God is Holy, 20 June 2021
19 06 21 Filed in: Sermons | Exodus: Journey to Freedom
God is Holy
Series—Exodus: Journey to Freedom
Series Big Idea: The book of Exodus describes God’s gracious liberation of the Jews from slavery to freedom.
Big Idea: God is holy and deserving of our worship…and holiness.
The Bible is filled with amazing stories. They are so remarkable, they’re often referenced by non-Christians such as David and Goliath or even Noah and the ark. One of the most vivid occurs in the third chapter of Exodus, the book we’re studying this month.
Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.” (Exodus 3:1-3)
When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”
And Moses said, “Here I am.” (Exodus 3:4)
“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” (Exodus 3:5)
Holy ground. What is holy ground? How does a piece of wilderness become holy? What does it even mean when we sing, “Holy, Holy, Holy?”
The original Hebrew word here for holy in Exodus 3 is qodesh. It’s used over 400 times and means to be clean, ceremonially or morally. The idea is to appoint, bide, consecrate, dedicate, purify, distinct, set apart.
Growing up, we had everyday dishes and the special ones. Most nights I would see beige Pfaltzgraff plates and common silverware (that probably weren’t even silver!). But when company came over for a special dinner, the white china was used with the fancy silverware from the special silverware box! You might say it was holy, set apart, special.
I probably doubt I have to convince you that God is holy. He’s God! Of course He’s special, purified, set apart. He never sins. He never forget. He never sleeps. He never fails. His love is unlimited. His power is never-ending. His presence is everywhere.
We’re told in 1 Samuel…
“There is no one holy like the LORD; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God. (1 Samuel 2:2)
There are two things I hope to communicate today. First, we need to expand our vision of God.
He is not your homeboy! He’s not your buddy. He’s God! He’s the Creator of the universe. We don’t worship an idol or a statue or a dead person or the sun and moon or the greatest idol…ourselves. No, we worship the holy God, the One unlike any other, the Rock. I’m reminded of the old Broadway Musical, Your Arms Too Short to Box with God!
He is God. You’re not. If we could just understand that simple truth, life would be radically different…and better. We say, “Jesus take the wheel” and then become a backseat driver! We love power. We crave control. We want it our way.
That’s an option! God has given us free will, the ability to make choices. How’s that working out for you? We see all around us evidence that making gods of ourselves is a catastrophe. COVID or not, depression and anxiety have skyrocketed as our churches have emptied. Homelessness and poverty are rampant in what may be the world’s most wealthy country. Incarcerations and injustice are off the charts. Violence in our land makes most nations look peaceful. We’ve rejected God and I don’t believe He’s punishing us so much as we’re simply suffering the consequences of that rejection.
The prophet Isaiah spoke of those who ignore God and do life on their own arrogant terms before saying,
But the LORD Almighty will be exalted by his justice, and the holy God will be proved holy by his righteous acts. (Isaiah 5:16)
I don’t know about you, but I need God! I need His wisdom. I need His love. I need His power. I need His grace. I need His joy and mercy and peace and kindness and…
Some of you don’t need God…until you do! I’m urging you, surrender to God! Daddy knows best! He can be trusted. Listen to these words from Psalm 99…
Psalms 99:1 The LORD reigns,
let the nations tremble;
he sits enthroned between the cherubim,
let the earth shake.
2 Great is the LORD in Zion;
he is exalted over all the nations.
3 Let them praise your great and awesome name—
he is holy.
4 The King is mighty, he loves justice—
you have established equity;
in Jacob you have done
what is just and right.
5 Exalt the LORD our God
and worship at his footstool;
he is holy.
6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
Samuel was among those who called on his name;
they called on the LORD
and he answered them.
7 He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud;
they kept his statutes and the decrees he gave them.
8 LORD our God,
you answered them;
you were to Israel a forgiving God,
though you punished their misdeeds.
9 Exalt the LORD our God
and worship at his holy mountain,
for the LORD our God is holy.
This is not news to most of you, but we need to be reminded of Who it is that we are talking about, talking to, talking with, worshipping. We don’t sing on Sundays because we’re some glee club! A holy God deserves a response.
