Holiness
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.
Repentance, 10 January 2021
10 01 21 Filed in: Sermons | 40 Days of Prayer
Repentance
Series—40 Days of Prayer with The Alliance
Revelation 1-3
Series Big Idea: We are beginning—and spending—the year on our knees seeking God’s direction, protection, passion, and unity.
Big Idea: “Be holy, for I am holy.” Repentance can help us turn toward holiness.
I’m so grateful to the leaders of the Christian & Missionary Alliance to call us to 40 Days of Prayer to begin 2021. Last year was a challenging year for all of us, and the events of Wednesday in our nation’s capital proved the new year did not magically fix everything. We are broken people desperately in need of a Savior. Some thought our president was that savior. Others have given their allegiance to the next one. The hopes of herd immunity to rid the world of COVID-19 are everywhere. If we can just get those $2000 checks, eliminate racism, stop global warming, develop a source of accurate news, beat Alabama tomorrow night…!!!
Ever since Adam and Eve ate from the fruit in the Garden of Eden, our world has been plagued by sin. We are plagued by sin. It’s easy to point fingers at people on TV, but as the song says, “let there be peace on earth and let it begin with…me.” I can’t control the outcome of elections, the behavior of blasphemers, the attitude of adulterers, the liars, the haters, the murderers, the…
It begins with me. It begins with you. It begins with us…on our knees.
Last Sunday we began our series talking about God’s holiness. Alliance pastor A.W. Tozer said,
God's holiness is not simply the best we know infinitely bettered. We know nothing like the divine holiness. It stands apart, unique, unapproachable, incomprehensible and unattainable. The natural man is blind to it. He may fear God's power and admire His wisdom, but His holiness he cannot even imagine.
The Tozer Devotional adds…
Until we have seen ourselves as God sees us, we are not likely to be much disturbed over conditions around us as long as they do not get so far out of hand as to threaten our comfortable way of life.
We underestimate God’s power and holiness while overestimating our goodness. He is God…and we are not. We don’t deserve to even gain an audience with Him, yet He loves us, proved it, and invites into an eternal relationship with Him. Jesus models for us what it truly means to be human—and holy.
Do you want to be like Jesus? That’s essentially the definition of discipleship—becoming like Christ.
We know that’s his desire for us, which is why I get so frustrated when my life—or the lives of others who claim to follow Christ—doesn’t look like Jesus.
As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:14-16)
Are you holy? It’s sort of a trick question. On the one hand, we are made holy because of the cross. Hebrews tells us about God’s will.
And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. (Hebrews 10:10)
We are set apart. We are purified, consecrated, set apart, sanctified.
But on the other hand we’re not perfect. We sin, fail, rebel, and disobey. Our lives do not always look like Jesus. He is our example, our teacher, our model, our hero. Just because we don’t get it right every time doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try. Dallas Willard said, “Grace is not opposed to effort, it is opposed to earning.”
God says, “Be holy, for I am holy.” How do we do that? Repentance is required. Repentance is another one of those religious words we don’t often here in the broader culture and it’s often confused with confession.
Confession is a statement. Repentance requires action.
Confession is admitting wrongdoing. It might involve remorse and an apology, but at its most basic level, confession is saying, “I did it.”
Repentance is something we do. It’s a verb. Eugene Peterson wrote,
You don’t repent by taking a deep breath and then feel better. You only repent when you turn around and go back or toward God. It doesn’t make any difference how you feel. You can have the feeling, or you don’t have to have the feeling. What’s essential is that you do something. The call to repentance is not a call to feel the remorse of your sins. It’s a call to turn around so that God can do something about them.
Repentance is to do a u-turn, to turn around, to move in a different direction.
I’m grateful for GPS when I drive. Some of us old people remember the days of pulling maps out of the glove box (did anyone ever have room for their gloves in the glove box?) to get directions. We’d fumble around with this huge piece of paper until we could discover our place, our destination, and the path between them.
Now we just tell Siri where to go and she tells us where to go! Occasionally I find myself disobeying her commands! Recently on the expressway I had to make a pit stop at an exit and she wanted to re-route me. Turn around! You’re going the wrong way! Get back on the right road!
Many of us have been moving in the wrong direction…and therefore, we’re not in the right place. We’re not experiencing the abundant life Jesus promised. We’re living with anxiety, fear, regret, or guilt. We’re ashamed of where we’ve gone and we don’t know how to turn around.
I need to stop right here and say that’s where Jesus comes in! That’s why God’s grace is so amazing. Forgiveness is always available. It’s never too late to turn around, to repent, to turn around, to get right with God, to follow Jesus. He said,
“The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15)
The good news—the gospel—is that Jesus is LORD, and he invites us to follow him, to experiencing forgiveness and salvation not because of what we do, but because of what he’s done for us on the cross, proving his love and commitment to us by dying for us, for our sins, and reconciling us to our Holy, Heavenly Father.
But we must repent. We must turn. We must change…not by trying harder, but by surrendering to God and letting the Holy Spirit work in and through us.
Jesus didn’t say confess and believe. He didn’t tell us to say a little prayer and go back to normal life. He said repent—turn, change—and believe. The Greek word, pisteuo, for believe means to commit, to put in trust with, to have faith. Like repentance, it involves action.
Why Repent?
You might be asking yourself why we need to repent. If Jesus paid it all, can’t I take my “get out of hell free” card and do it my way? There are several reasons why repentance is essential. The first chapter of the last book of the Bible—Revelation—reveals several. Jesus’ best friend, John, had a revelation from God. He wrote,
Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near. (Revelation 1:3)
I repent because I am blessed.
I have a friend who has a reputation for giving candy to children at his church. It’s not a creepy thing, but a kind gesture that the area dentists love! He’s a magnet for kids who know that turning toward him will result in a blessing. We’ve been blessed by God and it should be natural to want to be with Him, to follow Him.
Two verses later, John greets his readers with grace and peace…
and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, (Revelation 1:5)
I repent because I am in awe of Jesus’ work on the cross.
After decades of knowing Jesus, I still am in awe of his sacrifice. Last Sunday we celebrated communion together, remembering the cross and the empty tomb. We turn away from sin, repent, and follow Jesus because of all that he has done for us.
The next verse continues by saying that Jesus
and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen. (Revelation 1:6)
I repent because I am a priest.
I don’t mean a pastor. That’s my job title. But Jesus has made all of his followers to be priests, serving God. I don’t even understand completely what that means, but I know I can’t bring him glory if I’ve wandered away from Him…which leads to a fourth reason to repent.
I repent because I am able to walk away from holiness and need a wake-up call. (Revelation 1:11-3:22)
Sin has consequences, both from God and from everyday life. You reap what you sow. No matter how passionate and sincere you may be today, it’s possible to wander tomorrow. This is why sanctification is both an action and a process. Repentance is not once-and-done, but like driving a car, a constant steering of our lives, making adjustments, and sometimes making significant corrections.
Many students of the book of Revelation love to search for meanings in the symbolism and apocalyptic messages of the book, but the first three chapters require little interpretation. Jesus speaks to seven churches in cities you can visit to this day. Here’s a quick summary:
“Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.” (Revelation 2:5)
“Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.” (Revelation 2:16)
“So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.” (Revelation 2:22–23)
So What?
It can be interesting to read the accounts of others and their sins, but what about you? At this moment, do you need to repent? Fill in the blank:
I need to repent from ______________
Maybe it’s idolatry. You’ve given more of your time, talents, treasures, and love to something or someone other than God. It might be a good thing like family or a destructive habit like drugs. Politics has clearly become an idol for many in our day. The church in Ephesus had lost their first love, Jesus. Have you?
Maybe it’s sexual sin like those in Pergamum. Porn, adultery, …any sexual activity that isn’t between a husband and wife. Our culture says it’s no big deal, even celebrating it, but it’s unholy. It’s settling. It’s sin.
Maybe it’s something related to disunity like the Thyatirans. Gossip, slander, criticism, half-truths, judging others, divisiveness.
Maybe it’s a dead faith like the church in Sardis. Maybe it’s not your actions but your inaction that needs to change. When is the last time you really prayed, studied the Bible, shared your faith, gave sacrificially of your time or talents or treasure? You say you believe, but is there evidence…or do you just go through the motions on Sunday morning?
Maybe it’s the self-sufficiency and materialism of the Laodician church. This is especially common among many in our nation who think they don’t need God. We have money, hospitals, cars, the Internet…who has time or need for God? Do you really trust God…or your bank account, career, or power?
Where do you need to repent, to turn, to change? Again, the good news—the great news—is that God offers forgiveness and grace to all of us. Nothing you can do can make God love you more, and nothing you can do can make God love you less.
But until you repent, you won’t be following Jesus. Until you turn away from your sins, you won’t experience true peace. Until you choose to make Jesus LORD and not just Savior, you will never know true intimacy with your Creator and the fruit of the Spirit.
Where do we need to repent as a church? What sin are we tolerating? Where do we exalt wrong teaching or worldly philosophy? Where are we allowing division to creep in? Where have we started to become dead or lukewarm in caring about our community and the world? Where have we become confident in our own wealth and power? Are we even able to suffer?
LORD, Have Mercy
Credits: some ideas taken from Amy Roedding and The Alliance
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—40 Days of Prayer with The Alliance
Revelation 1-3
Series Big Idea: We are beginning—and spending—the year on our knees seeking God’s direction, protection, passion, and unity.
Big Idea: “Be holy, for I am holy.” Repentance can help us turn toward holiness.
I’m so grateful to the leaders of the Christian & Missionary Alliance to call us to 40 Days of Prayer to begin 2021. Last year was a challenging year for all of us, and the events of Wednesday in our nation’s capital proved the new year did not magically fix everything. We are broken people desperately in need of a Savior. Some thought our president was that savior. Others have given their allegiance to the next one. The hopes of herd immunity to rid the world of COVID-19 are everywhere. If we can just get those $2000 checks, eliminate racism, stop global warming, develop a source of accurate news, beat Alabama tomorrow night…!!!
Ever since Adam and Eve ate from the fruit in the Garden of Eden, our world has been plagued by sin. We are plagued by sin. It’s easy to point fingers at people on TV, but as the song says, “let there be peace on earth and let it begin with…me.” I can’t control the outcome of elections, the behavior of blasphemers, the attitude of adulterers, the liars, the haters, the murderers, the…
It begins with me. It begins with you. It begins with us…on our knees.
Last Sunday we began our series talking about God’s holiness. Alliance pastor A.W. Tozer said,
God's holiness is not simply the best we know infinitely bettered. We know nothing like the divine holiness. It stands apart, unique, unapproachable, incomprehensible and unattainable. The natural man is blind to it. He may fear God's power and admire His wisdom, but His holiness he cannot even imagine.
The Tozer Devotional adds…
Until we have seen ourselves as God sees us, we are not likely to be much disturbed over conditions around us as long as they do not get so far out of hand as to threaten our comfortable way of life.
We underestimate God’s power and holiness while overestimating our goodness. He is God…and we are not. We don’t deserve to even gain an audience with Him, yet He loves us, proved it, and invites into an eternal relationship with Him. Jesus models for us what it truly means to be human—and holy.
Do you want to be like Jesus? That’s essentially the definition of discipleship—becoming like Christ.
We know that’s his desire for us, which is why I get so frustrated when my life—or the lives of others who claim to follow Christ—doesn’t look like Jesus.
As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:14-16)
Are you holy? It’s sort of a trick question. On the one hand, we are made holy because of the cross. Hebrews tells us about God’s will.
And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. (Hebrews 10:10)
We are set apart. We are purified, consecrated, set apart, sanctified.
But on the other hand we’re not perfect. We sin, fail, rebel, and disobey. Our lives do not always look like Jesus. He is our example, our teacher, our model, our hero. Just because we don’t get it right every time doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try. Dallas Willard said, “Grace is not opposed to effort, it is opposed to earning.”
God says, “Be holy, for I am holy.” How do we do that? Repentance is required. Repentance is another one of those religious words we don’t often here in the broader culture and it’s often confused with confession.
Confession is a statement. Repentance requires action.
Confession is admitting wrongdoing. It might involve remorse and an apology, but at its most basic level, confession is saying, “I did it.”
Repentance is something we do. It’s a verb. Eugene Peterson wrote,
You don’t repent by taking a deep breath and then feel better. You only repent when you turn around and go back or toward God. It doesn’t make any difference how you feel. You can have the feeling, or you don’t have to have the feeling. What’s essential is that you do something. The call to repentance is not a call to feel the remorse of your sins. It’s a call to turn around so that God can do something about them.
Repentance is to do a u-turn, to turn around, to move in a different direction.
I’m grateful for GPS when I drive. Some of us old people remember the days of pulling maps out of the glove box (did anyone ever have room for their gloves in the glove box?) to get directions. We’d fumble around with this huge piece of paper until we could discover our place, our destination, and the path between them.
Now we just tell Siri where to go and she tells us where to go! Occasionally I find myself disobeying her commands! Recently on the expressway I had to make a pit stop at an exit and she wanted to re-route me. Turn around! You’re going the wrong way! Get back on the right road!
Many of us have been moving in the wrong direction…and therefore, we’re not in the right place. We’re not experiencing the abundant life Jesus promised. We’re living with anxiety, fear, regret, or guilt. We’re ashamed of where we’ve gone and we don’t know how to turn around.
I need to stop right here and say that’s where Jesus comes in! That’s why God’s grace is so amazing. Forgiveness is always available. It’s never too late to turn around, to repent, to turn around, to get right with God, to follow Jesus. He said,
“The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15)
The good news—the gospel—is that Jesus is LORD, and he invites us to follow him, to experiencing forgiveness and salvation not because of what we do, but because of what he’s done for us on the cross, proving his love and commitment to us by dying for us, for our sins, and reconciling us to our Holy, Heavenly Father.
