Disciplined To Holiness
Holy, Holy, Holy • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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This morning we will end our series, “Holy, Holy, Holy,” understanding the holiness of God in Scripture. So far we have seen his holiness in the burning bush, his presence coming down from the cloud and filling the tabernacle during the journey through the wilderness, and last week we saw in the BIble that just as he is holy, he desire for us to be holy.
We will never be perfect like he is, because he is without sin, but, he desires that our lives reflect his holiness. He desires that we live in a way that reflects who he is, and the changed person we are if we have been saved.
He said this..
For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground. For I am the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.”
Remember last week we read where Peter said that we should do this while we are “temporary residents.” That means that while you are on this earth, alive, right now, we should make our lives in a way that honors him… by being holy.
So this morning as we concludes this series I want you to leave this place by understanding that the only way you can be holy before God, is because you take time to be with Jesus.
But before we do that, lets say what we believe about the Bible…
***CREED
The Bible is The Word of God.
The Truth of the Bible will change my life.
Lord open my heart and awaken my mind
And give me grace to respond.
Change me for your glory and my joy, Amen.
Open your Bible to Mark Chapter 4. Mark Chapter 4.
We are in one of the gospels here in the book of Mark. There are four gospels and the main point that the writers, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are writing about is the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, God in the flesh who came down to the earth. They are all writing about the same thing, but their writings have different purposes. Matthew was writing his account of Jesus’ life to a Jewish readers. So all of the things he writes, he wants them to make sure they understand that this Jesus, is who the Law and the Prophets in the Old Testament were pointing to. That he was the promised Messiah.
Lukes gospel was written mostly to Gentile Christians, and this gospel, Marks is written also to Gentiles, B ut, Marks is also the shortest of the gospel. He gets straight to the point.
But in Marks gospel he writes about Jesus calming the storm. So lets look at what Mark writes…
As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” So they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind (although other boats followed). But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water.
Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?”
When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. Then he asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
The disciples were absolutely terrified. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “Even the wind and waves obey him!”
The first part of Mark 4 was filled with Jesus teaching parables, but the very last part here, as the evening comes, Jesus said, lets go over to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus had been teaching all day, so it seemed as he went to the back of the boat to lay down, he went to sleep very fast.
As the disciples were taking the boat across the Sea, there came a storm. The wind was blowing very well and the boat was moving up and down and water started to come into the boat. The disciples were afraid, they believed that they were about to be thrown into the Sea and drown….dying. SO they ran to the back of the boat, and they woke up Jesus. They asked him, “DON’T YOU EVER CARE THAT WE ARE ABOUT TO DIE?” Jesus stood up…look out across the Sea of Galilee, the wind was blowing, the waves of the Sea were going up and down and the boat looked like it would turn over and everyone would drown… And Mark writes that Jesus rebuked the wind… what does that mean… to rebuke means to tell to stop… he told the wind to stop, and then he told the waves…the moving water… SILENCE, BE STILL.
And just like that… everything was calm…quiet…peaceful. There was no more danger.
If you were there, and you were one of the disciples, how would you have reacted when he calmed the storm? One minute you were fearing for your life, now everything is ok. Would you have been happy? Yes! I would have been shouting, that is so cool Jesus! But how did they react after seeing all of this with their own eyes?
In verse 41, Mark say that they were terrified….they were afraid. Didn’t they know who he was? Why were they following him? They knew he was a good teacher sent by God, but at this point, they did not realize that he was God, in the form of man. But this along with other miracles he would perform would begin to open their eyes to see that he was the promised Messiah.
And did you see the moment they recognized that he was Holy… that he wasn’t just an ordinary teacher? Look at what they said…
Who is this man? Even the wind and the waves obey him.
Who else can do that except for a holy God?
(Disciples)
Holiness is not something that just happens for us. (DISCIPLES) It is a process of growing, learning, and being built up everyday until the time we enter his presence. We cannot look at a calendar and say by this date I will be completely holy. No, as the bible says
Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
Understand what the will of the Lord is. Because we have seen that God’s will is for us to be Holy as He is holy.
Listen Holiness will only happen in your life when you spend time with a Holy God.
You can’t expect to be Holy, if you do not spend time with Him. You can try to be good, you can do make good grades, have a good job, maybe ever marry the best person… but if you don’t take time to spend it with God, then you will never be holy.
And by the way, i’m not talking about Bible Study time, Men & Woman of God Time, or even Church time…. yes those are all important…. but you need to decide, if holiness is important to me, then I will make time during the week, outside of those to seek him and understand what the will of God is for my life.
In America there was a study done. This study was about how many people stop going to church after they stop living with their parents around the age of 18 to 22.
In America, many young people, when they finish their SS3, they move out of their parents house. Some will go to university, some will start working and share a hostel with friends. So the study was about young people from the age between 18 and 22. And this study found that by that age, nearly 70 percent, stopped going to church. They didn’t think that church, or even God has important enough anymore. So when they were not under their parents supervision, they just didn’t go.
And this is not just in America, I have seen it here with our graduates.
And listen, you people will one day experience the same thing, and you will have to make the choice what is important to you. Because if you push God to the side out there… your are pushing away your own holiness towards him.
Look at what the writer of Hebrews wrote….
For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.
So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees. Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong.
Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.
How can we be disciplined to holiness?
Following God everyday can be painful. (Hebrews 12:11)
We need to make a plan to seek Jesus, daily. (Hebrews 12:13)
Our holiness is the key to seeing the Lord. (Hebrews 12:14)
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For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.
Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.
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You will have to decide is you want to be holy before the Lord. You will have to make that choice on your own… Mom and I can’t make you do that after you leave here. But this is what I know, if you don’t make that decision now, you will not make it later, and many years from now you will see that you have wasted your relationship with God, and holiness is not important to you. But only you can make that decision.
