Holiness

INTRODUCTION

We are in week five of our Core 52 series.

We are in a series called Core 52, looking at 52 verses of Scripture that will give the highest return on investment.

When it comes to understanding the Bible, these 52 verses and the stories and ideas that go with them will take you further faster.

We spent four weeks in Genesis looking at beginnings.

In our first four weeks, we examined the beginning of the world and the beginning of humanity.

We saw that God created the heavens and the earth, that God was the creator.

In week two, we saw that God created humans in the image of God, an image that is hardwired into every person.

We looked at how things got messed up during the fall.

Jerry shared with you how God took the very first steps to make things right again as God made a covenant with Abraham.

A covenant is an agreement based on a promise.

God made this covenant with Abraham, with one person, so that one day He could bless every person.

Over the next four weeks, we will move to another series within our Core 52 series.

We all want to feel special.

We love being chosen; we need to feel valued.

This second series explores what God looks for in the people He chooses and how you can be part of his inner circle.

The biographies of Moses, Saul, and David offer strategic insights into your best life.

The message today will cover a very misunderstood subject: holiness.

You may have heard or been called Holier than thou, or when we think of the word holiness, images of someone believing they are better than others may come to mind.

Today, as we cover holiness, I hope to help clear up the misconceptions concerning the subject.

Today, we will be in our memory verse for the week, Leviticus 11:45.

Leviticus 11:45 (NET 2nd ed.)

45 for I am the Lord who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God, and you are to be holy because I am holy.

SERMON

I. What does it mean to be holy?

What thoughts and images come to mind when you think of holy or holiness?

Are the thoughts or images pleasant and positive, or are they negative?

When you think about someone being holy, what comes to mind?

Do you think of someone who believes they are perfect or possibly haughty and arrogant?

Do you picture a person who thinks they are better than you?

I have heard that one a lot in my life.

It comes out like this: "You Christians think you are better than everyone else."

Being holy has nothing to do with arrogance or thinking of oneself as better than others.

Being holy means to "be set apart for a specific purpose.

Isn't that simple?

Mark Moore offers an example of this from our everyday lives.

We take ordinary objects every day and make them holy.

We set them apart for a special purpose.

Take a toothbrush, for example.

It's an ordinary brush with dozens of potential uses.

You can use it to clean your grout.

You can use it to apply hair dye.

You can clean all sorts of hard-to-reach spots.

My toothbrush is holy because I set it apart for a special service for me and me alone/

My toothbrush is holy to me.

I do not want my toothbrush used for any purpose other than brushing my teeth!

Not only that, I do not want anyone else using my toothbrush; it is one of the few things that I selfishly protect.

I do not want my wife to use my toothbrush to clean the toilet or her rings.

I do not want my wife to use my toothbrush on her teeth because it is mine.

I will kiss my wife all day, so it is not a germ thing; it is simply my toothbrush for my teeth!

Many items were considered holy in the Tabernacle and later the Temple because they were set aside for a special purpose.

All of the objects were ordinary objects outside of the Tabernacle or Temple; however, when they were called into the service in the Tabernacle or Temple, they were holy.

When God tells us we are holy it is because we are set aside for serving Him.

Leviticus 11:45 teaches us that to be holy means to reflect the character of God in our lives, living in a way that is set apart, pure, and dedicated to Him in all aspects of our being.

In our passage, God reminds the people who He is, God, and what He has done, brought them up from the land of Egypt.

He tells them WHY He brought them out of Egypt to be their God.

We will hit on that thought more in a moment.

We have all kinds of objects set aside for special service in our homes.

Holiness has nothing to do with someone thinking they are better than others; holiness is all about knowing that God has a plan for you and striving to fulfill that calling.

Let's look at our passage again.

Leviticus 11:45 (NET 2nd ed.)

45 for I am the Lord who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God, and you are to be holy because I am holy.

II. How does one become holy?

How does one become holy?

Do you declare yourself holy, or do you do holy things?

One becomes holy because God chooses them to be holy.

Something isn't set apart because it is holy. It is holy because it is set apart.

My toothbrush has nothing special; I get the toothbrush heads from Amazon.

They are inexpensive, and they get the job done.

So i did not pick the toothbrush heads because they were already special and holy; they became holy when I pulled one out of the box and chose to use it on my teeth!

God's plan expanded from one person to one nation.

God chose one man so that he could choose one family.

He chose one family so that He could choose one nation.

He chose that one nation so that one day, He could choose you.

You start with God's covenant with Abraham.

Abraham had a son named Isaac, and then Isaac had Jacob.

