Week Five: Holiness
Notes
Transcript
01/31/21
Dominant Thought: Holiness reflects our identity as God’s children.
Objectives:
I want my listeners to realize that holiness is who we are and what we do.
I want my listeners to feel the importance of God’s holiness.
I want my listeners to seek out a place to serve so they can tap into God’s purpose for them.
Holiness is a loaded term that comes with a variety of understandings. We call the bible, the Holy Bible. We say God is holy. We believe in the Holy Spirit. God set up a tabernacle and later a temple and they had a Holy Place and The Most Holy Place. People can be holy. Priests, or servants of God were set apart as holy servants. What do we mean when we use the word, “holy” or “holiness”?
The word holy means set apart. [Show the example of a toothbrush.] Would you say that this toothbrush is holy? On first glance, the initial answer is probably, no. It is not holy. However, if this is your toothbrush, then you may might say, it is important, but not necessarily holy. But part of our definition of holy is “set apart.” This toothbrush is set apart for your mouth and your’s alone. It is not shared and you do not use it to scrub the toilet. It is “holy.” Someone has claimed this toothbrush and mine and it is off limits for anyone else. In this context, it holy. It is holy because the owner has set it aside for a set purpose.
Mark Moore also uses the example of a piece of white fabric. It is pretty ordinary fabric. However, when given to a seamstress and then to a bride, that piece of white fabric becomes a wedding gown. It is set apart for a specific purpose and a specific day. Rarely, do you see ladies go out for their morning jog or workout in their wedding gown. It is set apart or holy.
Here’s the lesson for today, “Holiness reflects our identity as God’s children.” Holiness reflects who we are. We are God’s children. Holiness also reflects what we do as God’s children. I think too often, we have turned holiness into a long to do list of rules and regulations. Let’s be honest. Most people don’t want to keep track and obey a bunch of rules. In a moment, we will get to the actions of what we do, but we must understand who we are, first.
Our core verse is found in Leviticus 11.45. Leviticus may be one of the least read portions of Scripture because it is filled with lots of rules about clean and unclean foods and animals. There is lots of rituals about days, diet, and dress. But at the heart of Leviticus is a holy God desiring holy people. It is a picture of a holy God who loves and knows what’s best for His people.
I am the Lord, who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy.
In this verse, God gives a common refrain in the Old Testament, “I am the Lord.” Before we can get a clear picture of us, we must have a clear picture of God. The word, LORD, is the covenant name of God. We talked about that last week. God keeps His word and is faithful to His people and desires His people to be faithful to Him in return. I am the Lord.
The next phrase is key because it tells us what God has done. “Who brought you up out of Egypt.” Leviticus takes place after God has rescued His people from generations of slavery in Egypt. God parted the Red Sea and led them through the wilderness for forty years on way to the Promised Land.
Even before God led the people out of Egypt, he met with Moses in the wilderness. Moses was watching over some sheep in Exodus 3 and he noticed that there was a bush on fire, but didn’t burn up. He went over to the bush, the Lord called out to Moses and said to Moses, “Do not come any closer. Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground” (Exodus 3.5).
God’s presence transformed that ordinary ground into holy ground. We serve a holy God. I still remember serving God on a mission trip to Matamoros, Mexico. We drove our bus out to the city dump where people lived. They had heard there were jobs in America, but were turned away and made a home in the dump. There in the dump, we had a worship gathering with preaching and singing and we gave out pink pieces of candy. There were fires burning in the distance and in a matter of minutes, our skin was dirty. My hands were almost as dirty as the hands of the children that received the candy. I preached from John 3.16. And two teenage girls sang a song, “We are standing on holy ground.” I looked an all I could see was trash. And yet, there in the presence of God with children created in His image, I could affirm that we are standing on holy ground.
The cool thing about God is that anything he comes in contact becomes holy. We can’t make God unholy. He makes us holy. Listen again to our core verse from Leviticus 11.45.
I am the Lord, who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy.
Holiness is who we are and what we do.
Who we are.
The next phrase in Leviticus 11.45, “Be holy, because I am holy.” Twice the word, “holy” is used. Notice that the phrase says, “Be holy.” When I think of “be,” I think of someone I am called to be. We are human beings, not human doings. Or as one of my friends says, “We are human becomings.” So, in a sense our identity is wrapped up in the holiness of God. God has separated or set apart a people to be in covenant relationship. It is who we are.
In the New Testament, the followers of Christs are called, “saints.” A saint is a holy one. And yet, we have pictures in our minds of superstar Christians that are saints. It is hard to picture oneself as a saint. And yet, our identity as followers of Jesus is someone who is holy. Holiness is who we are.
