"Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the
holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he has consecrated
for us, through the veil …let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance
of faith” (Hebrews 10:19–20, 22).
There are two sides to the Messiah Jesus' work at Calvary.
One side is to the benefit of man, and the other side is to the benefit of God.
One benefits the sinner, while the other benefits the Father - Yehovah.
We are well acquainted with the benefits on the human side.
The cross - stake of the lord Messiah Jesus has provided us with forgiveness of our
sins. We are given the power of victory over all bondages and dominion over
sin. We are supplied with mercy and grace. And, of course, we are given the
promise of eternal life. The cross has given us the means of escape from the
terrors of sin. I thank God for this benefit of the cross to humankind, and for
the wonderful relief it brings.
Yet there is another benefit of the cross, one that we know
very little about. And this one is to the benefit of the Father - Yehovah. You
see, we understand very little about the delight of the Father that was made
possible by the cross. It’s a delight that comes to Him whenever he receives a
prodigal child into His house.
If all we focus on about the cross is forgiveness and if
that is the end-all of our preaching, then we miss an important truth that God
- Yehovah has meant for us about the cross. There is a fuller understanding to
be had, and it has to do with His delight. This truth provides God’s – Yehovah’s
people with much more than just relief. It brings liberty, rest, peace, and joy.
Most followers of the lord Messiah Jesus have learned to
come boldly before God’s – Yehovah’s throne for forgiveness, for supply of
needs, for answers to prayer. But they lack boldness in this aspect of faith, an
aspect that is crucial in their walk with the lord Messiah Jesus.
God’s - Yehovah delight comes in His enjoyment of our
company.
Yehovah has great joy that the cross has provided us with
open access to Himself. Indeed, the most glorious moment in history was when
the Temple veil was rent in two, on the day that the Messiah Jesus died. At
that moment, the earth trembled, the rocks rent, and graves were opened.
It was at this very moment that the benefit of God - Yehovah
burst forth. In the instant that the Temple veil, separating man from God’s –
Yehovah’s holy presence, was torn from top to bottom, something incredible
happened. From that point on, not only was man able to enter into the Lord’s –
Yehovah’s presence, but God - Yehovah could come out to man.
He who once dwelt in “thick darkness” didn’t wait for us to
come to Him, but he came out to us. God himself took the initiative, and the
Messiah Jesus shed blood to clear away all hindrances. It was a unilateral move
on the Lord’s – Yehovah’s part, the kind when one party declares, “Enough, I’m
going to make peace. I’m going to tear down this wall of partition. And I’ll do
it out of my own initiative.”
Before the cross, there was no access to God - Yehovah for
the general public - Israel; only the high priest could enter the Holy of
Holies. Now the Messiah Jesus shed blood on the stake - the cross made a path for
us into the Father’s – Yehovah’s presence. By His grace alone, God tore down
the wall that blocked us from his presence. Now He could come out to man, to
embrace his prodigals and sinners of all sorts, through His son acting as His
agent. According to the Jewish law of agency, whatever the sent agent does or says
is as if the one who sent him/her did it.
We see an illustration of this when God - Yehovah
delivered Israel through the Red Sea.
Consider Israel’s miraculous deliverance. As God’s –
Yehovah’s people crossed over on dry land, they saw the waves crash down on
their enemy the Egyptian army behind them. It was a glorious moment, and they
held a mighty praise meeting, with dancing, singing, and thanksgiving: “We’re
free! God - Yehovah has delivered us from the hand of oppression.”
Israel’s story represents our own deliverance from the
bondage and guilt of sin. We know that Satan was defeated at the stake - cross,
and we were immediately set free from his iron grip. Yet there is more to God’s
– Yehovah’s purpose in saving and delivering us. You see, God - Yehovah never
meant for Israel to camp there on the victory side of the Red Sea. His greater
purpose in bringing them out of Egypt was to take them into
Canaan, his land of fullness. In short, he brought them out to bring them in, into His heart, into His love. He
wanted people who were totally dependent on his mercy, grace, and love. And
the same is still true for His people today.
Israel’s first test came just a few days later, and they
ended up murmuring and complaining, totally dissatisfied. Why? They had known
God’s – Yehovah’s deliverance, but they hadn’t learned His great love for them.
Here is the key to my message: you cannot come into joy and
peace; indeed, you cannot know how to serve the Lord – Yehovah, until you see His
delight in your deliverance …until you see the joy of His heart over His
communion with you …until you see that every wall has been removed at the cross
– stake …until you know that everything of your past has been judged and wiped
away. God - Yehovah says, “I want you to move on, into the fullness that awaits
you in my presence!”