Jacob had twelve sons who became the patriarchs of the 12 tribes of Israel.

When you look at Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, or any of the Patriarchs of the Old Testament, how many of them were perfect?

How many of them earned being chosen by God?

Was the nation of Israel holy, so God chose them to be His people, or were they holy because God chose them?

God chose the nation of Israel to be set aside for service.

God didn't choose them because they were better than all the other nations.

He didn't choose them because he didn't love any of the other nations.

But because He chose them, He calls them to be better than all the other nations.

The answer is they were to be holy because He chose them.

It is this nation that God chooses.

God chooses them to be His people, to have a special relationship with Him.

He sets them apart for a very special purpose.

Why did God go to all this trouble to have a chosen people?

What was the point in all this, and what does it have to do with you?

God chooses you to be Holy!

God sees you as so special that His Son died on the cross so you can be with Him for eternity!

This God, the creator of all things, knows you and sees you as someone special.

Anyone who was ever picked last for anything knows deeply the pain of feeling unwanted.

You have no idea if you were always one of the first picked.

Some of us go through life dreaming what it would be like to just one time hear someone say, "Him! I want him. I want her on my team or I called her first."

There's something special about being chosen.

When I was in High School, the males typically asked the females to date or go to dances.

It was hard for some of us to do that because of fear of rejection.

One acceptable exception to the dating rule was the Sadie Hawkins dance.

Whoever this Sadie Hawkins girl is, I have a few choice words for her.

I know Buena High School just had their Sadie Hawkins Dance.

Of all the years I could go, I knew what the girls who did not get asked to a dance felt like.

One time, I got asked to go, but I was in trouble at home, so I did not get to go.

Whenever a pretty girl walked by me, I thought, this is the one who would ask me.

Then well and decent looking nice girl would be great.

Then, pretty much any female would do 😀.

We become holy because God chose those in Christ to be holy.

One more time, let's turn to Leviticus 11:45.

Leviticus 11:45 (NET 2nd ed.)

45 for I am the Lord who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God, and you are to be holy because I am holy.

III. Why one needs to be holy.

From the passage, we see that God tells us who He is, He tells us what He has done, and he tells us why.

Now, He tells us what He expects from His chosen people.

It started with the nation of Israel and spills over to those baptized into Christ!

1 Peter 1:16 (NET 2nd ed.)

16 for it is written, “You shall be holy, because I am holy.”

God says we are to be holy because He is.

Now, if you did not understand Genesis 1:1, and then Genesis 1:26, you would not know the foundational truth that God created all things and that humans are created in His image.

Genesis 3:6 shows how that image was marred through Adam and Eve and that we are called as His chosen people to reflect Him.

So many things God asks of us go back to being holy.

We are to conduct ourselves as citizens of heaven!

We are called to reflect the God we serve!

Verse 45 begins with a reminder of God's redemptive work in bringing the Israelites out of Egypt.

This serves as a powerful reminder that holiness is not merely a set of rules to follow but a response to God's saving grace.

We are called to be holy because of who He is and what He has done.

God's call to be holy is not arbitrary but rooted in God's nature.

We are called to emulate His purity, righteousness, and love in our daily lives.

As His family, we are to mirror His character and bring honor to His name through our words, actions, and attitudes.

God does not bully people; God does not mouth off at people while He lurks in the shadows.

Being a Christian is not a game, and it is not just a name to wear; it is a life to live!

Galatians 2:20 (NET 2nd ed.)

20 I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So the life I now live in the body, I live because of the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

FOLKS, THIS IS THE LIFE WE ARE CALLED TO LIVE!

Quit making your life about you and make it about Jesus!

The nation of Israel was called to be a witness to the world; in their pride and arrogance, they lost that.

Christians are called to be ambassadors for Christ!

The pursuit of our holiness is not only for our own benefit but also for the sale of those around us.

By striving to be like Jesus, we provide a powerful testimony to those around us.

On the flip side, when we call ourselves by the name of Jesus, and we cheat people, slander people, and gossip about people, that also provides a powerful testimony, sadly not a good one.

Holiness is not about external behavior but about cultivating a deep, intimate relationship with God.

It is about getting to know Him, and then our behavior will based on knowing and loving Him, not just fooling people into getting them to think we are what we are not.

CONCLUSION

Holiness is not some mystical thing; it is very simple.

God has chosen you in Christ, and when you willfully accept that blessing, part of it is for us to reflect the image of the God we serve.

Being a Christian is not a game; it is a life.

Are you ready to quit playing a game and start living the life?