Enter His Gates: Crossing the Threshold into the Presence of God

Enter His Gates: Crossing the Threshold into the Presence of God

Why Standing at the Border Will Never Satisfy—The Invitation to ENTER Further In

There is a vast difference between arriving at a border and actually crossing it.

You can drive to the edge of a country, park the car, step out, and stare across the line. You can feel the nearness of that land, breathe its air from a distance, even hear the sounds of life on the other side. Yet until you pass through the gate and set foot inside, you have not entered. You remain outside—close, but still a stranger to the life within.

In the next few minutes I want to walk with you through the biblical call to enter—not just to draw near, but to cross the threshold into God’s presence. My hope is that as we consider the gates, the courts, and the boldness we have through the blood of Jesus, a deep longing will stir in our hearts and cause us to enter further in and abide there.

Scripture uses the same language about the presence of God—and it invites us not only to enter, but to keep moving further in.

“Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise” (Psalm 100:4). The Hebrew word behind “enter” is bo’—a simple, strong root that means to come in, to go into, to pass from outside to inside. It is not the word for merely approaching. It is the word for crossing the threshold.

Notice the progression: we enter the gates with thanksgiving, then move further into His courts with praise. The courts lie deeper inside the temple complex. Thanksgiving opens the outer gate; praise carries us further in toward the dwelling place of God.

Many of us have drawn near. We have stood at the outer courts. We have felt the pull of worship, the weight of conviction, the quiet invitation of the Spirit. Yet something in us still lingers at the border.

Contentment with spiritual nearness instead of intimacy. We talk about God’s presence more than we enter it—and the deeper Christian life remains just beyond the gate.

The New Testament presses the point further. Through the blood of Jesus we have boldness to enter into the holiest (Hebrews 10:19). The Greek idea is the same—to go in, to come into. The veil has been torn. The way is open. Christ Himself is the Door. “By me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture” (John 10:9).

“Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus” (Hebrews 10:19).

Look closely at that word “boldness.” In the original it is parrēsia—freedom of speech, open confidence, fearless assurance. It describes the right of a citizen to speak without fear before a king. Under the old covenant the high priest entered the holiest once a year with trembling. Now, because of the blood of Jesus, every believer is invited to enter with cheerful courage, without hiding, without hesitation, without dread of rejection. This is not arrogance. It is the free and fearless confidence that rests entirely on what Christ has already done.

Here is the heart of the matter: approaching is not the same as entering. Coming near the gate is not the same as walking through it. Knowing about the blood is not the same as coming by that blood with a true heart in full assurance of faith—and with the boldness His sacrifice provides. Many speak of the glory and presence of God, yet far fewer actually enter and abide in the fullness of that reality.

Jesus did not merely bring us to the border of fellowship with the Father. He opened the way and went in Himself as our Forerunner. Now He calls us to follow—thankful, clean, confident, and free—to enter.

I have watched people in Lancaster County stand for years on the edge of real relationship with God. When I was Amish, I never realized the amazing opportunity I had through the Lord Jesus Christ to enter and have personal communion with God. That all began to change in the fall of 1986. That day I had my personal encounter with God, and for the first time I recall, I truly entered into His kingdom.

When I ponder the exceeding greatness of Almighty God, I am gripped by how much more of Him awaits those who will more fully set their affections upon Him, overcome distractions, and come with full confidence through the blood of Jesus—entering His gates with thanksgiving and pressing further into His courts with praise. This kind of entering is a key part of the revival we have been praying for, expecting, and waiting to see.

If you are still standing at the border today—whether you have walked with Christ for years or are only beginning to sense His call—do not settle there. The gate is open. Access to God is free.

ENTER.

Enter into His gates with Thanksgiving.

Go deeper with Praise.

Pursue a greater knowledge of this open way—the torn veil, the living blood, the free boldness He has given—until that knowledge awakens in you a deeper love for the God who invites you all the way in, and until true revival begins in the heart that fully enters.

Psalm 100:4 – Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise.

Hebrews 10:19 – Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus.
Hebrews 4:16 – Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace.

John 10:9 – I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved.