My Breakthrough

JAMES 4:8 "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded".

*DRAW NEAR TO GOD. The Lord draws near to us as we draw near to Him. This is voluntary and reciprocal action. He respects everyone's decision to be either close to, or far from Him. There are people who come to church but cannot find God because they do not open their hearts to Him-they do not make up their minds. One minute they want Him and the next minute they want the world. If we want all of God, we must give all our lives to Him. If we received little from God this means that we have not give Him much.

LUKE 6:38 "Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same meaaure that you use, it will be measured back to you".

Those who only care about receiving will never have anything, because they never sow, that is, they never give. However, those who have sow and invest willingly will have plenty. The Most High is the best Rewarder. He will never be in debt to those who serve Him but will give them much more that they have given Him. God does not ask anything from us that He cannot give back in abunfance. The Almighty reward people's acts of faith.

*CLEAN HANDS AND A PURE HEART are required from those who want to be in God's presence and enjoy His Salvation. People who have "clean hands" are those who practice righteousness and live according to the Word of the Lord. Those who have a "pure heart" are those who shun evil and are free from bad feelings, such as hatred, pride, hurt, and malice. Those who respect the Holiness of the Most High resist temptation and depart from evil. All they want is to be close to the Lord.

PSALMS 24:3-5 : 3Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD?
Or who may stand in His holy place?
4He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol,
Nor sworn deceitfully.
5He shall receive blessing from the LORD,
And righteousness from the God of his salvation.

INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL PURITY. He who has clean hands are those who act with integrity, and the pure of heart, are those who keep their intentions and thoughts pure. It is the only way for humankind to have intimacy with the Most High. It is not enough to plan on pleasing Him, we need to put that desire into practice. That means to live free from sin, to stop telling lies, and to reject impure thoughts and evil intentions. Whoever lives like this will enjoy His justice, faithfulness, presence, and Salvation.

Leviticus 23:26–32 (ESV): 26 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 27 “Now on the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It shall be for you a time of holy convocation, and you shall afflict yourselves and present a food offering to the LORD. 28 And you shall not do any work on that very day, for it is a Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the LORD your God. 29 For whoever is not afflicted on that very day shall be cut off from his people. 30 And whoever does any work on that very day, that person I will destroy from among his people. 31 You shall not do any work. It is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwelling places. 32 It shall be to you a Sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall afflict yourselves. On the ninth day of the month beginning at evening, from evening to evening shall you keep your Sabbath.”
‼️7th month-modern equivalent SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER

Leviticus 1:4 (ESV): 4 He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.

THE ATONEMENT.
The Holiness of God is insulted by sin, which has taken root in human nature; therefore, Divine Justice demands death of the sinner. In order to not destroy His creation, the Lord provided a way to correct their transgressions. In introducing the Sacrificial System, He replaced the death of the sinner with the death of an animal. The person sacrificing had to place their hands on the head of the animal to be sacrificed, and symbollically, transfer their iniquities to the animal. In doing so, when the blood of the animal was shed, the person had to remember the high price of sin: DEATH. Romans 6:23 (ESV): 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord". That price was so high that it cost the death of God's own Son. On the cross, the Lord Jesus took the place of the PERFECT LAMB to redeem the SINNERS who approach Him in REPENTANCE. The love of the Almighty God for humanity is expressed like this: He provided animals to atone for the guilt of humans, but only until the time came to give His Only Son as a PERFECT SACRIFICE.

GOD'S RIGHTEOUSNESS THROUGH FAITH.
Romans 3:24–26 (ESV): 24 and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in His divine forbearance He had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show His righteousness at the present time, so that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

LIMITATIONS OF THE EARTHLY SERVICE
Hebrews 9:7 But into the second part the high priest went alone once a year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the people’s sins committed in ignorance;

ANIMAL SACRIFICES INSUFFICIENT
Hebrews 10:3-4 3But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. 4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.

Hebrews 10:10 By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Hebrews 10:9 Then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.” He takes away the first that He may establish the second.

Through the example of the Savior's life we see that it is imposible to submit God's will without sacrificing. That is why many people confess Him with their lips but do not please Him; they disobey the Word because they are not willing to deny their own will.

Hebrews 10:19–22 19 Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and having a High Priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

The fear that people once felt of approaching the Sanctuary because of the holiness of that place, in the New Covenant, we are encouraged to have boldness. Therefore, we can boldly come before the Throne of the Most High, having confidence that the Blood of His Beloved Son has forgiven, justified, and sanctified us.

A true Heart. This is an express requirement of the Almighty to those who desire to have communion with Him. Even though God knows everything that goes within us, He wants to see our willingness to reject the pride and admit our mistakes, weaknesses, and dependence on Him. Without sincerity, it is impossible to truly surrender one's life. It is no use asking for God's blessings if you hold a grudge, have doubts, or are hiding a sin. Those who are honest, have faith, and trust in the Lord Jesus are guaranteed to receive His help.

God didn't remove the Red sea, He parted it. God doesn't always remove your problems, but He will make a way to get through them.In the most difficult situation that most people won't like, your only weapon is prayer. Pray without ceasing. Pray for strength, for endurance and patience.