Experiencing Holiness
(With a Little "Sesame Street" Humor)
Author: Dr. Neal Gray
Passage: 1 Peter 1:13-23, KJV
Purpose: Holiness is a "birth-right" for the Christian. Jesus gave you a new life where holiness is the normal experience. Experience it! And have fun, too!
INTRODUCTION
A Little Explanation
I guess I need to explain a little about what I am going to do this morning with this sermon. In short, I’m going to have a little child-like fun! I mean, Jesus said, "...whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it at all," (see Luke 18:17).
Now, the popular Public Broadcasting System (PBS) television show, "Sesame Street," became popular after my adolescent years. I did not watch it when I was a child.
But while in seminary, in the class on children’s ministry, one of my assignments was to watch one week of "Sesame Street," and one week of "Mr. Rodger’s Neighborhood." And then write about what I learned in the ways these two shows teach children.
Let me tell you what I learned:
* The "Sesame Street" show made my head and eyes hurt. The screen flickered between scenes about every 15 seconds. I got so tired of trying to keep up! Funny, that.
* The "Mr. Rodgers" show nearly put me to sleep. Still, it was kinder and gentler to my spirit, and my eyes, and my head!
Other than that, the only other thing I remember is that on one of the "Sesame Street" shows, I learned about the letter, "R." Different characters appeared who looked like "R’s." And they all said, "I am the letter, ’R,’" while the drew out the sound, as in, "rrrrrrrrrrrr."
==> I like the alphabet. Even Jesus used the alphabet. Recall that He said, "I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end...," (see Revelation 1:8, 11; 21:6; 22:13). So, Jesus is the "A" and "Z," the first and the last; I’LL JUST USE SOME OF THE OTHER LETTERS TODAY!
So, sit back, pray for your Pastor, and let’s learn about "Experiencing Holiness," while using a whole host of the alphabet.
Scripture
Our Scripture is 1 Peter 1:13-21. This passage speaks about "holiness."
It is God’s will that we experience holiness. Holiness is the endearing experience--for TO EXPERIENCE HOLINESS IS TO EXPERIENCE THE HOLY ONE. Holiness is nothing-less-nor-anything-more than--get ready, because here comes the letter "R"--holiness is nothing-less-nor-anything-more than a Radical, Royal, Reliable, Remarkable Romance with the Redeemer.
Okay, let’s look into Jesus’ neighborhood!
EXPERIENCE HOLINESS IN BIRTHING
Introduction
The major topics in this message all deal with the high privilege--and THE HIGH PLACES--of experiencing holiness. They are all brought to us by the letter "B." The first topic is "Birthing."
We will have the help of the letters "D" and "S."
Born Again to the New Birth
Birthing. I’m referring, of course, to being born again--to the "new birth."
In the Older Testament (OT) we find some interesting stuff in the birth of Isaac. His birth is a wonderful, biblical, and practical example of birthing (Galatians 4:22-23, 29 and John 3:36). Wonderful because, by all natural appearances, Isaac should not have been born. His parents were far too old to bear children.
Yet, God brought Isaac to birth in spite of Debate, Doubt, Derision, Dysfunction, and the Death of the natural human reproductive systems, (Genesis 15:1-4; 17:1519; 18:9-14; 21:1-7). GOD USED THE MOST EXTREME SITUATION TO SHOW HIS MERCY AND HIS MIGHT.
For me, this says that any of us--whatever our Situation, whatever our Sorrows, whatever our Sinful past--all of us can experience "spiritual birthing," for "Abraham is the father of us all," (see Romans 4:16), and Jesus died to put us into the family!
==> In the New Testament (NT), spiritual birthing begins WHEN WE OPEN OUR EYES TO SEE JESUS. With God’s grace, when you look, you will see "HIM WHO IS WONDERFUL," and have the opportunity to reach out to Him.
"Jesus answered and said unto him, ’Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’" (John 3:3)
==> You must be "born again"!!! You must be spiritually "birthed"!!! Your new birth begins your new life; one where you experience holiness for the first time. You begin to know God, EXPERIENCING HOLINESS IN "HIM WHO IS WONDERFUL."
EXPERIENCE HOLINESS IN BURYING
Introduction
The next high place of experiencing holiness is "Burying," brought to you with the help of the letters "R" and "S."
Die Out to Bring Forth Fruit
Burying refers to the seed falling into the ground and dying: "Except a seed fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it dies, it bringeth forth much fruit," (John 12:24).
For me, this is one of the finest presentations of entire sanctification. Dying out, being crucified with Christ and buried is an "experiencing holiness" high place.
Burying may seem more like a horrible place than a high place. But "spiritual burying" of one’s self is not a horrible place. It is indeed a high place.
