Holiness

Holiness – Burlington – 12/3/2023

Good morning! I am so grateful for what the Lord’s doing in this congregation, and in our families as the Spirit moves among us and in us. (SLIDE) We’re continuing to walk through our series about we believe as part of the church of God. Knowing what we believe is important, first so that we may have full assurance in the hope, peace and joy that comes from our salvation in Jesus Christ, but also that we then can fulfill the great commission. Being able to share the gospel, not necessarily exactly as it was that we grew up with in whatever church we grew up in.

If we grew up in a church at all, but scripturally and Spiritually the Lord calls us to serve each other. To serve the unsaved. To serve others in ways that will draw them closer to our heavenly Father, and the knowledge of Jesus Christ as their personal savior. Amen? So, here’s the sermon plan, as the Lord leads. And I am here to serve you. To help us all grow in the knowledge and understanding of God’s word and how to apply that to our daily lives. So, if there’s a subject you feel we should be sharing on a Sunday morning. Just ask.

We talked about this scripture specifically last week (SLIDE) In the gospels Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit as our helper or comforter in four places in John. John 14:16, John 14:26, John 15:26 and John 16:7. 26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. 27 And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.

I’m not sure that I was clear enough last week on this passage. Note that Jesus is referring to the Holy Spirit here as a person. One third of the trinity. He will be bear witness, so you can bear witness. Now there may be some of us saying, but Jon, He’s talking to his disciples because “you have been with me from the beginning.” Here’s why that command is still relevant to us.

The disciples knew Jesus from the beginning of answering His call to follow Him, walking with Him, listening as He taught and healed. Let me say that again so that sinks in. The disciples knew Jesus from the beginning of answering his call to follow Him, walking with Him, listening as He taught and healed. So, is that really different from you and I, if as I expect, you answered the call to follow Him, to walk with Him, to listen to Jesus and the Holy Spirit in the word? It’s not different. As we shared last week, Jesus said to doubting Thomas eight days after the resurrection: Blessed are those who have not seen, and believed.

(SLIDE) We also at the end of last week talked about the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Evidence that the Holy Spirit is active in our lives. Wisdom, Knowledge, Faith, Healing, Miracles, Prophecy, Discerning of Spirits, Speaking in tongues, Interpretation of tongues, Administration and Helps (1 Cor 12:8-10, Eph 4:7-13, Isa 11:2-3, Rom 12:3-8).

We’ve talked briefly about the Wesleyan Holiness Movement, to which the Church of God is a part among many believers and congregations, globally. Part of our conversation about Justification, Sanctification, and although we didn’t spend a lot of time talking about it, Glorification begins with JohnWesley and extends through many preachers and teachers, both men and women right through this present day. John Wesley’s great life changing experience happened on May 24th, 1738.

(SLIDE) In 1761, Wesley wrote in a letter “All experience as well as Scripture show this salvation to be both instantaneous and gradual. It begins the moment we are justified (forgiven), it gradually increases from that moment … till, in another instant, the heart is cleansed and filled with pure love of God and man. But even that increases more and more.” Praise God, He doesn’t leave us in the mess that He found us in when we came to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

(SLIDE) John Wesley taught three key things from scripture, that we in the Church of God (Anderson) believe as well. One is that original sin exists, and we can’t save ourselves through good works. Second, justification, salvation comes by faith alone. And third, genuine faith in God through Jesus Christ produces both inward, and outward Holiness.

(SLIDE) So today we’re going to talk about Holiness, which we can’t achieve on our own efforts. It’s why we need to be walking in step with the Holy Spirit as part of the trinity. Father, Son and Holy Spirit . . . they are one. They are in complete unity with each other. Our discussion about the Nature of God if you remember, all of those attributes or characters include the Holy Spirit because they are one.

(SLIDE) When Moses was preparing for God to write the law on tablets in Exodus 34, 5 The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with Him there and proclaimed the name of the Lord. 6 The Lord passed before Him and proclaimed “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,(SLIDE)God’s Nature is: Merciful, Gracious, Slow to Anger, Abounding in Steadfast Love and Faithfulness, Keeping Steadfast Love and Forgiving Transgression & Sin.

(SLIDE) You saw in this brief table I shared last week on the screen and in the bulletin, The nature, the characteristics of God that is also in His son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. That same Holy Spirit that was in Jesus, is now within us, when we, repenting of our sins have confessed Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, believing in our hearts God raised Him from the dead.

