Intensifying Hunger for Holiness

Introduce series - Water in the Wasteland

Following Jesus into the desert as we prepare for Easter

Desert Mothers and Fathers will be our guide along the way

Title this morning is Intensifying Hunger for Holiness. Would you describe yourself as someone hungry for holiness?

It seems clear from both OT and NT that God’s intent is that his people be holy.

Three times in the book of Leviticus he says something to the effect: “You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.” (Leviticus 19:2, NRSV)

The author of Hebrews urges us to “Pursue peace with everyone, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12:14, NRSV)‬‬

Am I holy enough? Idk about you, but I’d like to see the Lord one day! And I’d like him to be smiling! Anyone else?

But am I hungry for holiness?

I said in the newsletter that an alternative title I considered for this message was Holiness: Are You Serious? I like it because I think it captures a double meaning around holiness. On the one hand, I think you could hear it as something incredulous. As in “are you kidding me?!” Isn’t holiness an outdated idea? Isn’t it something maybe for extreme people like monks or nuns or for fuddy-duddies who don’t ever want to have any fun?

I definitely think that is often away that our broader culture thinks about the idea of holiness and probably is a way that even slips into the church at times. Holiness can feel extreme, and maybe you’ve even heard stories of people who do bizarre or harmful things to themselves in their pursuit of holiness. I’m thinking in particular of a scene from The DaVinci Code where the radical monk that’s trying to silence Robert Langdon is shown using a device called a cilice (SILL-iss). It this spiked metal chain that you sinch around your thigh that you would wear as a way of self-punishment. Very painful. If that’s what holiness is, I’m thinking I’ll probably never be hungry for it.

But I think the other way to hear that title would be as a sincere question. Are you serious about holiness? Since it seems that God does expect this for his people, are we giving it the attention it deserves. I think the problem we have to deal with is what did God mean when he said that we must be holy as he is? Was he giving us some kind of impossible standard to meet? I know this is often how it gets treated in church. “There’s no way you can be holy and that’s why God sent Jesus. So you might as well just give up trying and trust in Jesus‘s holiness.” While I think there is a little bit of truth in that statement, I still say that God was completely serious when he said that we are to be holy.

It seems we have a problem. We - hopefully - want God to be pleased with us. Maybe deep down we might even say that we desire to be holy. But we can’t honestly say we hunger for it. At least I can’t.

But...

What if we’ve imagined holiness the wrong way? What if holiness is less about a moral duty and more about a shared delight? What if it’s not about enduring a famine but instead setting down to a feast?

If you find yourself today agreeing that you don’t have a hunger for holiness - maybe you’d even admit to a hunger for the wrong things - I want you to see that you don't have an appetite problem; you have an identity crisis, because Whose you are will always determine what you crave.

Prayer

For those who are sick

For those who are missing due to crisis, travel, or apathy

For those who are missing bc they are far from God

Upsetting (Conflict)

Pretend that you’ve been invited to the most exclusive event in the city. Not sure how “exclusive” Fort Smith gets, but pretend. Everyone who is anyone will be there. To fit in, you’ve spent your entire month’s rent on a designer outfit. You’ve leased a limousine and driver you can’t afford so that you can make an appearance. You’ve spent hours memorizing talking points about art, world events, and stock market just so you don't sound out of place.

You walk into the room, and for a few hours, you look like a "somebody." But underneath the expensive fabric, your heart is racing. You know you are a fraud and are terrified that someone will ask the wrong question and “out you”. You are a "somebody" by effort, but a "nobody" by reality.

What identity are you renting right now?

The truth is that we spend our lives "renting" identities. We cultivate on social media - which we’re all avoiding right now, right? - this perfect image of our life. Here’s a selfie with my perfect living room, my perfect family where we are all beautiful and laughing, the perfect casserole we just “threw together”. We work hard to appear sometimes like we have it all together, but inside we’re terrified that someone will discover we are a fraud. We are starving for a sense of identity, but we’re eating the "junk food" of temporary validation.

