Granting Holy Access

By Beverly Lipford Carroll

God has given us access to His presence and His
holiness, but He will not force us to use it. Too
often, we are lukewarm in our recognition of God’s
presence, and we dutifully treat relationship with
Him as an obligation, rather than a priority. Because
God is continuously committed to us, even when
we s

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trilogy Christian Publishing
• Release date: Nov 20, 2018
• ISBN: 9781640881280

Beverly Lipford Carroll

Beverly Lipford Carroll is a teacher, speaker, and author. Her passion is to help others see God’s word as absolutely relevant in their daily lives and to share what God has taught her so that others will want to know him for themselves. After earning a master’s degree in history at Baylor University, Bev taught English and humanities at the high school and college level. She has been married to Jay for twenty-eight years, and they have two sons and one perfect dog.

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GRANTING

HOLY ACCESS

BEVERLY LIPFORD

CARROLL

Trilogy Christian Publishers A Wholly Owned Subsidiary of Trinity Broadcasting Network 2442 Michelle Drive Tustin, CA 92780

Copyright © 2018 by Beverly Lipford Carroll

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture quotations marked (KJV) taken from The Holy Bible, King James Version. Cambridge Edition: 1769.

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information, address Trilogy Christian Publishing

Rights Department, 2442 Michelle Drive, Tustin, Ca 92780.

First Trilogy Christian Publishing hardcover edition May 2018

Trilogy Christian Publishing/ TBN and colophon are trademarks of Trinity Broadcasting Network.

For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Trilogy Christian Publishing.

Manufactured in the United States of America

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

B-ISBN# 978-1-64088-127-3 E-ISBN# 978-1-64088-128-0

A Note from Bev

I went through a period in my life when I knew things just weren’t right in my relationship with God. It wasn’t a season of sin when I was intentionally disobeying Him. I wasn’t mad at God; I was bored. There wasn’t really anything specific I could point to that was wrong, but I felt distant from Him.

So I began an intentional search of the Bible to see if it had anything to say about the feeling of being separated from God’s presence. I found that there are some laws that are repeated over and over in the Bible that deal with all the do nots: worship idols, murder, steal, commit adultery – sins that will separate us from God and bring judgment. But I became aware of at least eleven other commands that were repeated over and over in the Bible. They aren’t about how to separate ourselves from sin; they are instructions about how we are to intentionally pursue, maintain, and protect close relationship with God.

I so wish I could tell you that this book is a summary of all the things I consistently do well. It is not. Most of these chapters are written with the authority of one who is still learning the hard way to choose only the godly way, who is desperately trying to do better today than I did yesterday. This study came from a period of my life that can best be described as dis-ease…with myself, my circumstances, and with God. The glorious thing about this process is that when I took my dis-ease to God, He led me through each of these chapters until I found my way back into awareness of His presence.

He gives us access to His holy presence and wisdom and power, but He will not force us to use it. It is my prayer that the lessons God so patiently taught me will touch the tender places of your heart and will allow Him to teach you as well.

Soli Deo Gloria

Acknowledgments

Perhaps one of the most profound, significant things we will ever do on this earth is to encourage those around us to pursue the spiritual gifts and the passions God has laid on their hearts. I am absolutely indebted to so many who inspired and supported me, especially when I began to trust my doubts more than my calling.

The Seekers class and the precious women who study God’s Word with me on Mondays and Wednesdays — Your hunger for God’s Word and presence fuels my passion to learn. Your faithfulness in seeking His presence inspires me. My fellowship with you gives me a place to pour out what God has poured into me. I am eternally grateful to share my life journey with you.

Roberta Damon — Your fingerprints are all over this book. The hours you spent delighting in God’s Word with me and encouraging me to continue this study were an incredible gift. Thank you.

Kathy Thompson and Anne Ball — Friends who stand with you when the vision is unclear are the best example of holy fellowship this side of heaven. God consistently uses you to call out the best in me, and to move past what I can see into what I can become.