Now, we know in our hearts and minds that we are not worthy of God’s love on our own. You might even hear the enemy whispering in your ear, “You’re not good enough. You’re not pretty or handsome enough. You’re not smart enough. You’re not worthy”. Quit listening to anyone who tells you, that you are not enough. Rather, Praise God that our justification, the gift of eternal life isn’t given to us because of our own abilities to be, Holy, and righteous before the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. If humanity was capable of being one with God, in obedience and love for each other, for all God’s children, as it was at the beginning in the garden before the fall, then there would have been no reason for Jesus to die on the cross, as an atonement, a blood sacrifice for our sins. But that is a historical fact of what happened, as is His resurrection, a historical fact.

The first step to a walk of increasing holiness in our lives, daily, is to understand that our worth comes from God. And don’t confuse the monetary value we as humans place on temporary things, on stuff, on property, with the worth you have. (SLIDE) Psalm 54:10 For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you. Or how about (SLIDE) Jeremiah 31:3b I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you. And even more, John 3:16 16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.

Our ability to walk in holiness begins with understanding the grace and mercy that God so freely gives to us. So I don’t want to spend a lot of time on our inadequacies in the face of a Holy God because we already know that to be true. We’ve been watching the Chosen on Wednesday nights meal and message, this scripture from Luke comes up next week. (SLIDE) Luke 5:8 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”

You know what the best part about that is. Jesus doesn’t depart does he? Christ knows exactly everything there is to know about Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John. Just like God already knows everything there is to know about you. He asked them to become His disciples and follow Him. God understands, as (SLIDE)Paul wrote in Romans 7:21-23 21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, 23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.

For there is no one holy as the Lord our God. Knowing that we could not accomplish this on our own, God provided a pathway to Holiness through the sacrifice of His son, Jesus. In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit came upon individuals, but one had to be clean to enter into God’s presence.

We saw in Psalms last week last week use the term (SLIDE) Ruach HaKodesh – Psalm 51:10-11 10Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right Spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.After the resurrection of Christ and His ascension to the right hand of God, once the Holy Spirit arrives here for all who accept Jesus as Lord, God’s presence now resides in us. As you’ve heard many times, we are the temple of the Lord now.

We are heirs to the kingdom of God prepared from the foundation of the world. (SLIDE) James 2:5 5 Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love Him? We are all God’s children, but having confessed Jesus Christ as Lord we have become Chosen. What instruction did God give Moses? (SLIDE) Leviticus 19:2 2 “Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. Just because we live in the new covenant doesn’t mean we’re not called to holiness. (SLIDE) 1 Peter 1:14-16 14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” In the Greek the word here for Holy is Hagios, which like Kodesh in Hebrew, means set apart, sacred, different from the world. If we claim to belong to the Lord, then pursuit of holiness is required.

Now are some in other denominations that believe you can do nothing to remove sin from your life. In fact the reform movement teaches that sanctification only occurs at death. According to scripture John Wesley viewed Christian holiness as a linear movement forward. Even though we have the inner assurance and regeneration of our Spirit that results from justification at the time of confession and our baptism, the new believer, and even older believers, discover that there is still a root of sin within us that was inherited from Adam and Eve.

(SLIDE) Paul describes it well and you heard me say last week, that God, the Father Galatians 2:19-21 17 But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! 18 For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. 19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. (SLIDE) 20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. 21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.

I said more than once last week in our discussion of the Holy Spirit, that when we choose self, over the Lord, and over our neighbors, we’ve sinned. Let alone, the things we can access on our phones or online, watch on television, or read in books and magazines. The way at times we are unable to control our thoughts or our tongues and speak evil of others who are also God’s children. Rather than witnessing with love, grace and respect, we condemn, not in righteous ways, but in human ways that offend the Lord. God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit cannot partake in sin. They can heal us from our sins but they cannot commit sin.

(SLIDE) Going to church Sundays and Wednesdays, bible knowledge, treating others professionally, zealousness, spending time with Godly people. These are good activities, but that’s not holiness. Some of that is just the habits we have grown up with or learned along the way.