But we must repent. We must turn. We must change…not by trying harder, but by surrendering to God and letting the Holy Spirit work in and through us.
Jesus didn’t say confess and believe. He didn’t tell us to say a little prayer and go back to normal life. He said repent—turn, change—and believe. The Greek word, pisteuo, for believe means to commit, to put in trust with, to have faith. Like repentance, it involves action.
Why Repent?
You might be asking yourself why we need to repent. If Jesus paid it all, can’t I take my “get out of hell free” card and do it my way? There are several reasons why repentance is essential. The first chapter of the last book of the Bible—Revelation—reveals several. Jesus’ best friend, John, had a revelation from God. He wrote,
Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near. (Revelation 1:3)
I repent because I am blessed.
I have a friend who has a reputation for giving candy to children at his church. It’s not a creepy thing, but a kind gesture that the area dentists love! He’s a magnet for kids who know that turning toward him will result in a blessing. We’ve been blessed by God and it should be natural to want to be with Him, to follow Him.
Two verses later, John greets his readers with grace and peace…
and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, (Revelation 1:5)
I repent because I am in awe of Jesus’ work on the cross.
After decades of knowing Jesus, I still am in awe of his sacrifice. Last Sunday we celebrated communion together, remembering the cross and the empty tomb. We turn away from sin, repent, and follow Jesus because of all that he has done for us.
The next verse continues by saying that Jesus
and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen. (Revelation 1:6)
I repent because I am a priest.
I don’t mean a pastor. That’s my job title. But Jesus has made all of his followers to be priests, serving God. I don’t even understand completely what that means, but I know I can’t bring him glory if I’ve wandered away from Him…which leads to a fourth reason to repent.
I repent because I am able to walk away from holiness and need a wake-up call. (Revelation 1:11-3:22)
Sin has consequences, both from God and from everyday life. You reap what you sow. No matter how passionate and sincere you may be today, it’s possible to wander tomorrow. This is why sanctification is both an action and a process. Repentance is not once-and-done, but like driving a car, a constant steering of our lives, making adjustments, and sometimes making significant corrections.
Many students of the book of Revelation love to search for meanings in the symbolism and apocalyptic messages of the book, but the first three chapters require little interpretation. Jesus speaks to seven churches in cities you can visit to this day. Here’s a quick summary:
- 1. Ephesus: Repent from Idolatry
“Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.” (Revelation 2:5)
- 2. Smyrna: No repentance warning; suffering produces holiness
- 3. Pergamum: Repent from tolerating false teaching and sexual sin
“Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.” (Revelation 2:16)
- 4. Thyatira: Repent from tolerating sexual immorality and idolatry taught by false prophetess, causing disunity
“So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.” (Revelation 2:22–23)
- 5. Sardis: Repent from dead faith and lack of deeds
- 6. Philadelphia: No repentance warning; suffering produces holiness
- 7. Laodicia: Repent from self-sufficiency, materialism, and lukewarm faith
So What?
It can be interesting to read the accounts of others and their sins, but what about you? At this moment, do you need to repent? Fill in the blank:
I need to repent from ______________
Maybe it’s idolatry. You’ve given more of your time, talents, treasures, and love to something or someone other than God. It might be a good thing like family or a destructive habit like drugs. Politics has clearly become an idol for many in our day. The church in Ephesus had lost their first love, Jesus. Have you?
Maybe it’s sexual sin like those in Pergamum. Porn, adultery, …any sexual activity that isn’t between a husband and wife. Our culture says it’s no big deal, even celebrating it, but it’s unholy. It’s settling. It’s sin.
Maybe it’s something related to disunity like the Thyatirans. Gossip, slander, criticism, half-truths, judging others, divisiveness.
Maybe it’s a dead faith like the church in Sardis. Maybe it’s not your actions but your inaction that needs to change. When is the last time you really prayed, studied the Bible, shared your faith, gave sacrificially of your time or talents or treasure? You say you believe, but is there evidence…or do you just go through the motions on Sunday morning?
Maybe it’s the self-sufficiency and materialism of the Laodician church. This is especially common among many in our nation who think they don’t need God. We have money, hospitals, cars, the Internet…who has time or need for God? Do you really trust God…or your bank account, career, or power?
Where do you need to repent, to turn, to change? Again, the good news—the great news—is that God offers forgiveness and grace to all of us. Nothing you can do can make God love you more, and nothing you can do can make God love you less.
But until you repent, you won’t be following Jesus. Until you turn away from your sins, you won’t experience true peace. Until you choose to make Jesus LORD and not just Savior, you will never know true intimacy with your Creator and the fruit of the Spirit.
Where do we need to repent as a church? What sin are we tolerating? Where do we exalt wrong teaching or worldly philosophy? Where are we allowing division to creep in? Where have we started to become dead or lukewarm in caring about our community and the world? Where have we become confident in our own wealth and power? Are we even able to suffer?
LORD, Have Mercy
Credits: some ideas taken from Amy Roedding and The Alliance
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.
The Holiness of God, 3 January 2021
03 01 21 Filed in: Sermons | 40 Days of Prayer
The Holiness of God
Series—40 Days of Prayer with The Alliance
Isaiah 6:1-8
Series Big Idea: We are beginning—and spending—the year on our knees seeking God’s direction, protection, passion, and unity.
Big Idea: God’s holiness will lead us to worship…with our head, heart, and hands.
Happy New Year! Aren’t you glad to get rid of 2020? Actually, if you joined us for our virtual New Year’s Eve celebration, you’ll know that God was faithful in 2020 despite all of the chaos…and I promise you, He will be faithful in 2021!
Today we’re beginning not only a sermon series but a forty-day campaign with the Christian & Missionary Alliance…40 Days of Prayer.
I can’t imagine a better way to start a new year than on our knees. Our world is in transition with the pandemic, our nation is in transition in Washington DC, our church is in transition with new staff members, …we need God! I continue to pray that God would bring us—all of us—Christians and non-Christians—to our knees, seeking first His Kingdom, His will, His righteousness.
Today’s theme is holiness, and few things will bring you to your knees like experiencing the awe and wonder of God’s holiness.
What come to mind when you hear the word holiness?
The original Hebrew word for holy is qadosh. It means ceremonially or morally sacred. It is set apart. Wayne Grudem defines holiness as “the doctrine that God is separated from sin and devoted to seeking his own glory.” Holy is consecrated, hallowed, sanctified, venerated, revered.
The prophet Isaiah had an incredible experience he records in chapter six.
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. (Isaiah 6:1)
How do you imagine God? I’m quite sure Isaiah wasn’t able to see God’s face. God told Moses,
But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.” (Exodus 33:20)
Isaiah was able to see God’s glory, His throne. It must’ve been an awesome sight, yet there’s more.
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. (Isaiah 6:2)
The word “seraphim” means “fiery ones” to indicate their burning love. The appear to have been human with the addition of wings, which might be why angels are often depicted with wings. Isaiah’s eyes must’ve been overwhelmed. But this was more than a visual experience.
And they were calling to one another:
“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” (Isaiah 6:3)
The repetition may very well be a reference to the Trinity, one God in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. (Isaiah 6:4)
This was a scene unlike any New Year’s Eve spectacular! I wish he had a video camera! This was no theatrical production, though. It’s just God. He is holy.
Holiness is displayed by God’s power.
There is no one like our God! He is holy, set apart, without equal, supreme. He is free from sin and Master of all. The seraphim declared it, and last book of the Bible tell us the refrain continues.
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)
This is God stuff. We can’t fully comprehend it. It will require our resurrected bodies to be able to contain it. This is our God.
Holiness is displayed by God’s personification.
God is a Person. Isaiah doesn’t describe God as a force or spirit. He mentions God is seated on a throne dressed in a robe. He is above all, high and lifted up.
Holiness is displayed in God’s praise.
Only God is worthy of continuous worship and adoration, both by humans and other creatures such as the seraphim. This text is truly awe-inspiring. There’s more to the story, but first I want to stop and focus on these words: holy, holy, holy.
Isaiah has this incredible encounter with the Almighty. It engaged all of his senses except, possibly, taste. He saw, felt, smelled, and heard God and His glory, leading him to say,
“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)
When you’re in the presence of greatness, it’s humbling.
When I was a young boy, my dad took me to a Detroit Pistons game on church night. After the game, there was a special event featuring the spiritual testimonies of some of the players. Somehow I noticed an empty seat in the audience next to 6’ 10” Kent Benson and I asked my dad if I could fill it. After gaining his approval, I sat next to this gigantic NBA star and could hardly contain my excitement. At one point we were asked to stand and I remember straining my neck just to see his head! I was humbled in the presence of greatness.
The greatness of God is infinitely greater than any athlete. Isaiah recognized not only his physical weakness, but his sinfulness in the presence of our holy God. The New Living Translation describes him saying,
Then I said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.” (Isaiah 6:5, NLT)
That’s a proper response to the LORD…and to our own sin. We are doomed. We are wrecked. I don’t care how good you think you are, compared to God, you are but dust. You and I have no hope before a holy God…apart from God’s grace and mercy.
Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.” (Isaiah 6:6-7)
Atone is an uncommon word in modern English, but it means to make amends or reparation. It’s making restitution. Isaiah is aware of his sin and unworthiness, yet God had mercy. This is an unusual event, yet the message is clear.
God offers forgiveness.
Jesus made forgiveness possible for all of us when he died on the cross. At one moment Jesus atoned for our sins. You might say he bridged the canyon that existed between a holy God and sinners like us. Regardless of what you’ve done, forgiveness is available through the death and resurrection of Jesus. No matter what you did in 2020—or even the first days of 2021—God offers forgiveness.
If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. 9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts. (1 John 1:8-10)
Make no mistake, someday we will all stand before a holy God and give an account for our lives, but followers of Jesus will not stand alone. We stand with Christ…forgiven. Hallelujah! We celebrate that death, resurrection, and forgiveness today through communion.
God offers forgiveness. We respond with worship.
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” (Isaiah 6:8)
We often reduce worship to singing songs as we did a moment ago, but worship is declaring God is worthy. It is showing honor and reverence to our awesome and holy God. We can worship with our lips in song. We can worship with our head in study. We can worship with our hands in service to others.
Isaiah had a truly awesome encounter with the holy God, it brought him to his knees, and led him to offer his life.
Have you encountered the holiness of God? If so, worship and service are the only appropriate responses. If we truly realize the extent of God’s holiness, power, and grace, we can’t help but declare, “I surrender all. Here am I. Send me!”
I can’t think of a better way to begin this year than on our knees in devotion to God. We may not have the experience the prophet had, but we can imagine the splendor and majesty of our God and responding in brokenness and humility like Isaiah did. God’s holiness will lead us to worship…with our head, heart, and hands.
Credits: some ideas taken from Steve Grusendorf and The Alliance
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—40 Days of Prayer with The Alliance
Isaiah 6:1-8
Series Big Idea: We are beginning—and spending—the year on our knees seeking God’s direction, protection, passion, and unity.
Big Idea: God’s holiness will lead us to worship…with our head, heart, and hands.
Happy New Year! Aren’t you glad to get rid of 2020? Actually, if you joined us for our virtual New Year’s Eve celebration, you’ll know that God was faithful in 2020 despite all of the chaos…and I promise you, He will be faithful in 2021!
Today we’re beginning not only a sermon series but a forty-day campaign with the Christian & Missionary Alliance…40 Days of Prayer.
I can’t imagine a better way to start a new year than on our knees. Our world is in transition with the pandemic, our nation is in transition in Washington DC, our church is in transition with new staff members, …we need God! I continue to pray that God would bring us—all of us—Christians and non-Christians—to our knees, seeking first His Kingdom, His will, His righteousness.
Today’s theme is holiness, and few things will bring you to your knees like experiencing the awe and wonder of God’s holiness.
What come to mind when you hear the word holiness?
The original Hebrew word for holy is qadosh. It means ceremonially or morally sacred. It is set apart. Wayne Grudem defines holiness as “the doctrine that God is separated from sin and devoted to seeking his own glory.” Holy is consecrated, hallowed, sanctified, venerated, revered.
The prophet Isaiah had an incredible experience he records in chapter six.
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. (Isaiah 6:1)
How do you imagine God? I’m quite sure Isaiah wasn’t able to see God’s face. God told Moses,
But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.” (Exodus 33:20)
Isaiah was able to see God’s glory, His throne. It must’ve been an awesome sight, yet there’s more.
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. (Isaiah 6:2)
The word “seraphim” means “fiery ones” to indicate their burning love. The appear to have been human with the addition of wings, which might be why angels are often depicted with wings. Isaiah’s eyes must’ve been overwhelmed. But this was more than a visual experience.
And they were calling to one another:
“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” (Isaiah 6:3)
The repetition may very well be a reference to the Trinity, one God in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. (Isaiah 6:4)
This was a scene unlike any New Year’s Eve spectacular! I wish he had a video camera! This was no theatrical production, though. It’s just God. He is holy.
Holiness is displayed by God’s power.
There is no one like our God! He is holy, set apart, without equal, supreme. He is free from sin and Master of all. The seraphim declared it, and last book of the Bible tell us the refrain continues.
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)
This is God stuff. We can’t fully comprehend it. It will require our resurrected bodies to be able to contain it. This is our God.
Holiness is displayed by God’s personification.
God is a Person. Isaiah doesn’t describe God as a force or spirit. He mentions God is seated on a throne dressed in a robe. He is above all, high and lifted up.
Holiness is displayed in God’s praise.
Only God is worthy of continuous worship and adoration, both by humans and other creatures such as the seraphim. This text is truly awe-inspiring. There’s more to the story, but first I want to stop and focus on these words: holy, holy, holy.
Isaiah has this incredible encounter with the Almighty. It engaged all of his senses except, possibly, taste. He saw, felt, smelled, and heard God and His glory, leading him to say,
“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)
When you’re in the presence of greatness, it’s humbling.
