FASTING REASONS FOR FASTING (2019) DAY #3

DO YOU HAVE A MASTER KEY

I have consecrated this House which you have built to put My name there forever, and My eyes and my heart will be there perpetually.” 1 Kings 9:3

Once completed, King Solomon led the children of Israel in dedicating the temple to God. At the conclusion of the dedication, God told Solomon He would take up residence forever. The temple consisted of seven major areas:

Solomon’s Porch,
the Court of the Gentiles,
the Court of the Women,
the Court of the Israelites,
the Court of the Priests,
the Holy Place,
the Holy of Holies.

In the devotions to come, we will learn more about the significance of each area.

Although this house honoured a perfect God, the people who entered in and the functions they performed were not perfect. This building did not represent an end unto itself; rather, it was a means to a greater end. The temple was not perfect because it posed several restrictions.

First, there were restrictions on the people concerning who could come in. The temple was not freely open to everyone. Some people were not allowed on the premises. The unclean and unlawful were forbidden to enter. Their sins and sicknesses would defile the holy house of God.
Second, there were restrictions as to the places where people could go. The Gentiles were the most restricted of peoples.

They could gather on Solomon’s Porch and in the Court of the Gentiles but that is as far as they could go. The rest and majority of the temple were off limits to them. Jewish women could gather on Solomon’s Porch, pass through the Court of the Gentiles and enter the Court of the Women. The Court of the Women was for Jewish women only.

The Jewish men could pass through all the above and enter into the Court of the Israelites.
The Jewish priests could pass through the above and enter the Court of the Priests.
The High Priest could pass through the above and enter the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies.
The High Priest was granted full access to the temple because he held the master key!

Just think, most likely, if you are reading this devotion, you are a Gentile and if so, you would have been limited as to where you could go to the temple. You would have known what it felt like to be considered among the very least of God’s creation. The restrictions placed on you may have dampened your self-worth. You would never hear the reading and instruction from God’s Word, or participate in the giving of tithes and offerings, or seek the forgiveness of sins, and worship Jehovah God because of your restrictions. The imperfections noted by these obvious restrictions would have clouded your ability to experience the glory of a perfect God. You would not know the joy of communing with a holy God simply because of your race. You would be restricted because you did not possess a master key that gave you full access to God and His house!

Today each of us has a Master Key in us. How do you find it? Through prayer and fasting. You have to seek the presence of Almighty God and seek to find, ask knock for the door to be open. This Key must be given to you by God and not another. As you see many who claim or possess some form of authority fails along the way because they do not possess the Master Key.

However, praise God, you are no longer restricted! Through Christ, you can come boldly to the throne of God. Jesus made available to all who would believe a master key that provides full access to Him. Sickness and sin cannot separate you, race cannot separate you, and gender cannot separate you. Nothing can separate you from the love of God!

At this very moment, do you feel any restrictions to God?
Do you feel unworthy to approach God?
Do you have unconfessed sin that keeps you from enjoying divine fellowship with God?
Have you allowed the adversary to convince you into believing the restrictions are still in force?

Would you confess your feelings and possible sins to God? Our Great God wants to free your body and mind from any restriction that would stand in the way of your relationship to and fellowship with Him. Use your master key, I promise, it works!