Come Into the Holy of Holies – John Sellers

John Sellers wouldn’t be surprised if you think about what it’s like to be in a Temple (see the picture of a Temple room) when you listen to or sing the song “Come Into the Holy of Holies” that he wrote in 1984. He might also approve if you think about your commitment as a believer in ways you haven’t considered before. Both of these themes helped trigger his creativity as he wrote the song. Like another composer decades before himself, an experience in an army also played a part in Sellers’ makeup and the development of the song he wanted to express as a turn in his faith. Like George Bennard (composer of “The Old Rugged Cross” – see this blog’s March 7, 2009 post, or click here http://songscoops.blogspot.com/search/label/Bennard) decades earlier, John Sellers’ early Christian experience was with the Salvation Army. He learned the basics of music there, while his parents were officers in the organization. Later in life, Sellers found he wanted to experience more, and he discovered a church that worshipped more energetically than he had experienced before. A personal connection with the Lord was also a stirring idea to which Sellers was introduced at the same time. His creativity in music was stimulated, while he was concurrently studying about the ancient temple practices versus what Jesus’ death did – ripping the temple veil. Soon, the words to “Come Into the Holy of Holies” were spawned. The revolution in the human-to-God relationship had jumped off the pages of Sellers’ bible, and onto the musical score he wrote. When was the last revolution in your life? No, not the rebellious kind, not one that made you abandon wisdom and good sense. But one in which you knew viscerally that something was missing, and you needed a new beginning. John Sellers felt this, and it led eventually to his writing this song with a revolutionary invitation. Maybe the old rules and methods have become ends, rather than means, blurring the true objective. What if you disregarded time-worn, accepted, stale standards, and threw caution to the winds? Be sure, someone or group nearby would surely sound the alarm - - you’ve certainly lost your mind! Can you imagine if someone had walked into Jerusalem in 33 A.D. and said ‘Hey, let’s just walk into the Holy of Holies, whaddya say’? Someone did. But, the way He took down the veil hiding that room was most unsettling. His method doesn’t allow the easy, safe turnaround. If I decide to link myself to His example, I accept this fact, this potentially hazardous duty. Has God’s seminal act that ‘Good Friday’ touched me the way it did John Sellers? If it does, I join Him for the adventure, the ride of a lifetime. It leads me places I wouldn’t otherwise go…including heaven. The source for John Sellers “Come Into the Holy of Holies” song story is the book “Celebrate Jesus: The Stories Behind Your Favorite Praise and Worship Songs”, by Phil Christensen and Shari MacDonald, Kregel Publications, 2003. Also see “The Complete Book of Hymns-Inspiring Stories About 600 Hymns and Praise Songs”, by William J. and Ardythe Petersen, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. ,2006.