When I was a young boy, my dad took me to a Detroit Pistons game on church night. After the game, there was a special event featuring the spiritual testimonies of some of the players. Somehow I noticed an empty seat in the audience next to 6’ 10” Kent Benson and I asked my dad if I could fill it. After gaining his approval, I sat next to this gigantic NBA star and could hardly contain my excitement. At one point we were asked to stand and I remember straining my neck just to see his head! I was humbled in the presence of greatness.
The greatness of God is infinitely greater than any athlete. Isaiah recognized not only his physical weakness, but his sinfulness in the presence of our holy God. The New Living Translation describes him saying,
Then I said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.” (Isaiah 6:5, NLT)
That’s a proper response to the LORD…and to our own sin. We are doomed. We are wrecked. I don’t care how good you think you are, compared to God, you are but dust. You and I have no hope before a holy God…apart from God’s grace and mercy.
Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.” (Isaiah 6:6-7)
Atone is an uncommon word in modern English, but it means to make amends or reparation. It’s making restitution. Isaiah is aware of his sin and unworthiness, yet God had mercy. This is an unusual event, yet the message is clear.
God offers forgiveness.
Jesus made forgiveness possible for all of us when he died on the cross. At one moment Jesus atoned for our sins. You might say he bridged the canyon that existed between a holy God and sinners like us. Regardless of what you’ve done, forgiveness is available through the death and resurrection of Jesus. No matter what you did in 2020—or even the first days of 2021—God offers forgiveness.
If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. 9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts. (1 John 1:8-10)
Make no mistake, someday we will all stand before a holy God and give an account for our lives, but followers of Jesus will not stand alone. We stand with Christ…forgiven. Hallelujah! We celebrate that death, resurrection, and forgiveness today through communion.
God offers forgiveness. We respond with worship.
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” (Isaiah 6:8)
We often reduce worship to singing songs as we did a moment ago, but worship is declaring God is worthy. It is showing honor and reverence to our awesome and holy God. We can worship with our lips in song. We can worship with our head in study. We can worship with our hands in service to others.
Isaiah had a truly awesome encounter with the holy God, it brought him to his knees, and led him to offer his life.
Have you encountered the holiness of God? If so, worship and service are the only appropriate responses. If we truly realize the extent of God’s holiness, power, and grace, we can’t help but declare, “I surrender all. Here am I. Send me!”
I can’t think of a better way to begin this year than on our knees in devotion to God. We may not have the experience the prophet had, but we can imagine the splendor and majesty of our God and responding in brokenness and humility like Isaiah did. God’s holiness will lead us to worship…with our head, heart, and hands.
Credits: some ideas taken from Steve Grusendorf and The Alliance
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.
The Believer's Testimony, 17 June 2018
17 06 18 Filed in: Sermons | Stewards of the Gospel
The Believer’s Testimony: Growing in Holiness
D6 Series— Stewards of the Gospel
2 Corinthians 6:1-7:1
Series Overview: Believers are to love God and love their neighbor, being good stewards of the gospel, the good news.
Big Idea: The believer is to be ever growing in holiness.
One of the most memorable ad campaigns of all time appeared in the 1990s by what is now the most valuable company in the world…Apple. There were just two words. Think Different. Television commercials featured a variety of cultural icons such as Albert Einstein, Bob Dylan, and MLK who chose to march to the beat of a different drum, men and women unwilling to settle for the status quo. It’s easy to give in to peer pressure and follow the culture, but radicals and revolutionaries change the world.
Followers of Jesus are called to live countercultural lives like the Messiah. You don’t get crucified for blending in! Make no mistake, Jesus is the greatest revolutionary in human history, and he invites us to join him in being in the world but not of the world, instead setting an example for others to follow as we re-present Christ on our planet.
Our series Stewards of the Gospel is looking at Paul’s second letter to the church in Corinth, a city in Greece which was invaded by false teachers who were critical of Paul’s character and biblical message. Two thousand years ago, our world continues to feature false teachers who can’t live without $54 million jets, promise never-ending wealth and prosperity, and claim your trials are a lack of faith.
Although Paul is not writing to First Alliance Church Toledo, this letter is certainly for us. Last Sunday we looked at the Believer’s Quest of having an eternal perspective rather than being consumed with this moment and this world. Today’s text is about the Believer’s Testimony, our call to be growing in holiness, distinction from the world. We are to think different…or more grammatically, think—and act—differently. This does not mean we are to go out of our way to act weird, not does it mean to isolate ourselves from unbelievers, but rather we are to live attract, compelling lives that cause people to ask the reason for the hope we have, our faith in Jesus Christ.
As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. For he says,
“In the time of my favor I heard you,
and in the day of salvation I helped you.”
I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation. (2 Corinthians 6:1-2)
If you recall from last week, false teachers were attacking Paul and his message of grace. Paul and Timothy are pleading with the church in Corinth to shift their focus from a works-based salvation that can never be achieved to a grace-based salvation which comes through faith in Jesus Christ, the Messiah who died and rose from the dead for both Jews and Gentiles. Some wanted these Christians to return to Judaistic legalism which would make God’s grace—and Jesus’ sacrifice—a complete waste.
Perhaps the only thing more radical, reckless, incredible, and outrageous than the perfect Son of God dying for sinners like us would be if he died unnecessarily. If there was another way—and Jesus pleaded for Plan B when he was in the Garden of Gethsemane—he would’ve been crazy to not take it. But the truth is we’re all hopeless without Jesus.
This past week at Sports & Arts Camp we were discussing fears. Our group of 23 broke into smaller groups and the three boys I was with all expressed fears related to death and dying. I asked what happens when they die and they all said they’d go to heaven, which made their fear of death a bit easier to handle (though I’m reminded of the famous line “everyone wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die!”). I asked them why they were going to heaven and they said because they’re good. Then I offered them something of a riddle.
I told the boys—and later my entire group—how I’m not good enough to go to heaven. They were very surprised but I explained any sin in our lives is enough to keep us from a holy God. Miss Sue uses the illustration of a brownie with dog poop inside. Nobody wants to take even a bite of a brownie if there’s even a little poop inside, and it’s the same way with God and our sin. Even a little bit spoils all of our so-called goodness. So I explained unless we’re perfect, we’re not good enough. Period.
But then I said although I’m not good enough to go to heaven, I’m certain I’m going to heaven. They gave me a perplexed look and I said, “I’ll explain tomorrow!”
I’m not good enough to go to heaven when I die.
Paul and Timothy weren’t good enough.
The Corinthian church wasn’t good enough.
First Alliance Church isn’t good enough.
But Jesus is!!! Jesus pays for our ticket, takes our punishment, reconciles us to the Father. By following Jesus, we receive abundant life and eternal life. We can’t earn it. We don’t deserve it. That’s grace.
Paul is saying this is the day of salvation, the present Age of Grace. Aren’t you glad we live on this side of the cross and the empty tomb?
We put no stumbling block in anyone’s path, so that our ministry will not be discredited. Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything. (2 Corinthians 6:3-10)
Again, Paul and Timothy are defending themselves and their ministry against their critics. It’s an impressive defense! Compare your spiritual resume to theirs! You thought you have endured persecution for your faith? We could do an entire series on this passage. What faith!
We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians, and opened wide our hearts to you. We are not withholding our affection from you, but you are withholding yours from us. As a fair exchange—I speak as to my children—open wide your hearts also. (2 Corinthians 6:11-13)
The context is definitely relevant here. Now we come to today’s scripture reading, a text aimed squarely at believers—true followers of Jesus.
Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said:
“I will live with them
and walk among them,
and I will be their God,
and they will be my people.” (2 Corinthians 6:14-16)
Earlier (2 Cor. 6:2) Paul quoted Isaiah (49:8). Now he quotes Leviticus 26:11a and 12a with possible references to Exodus 25:8; 29:45a, 1 Kings 6:13, and Ezekiel 37:27a.
But let’s back up. Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. Have you ever heard that? Perhaps the most frequent use involves two people who want to get married, one is a Christian and the other is not. Can you see any potential problems with such a marriage? Or what about two people starting a business together, one a follower of Jesus and the other not. Could conflict arise over values?
But what’s the context? Paul is writing about the false teachers who have invaded the Christians in Corinth. Sure, we can apply this to all relationships, but he’s specifically calling out legalistic, religious people and saying, “Stay away!”
He’s also saying the greatest relationship is that with our heavenly Father. We were not created for religion, but rather to do life with God…forever. Let me try my modern version of verse 16. This is God speaking:
“I will live with First Alliance Church
and walk among them,
and I will be their God,
and they will be my people.” (2 Corinthians 6:16, New Kirk Translation!)
What do you think? Paul continues…
Therefore,
“Come out from them
and be separate,
says the Lord.
Touch no unclean thing,
and I will receive you.”
And,
“I will be a Father to you,
and you will be my sons and daughters,
says the Lord Almighty.” (2 Corinthians 6:17-18)
What a perfect text for Father’s Day…and that’s truly a coincidence!
Paul—and God—are saying we are holy—set apart—and we are to live holy lives. We talked about holiness several weeks ago (May 6, 2018) and how God is holy and we are to, likewise, be holy.
Allow me to repeat Scot McKnight’s words from his new book, Open to the Spirit:
Holiness is first and foremost devotion to God. We could translate the word holy as “devout” and we would be accurate. So we see that separation from the world is the impact or result, not the source, of holiness. Devotion to God doesn’t mean isolation or withdrawal, as one finds among some sects. Rather, holiness means that in this world one listens and dances to the music of the Holy Spirit instead of the music of the world.
Our devotion and allegiance must always be to Jesus Christ, but that does not mean we are to isolate ourselves from the world. Instead, like an international student who travels to another country to study and retains their diet and fashion and customs, we are to live radical lives in our community, lives marked by the Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit…
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23a)
If you are filled with the Holy Spirit, dancing to the music of the Holy Spirit instead of the music of the world, it won’t be long until people notice. We all know this is what our world needs—not more violence, division, fear, injustice. We must let our lights shine, but only when we have a light to shine, and that light is not us and our good works, but Jesus Christ. It’s a human surrendered to the Holy Spirit.
Our text concludes…
Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. (2 Corinthians 7:1)
This is the believer’s testimony—holiness. It’s not necessarily a testimony of words, but of action, of life, of love. Imagine a world filled with people who are truly devoted to their heavenly Father. Imagine a church filled with people who are truly devoted to their heavenly Father! This is not my vision. This is God’s vision. This is God’s mission for every believer—every true believer—to love Him, to love others, and to make disciples.
So What?
Is yours a life worth following? It is if you’re following Jesus rather than the world.
You don’t have to be a perfect example, but a living example. One thing I’ve discovered is even though we all mess up, we can demonstrate our faith by apologizing, for making restitution, for humbly acknowledging our mistakes and seeking forgiveness. Talk about radical!
I want to add there may be people in your life you should avoid. If their negative influence on you is greater than your positive influence on them, holiness may mean placing boundaries on your relationship.
Recently in our 9 AM small group someone mentioned how they get invited to parties but decline knowing such gatherings would not be healthy environments for them. Perhaps a solution is to throw a different kind of party and invite them…or bring Christian friends along for accountability and support.
The point is holiness may involve separation, but not isolation. We are neither to withdraw out of the world nor become like the world, instead living as citizens of the Kingdom of God in our community.
The secret to holiness is not trying harder. It’s simply to surrender to the Holy Spirit, to die to yourself and come alive in Christ. Confess your sins and invite the Holy Spirit to fill you with the fruit of the Spirit.
Credits: some ideas from D6.
You can listen to this message and others at the First Alliance Church podcast here.
D6 Series— Stewards of the Gospel
2 Corinthians 6:1-7:1
Series Overview: Believers are to love God and love their neighbor, being good stewards of the gospel, the good news.
Big Idea: The believer is to be ever growing in holiness.
One of the most memorable ad campaigns of all time appeared in the 1990s by what is now the most valuable company in the world…Apple. There were just two words. Think Different. Television commercials featured a variety of cultural icons such as Albert Einstein, Bob Dylan, and MLK who chose to march to the beat of a different drum, men and women unwilling to settle for the status quo. It’s easy to give in to peer pressure and follow the culture, but radicals and revolutionaries change the world.
Followers of Jesus are called to live countercultural lives like the Messiah. You don’t get crucified for blending in! Make no mistake, Jesus is the greatest revolutionary in human history, and he invites us to join him in being in the world but not of the world, instead setting an example for others to follow as we re-present Christ on our planet.
Our series Stewards of the Gospel is looking at Paul’s second letter to the church in Corinth, a city in Greece which was invaded by false teachers who were critical of Paul’s character and biblical message. Two thousand years ago, our world continues to feature false teachers who can’t live without $54 million jets, promise never-ending wealth and prosperity, and claim your trials are a lack of faith.
Although Paul is not writing to First Alliance Church Toledo, this letter is certainly for us. Last Sunday we looked at the Believer’s Quest of having an eternal perspective rather than being consumed with this moment and this world. Today’s text is about the Believer’s Testimony, our call to be growing in holiness, distinction from the world. We are to think different…or more grammatically, think—and act—differently. This does not mean we are to go out of our way to act weird, not does it mean to isolate ourselves from unbelievers, but rather we are to live attract, compelling lives that cause people to ask the reason for the hope we have, our faith in Jesus Christ.
As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. For he says,
“In the time of my favor I heard you,
and in the day of salvation I helped you.”
I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation. (2 Corinthians 6:1-2)
If you recall from last week, false teachers were attacking Paul and his message of grace. Paul and Timothy are pleading with the church in Corinth to shift their focus from a works-based salvation that can never be achieved to a grace-based salvation which comes through faith in Jesus Christ, the Messiah who died and rose from the dead for both Jews and Gentiles. Some wanted these Christians to return to Judaistic legalism which would make God’s grace—and Jesus’ sacrifice—a complete waste.
