The Holiness of God

Today's reading comes from Isaiah 6. Verses 1 through 8. 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 where seraphim each with six wings.

Pause there for a second. Above him where seraphim each with six wings with two Wings, they covered their faces with two, they covered their feet and with to they were flying and they were calling to one another holy. Holy holy is the Lord Almighty. The whole earth is full of his glory at the sound of their voices, the doorpost and threshold Shook. And the temple was filled with smoke woe to me. I cried, I am ruined for. I'm a man of unclean, lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the king, the Lord Almighty. Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar with it, touch my mouth and said, see this is touched your lips. Your guilt is taken away and your sin atone for then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, whom shall I send? And who will go for us. And I said, here, I am send me. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

Many of you are familiar with a theologian from the 5th Century named Augustine. Augustine is the the guy who John Piper, if those of you who are familiar with him, he's the guy who John Piper calls the most influential Christian ever outside the Bible. What might surprise you about Augustine is that he spent almost half of his life. Absolutely enslaved to lust and sexual immorality and all kinds of other sins. And did you know that Augustine used to belong to a gang? He was in a gang called the Destroyers and they used to just go around and do bad stuff just for the fun of doing bad stuff. There's a story of Augustine sneaking into a farmer's Grove and picking all of the ripe pears off of the farmers pear tree, and feeding them to pigs. Just because he knew it was going to be a problem for somebody else, just because he knew it was going to harm someone else. That's the kind of guy Augustine was He was also quite a philosopher, well-educated well-spoken. And so a lot of ladies, we're really into Augustine. Okay, he actually a, he had it. He had several Mistresses and he conceived it. A son. He had a son out there as well, but, but Augustine used to pray. This was at, this is how we used to joke with his friends. He did say that he jokingly, pray, Lord grant me Holiness but not yet Lord grant me Holiness but not yet. So that's a Gustin. Up until the age of about 32. Will one day at age 32 he gets a letter about a friend who had had a pretty dramatic conversion to the Christian faith and Augustine hears this and he's kind of embarrassed about his house and he's kind of ashamed, feel guilty, He wrote about it later in his Memoirs, called the confessions and what he said to his friends after hearing this story. He asked his friends. What are we doing? What are we doing unlearning unlearning? People are taking Heaven by force while we with all our knowledge or so cowardly that we keep rolling around in the mud of our sins. So you so here's where Augustine was at age 32, he's got two problems. One is that he's just wasting his life. He's wasting his gift. He's wasting his intelligence, he just wasting it, but the other thing is and even worse, perhaps is he enjoys it He doesn't hate his stinky, he loves that. He's he Delights in it. And so what he did it. Very, very early stage is he starts asking God to change his desires. change his desires change, his appetites in and one day he is He's out walking. I walked past this yard in some of you may know the story. If you've heard the story of August Augustine before but Augustine is walking past this yard to hear some kids singing Take and read take and read and he thinks there's no kids song that includes these lyrics until he goes and finds the nearest Bible. And he opened it up. And it comes to Romans 13 and he reads where Paul says. Let us behave decently as in the daytime, Not in corralling and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery. Not in dissension, and jealousy, rather clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ.

He reads that and he knows that it's for him. It's you know that it's for him is like get rid of that garbage dude. Keep your clothes on and and be closed with Jesus Christ. And as he meditates on this and reflect on it, Augustine life is changed suddenly dramatically changed. He is celibate the rest of his life. He raises his son, never sleep with another woman, the rest of his life. And he spent the rest of his life writing and thinking and preaching and teaching, and training, professors, until he died at age 76. And again, it's fair to say that nobody outside the Bible has had a bigger impact on the church, then Augustine. And if we could ask him, what what happened? Like what changed, how did you, how do you explain this change yours? What Augustine said? And you wrote this in his confessions he said how sweet all at once. It was for me to be rid of those fruitless Joys, which I had once feared to lose you drove them from me. You who are the truth, The Sovereign Joy. You drove them from me and took their place, you who are sweeter than all pleasure, O Lord, my God my light, my wealth and my salvation

