Student Study Guide
Lesson 15
Approaching God the Right Way
Section 1 - God Invites but Does Not Compel
Section One
God will chase people to the ends of the earth to keep them out of hell - He pursues, convicts, sends messengers and circumstances, all aimed at bringing a lost soul to Christ. But He will not pursue people to the ends of the earth to get them into His throne room presence. He will only invite.
The Distinction That Changes Everything: Being born again opens the door to salvation. It does not automatically open the door to the holy of holies. Access to the throne room presence is available, but it is governed by the same principle that governs everything else in this course: you must come to it the right way.
Fill in the Blanks
1. God will not pursue people to the ends of the earth to get them into His throne room presence. He will only . He will only make it available.
2. Being born again opens the door to . It does not automatically open the door to the of holies.
3. Access to the throne room is not withheld , but it is governed by the same principle: you must come to it the way.
4. The secret of the Lord belongs to those who Him, and that fear dictates not just the posture of the heart but the of approach.
Your Reflection
Section 2 - There Is a Right Way to Approach Power
Section Two
All truth is parallel. In the natural realm, approaching power requires learning the proper protocol. An audience with the King of England cannot be obtained by walking up informally. Protocol officers exist whose entire role is to teach how to approach, what to say, how to address the office. The protocol is not arbitrary ceremony - it reflects the reality of who holds the office.
This principle does not diminish when applied to God - it intensifies. He is not a celestial buddy. He is not the jovial co-pilot of popular Christian culture. He is God Almighty, and He takes seriously how He is approached. There is a right way and a wrong way, and it matters which one is taken.
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5. God extends extraordinary to those who are young in faith and do not yet know better. But to those who want the inner chamber, the holy of holies, the deepest treasures of His heart: there is a right way and a wrong way.
6. God is, beyond any question, the greatest friend and most intimate companion a human being can know - but He is that friend and companion in His capacity as God, not in some form that makes Him more approachable.
Your Reflection
Section 3 - Cain and Abel: The First Lesson in Approach
Section Three
The account of Cain and Abel is not, at its root, a story about sibling rivalry. It is the first explicit lesson in Scripture on the subject of approaching God.
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7. Abel brought the firstborn of his flock - acknowledging that sin requires and that he had nothing to offer God except through the shedding of blood. He approached God 's way.
8. Cain brought the work of his , a presentation of his own labor and achievement - coming to God on his own terms. That is not obedience. That is dressed as devotion.
9. God's response to Cain is measured and merciful: "If you well, if you approach Me correctly, will you not be accepted?" The door is not closed. But the terms are .
? The Case Studies - When Wrong Approach Had Consequences
Nadab & Abihu (Leviticus 10): Aaron's sons offered strange fire on the altar - an unauthorized offering, something God had not commanded. They approached God their way. The fire of the Lord consumed them.
Uzzah & the Ark (2 Samuel 6): David brought the ark on a cart (borrowed from the Philistines, not God's prescription) rather than on the shoulders of the Levites. When the ox stumbled and Uzzah steadied the ark, the anger of the Lord struck him dead on the spot. David was furious - until months later, he discovered he had been doing it entirely wrong.
David's Response: When David understood, he humbled himself, repented, and prepared the Levites. He brought them back to the spot where Uzzah died and said: "You see that spot? That is where someone died for handling the glory of God wrongly. Now handle it rightly." They brought the ark back stopping every six paces to offer a sacrifice. Seventeen miles. They were not in a hurry. They were approaching the presence of God.
10. David discovered he had been transporting the ark using a method borrowed from the - not from the prescription of God. He had approached God's glory 's way.
11. David's response was instructive: he , repented, and prepared the Levites to carry the ark on their . Every six paces they stopped and offered a sacrifice. They were not in a hurry - they were the presence of God.
Your Reflection
Section 4 - Feeling the Presence vs. Being Close to It
Section Four
A distinction that must be drawn - rarely made, but without it, great deal of spiritual experience is badly misread:
You can be in a meeting and feel the presence of God and never get close to the presence of God.
This is not a contradiction. It is the difference between perceiving the effects of something and being in intimate proximity to the source. The radiating warmth of the presence of God can be felt at considerable spiritual distance. Unsaved people feel it. There are people who attend Spirit-filled meetings specifically to experience that sensation, who have no intention of surrendering, who leave having felt something real without having come close to the Lord.
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12. A person can be in a room where the glory of God is genuinely moving, can feel the atmosphere, can experience the effects of what God is doing, and yet never press into the actual of Him.
13. Feeling the presence and being close to it are different things. A person can pass the President on a public street, can even shake his hand, and not be close to him in any meaningful sense. True closeness means - access to his time, his thoughts, his plans, his .
14. The felt presence of God in a gathering is a wonderful and real thing. But it is not the same as the intimacy of the throne room, the secret place, the holy of holies. That nearness is what God is making available to those who learn to Him rightly.
Your Reflection
Section 5 - The Presence Is Everything
Section Five
David, in the aftermath of his catastrophic moral failure, reveals what he valued most. Not his throne. Not his reputation. Not the restoration of his power. The one thing he could not bear to lose was the presence of God. "Do not cast me away from Your presence." That was the unbearable prospect. That was the loss that would have been total.
The presence of God is not one blessing among many. It is not merely the environment in which other blessings are received. The presence of God is the thing itself. It is everything. Without it, nothing else is of any lasting consequence. With it, everything necessary follows.
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15. David understood what the modern church has largely forgotten: the presence of God is not one among many. The presence of God is the thing . It is everything.
16. "Mountains melt like wax at the presence of the " (Psalm 97:5). The earth itself physically at the presence of its Creator. It always has. It always will.