Perhaps the only thing more radical, reckless, incredible, and outrageous than the perfect Son of God dying for sinners like us would be if he died unnecessarily. If there was another way—and Jesus pleaded for Plan B when he was in the Garden of Gethsemane—he would’ve been crazy to not take it. But the truth is we’re all hopeless without Jesus.
This past week at Sports & Arts Camp we were discussing fears. Our group of 23 broke into smaller groups and the three boys I was with all expressed fears related to death and dying. I asked what happens when they die and they all said they’d go to heaven, which made their fear of death a bit easier to handle (though I’m reminded of the famous line “everyone wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die!”). I asked them why they were going to heaven and they said because they’re good. Then I offered them something of a riddle.
I told the boys—and later my entire group—how I’m not good enough to go to heaven. They were very surprised but I explained any sin in our lives is enough to keep us from a holy God. Miss Sue uses the illustration of a brownie with dog poop inside. Nobody wants to take even a bite of a brownie if there’s even a little poop inside, and it’s the same way with God and our sin. Even a little bit spoils all of our so-called goodness. So I explained unless we’re perfect, we’re not good enough. Period.
But then I said although I’m not good enough to go to heaven, I’m certain I’m going to heaven. They gave me a perplexed look and I said, “I’ll explain tomorrow!”
I’m not good enough to go to heaven when I die.
Paul and Timothy weren’t good enough.
The Corinthian church wasn’t good enough.
First Alliance Church isn’t good enough.
But Jesus is!!! Jesus pays for our ticket, takes our punishment, reconciles us to the Father. By following Jesus, we receive abundant life and eternal life. We can’t earn it. We don’t deserve it. That’s grace.
Paul is saying this is the day of salvation, the present Age of Grace. Aren’t you glad we live on this side of the cross and the empty tomb?
We put no stumbling block in anyone’s path, so that our ministry will not be discredited. Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything. (2 Corinthians 6:3-10)
Again, Paul and Timothy are defending themselves and their ministry against their critics. It’s an impressive defense! Compare your spiritual resume to theirs! You thought you have endured persecution for your faith? We could do an entire series on this passage. What faith!
We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians, and opened wide our hearts to you. We are not withholding our affection from you, but you are withholding yours from us. As a fair exchange—I speak as to my children—open wide your hearts also. (2 Corinthians 6:11-13)
The context is definitely relevant here. Now we come to today’s scripture reading, a text aimed squarely at believers—true followers of Jesus.
Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said:
“I will live with them
and walk among them,
and I will be their God,
and they will be my people.” (2 Corinthians 6:14-16)
Earlier (2 Cor. 6:2) Paul quoted Isaiah (49:8). Now he quotes Leviticus 26:11a and 12a with possible references to Exodus 25:8; 29:45a, 1 Kings 6:13, and Ezekiel 37:27a.
But let’s back up. Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. Have you ever heard that? Perhaps the most frequent use involves two people who want to get married, one is a Christian and the other is not. Can you see any potential problems with such a marriage? Or what about two people starting a business together, one a follower of Jesus and the other not. Could conflict arise over values?
But what’s the context? Paul is writing about the false teachers who have invaded the Christians in Corinth. Sure, we can apply this to all relationships, but he’s specifically calling out legalistic, religious people and saying, “Stay away!”
He’s also saying the greatest relationship is that with our heavenly Father. We were not created for religion, but rather to do life with God…forever. Let me try my modern version of verse 16. This is God speaking:
“I will live with First Alliance Church
and walk among them,
and I will be their God,
and they will be my people.” (2 Corinthians 6:16, New Kirk Translation!)
What do you think? Paul continues…
Therefore,
“Come out from them
and be separate,
says the Lord.
Touch no unclean thing,
and I will receive you.”
And,
“I will be a Father to you,
and you will be my sons and daughters,
says the Lord Almighty.” (2 Corinthians 6:17-18)
What a perfect text for Father’s Day…and that’s truly a coincidence!
Paul—and God—are saying we are holy—set apart—and we are to live holy lives. We talked about holiness several weeks ago (May 6, 2018) and how God is holy and we are to, likewise, be holy.
Allow me to repeat Scot McKnight’s words from his new book, Open to the Spirit:
Holiness is first and foremost devotion to God. We could translate the word holy as “devout” and we would be accurate. So we see that separation from the world is the impact or result, not the source, of holiness. Devotion to God doesn’t mean isolation or withdrawal, as one finds among some sects. Rather, holiness means that in this world one listens and dances to the music of the Holy Spirit instead of the music of the world.
Our devotion and allegiance must always be to Jesus Christ, but that does not mean we are to isolate ourselves from the world. Instead, like an international student who travels to another country to study and retains their diet and fashion and customs, we are to live radical lives in our community, lives marked by the Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit…
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23a)
If you are filled with the Holy Spirit, dancing to the music of the Holy Spirit instead of the music of the world, it won’t be long until people notice. We all know this is what our world needs—not more violence, division, fear, injustice. We must let our lights shine, but only when we have a light to shine, and that light is not us and our good works, but Jesus Christ. It’s a human surrendered to the Holy Spirit.
Our text concludes…
Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. (2 Corinthians 7:1)
This is the believer’s testimony—holiness. It’s not necessarily a testimony of words, but of action, of life, of love. Imagine a world filled with people who are truly devoted to their heavenly Father. Imagine a church filled with people who are truly devoted to their heavenly Father! This is not my vision. This is God’s vision. This is God’s mission for every believer—every true believer—to love Him, to love others, and to make disciples.
So What?
Is yours a life worth following? It is if you’re following Jesus rather than the world.
You don’t have to be a perfect example, but a living example. One thing I’ve discovered is even though we all mess up, we can demonstrate our faith by apologizing, for making restitution, for humbly acknowledging our mistakes and seeking forgiveness. Talk about radical!
I want to add there may be people in your life you should avoid. If their negative influence on you is greater than your positive influence on them, holiness may mean placing boundaries on your relationship.
Recently in our 9 AM small group someone mentioned how they get invited to parties but decline knowing such gatherings would not be healthy environments for them. Perhaps a solution is to throw a different kind of party and invite them…or bring Christian friends along for accountability and support.
The point is holiness may involve separation, but not isolation. We are neither to withdraw out of the world nor become like the world, instead living as citizens of the Kingdom of God in our community.
The secret to holiness is not trying harder. It’s simply to surrender to the Holy Spirit, to die to yourself and come alive in Christ. Confess your sins and invite the Holy Spirit to fill you with the fruit of the Spirit.
Credits: some ideas from D6.
God is Holy, 6 May 2018
07 05 18 Filed in: Sermons | None Like Him
God Is Holy
D6 Series— None Like Him
Psalm 99:1-5
Series Overview: This topical series focuses on the attributes of God.
Big Idea: We are to be holy…because God is holy.
We will be spending several weeks this month talking about the attributes of God. There is None Like Him. Amen?
God is holy. Have you ever heard that before? What does it mean for God to be holy…and what difference does it make in our lives? That’s our focus this morning. If your small group is using D6, you’ll note we’re skipping ahead one week. Our scheduled message is on God’s love, a topic we have covered extensively in recent days, so we’re covering next week’s topic, the holiness of God.
What comes to mind when you hear the word “holy?”
Holy Bible
Holy Spirit
Holy Rollers
Holy Cow!
Holy, Holy, Holy
Holy of holies
Webster’s dictionary defines holy as
1: exalted or worthy of complete devotion as one perfect in goodness and righteousness
2: divine • for the Lord our God is holy —Psalms 99:9 (King James Version)
3: devoted entirely to the deity or the work of the deity • a holy temple • holy prophets
4 a : having a divine quality • holy love
b : venerated as or as if sacred • holy scripture • a holy relic
5 —used as an intensive • this is a holy mess
—often used in combination as a mild oath • holy smoke
Often, it’s difficult to merely look at an English dictionary to understand a biblical word. In our scripture reading passage, the word “holy” is qadosh, to be sacred, consecrated, dedicated, set apart.
The Holy Bible is sacred, set apart from all other works of literature.
God is holy, sacred, set apart. Jesus invites us to call the Father “Abba” or “Daddy” or “Papa,” but that doesn’t mean we are to ever be disrespectful or flippant. I’m afraid sometimes we treat God too casually. It’s been said that we take ourselves too seriously and we don’t take God seriously enough.
Our scripture reading from Psalm 99 says
The LORD reigns,
let the nations tremble;
he sits enthroned between the cherubim,
let the earth shake.
Great is the LORD in Zion;
he is exalted over all the nations.
Let them praise your great and awesome name—
he is holy.
The King is mighty, he loves justice—
you have established equity;
in Jacob you have done
what is just and right.
Exalt the LORD our God
and worship at his footstool;
he is holy. (Psalms 99:1-5)
These are powerful depictions of God. He reigns. Let the nations tremble and the earth shake. He is exalted over all the nations. His name is great and awesome. He is mighty. Exalt the LORD. Worship Him. He is holy.
The book of Isaiah has an incredible scene we’ll briefly examine. In chapter six, the prophet Isaiah writes,
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. 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. (Isaiah 6:1-2)
And they were calling to one another:
“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory.” (Isaiah 6:3)
At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. (Isaiah 6:4)
“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)
That should be our reaction to the holiness of God—woe, awe, reverence.
A.W. Tozer, in his classic Knowledge of the Holy, said,
“God is not now any holier than He ever was. And He never was holier than now. He did not get His holiness from anyone nor from anywhere. He is Himself the Holiness. He is the All-Holy, the Holy One; He is holiness itself, beyond the power of thought to grasp or of word to express, beyond the power of all praise.
Language cannot express the holy, so God resorts to association and suggestion. He cannot say it outright because He would have to use words for which we know no meaning. He would have to translate it down to our unholiness. If He were to tell us how white He is, we would understand it in terms of only dingy gray.
It was a common thing in olden days, when God was the center of Human worship, to kneel at an altar and shake, tremble, weep and perspire in an agony of conviction.
He continues…
We come into the presence of God with tainted souls. We come with our own concept of morality, having learned it from books, from newspapers and from school. We come to God dirty; our whitest white is dirty, our churches are dirty and our thoughts are dirty and we do nothing about it!
If we came to God dirty, but trembling and shocked and awestruck in His presence, if we knelt at His feet and cried with Isaiah, I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips (Isaiah 6:5), then I could understand. But we skip into His awful presence. We’re forgetting holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14).
Then Tozer prays…
O God, soon every person must appear before you to give an account for the deeds done in the body. Father, keep upon us a sense of holiness so that we can’t sin and excuse it, but that repentance will be as deep as our lives. This we ask in Christ’s name. Amen.”
Oh, that we would get a glimpse of the holiness of God—and be transformed as a result.
Echoing the Isaiah text is a famous passage in the book of Revelation.
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)
What an image! Day and night the holiness of God is declared. It seems like the only appropriate response is for us to pause, meditate on God’s holiness, and declare it with the angels.
“Holy, Holy, Holy”
“Holy is the LORD”
So What?
I suppose we could go home now with the knowledge of God’s holiness in our heads, but I think God wants more. Sure, He wants our worship and adoration. He wants our respect and praise. But He also wants our hearts. He wants us. He wants our obedience. He wants us to be holy. God told Moses in the wilderness,
“Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy. (Leviticus 19:2)
Scot McKnight, in his new book Open to the Spirit, writes,
Holiness is first and foremost devotion to God.
We could translate the word holy as “devout” and we would be accurate. So we see that separation from the world is the impact or result, not the source, of holiness. Devotion to God doesn’t mean isolation or withdrawal, as one finds among some sects. Rather, holiness means that in this world one listens and dances to the music of the Holy Spirit instead of the music of the world.
I love that! We are to be holy, not holier than thou! We are to be in the world—loving and serving our neighbors—but not of the world.
McKnight suggests three dimensions to growing into holiness:
1. Practicing spiritual disciplines or practices. These help us turn our eyes off of ourselves and focus on God. Spiritual disciplines include prayer, Bible reading, fasting, meditation and contemplation on God, and silence. In a world where we typically seek pleasure and comfort, the disciplines are often sacrificial activities not done to earn God’s favor, but rather to acknowledge it.
2. Discipline ourselves to practice acts of goodness, holiness, justice, love, compassion, and beauty. This includes being mindful of what we consume—food, entertainment, social media, the news—and engaging in healthy friendships and activities.
3. Remembering we do not make ourselves holy. We grow into holiness through the grace of the Holy Spirit in us, repenting of our sins and being filled with the Holy Spirit.
As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:14-16)
Sound familiar? Holiness is primarily about being devoted to God. Not just for an hour on Sunday, but daily…always. And it means following Jesus in the world, not escaping from it. In the next chapter, Peter writes…
Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. (1 Peter 2:12)
To be holy means to be separate, to cut, or to separate. God is a cut above the rest, and He invites us to be the other, to be outstanding, to be morally pure, and to be devoted to Him. Every act of loving God, others, self, or creation is holiness. To quote Scot McKnight, holiness is “love done well.”
To be holy is to be devoted, and this morning we close with a song of devotion, of surrender, of awe and reverence, of worship to the holy One who gave it all for us.
Credits: some ideas from D6
You can listen to this message and others at the First Alliance Church podcast here.
D6 Series— None Like Him
Psalm 99:1-5
Series Overview: This topical series focuses on the attributes of God.
Big Idea: We are to be holy…because God is holy.
We will be spending several weeks this month talking about the attributes of God. There is None Like Him. Amen?
God is holy. Have you ever heard that before? What does it mean for God to be holy…and what difference does it make in our lives? That’s our focus this morning. If your small group is using D6, you’ll note we’re skipping ahead one week. Our scheduled message is on God’s love, a topic we have covered extensively in recent days, so we’re covering next week’s topic, the holiness of God.
