Psalm 84:1-2, 10: The ancient authors of Scripture believed GOD’s presence was better than our best _______.
Question to ponder: Can a person like you, like me, be in the place where GOD is?
Sin turns Here into There. Separation, that is what sin does. Whenever we replace love with sin, it separates people. Sin is the splitting maul that breaks apart the unity of GOD’s people.
Sin separates us from GOD. Isaiah 59:2; Romans 6:23a Death in the biblical sense, is a separation. It only takes one sin to separate.
- The heart of sin is a refusal to glorify GOD as GOD, an absurd claim that GOD is not a big deal.
- Sin silences praise and saves its worship for the thins of this world.
You will never see how serious your sin is until you grasp the glory of GOD .
The Parable of the Lost Son, the Older Brother and the Presence of the Father: the moral of the story is easy to miss unless you are thinking about the presence of GOD.
Luke 15:12-13: The younger son separated himself from his father. In essence he was saying, “Dad, being with you isn’t enough for me. I need more than you to be happy.”
Luke 15:28-31: The older brother was religious, but only worked and obeyed to get the “young calves” of life. In essence, he too was saying that his father was not enough to satisfy him.
What good people discovered:
- Isaiah 6:5-Isaiah realized he couldn’t stand in GOD’s presence
- Luke 5:8-Simon Peter understood his own sinfulness when he was confronted with the presence of GOD
- Revelation 1:!7-John, Jesus’ best friend during His earthly ministry, saw the glorified Jesus and fell dead at His feet.
Heaven = GOD is here in the fullness of His love and glory. Hell = GOD isn’t here at all.
The essence of hell is the absence of GOD’s presence. Matthew 25:41
Your spiritual standing with GOD is the most important issue of your entire life. That is why Jesus said: Mark 8:36.
GOD has to take your sin seriously, because allowing you into heaven just as you are would make heaven worthless (hevel). Revelation 22:14-15
- Jesus Lived.
- Jesus Died. Colossians 2:13-14
- Jesus Rose Again.
TRUTH: Because GOD separated death from Jesus, life with GOD can never be separated from you.
Mark 15:37-38: The temple curtain was a silent sermon that preached, “GOD is here, and you have to stay out there.” From top to bottom, God ripped apart the reasons for our separation.