The Velvet Rope

The ‘Velvet Rope:’ a signal of separation and division between those who can and those who cannot. When we see this barrier we know that it is a threshold that one cannot cross unless invited to do so.

1. THE DIVINE ‘ROPE’

• There were two veils to the tabernacle. The one which is described in Ex 26:36-37, was called "the hanging for the door of the tent," and was made of "blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine-twined linen," and was suspended on five pillars of shittim-wood, overlaid with gold. This answered for a door to the whole tabernacle.

• The second or inner veil, here referred to, divided the holy from the most holy place. This is described in Ex 26:31-33.

• Exodus 26:31-33 “And thou shalt make a vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen of cunning work: with cherubims shall it be made: And thou shalt hang it upon four pillars of shittim wood overlaid with gold: their hooks shall be of gold, upon the four sockets of silver. And thou shalt hang up the vail under the taches, that thou mayest bring in thither within the vail the ark of the testimony: and the vail shall divide unto you between the holy place and the most holy.”

• The divine rope was put into place by God; it indicated a place so holy that only one person: (the High Priest) could enter

• He did this to express the cleansing necessary to enter into his presence

• In Old Testament teaching; the high priest was the one person who was allowed to enter the holiest place. He did this to atone for his sin and the sin of the nation of Israel once a year

• The detail of the divine rope is that we were not able to enter into a personal and intimate relationship with God; we were separated and looked from the outside in

2. THE PHYSICAL ‘VELVET ROPE’

• We often place limits on the ability of God to work in our lives because of a lack of understanding of his power

• Psalms 147:5 “Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.”

• We have great power in the Lord; we fail to use it because we fail to understand the spiritual

• Matthew 26:41 “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

• Jesus knows that inside of us we want to do the right thing, the problem, however, is that our flesh is weak and needs supernatural strengthening to accomplish the will of God

• Ropes in our lives include:

a. Sin of all kinds

b. Disobedience to God’s call

c. Rejection of Jesus as the Messiah

• Romans 8:6 “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”

• We must be mindful of the direction of God and not the direction of the world

• We limit ourselves in our ability

o Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

• We memorize, quote and use this scripture repeatedly, but do we truly believe that we can do all things?

• When breaking through the ‘Physical Velvet Rope’ we have the ability to do great things

o Supernaturally

o Receive the blessings of God

o See lives changed

3. THE ROPE THAT’S BEEN REMOVED

• Matthew 27:51 “And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;”

• When Jesus died, the spiritual and the physical rope were removed

• We have become priests through the sacrifice of Christ

a. Revelation 1:5-6 “And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”

b. Hebrews 7:27 “Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.”

• We no longer need the high priest to make intercession for us; we have the ability to go to God ourselves through the transformation known as the “Priesthood of the Believer”

• The rope of God and the rope of the physical limitation has been removed by God’s holy love

• Romans 8:17 “And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.”