Core Values: Character / Hebrews 12:9-16 (NIV)
9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live!
10 Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.
11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
12 Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees.
13 "Make level paths for your feet," so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.
14 Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.
15 See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.
16 See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son.
1. Introduction
a. As I preach about such a core value, I am uncomfortable & humble. Of all the subjects I ever preach on, personal holiness is a struggle for me.
b. I can preach on God’s grace and mercy, because I’ve so needed and have received it. I can preach about God’s awesome power, because I’ve seen it and know it is real. But when it comes to personal holiness, I feel so unworthy to talk about it, so far from ever grasping it, so in need of having it.
c. As I contemplated this message this week, I thought about holiness and character. I thought, if you think you have it, feel good about where you are in striving toward it, you don’t understand it.
d. Think about the mighty prophet Isaiah. He had preached for 18 years, he had written 5 chapters of the Word of God. Then, in the year Uzziah died, he saw the Lord. He saw God high & lifted up, and His glory filled the temple.
i. He saw the house filled with smoke, the doorposts shaking, and the seraphim & cherubim crying.
ii. He heard the heavenly declaration over and over "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord."
iii. Isaiah realized the holiness of God and began to groan,
iv. "Woe is me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."
e. When you began to glimpse the holiness of God, you can never feel holy.
i. I don’t understand "holiness" Christians who feel like they have "out-holied" others and are at a place where they can sit in judgment of someone.
f. I feel like Paul who said "in my flesh is no good thing."
i. I have to be honest with you this morning, apart from the grace of God, there is nothing I’m above.
ii. If God were to remove His grace for a moment, I’d fall into who knows what.
g. So as I preach to you on personal holiness, character, and integrity, I don’t do it as someone who has arrived pointing to you the way.
i. I expound this core value with reverent fear, praying like Paul "I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize."
h. Illustration – Crooked Button
i. Have you ever walked around all day where you got up in the morning and you didn’t get your shirt buttoned right? You look all crooked & stupid, and nobody will tell you. All it takes to get messed up is to have your top button lined up with the button hole under it.
ii. Maybe you weren’t paying that close attention when you did it, it’s an easy mistake to make, and easy for you to miss -- though everybody else sees it. Well, all you got to do to fix it is get the top button right and all the others fall in place.
iii. I think holiness is the same way. If you get Grace right, it all falls into place. You must depend on and draw from God’s grace to get everything else in your life lined up right.
i. So I fearfully declare to you what God’s word commands "without holiness no one will see the Lord."
i. So based on our dependence on God’s grace, the restraining power of the Holy Spirit, and the principles for wise living found in Scripture, there are elements of our core value of character we’re going to expound today.
ii. First, our commitment to character and integrity is based in the commands of Scripture and is only possible by the help of the Holy Spirit.
1. God’s Word demands we be holy
a. On our own we cannot be holy
b. The failure of the law is that it did not change our depraved sinful nature
c. Knowing the commands is not enough to be holy, it is actually keeping the commands
d. God’s commands for holiness don’t just deal with outward actions, they deal with matters of the heart
e. You can look holy and act holy, but that is not enough -- you must be holy
i. Holy in thought -- "Think on these things"
ii. Holy in desire -- "Delight yourself in the Lord"
iii. Holy in attitude -- "Love your neighbor as yourself"
iv. Holy in ambition -- "Do not covet"
f. It would be much easier for me to reduce the holiness of God to a list of do’s & don’ts, but me to be holy, I must take on God’s loving, pure, good, righteous, kind, selfless, helpful, patient nature
2. Holiness comes as we surrender every piece of our heart, mind, soul, and life to the Holy Spirit
a. God is always asking you to give to Him
b. Take the Ishmaels of past sins and cut those remnants of the old you loose
i. It is painful to let go of who you have been
ii. Let the dead bury the dead, come & follow me
c. Take the Isaacs of spiritual success and lay them upon the altar of worship & sacrifice
i. I will not give to God that which costs me nothing
ii. The branch that bears fruit, I cut it back that it might bear much fruit
d. The Holy Spirit is expanding His empire in your heart, mind, soul & life
i. He wants to dominate your attitudes
ii. He wants to rule your thoughts
iii. He wants to vanquish your work
iv. He wants to conquer your family
v. He wants to be Lord of ALL
e. The more you surrender to Him, the more areas you see that need to be submitted
f. The more you surrender to Him, the more you become holy
i. Like the Borg, you will be assimilated, resistance is futile
3. With that understanding of holiness, let see exactly how it is woven into the DNA of New Mercy
a. We believe that integrity is more important than talent
i. Your commitment is more important than your ability
ii. It is not enough to be gifted & wing it, you must be committed to His purpose & His Glory
iii. Humility & a servant’s heart should exude from every kingdom worker
iv. This does not mean talent is unimportant -- you must function where you’re gifted
b. Every believer must demonstrate full commitment to Christ and His Kingdom
i. Get in and quit playing church -- Gifts, Grace, Growth, Groups, Giving
ii. You must work for the kingdom, that is not optional
iii. You must give in your tithes & offering
iv. You must be involved in personal evangelism
v. You must be involved in LifeGroups
vi. You must be involved in spiritual growth through prayer & bible study
c. We will contend for a life free of willful sin and disobedience
i. It is a struggle, but we must fight the good fight and resist temptation to death
d. Christian character grows out of a personal, daily relationship with Jesus Christ
e. Our leadership and church must submit to a strong accountability system, which includes the elders of the church, and the oversight of the Church of God bishops
i. I need accountability so that I have someone to ask me hard questions to keep me in check
ii. You need this in Life Groups
iii. It is not enough to hear teaching, you need someone in your face asking you about your struggle to pray, study, overcome temptation
iv. I need this and our leadership needs this with the covering of overseers and wise spiritual leaders
4. Conclusion:
a. James refers to God’s Word as a mirror. He says that hearers (as opposed to doers) are like those who go look in the mirror and see their ugliness but don’t do anything about it.
b. This morning, God is holding a mirror up in front of you so you can see the ugly stuff inside of you that He wants to change.
i. That bitterness that you need to release to His forgiveness
ii. That worry that you need to turn over to His patience
iii. That anxiety that you need to submit to His peace
iv. That fear that you need to yield to His faith
v. That lust that you need to surrender to His love
c. Do you feel the Holy Spirit convicting you? Do you sense the need for accountability in your life?
d. Do you sense the need for worship to pervade your life as you sacrifice your Ishmaels & Isaacs to Him?