Multitudes today rejoice in the wonderful benefits of the
cross-stake. They have moved out of Egypt, and they’re standing on the
“victory side” of their Red Sea trial. They enjoy freedom, and they thank God -
Yehovah continually for casting their oppressor into the sea. But many of these
same believers miss God’s greater purpose and benefit to them. They miss why
the Lord - Yehovah has brought them out, which is to bring
them into Himself.
The parable of the prodigal son illustrates the
double benefits of the cross.
Jesus told this parable, using it as a teaching tool to get
across a great truth. In the parable, we see the benefit to man clearly, and
yet we also see the benefit to God - Yehovah. You see, the parable of the
prodigal son is not only about the forgiveness of a lost man. Even more so, it is
about the delight of the father who runs towards him.
You know the story. A young man took his portion of his
father’s inheritance and squandered it on riotous living. He ended up broken,
ruined in health and spirit, and at his lowest point he decided to return to
his father. Scripture tells us, “He arose, and came to his father. But when he
was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and
fell on his neck, and kissed him” (Luke 15:20).
Note that nothing hindered this father’s forgiveness of the
young man. There was nothing this boy had to do, not even to confess his sins because the father had already made provision for reconciliation. Indeed, it
happened all by the father’s initiative: he ran to his son and embraced him as
soon as he saw the boy coming up the road. The truth is forgiveness is never a
problem for any loving father. Likewise, it’s never a problem with our heavenly
Father when he sees a repentant child.
So, forgiveness simply is not the issue in this parable. In
fact, the lord Messiah Jesus makes it clear that it wasn’t enough for this
prodigal merely to be forgiven. The father didn’t embrace his son just to
forgive him and let him go his way. No, that father yearned for more than just
his son’s restoration. He wanted his child’s company, his presence, communion.
Even though the prodigal was forgiven and in favor once
more, he still wasn’t settled in his father’s house. Only then would the father
be satisfied, his joy fulfilled when his son was brought into his company. That
is the issue in this parable.
Here the story gets very interesting. The son clearly was
not at ease with his father’s forgiveness. That’s why he hesitated to enter his
father’s house. He told him, in essence, “If you only knew what I’ve done, all
the filthy, ungodly things. I’ve sinned against God - Yehovah and against your
love and grace. I just don’t deserve your love. You have every right to cut me
off.”
That was the prodigal’s old nature talking. It was saying,
“I can’t just waltz in like this. My father hugs and kisses me, yet he doesn’t
ask questions? He just accepts me with open arms. That can’t be right. I need a
payment schedule. I may owe more than I can pay, but I’ve got to try.”
Dear saint, what about you? Do you object to your Father’s –
Yehovah’s urgings to have you come into His presence? You may know that your
sins are forgiven, yet are you willing to let Him enjoy your company? Perhaps
you’re like the prodigal, standing on the road, weeping and repenting, full of
godly sorrow. Like him, you cry out to the Father - Yehovah, “I have sinned
against heaven, and in your sight, I am not worthy to be called your son” (Luke
15:21).
This is indeed true repentance. But such repentance is not
complete if you are reluctant to enter into your Father’s – Yehovah’s
house. Why the hesitation? Like the prodigal, you may still be focused
on your past sins.
Yet note how this father responds to his son. He utters not
a single word of reproof. There is no reference to what the prodigal did, no
mention of his rebellion, his foolishness, his profligate living, his spiritual
bankruptcy. In fact, the father didn’t even acknowledge his son’s attempts to
stay outside, unworthy. He ignored them! Why?
In the father’s eyes, the old boy was
dead. That son was out of his thoughts completely. Now, in the father’s eyes,
this son who had returned home was a new man. And his past would never be
brought up again. The father was saying, in essence: “As far as I’m concerned,
the old you is dead. Now, walk with me as a new man.
That is my estimation of you. There is no need for you to live under guilt.
Don’t keep talking about your sin, your unworthiness. The sin problem is
settled. Now, come boldly into my presence and partake of my mercy and grace. I
delight in you!”
But the prodigal wasn’t happy in his father’s presence. He
must have thought, “Shouldn’t I be severely disciplined? What can I do to make
this up? I need to feel consequences, to feel your rod on my back. I have to
prove I’ve changed.”
He had a mindset of condemnation, and it was put on him by
Satan. Today, the same thing happens with many of God’s – Yehovah’s children.