As he reflects on, Augustine knows that his desires, his appetites, and his what he Delights in the things he loves to do and God's holiness are total opposites, they had been total opposite and now because of his encounter with God's holiness, this encounter with the Holiness of Jesus. Now they're one in the same. He used to be afraid of God's holiness. He used to be revolted and repelled by the Holiness of Jesus. Now, it's beautiful to him. That's when his life changed, that's when God, became his Sovereign Joy. Anderson Augustine, Scholars, named Timothy babatunde and hit. He says that this is what God wants for all of us. Is it true? What he says? He says, what does it mean to have a contrite heart of a broken spirit? It's a heart that a horse in because it has beheld the Holiness of God. It clearly recognizes the chasm between us and God, the contrast between his Holiness. In our sinfulness, a contrite, heart Falls, at the throne of grace for mercy. Gloves he says with Augustine we can only know the immense atrocity of our sins when we appreciate the magnitude of God's holiness. Beloved, let us pray and resolve to daily grow, in our desire to know and behold God in his Holiness. Let's pray and and and resolve to daily grow in our desire to know and behold God in his Holiness. So that we might grow in Conformity to the image of Jesus, his son. Behold God. So that we are transformed and we become more like Jesus. And that's what he wants for us. And when we're likely, is that how it happens? Like, is that the process? We behold, God Holiness, it changes us. Turns us. You do makes us more, like Jesus makes us more. Holy is that the process actually think that it is? I think that it isn't today Morning Show why? So today we are continuing in our set of study is called, Behold our God. These are studies in what our God is like and we've been doing this for several weeks and looking at a different attribute of God. And over the weeks, we have talked about how God is Trinity and God is present and he's creative. And God is love, and God is omnipresent and and on and on. And and each week what we've been asking is not just, what is it mean that this thing is true of God. But what if it wasn't like, where would that leave us? If this thing weren't true of God, This morning, we continue and we're focusing on God's holiness, looking at God's holiness and and I'm going to bite you actually, did you turn in your Bible? Isaiah chapter 6. In my years, as a pastor in Meyers, administrative, actually never preached on this passage. So I was so thrilled to have this opportunity to talk about God's holiness based on Isaiah chapter 6. But there are a couple of things I need to say by way of contacts. So you join me and Isaiah chapter 6, which is the passage we heard read just a moment ago. I just, by way of context, there's something we need to understand. Isaiah begins, this section by saying that this is the year that King Uzziah died. I don't expect you to know what that means or who or who was Isaiah is, but died in the year 750 BC and he was basically a good King as Kings of Israel go, he was pretty good. He ruled Israel for about 52 years, they're mostly good years. But at the end of his time, as king Uzziah becomes proud, he become arrogant and he came down with leprosy. You got a really bad case of leprosy. I don't mean I shouldn't laugh at that, but he became proud and become and gets leprosy and he dies. And it was a horrible, horrible, end to a really great run as king. And, and you can imagine that when King Uzziah died, it left the people of Israel, nervous and anxious and wondering what? Now, what like if somebody like, Isaiah can go bad, what can happen to the rest of us. Like if a king as good as I can turn bad. What hope is there? Where what what? King out there could possibly lead us into the future that God has for us and so it's almost like this passage in Isaiah 6 is the answer to that question is almost like God this this Vision that God gives to Isaiah is the answer to what hope there is. Yes there is hope, there is a different King, a greater King. And that's who we meet in this passage. And what I like to do as we study, Isaiah 6 is I'd like to look at this passage under three headings, okay? The three headings that I want to consider this passage under our what Isaiah sees and what Isaiah fields and then what Isaiah does. All right? What he sees what he feels and what he does. Set. Begin, let's talk about what Isaiah sees.

