Walking in the Holiness of Jesus-1

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For the past several weeks I have encouraged us to reject the identity that others, worldly culture or even our own sin-blinded self-assessment would try to force us to believe.

Those who are saying that we are a failure, or an unforgivable person, or stupid or any of thousands of degrading, discouraging and depressing identities.

If we listen to others, a worldly culture or even our undependable self-appraisals, if we accept what they say, we allow the devil to get a toe-hold, to establish a beachhead in our lives.

And Jesus told us what the devil wants to do in our lives in: John 10:10 (LSB) [where Jesus said] “The thief [that’s the devil!] comes only to steal and kill and destroy; [Jesus said] I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

I am so sorry to say that we saw the worst-case scenario play out this week in Ethan Maxwell’s life.

As I said last week:

We absolutely MUST NOT look to what others say and we MUST NOT depend on ourselves to know who we are.

Instead we MUST daily, even MOMENT BY MOMENT, look to Jesus and ask Him to tell us who we really are.

WE NEED TO LET GOD ESTABLISH OUR IDENTITY.

And why would we look anywhere else if we are indeed IN JESUS??

Like Peter said in: John 6:68–69 (NCV) … “Lord, who would we go to? You [implied: and You alone!] have the words that give eternal life. 69 We believe and know that you are the Holy One from God.”

So, since we are IN CHRIST, let us always, ONLY, look to Jesus for our identity. (Repeat)

Because, Who does God say we are when we are IN CHRIST? God through His Word, the Bible, tells us…

We are a blood bought child of the living God who is the Almighty, the Creator and the Lover of our soul.

We are His and He is ours.

We are the center of God’s affection, created in His image.

We are fearfully and wonderfully made by the ultimate craftsman — made to fulfill His divine purpose.

We are an heir of the King of kings and Lord of lords.

Our citizenship is from heaven and we are seated in heavenly places!

We are an eternal being who will never really die.

We are the temple of the Holy Spirit filled and empowered to be Christ’s witness.

We bear the seal of the Holy Spirit so that nothing can ever take us out of His hand.

Consider again the few things we have reviewed over the past several weeks, the things the Word of God has told us — things that are really just the tip of the ice burg of who God has made us to be. That …

Yes, I am a child of God

I am a child who regularly comes to this Table to remember the sacrifice of Jesus.

I am created, accepted, secure and significant.

I belong to the One who made everything

I have a divine purpose — I am a masterpiece of God created on purpose BY Him and FOR Him to accomplish HIS purpose in my life.

And that purpose is so the power of God could be seen in us.

So that the glory of God will be displayed in and through us.

I am first and foremost a citizen of the Kingdom of God, even if in this world I am considered a stranger and an exile.

I have, as 1 Peter 1:4 says: an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and unfading, .... kept in heaven for me…

So, I beg you again this week, those who are IN CHRIST, don’t listen to the lies of THIS world, listen to what Jesus says.

But, not everyone who SAYS they are a Christian belong to the Lord or is actually a follower of Jesus.

Jesus said: Matthew 7:17–23 (NLT) A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. 18 A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. 19 So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. 20 Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions. 21 “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. 22 On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ 23 But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’

As I said last week, we know we are IN CHRIST by understanding:

That which is commanded in: 1 John 2:4–6 (LSB) The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; 5 but whoever keeps His word [THIS is God’s will!], truly in him the love of God has been perfected. By this we know that we are IN HIM: 6 the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.

As we understand and embrace our identity in Christ, let’s choose to BE like Jesus by following Christ and choosing:

That rather than believe we horrible sinners, destined to do evil.

That we are saints.

As Ephesians 1:1–4 (LSB) Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are at Ephesus and who are faithful in Christ Jesus: … who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him in love,

1 Peter 2:9–10 (LSB) But you are A CHOSEN FAMILY, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY.

We are the HOLY dwelling place of a HOLY God: 2 Corinthians 6:16 (LSB) … For we are a sanctuary of the living God; just as God said, “I WILL DWELL IN THEM AND WALK AMONG THEM; AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.

Let’s believe…

I am one of His holy followers.

Set apart to accomplish His holy work on this earth.

Because of my identity as a saint I will follow after the holiness of Jesus.

About whom the angel said to His mother Mary before His birth Luke 1:35 … “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.

Who, as we just heard Peter say in John 6:69 “… we have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.””

As Peter also said to the Jews in Acts 3:14 But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you,

Who as Jesus told John the Revelator in Rev 3:7 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, ‘These things says He who is holy, He who is true, “He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens”:

The Holy One of God

Let’s look at the Holy One of God through the events of LUKE 5:1–32

We we will look at 4 sections of this passage.

The Main Idea I want us to consider is: Holiness in Christ is surprisingly more powerful than we think.

This week we will look at the first 2 sections.

Next week we will glean from the final 2 sections.