Last week the president met with Queen Elizabeth. He didn’t show up wearing flip flops and a graphic tee! Even though he is the leader of our nation, he recognized he was in the presence of royalty. He dressed, spoke, and behaved accordingly.
I’m not suggesting that God demands a dress code, but He is worthy of our respect, our attention, our worship. Our English word worship comes from the (Anglo Saxon) word worth-ship (or Old English woerthship), to ascribe worth to something. God deserves our praise, our allegiance, our time, our talents, our treasures, and our devotion.
Do you worship God? I don’t mean do you attend a weekly worship gathering on Sunday morning. I mean does your life reflect God is worthy of your whole self? Although the numbers seem to be declining, most people in our country would say they believe in God, but that’s not what I’m talking about here. The Bible says even demons believe in God (James 2:19)! They used to work for Him! A holy God is worthy of our worship, 24/7/365.
I think most people are simply too busy for God, obsessed with acceptance, significance, and security from everyplace except the true source, our Holy God. They’ll run to God when they’re in crisis, but otherwise they want to be in control and feel they don’t need God. Even in crisis, they treat God as a cosmic Santa Clause. Tragically, so many turn away from God when they don’t get their way, when trials come, when life gets hard…as if God owes us anything.
I don’t want what I deserve from God! My sin, rebellion, selfishness, and pride make me intolerable to a holy God. I deserve eternal punishment for my unholy behavior.
But that’s where Jesus comes in! Jesus did live a perfect life and died in our place. That’s love. That’s grace. That’s something we could never deserve. It’s also why we love and worship Jesus. God could’ve been satisfied with watching us die in our sins, but out of His love and mercy He sent Jesus to show us what it means to be human, to die, and to rise from the dead.
We need to expand our vision of God. We need to get Him out of the box, restore the mystery, and be captivated by our Good, Good Father. One of the ways we can do that is simply to read and study the Bible. I must confess I often get to comfortable and complacent with God. I get disappointed when He doesn’t do what I want, when I want. Then I feel justified in ignoring Him…or worse.
God created us in His image…and we’ve returned the favor!
The last book of the Bible offers some brilliant images that the best CGI in Hollywood could never begin to adequately capture. One of my favorite verses says,
Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying:
“ ‘Holy, holy, holy
is the Lord God Almighty,’
who was, and is, and is to come.” (Revelation 4:8)
There is so much to that verse I can hardly imagine! What I know is God is awesome—Father, Jesus, and Holy Spirit. Supernatural creatures declare this day and night and never stop! You think our songs are repetitious!!!
That’s not the first time this refrain is mentioned in the Bible. Isaiah the prophet tells this story…
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another:
“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory.” (Isaiah 6:1-3)
That’s quite a sight, right? Isaiah saw it. But that’s not all.
At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. (Isaiah 6:4)
This was a multi-sensory extravaganza! Not even Disney World can create experiences like this! Here’s how Isaiah responded…
“Woe to me!” I cried. “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.” (Isaiah 6:5)
The Hebrew word here in Isaiah for holy is slightly different than the first word I mentioned, qodesh. That meant distinct or set apart. The word in this verse, used 118 times, is qadosh. It means sacred, morally separate, pure, or unstained. God’s perfection sets him apart. That’s why Isaiah said he was ruined. It wasn’t just that God was set apart, He is perfectly pure.
That’s a proper response. In the presence of a holy God, we are all ruined. We are all unclean. We’re unworthy to even speak to the Almighty, much less have a relationship with Him.
Again, that’s where Jesus comes in. He’s the path to the Father. His sacrifice grants us access. Hallelujah! We don’t worship a book. We’re not about religion. We’re not here for guilt and shame. We’re all about a Person…Jesus!
So What?
God is holy, yet He calls us to be holy. God told Moses,
“Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.” (Leviticus 19:2)
We’ve already said we’re not perfect, so how can we be holy? Just as we need to expand our vision of God, we need to examine our vision of ourselves.
We’re not perfect.
We don’t have all of the answers.
We have limited knowledge, even with Google!
We have not only weak bodies susceptible to viruses, we have weak minds.
We need God.
We need Jesus.
