The Holy One...

"Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory ."
Isaiah 6:3

I know I have written about God being Holy before, but I have new thoughts on the subject. Not different…just knew. God is constantly teaching.
I've been reading a book that had me compare the vision given to Isaiah in chapter 6 to the vision given to John in Revelation 4.

• Both were visions revealing the Holiness of God to these two men.
• Both visions had God seated on the throne.
• Both were visions of the seraphs surrounding the throne with 6 wings who were constantly calling out "Holy, Holy, Holy". As they did, the 24 elders who were also surrounding the throne, fell to their faces, cast their crowns at his feet and began to worship Him.
• Everything shook. 

While it was a study on the Holiness of God, what really struck me was the Worship of God. The question presented to me was, "Are we that intentional with our worship? Are we too casual with the way we come into the Presence of God? How can we develop a greater reverence for Him?" (Ok…that was three questions).

The challenge is that while God is Holy and Awesome and should be approached in reverence and fear, He also tells us in Hebrews 10 that we can come into His Presence with confidence. So how do we balance the reverence and the boldness? All of these things were still fresh in my mind on Tuesday night as we began worship. It struck me that the songs were focused on His Holiness. And I thought, "Lord, how DO we approach your throne with boldness and not be arrogant or casual in our worship?"

The first picture that came to me was Esther, who knew that if she approached the king without being summoned she faced a death sentence. Yet she knew she needed the king to move on behalf of her people. He was in his throne room with all of his elders surrounding him. And I’m sure there was singing and dancing. 

• I imagine that she bowed at his feet like was customary for approaching a king. 
• I imagine she was shaking in her slippers.
• I imagine her heart was pounding with fear.
• I imagine King Xerxes was astonished that she would do what she did.
• He had no idea what was on her mind.
• He had no idea what her request would be.  

The second picture is similar, but oh so different.
Again, the King is on His throne. Again, He is surrounded by His elders. Again, there is singing and probably dancing. BUT… 

• This time we have the King of Kings on the throne.
• This time His elders are on their faces worshiping Him.
• This time the singers are seraphs moving around the throne.
• This time we have permission to enter the throne room with confidence.
• This time we have the assurance that if we ask anything, He will hear and answer.
• This time the King already knows what we have need of.
• This time the King is pleased to see us.
  

I try to picture in my mind the throne room of God with the seraphs calling out "Holy, Holy, Holy" and the elders falling on their faces, and it never stops! This is not casual worship! This is not..."Oh, it's time to go to church and sing worship songs". This is constant, intentional, purposeful, heartfelt...worship.
Isaiah said the "whole earth is full of His glory". Worship doesn't happen just in church. It happens everywhere...all the time. You can enter His Presence anytime, any place. In fact, if you have accepted Jesus as your Savior you ARE in His Presence all the time, everyplace. 
So, how DO we enter the Presence of God with both confidence and reverence?

We don't have to wait for an invitation... 
We've already been invited to come and dine.

We don't have to fear reproach...
He welcomes us with open arms.

We enter with confidence of His love for us and reverence of Who He is...  

The Holy One….

 Watch this video...it's amazing!