Jesus Has a Holiness That Exposes Us to Ourselves

So, let’s begin by looking at the holiness of Jesus in the first 12 verses…

Luke 5:1–11 (LSB) Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around Him and listening to the word of God, He was standing at the edge of the lake of Gennesaret; 2 and He saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake, and the fishermen, having gotten out of them, were washing their nets. 3 And He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little way from the land. And He sat down and began teaching the crowds from the boat. 4 And when He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 Simon answered and said, “Master, we labored all night and caught nothing, but at Your word, I will let down the nets.” 6 And when they had done this, they enclosed a great quantity of fish. And their nets began to break; 7 so they signaled to their partners in the other boat for them to come and help them. And they came and filled both of the boats, so that they began to sink. 8 But when Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!” 9 For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken, 10 and James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon, were also likewise amazed. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not fear, from now on you will be catching men.” 11 And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.

Our text begins with a fishing story.

It’s not the kind of tall-tale fishing story men usually tell.

You know, “It was this big!”

Have you ever noticed that in those kinds of fishing stories the fisherman is always alone, nobody is there to see it, the fish gets bigger with each telling, and the fish always gets away?

This story in Luke’s Gospel is not like those tall tales.

After giving a teaching to crowds of spiritually hungry people the Lord asked Peter to “put out into deep water and let down your nets for a catch” (v. 4).

I imagine there was a cool poise in the Lord’s voice, like it was nothing.

Maybe there was a knowing twinkle in his eyes.

Peter’s attitude is typical when we think a rookie is telling us how to do our business, isn’t it (v. 5)?

Peter is the experienced fisherman; Jesus is a handyman.

Peter has been out all night; Jesus just got into the boat.

Peter has not caught anything all night; Jesus thinks He knows the fish are biting.

Peter is the one who has to row even though he is tired from working all night; Jesus sits in the stern of the boat.

So you can imagine Peter’s attitude.

But Jesus is the rabbi, so Peter is going to humor him.

He says, “If you say so, I’ll let down the nets.”

Peter is basically passive-aggressive with a hint of self-righteousness.

Peter did not expect what we see in verses 6–7.

They landed two boats full of fish, and they were sinking!

Peter, James, and John were experienced fishermen, but they had never seen anything like this!

They were all “amazed” (v. 9).

But something deeper happens to Peter.

Something more profound enters his mind.

He sees beyond the “amazing” to the Holy.

When Jesus does this miracle, Peter gets a glimpse of the Lord’s glory and holiness.

In the light of Jesus’s holiness, Peter sees his own heart (v. 8).

What about this miracle would cause Peter to fall before Jesus, confessing his sin?

In this miracle Peter receives a glimpse of the glory, majesty, and holiness of Jesus Christ.

Peter reminds us of the prophet Isaiah when he said in (Isa 6:1–5):

Isaiah 6:1–5 (NLT) It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple. 2 Attending Him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. 3 They were calling out to each other, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of Heaven’s Armies! The whole earth is filled with His glory!” 4 Their voices shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire building was filled with smoke. 5 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.”

Seeing God in His holiness makes us aware of our sinfulness.

Peter finds in himself what we all find in ourselves: sin.

Because he knows such a holy being as God should not be around a sinful man, Peter cries out, “Go away from me!” (v. 8).

Astoundingly, Jesus in the Holy One who comes to sinners.

And reveals the true nature of self.

That is why every preacher needs to constantly remind themselves of what the Greeks said in John 12:21b (LSB) … “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”

That’s my calling here in this pulpit: That through the anointing of the Holy Spirit you would “see,” that you would perceive and understand Jesus, the Son of God, Holy One of Israel.

That we would all have our sin revealed and repent.

And then, rather than going away, Jesus says to Peter, “Join me.”

Here is a holiness that uses a confessing sinner in its mission.

Here is holiness that not only calls the sinner but commissions the sinner to become a fisher of men.

Here is holiness so stunningly beautiful it causes a man to leave everything for its sake.

It gives the former sinner a new purpose, direction, and call.

This is good news for us today.

Romans 3:23 says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

So we all deserve God going away from us.

In fact, that is what hell is—the withdrawal of God’s loving, kind presence from us.

We all deserve hell because of our sin.

It is the acknowledgement of our sinfulness that begins the goodness of the good news.

For while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

God sent his Son to call us into His Son’s holiness, where there is purpose and righteousness.

We only need one thing to come to this holy Lord: to confess we are sinners and repent like Peter.

Will we do it?

Jesus Has a Holiness That Cleanses Us before God

Let’s look also at the holiness of Jesus in the next 5 verses …

Luke 5:12–16“And it happened that while He was in one of the cities, behold, there was a man covered with leprosy; and when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” 13 And [Jesus] stretched out His hand and touched [the leper], saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately the leprosy left him. 14 And He directed him to tell no one, “But go and show yourself to the priest and make an offering for your cleansing, just as Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” 15 But the news about Him was spreading even farther, and large crowds were gathering to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses. 16 But He Himself would often slip away to the desolate regions and pray.”