He sees the Lord sitting upon a throne. In this Vision, he sees the Lord seated upon a throne high and lifted up. Now you are not supposed to be able to see the Lord. Not supposed to be able to see him but Isaiah does and he's way up high and he's Seated on a throne and he wears this robe. That is so big. The train of his robe is so big that it fills the temple and around the one on the throne and above him, are these beings. These creatures called the Sarofim and I know if you've encountered this word in scripture before but the seraphim, these are literally the burning ones. Okay, we're not talking about like little white, chubby babies with tiny little wings on their back. What we're talkin about here with the seraphine? We are talking about these burning Warrior angels with six wings, who all they do all the time is saying and cry out about God's holiness, to of their wings, cover their eyes because God is too. Holy to look at two of their wings, cover their feet because God's presence is Holy Ground and you're not supposed to be able to stand on it. And what they do all day all the time is they call out to one another. Holy holy holy is the Lord God Almighty the whole earth is full of his glory. All the time. Holy holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. The whole earth is full of his glory and it's a scene that causes the foundation of the temple to shake. It causes the building to tremble and shake now. I debated whether I should do this or not. I'm not I think it's hard for us to appreciate what this feels like what this sounds like and so I want us to do a bit of a demo. I want us to kind of reenact this little do this together so just take a minute but I think it'll be really help us to appreciate what's going on in this scene. So what I'm going to do is I'm going to point to one side of the room and when I do I want your side of the room to Yellow the word. Holy, that's all I want you to do it. When I point to this side you're going to yell out. Holy when I pointed this side, you're going to yell out. Holy and we're going to do that three times. And we're going to keep doing it until we get the sense of what it feels like and what it what would it looks like to be in this scene. Okay, do that. You're going to get your Sunday morning voice, going to set that aside and now you got your Saturday night invoice on and we're going to go yell out. Holy holy holy is due to get come on holy holy holy yell it out, holy holy holy again. Holy holy holy is the Lord God! Almighty Heaven and Earth are full of his glory over and over and over. That's what happens in this place all the time. That's what Isaiah sees. That's what I say is. Let's talk about what Isaiah feels.

Cease this God who is Holy? Holy Holy and he's overwhelmed overcome.

With guilt and with grief. And with Shame about his sin, what he says in verse five is woe to me, I am ruined. I'm a man of unclean lips and I live among the people of unclean lips like a people around me all have unclean lips as well. Like, I have the best settings in of my culture, unclean lips. Now we don't know what exactly what that means. We don't know whether it is a liar. We don't know whether he's a gossip, we don't know whether Isaiah uses a lot of profanity. Whatever the reason Isaiah is struck by how unclean his lips. Are he struck by the difference between God's holiness and his sinfulness?

And he said that he's ruined. He's ruined woe to me. What? When you when you say, whoa to me, what you're saying is

Like, yo, I'm in a really bad place. I would rather be anywhere, but where I am right now, that's what it means to say. Whoa, is me, and that's what Isaiah feels. He's struck by the difference. The gap between God's holiness and his sinfulness. That's what he feel now is, talk about what Isaiah does. What he does. He serves he goes, can't get that this response again in just a couple of verses. Isaiah goes from this place of fear and shame to service that will come back to this and it will see why in a few minutes but this opportunity opens up. God says, whom shall I send and who will go for us? And Isaiah says, here, am I like, I'm here, send me. Editing up until this moment Isaiah's life had been going in One Direction is life have been moving in one hour. Long one trajectory, you know, he had a sense of what his life looks like. He has his encounter with God in his Holiness and he's changing all of a sudden, of course, I'll go here. Am I send me? I'll go. Like this his life is changed and transformed, it is going along an entirely different trajectory I don't have none, of course it does. Like, what you going to do to you say no.

He says life is is change, transformed? Of course he's going to go. That's what Isaiah does. Do talk about what Isaiah sees, what he feels and what he does. I don't want to leave this. Passage about God's holiness before we reflect on what this means for us. Okay, what it means. I think that this is a massively important. There's a couple of things that means one is God's holiness means that there are some things that are impossible just completely impossible. There are some other things that because of God's holiness are possible and we'll talk about those for a couple minutes here. First loose, talk about what's impossible. There are some things that in light of God's holiness are just on early, totally completely impossible. Like, for one thing, God's holiness means that God never lines. He never lies. You can't. Okay, never mislead you. God never makes a promise that he doesn't intend to keep God never gives answers that he knows aren't true. God, never exaggerate his stories embellishes in order to impress people. He never he, he doesn't do this because he can't He can't lie. He's holy holy, holy He has nothing to gain by lying, think of the reasons why you and I lie. He has nothing to gain by lying. It's impossible. What else is impossible?