What comes to mind when you hear the word “holy?”
Holy Bible
Holy Spirit
Holy Rollers
Holy Cow!
Holy, Holy, Holy
Holy of holies
Webster’s dictionary defines holy as
1: exalted or worthy of complete devotion as one perfect in goodness and righteousness
2: divine • for the Lord our God is holy —Psalms 99:9 (King James Version)
3: devoted entirely to the deity or the work of the deity • a holy temple • holy prophets
4 a : having a divine quality • holy love
b : venerated as or as if sacred • holy scripture • a holy relic
5 —used as an intensive • this is a holy mess
—often used in combination as a mild oath • holy smoke
Often, it’s difficult to merely look at an English dictionary to understand a biblical word. In our scripture reading passage, the word “holy” is qadosh, to be sacred, consecrated, dedicated, set apart.
The Holy Bible is sacred, set apart from all other works of literature.
God is holy, sacred, set apart. Jesus invites us to call the Father “Abba” or “Daddy” or “Papa,” but that doesn’t mean we are to ever be disrespectful or flippant. I’m afraid sometimes we treat God too casually. It’s been said that we take ourselves too seriously and we don’t take God seriously enough.
Our scripture reading from Psalm 99 says
The LORD reigns,
let the nations tremble;
he sits enthroned between the cherubim,
let the earth shake.
Great is the LORD in Zion;
he is exalted over all the nations.
Let them praise your great and awesome name—
he is holy.
The King is mighty, he loves justice—
you have established equity;
in Jacob you have done
what is just and right.
Exalt the LORD our God
and worship at his footstool;
he is holy. (Psalms 99:1-5)
These are powerful depictions of God. He reigns. Let the nations tremble and the earth shake. He is exalted over all the nations. His name is great and awesome. He is mighty. Exalt the LORD. Worship Him. He is holy.
The book of Isaiah has an incredible scene we’ll briefly examine. In chapter six, the prophet Isaiah writes,
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. 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. (Isaiah 6:1-2)
And they were calling to one another:
“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory.” (Isaiah 6:3)
At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. (Isaiah 6:4)
“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)
That should be our reaction to the holiness of God—woe, awe, reverence.
A.W. Tozer, in his classic Knowledge of the Holy, said,
“God is not now any holier than He ever was. And He never was holier than now. He did not get His holiness from anyone nor from anywhere. He is Himself the Holiness. He is the All-Holy, the Holy One; He is holiness itself, beyond the power of thought to grasp or of word to express, beyond the power of all praise.
Language cannot express the holy, so God resorts to association and suggestion. He cannot say it outright because He would have to use words for which we know no meaning. He would have to translate it down to our unholiness. If He were to tell us how white He is, we would understand it in terms of only dingy gray.
It was a common thing in olden days, when God was the center of Human worship, to kneel at an altar and shake, tremble, weep and perspire in an agony of conviction.
He continues…
We come into the presence of God with tainted souls. We come with our own concept of morality, having learned it from books, from newspapers and from school. We come to God dirty; our whitest white is dirty, our churches are dirty and our thoughts are dirty and we do nothing about it!
If we came to God dirty, but trembling and shocked and awestruck in His presence, if we knelt at His feet and cried with Isaiah, I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips (Isaiah 6:5), then I could understand. But we skip into His awful presence. We’re forgetting holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14).
Then Tozer prays…
O God, soon every person must appear before you to give an account for the deeds done in the body. Father, keep upon us a sense of holiness so that we can’t sin and excuse it, but that repentance will be as deep as our lives. This we ask in Christ’s name. Amen.”
Oh, that we would get a glimpse of the holiness of God—and be transformed as a result.
Echoing the Isaiah text is a famous passage in the book of Revelation.
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)
What an image! Day and night the holiness of God is declared. It seems like the only appropriate response is for us to pause, meditate on God’s holiness, and declare it with the angels.
“Holy, Holy, Holy”
“Holy is the LORD”
So What?
I suppose we could go home now with the knowledge of God’s holiness in our heads, but I think God wants more. Sure, He wants our worship and adoration. He wants our respect and praise. But He also wants our hearts. He wants us. He wants our obedience. He wants us to be holy. God told Moses in the wilderness,
“Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy. (Leviticus 19:2)
Scot McKnight, in his new book Open to the Spirit, writes,
Holiness is first and foremost devotion to God.
We could translate the word holy as “devout” and we would be accurate. So we see that separation from the world is the impact or result, not the source, of holiness. Devotion to God doesn’t mean isolation or withdrawal, as one finds among some sects. Rather, holiness means that in this world one listens and dances to the music of the Holy Spirit instead of the music of the world.
I love that! We are to be holy, not holier than thou! We are to be in the world—loving and serving our neighbors—but not of the world.
McKnight suggests three dimensions to growing into holiness:
1. Practicing spiritual disciplines or practices. These help us turn our eyes off of ourselves and focus on God. Spiritual disciplines include prayer, Bible reading, fasting, meditation and contemplation on God, and silence. In a world where we typically seek pleasure and comfort, the disciplines are often sacrificial activities not done to earn God’s favor, but rather to acknowledge it.
2. Discipline ourselves to practice acts of goodness, holiness, justice, love, compassion, and beauty. This includes being mindful of what we consume—food, entertainment, social media, the news—and engaging in healthy friendships and activities.
3. Remembering we do not make ourselves holy. We grow into holiness through the grace of the Holy Spirit in us, repenting of our sins and being filled with the Holy Spirit.
As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:14-16)
Sound familiar? Holiness is primarily about being devoted to God. Not just for an hour on Sunday, but daily…always. And it means following Jesus in the world, not escaping from it. In the next chapter, Peter writes…
Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. (1 Peter 2:12)
To be holy means to be separate, to cut, or to separate. God is a cut above the rest, and He invites us to be the other, to be outstanding, to be morally pure, and to be devoted to Him. Every act of loving God, others, self, or creation is holiness. To quote Scot McKnight, holiness is “love done well.”
To be holy is to be devoted, and this morning we close with a song of devotion, of surrender, of awe and reverence, of worship to the holy One who gave it all for us.
Credits: some ideas from D6
Thyatira: Sexual Sin, 24 July 2016
Thyatira: Sexual Sin in the Church
7 Letters: Revelation 2-3
Revelation 2:18-29
Series Overview
Revelation is the Gospel according to Jesus. In chapters two and three, he speaks to seven churches, offering both correction and encouragement. Each is relevant to our church today.
Big Idea
Jesus is serious about sexual sin in the church…and holiness.
Introduction
Like many of you, I found the last book of the Bible to be confusing, weird, and even a bit scary. This series is focusing on the messages of Jesus to seven churches in modern-day Turkey. We looked at his words to the churches in Ephesus, Smyrna, and Pergamum. This week’s church is Thyatira. Thyatira is another inland locale like Pergamum, the least important of the seven cities. It was built for defense and known for its textile and wood industries. It also had trade guilds of artisans who worked in copper and bronze.
There are few ruins today, just one block. Perhaps the most famous person from Thyatira was Lydia, a woman mentioned in Acts 16 as a dealer in purple cloth, a worshiper of God. Other than our text for today and the brief Acts mention there are no other references to Thyatira in the Bible. This does not, however, diminish the importance of Jesus’ message to their church.
Revelation 2
“To the angel of the church in Thyatira write:
These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. (Revelation 2:18)
These words are powerful, holy, and speak of judgment. They also describe feet like burnished bronze, a common element among Thyatira artists. Local coins featured the deity of the bronze trade, Apollo Tyrimnaus.
I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first. (Revelation 2:19)
Faith without works is dead. We are saved by faith but good works should result. They are also filled with love, something the church in Ephesus lost. There are actually six things for which Jesus commends the Thyatira church:
Deeds
Love
Faith
Service
Perseverance
Improvement
That’s a great list! They have faith and deeds. They love one another and serve others. They have persevered amidst the hostility of the Roman empire. I love the idea of continuous improvement…of growth…of sanctification. I would love for Jesus to commend us for such things! But…
Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. (Revelation 2:20)
Jezebel may be an actual person or symbolic for the Old Testament woman who brought paganism to the people of God. King Ahab’s wife Jezebel promoted Baal worship (1 Kings 16-21; 2 Kings 9). We’ve been reading in our One Story Bible reading plan about the good and bad kings of Israel and Judah. Some were led astray by people like Jezebel. One common problem then and now is people who claim to speak for God who are actually false prophets. How can we discern the difference?
False prophets were real…and they are still real today. The Thyatira church wandered from the truth. The voice of the world became louder than the voice of God. They pursued happiness rather than holiness, pleasure rather than purity, sin rather than sanctification. Last week we read Jesus’ critique of the Pergamum church:
Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality. (Revelation 2:14)
Some there embraced false teaching about sexual immorality and meat sacrificed to idols. Similar language is used in Jesus’ critique of Thyatira.
Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. (Revelation 2:20)
As I mentioned last Sunday, in the Roman empire there were temples for and worship of false gods. People often ate meat sold in the public markets ritually slaughtered and dedicated to these Roman gods. This was not mere nourishment, but often led to sharing in the pagan festivals of the unbelievers of the day, which often included sexual immorality. If you wanted to find a prostitute, the pagan temple area would’ve been a great place to look. Many believed the spirit was all that mattered so the body was unimportant. Our bodies matter, friends. We are to love God with our heart, soul, mind, and body. It’s unpopular to say but our bodies belong to God…and our spouse, if married.
Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
Jezebel led many in the Thyatira church to engage in immoral acts of various times, including the sexual. Jesus says to stay away from pagan practices of all kinds. Jezebel will appear again in Revelation chapters 17-19 as the recipient of great judgment.
Sexual Immorality
Let me be clear: God loves sex. He created it…for a purpose. Several, actually, but always to be in the context of marriage. Our culture is so confused and broken over sexuality. It’s tragic how something so beautiful has become so distorted and the source of so much pain.
When it comes to sex, the world scoffs at the “traditional” view, yet it has worked for thousands of years and is God’s design. In fact, while the world cheapens sex, God’s Word views it as sacred, holy, and special. It’s not that God doesn’t care about sex, it’s that He cares about it so much. That’s why He instructs us to have boundaries, to treat it with respect, and to maintain purity. Here’s just a small sample of the texts dealing with sexual immorality. Let’s start with Jesus’ words:
For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. (Matthew 15:19)
The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. (1 Corinthians 6:13b)
The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; (Galatians 5:19)
Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. (Colossians 3:5)
It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; (1Thessalonians 4:3)
In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire. (Jude 7)
Perhaps the most ominous verse is found in Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth:
Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. (1 Corinthians 6:18)
Sexual sins have dire—and sometimes deadly—consequences. I wish we had time to fully unpack this subject, but suffice it to say God made you, knows you, and wants what’s best for you. Really. He’s not a killjoy. He’s not about stopping your fun. He wants you to flourish and avoid the heartache of disease, regret, shame, unwanted pregnancy, embarrassment, and guilt by engaging in sexual activity outside of marriage. This includes pornography, lust, infidelity, fornication, and adultery.
Temptation
What tempts you? Most—if not all of us—are tempted in the area of our sexuality. Are there ways to avoid it? Jesus taught us to pray
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. ’ (Matthew 6:13)
Prayer is one way to avoid temptation, but often other actions are required. Temptation is NOT sin. We only sin when we inappropriately respond to temptation. Jesus was tempted. The book of Hebrews contains one of my favorite verses:
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. (Hebrews 4:15)
Some people feel guilty when tempted. It’s only when we sin that we should feel guilty, confess, repent—which means to turn 180 degrees—receive the forgiveness Jesus offers us through His death on the cross, and follow Christ. If you hear nothing else today, know that God forgives. No matter what you’ve done, how you’ve sinned, you can receive forgiveness by surrendering your life to Jesus Christ, making him your Savior and Lord.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)
Hallelujah!
Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds. (Revelation 2:20-23)
Jesus says he will cast Jezebel on a bed of suffering, perhaps a double entendre since she used her bed immorally. Sin leads to suffering and often even death. But we can repent. We can turn away from our sins. We can change…with the help of God and others. You can’t do it alone, though. Don't buy into one of the lies of the enemy that you can be holy without help.
This past week I had two front-row seats to see the pain of sin and the hope of healing. The first was at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting I attended with my daughter Rachel…for her class at the University of Toledo. We heard stories of anguish and brokenness…amidst a devoted group of people present to support and encourage.
On Friday afternoon I was with two different groups at the Cherry Street Mission Life Revitalization Center. Both were filled with people who hit bottom and finally recognized their need for help. The work at Cherry Street was so exciting to see first-hand as men and women are truly becoming revitalized one day at a time.
Perhaps today you need to repent. First you need to confess and agree with God you have sinned. That’s the easy part. The hard part is doing the hard work of change. That’s where the church is so valuable. You can’t do it alone. You need friends, a small group, a Bible study, a Sunday School class. It all begins with that first step of agree with God that you have sinned and sharing it with someone else.
The good news: there’s no perfect people allowed here so anyone you tell will have their own sins to confess.
The better news: our sins can be forgiven because of Jesus’ death on the cross.
Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets, ‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.’ (Revelation 2:24-25)
Satan may have secrets but God’s truth is revealed openly through His Word and the Holy Spirit. The church was short-lived.
To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations—that one ‘will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them to pieces like pottery’ —just as I have received authority from my Father. I will also give that one the morning star. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. (Revelation 2:26-29)
In a passage filled with bad news for the sinners, there’s encouragement for the saints, those who obey. The works of Jesus are contrasted with the works of Jezebel. The faithful will be given authority. They will be given the morning star, the hope of the Church. Here the morning star is likely the planet Venus at its pre-dawn brightest, a sign of the dawning of the day when Jesus rules and reigns forever. Jesus’ birth was announced by a star, a symbol of authority and royalty, and this description has echoes of Psalm 2. The great reward is Jesus Himself.