Our Father - Yehovah rejoices over us, embracing us with loving arms. Yet we
think humility means telling God - Yehovah how bad we’ve been, digging up our
past sins rather than trusting His expressions of love. And all the while we
think guiltily, “He has to be angry with me. I’ve sinned worse than others.”
Like the prodigal, we need more than
reconciliation, we need to be renewed.
The prodigal needed what Paul calls the “renewing of the
mind.” I love reading these words from the parable: “But the father said, bring
forth the best robe, and put it on him; put a ring on his hand, and shoes on
his feet …bring out the fatted calf, and kill it; let us eat and be merry”
(Luke 15:22–23).
At that point, the father’s servants brought forth the best
robe in the house. As they put it on the son, this represents his being clothed
in the righteousness of the lord Messiah Jesus. Then the father put a ring on
the boy’s finger, signifying his union with the lord Messiah Jesus. Finally, he
put shoes on the boy’s feet, representing being shod with the gospel of the
peace of the lord Messiah Jesus. This loving father was showing his child:
“Away with those rags of flesh, those shreds of self-effort
to please me. Let me show you how I see you, what my estimation of you is. You
are coming into my house and into my presence as a new, kingly, royal child.
You’re coming not as a beggar, but as my son, who delights me! Now, enter in
with boldness and assurance.”
The same is true for us today. We have to be renewed in our
thinking about how God - Yehovah receives us into His presence. I return to the
verse at the opening of this message: “Having therefore, brethren,
boldness - confidence to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new
and living way, which he has consecrated for us, through the veil …let
us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith” (Hebrews
10:19–20, 22).
The word for “boldness” here is derived from a root meaning
“an emancipated slave.” It means no longer being under the law of sin and
death, but under the rule of grace. In short, it is by the love of the Father -
Yehovah by his mercy alone that we are qualified to go into His presence. And
here is the qualification: “Giving thanks unto the Father - Yehovah, who
has made us meet [qualified] to be partakers of the inheritance of the
saints – holy ones in light, who has delivered us from the power of darkness,
and translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son” (Colossians 1:12–13).
We simply cannot qualify ourselves to be fit for God’s –
Yehovah’s indwelling presence. We can pray and read the Bible till we faint; we
can promise God - Yehovah that we’ll do better. But no works of flesh will ever
qualify us for His indwelling presence. We bring absolutely nothing to God -
Yehovah that is worthy of His delight. It comes by His grace alone.
The son is now reconciled, renewed and
qualified.
Now the feast was being prepared to celebrate the
prodigal’s return to his father’s house. And the father announced, “We must go into the house and make merry.” Beloved, the same
applies to us today: we must go into the
Father’s – Yehovah’s presence, without guilt and condemnation, and be joyful!
The father’s statement here reveals his sheer delight that
his child was “at home” once more, in a house of love, peace, and joy. The
father states, in essence, “It was necessary to me that my child came into my
home, my presence, my place. That is my delight.”
Now picture the son entering the threshold of that house.
What is his posture as he goes in? He cannot please his father if he sits in a
corner dejected, replaying his sins and regretting all the wasted years. He
can’t sit in the presence of such amazing grace and still be ruled by fears of
condemnation, of exposure, of being judged if he slips up and sins again. Such
an attitude would wound his father’s heart.
Scripture tells us what happened next: “Let us be merry …and
they began to be merry” (Luke 15:23–24). I tell you, unrestrained joy broke out
in that house, with singing, dancing and celebrating. And it was all
because the delight of the Father was there. That boy was able
to march right in without guilt or condemnation because he knew the father was
at peace with him.
I ask you: what can make me rejoice and be glad in the
Father’s Yehovah presence? What can set my heart free in His fellowship? What
can free me to be merry with my Father? It is not just the knowledge that I am
safe …not just that the cross - stake has given me access to the Father – Yehovah
…not just that there is relief for my soul. Rather, it is to see, by
faith, the Lord’s – Yehovah’s delight in me! It is to behold His
rejoicing over me, to see that He is pleased with me. It is to know that, in His
eyes, there is no stain of sin on me, and that He sees me as worthy and a
delight to Him.
Beloved, this is the real issue at the heart of this
parable. It has less to do with the coming home of the son, and more so with
the delight of the Father! That dad was fully focused on the company of his
child, his fellowship, and his oneness with him. And so, it is with us: our
presence in the Father’s – Yehovah’s house is His joy and delight. I remind you
of the Father’s – Yehovah’s words at Jesus’ baptism: “This is my beloved Son,
in whom I delight, in whom I have great pleasure.” Just as God - Yehovah
delights in His Son, He delights in you because you are in His Son as a new
creation!
