#1 - The Standard Of God's Holiness Series

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My goal here is to be theological, and show you that theology has practical implications for how you live.

I have several hopes from this series:

 That every one of you will see holiness differently.

 That every one of you will seek holiness passionately.

 The every one of you will grow in holiness personally.

Why does it matter that we are the Holiness Movement? What is the big deal with Entire Sanctification? What does “holy” mean in my life? Should I care?

The reason you should care is because God is holy.

The reason you should study it is because God is holy.

The reason you should seek it is….

The reason we should be holy is …

BECAUSE GOD IS HOLY!

The standard and definition of all holiness is God himself.

 God is jealously holy.

Eze 39:7 "'I will make known my holy name among my people Israel. I will no longer let my holy name be profaned, and the nations will know that I the LORD am the Holy One in Israel.”

 God is eternally, infinitely holy.

Rev 4:8 Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come."

 God is uniquely holy.

Rev 15:4 Who will not fear you, O Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy.

God is holy in an underived sense.

Where does God get His holiness? Not a valid question.

God defines holiness by his character, doesn’t get it from somewhere.

He isn’t holy because He does holy things…

He isn’t holy because he thinks holy thoughts…

He isn’t holy because he matches a list of characteristics…

He is the definition of holiness… The source of holiness…

All holiness springs from him, flows out of him…

You can never become holy outside of connection with God. There is no rule you can keep, no list of rules… no good acts you can do… no bad ones you can stay away from that make you holy.

You can match the list of Amish “don’ts”

And match Mother Theresa for the “dos”

And never become holy, because it is only received in association with God – he is the SOURCE!

Holy is not an action it is a state of character.

So what IS God’s holiness?

As with all supremely important and basic concepts, It is an extremely difficult concept to put into language, like talking about “what is time?”

“Kadesh” (holiness/sanctification) in Hebrew as a word primarily means “separated” or “set apart”. It contains the following facets of meaning:

1. Holiness as brilliance.

Isa 6:1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple.

2 Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying.

3 And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory."

4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

The glorious, shining, shocking, overwhelming, breathtaking, stomach-knotting, knee-trembling presence of a God too glorious to describe… it’s that feeling just as you go over the side of the rollercoaster, and look down… it’s that moment just as you bungee jump, and there’s nothing between you and the ground:

A horrified, fear-filled delight… and that’s just if you want to be like him.

The Israelites couldn’t bear to look at the brilliance of Moses’ face when He came down from the presence of God… put a veil over it.

Holiness expressed as brilliance is always ____overwhelming___.

1 Samuel 6:20 …the men of Beth Shemesh asked, "Who can stand in the presence of the LORD, this holy God?”

2. Holiness as separation.

Ex 15:11 "Who among the gods is like you, O LORD? Who is like you-- majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?”

Isa 40:25 "To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?" says the Holy One.

1Sa 2:2 "There is no one holy like the LORD; there is no one besides you…”

Notice the words COMPARE & LIKE – and the answer is NO ONE or NOTHING, is like God, he is infinitely kadesh.

When it applies to people or groups of people, kadesh never happens by the will of the people, but by the will and according to the calling of God.