Mom — This book would not have happened without you. So much of who I am is because of who you are and who you encouraged me to become. Thank you for the discipline that allowed me to have strong roots, the faith to trust when I cannot see the details, and the imagination to think outside the box.

Jay, Brad, and Brian — It is my privilege to share everyday life and dreams with each of you. I love the family we have made more than words can express.

Introduction

Jesus didn’t die to keep us out of hell; He died to give us access to the holy presence of God, now and forever. God’s Word says far more about how we should separate ourselves to Him, than how to separate ourselves from the world and sin. But we tend to focus on not doing wrong, rather than on being in His presence. Too often we treat God like an insurance policy, rather than our safe place. We act as though He is an obligation we should fulfill, rather than a treasure we should seek. We focus on what the law says we should not do that is sin, and we ignore all the instruction God gives for us to know deep relationship with Him right now, this side of heaven.

Relationships are a process, not a gift. They are not determined by a single choice, but by a series of choices that will determine the length and depth of the relationship. They are created by sharing history together: tragedies, celebrations, and the in-between times of life. They are deepened and strengthened by many choices over a long period of time.

Relationship with God is no different. He didn’t create you so that you could choose to be baptized or even join a church. He created you for relationship with Him, to share your life with Him; He wants to be integral in our stories. Relationship with God, or anyone else, is a shared history that you pursue, based on the choices you make. And because God created you for relationship with Himself, His Word gives extensive instruction of what choices we must make in order to pursue relationship with Him.

There is a huge difference between not being disobedient and being faithful, between not doing the wrong thing and doing the right thing. God did not create you to be obedient. He didn’t even create you to serve His people. If God’s purpose for your life was for you to obey Him, He’d have made you a robot, programmed for specific tasks. If God’s purpose for your life was for you to serve Him, He’d have made you a slave with an extensive to do list.

But He calls us His children. At our conversion we are adopted into the family of God. He wants us to know Him and love Him and live every day of the rest of our lives in relationship with Him. He has willingly granted us access to His holy presence. Our obedience to His law and our service to His people can be evidence of our love for Him, but a clean record and good deeds should not be our motive.

Motive matters. What we do or don’t do absolutely matters, but why we do or don’t do those things also matters. Going through the right motions is very different from sincere belief or deep relationship. God doesn’t want us to just obey His rules; He wants us to love Him. Obedience and service to others can demonstrate evidence of our relationship with God, but they can also demonstrate nothing more than a desire to do good works and a commitment to approved behavior. We can do both without even acknowledging God. But when we pursue holiness, obedience to Him and service to others will become the evidence of our relationship with God. We will recognize that His law is for our good and obey; we will see those around us as precious to God and serve them.

Eph 1:4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.

Both the Old and New Testaments declare God’s ultimate goal for each of our lives: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, and with all your soul. This is repeated at least twelve times in scripture.1

God wants us to love Him and know Him like He knows us. He wants us to stay so close to Him that He is an integral part of our history, our present, and our future. Choosing to be in relationship with the holy God involves more than the choice to conform your behavior to His rules. Choosing relationship with God stems from the desire to share life with God Himself.

Several years ago, my husband and I visited an island in the Caribbean. I tend to be on the naïve, Pollyanna end of the spectrum, so when a young boy ran up to us, I was delighted by the welcome. He looked to be about seven or eight years old with beautiful black, curly hair and big brown eyes. He ran directly to me and held up a small bracelet made of shells. He said, I give you this; now what you give me? He wasn’t giving me the bracelet; he was trying to put me in his debt. His desire was not to please me; it was to make me feel as though I owed him something.

I fear that too many Christians approach God in this way. We bring our trinkets of partial and delayed obedience, our momentary good deeds and donations, and we expect God’s blessing in return. We don’t seek God for who He is; we just seek His blessing and protection. We settle for a good conscience and pride in the good we do, or the evil we shun. And we are so focused on ourselves and the gifts we want that we miss God, the giver, altogether. We try to earn what God has already freely given us – access to His holy presence.