The Church is to be holy, heaven’s representative, God’s holy people. We cannot tolerate sin of any kind, especially sexual sins which can harm us with devastating consequences.
Paul wrote this to the church in Ephesus:
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. (Ephesians 5:3)
The word “holy” means devoted to God, special, separate from common usage. It means to be devoted to God and therefore separate from evil, satan, and sin.
Theologian Scot McKnight says, ““Holiness is the inevitable outcome of a person who loves God heart, soul, mind and strength. Holiness is whatever is an inevitable outcome of a person who loves his or her neighbor as themselves.”
The people of God are to look different, act different, be different than the world. Every day we choose to follow God or follow our own selfish, worldly desires. It’s hard. It’s a battle. But following God is always worth it.
Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. (Hebrews 12:14)
You can listen to this message and others at the First Alliance Church podcast here.
7 Letters: Revelation 2-3
Revelation 2:18-29
Series Overview
Revelation is the Gospel according to Jesus. In chapters two and three, he speaks to seven churches, offering both correction and encouragement. Each is relevant to our church today.
Big Idea
Jesus is serious about sexual sin in the church…and holiness.
Introduction
Like many of you, I found the last book of the Bible to be confusing, weird, and even a bit scary. This series is focusing on the messages of Jesus to seven churches in modern-day Turkey. We looked at his words to the churches in Ephesus, Smyrna, and Pergamum. This week’s church is Thyatira. Thyatira is another inland locale like Pergamum, the least important of the seven cities. It was built for defense and known for its textile and wood industries. It also had trade guilds of artisans who worked in copper and bronze.
There are few ruins today, just one block. Perhaps the most famous person from Thyatira was Lydia, a woman mentioned in Acts 16 as a dealer in purple cloth, a worshiper of God. Other than our text for today and the brief Acts mention there are no other references to Thyatira in the Bible. This does not, however, diminish the importance of Jesus’ message to their church.
Revelation 2
“To the angel of the church in Thyatira write:
These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. (Revelation 2:18)
These words are powerful, holy, and speak of judgment. They also describe feet like burnished bronze, a common element among Thyatira artists. Local coins featured the deity of the bronze trade, Apollo Tyrimnaus.
I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first. (Revelation 2:19)
Faith without works is dead. We are saved by faith but good works should result. They are also filled with love, something the church in Ephesus lost. There are actually six things for which Jesus commends the Thyatira church:
Deeds
Love
Faith
Service
Perseverance
Improvement
That’s a great list! They have faith and deeds. They love one another and serve others. They have persevered amidst the hostility of the Roman empire. I love the idea of continuous improvement…of growth…of sanctification. I would love for Jesus to commend us for such things! But…
Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. (Revelation 2:20)
Jezebel may be an actual person or symbolic for the Old Testament woman who brought paganism to the people of God. King Ahab’s wife Jezebel promoted Baal worship (1 Kings 16-21; 2 Kings 9). We’ve been reading in our One Story Bible reading plan about the good and bad kings of Israel and Judah. Some were led astray by people like Jezebel. One common problem then and now is people who claim to speak for God who are actually false prophets. How can we discern the difference?
- - Pray for wisdom
- - Compare with scripture
- - Consult with elders and church leaders
- - Look at their track record/fruit
False prophets were real…and they are still real today. The Thyatira church wandered from the truth. The voice of the world became louder than the voice of God. They pursued happiness rather than holiness, pleasure rather than purity, sin rather than sanctification. Last week we read Jesus’ critique of the Pergamum church:
Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality. (Revelation 2:14)
Some there embraced false teaching about sexual immorality and meat sacrificed to idols. Similar language is used in Jesus’ critique of Thyatira.
Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. (Revelation 2:20)
As I mentioned last Sunday, in the Roman empire there were temples for and worship of false gods. People often ate meat sold in the public markets ritually slaughtered and dedicated to these Roman gods. This was not mere nourishment, but often led to sharing in the pagan festivals of the unbelievers of the day, which often included sexual immorality. If you wanted to find a prostitute, the pagan temple area would’ve been a great place to look. Many believed the spirit was all that mattered so the body was unimportant. Our bodies matter, friends. We are to love God with our heart, soul, mind, and body. It’s unpopular to say but our bodies belong to God…and our spouse, if married.
Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
Jezebel led many in the Thyatira church to engage in immoral acts of various times, including the sexual. Jesus says to stay away from pagan practices of all kinds. Jezebel will appear again in Revelation chapters 17-19 as the recipient of great judgment.
Sexual Immorality
Let me be clear: God loves sex. He created it…for a purpose. Several, actually, but always to be in the context of marriage. Our culture is so confused and broken over sexuality. It’s tragic how something so beautiful has become so distorted and the source of so much pain.
When it comes to sex, the world scoffs at the “traditional” view, yet it has worked for thousands of years and is God’s design. In fact, while the world cheapens sex, God’s Word views it as sacred, holy, and special. It’s not that God doesn’t care about sex, it’s that He cares about it so much. That’s why He instructs us to have boundaries, to treat it with respect, and to maintain purity. Here’s just a small sample of the texts dealing with sexual immorality. Let’s start with Jesus’ words:
For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. (Matthew 15:19)
The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. (1 Corinthians 6:13b)
The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; (Galatians 5:19)
Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. (Colossians 3:5)
It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; (1Thessalonians 4:3)
In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire. (Jude 7)
Perhaps the most ominous verse is found in Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth:
Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. (1 Corinthians 6:18)
Sexual sins have dire—and sometimes deadly—consequences. I wish we had time to fully unpack this subject, but suffice it to say God made you, knows you, and wants what’s best for you. Really. He’s not a killjoy. He’s not about stopping your fun. He wants you to flourish and avoid the heartache of disease, regret, shame, unwanted pregnancy, embarrassment, and guilt by engaging in sexual activity outside of marriage. This includes pornography, lust, infidelity, fornication, and adultery.
Temptation
What tempts you? Most—if not all of us—are tempted in the area of our sexuality. Are there ways to avoid it? Jesus taught us to pray
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. ’ (Matthew 6:13)
Prayer is one way to avoid temptation, but often other actions are required. Temptation is NOT sin. We only sin when we inappropriately respond to temptation. Jesus was tempted. The book of Hebrews contains one of my favorite verses:
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. (Hebrews 4:15)
Some people feel guilty when tempted. It’s only when we sin that we should feel guilty, confess, repent—which means to turn 180 degrees—receive the forgiveness Jesus offers us through His death on the cross, and follow Christ. If you hear nothing else today, know that God forgives. No matter what you’ve done, how you’ve sinned, you can receive forgiveness by surrendering your life to Jesus Christ, making him your Savior and Lord.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)
Hallelujah!
Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds. (Revelation 2:20-23)
Jesus says he will cast Jezebel on a bed of suffering, perhaps a double entendre since she used her bed immorally. Sin leads to suffering and often even death. But we can repent. We can turn away from our sins. We can change…with the help of God and others. You can’t do it alone, though. Don't buy into one of the lies of the enemy that you can be holy without help.
This past week I had two front-row seats to see the pain of sin and the hope of healing. The first was at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting I attended with my daughter Rachel…for her class at the University of Toledo. We heard stories of anguish and brokenness…amidst a devoted group of people present to support and encourage.
On Friday afternoon I was with two different groups at the Cherry Street Mission Life Revitalization Center. Both were filled with people who hit bottom and finally recognized their need for help. The work at Cherry Street was so exciting to see first-hand as men and women are truly becoming revitalized one day at a time.
Perhaps today you need to repent. First you need to confess and agree with God you have sinned. That’s the easy part. The hard part is doing the hard work of change. That’s where the church is so valuable. You can’t do it alone. You need friends, a small group, a Bible study, a Sunday School class. It all begins with that first step of agree with God that you have sinned and sharing it with someone else.
The good news: there’s no perfect people allowed here so anyone you tell will have their own sins to confess.
The better news: our sins can be forgiven because of Jesus’ death on the cross.
Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets, ‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.’ (Revelation 2:24-25)
Satan may have secrets but God’s truth is revealed openly through His Word and the Holy Spirit. The church was short-lived.
To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations—that one ‘will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them to pieces like pottery’ —just as I have received authority from my Father. I will also give that one the morning star. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. (Revelation 2:26-29)
In a passage filled with bad news for the sinners, there’s encouragement for the saints, those who obey. The works of Jesus are contrasted with the works of Jezebel. The faithful will be given authority. They will be given the morning star, the hope of the Church. Here the morning star is likely the planet Venus at its pre-dawn brightest, a sign of the dawning of the day when Jesus rules and reigns forever. Jesus’ birth was announced by a star, a symbol of authority and royalty, and this description has echoes of Psalm 2. The great reward is Jesus Himself.
The Church is to be holy, heaven’s representative, God’s holy people. We cannot tolerate sin of any kind, especially sexual sins which can harm us with devastating consequences.
Paul wrote this to the church in Ephesus:
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. (Ephesians 5:3)
The word “holy” means devoted to God, special, separate from common usage. It means to be devoted to God and therefore separate from evil, satan, and sin.
Theologian Scot McKnight says, ““Holiness is the inevitable outcome of a person who loves God heart, soul, mind and strength. Holiness is whatever is an inevitable outcome of a person who loves his or her neighbor as themselves.”
The people of God are to look different, act different, be different than the world. Every day we choose to follow God or follow our own selfish, worldly desires. It’s hard. It’s a battle. But following God is always worth it.
Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. (Hebrews 12:14)
Be Holy! 8 November 2015
Note: This message is similar to one preached at Scio Community Church, September 13, 2015.
Be Holy!
Series: What In The World Is Going On? A Study of 1 Peter
1 Peter 1:13-21
Series Overview: God’s grace is present in the midst of suffering.
Big Idea: When suffering, we need not only need empathy but also holy action.
Introduction
Last week we began our series on 1 Peter, “What In The World Is Going On?” We live in crazy times, amen?
I’ve heard Christians in the USA talk about suffering and persecution. Perhaps you’ve lost friends over your faith, have been skipped over for a job promotion for following Jesus, or been teased because you love Christ. While I don’t mean to minimize those things, it’s nothing compared to the imprisonment, torture, and even death faced by our brothers and sisters around the world. In recent days, the media has shed light on the horrific actions of ISIS and other groups who have promoted violence, prompted refugees to flee their homelands, and murdered our spiritual siblings.
The theme of this book may well be called hope and grace in the midst of suffering. While we all experience trials, Peter—one of Jesus’ three best friends—is writing to scattered peoples fleeing for their freedoms and, in many cases, their very lives. In the first twelve verses of this epistle—or short letter—these exiles are addressed with reminders of their salvation, the temporary nature of their suffering, and hope both now and forever.
Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.
What is therefore there for? These exiles are suffering and have been given encouragement and hope.
When you’re suffering, encouragement and hope are wonderful, but something else is needed to prevent despair: action. There are times we are to be still, quiet, reflect, and meditate, but when life gets hard, we can focus inward on our problems and miss out on God’s blessings. Most everything in life begins with our minds, our thoughts.
I’d be the first to say positive thinking can be overrated, but not always. Paul famously wrote
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8)
Our actions begin with our mind. Garbage in, garbage out. Purity in, purity out.
The temptation in suffering is to turn inward and suffer your own suffering, troubling your own trouble. Peter gives them a vision of something greater than the present. God is still on the throne.
Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. (1 Peter 1:13)
With minds that are alert and fully sober…what an interesting phrase. It means to prepare your minds for action, literally “gird up the loins of your mind.”
Some have suggested we translate this passage “taking off the coat” or “rolling up the sleeves” of your mind. Take off your warm-up suit so your mind can move freely.
Peter is saying maintain a loose grip on this world and a tight grip on what lies ahead. This world is temporary.
Life is short. Eat dessert first!
Then he says to make sure your minds are fully sober. This is a metaphor. He’s saying be self-controlled. Drunks cannot control themselves or their bodies. What’s the point of this gird of loins and self-control? Hope! With focused, ready minds “set your hope.”
Hope is a challenging word because it means so many different things. I can hope to play baseball for the Detroit Tigers or I can hope you like this sermon or I can hope my wife will love me tomorrow. Like faith, the issue isn’t so much with me, but with the object of my hope. Playing for the Tigers is wishful thinking. It’s not going to happen no matter how much I think about it, pray about it, or hope for it. The love of my wife, however, is secure. Although I haven’t experienced tomorrow yet, I am confident in the love my wife has for me and I look forward to being with her tomorrow.
Peter is saying our hope is in Jesus and His return. We can be sure Jesus is alive and coming back. It has not yet happened. We are waiting, but it is going to happen! There may be pain and trials now but Christ will return and justice will be served.
1 Peter 1:14…
As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:14-16)
Although our culture likes to talk about how things are not black and white but gray, the Bible is filled with contrasts: hot or cold, good or evil, heaven or hell. Every day we can choose to follow the world or God. We can reflect society’s consumerism and individualism or we can reflect God and His character, His nature, His holiness.
There’s a lot of opinions in our world about right and wrong…or if there is any such thing. One of the tenants of postmodern philosophy is the belief that since words are subjective, there is no such thing as absolute truth.
Of course the problem with saying there is no such thing as absolute truth is it is a declaration that the statement itself is true!
Truth. This has been the dilemma of our court system. Who is right? What is ok? Abortion? Marijuana? Gay marriage? Adultery? Sharing a Netflix account with a friend? Pornography? Human cloning?