Analyzing (Complication)

In the late 4th century, a young man named John Cassian felt a similar hunger. In his quest for satisfaction he left his home in Romania and traveled to Bethlehem, and there he took vows to become a monk. His life centered around doing everything "right." He woke up for the psalms, he wore the robes, he ate the meager meals. To the outside world, he was a "Saint." But inside, Cassian was miserable. He had enough "religion" to be bored, but not enough "God" to be transformed.

Like us, he viewed holiness as a restrictive diet. If I get really serious about holiness that means giving up everything tasty. No fun, no freedom, no self-expression. Just brussel sprouts. Every day. We try to "white-knuckle" our way to purity while still secretly craving the darkness.

Cassian knew in his heart that even though he looked “together” on the outside, he still craved “junk food” in his heart. He was learning that he couldn’t cure his hunger by just wearing a costume. But then he had an encounter that set his life on a new direction. A monk named Pinufius came to his monastery looking for lodging. He was actually an abbot of a community of desert mothers and fathers, and he inspired Cassian with the way of life they lived. Cassian determined it was time to go to the desert to find the feast he was hungering for.

Disclosing (The Turn)

The turning point for Cassian came when the desert elders shifted his gaze. They didn't tell him to "try harder"; they told him to remember who he was. This was life-changing for Cassian. This is the life-changing message that the apostle Peter writes about as well.

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” (1 Peter 2:9–10, NRSV)

Let’s let this soak in. Notice that Peter doesn’t remind them of the rules; he reminds them of their identity.

A Chosen Race: This one statement could change your life. Think about it: the God who made it all, the God who needs nothing, who is the only truly autonomous being in existence, looked into the distant future and out of all the people who would ever live he chose … you. Head explodes! Yes, I know that could be said for everyone listening, but that doesn’t make it any less true for you. This is a truth that should be internalized. We need to see that holiness starts with God’s initiative, not human effort.

You may be wondering right now, Am I chosen? Jesus once said to a large crowd, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day.” (John 6:44, NIV) Has Jesus drawn you? Is he drawing you now? He makes a further promise that “All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.” (John 6:37, NIV)

The truth is that the Father chooses everyone. He invites all. If you feel him drawing you, if you’ve never committed your life to Jesus, let this be the day that you enter into the chosen race. I’d love to help walk you through this...

A Royal Priesthood: This means you have privileged access to the Father. In Jesus, you come directly to the throne without another middleman. It means the prayers you offer up “are actually heard” because of your status.

But it also means you carry divine authority. Peter is borrowing from the idea of priests in the OT. They had the privilege of representing people to God, but also representing God to people. You carry the authority of a royal ambassador. You are holy in both your privilege and your position.

A Holy Nation: This means you now share in a new collective identity which finds its source in Jesus who in his life, death, and resurrection reconstituted a new Israel. By faith and baptism you have been brought into this new community. Your holiness is now lived out as a citizen governed by the laws of Heaven, not the culture of the world.

God’s Own People: I kind of like how the KJV translates this last part. “But ye are a… peculiar people.” When King Jimmy had this translation made back in the 1600s, peculiar didn’t mean what it does now. We hear it as someone who is “weird, strange, one brick shy of a load”. But back them it meant something more like “private property”. You are exclusively God’s treasured possession.

But I still like “peculiar” bc I think it gets to the heart of what it really means to be holy. To be holy literally means to be “set apart”, someone or something devoted to God for a special purpose. This is always the first meaning it carries in the Bible. It’s not first about morality; it’s about possession and identity. But bc we belong to God our holiness will be evident in our behaviors - we WILL look peculiar to those around us.

Getting back to the point, Holiness isn't a diet you're on; it’s the identity you're in. In our opening story, if the Host of that gala walked up to you, knew you were a fraud, but instead of kicking you out handed you the deed to the estate and called you His heir, your appetite would change instantly. You would no longer be trying to belong, you would belong. You would begin to see yourself differently. As a result you would begin to act differently. The truth is that you can never behave long-term in a way that is inconsistent with how you see yourself. When you understand that you are now the owner of the estate, you’ll no longer feel the need to scavenge for crumbs in the alley because you’d realize you own the kitchen. Your appetite would transform because Whose you are determines what you crave.