It is absolutely possible to focus so completely on your choices and behavior that you never actually know God. The Rich Young Ruler (Luke 18:18-23) had meticulously kept all the laws of his faith since he was a child, but he had no relationship with God. He was more interested in obeying the law than in knowing God. He was not willing to separate himself from the things that separated him from relationship with God. The Pharisees used their obedience to the laws as evidence of their superiority. They refused to love others, seeking their security and superiority in following all the rules. And they missed the presence of God Himself. The apostle Paul was well educated in the law and passionate about obeying it. But a blinding light on the road to Damascus made it abundantly clear that God’s goal for his life was not obedience to the law, but relationship with the God who gave the law. Many seek to serve and do good deeds outside a relationship with God. Philanthropists in every generation have enriched and protected the lives of others, and they often receive the praise of men, not necessarily of God. They may not have done the wrong things, but not doing the wrong thing is very different from doing the godly thing. They may have done the right things, but doing them apart from God did not put God in their debt. God is holy. In order to know Him, we have to become more like Him, and becoming holy requires that our focus be on God, rather than on ourselves and our behavior.

Relationship with God cannot be bought or bartered or earned. Not disobeying the law is not enough! We don’t get to take pride in what we have or haven’t done and require that God bless us. Heaven is not owed to us after a lifetime of trying to get it right. Make no mistake: obedience to God’s law and love for others are both crucial, but they must be a byproduct of your love for God. Nothing you have ever done has made God love you less. Nothing you can do will make Him love you more. Only your choice to pursue holiness will lead you into a deeper, more intimate relationship with Him.

I Thess 4:3a It is God’s will that you should be sanctified.

In his book The Will of God is the Word of God James MacDonald defines sanctification as the lifelong process in which Christ-followers are refined and increasingly conformed to the behavior pattern of Jesus Christ.2 God is holy, and sanctification is the process that makes us holy. Holiness does not come from a clean record of obedience to the law or a long list of good deeds. Holiness comes from a pure heart, devoted to God. We cannot make ourselves holy, but making our relationship with God our highest priority gives Him the access to our hearts that allows Him to make us holy. Our increasing holiness results from our intentional choice to seek to understand the mind and heart of God and adopt His ways so we can become more like Him. And, as we spend time in His presence, we are being sanctified and made holy. But, whether we are seeking access to the holiness of God or giving God the access to our hearts that allows Him to make us holy, access has to be granted.

Access is not guaranteed. Just because we want something, does not mean we get it. I cannot waltz into the Oval Office on a whim and have a chat with the president. I am not allowed to break into a bank vault or someone’s home just to look around and see what is there. I may be punished if I wander backstage at concerts or hack into someone’s computer. Doors are locked and security systems are activated because access is required to enter, and not everyone is welcome.

Access must be given. It cannot be taken. Sometimes it involves receiving a key or a card or a special code. Receiving access may involve personal relationship or a background check or work responsibilities that require that access. But trust is imperative in granting access. Only the most trusted people are given access to what is precious, what is personal, what is valuable, what is vulnerable. Violation of that trust will result in loss of access.

Access granted. God created Eden and then made man in His image so that we might have fellowship with the Holy God. Adam and Eve had access to the place where God walked with them in the cool of the day. And with all this, God also gave them the freedom to choose to love Him and be in relationship with Him, or to reject Him. But access to the holy presence of God rested on one rule – do not eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

God’s holiness could not/would not coexist with sin. Eating from that tree would make them accountable for their choice to disobey. Adam and Eve chose to believe the serpent and ignore God’s rule. When God came to walk with them, they hid from God – clothed in ridiculous outfits of fig leaves.