I often wonder why so many believers today including those
in ministry are so downcast and discouraged. Why do so many lack true joy and
rest? I’m convinced that for many it is because they have a hard time seeing
themselves as God - Yehovah sees them. Lasting peace and joy come only when we
believe, deep down, we are who God - Yehovah says we are. And His Word says,
“For you are dead, and your life is hidden with the Messiah in God - Yehovah”
(Colossians 3:3).
Imagine how tragic it would have been, how demeaning to the
father’s love if the prodigal had
entered his father’s house joyfully, only to be overcome with old fears: “This
is too good to be true. What if my dad changes his mind? What if I fall
tomorrow?” No! He had to resist those thoughts. And he had to place his eyes
instead on the visible delight his father had in him at that very moment.
I know a pastor who recently took a fall back into an old
drug addiction from his past. This man was immediately surrounded by a group of
“Job’s comforters,” ministers, and elders who insisted that he relive the
details of his sin so that they might “restore” him. I tell you, that kind of
thing never accomplishes God’s – Yehovah’s work of restoration. Guilt,
condemnation, works of flesh, none of these things can ever bring anybody back
to the Father’s – Yehovah’s love.
The fact is this pastor has already repented. He had cried
in anguish, “I have sinned against God - Yehovah, against my family, against my
congregation.” There have been consequences already. Right now, what this man
needs to know is that the Father - Yehovah is right there to embrace him, to
kiss him, welcome him home, and say, “I delight in you. You have come to the
victory of the cross - stake. You are my beloved son, and you are learning the
lord Messiah Jesus.”
None of this will make any sense to us until we
surrender our lives to the power of God’s Word.
As followers of the lord Messiah Jesus, we are to take God
- Yehovah at His Word and accept as true what He says we are. This means our
“old man” represents a man who still seeks to please God in the flesh. Such a
man hates sin, he doesn’t want to offend God - Yehovah, and yet his conscience
continually brings him under guilt. So, he pledges to overcome his sin problem:
“I’m going to change! I’ll start today to fight my besetting sin, no matter
what the cost. I want God - Yehovah to see how hard I’m trying.”
Such a man brings to the Lord - Yehovah much sweat and many
tears. He prays and fasts to prove to God - Yehovah that he has a good heart.
He’s able to resist sin for days at a time, and so he tells himself: “If I can
do this for one day, why not two? And if I can go for two days, then why not
four, why not a week?” By the end of a month, he feels good about himself,
convinced he’s working himself free.
But then his old sin surfaces, and down he goes, deep into
despair. And that starts the cycle all over again. Such a man is on a treadmill
that will never end, one he can’t get off.
May it never be! His man-in-flesh was crucified along with the
lord Messiah Jesus, killed in the eyes of God - Yehovah. Indeed, Paul tells us
that the old man was pronounced dead at the cross - stake. Jesus took that old
man into the grave with him, where he was left for dead and forgotten. Just as
the prodigal’s father ignored the “old man” in his son, the Lord - Yehovah says
of our old man: “I won’t recognize or deal with such a one. There is only one
man I recognize now, one with whom I’ll deal. That is my Son, Jesus, and all
who are in him as new creations by faith.”
So, who is the “new man”?
The new man is the one who has given up all hope of
pleasing God - Yehovah by any effort of the flesh. He has died to the old ways
of flesh. And by faith, he has come to know there is only one way to please God
- Yehovah, one way to delight Him: The lord Messiah Jesus must become
his/her all. He/she knows that there is but One whom the Father -
Yehovah recognizes: the lord Messiah Jesus and all who are in him.
This new man lives by faith alone: “The just shall live
by faith.” He believes God’s – Yehovah’s Word so completely he leans on
nothing else. He has found his source of everything in the lord Messiah Jesus,
who is all-sufficient. And he believes what God - Yehovah says of him: “Your
old man is dead, and your life is hidden with the lord Messiah Jesus in God -
Yehovah.” He may not feel it, or comprehend it fully, but he won’t argue with His
loving Father’s – Yehovah’s Word. He accepts it on faith, believing the Lord -
Yehovah is faithful to His Word, just as Abraham believed God – Yehovah and
acted on His word.
Now the Father - Yehovah is in full delight! And He
declares, “This is my beloved Son in whom I delight. You are his body, and he
is your headship. So, I delight in you also. All that I have given my Son, I
give to you. His fullness is yours.”
This is a picture of having boldness - confidence to enter His
presence!
Written by David Wilkerson and edited and added on to by Bruce
Lyon