Ethics originate from within ourselves (conscience, reasons, nature) or from outside ourselves (the Constitution, revelation, codes of ethics). Scot McKnight writes
Christian orthodoxy teaches that ethics flows from salvation and that humans, by themselves, cannot discern the will of God—for personal salvation, for personal ethics, or for the social order. We know God’s will because in his grace he has made his will known to us through his revelation, the Bible being the primary mode of this revelation. The same construction applies to our knowledge of ethics: We know what is good from what is bad because God has told us in his Word, beginning with the Mosaic legislation and climaxing in the teachings of Jesus and the apostolic testimony.
Our text for today is quite explicit in this, distinguishing between evil desires of the world and holiness, reflecting God. Holy means “set apart” or “different.” It’s not necessarily saying perfection—though God is perfect and we are not—but different, unique, special. We are to be holy because we have been changed and because we are children of a holy God. Kids are like their parents (sorry kids!). Obedient children follow Daddy. We were children of the devil, the world, following its ways. Now we are to be obedient children of God, walking in holiness, imitating Jesus.
We are called to be holy. As Jesus called Peter to follow Him, so also He is calling us to be holy and follow His example.
Notice, too, Peter says, “It is written.” The Word of God is powerful. Do you know it? Do you read it? Do you live it? An hour on Sunday isn’t going to make up for the 167 hours you’re in the world, absorbing its messages of selfishness and pride. As Warren Wiersbe says,
The Word reveals
God’s mind, so we should learn it.
God’s heart, so we should love it.
God’s will, so we should live it.
Author John Eldridge wrote, “Our journey to holiness is the process whereby we receive more and more of the holiness of Jesus Christ into more and more of our being…In fact, the assumption of the New Testament is that you cannot become whole without becoming holy; nor can you become holy without becoming whole. The two go hand in hand.”
In order to make humans what they are meant to be the love of God seeks to make us whole and holy. We are not holy because of what we do for God, we are made holy because of what God has done for us.
Are you an obedient child of God?
When I reflect upon God’s holiness and my sin I realize I am desperate for Him.
When I recognize God’s power and my weakness I realize I am desperate for HIm.
This is why worship is so important.
When I am desperate for God, I spend time with Him.
When I spend time with Him, I know Him.
When I know Him, I love Him.
When I love Him, I obey Him.
Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. (1 Peter 1:17)
This fear does not mean anxiety or scary, but rather awe. Dad is watching us now, and one day He will judge each of us. We can have awe or desire the approval of the world as citizens or we can be in awe of and seek the Father as foreigners; visitors.
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God. (1 Peter 1:18-21)
We have been redeemed, purchased with a price. Jesus died, shedding His blood for us. Our redemption makes us grateful for not only forgiveness but adoption into our new family and a desire to live in holiness and awe before God.
Our Father is the standard. He is holy. He shows us through Jesus what it means to truly be human, to live as we were created to live, full of faith, hope and love. He shows us the benefits of salvation, an eternal hope that cannot be taken away.
So What?
Is your faith and hope in God…or in the stock market?
Is your faith and hope in God…or in your friends?
Is your faith and hope in God…or in your job?
Is your faith and hope in God…or in your social media popularity?
Is your faith and hope in God…or in your stuff…the house, the cars, the vacations?
Is your faith and hope in God…or in our president, governor, or political party?
Is your faith and hope in God…or in your gifts, talents and abilities?
Is your faith and hope in God…or in your education and diplomas?
Is your faith and hope in the present…or in the future?
Peter encourages us to be aware of the future—God’s righteous judgment of our lives and also the hope of the joy of final salvation. The best is yet to come.
PRAY
Credits
Some ideas from
Be Hopeful (1 Peter): How to Make the Best of Times Out of Your Worst of Times (The BE Series Commentary) by Warren Wiersbe
Thru The Bible audio messages by J. Vernon McGee
1 Peter (The NIV Application Commentary) by Scot McKnight
You can listen to this message and others at the First Alliance Church podcast here.
Be Holy!
Series: What In The World Is Going On? A Study of 1 Peter
1 Peter 1:13-21
Series Overview: God’s grace is present in the midst of suffering.
Big Idea: When suffering, we need not only need empathy but also holy action.
Introduction
Last week we began our series on 1 Peter, “What In The World Is Going On?” We live in crazy times, amen?
- - We can kill babies and sell their parts but go crazy if a lion is shot
- - It’s ok smoke weed but not cigarettes.
- - Bush might run against Clinton for president!
- - Women now have wives and men can have a husband.
- - We are to be tolerant of everything yet offended by everything.
I’ve heard Christians in the USA talk about suffering and persecution. Perhaps you’ve lost friends over your faith, have been skipped over for a job promotion for following Jesus, or been teased because you love Christ. While I don’t mean to minimize those things, it’s nothing compared to the imprisonment, torture, and even death faced by our brothers and sisters around the world. In recent days, the media has shed light on the horrific actions of ISIS and other groups who have promoted violence, prompted refugees to flee their homelands, and murdered our spiritual siblings.
The theme of this book may well be called hope and grace in the midst of suffering. While we all experience trials, Peter—one of Jesus’ three best friends—is writing to scattered peoples fleeing for their freedoms and, in many cases, their very lives. In the first twelve verses of this epistle—or short letter—these exiles are addressed with reminders of their salvation, the temporary nature of their suffering, and hope both now and forever.
Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.
What is therefore there for? These exiles are suffering and have been given encouragement and hope.
When you’re suffering, encouragement and hope are wonderful, but something else is needed to prevent despair: action. There are times we are to be still, quiet, reflect, and meditate, but when life gets hard, we can focus inward on our problems and miss out on God’s blessings. Most everything in life begins with our minds, our thoughts.
I’d be the first to say positive thinking can be overrated, but not always. Paul famously wrote
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8)
Our actions begin with our mind. Garbage in, garbage out. Purity in, purity out.
The temptation in suffering is to turn inward and suffer your own suffering, troubling your own trouble. Peter gives them a vision of something greater than the present. God is still on the throne.
Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. (1 Peter 1:13)
With minds that are alert and fully sober…what an interesting phrase. It means to prepare your minds for action, literally “gird up the loins of your mind.”
Some have suggested we translate this passage “taking off the coat” or “rolling up the sleeves” of your mind. Take off your warm-up suit so your mind can move freely.
Peter is saying maintain a loose grip on this world and a tight grip on what lies ahead. This world is temporary.
Life is short. Eat dessert first!
Then he says to make sure your minds are fully sober. This is a metaphor. He’s saying be self-controlled. Drunks cannot control themselves or their bodies. What’s the point of this gird of loins and self-control? Hope! With focused, ready minds “set your hope.”
Hope is a challenging word because it means so many different things. I can hope to play baseball for the Detroit Tigers or I can hope you like this sermon or I can hope my wife will love me tomorrow. Like faith, the issue isn’t so much with me, but with the object of my hope. Playing for the Tigers is wishful thinking. It’s not going to happen no matter how much I think about it, pray about it, or hope for it. The love of my wife, however, is secure. Although I haven’t experienced tomorrow yet, I am confident in the love my wife has for me and I look forward to being with her tomorrow.
Peter is saying our hope is in Jesus and His return. We can be sure Jesus is alive and coming back. It has not yet happened. We are waiting, but it is going to happen! There may be pain and trials now but Christ will return and justice will be served.
1 Peter 1:14…
As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:14-16)
Although our culture likes to talk about how things are not black and white but gray, the Bible is filled with contrasts: hot or cold, good or evil, heaven or hell. Every day we can choose to follow the world or God. We can reflect society’s consumerism and individualism or we can reflect God and His character, His nature, His holiness.
There’s a lot of opinions in our world about right and wrong…or if there is any such thing. One of the tenants of postmodern philosophy is the belief that since words are subjective, there is no such thing as absolute truth.
Of course the problem with saying there is no such thing as absolute truth is it is a declaration that the statement itself is true!
Truth. This has been the dilemma of our court system. Who is right? What is ok? Abortion? Marijuana? Gay marriage? Adultery? Sharing a Netflix account with a friend? Pornography? Human cloning?
Ethics originate from within ourselves (conscience, reasons, nature) or from outside ourselves (the Constitution, revelation, codes of ethics). Scot McKnight writes
Christian orthodoxy teaches that ethics flows from salvation and that humans, by themselves, cannot discern the will of God—for personal salvation, for personal ethics, or for the social order. We know God’s will because in his grace he has made his will known to us through his revelation, the Bible being the primary mode of this revelation. The same construction applies to our knowledge of ethics: We know what is good from what is bad because God has told us in his Word, beginning with the Mosaic legislation and climaxing in the teachings of Jesus and the apostolic testimony.
Our text for today is quite explicit in this, distinguishing between evil desires of the world and holiness, reflecting God. Holy means “set apart” or “different.” It’s not necessarily saying perfection—though God is perfect and we are not—but different, unique, special. We are to be holy because we have been changed and because we are children of a holy God. Kids are like their parents (sorry kids!). Obedient children follow Daddy. We were children of the devil, the world, following its ways. Now we are to be obedient children of God, walking in holiness, imitating Jesus.
We are called to be holy. As Jesus called Peter to follow Him, so also He is calling us to be holy and follow His example.
Notice, too, Peter says, “It is written.” The Word of God is powerful. Do you know it? Do you read it? Do you live it? An hour on Sunday isn’t going to make up for the 167 hours you’re in the world, absorbing its messages of selfishness and pride. As Warren Wiersbe says,
The Word reveals
God’s mind, so we should learn it.
God’s heart, so we should love it.
God’s will, so we should live it.
Author John Eldridge wrote, “Our journey to holiness is the process whereby we receive more and more of the holiness of Jesus Christ into more and more of our being…In fact, the assumption of the New Testament is that you cannot become whole without becoming holy; nor can you become holy without becoming whole. The two go hand in hand.”
In order to make humans what they are meant to be the love of God seeks to make us whole and holy. We are not holy because of what we do for God, we are made holy because of what God has done for us.
Are you an obedient child of God?
When I reflect upon God’s holiness and my sin I realize I am desperate for Him.
When I recognize God’s power and my weakness I realize I am desperate for HIm.
This is why worship is so important.
When I am desperate for God, I spend time with Him.
When I spend time with Him, I know Him.
When I know Him, I love Him.
When I love Him, I obey Him.
Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. (1 Peter 1:17)
This fear does not mean anxiety or scary, but rather awe. Dad is watching us now, and one day He will judge each of us. We can have awe or desire the approval of the world as citizens or we can be in awe of and seek the Father as foreigners; visitors.
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God. (1 Peter 1:18-21)
We have been redeemed, purchased with a price. Jesus died, shedding His blood for us. Our redemption makes us grateful for not only forgiveness but adoption into our new family and a desire to live in holiness and awe before God.
Our Father is the standard. He is holy. He shows us through Jesus what it means to truly be human, to live as we were created to live, full of faith, hope and love. He shows us the benefits of salvation, an eternal hope that cannot be taken away.
So What?
Is your faith and hope in God…or in the stock market?
Is your faith and hope in God…or in your friends?
Is your faith and hope in God…or in your job?
Is your faith and hope in God…or in your social media popularity?
Is your faith and hope in God…or in your stuff…the house, the cars, the vacations?
Is your faith and hope in God…or in our president, governor, or political party?
Is your faith and hope in God…or in your gifts, talents and abilities?
Is your faith and hope in God…or in your education and diplomas?
Is your faith and hope in the present…or in the future?
Peter encourages us to be aware of the future—God’s righteous judgment of our lives and also the hope of the joy of final salvation. The best is yet to come.
PRAY
Credits
Some ideas from
Be Hopeful (1 Peter): How to Make the Best of Times Out of Your Worst of Times (The BE Series Commentary) by Warren Wiersbe
Thru The Bible audio messages by J. Vernon McGee
1 Peter (The NIV Application Commentary) by Scot McKnight
You can listen to this message and others at the First Alliance Church podcast here.
Be Holy! 13 September 2015
Be Holy!
Series: What In The World Is Going On? A Study of 1 Peter
1 Peter 1:13-21
Series Overview: God’s grace is present in the midst of suffering.
Big Idea: When suffering, we need not only need empathy but also holy action.
Introduction
Last week we began our series on 1 Peter, “What In The World Is Going On?” We live in crazy times!
I’ve heard Christians in the USA talk about suffering and persecution. Perhaps you’ve lost friends over your faith, have been skipped over for a job promotion for following Jesus, or been teased because you love Christ. While I don’t mean to minimize those things, it’s nothing compared to the imprisonment, torture, and even death faced by our brothers and sisters around the world. In recent days, the media has shed light on the horrific actions of ISIS and other groups who have promoted violence, prompted refugees to flee their homelands, and murdered our spiritual siblings.
The theme of this book may well be called hope and grace in the midst of suffering. While we all experience trials, Peter—one of Jesus’ three best friends—is writing to scattered peoples fleeing for their freedoms and, in many cases, their very lives. In the first twelve verses of this epistle—or short letter—these exiles are addressed with reminders of their salvation, the temporary nature of their suffering, and hope both now and forever. This section focuses on holy living.
1 Peter 1:13…
Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.
What is therefore there for? These exiles are suffering and have been given encouragement and hope.
When you’re suffering, encouragement and hope are wonderful, but something else is needed to prevent despair: action. There are times we are to be still, quiet, reflect, and meditate, but when life gets hard, we can focus inward on our problems and miss out on God’s blessings. Most everything in life begins with our minds, our thoughts.
I’d be the first to say positive thinking can be overrated, but not always. Paul famously wrote
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8)
Our actions begin with our mind. Garbage in, garbage out. Purity in, purity out.
The temptation in suffering is to turn inward and suffer your own suffering, troubling your own trouble. Peter gives them a vision of something greater than the present. God is still on the throne.
Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. (1 Peter 1:13)
With minds that are alert and fully sober…what an interesting phrase. It means to prepare your minds for action, literally “gird up the loins of your mind.”