We are called to be holy, to be set apart, to be different…but also pure.
It’s no secret that Christianity is on the decline in the western world—though it’s growing in the developing world. The problem is not that the world is being the world, but rather that the Church is not being the Church. More precisely, the Church is being too much like the world. We’re not different. We’re not set apart. We’re not offering an alternative lifestyle to the broken, greedy, narcissistic, individualistic, consumeristic culture in which we live. If we live like everyone else and pretend to be holy for an hour on Sunday, we might as well just skip the Sunday charade and eat, drink and be merry…and suffer the consequences.
Family, we are called by God to be holy, to be set apart, to be pure. You and I were created by God to be masterpieces (Ephesians 2:10), special, sacred…not the everyday stuff, but the good stuff! His seeking holiness in us is not because He simply has rules He wants us to follow. It’s because all sin ends in destruction and pain.
I know there are some strange laws in our land, but God’s laws are all for our good and His glory. He is the definition of love and, therefore, has our best interest at heart. He’s calling us to a higher standard then the mediocrity of the world. That means we are to put away our idols, our pride, our selfishness, sexual immorality, prejudice, hatred, and greed. He doesn’t want us to live like everyone else because He knows what’s best for us. Like a good Father, He doesn’t want us to ruin our lives…yet He gives us the freedom to make—and hopefully learn from—our mistakes.
In a world that says truth is whatever you feel, God calls us to something objective, to something greater, to something real…holiness. Righteousness. A life devoted to His glory, not our own.
God is holy. He is set apart. He is pure. He is sacred. Any He invites us to follow Him, to do life with Him, to worship Him, to love Him and others well, and to experience what it truly means to be human…to be holy.
God declared the wilderness in which Moses was standing holy ground. This is holy ground, too, for the LORD is here and where He is is holy.
We close today with a song that declares God’s holiness, but remember worship is more than a song. It’s a lifestyle that reflect God’s holiness to Him and the watching world…not for our glory, but His. Worship and obedience are the natural response to a Holy God who invites us to be His sons and daughters.
You can listen to this message and others at the First Alliance Church podcast here.
You can watch this video and others at the First Alliance Church Video Library here.
Series—Exodus: Journey to Freedom
Series Big Idea: The book of Exodus describes God’s gracious liberation of the Jews from slavery to freedom.
Big Idea: God is holy and deserving of our worship…and holiness.
The Bible is filled with amazing stories. They are so remarkable, they’re often referenced by non-Christians such as David and Goliath or even Noah and the ark. One of the most vivid occurs in the third chapter of Exodus, the book we’re studying this month.
Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.” (Exodus 3:1-3)
When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”
And Moses said, “Here I am.” (Exodus 3:4)
“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” (Exodus 3:5)
Holy ground. What is holy ground? How does a piece of wilderness become holy? What does it even mean when we sing, “Holy, Holy, Holy?”
The original Hebrew word here for holy in Exodus 3 is qodesh. It’s used over 400 times and means to be clean, ceremonially or morally. The idea is to appoint, bide, consecrate, dedicate, purify, distinct, set apart.
Growing up, we had everyday dishes and the special ones. Most nights I would see beige Pfaltzgraff plates and common silverware (that probably weren’t even silver!). But when company came over for a special dinner, the white china was used with the fancy silverware from the special silverware box! You might say it was holy, set apart, special.
I probably doubt I have to convince you that God is holy. He’s God! Of course He’s special, purified, set apart. He never sins. He never forget. He never sleeps. He never fails. His love is unlimited. His power is never-ending. His presence is everywhere.
We’re told in 1 Samuel…
“There is no one holy like the LORD; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God. (1 Samuel 2:2)
There are two things I hope to communicate today. First, we need to expand our vision of God.
He is not your homeboy! He’s not your buddy. He’s God! He’s the Creator of the universe. We don’t worship an idol or a statue or a dead person or the sun and moon or the greatest idol…ourselves. No, we worship the holy God, the One unlike any other, the Rock. I’m reminded of the old Broadway Musical, Your Arms Too Short to Box with God!
He is God. You’re not. If we could just understand that simple truth, life would be radically different…and better. We say, “Jesus take the wheel” and then become a backseat driver! We love power. We crave control. We want it our way.
