Every one of you have made a choice today, one that any honest man would call audacious. That choice has been to leave your own house, clothing yourself with nothing more than cotton, polyester, and perhaps a bit of wool and leather to enter into the temple of the Living God. You appear before Him as if you have a right to be here. You come before the God who kills, who swallows kings, kingdoms, and little girls. And here you stand flat-footed. Would that you stand even more confidently. But don’t kid yourself if you are not looking the Righteous One in the face in His very house. Don’t kid yourself if you are here like the village idiot attempting to hide things from Him.

You have to look into the face of the one who snatched Korah into the abyss, who in anger struck down Uzzah when he touched the ark, who blighted Miriam with leprosy, and killed Ananias and Sapphira at the apostles’ feet. Hypocrisy tries to warm itself with the Consuming Fire at a distance, in the shadows where sin can be concealed. But those shadowy corners are for hard hearts, and they foretell the outer darkness. You must walk toward the Blazing Sun and the only way to draw near to Him is by confessing your sins to Him in Jesus’ name.