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.
Falling at His feet as though dead (John, Dan)
Are you aware that in the OT, the high priest used to have vines tied around his ankles, to pull him out of the holiest of holies in case
- the Lord showed up in unbridled power
- the high priest had some sin in his life
Dr John White describes one of his elders meetings
when the Spirit comes with power’ p87
So- the reason God’s presence is not felt sometimes in our lives is not
- His ‘changeability’… His testing… His churlishness (as some think)… His punishment
- It’s His mercy! As then- we don’t get
o Burned
o Condemned (as to disobey God,… as one is prone to doing when you’re not feeling very holy… when he is clearly present, showing Himself, the way- is a culpable offence)
This Hebrews passage makes it clear that if you felt you had to be holy to come to the mountain, fully, in the OT- it’s even MORE dangerous in the NT, the New Jerusalem
So- here’s what’s so difficult about this holiness business:
- it’s something we want. We require
- it’s something God wants. God requires
- but we can’t do it without God… without His help
- and he is not able to draw SO near to tangibly help us…without holiness
o so it’s catch 22
it can really be like that in folks lives. God feels distant. So we feel more like sinning. Which makes Him more distant, withdraw
• and so the spiral goes on.
But, just as there’s a SPIRAL DOWN- there is a SPIRAL UP, into holiness… into God’s presence… intimacy with Him…
Anointing from Him
- and it starts with small steps. (hence- NEXT STEP)
Firstly
3) Only a prayer away
The spiral down can be halted immediately- with one prayer: ‘Lord, I confess… forgive me’
- and then the righteousness, holiness of Christ is given.
o Instantly
There IS the blood of Jesus- and it is SUFFICIENT. Stops the spiral. Enables us to draw into God’s presence
Keep the leash short… the record of sins short.
4) A choice
Holiness is a choice. You can choose to be holy
- and God will hear and act on this
What do I mean by this…because nothing is as simple as that, is it?
The word holiness… ‘sanctified’ means literally ‘set apart’. Separate. - - Not in a boring sense (like the person who sits in the corner at a party),
- but in the sense of the person who is on the dance floor having fun- but STILL their mind is on Jesus! They are set apart for HIM
they are His and consecrated to Him like the Holy items in the OT
EX 28:31 "Make the robe of the ephod entirely of blue cloth, 3. 35 Aaron must wear it when he ministers. The sound of the bells will be heard when he enters the Holy Place before the LORD and when he comes out, so that he will not die.
EX 28:36 "Make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it as on a seal: HOLY TO THE LORD
There’s other things that have ‘holy to the Lord on them’
- including the whole nation of Israel… in God’s hopes
DT 26:. 18 And the LORD has declared this day that you are his people, his treasured possession as he promised, and that you are to keep all his commands. 19 He has declared that he will set you in praise, fame and honor high above all the nations he has made and that you will be a people holy to the LORD your God, as he promised.
- including US!
1PE 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
And this means ‘set apart’. Distinct. Consecrated
-it’s a choice we can make. I choose to set myself apart for you, Lord. For your purposes… for holy purposes
This is what the HS NEEDS to start the process. He needs consecration
5) A Cooperation
That’s our part… our start…
And then we co-operate with the HS as He breeds Holiness… feeds on the Holiness that is growing in us
PHP 2:12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed--not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence--continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
As He gently convicts us ‘that’s wrong’
- that conversation, action, thought. The smallest thing
o Hebrews passage after this mentions anger, sexual immorality, godlessness
o Ephesians 5 puts it this way:
o EPH 5:3 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. 4 Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.
o EPH 5:8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10 and find out what pleases the Lord. 11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret.
o EPH 5:15 Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. 18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. 19 Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
As we get closer to Him, we will get more sensitive to the things that please/displease Him.
- He will FEED on our holiness and BREED more holiness in us.
- - and so the steps closer to Him turn into a SPIRAL of increasing intimacy with Him… and ‘seeing the Lord’
You know- occasionally in our lives and churches- the temperature goes up, and God comes to visit in a special way.
- He comes to change our hearts… give us new hearts… show us Himself, intimately
But I want to say- God doesn’t just want to come to VISIT- he wants to come to STAY. To DWELL with His people… if we will only let Him
- and ‘holiness’ is a big part of the ‘letting Him’
Let us move from
- visitation TO
- co- operation TO
- HABITATION
