These are notes on the sermon, Boldness To Enter The Holiest, preached by Pastor Joseph Prince on Sunday, March 9, 2025, at The Star Performing Arts Centre, Singapore. We hope these sermon notes will be an encouragement to you!
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The tabernacle of Moses was divided into three distinct sections: the outer court, the Holy Place, and the Holy of Holies. While the priests could minister daily in the Holy Place, they were not permitted to enter the Holy of Holies, where God’s presence dwelled.
We see this described in Hebrews 9:6–8 (NKJV):
Inside the Holy Place (“the first part of the tabernacle”) stood the Table of Showbread, the Menorah, and the Altar of Incense. Beyond it, separated by a thick veil, was the Holy of Holies (“the second part”), where the presence of God dwelled.
Only the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies—and even then, only once a year—bringing the blood of a sacrifice to atone for both his own sins and the sins of the people. The high priest would enter with great trepidation, knowing he had to be blameless before God, or he risked being struck down.
This was man’s relationship with God under the old covenant—access to His presence was restricted, and drawing close to Him was marked by fear and uncertainty. But this separation was never God’s heart for us. From the very beginning, His desire was to dwell among His people in closeness and intimacy.
Under the law, man’s standing before God depended on his own efforts, obedience, and performance. If we keep the law, we are blessed; if we fail, we are cursed (Deut. 11:26–28). The law demands perfection, and no man can meet its standard. Rather than making us holy or bringing us closer to God, it reveals our inability to attain righteousness on our own and points to our need for a Savior.
In His love and wisdom, God made a way—not through our efforts, but through the sacrifice of His own Son—so that we can be fully reconciled to Him and walk once more in fellowship with Him today!
God is both holy and just. He cannot overlook sin, because that would compromise His righteousness. At the same time, He is full of mercy and love, desiring to bring us close to Him. How could He do both—uphold justice while extending mercy to sinful man?
The answer is found at the cross. Because sin demanded judgment, a perfect sacrifice was required to satisfy God’s righteousness. Jesus, the Son of God who was without sin, took upon Himself the full weight of our sins (2 Cor. 5:21). On the cross, He bore the judgment, wrath, and separation from God that we deserved so that we could receive His righteousness.
In doing so, our Lord Jesus completely fulfilled God’s righteous requirements. Now, God’s very holiness—the same holiness that once demanded our judgment—demands our acquittal and justification! This is not a compromise of God’s standards, but the perfect fulfillment of the law through Christ’s sacrifice. In fact, God is righteous in making us righteous!
Today, our sins have been forgiven, and we have been eternally redeemed by His precious blood (Heb. 9:12)!
In biblical times, a person enslaved by debt could only be set free if someone paid the ransom price. Likewise, we were enslaved to sin and bound under the penalty of the law. But Jesus paid the full price of our sin—not with silver or gold, but with His own blood at the cross—that we might walk in true freedom and reign in life today.
Now, this does not mean that the law is irrelevant or that morality no longer matters. The law was not abolished, but perfectly fulfilled in Christ (Matt. 5:17). And the Word tells us it is the understanding of our complete forgiveness in Christ that produces godly character and moral excellence (2 Pet. 1:5–9). The law demanded holiness but could never produce it (Rom. 3:20). Grace, through the finished work of Jesus, transforms us from the inside out and empowers us to walk in true holiness and victory over sin (Rom. 6:14).
The same blood of Jesus that cleansed us of our sins has also granted us full and unrestricted access to God’s presence. When Jesus died on the cross, something extraordinary happened—the veil in the temple, which separated the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place, was torn from top to bottom. This was not the work of man, but of God Himself, signifying that the barrier between God and man had been forever removed!
Now, through Christ’s finished work, we are not only forgiven and redeemed but also fully accepted and reconciled to God.
So, what does this mean for us today?
Just as a bride’s veil is lifted during a wedding ceremony to remove any barrier between her and her bridegroom, God has removed the veil so that we can draw near to Him freely through a new and living way!
“New” — In Greek, the word “new” (prosphatos) means “freshly slain.” This means that Jesus’ sacrifice is not just a past event but a present reality, as fresh and powerful today as the moment His blood was shed.
“Living” — The more you come to God, the more you truly live! Each time you step into His presence—whether in worship, prayer, or simply spending time with Him—your spirit, soul, and body come alive in His resurrection life.
Under the old covenant, man approached God in an old and dying way, with trepidation and consciousness of their sins. Today, because of Jesus’ finished work, we can come before our heavenly Father in a new and living way—with boldness and confidence, knowing that we are fully redeemed, accepted, and loved.
When a bride’s veil is lifted, the bridegroom kisses the bride as an expression of his love. In the same way, worship is our intimate response to God’s love. The Greek word for worship, proskyneō, means “to kiss”—to draw near in closeness and affection. Today, God invites us to come close, to experience His presence, and to worship Him with a heart fully assured of His love.
The veil has been torn, and the way into our heavenly Father’s presence is now open. But how do we practically walk in intimacy with Him?
Here are three ways to cultivate a deeper relationship with Him:
1. Be conscious that the veil has been removed
Although the veil has been removed through Christ’s finished work, many believers still live as if it remains. They hesitate to draw near to God, held back by guilt, fear, or the belief that they must first prove their worthiness.
This is what happened at Mount Sinai (Exod. 20:18–21). When the Israelites heard God speak, they were so afraid that they distanced themselves and asked Moses to speak to God on their behalf, saying, “Let not God speak with us, lest we die” (Exod. 20:19).
Today, though the veil in the temple has been removed, the enemy is out to veil the hearts and minds of people to keep them from seeing the gospel of grace:
If the gospel were powerless, why would the enemy go to such lengths to veil it? The truth is, the gospel is glorious, powerful, and life-transforming, and the enemy wants to keep us from experiencing it. That’s why, as believers, we must be fully conscious that the veil has been removed. Today, we have free and unrestricted access to our heavenly Father—so let’s live in the fullness of that reality!
2. Come to Him boldly!
Our heavenly Father wants us to come to Him boldly!
When we do so, we are not being presumptuous—we are honoring the blood of Jesus. The Bible tells us that when we have been fully cleansed by His blood, we should have “no more consciousness of sins” (Heb. 10:2). To honor His blood is, therefore, to be more conscious of what He has done, than of our own failures or shortcomings.
Today, our Father sees us in His beloved Son. All that Jesus is before the Father, we are in Him! So, we can draw near with assurance, knowing that we are fully accepted, deeply loved, and always welcome in Abba’s presence.
3. Speak simply from your heart
Our heavenly Father isn’t looking for polished prayers or eloquent words—He simply wants us to come to Him as we are and speak from our hearts.
We can pour out our hearts to Him about anything. When we feel weighed down or discouraged, we can come to Him honestly and say, “Lord, today was really difficult. I feel overwhelmed, but I bring my situation to You.”
The moment we turn to Him, we step into the living way—where His peace calms our hearts, His wisdom guides us, and His presence refreshes our souls. The more we speak to Him openly, the more we will experience the depth of His love and the power of His presence.
So this week, will you come boldly before Him and speak simply from your heart? As you draw near, may you experience His love afresh, be filled with His resurrection life, and walk in the joy and freedom He has given you!
We hope these sermon notes blessed you! If they did, we encourage you to get the sermon and allow the Lord to speak to you personally as you watch or listen to it.
© Copyright JosephPrince.com 2025
These sermon notes were taken by volunteers during the service. They are not a verbatim representation of the sermon.
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