Most of the time, they are mainly long lists of healing requests that are repeated week after week.
Most of us do not have pure and humble heart like the blessed one of the Beatitude, and we all have difficulty to see God. Actively seeking the Mercy Seat will give us the opportunity to cleans our hearts and renew our minds, so that we may receive mercy. And that is a key step towards praying in the Spirit. The goal is to meet him, have fellowship with him and abide in him. Jesus said “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. “. (John 15:5-6)
Not only our hearts are not pure, most live with unconfessed sins. That mean death if we approach the Mercy Seat. We are very ignorant of the seriousness of the most holy place. It is written in Leviticus 16:2 The Lord said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron not to come whenever he chooses into the Most Holy Place behind the curtain in front of the atonement cover on the ark, or else he will die, because I appear in the cloud over the atonement cover.
Disobeying means death, “He is to put the incense on the fire before the Lord, and the smoke of the incense will conceal the atonement cover above the Testimony, so that he will not die.” (Leviticus 16:13)
Looking back nearly 20 years ago, I didn’t have enough trust and respect for the word of God, I would skim past verses like “Come near to God and he will come near to you“, because I had no real desire of knowing “he will come near to you”. Yet, I will never forget a passage from “The Call” by Rick Joyner I read at that time. The author recounts being told: “You can come boldly before His Throne of Grace at any time and for any need, but rarely do you come. Yearning for His presence is not enough. You must come to Him. If you draw near to Him, He will draw near to you. Why do you not do it?” However, after reading the book again, I strongly doubt that this book contains errors that contradicts Jesus’ teachings.
I hope God’s people do not repeat my mistake of taking such long time wondering outside the Mercy Seat. Coming to His Throne of Grace is the way of practicing “come near to God and he will come near to you“. Everyone can see great storms are coming upon the earth, the war is coming and the beast is coming. We have to repent, as it is written in 1 Corinthians 11:31-32 But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment. When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.
Psalms 32:6 is more relevant today than even before: “Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found; surely when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach him. ” The mighty waters started rising already.
It is tragic that today we can hold multiple Bible versions, Hebrew and Greek dictionaries, and concordance at our fingertips, and we have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, yet we still do not know how to truly “remain in Him,” and “abide in Him”. We have to re-learn the scripture in 1 John 2:20-21 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth. And 1 John 2:27 As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.
We are all too casual and self-confident, assuming we understand the Scriptures, but it is far from true. Apostle John wrote the letter to the disciples who take their cross and die to self everyday, but many professing Christians have not even considered to become a disciple. We desperately need to seek the Lord for how to have an anointing from the Holy One, and remain in him, because his anointing teaches you about all things.
We rarely see people asking the Lord to teach us how to change and become like little children, so that we may enter the kingdom of God. Most have very little faith, but so few want to learn how to “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?” (2 Corinthians 13:5)
Faith and confessing sins are also required for the cup of the Lord, but often neglected as it is written in 1 Corinthians 11:27-31 Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment.
It’s obvious we do not know much about judging ourselves, and many “eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many among you are weak and sick,, and a number of you have fallen asleep.” We have no idea how desperately our souls need to pray the Psalms, such as:
- Psalms 19:12-14 (NKJV) Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults. Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; Let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, And I shall be innocent of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.
- Psalms 90:11-12 (NKJV) Who knows the power of Your anger? For as the fear of You, so is Your wrath. So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom.
- Psalms 139:23-24 (NKJV) Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.
The Significance
- The Privilege of the High Priesthood: When we truly believe that Jesus died for our sins, we now possess such super privilege that, under the Old Covenant, was restricted to the High Priest alone. Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, only the High Priest could enter the Most Holy Place. Today, through the blood of Jesus, that veil is torn, and access is open to every believer.
- A Call to Serious Holiness: Coming near to the Mercy Seat holds special meaning for serious believers who earnestly striving to overcome sin. Casual Christians or those who are comfortable in their sin may not be interested in this depth of intimacy. It took me a very long time to see the seriousness of my own sin and how it hinders my connection with the Father. The Mercy Seat is not just for forgiveness; it is for purification.
- True Confession and Cleansing: God’s people are called to have their sins forgiven, but many continue to cycle through the same sins, their consciences remaining uncleansed. This is because they do not understand that they can approach the Mercy Seat by Jesus’ blood. True confession is not just saying sorry; it is approaching the place of atonement where the blood speaks better things than the blood of Abel. This is the practical way to live out the Lord’s Prayer: “forgive us our sins.”
