Holiness That Is Beautiful

HOLINESS THAT IS BEAUTIFUL

1 Chronicles 16:29

Outline by Kenneth Trent

Mark D. Stetler, January 5, 2003 p.m.

Parkway Church of God (Holiness)

“Give to the Lord the glory due His name; Bring an offering and come before Him. Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.” I Chronicles 16:29.

As we embark on a new year, every child of God needs "worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness."

In the O.T. the priests would minister in beautiful priestly attire…so here in Chronicles David calls all of Israel to “worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.”

Exodus 28 describes the beauty of the priestly garments worn in the service of the Tabernacle. Today’s text is from a passage where David is giving thanks to God for the return of the ark to the Tabernacle.

What constitutes the “beauty of holiness?” I believe Holiness is defined as “that quality of life evidenced by godliness, purity, and a full consecration to God.”

I. THE BEAUTY OF A HOLY LIFE

“That you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy.” Colossians 1:10-11

My friends, Paul explains here in a nutshell the beauty that comes from being holy!

A. Walking worthy of the Lord

B. Fully please Him

C. Being fruitful in every good work

D. Increasing in the knowledge of God

E. Strength comes from God--because of His glorious power

F. Then the result…we are patient, and long-suffering--with joy……

All of this makes us beautiful because we are holy!

II. THE BEAUTY OF HOLY SPEECH

“Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.” Colossians 4:6

The psalmist stresses the importance of our speech in Psalm 19:14 when he wrote: "Let the words of my mouth and the mediation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my strength [literally: Rock] and my Redeemer."

Aesop, the ancient storyteller, told this fable: Once upon a time, a donkey found a lion’s skin. He tried it on, strutted around, and frightened many animals. Soon a fox came along, and the donkey tried to scare him, too. But the fox, hearing the donkey’s voice, said, "If you want to terrify me, you’ll have to disguise your bray." Aesop’s moral: Clothes may disguise a fool, but his words will give him away.

Traditional

Are your words giving you away? We need to be beautiful in our speech!

III. THE BEAUTY OF A HOLY DISPOSITION

We should pattern our ways after our Lord Jesus Christ. Consider:

“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” Philippians 2:5-8

My friends if we are going to be holy we must strive to be like Jesus. Jesus was:

Morally pure: “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” Hebrews 4:15.

Gentle and humble: “Take my yoke upon you; learn of me for I am gentle and humble in heart.” (Matthew 11:29)

Compassionate: “But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.” Matthew 9:36

Forgiving: “When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, ‘Woman, where are your accusers? Has anyone condemned you?’ She said, ‘No one, Lord.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” John 8: 10-11

Voice, shaky on the answering machine, young boy….

IV. THE HIGH PURPOSE OF THE BEAUTY OF HOLINESS: THE WORSHIP OF GOD!

Romans 12:1 “I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, that is holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service!”

"May not a single moment of my life be spent outside the light, love and joy of God’s presence and not a moment without the entire surrender of my self as a vessel for Him to fill full of His Spirit and His love."

Andrew Murray.

Holiness that is beautiful? YES

I. THE BEAUTY OF A HOLY LIFE

II. THE BEAUTY OF HOLY SPEECH

III. THE BEAUTY OF A HOLY DISPOSITION

IV. THE HIGH PURPOSE OF THE BEAUTY OF HOLINESS:THE WORSHIP OF GOD!