Psalm 100:4, “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.”

1 Corinthians 6:19, “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?”

Hello OTP family and friends! Today I wanted to talk about relationships. Specifically, your relationship with God (but it is also appropriate to be applied to all intimate relationships). Every relationship must move beyond lip service – the things we say, to action – the things we believe and do.  This movement will begin with your confession or rather changing the things we say. Because how we speak is a mirror of our relationship(s). How you speak about the people you are involved with will show health of your relationship.

Changing the things we say will impact what you believe and reveal the way forward (actions to take).

Let’s take a quick look at the tabernacle from the Old Testament:

The Three Layers of Biblical Tabernacles and Temples

The Outer Court, Inner Court, and Holy of Holies represent the three sacred zones of the ancient Hebrew Tabernacle and Temple. Access became strictly more exclusive as one moved deeper into the presence of God. 

1 Corinthians 6:19 reminds us that now – after Jesus’s loving sacrifice at calvary’s cross, and ushered in the Holy Ghost in Acts, now we are His tabernacle. He seeks to dwell in us. However, even with this our relationship with God can resemble this same zone structure. Now, the intimacy of this relationship we have with God flows from Outer Court, Inner Court, and Holy of Holies.

An Outer Court relationship (The “Acquaintance” Zone). Casual friendships, professional colleagues, and social acquaintances. These people have access to your public life but are not permitted into your private struggles, secrets, or deepest emotions. 

In context to our topic – it describes a foundational, introductory phase of faith. It is characterized by approaching God through sacrifice, thanksgiving, and obedience to basic truths, but remaining at a distance rather than experiencing deep, intimate communion.

An Inner Court relationship (The “Close Circle” Zone). Close friends and family. These individuals have earned your trust, understand your values, and share significant moments with you, but still may not know the deepest, most vulnerable parts of your inner.

In context to our topic – represents a lifestyle of deep, personal intimacy. Moving past superficial faith, it signifies entering intoGod’s immediate presence, where the mind, will, and emotions are transformed through dedicated prayer, honest devotion, and consecrated living.

Holy of Holies relationship (The “Intimate” Zone). Your absolute most intimate connections (like a spouse or a few deeply trusted confidants). They see your authentic self, your fears, and your dreams. 

In context to our topic – the ultimate level of spiritual intimacy. In the ancient biblical Tabernacle, the Holy of Holies was the innermost sanctuary housing the Ark of the Covenant, where God’s tangible presence dwelt and only the High Priest could enter once a year. 

I wanted to post both definition and context as a visual aid to see what type of relationship you have with God. Is God an Acquaintance to you? Is God just in your close circle?  Or is your relationship with God truly intimate? This is a perfect opportunity for self-reflection. Are you pleased with your relationship with God? Is God pleased? Or has he been urging you closer, to develop a deeper relationship with him?

Testing Your Confession

Now that we have some insight into relationship zones, let’slook at how we speak. There is a difference between knowing a thing and owning a thing.

The difference between knowing and owning lies in the transition from passive awareness to active internalization. Knowing means you possess information or recognize a fact;while owning means you have integrated that knowledge into your character, habits, or actions through experience. 

Knowing

Nature: Theoretical and objective

Source: gathered from the outside (books, lectures observation).

Focus: memorizing facts and data.

Result: you can explain the concept.

Owning

Nature: Experimental and deeply objective.

Source: earned from the inside (personal failure, practice application).

Focus: internalizing principles (they become second nature).

Result: you can consistently execute or live the concept.

 In relationships, especially intimate ones, if they are to be strong and enduring, we must move beyond knowing to owning. We must understand that when it comes to receiving anything from God our faith requires us to make this transition. Making this transition will change the way we speak/talk.

Example: God is a healer. This represents a fact that most believers know to be true from a surface level. God is my healer. This represents owning. The believer owns the fact and makes it personal. Transition from awareness of God’s ability to actively accepting that God has already done it by faith.

To fully receive anything, we must be ready to actively internalize the gift. This includes how we view the gift, which impacts how we speak of it. We must own it as a fact and not some intangible possibility. The ‘a’ and ‘my’ are two very small words but they carry a huge impact. It is called unconscious speaking (hidden mental processes, underlying emotions, and instincts express themselves). What you feel in your heart is exactly what is going to come out of your mouth. Pay attention to what you say. It will show you things you are not aware of. Its honestly – your truth. But it does not have to be set in stone. You can make the transition.

These two small words reflect your position in the relationship with God. Are you in an Outer court relationship? Or are you in an Inner Court relationship with God? In the outer court, you know a great many things. You have good understanding. In other words, you can talk-the-talk, and for the most part you believe it. Sounds good but has little actual substance. When the time of testing comes, it can be hard to remain steadfast in your confession. This is ‘a’ mentality. 

In the Inner Court you are all about walking by faith. You speak the work by faith, you decree and declare – with a goal of possessing what you need. You speak strong words of faith and can stand when a time of testing comes. But the transition from owning to receiving is still not yet quite fully realized. Why, because the pull to be closer to God is constantly there. This causes the believe to move toward the next level – the Holy of Holies. This is ‘my’ mentality.

In the Holy of Holies this is true intimacy. This is the place of deep and abiding love where you reverence and worship God. This is the place where you practice the presence of God. Where your heart is open to hear and receive from God. Although we don’t dwell here permanently, we do visit it quite frequently. The more we do so, the easier it is to maintain an Inner Court life. This solidifies our ability to receive from God – even when the enemy fights against you with all that he has – your confession remains strong and unshakable – this is ‘mine’because God gave it to me! This is ‘my’ mentality!

Lesson Summary

We must be cognizant of how we speak, of what we say, because it reveals what we truly believe/feel in our hearts. It reveals where we are in our relationship with God and with people. Do we speak kindly or harshly with people? Do we speak with love or with contempt? Are our words peppered with grace? Or do we speak without regard to how the words are received?

What we say to and about people reveals how we feel about them.

What we say when speak faith or about God reveals the relationship we have with him. 

My prayer for us all is that we strive for an Inner Court relationship with God. A relationship that changes the very fabric of our lives so that the life we live shows the power and love of the God we serve.

Have a blessed day!