To be Holy requires becoming one with God. As we were in the garden in the beginning. One with Christ, one the Holy Spirit, one with the mind of the Lord operating in us, as we wholly absorb from scripture what God loves, what God hates and how to discern the difference beyond the most basics of biblical and ethical laws and the selfish desires of the human heart. And not, as many people, twist God’s words into something that benefits only their own power position or finances.

Listen to what Paul writes to us in Romans. (SLIDE) Romans 12:1-2 I appeal to you therefore, brothers (and sisters), by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your Spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

How do we transform our minds? (SLIDE) Do you remember the WWJD bracelets and t-shirts? The What Would Jesus Do movement started with a youth group leader at Calvary Reformed Church in Holland, Michigan. The leader, Janie Tinklenberg, started the movement to help her teenagers remember the phrase. The movement spread worldwide. You can go back to 1896 when a Kansas Congregational Minister Charles Sheldon in Topeka published a book called His Steps: What would Jesus do. That book was never copywrited, so it still ranks in the top 50 books sold of all time, having sold more than 30 million copies.

I think before we can know what Jesus would do, we would have to know What Does Jesus See. How does He see us? How does He see those we’re interacting with. We’re called to have the mind of Christ in 1 Corinthians 2:16, and Philippians 2:5. This is a continuation of the scripture we looked at last week. (SLIDE) 1 Corinthians 2:14-16 14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to Him, and he is not able to understand them because they are Spiritually discerned. 15 The Spiritual person judges all things, but is Himself to be judged by no one. 16 “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

(SLIDE) And Philippians 2:3-8 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, (SLIDE) 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

How was Jesus able to walk this earth without sin though tempted in every way as we are? (SLIDE) He spent time with His Father. Sometimes that was with the disciples, or praying and laying hands on others to heal them by the power of the Holy Spirit. Many times, that was alone. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, together. In Unity. God the Father filling the Son with the power of the Holy Spirit that He might have the strength to overcome every obstacle. Every threat. Even unto death on the cross. How much time are we spending, daily, not just Sundays or Wednesdays, or when something in life we don’t like happens to us or someone we love. How much time in each and every day are we spending, with the Lord.

1 Corinthians 10:12-13 12 Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

(SLIDE) Jesus faced every temptation and was without sin. Not that we, at least not at this time in our lives, have obtained the same power by the Holy Spirit that Christ was able to stand on, but we have the mind of Christ. We have access to the Heavenly Father and the power of His Holy Spirit to move within us, before us, behind, above, and below. How, when that temptation comes, that God will provide a way out for us, are we to find escape from sin to remain on a lifelong path of increasing Holiness? We find that refuge, that strength, that hope, that ability to overcome in our knowledge of the Word. And I don’t mean that you can quote the exact book, correct chapter and verse. That’s a gift from God for some, but just knowing the word of God provides us the ability to stand against temptation.

(SLIDE) Hebrews 4:9-13 12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of Spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

If we are not fully satisfied with where our life is, right now. If we’re struggling without doubt, with fear, with the inability to discern the things we should not partake in, without condemning others by the way. Remember John 3:17? God sent His son not to condemn the world, but to save it. So if we’re fulfilling the great commission, condemnation doesn’t bring salvation. The gospel, shared in the act of serving, the of loving, of meeting the needs of others over our own self-interests, leads the lost to salvation in Jesus Christ.

(SLIDE) The journey of holiness didn’t stop when you gave your heart to the Lord. It was just beginning. Now some of us along that journey, myself included, turned down some roads that are not what He intended for us. But that doesn’t mean He’s forsaken us, or abandoned us. As someone who has been healed from more than I care to discuss, I know that that Father rejoices when even one lost sheep returns to the fold.

Holiness in your life means making a dedicated commitment to pursuing God continually. Not just in a few hours here or there, or a few minutes in the morning when rising or at night before resting. Becoming Holy means denial of self in any area of life that is against God’s will for us individually, or that may cause another to stumble and fall. We must show restraint in our hearts, our thoughts, the words that come from our mouths, and how we behave in all circumstances. (SLIDE) James 1:26-27 26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless. 27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

(SLIDE) The pursuit of holiness, the following scriptures are foundational to our growth beyond a knowledge of Jesus as Lord and Savior. So I have put them on the back of the bulletin for you to take home and review every day.

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). You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:22-24). So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart (2 Timothy 2:22). God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness (Hebrews 12:10). Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14).

Communion: Matthew 26:26-29 26 Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” 27 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, 28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.”