Posted on 01/21/2011 8:18:22 AM PST by DBCJR
The Pursuit: Pursue Holiness
On a trip to South Korea one thing stood between the Crenshaws and visiting the Demilitarized Zone - blue jeans. Pastor Ed was really looking forward to seeing the DMZ but he didn’t get to enjoy this part of the trip because he was wearing blue jeans.
Did you know you were created to know the glory of God? Habakkuk 2:14 says, “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD.” But just because you were created for that knowledge you don’t necessarily know the glory of the Lord.
Psalm 27 records David saying, “One thing I desire is to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord.” David had the desire. He was king. He was “a man after God’s own heart.” But he had to choose and seek, indicated by his “desire”, and he had to remove hindrances.
The one thing that keeps you from knowledge of glory of God is sin. Only one problem, Romans 3:23 tells us we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God. Hebrews 12:14 tells us that without holiness no one will see the Lord. To pursue God we must pursue holiness.
The good news is that you were called to be holy according to 1 Corinthians 1:2. God chose you to be holy!
Ephesians 1:4-5 (New International Version, ©2010) 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship[b] through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—
“To be Holy and blameless in His sight,” means consecrated, sanctified, or set apart for the Lord's purposes. As set apart we are saying “Lord, I am yours.” There are things we don't do that others do, and things we do that others don’t.
Now, that is a perspective that can easily degenerate into legalism. God’s rules are good but He didn’t give them to us to be good. He makes us good. Gods rules are good for you but He didn't institute the rules because they are good for us. He did so that they know and the world knows that His people are set apart.
God's will is that you should be holy and in control of your body and behavior:
1 Thessalonians 4:3-6 (New International Version, ©2010) 3 It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; 4 that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, 5 not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; 6and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister
We can't say holiness is not necessary because of the grace of God. Certainly, the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross negated the requirement of sacrifices for atonement. The requirements of the Law are no longer necessary for our righteousness or right standing with God. But holiness is not about a set of rules to get good enough to know our Lord. Rather it is about belonging to Him and about our character.
We are to be conformed to image of God once again as He created us to be. We have, by grace and the blood of Jesus, been restored to that place. We don’t have to be holy, we get to be holy!
President George W. Bush, quoting Democratic Senator Patrick Moynihan, referred to, “The soft bigotry of low expectations.” Low expectations can keep people down, functioning at a level far below their capacity. Most of us have no idea the great things God has planned for us (Jeremiah 29:11). God honors you with high expectations.
So, what are those expectations? First, if we are made in His image, then to be like Him, like Jesus.
1 Peter 1:15-16 (New International Version, ©2010) 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”
The Bible is full of holiness standards so we can easily be condemned and avoid the Bible or we can get into the Word and draw from it's power. Allow God's character to be formed in you. Even Paul struggled with this but had much to say in the seventh and eighth chapters of Romans:
Romans 7:21-25 (New International Version, ©2010) 21 So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. 8: 1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you[a] free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.
Romans 8:5 reminds us that holiness is a work of the Holy Spirit and that we should live by the Spirit. Focus on Him. As we pursue God we become more holy. As more holy we become more passionate.
Focusing on the Lord is not something I do so that I don't do something else but to be so full and focused on Him that I forget about anything else. What you place your focus upon you will hit, achieve, be like.
If try to do it in own strength will fail but depend on Him. Nevertheless, God still holds us responsible to choose to focus upon Him, to choose to seek Him, to choose to stay in His word, etc. Romans 12:1 tells us that we need to, “offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God.”
Looking again at Hebrews 12:14, it says, “make every effort”. You choose whether you focus upon the love of God, and His love will help you choose A loving response to His gentle nudging, "Son [daughter], I wish u wouldn't do that." As you focus upon and seek Him, you become much more sensitive to His voice, to His gentle promptings. You are then on the path toward holiness!
To hear this sermon go to http://getvictory.net/_Listen.ihtml?id=321805 and select The Pursuit: Pursue Holiness by Dr. Ed Crenshaw.
Thanks a lot, you made my day! Can I get an ‘AMEN!’ with that?
AMEN!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.