God never fails. God is never late. God never forgets. God never is confused. He never gets distracted. God is never double-booked. God never finds himself too busy. He never forgets to keep a promise that he made a few weeks ago, that doesn't happen to gods. It's impossible. God only ever does his will perfectly every time because he's holy, holy holy it's impossible for me to fail. What else is impossible? God does no harm and I feel like there might be some people here who need to hear this this morning. God does no harm. God doesn't trap, you got doesn't trick you. That doesn't set you up to fail. He doesn't, he's not out to embarrass you or shame, you or humiliate you, or degrade you or abused. You God is not up there. Twisting his mustache, you know, thinking of ways to get you back for the ways, you said God isn't up there waiting for ways to teach you a lesson about who he is. Because he told me because a holy God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. He said that I didn't say that. Because a holy God has no one above him that he needs to impress. By showing off his powers. Like look what I can do. Who's he going to impress impress his nobody above him because of the holy God lacks. Nothing that we can provide him with our pain and with our suffering. Do we suffer? We have pain? Of course, we do. Of course, we do with the course we suffering and when we do we sometimes cough with some really creative explanation. Sometime some strange explanation involving God. I've heard some, I'd probably responsible for some

I think that we forget that God is Holy and it, the whole earth is full of his glory. This God can't break his own Commandments. He can't send, and he's never tempted to. He can't send any never wants to, he never needs to, it's impossible. God Holiness makes things like these impossible and that's the god that we worship. In light of his Holiness. There are some things that are impossible. Okay? Now there's also some things that are possible. I have one thing in mind, it's Holiness. It's our own Holiness, our own Holiness is possible. We're possible. Perhaps, than we think. It is more possible than the rest of us would like it to me. Take me to experiment. Just kind of illustrate when I'm talking about that. You got a Christian friend, you've brought, you know, if you're if you're married thinking about asking a question to your spouse or a Christian friend, or somebody in your family, think of Imagine asking them, suppose you're asking them how they're doing spiritually. Okay. How you doing? Spiritually. How's your walk with God? Suppose their answer is something like well. Not great. Work. I'm a work in progress. Suppose, our answer is, you know, I've been better. I'm not that close with God right now. Suppose the answer is like, I'm a hot mess. I mean, I've heard these things, I probably said some of these things would that be strange? Would that be unusual to get an answer like that? In an answer to the question? How are you doing, spiritually? I don't think so. I don't think it would be strange. That's just how we talk about discipleship. Think part of that is just we don't want to, we don't want people to think that we're Hypocrites. We don't want to sound like we're better than we are. We don't want to mislead anybody and make them think that we think we're super important. I get that.

But suppose you ask the same person? How are you doing, spiritually? How's your walk with God? And suppose their answer is to know what God is making me. Holy It's working like it, you know, I am actually holy or today than I was a year ago. Can you believe it supposed? They're answer is, you know what, some of the things that I used to really enjoy your just not interested. Didn't used to be really. You don't thrilling for me. It's lost its thrill. I'm no longer tempted by left. No longer tempted by greed. I'm becoming holy. Can you believe it? I mean is if this same person gave you an answer like I mean I think that that would be unusual. I think that that would be unusual.

Listen to what scripture says about Holiness. Okay, listen to this Paul the Apostle Paul he says, God chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. The author, the Hebrews says make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be wholly without Holiness. No one will see the Lord. Saint Peter said, just as he who called you is Holy, so be holding, all you do for threatened be holy because I'm holy Now, we could go on and on, but make no mistake. It is actually God's desire for us that we are holding, but he actually want separate. That's God's will for each of us in this room. God wants you to be a holy person.

No. I know that in this series, we're not just asking what does it mean that God is Holy, we are asking that and we've discussed that a little bit. What does it mean that God is Holy but one of the things we're also asking is, what would it mean for us if God weren't boldly? Like, where would that leave us? If we didn't have a God? Who is Holy? Holy Holy. Here's my answer to that. If God were not wholly, then you and I would have no hope of holding is, it would be impossible for us. And what that would mean is that we have a God who is distant and cruel and hypocritical. And heartless and probably corrupt. And like he's some Cosmic dictator who's ordering us around, sending us around, commanding us to be holy and leaving us on our own to do it with no help from him. Know, I do hope that it will ever work. Leaving it us on our own to carry it out in our own strength with me. While he has no desire to himself. Be be holy and That's where we would be. That's where it would. That's what, where we would be if we had a God who wasn't wholly. And here's the thing, it seems to me that some, there are some people perhaps out in our culture, who Who look at the church and they think that that's the god that we worship. That anybody who claims to be, holy, holy, holy, he must be corrupt. He can't possibly practice what he preaches. And so I think that there are some people who think who assume that this is his nature. This is what God is, like he commands us to be holding, he does whatever kind of corrupt twisted stuff that he wants and it's not true. I can say this with the full confidence of scripture. It's not true. God is. Holy Holy, Holy