Experiencing (Resolution)

When Cassian realized he was part of God’s special treasure, his appetites began to change. He began to live out of the truth that God had called him “out of darkness into his marvelous light.” Holiness was no longer seen as a chore but as something to be enjoyed.

This truth will change your appetites as well. Holiness will move from a duty to a delight. The transformation looks something like this:

Your motivation shifts from fear of punishment to love of God.

Your effort goes from trying to achieve holiness to living as already chosen.

Your perspective regarding the “junk food” of the world changes from “I have to stay away from that” to “I’ve found something better than that”.

The outcome is that instead of perpetual spiritual exhaustion you begin to experience spiritual satisfaction.

Maybe holiness isn’t so bad after all.

Anticipating (Celebration)

John Cassian didn't stay in the desert. He took his "intensified hunger" and went to Marseille, France. He spent the rest of his life "proclaiming the excellencies" of the One who called him. He didn't just become holy for himself; in many ways he became a "Royal Priest" for the entire European Church. His writings would go on to influence Popes.

If you feel like your hunger for holiness isn’t what it should be, I’ve tried to make clear that you don't have an appetite problem; you have an identity crisis. Because Whose you are will always determine what you crave.

When you leave here, the desire for the "junk food" of the world will call to you. You’ll be tempted to lust for something or someone that’s not for you. You’ll want to give in to the gratification of being angry or feeling offended. You’ll be enticed to compromise your values or integrity in order to gain validation from someone else.

When, not if, this happens what can you do? How can you resist the famine of “fast food” and enjoy the feast of holiness?

Speak your true identity. I am chosen. I am royalty. I am holy. Maybe even “I am peculiar” - in a good way.

Identity always transforms desires. Holiness isn’t the duty for “boring people”. It is the delight of those who know they were once “not a people” but now “are God’s people”.

Communion

Invite people to stand.

Invite Communion/ministry team forward.

Every Sunday we close our time by receiving Communion together. This symbolic meal reminds us of Jesus’ sacrifice. In it we testify that Christ has died, Christ has risen, and Christ will come again. Jesus said it is his body and blood, true food and true drink. It is a grace given to us for our spiritual nourishment. It is the meal of our new identity in Christ.

We think Jesus invites everyone to this table. If it’s your first time, or you’re not even sure yet where you stand with Jesus, we think he would welcome you here. If you would like to participate, after I pray step into the nearest aisle. Someone at the front will take a piece of bread dipped in wine and offer it to you as the body and blood of Jesus. If you prefer not to have wine, close your hands together and that will be the sign for them to give you a sealed container with grape juice and a wafer.

What is the Spirit doing this morning?…

As we come to the table this morning, let’s rejoice together with all God’s people in our identity as God’s people from Psalm 100:

“Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.

Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.

For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” (Psalm 100, NIV)

Thank him for our new identity in Christ that we can begin to live from now, made possible through his death and resurrection. By the blood of his cross he has washed and renewed us. Through his victorious resurrection he has guaranteed us eternal life. Through his ascension and the outpouring of the Spirit he has made us one with you.

We remember Him who for us and for our salvation, on the night that he was betrayed...

Lord, we pray that in your goodness and mercy your Holy Spirit may descend upon us, and upon these gifts, sanctifying them and showing them to be holy gifts for your holy people, the bread of life and the cup of salvation, the Body and Blood of your Son Jesus Christ.

Grant that all who share this bread and cup may become one body and one spirit, a living sacrifice in Christ, to the praise of your Name.

Come Holy Spirit and overshadow these elements. Let them be for us your body and blood so that we can participate in your redemptive work for us. May we find mercy, healing and salvation through the finished work of the cross. Amen.

Invite the worship team to receive Communion first.