They proved that they were more interested in pleasing themselves than they were in relationship with God. So God sacrificed an animal, the first blood sacrifice, to acknowledge their sin and cover their nakedness. But the trust was broken. That sacrifice atoned for their sin, but they forfeited their access to God’s physical presence. He banished them from the garden; angels guarded the gates with flaming swords so they could not return. Access Denied.

However, the tender heart of God still longed to dwell among His people. Their sin separated them from Him, but He didn’t stop loving them, even when they disobeyed. So, much like every parent, God established rules for their behavior. God gave Moses laws that would help His people understand boundaries and enable them to know right from wrong. Obeying those laws is the first step toward holiness. That obedience will not make us holy, but it will begin to separate us from the things that separate us from God.

Because His holiness had to be separated from the sin of His people and because God fervently wanted to dwell with man, God not only gave His law to the people, He also gave very specific instructions to Moses and the Hebrews in the wilderness on how to build the Tabernacle. He instructed them to hang a curtain to separate His presence in the Holy of Holies. Approaching the curtain required very specific sacrifices, offerings, and cleansing rituals. Only after completing the ceremonial rituals, only after the offerings, only on the Day of Atonement, only the priest could go behind the curtain and enter the physical presence of God. As long as the Tabernacle or Temple stood (or after it was rebuilt), that curtain separated ordinary men from the physical presence of the Holy God.

When God saw that His people were unsuccessfully trying to obey the law without actually knowing Him, He sent His Son to dwell among us. Jesus taught us about God and became the blood sacrifice that would not only atone for our sins once and for all, but also would give us access to the presence of the Holy God. And, at the moment of Jesus’ death, God intentionally ripped that curtain in the Temple in two. The torn curtain was physical evidence that the blood sacrifice for sin in the old covenant was satisfied by the blood sacrifice of Jesus, and God removed the barrier between His holiness and man. Holy Access Granted.

Matt 27:50-51 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, and the earth shook and the rocks were split.

Heb 10:19-20a Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain…

God granted access to His holiness that was no longer confined behind the boundary of the curtain. We have that access, not because we’ve earned it or proven ourselves worthy, but because God paid the price to give it to us. The tearing of that curtain changed everything – except the significance of our choice to use the access we’ve been given.

Lev 20:7 Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the LORD your God.

That is a command – not a suggestion. God is holy, and wherever He dwells becomes holy. That means, if I am filled with the Holy Spirit, I must become holy. Is that even possible? Not breaking God’s law is pretty clear: do not murder, do not steal, help the poor, honor the Sabbath and your parents. Those I understand. Those are measurable.

But what exactly is holiness? How do I become more holy? How do I separate myself from the things that separate me from holiness? Do I just try harder to be good? Do I reward the good in me and punish the bad until I achieve holiness? Is holiness a pass/fail system, or are there degrees of success? Is there a checklist I can use to make sure I’m doing more right than wrong?

Nothing separates us from God’s love, but almost everything threatens to separate us from daily fellowship with Him: the distractions and demands of the world, our self-imposed schedules and agendas, relationships and responsibilities – all of these compete for our attention and our energy. In our desire to have it all we become slaves to our calendars, trapped by what seems urgent but is ultimately unfulfilling. Jesus did not say, Go get it done and let me know when you’re finished. He said, Follow Me. He wants to guide us as we deal with the tasks and relationships and interruptions of this life.

Salvation is a one-time event, but relationship is a daily choice. And it is our pursuit of that daily relationship that gives us access to His power and wisdom and blessing. We don’t have to become holy in order for God to claim us and love us. He did that long before we ever acknowledged Him (Rom 5:8). He doesn’t require that we complete holiness before we can have relationship with Him. He requires only that we seek Him. God comes to us, and it is His grace that makes that access available to all who choose to seek Him. But He will not force Himself on us; using that access is dependent on our choices.

Eph 5:17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.

God opened the curtain so that I could go in, and I want to…