And God's holiness means that our Holiness is possible. It really, is it really is possible. I came across recently as an author and a professor name is Jessica Hooten Wilson, and she wrote a book called the scandal of holiness. And her argument in this book is that Holiness is impossible? And it, God commands us to do it anyway. And that's the Paradox, the Christian Life is, one of the things she says, is it, if we are honest with ourselves, we fear Jesus command to be perfect as our. Heavenly father is perfect. We fear it because we know it's not in our power guys. I disagree. I don't see it that way at all. That's not what I see when in in in churches with a small. See it's not what I see in many spots in the large sea church, not what I see in on Christian social media. It's certainly not what I see in my own heart. I don't see a lot of fear of God's command of Jesus command. I don't see a lot of fear of Jesus come in. I don't see a lot of it out there. I don't see a lot of it in here when I pause and I look and I reflect on what I see. I see, you know, apathy yeah, laziness. Yeah, I'm laziness Church procrastinating assuming that I've got time to work on it later. Yep, excuses. Yes. That's what I see when I look at in in here. And listen, want to be really clear about something we qualify this. There is something really good and right about not wanting to come off sounding. Like, I think that I'm better than anybody else. Okay, I get that and I think that's good and right, but it's not like Mike maleski is so focused on Holiness that I risk alienating other people. Let me see that again. It's not like I'm so focused on Holiness that I risk alienating other people. The thing that I am actually afraid of is is not that I'm going to try and try and then I'm going to find that. I'm not very holy at all.

The truth is that so often I'm afraid of what other people think of me. And so I don't even try to be holy. Like I've been where Augustine was, I've been where you wasn't and I totally resonate with him, crying out and saying, what am I doing? What am I doing like with all my knowledge? So cowardly that I keep rolling around in the mud of my sins. Anybody who can relate to that? Think so. Let me ask you an honest question. Okay if I'm delivering this point there's a good reason for this but let me ask you an honest question. I don't want you to answer this out loud. The question is, what would you rather be than wholly?

What would you rather be than holy Kate? Don't answer this. This is just for you. What would you rather be than holy would you? Would you rather be funny? Wealthy. Out of debt.

Beautiful. Would you rather be thin? Would you rather be famous and successful? Would you rather be younger? Would you rather be older than holy? Here's why I'm asking, that's okay. My sense. Is that the problem with Holiness, isn't that? We are going to, we, we, we want it so much and we try so hard and then we discover that, it's just impossible. I don't think that that's what happens. I think that it's that with a little effort with a little repentance with a little cross carrying Holiness actually is possible. We can actually make some progress in Holiness and maybe we're going to find that. It's not that interesting after all.

After different problem is not.

In other words if it's not that we can't be holy if we want to. If that maybe when we're honest we don't want to

Again, I know I'm belaboring this point but there's a good reason the reason is because what I believe, what God wants the church to hear. What God wants the church to hear is that not only is Holiness, possible? Holiness is promised, not only is holding his promise. Holiness is better than anything else that the world has to offer. It's better than anything else the world has to offer. Come back with me. If you went to Isaiah chapter 6, if you got your Bible, there is one more thing that I want us to see before we before we leave this conversation about God's holiness. We talked about what Isaiah sees, what Isaiah feels what he does, but we skipped over is what done for Isaiah. And this is just beautiful. This is how Isaiah becomes a Christian. Okay, I'm just pause for a second, I didn't mention it earlier. But in John chapter 12 the Apostle John says that this Lord who Isaiah sees on the throne. That's Jesus Christ. The one that Isaiah looks out and sees him and says her crying out. Holy holy holy is the Lord. God Almighty John says that Isaiah saw Jesus. I think John's Club if you want to check that out but you remember in that section if John has of Isaiah, 60, Isaiah said that he's ruined. He says, woe is me. I'm a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips and look what happens in verse 6.

What are the seraphim food made with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar with it with this burning hot coal. He touched my mouth and he said, see this is touched your lips. Your guilt is taken away in your skin, the tone for you're staying at the tone for his guilt is taken away as soon as it's known for No, Isaiah didn't ask for that. He didn't ask to be forgiven. He wouldn't dare in the presence of this holy God and yet it's God, who takes the initiative. God take the first step. God doesn't wait for Isaiah to ask. He doesn't wait for Isaiah to pray. A sinner's prayer isn't wait for Isaiah to make himself more forgivable. God, the one on the throne, he in in Grayson's, the seraphim who in Grace and his mercy and kindness moves out toward Isaiah.