The first time we encounter the word holy is in Genesis 2.3 when God set apart the seventh day or the Sabbath day as holy.
Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
God identified this day as a special day set aside for a special purpose. He called it holy. He has also set aside a people, a holy people in Exodus 19.6 as a holy people.
you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.”
So, for those who are in Christ, we are set apart for God’s purpose. Holiness is part of our identity. We are holy because God says we are. We are the body of Christ or a kingdom of priests. It is our identity and our mission.
What we do
As Leviticus 11.45 says, “Be holy because I am holy.” Our holiness reflects our identity as God’s children. Since God is holy, then it would make sense that His children are holy, too.
One of my friends says, “Christian behavior has to happen in our skin.” It is something that we live out in our everyday lives.
Dr. Herbert Lockyer wrote in the forward for the recommending reading book for this week, The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges.
The Pursuit of Holiness Forward
In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson declared that one of the inherent and unalienable rights of men is “the pursuit of happiness.” Professing Christians must be brought to realize that the preeminent desire and demand of God for us is that of the continual pursuit of holiness of life, and the reflection of His own holiness. “Be ye holy, for I am holy.”
In his book, The Pursuit of Holiness, Jerry Bridges compares the pursuit of holiness with farming. He writes:
The Pursuit of Holiness Preface
A farmer plows his field, sows the seed, and fertilizes and cultivates—all the while knowing that in the final analysis he is utterly dependent on forces outside of himself. He knows he cannot cause the seed to germinate, nor can he produce the rain and sunshine for growing and harvesting the crop. For a successful harvest, he is dependent on these things from God.
Yet the farmer knows that unless he diligently pursues his responsibilities to plow, plant, fertilize, and cultivate, he cannot expect a harvest at the end of the season. In a sense he is in a partnership with God, and he will reap its benefits only when he has fulfilled his own responsibilities.
Farming is a joint venture between God and the farmer. The farmer cannot do what God must do, and God will not do what the farmer should do.
We can say just as accurately that the pursuit of holiness is a joint venture between God and the Christian. No one can attain any degree of holiness without God working in his life, but just as surely no one will attain it without effort on his own part. God has made it possible for us to walk in holiness. But He has given to us the responsibility of doing the walking; He does not do that for us.
Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.
The Apostle Peter quotes our core verse from Leviticus 11.45 in his first letter. He opens his letter by telling the exiles that they are chosen by God and have the Holy Spirit working in their lives.
who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
Then, Peter gives his audience some instructions to holy living.
Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.
As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.
But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do;
for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”
Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear.
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors,
but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.
Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.
Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart.
So, we live out holiness in what we do and do not do. Here’s a list from 1 Peter that may help guide our holiness: 1) Set your hope on the grace of Jesus, 2) Do not conform to the evil desires, 3) Be holy in all you do, 4) Love one another. I think that our holiness is lived out in our service to God and one another. What are some ways that you can live out your holiness where you live?
Our Core 52 Action Step this week is: seek out a place to serve so you can tap into God’s purpose for you. What’s that look like for you? We are preparing to launch some children’s ministry on Sunday mornings. Is God setting you aside to raise up another generation of kingdom leaders? Does someone need their driveway plowed or shoveled? That is a way to live out our holiness. Holiness shows the world that there is something different in the lives of Christ’s followers.
Probably the best description of holiness that I have heard came from Ethan Smith who was baptized a couple of weeks ago, on January 17, 2021. Almost five years ago (April 10, 2016), Ethan was in our children’s program, encore. His teacher, Beth Beams Cox, asked the children what they thought the word, “holy” meant. One young boy, Ethan Smith, “Holy is the holes in Jesus’ hands. His love pours out through His holes.”
If you want to live a holy life, then you must embrace the love that flowed from the holes in Jesus’ hands. That love cleans us up, set us apart and empowers us on a mission of holiness to change the world.
Week Four in Core 52 by Mark Moore
(These daily guides accompany the book, Core 52 by Mark Moore.)
Day 1: Read the essay.
Day 2: Memorize Leviticus 11.45.
Day 3: Read 2 Samuel 11; Psalm 51.
Day 4: Meditate on Exodus 19.6; 2 Corinthians 7.1; 1 Peter 2.9.
Day 5: Seek out a place to serve so you can tap into God’s purpose for you.
Overachiever Challenge: Memorize Exodus 19.6.
Bonus Read: Jerry Bridges, The Pursuit of Holiness.