A Romance with the Redeemer
Why? Because burying our old life opens the way for us to fall so much in love with the Savior, to begin a Real and Radical Romance with the Redeemer. As birthing brings us into eternal life in the Redeemer, so burying makes exclusive life with the Redeemer gloriously possible.
In the letter to the Roman Christians, Paul uses a legal and matrimonial illustration to highlight the high place of burial and death, (Romans 7:1-4).
"My brethren, ye also are [to] become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to Him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God." (Romans 7:4)
==> The picture of "Burying" here is beautiful. Our relationship with all "spiritual suitors or spouses" must terminate, through spiritual death. Only then will Christ Jesus establish a close relationship with us.
What Is a Spiritual Suitor?
You ask, "Bury what spiritual suitors or spouses?" Well...other Spiritual Suitors or Spouses can be...Sin (Romans 6:6-11), Society (Galatians 6:14), maybe even the Saints (I Corinthians 2:2).
The chief, all-encompassing rival Spouse is Self (Galatians 2:20). The Self we are to be freed from by death is not the first and true Self, fashioned in God’s image. It is a foreign Self, fashioned after the Satanic Spirit, GRASPING HOPELESSLY TO BE GOD. It, therefore, manifests pride, anger, frustration, Suspicion, and jealousy. It is this false Self that can and must be denied, (see Luke 9:23), and it must be buried in Christ.
The clear instruction is: "take up your cross daily, and follow Me."
Jesus Has Tasted Death and Burial for Us
To deliver us from rival suitors, Jesus Himself has already paid the price and made the Sacrifice. He Himself took the Cross and bore all the hardness of real death and a real burial. Jesus has experienced the grief of death so that, by dying with Him, we may experience the grace and even the glory of dying out to the old, being born to the new.
Along with Paul we can gladly say:
"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me." (Galatians 2:20)
EXPERIENCE HOLINESS IN BELONGING
Introduction
Burying brings us to the next high place in experiencing holiness, which is "Belonging." The letters "P" letters "F" show up.
Lots of Holiness Words in the Bible
The concept of "Belonging" comes from "holiness" and its very extensive word family. I will not give you the whole list of holiness words, (though I’m tempted to!). I just need for you to understand that the holiness word family in Scripture carries two distinctive meanings, namely...
1. One is Purification.
2. The other is Possession--that is, Belonging.
Belonging Is Holiness
When you speak of "holiness" and "experiencing holiness" in church circles, most Christians think about the Purification aspect. I’ll say it very plainly, most Christians in the holiness movement have known only the purification emphasis.
But the biblical record strongly supports Possession, a Belonging.
A Radical Revolution
Are you ready for a radical revolution in your spiritual life? Hmmm? Had enough of the humdrum, just go to church, sorta-at-peace Christian-like life? Hmmm? You’ll FIND SOME INCREDIBLE JOY when you come to the conclusion--the right and radical conclusion--that YOU REALLY BELONG TO GOD!
You are God’s Possession. Listen to God’s own words:
"And ye shall be holy unto Me: for I the LORD am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be Mine." (Leviticus 20:26)
Belonging to God is so radical to every aspect of your life. Everything about your life takes on new qualities. Belonging to God affects...
* Your spirit: your upward and spiritual capacities
* Your soul: your inward and social capacities, and,
* Your body: your "earth-ward" and physical capacities.
"And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Thessalonians 5:23).
We are to love the One to whom we Belong. Love Him...
* Freshly, with the heart
* Fundamentally, with the soul
* Forcefully, with might and strength, and,
* Fully, with the mind and understanding.
(see Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:37; Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27).
Belong to God for All Eternity
This idea of Belonging to God really climaxes when I think of how long I shall belong to Him. How long? FOR ETERNITY! The song "Now I Belong to Jesus," says it this way:
Jesus, my Lord,
Will love me forever;
From Him no pow’r
Of evil can sever.
He gave His life
To ransom my soul;
Now I belong to Him.
Now I belong to Jesus;
Jesus belongs to me--
Not for the years of time alone,
But for eternity.
==> Experiencing holiness means experiencing Belonging to God--not just when you get to heaven, but right now, everyday, in every way. YOU BELONG TO GOD, and HE BELONGS TO YOU!
EXPERIENCE HOLINESS IN BLESSING
Introduction
All of these spiritual experiences of holiness--birthing, burying, and belonging--bring us to the high place of "Blessing."
Welcome the letter "A," please, to the sermon message!
We Like Blessings
We like blessings. Don’t we? We seek early for blessing, and God’s response to all those who belong to Him is "all blessings."
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with ALL SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS in heavenly places in Christ." (Ephesians 1:3)
I said, "all blessings." But the Scripture tells us that God has blessed us with "all spiritual blessings." We want our blessings right now, here on earth; and sometimes we receive good gifts from above, (see James 1:17). But most of our blessings are reserved for us "in heavenly places in Christ." Great! Wonderful! Blessings yet to be seen!