That’s an option! God has given us free will, the ability to make choices. How’s that working out for you? We see all around us evidence that making gods of ourselves is a catastrophe. COVID or not, depression and anxiety have skyrocketed as our churches have emptied. Homelessness and poverty are rampant in what may be the world’s most wealthy country. Incarcerations and injustice are off the charts. Violence in our land makes most nations look peaceful. We’ve rejected God and I don’t believe He’s punishing us so much as we’re simply suffering the consequences of that rejection.
The prophet Isaiah spoke of those who ignore God and do life on their own arrogant terms before saying,
But the LORD Almighty will be exalted by his justice, and the holy God will be proved holy by his righteous acts. (Isaiah 5:16)
I don’t know about you, but I need God! I need His wisdom. I need His love. I need His power. I need His grace. I need His joy and mercy and peace and kindness and…
Some of you don’t need God…until you do! I’m urging you, surrender to God! Daddy knows best! He can be trusted. Listen to these words from Psalm 99…
Psalms 99:1 The LORD reigns,
let the nations tremble;
he sits enthroned between the cherubim,
let the earth shake.
2 Great is the LORD in Zion;
he is exalted over all the nations.
3 Let them praise your great and awesome name—
he is holy.
4 The King is mighty, he loves justice—
you have established equity;
in Jacob you have done
what is just and right.
5 Exalt the LORD our God
and worship at his footstool;
he is holy.
6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
Samuel was among those who called on his name;
they called on the LORD
and he answered them.
7 He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud;
they kept his statutes and the decrees he gave them.
8 LORD our God,
you answered them;
you were to Israel a forgiving God,
though you punished their misdeeds.
9 Exalt the LORD our God
and worship at his holy mountain,
for the LORD our God is holy.
This is not news to most of you, but we need to be reminded of Who it is that we are talking about, talking to, talking with, worshipping. We don’t sing on Sundays because we’re some glee club! A holy God deserves a response.
Last week the president met with Queen Elizabeth. He didn’t show up wearing flip flops and a graphic tee! Even though he is the leader of our nation, he recognized he was in the presence of royalty. He dressed, spoke, and behaved accordingly.
I’m not suggesting that God demands a dress code, but He is worthy of our respect, our attention, our worship. Our English word worship comes from the (Anglo Saxon) word worth-ship (or Old English woerthship), to ascribe worth to something. God deserves our praise, our allegiance, our time, our talents, our treasures, and our devotion.
Do you worship God? I don’t mean do you attend a weekly worship gathering on Sunday morning. I mean does your life reflect God is worthy of your whole self? Although the numbers seem to be declining, most people in our country would say they believe in God, but that’s not what I’m talking about here. The Bible says even demons believe in God (James 2:19)! They used to work for Him! A holy God is worthy of our worship, 24/7/365.
I think most people are simply too busy for God, obsessed with acceptance, significance, and security from everyplace except the true source, our Holy God. They’ll run to God when they’re in crisis, but otherwise they want to be in control and feel they don’t need God. Even in crisis, they treat God as a cosmic Santa Clause. Tragically, so many turn away from God when they don’t get their way, when trials come, when life gets hard…as if God owes us anything.
I don’t want what I deserve from God! My sin, rebellion, selfishness, and pride make me intolerable to a holy God. I deserve eternal punishment for my unholy behavior.
But that’s where Jesus comes in! Jesus did live a perfect life and died in our place. That’s love. That’s grace. That’s something we could never deserve. It’s also why we love and worship Jesus. God could’ve been satisfied with watching us die in our sins, but out of His love and mercy He sent Jesus to show us what it means to be human, to die, and to rise from the dead.
We need to expand our vision of God. We need to get Him out of the box, restore the mystery, and be captivated by our Good, Good Father. One of the ways we can do that is simply to read and study the Bible. I must confess I often get to comfortable and complacent with God. I get disappointed when He doesn’t do what I want, when I want. Then I feel justified in ignoring Him…or worse.
God created us in His image…and we’ve returned the favor!