Heals him, a visit and takes away his guilt, and it changes his life and you'll like, that's, that's Grace, that's gospel. And that's happening way back in Isaiah, the same thing to happen for Augustine. That's what happened to Isaiah 1,000 years before and got offers the same thing to you. And I and I know that many of you have experienced that many of you have had an encounter with God's holiness through studying the scriptures through Encounters in in Christian Community with God, people in communities, perhaps out in nature, you had an encounter with God's holiness, you want know what I'm talking about. And, you know, this grace, that changes us and makes us. Holy now, it might be that some of us have it backwards, it might be that some of us are trying to be wholly on our own without having met the Lord first, without having any assurance that our sin has been atoned for our guilt has been taken away, and I just got to say this as that's not Christianity. Okay. That's not that's not Christianity, that's not how the gospel work. A Christian isn't someone? Who tries hard to be holy in order to become forgiven That's not a Christian, is a Christian. Is someone who has been forgiven has been given a new heart, and they are becoming Bit by Bit by Bit. They are becoming more holy Like Augustine their taste for sin is, is dying in. Their tastes were seen as being replaced. By another taste is being replaced by a love for Holiness bit by bit. That's Christianity. That's what a Christian is. This from Puritan? Thomas Brooks. He said, man's Holiness is now his greatest happiness. And in heaven, man's greatest, happiness will be his perfect holiness. In heaven, man's greatest happiness, will be his perfect holiness. And this last one from Augustine. He says that was made us for they self a lord. In our heart is restless until it Finds Its rest in v. In other words, we need some really really clear on this, right? Holiness is what we're made for. And someday, there's nothing that we will enjoy more than Holiness, you know, how we know. Because God has promised us, that he who began a good work in, you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

And that's why I can say with certainty that a billion years from now you will not miss your sin.

A billion years from now. You will not look back and miss yours and you will not wish that you could go back and do the things that you were doing. Now that separate you from God, we're going to sing and we're going to build and create an Explorer and travel and worship and see Jesus face-to-face. And we're going to shake our heads over a house in could have had such a hold on us for so long. And we're going to go. Can you believe? Can you believe that we felt so defeated by sin in those days? Can you believe how much we enjoyed stand? What were we thinking now that we know what Holiness is like? And so in the meantime we repent we we fights and we fight Temptation, we don't play with it.

We take sin, we put it down and we don't pick it back up again. That's what repentance is. Yes, some days are better than others but we see Progressive growth and progress in in Holiness, some days. Yes, are better than others but we fight on. WE press on. We do it together.

We pray with Augustine.

Augustine said that some of the Cyclones. You said he prayed? Breathe In Me. Oh, Holy Spirit. That my thoughts may all be wholly. Ox in me. Oh, holy spirit. That might work to maybe holding draw my heart. Oh! Holy spirit! That I love. But what is Holy? Strengthen Me! Oh! Holy Spirit to defend all that is. Holy guard me. Then the holy spirit. That I met that I always may be. Holy what's playing? That is our prayer this morning. Jesus, the Holy One.

Please pause now, go ahead and just reflect. This is very likely, very possible. There are some here who have believe some things about you, that are untrue, and unhelpful, and we have learned some things. We've been told some things by the culture or perhaps by the church about what you're like. That just aren't true. And I pray that today would be a day where we take some of those ideas and thoughts and we put them down and we never pick them back up again. Help us to know what is impossible for you to do and to pursue Holiness, which is possible.

I pray that you would give each of us the gift of an encounter with your holiness. Help us to see. And so have a blown away by your Holiness. That we look at the things that tempt us, we look at Art, we look at our sins that we are tempted to commit, and our day-to-day lives. And we just, we, we lose our taste for these Would you do that for us.

Would you cause each of us here to become more like Jesus? That's our prayer. We pray for those who have lost hope and are discouraged in their journey and in their fight for Holiness. I pray that you give them encouragement and hope and help. Help them to look back and to be able to Rejoice, that they are not who they were ten years ago, even five years ago. Thank you, God. For your Holiness, meet us in your scripture, meet us in our relationships with one another. And make us more like Jesus. All this, we ask in his name.

Let's Stay Together.