Moving On With God- The Next Step In: Holiness Series

Moving on with God- the next step in holiness

WBC 22/6/3pm

HEB 12:14 Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. 15

these kinds of sermons are PHENOMENALLY hard to preach, as without God’s help… anointing

 condemnation and confusion. Even compulsion TO sin

o there’s nothing like being told you shouldn’t do something!

 ie don’t put ‘don’t press this button’ on something

• put ‘Danger to life. Wash hands immediately’

Illustr: cf 1920 prohibition of alcohol in certain USA states

 dissolved that amendment in 1933 as had led to

• ‘trendyness’ of drinking, bribery and corruption of law and politicians

 because people’s insides weren’t changed/motivated

• ‘law’ doesn’t work

The Lord recognises this- that without a change INSIDE… holiness is not something we can achieve

EZE 36:24 " `For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. 28 You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God. 29 I will save you from all your uncleanness

So- what is holiness?

1) It’s not perfection

Right until the day we die, our sinful nature… our fallenness is something we will wrestle with.

- perfection, sinlessness is not something we achieve this side of eternity

Paul describes this struggle in Romans 7:14

RO 7:14 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do

So- if you find yourself in this condition it means that

- you are ALIVE!

- You are Human!

- God IS in you and working with you- as you wouldn’t notice the tension and temptation if His HS weren’t in there.

So- you’re not looking for a sinless perfection.

2) It’s in the nature of God

Listen- we’re not talking about ‘salvation’ ,here. Whether someone is saved, or not

- of course, if their behaviour is terrible it is right to question whether they are

Eph 5:5 For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person--such a man is an idolater--has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. 7 Therefore do not be partners with them.

We’re talking about Sanctification- the process of developing fruit and being made holy

- salvation happens the minute you give your life to Jesus

- sanctification takes longer and has ups and downs

So- how our lack of holiness affects us is not by us losing our

-salvation. That is secure

- gifts of the Holy Spirit

- because God doesn’t give one minute and revoke the next

- or people like me would never be able to preach!

- Roms 11:29 !for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.

- there are all kinds of people using God’s gifts

(and if I were Him I would have taken them back)

o using them perhaps more for themselves than God

How lack of holiness affects us is by taking away our INTIMACY with Him

- His tangible presence goes (not His actual presence)

- “without holiness no one will see the Lord”

- we re not so able to draw into His presence

Makes it very difficult if you are a preacher… or a ‘prophet’… as so much of this is based on hearing the Lord… knowing His heart

So- why is this?

- = because Holiness is in the very nature of God

- He is the definition of holiness

- Not just ‘Holy’ but ‘Holy, Holy, Holy’- again and again!.. repeated for all eternity, continually, by the angels around his throne

o Searing purity and sinless perfection

o All consuming fire of holiness that has you saying

 ‘woe to me, I am disintegrated’ Is 6:5

JOB 42:5 My ears had heard of you

but now my eyes have seen you.

JOB 42:6 Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.