- Continuous Learning and Intimacy: We are invited to come near to Him at any time to learn from Him and know Him better, just as Paul prayed in Ephesians 1:18, I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints. (3:19) and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
- Hearing His Voice: This is the practical way to hear Jesus’ voice. In a world filled with noise, the Holy Spirit speaks most clearly to the heart that is quiet and close to the Mercy Seat. All God’s children is capable of this, but if we do not practice it everyday, the enemy wins.
- Christ as Our Teacher: Jesus said, “One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren“ (Matthew 23:8). Approaching the throne is the best way to learn directly from Him the meaning of the Scriptures and how to put them into practice. We move from studying about God to being taught by God. Learning from man will always be misled and deceived.
- Requesting Daily Bread: The most important thing is to ask Him for the “daily bread”, the daily instruction on how to do His will and the specific plan for each day. We need to know what He wants us to do today. As it is written: “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.“
- Two-Way Fellowship: This is a time of fellowship, a two-way communication that goes beyond words. It is a communion where the Spirit of God and the spirit of man join together. It is written in John 14:23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.
- Tangible Presence: In this place, God’s presence becomes more tangible. You may sense the presence of God in a way that beyond emotion. It is a peace and a weight that makes you want to stay, to linger in His presence. In this the way, we can ask for more faith, love and all the spiritual gift more effectively. So that ” we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.“
Let’s pray Psalms 38,39 and 40
LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath.
Your arrows have pierced me, and your hand has come down on me.
Because of your wrath there is no health in my body; there is no soundness in my bones because of my sin.
My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear.
My wounds fester and are loathsome because of my sinful folly.
I am bowed down and brought very low; all day long I go about mourning.
My back is filled with searing pain; there is no health in my body.
I am feeble and utterly crushed; I groan in anguish of heart.
All my longings lie open before you, Lord; my sighing is not hidden from you.
My heart pounds, my strength fails me; even the light has gone from my eyes.
My friends and companions avoid me because of my wounds; my neighbors stay far away.
Those who want to kill me set their traps, those who would harm me talk of my ruin; all day long they scheme and lie.
I am like the deaf, who cannot hear, like the mute, who cannot speak;
I have become like one who does not hear, whose mouth can offer no reply.
LORD, I wait for you; you will answer, Lord my God.
For I said, “Do not let them gloat or exalt themselves over me when my feet slip.”
For I am about to fall, and my pain is ever with me.
I confess my iniquity; I am troubled by my sin.
Many have become my enemies without cause; those who hate me without reason are numerous.
Those who repay my good with evil lodge accusations against me, though I seek only to do what is good.
LORD, do not forsake me; do not be far from me, my God.
Come quickly to help me, my Lord and my Savior.
I said, “I will watch my ways and keep my tongue from sin; I will put a muzzle on my mouth while in the presence of the wicked.”
So I remained utterly silent, not even saying anything good. But my anguish increased;
my heart grew hot within me. While I meditated, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue:
“Show me, LORD, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is.
You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure.
“Surely everyone goes around like a mere phantom; in vain they rush about, heaping up wealth without knowing whose it will finally be.
“But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you.
Save me from all my transgressions; do not make me the scorn of fools.
I was silent; I would not open my mouth, for you are the one who has done this.
Remove your scourge from me; I am overcome by the blow of your hand.
When you rebuke and discipline anyone for their sin, you consume their wealth like a moth— surely everyone is but a breath.
“Hear my prayer, LORD, listen to my cry for help; do not be deaf to my weeping. I dwell with you as a foreigner, a stranger, as all my ancestors were.
Look away from me, that I may enjoy life again before I depart and am no more.”
I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.
He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the LORD and put their trust in him.
Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods.
Many, LORD my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us. None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare.
Sacrifice and offering you did not desire— but my ears you have opened— burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require.
Then I said, “Here I am, I have come— it is written about me in the scroll.
I desire to do your will, my God; your law is within my heart.”
I proclaim your saving acts in the great assembly; I do not seal my lips, LORD, as you know.
I do not hide your righteousness in my heart; I speak of your faithfulness and your saving help. I do not conceal your love and your faithfulness from the great assembly.
Do not withhold your mercy from me, LORD; may your love and faithfulness always protect me.
For troubles without number surround me; my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see. They are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails within me.
Be pleased to save me, LORD; come quickly, LORD, to help me.
May all who want to take my life be put to shame and confusion; may all who desire my ruin be turned back in disgrace.
May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!” be appalled at their own shame.
But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who long for your saving help always say, “The LORD is great!”
But as for me, I am poor and needy; may the Lord think of me. You are my help and my deliverer; you are my God, do not delay.