It is one thing to expose our sin.

It is quite another to make us clean in God’s presence.

What hope would there be if we only were brought to the knowledge of our sin?

We need something or someone who cleanses us before God.

There are two eye-catching things in verse 12.

First, the man has “leprosy all over him.”

“Leprosy” sometimes results in open sores and can be contagious. This man was covered with it.

Second, this man was in a town around a lot of people.

According to the law of God, he should have been quarantined outside the city or camp.

Leviticus 13:1–3 says the leper was to be treated as unclean before God.

That he could not worship God.

Our man in Luke 5 was “full of leprosy.”

He was likely “raw” from head to foot.

So not only was he unclean; he was probably in constant pain and soreness.

Leviticus 13:45–46 tells us how a leper was to act and be treated: The person who has a case of serious skin disease is to have his clothes torn and his hair hanging loose, and he must cover his mouth and cry out, “Unclean, unclean!” He will remain unclean as long as he has the disease; he is unclean. He must live alone in a place outside the camp.

According to Leviticus 14, before a leprous person could be brought back into society, two things were necessary.

First, the priest had to examine him to confirm the leprosy was clear.

Second, the man had to present an offering as atonement for sin.

Then the leper could return to Israelite society.

But, the law and the priest could not make a man clean.

They could only determine and declare whether he was clean or not.

They had no remedy or power to change a person’s standing before God.

So, here comes this man full of leprosy to Jesus in Luke 5.

No one can touch him without becoming unclean and cut off from worship.

To touch a leper was effectively to become a leper.

The leprous man fell on his face and begged Jesus, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean” (v. 12).

It is not clear how he knew this about Jesus.

He casts himself on God when he says, “Lord, if you are willing,” and shows faith in Jesus’s power when he says, “You can make me clean.”

Here’s the wonder about the holiness of Jesus.

First, Jesus actually touches the unclean! (v. 13).

You can imagine the Jewish crowd holding its breath, leaning back, and inside screaming out, “Nooooo! Don’t touch him! He will defile you!”

But our Lord affirmed this man’s humanity as He touched him.

Second, Jesus healed him.

Right away the leprosy departed!

The Lord sent the man to the priests to keep the requirements of the law and prove he was now clean (v. 14).

Jesus possesses a holiness that is not defiled by touching the unclean, but with a touch he cleanses the unclean.

Jesus possesses a holiness that produces what the law requires but cannot produce.

Who do WE think of as “unclean”?

This is an important question for us Christians to ask ourselves.

The church has a Savior who cleanses the unclean, yet the church has a history of rejecting the unclean.

Many Christians have thought of persons with same-sex desires as unclean.

Drug addicts and drug sellers may get tagged with that label and stigma.

Perhaps we view prostitutes, alcoholics, or the homeless as lepers in our day.

And so many others.

And certainly they are “unclean” sinners.

But Jesus came to cleanse the unclean.

Like Him we must not withdraw from them, for Jesus has a holiness that is not defiled by uncleanness, but a holiness that cleanses by His touch!

We, in Christ, filled with His Spirit, can and should be around the “unclean” so we can tell them there is a way to be made clean before God.

That way to cleanness is calling on the Lord to make them clean.

He wills to do it for all people.

I believe the Lord wants us in our mission to our neighborhoods to have a special concern and love for the “unclean.”

If we are closely walking in the holiness of Jesus we cannot be defiled by our neighbors’ actions.

Christ has given us new hearts with His law written on them.

With our new hearts and the gift of righteousness before God by faith in Christ, let us go to our neighbors and tell them that Christ cleanses sinners before God.

We are to be thrust into the world with this good news, in full confidence that the Savior will cleanse everyone He touches through the gospel.

Walking How Jesus Walked

As Sister Michelle and the Worship Team comes …

Folks, in this first installment I encourage us to consider the holiness of Jesus.

And our calling to be saints.

We must follow the footsteps of Jesus:

As 1 Peter 2:21 (LSB) [says] … Christ … suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in His steps,

And in 1 John 2:6 (LSB) the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.

First, may we, like Peter in our text SEE, truly behold, truly experience the holiness of Jesus.

Once we repent of the sins revealed by that holiness, may we strive walk ever closer to it.

And may we show a sin-darkened world Jesus and His holiness — so that ALL can come to repentance.

Second, may we, like the leper, seek the cleansing power of Jesus’ holiness.

May we tell others that they too can be made clean.

Can we ALL come forward this morning?

Lifting up our voices, our hearts, our hands in surrender to the holiness of Jesus?

And what that holiness call me to do?