▶ What the Presence Produces
► Isaiah 24:5: Sin defiles the earth, and the physical convulsion of the planet in the end times is judicial - not random.
► End-Time Pattern: What is being classified as natural seismic activity will in some cases be the earth trembling at the presence of the Lord.
► Psalm 68:3: "But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God; yes, let them rejoice exceedingly."
► Acts 3:19: Times of refreshing come from the presence of the Lord.
► Psalm 16:11: In His presence is fullness of joy.
► 2 Thessalonians 1:9 (AMPC): The defining characteristic of hell is "banishment from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power." The worst thing about hell is eternal separation from His presence.
17. The most sobering of all: the defining characteristic of hell itself is not fire and torment as the primary horror. It is the "banishment from the of the Lord and from the glory of His power" (2 Thess. 1:9 AMPC). The is the point. It always has been.
Your Reflection
Section 6 - Ministry to God: The Highest Calling
Section Six
God pronounced judgment on the Levitical priests who led Israel into idolatry. And what was their punishment? They were demoted from the ministry to God to the ministry to the people. They may still serve at the gates. They may still stand before the congregation. But they cannot come near to God. The ministry to the people is what they are reduced to as a consequence of their failure.
Fill in the Blanks
18. God regards the ministry to as categorically higher than the ministry to the people. Not slightly higher. Not equal. The ministry to the people is what the are left with.
19. The modern church has this entirely. The sermon, the program, the service has become the primary thing. is treated as the preparation that creates the right atmosphere for the preacher.
20. The real reason for the inversion is stated plainly: "We love the of the people more than we love the praise of the Father. We love the of the people more than we love the presence of the Father."
The Question God Is Asking: "Where are the priests who want My presence?" There is a generation of believers called to be a kingdom of priests - not primarily ministering to congregations, but priests who minister to God Himself. That is the highest calling available on earth. That is what the sons of Zadok carried. And that calling is open to every believer who will pursue the presence with the same priority God places on it.
21. The sons of Zadok who stayed when everyone around them compromised were given access to the presence of God. The unfaithful were left with ministry to the . The faithful were given ministry to .
| The Two Levitical Paths | What They Did | What They Were Given |
|---|---|---|
| Unfaithful Levites | Went astray after idols; led Israel into compromise | Demoted to ministry at the gates - ministry to the people only |
| Sons of Zadok | Kept charge of God's sanctuary when everyone else went astray | Access to God's presence; ministry to God Himself; near His table |
Your Reflection
Section 7 - What We Are Commanded to Do When We Gather
Section Seven
When the New Testament describes the early church gathering, the focus is fundamentally God-centered: they came to remember and proclaim the Lord's death (Acts 20:7), to give offerings back to God (1 Cor. 16:1-2), and to offer prayers, songs, and teaching that honor Him. The assembly was first and foremost about worship of God.
22. If God is truly ministered to when His people gather - if the worship is genuine, if the approach is right, if the presence is the actual goal - then God will His presence and minister to the people.
23. The people are the of pursuing the presence, not the goal that replaces it. The presence of God is the of everything the church is trying to produce through its programs, strategies, and campaigns.
24. Everything we need flows from His . Everything that is lacking in the church is a result of the absence of His presence. And the presence is restored when God's people learn to approach Him .
Final Reflection
Lesson 15 - Practice Test
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Part A: Multiple Choice (5 questions · 2 pts each)
1. What was the fundamental difference between Cain's offering and Abel's offering according to the lesson?
2. What was wrong with how David transported the ark of the covenant in 2 Samuel 6?
3. According to the lesson, what is the defining characteristic of hell described in 2 Thessalonians 1:9 (AMPC)?
4. What was the punishment of the Levites who led Israel into idolatry, according to Ezekiel 44?
5. The lesson says the real reason ministry has become people-centered rather than God-centered is:
Part B: True or False (6 statements · 1 pt each)
1. Being genuinely born again automatically gives a believer full access to the throne room presence of God in the fullest sense.
2. You can be in a meeting and feel the presence of God and still never get close to the presence of God.
3. According to Ezekiel 44, ministry to God is categorically higher than ministry to the people - and the unfaithful Levites were demoted to ministry to the people as a consequence of their failure.
4. Uzzah was struck dead because he acted with evil intent - his heart was against God when he steadied the ark.
5. The people who attend a church gathering are the fruit of genuinely pursuing God's presence - not the goal that replaces it.
6. When God descended on Sinai, the earth quaked and the whole mountain shook - establishing a pattern that the earth itself reacts to the nearness of God.
Part C: Fill in the Blank (5 items · 1 pt each)
1. There is a right way and a wrong way to approach God - and it which one is taken.
2. Cain came to God on his own terms - that is not obedience, that is dressed as devotion.
3. David declared: "Do not cast me away from Your " - revealing what he valued most above everything else.
4. The sons of Zadok who kept charge of God's sanctuary when everyone went astray were given access to to God Himself.
5. Everything we need flows from His presence. Everything lacking in the church is a result of the absence of His presence.
Part D: Short Answer (completion credit)
1. Explain the distinction between feeling God's presence and being close to it. Why is this distinction important for how we evaluate spiritual experience?
2. What does Ezekiel 44 reveal about the two categories of ministry? Which does God rank higher, and what does that mean for how the church should structure its priorities?
3. What did Cain, Uzzah, and the unfaithful Levites all have in common? What does their example teach about the nature of approaching God?
Part E - Before You Leave
On a scale of honesty: is the presence of God the primary thing you pursue in personal prayer and corporate worship - or is it an experience, an emotion, or a sense of well-being?
Are you a son or daughter of Zadok in your context - or have you drifted toward ministry to the people at the expense of ministry to God? What specific change will you make?
Write a prayer asking God to teach you to approach Him the right way: