Drawing near to worship

But whether or not our works are good has nothing to do with our coming to God. Hebrews 10:19 says, "Having therefore, brothers, boldness for entering the Holy of Holies in the blood of Jesus.” This verse tells us that our coming to God is in nothing else other than the blood of the Lord Jesus. Good works, zeal, or spiritual experiences cannot qualify us to come before God or make us more worthy to draw near to Him. Only the blood of the Lord Jesus enables us to draw near to God. If you think that the blood of the Lord Jesus is not enough for you to draw near to Him, I will tell you honestly that you will never be able to come to Him or worship Him.

Different persons have different conditions and situations. Some may have some shortcomings; others may have some sins. Some may have fallen seriously; others may be better. If coming to God is based on a person’s spiritual condition, how can we worship God together in oneness? None of our hands are clean; they are all mud-stained and defiled. But by the blood, we can come boldly to God to worship Him. Without the blood, no one can worship, and there is no worship. The Lord’s blood is effective not only on earth but in heaven as well. Not only was it effective on the cross, but it is effective on the throne as well, so that we can now come to the Holy of Holies to worship God.

You may argue, in spite of this, that you have not done well this week and cannot come boldly to God. What should you do? Let me ask you, when will you ever do well? When will you ever be able to think that you are good and can worship Him with all boldness? When will you ever be able to cry out "Hallelujah”? If you have to wait until you are able to do these things, you will wait until you are raptured before you can worship Him. You cannot determine your eligibility for worshipping based on your good or bad conduct. Instead, your worship should be based on the blood.

Suppose the Lord’s beloved disciples, Peter, John, or Paul, could meet with us today. The way they would come and worship before God is the same way we come and worship before God. They have to trust in the blood. Do not think that they are nearer to God, more acceptable to Him, and more capable of worshipping. There is no such thing. If anyone says this, I will be the first one to stand up to refute it. Peter, John, and Paul are the same as we are; everyone has to draw near to God through the blood alone.

I heard that someone said that as long as he can crawl into heaven and stand inside the gate, he will be satisfied. But no, we do not crawl before the Lord and worship Him in such a fearful way. We come to God in boldness and without fear. We have the right to be God’s children; this is God’s promise to us.

If we know the worth of the blood, we will surely have boldness. The knowledge of the blood’s worth is the condition for worship. If we want to have power in our worship, we have to abide under the blood. Even the weakest and poorest believer has the same authority as the apostles did to worship God. His weakness can never lower the value and effectiveness of the blood. Every time we worship, we do so according to the blood. Our good works cannot add anything to the worth of the blood.

Our breaking of the bread (the Body) is a sign that the veil (the Lord’s body) has been broken. The barrier has been removed, and we can now enter the Holy of Holies. The cup is a symbol that the Lord has died for us and that His blood has led us to come near to God. I have to emphasize again that our qualification for coming to God has nothing to do with our weakness; we come because of the blood. If we look up to the blood, we can come before God every day, and we will not lose our boldness. Consider how you came to God the first time with your burden of sin, drew near to Him, and called on Him. Similarly, when we come to Him to worship Him, we can come boldly without being hindered by our own work or feeling but with a single heart that looks up to the blood. May we realize this more and more. In this way, we will be able to worship and praise God in oneness and harmony. By the Lord’s blood, we can serve and worship our God boldly and with authority.