Page 48 - The Remnant Bride

alone. Many, however, are pursuing other loves.

All who receive salvation stand at the Outer Court of the tabernacle with an invitation
to come further in. At the moment of confession and repentance they are facing the Most

Holy Place with their back to the world. The call to come in is a call to intimacy. It will
require an emptying, a laying down of all things of the world as the Holy Spirit of God

brings conviction. To progress further into the temple requires refining. It requires
embracing the cross. It requires one to keep his back steadily fixed toward the world and

his eyes fixed on Christ.

Luke 9:62
But Yahshua said to him, "No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking

back, is fit for the kingdom of God."

The very furnishings of the tabernacle foretell of the necessity of embracing the cross.
The furnishings are arranged in the shape of a cross. At the base of the cross is the brazen

altar with the bronze laver just above it. These are in the Outer Court. Entering the Holy

Place, on either side, forming the horizontal member are the golden candlestick and the
table of showbread. Continuing on up the vertical member, entering the Most Holy Place,
we find the altar of incense, and the ark of the covenant.

To progress further inward, one must embrace the cross. To turn and face the world

is to turn one’s back on the cross. A decision must be made. Which way will the saint go?
There is no possibility of compromise. One must discern the difference between the holy
and the profane. Idols must be abandoned. Fears must be confronted. Lusts must be

denied.

Unfortunately, many don’t recognize the idols to which they cling. Anything that is
exalted in your life can be an idol. Success can be an idol. Material possessions of all types

can be an idol. Leisure can be an idol. Comfort can be an idol. Security can be an idol.
Health can be an idol. The respect and praise of men can be an idol.

When we stand at the Outer Court, the world and its idols are not silent. They shout
at us. Family and friends tell us we would be fools to not pursue them. Our flesh also cries

out with the memory of its lusts. As the flesh views the cross terror assails it. How foolish
it seems to go this way. The world cannot embrace the cross and most of the church will not.