This post is based on the book The Pursuit of God by A. W. Tozer

The question: What is the Chief End of Man?

The answer: Man’s Chief End is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

We are made for Him, He meant us to see Him, and live with Him, and dry our life from His smile.

The omnipresence of the Lord is one thing, and is a solemn fact necessary to His perfection. However, the Manifest Presence is another thing altogether. From that Presence we have fled, as Adam, to hide in the garden. The whole work of redemption is to bring us back again into a right and eternal relationship with Himself.

The Old Testament Tabernacle is a picture of the journey of our soul from sin and into the enjoyed Presence of God. The sinner first entered the outer court where he offered a blood sacrifice on the brazen altar and washed himself in the laver that stood near. He entered through a veil into a holy place where no natural light could come in. There was a golden candlestick which spoke of Jesus representing the Light of the World. There was show bread which spoke of Jesus representing the Bread of Life. There was an altar of incense representing the prayers of God’s people. Yet, even in this room, the sinner still had not entered into the Manifest Presence of God. A veil separated this room from the Holy of Holies where the Ark of the covenant was kept, and on the Mercy Seat on top of the Ark dwelt the presence of God Himself.

While the Tabernacle stood, only the priest entered – once a year for the sins of the people/ the veil in Herod’s temple was torn when our Lord died on Calvary. This rending of the veil opened the way for every worshiper in the world to come by the new and living way straight into the Divine Presence.

Fact: God was there. His Presence was waiting within the veil.

When the veil was removed with nothing on God’s side to prevent us from entering, then why do we terry without?Why do we live all our days just outside the Holy of Holies and never enter at all to look upon God?

More serious than we realize. There is a presence of a veil in our hearts. It remains there shutting out the light and hiding the face of God from us.

The veil identified by Tozer is: The fine threads of the Self-Life. Not something that we do, but something that we are and therein lies its power over us and prevents us from seeing God in His Glory.

Self-Sins are: self-righteousness, self-pity, self-confidence, self-sufficiency, self-importance, self-absorbed, self-serving, self-love. Webster’s dictionary lists 125 other self-words.

One cannot tear them off by oneself no more than man could tear the veil in the temple.If you are hungry for more of God, the heart is where to begin. When God shows you an area then, CONFESS, FORSAKE, REPUDIATE the Self-Life, and RECON IT CRUCIFIED! And re-read the chapter.

Categories: Judy Marshall The Pursuit of God

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