Still, let’s look in quick fashion at just four of the blessings we have now.
The Blessing of the Almighty
The first blessing is the Almighty Himself, (Genesis 28:3-4; John 17:35, 19-23). In Christ, we die to all other suitors and we commit ourselves to belong to God alone. Being Adopted by the Almighty is an Awesome blessing!
When you become a Christian, then immediately the Almighty, the All-powerful One, comes in His full Authority. He takes His rightful and natural place as our Supreme Care-Giver.
==> He is Himself the greatest blessing, for He Himself is the Blesser!
The Blessing of Assurance
Another blessing is Assurance. When you are a soul surrendered unto the Lord, you will have Assurance. God the Spirit always witnesses to our spirits.
"The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God." (Romans 8:16)
No Christian who has been spiritually birthed, buried with Christ, and belongs to God will ever need to worry about God’s Assurance of continued love and care.
==> Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ, (see Romans 8:35-39).
The Blessing of Affections
A beautiful blessing God gives us now is Affections. I’m speaking, of course, about the Affections of Christ, (Colossians 3:2-3; Galatians 5:22-26). "O love of God, how rich and pure!"
The Blessing of Answers
A very practical blessing is Answers, (John 14:26). The Holy Spirit of Christ has all of the Answers, and if we have the Holy Ghost, we will have all of the Answers we need. Not Answers to everything, but to what we need.
Other Blessings
And there are other blessings such as Authority, Anointing, Articulation, and Ability.
EXPERIENCE HOLINESS IN BECOMING
Introduction
There is one other high place of experiencing holiness that we must consider. It is "Becoming."
Grow in Christ
My own heart is very satisfied about the second crisis of experience in approaching God; we call it "entire sanctification."
But perhaps we need to recognize an error in our practice over the past decades in the holiness denominations. We have majored on the "crisis" of getting "entirely sanctified," but have MARGINALIZED THE CONTINUED GROWTH IN THE HOLINESS EXPERIENCE OF ENTIRE SANCTIFICATION.
A Lifetime to Perfect
The analogy of marriage is very fitting. We get married in a moment of commitment; but it takes a lifetime to learn to live with one’s spouse.
It is similar with entire sanctification There is A PERFECTION OF COMMITMENT and HEART-CLEANSING IN A MOMENT. It takes a lifetime, however, of learning to perfect the perfection, as the Scripture says:
"Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." (2 Corinthians 7:1)
==> I hope you are ready to experience holiness, to truly Become God’s person. "Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you," (James 4:8).
CONCLUSION
Holiness Needed!
The world is ripe for the golden day of Holiness. And Holiness is a Radical, Royal, Reliable, Remarkable Romance with the Redeemer that is available for each of us. I still like the letter "R"!
Friends, there is a crying need for this doctrine of Holiness to be demonstrated--not as Human and Hollow, not as Harsh and Hypocritical, not as Hyped-up on one Hand, nor Humdrum on the other--but as Holy, Hearty, and Helpful. Remember, Holiness begins with "H"!
Did I Ignore St. Peter?
Did I ignore the Apostle Peter’s letter in this sermon? No. I only explained in a little more detail how we can accomplish the experience of "being holy." Still, returning to the original passage, I’ll give Peter the last word today:
"But as He which hath called you is Holy, so be ye Holy in all manner of conversation [i.e., in all your behavior, speech, thoughts, attitudes; in all that you do]. Because it is written, ’Be ye Holy; for I am Holy.’" (1 Peter 1:15-16)
Credits
Adapted from an article written by A. Wingrove Taylor. The "Sesame Street" stuff about the alphabet is from my background experience!
Hymns & Reading
Suggested hymns and readings from the Church of the Nazarene "Sing to the Lord" hymnal:
All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name............Hymn #124
Responsive Reading............#144
O Come, Let Us Adore Him............Hymn #136
In the Name of the Lord............Hymn #146
There’s Something About That Name............Hymn #148
AMEN.
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| Copyright 2002
| Practical Holiness Ministry (r)
| "BRINGING PRACTICAL IDEAS TO
| THE CHRISTIAN LIFE." (tm)
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| You may reprint or publish or hopefully preach
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| except that it may profit one’s soul,
| (see Mark 8:36).
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| Dr. Neal Gray is the Senior Pastor of the
| Baltimore Parkville Church of the Nazarene.
| 8510 Fowler Ave -- Baltimore, Maryland 21234
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| You can reach Dr. Gray by e-mail at:
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| LEARNING. MENTORING. SERVING. (tm)
| 2 Pet. 3:18 - 2 Tim. 2:2 - Matt. 20:26-28
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| Used with God’s blessed permission.
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