I do not want you to come to me the way others come to me. I want you to come to me the way I have taught you. Simply. I speak to you quickly. I see how you strive. I do not want you to do all that nonsense, for I speak to you quickly. Do not push my voice out believing you have to come some other way, but just come. I do not want you to strive but simply believe, and when you come, I will always speak something new as you turn your heart and eyes towards me. I will always speak quickly. I love you. You are unique, and so are my others. I have a special draw for each of my children; I know just what you need and how I made you.
Psalms 24 Says who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? He who has clean hands and a pure heart. Who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear deceitfully, but then it goes on to say this is Jacob, the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face.
24 The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness,
The world and those who dwell therein.
2 For He has founded it upon the seas,
And established it upon the waters.3 Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord?
Or who may stand in His holy place?
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol,
Nor sworn deceitfully.
5 He shall receive blessing from the Lord,
And righteousness from the God of his salvation.
6 This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him,
Who seek Your face. Selah7 Lift up your heads, O you gates!
Psalm 24:1-10
And be lifted up, you everlasting doors!
And the King of glory shall come in.
8 Who is this King of glory?
The Lord strong and mighty,
The Lord mighty in battle.
9 Lift up your heads, O you gates!
Lift up, you everlasting doors!
And the King of glory shall come in.
10 Who is this King of glory?
The Lord of hosts,
He is the King of glory. Selah
In Psalm 24, the verses about who may ascend to the hill of the Lord disqualify everyone until we reach this clue about Jacob. In the previous post, we learned that Jacob represented the Gentiles. The Gentiles represent all who believe in Jesus and accept his atonement for their sins. Through Jesus’ sacrifice, we are forgiven by the shedding of his innocent blood that atones for our sins. We are made righteous through him, not by what we could do but by what he did for us. By believing in him and repenting of our sins, we are made righteous and given right standing with God through Jesus.
4 But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our trespasses. It is by grace you have been saved! 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages He might display the surpassing riches of His grace, demonstrated by His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
8For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9not by works, so that no one can boast.
13But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.
18For through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
Ephesians 2:4-9, 13,18
We will never be perfect in this life; we will mess up and fall at times. But the Lord is gracious to shake us loose from our complacency and let us face the consequences of our actions, so we will return to him in repentance. He is gracious to draw us back to him and restore relationship with him, the source of life.
When we don’t feel worthy, we come to the one that made us worthy. Jesus.
14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 4:14-16
Through Jesus, we have access to God; we are seated with him. This is the generation seeking him; Jacob’s generation are people of every tribe and nation that believe in Jesus and confess him as their Lord and Savior.
Just a slight turn of our faces towards him, and he responds. He responds quickly. If we have been distant from the Lord, if we have been muddied by sin, we ask him to forgive our sins and help us turn back to him and his ways. If we have distanced ourselves from the Lord, our hearing and perceiving him may have gone numb. Our appetites for his ways, his word, and fellowship with him may have dried up. Because of this, he may feel distant. But he is very near, waiting for us to turn our faces towards him again.
If you are at this place, redirect your appetite towards him by feasting on his word. Keep reading his word (the Bible). Redirect your focus on the living word and your appetite for his word will grow as you feed on it. When you eat healthy, at first, it doesn’t taste that great, but the more you eat it, the more you start to crave it. It’s the same with our souls; adjusting our diets and cutting empty carbs to feast on his living word. It will feel forced at first, but as you stay consistent, you will crave it. His word will grow in you, and you’ll want to keep attending the garden of your heart, feasting upon his word, planting seeds of his word, and letting his presence water that new growth. Go to Church, immerse yourself in him, and seek his face through worship, prayer, and reading the Bible. As you do this, your ears will start to recognize him, and your spirit will perceive where he is leading you and what he is speaking to you.
Our sovereign Lord has allowed the body of Christ to go through shakings so we will wake up to the mess we have been wallowing in. He is shaking off the weights that slow us down and the sins that have distanced us and caused us to become lukewarm Christians. As he cleans us spiritually, he’s making room so we can allow the king of Glory to come in greater measure. He is mighty in battle against the enemy of our souls. He’s taking land in our hearts, destroying the lies of the enemy that have created strongholds of darkness within us, and replacing it with his truth and light so we can be vessels of his Glory.
As the Lord continues to allow shaking to interrupt people’s complacency, he will be knocking on the doors of people’s hearts so that they might let him in. He wants to deliver us from the captivity in some cases we don’t even realize we’ve been in and restore us again. The Lord not only wants to restore his body but also bring new salvations into his kingdom. When Psalm 24 says lift up your heads, oh you gates, it’s referencing how the gates operated.
“There seems to be a reference here to something like our portcullis, which hangs by pullies above the gate, and can be let down at any time so as to prevent the gate from being forced.”
Clarke’s Commentary
They were pulled up to let those they wanted in but could be dropped and let down quickly to keep out the enemy. David is speaking to the gates to be lifted up as they bring the ark of the covenant in, but it is a metaphor for all to lift up our heads to the one who is from above. Jesus, the one true God. To let the king of Glory into our hearts.
The Lord wants us to lift up our heads to him, focusing on him instead of what is happening around us. He is calling us to a place of greater intimacy with him. He wants us to ascend to his position and look at things from his perspective. He wants to give us hope and faith in his goodness. He wants us to be filled with his goodness so we can be beacons of hope in the darkness.
Recently, I had two dreams in one night about boarding an airplane; in the second, the Lord was instructing me to take a private plane. He’s calling us higher into the secret place with him. Will we answer the call?