Some have suggested we translate this passage “taking off the coat” or “rolling up the sleeves” of your mind. Take off your warm-up suit so your mind can move freely.
Peter is saying maintain a loose grip on this world and a tight grip on what lies ahead. This world is temporary.
Life is short. Eat dessert first!
Then he says to make sure your minds are fully sober. This is a metaphor. He’s saying be self-controlled. Drunks cannot control themselves or their bodies. What’s the point of this gird of loins and self-control? Hope! With focused, ready minds “set your hope.”
Hope is a challenging word because it means so many different things. I can hope to play baseball for the Detroit Tigers or I can hope you like this sermon or I can hope my wife will love me tomorrow. Like faith, the issue isn’t so much with me, but with the object of my hope. Playing for the Tigers is wishful thinking. It’s not going to happen no matter how much I think about it, pray about it, or hope for it. The love of my wife, however, is secure. Although I haven’t experienced tomorrow yet, I am confident in the love my wife has for me and I look forward to being with her tomorrow.
Peter is saying our hope is in Jesus and His return. We can be sure Jesus is alive and coming back. It has not yet happened. We are waiting, but it is going to happen! There may be pain and trials now but Christ will return and justice will be served.
1 Peter 1:14…
As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:14-16)
Although our culture likes to talk about how things are not black and white but gray, the Bible is filled with contrasts: hot or cold, good or evil, heaven or hell. Every day we can choose to follow the world or God. We can reflect society’s consumerism and individualism or we can reflect God and His character, His nature, His holiness.
There’s a lot of opinions in our world about right and wrong…or if there is any such thing. As I remembered 9/11 on Friday I recalled the article I read shortly after the disaster in 2001 that asked why the terrorists were wrong. They did what they believed in, what they thought was right. Who are we to judge?!
This has been the dilemma of our court system. Who is right? What is ok? Abortion? Marijuana? Gay marriage? Adultery? Sharing a Netflix account with a friend? Pornography? Human cloning?
Ethics originate from within ourselves (conscience, reasons, nature) or from outside ourselves (the Constitution, revelation, codes of ethics). Scot McKnight writes
Christian orthodoxy teaches that ethics flows from salvation and that humans, by themselves, cannot discern the will of God—for personal salvation, for personal ethics, or for the social order. We know God’s will because in his grace he has made his will known to us through his revelation, the Bible being the primary mode of this revelation. The same construction applies to our knowledge of ethics: We know what is good from what is bad because God has told us in his Word, beginning with the Mosaic legislation and climaxing in the teachings of Jesus and the apostolic testimony.
Our text for today is quite explicit in this, distinguishing between evil desires of the world and holiness, reflecting God. Holy means “set apart” or “different.” It’s not necessarily saying perfection—though God is perfect and we are not—but different, unique, special. We are to be holy because we have been changed and because we are children of a holy God. Kids are like their parents (sorry kids!). Obedient children follow Daddy. We were children of the devil, the world, following its ways. Now we are to be obedient children of God, walking in holiness, imitating Jesus.
We are called to be holy. As Jesus called Peter to follow Him, so also He is calling us to be holy and follow His example.
Notice, too, Peter says, “It is written.” The Word of God is powerful. Do you know it? Do you read it? Do you live it? An hour on Sunday isn’t going to make up for the 167 hours you’re in the world, absorbing its messages of selfishness and pride. As Warren Wiersbe says,
The Word reveals
God’s mind, so we should learn it.
God’s heart, so we should love it.
God’s will, so we should live it.
Author John Eldridge wrote, “Our journey to holiness is the process whereby we receive more and more of the holiness of Jesus Christ into more and more of our being…In fact, the assumption of the New Testament is that you cannot become whole without becoming holy; nor can you become holy without becoming whole. The two go hand in hand.”
In order to make humans what they are meant to be the love of God seeks to make us whole and holy. We are not holy because of what we do for God, we are made holy because of what God has done for us.
Are you an obedient child of God?
When I reflect upon God’s holiness and my sin I realize I am desperate for Him.
When I recognize God’s power and my weakness I realize I am desperate for HIm.
This is why worship is so important.
When I am desperate for God, I spend time with Him.
When I spend time with Him, I know Him.
When I know Him, I love Him.
When I love Him, I obey Him.
Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. (1 Peter 1:17)
This fear does not mean anxiety or scary, but rather awe. Dad is watching us now, and one day He will judge each of us. We can have awe or desire the approval of the world as citizens or we can be in awe of and seek the Father as foreigners; visitors.
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God. (1 Peter 1:18-21)
We have been redeemed, purchased with a price. Jesus died, shedding His blood for us. Our redemption makes us grateful for not only forgiveness but adoption into our new family and a desire to live in holiness and awe before God.
Our Father is the standard. He is holy. He shows us through Jesus what it means to truly be human, to live as we were created to live, full of faith, hope and love. He shows us the benefits of salvation, an eternal hope that cannot be taken away.
So What?
Is your faith and hope in God…or in the stock market?
Is your faith and hope in God…or in your friends?
Is your faith and hope in God…or in your job?
Is your faith and hope in God…or in your social media popularity?
Is your faith and hope in God…or in your stuff…the house, the cars, the vacations?
Is your faith and hope in God…or in our president, governor, or political party?
Is your faith and hope in God…or in your gifts, talents and abilities?
Is your faith and hope in God…or in your education and diplomas?
Is your faith and hope in the present…or in the future?
Peter encourages us to be aware of the future—God’s righteous judgment of our lives and also the hope of the joy of final salvation. The best is yet to come.
Credits
Some ideas from
Be Hopeful (1 Peter): How to Make the Best of Times Out of Your Worst of Times (The BE Series Commentary) by Warren Wiersbe
Thru The Bible audio messages by J. Vernon McGee
1 Peter (The NIV Application Commentary) by Scot McKnight
You can listen to this message and others at the Scio podcast here. You can also subscribe to our podcast here.
Series: What In The World Is Going On? A Study of 1 Peter
1 Peter 1:13-21
Series Overview: God’s grace is present in the midst of suffering.
Big Idea: When suffering, we need not only need empathy but also holy action.
Introduction
Last week we began our series on 1 Peter, “What In The World Is Going On?” We live in crazy times!
- We can kill babies and sell their parts but go crazy if a lion is shot
- It’s ok smoke weed but not cigarettes.
- Bush might run against Clinton for president!
- Women now have wives and men can have a husband.
- We are to be tolerant of everything yet offended by everything.
I’ve heard Christians in the USA talk about suffering and persecution. Perhaps you’ve lost friends over your faith, have been skipped over for a job promotion for following Jesus, or been teased because you love Christ. While I don’t mean to minimize those things, it’s nothing compared to the imprisonment, torture, and even death faced by our brothers and sisters around the world. In recent days, the media has shed light on the horrific actions of ISIS and other groups who have promoted violence, prompted refugees to flee their homelands, and murdered our spiritual siblings.
The theme of this book may well be called hope and grace in the midst of suffering. While we all experience trials, Peter—one of Jesus’ three best friends—is writing to scattered peoples fleeing for their freedoms and, in many cases, their very lives. In the first twelve verses of this epistle—or short letter—these exiles are addressed with reminders of their salvation, the temporary nature of their suffering, and hope both now and forever. This section focuses on holy living.
1 Peter 1:13…
Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.
What is therefore there for? These exiles are suffering and have been given encouragement and hope.
When you’re suffering, encouragement and hope are wonderful, but something else is needed to prevent despair: action. There are times we are to be still, quiet, reflect, and meditate, but when life gets hard, we can focus inward on our problems and miss out on God’s blessings. Most everything in life begins with our minds, our thoughts.
I’d be the first to say positive thinking can be overrated, but not always. Paul famously wrote
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8)
Our actions begin with our mind. Garbage in, garbage out. Purity in, purity out.
The temptation in suffering is to turn inward and suffer your own suffering, troubling your own trouble. Peter gives them a vision of something greater than the present. God is still on the throne.
Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. (1 Peter 1:13)
With minds that are alert and fully sober…what an interesting phrase. It means to prepare your minds for action, literally “gird up the loins of your mind.”
Some have suggested we translate this passage “taking off the coat” or “rolling up the sleeves” of your mind. Take off your warm-up suit so your mind can move freely.
Peter is saying maintain a loose grip on this world and a tight grip on what lies ahead. This world is temporary.
Life is short. Eat dessert first!
Then he says to make sure your minds are fully sober. This is a metaphor. He’s saying be self-controlled. Drunks cannot control themselves or their bodies. What’s the point of this gird of loins and self-control? Hope! With focused, ready minds “set your hope.”
Hope is a challenging word because it means so many different things. I can hope to play baseball for the Detroit Tigers or I can hope you like this sermon or I can hope my wife will love me tomorrow. Like faith, the issue isn’t so much with me, but with the object of my hope. Playing for the Tigers is wishful thinking. It’s not going to happen no matter how much I think about it, pray about it, or hope for it. The love of my wife, however, is secure. Although I haven’t experienced tomorrow yet, I am confident in the love my wife has for me and I look forward to being with her tomorrow.
Peter is saying our hope is in Jesus and His return. We can be sure Jesus is alive and coming back. It has not yet happened. We are waiting, but it is going to happen! There may be pain and trials now but Christ will return and justice will be served.
1 Peter 1:14…
As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:14-16)
Although our culture likes to talk about how things are not black and white but gray, the Bible is filled with contrasts: hot or cold, good or evil, heaven or hell. Every day we can choose to follow the world or God. We can reflect society’s consumerism and individualism or we can reflect God and His character, His nature, His holiness.
There’s a lot of opinions in our world about right and wrong…or if there is any such thing. As I remembered 9/11 on Friday I recalled the article I read shortly after the disaster in 2001 that asked why the terrorists were wrong. They did what they believed in, what they thought was right. Who are we to judge?!
This has been the dilemma of our court system. Who is right? What is ok? Abortion? Marijuana? Gay marriage? Adultery? Sharing a Netflix account with a friend? Pornography? Human cloning?
Ethics originate from within ourselves (conscience, reasons, nature) or from outside ourselves (the Constitution, revelation, codes of ethics). Scot McKnight writes
Christian orthodoxy teaches that ethics flows from salvation and that humans, by themselves, cannot discern the will of God—for personal salvation, for personal ethics, or for the social order. We know God’s will because in his grace he has made his will known to us through his revelation, the Bible being the primary mode of this revelation. The same construction applies to our knowledge of ethics: We know what is good from what is bad because God has told us in his Word, beginning with the Mosaic legislation and climaxing in the teachings of Jesus and the apostolic testimony.
Our text for today is quite explicit in this, distinguishing between evil desires of the world and holiness, reflecting God. Holy means “set apart” or “different.” It’s not necessarily saying perfection—though God is perfect and we are not—but different, unique, special. We are to be holy because we have been changed and because we are children of a holy God. Kids are like their parents (sorry kids!). Obedient children follow Daddy. We were children of the devil, the world, following its ways. Now we are to be obedient children of God, walking in holiness, imitating Jesus.
We are called to be holy. As Jesus called Peter to follow Him, so also He is calling us to be holy and follow His example.
Notice, too, Peter says, “It is written.” The Word of God is powerful. Do you know it? Do you read it? Do you live it? An hour on Sunday isn’t going to make up for the 167 hours you’re in the world, absorbing its messages of selfishness and pride. As Warren Wiersbe says,
The Word reveals
God’s mind, so we should learn it.
God’s heart, so we should love it.
God’s will, so we should live it.
Author John Eldridge wrote, “Our journey to holiness is the process whereby we receive more and more of the holiness of Jesus Christ into more and more of our being…In fact, the assumption of the New Testament is that you cannot become whole without becoming holy; nor can you become holy without becoming whole. The two go hand in hand.”
In order to make humans what they are meant to be the love of God seeks to make us whole and holy. We are not holy because of what we do for God, we are made holy because of what God has done for us.
Are you an obedient child of God?
When I reflect upon God’s holiness and my sin I realize I am desperate for Him.
When I recognize God’s power and my weakness I realize I am desperate for HIm.
This is why worship is so important.
When I am desperate for God, I spend time with Him.
When I spend time with Him, I know Him.
When I know Him, I love Him.
When I love Him, I obey Him.
Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. (1 Peter 1:17)
This fear does not mean anxiety or scary, but rather awe. Dad is watching us now, and one day He will judge each of us. We can have awe or desire the approval of the world as citizens or we can be in awe of and seek the Father as foreigners; visitors.
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God. (1 Peter 1:18-21)
We have been redeemed, purchased with a price. Jesus died, shedding His blood for us. Our redemption makes us grateful for not only forgiveness but adoption into our new family and a desire to live in holiness and awe before God.
Our Father is the standard. He is holy. He shows us through Jesus what it means to truly be human, to live as we were created to live, full of faith, hope and love. He shows us the benefits of salvation, an eternal hope that cannot be taken away.
So What?
Is your faith and hope in God…or in the stock market?
Is your faith and hope in God…or in your friends?
Is your faith and hope in God…or in your job?
Is your faith and hope in God…or in your social media popularity?
Is your faith and hope in God…or in your stuff…the house, the cars, the vacations?
Is your faith and hope in God…or in our president, governor, or political party?
Is your faith and hope in God…or in your gifts, talents and abilities?
Is your faith and hope in God…or in your education and diplomas?
Is your faith and hope in the present…or in the future?
Peter encourages us to be aware of the future—God’s righteous judgment of our lives and also the hope of the joy of final salvation. The best is yet to come.
Credits
Some ideas from
Be Hopeful (1 Peter): How to Make the Best of Times Out of Your Worst of Times (The BE Series Commentary) by Warren Wiersbe
Thru The Bible audio messages by J. Vernon McGee
1 Peter (The NIV Application Commentary) by Scot McKnight
You can listen to this message and others at the Scio podcast here. You can also subscribe to our podcast here.