The last book of the Bible offers some brilliant images that the best CGI in Hollywood could never begin to adequately capture. One of my favorite verses says,
Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying:
“ ‘Holy, holy, holy
is the Lord God Almighty,’
who was, and is, and is to come.” (Revelation 4:8)
There is so much to that verse I can hardly imagine! What I know is God is awesome—Father, Jesus, and Holy Spirit. Supernatural creatures declare this day and night and never stop! You think our songs are repetitious!!!
That’s not the first time this refrain is mentioned in the Bible. Isaiah the prophet tells this story…
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another:
“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory.” (Isaiah 6:1-3)
That’s quite a sight, right? Isaiah saw it. But that’s not all.
At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. (Isaiah 6:4)
This was a multi-sensory extravaganza! Not even Disney World can create experiences like this! Here’s how Isaiah responded…
“Woe to me!” I cried. “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.” (Isaiah 6:5)
The Hebrew word here in Isaiah for holy is slightly different than the first word I mentioned, qodesh. That meant distinct or set apart. The word in this verse, used 118 times, is qadosh. It means sacred, morally separate, pure, or unstained. God’s perfection sets him apart. That’s why Isaiah said he was ruined. It wasn’t just that God was set apart, He is perfectly pure.
That’s a proper response. In the presence of a holy God, we are all ruined. We are all unclean. We’re unworthy to even speak to the Almighty, much less have a relationship with Him.
Again, that’s where Jesus comes in. He’s the path to the Father. His sacrifice grants us access. Hallelujah! We don’t worship a book. We’re not about religion. We’re not here for guilt and shame. We’re all about a Person…Jesus!
So What?
God is holy, yet He calls us to be holy. God told Moses,
“Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.” (Leviticus 19:2)
We’ve already said we’re not perfect, so how can we be holy? Just as we need to expand our vision of God, we need to examine our vision of ourselves.
We’re not perfect.
We don’t have all of the answers.
We have limited knowledge, even with Google!
We have not only weak bodies susceptible to viruses, we have weak minds.
We need God.
We need Jesus.
We are called to be holy, to be set apart, to be different…but also pure.
It’s no secret that Christianity is on the decline in the western world—though it’s growing in the developing world. The problem is not that the world is being the world, but rather that the Church is not being the Church. More precisely, the Church is being too much like the world. We’re not different. We’re not set apart. We’re not offering an alternative lifestyle to the broken, greedy, narcissistic, individualistic, consumeristic culture in which we live. If we live like everyone else and pretend to be holy for an hour on Sunday, we might as well just skip the Sunday charade and eat, drink and be merry…and suffer the consequences.
Family, we are called by God to be holy, to be set apart, to be pure. You and I were created by God to be masterpieces (Ephesians 2:10), special, sacred…not the everyday stuff, but the good stuff! His seeking holiness in us is not because He simply has rules He wants us to follow. It’s because all sin ends in destruction and pain.
I know there are some strange laws in our land, but God’s laws are all for our good and His glory. He is the definition of love and, therefore, has our best interest at heart. He’s calling us to a higher standard then the mediocrity of the world. That means we are to put away our idols, our pride, our selfishness, sexual immorality, prejudice, hatred, and greed. He doesn’t want us to live like everyone else because He knows what’s best for us. Like a good Father, He doesn’t want us to ruin our lives…yet He gives us the freedom to make—and hopefully learn from—our mistakes.
In a world that says truth is whatever you feel, God calls us to something objective, to something greater, to something real…holiness. Righteousness. A life devoted to His glory, not our own.
God is holy. He is set apart. He is pure. He is sacred. Any He invites us to follow Him, to do life with Him, to worship Him, to love Him and others well, and to experience what it truly means to be human…to be holy.
God declared the wilderness in which Moses was standing holy ground. This is holy ground, too, for the LORD is here and where He is is holy.
We close today with a song that declares God’s holiness, but remember worship is more than a song. It’s a lifestyle that reflect God’s holiness to Him and the watching world…not for our glory, but His. Worship and obedience are the natural response to a Holy God who invites us to be His sons and daughters.
You can listen to this message and others at the First Alliance Church podcast here.
You can watch this video and others at the First Alliance Church Video Library here.