Bible Teaching

Calvary Temple Teaching Library

The Holiness of God Pt.3

How are you all doing this evening? Am I on? I'm on. There we go. Go ahead and turn to 2 Corinthians 7. We want to continue, as we study through the different aspects of holiness, holiness and sanctification and how it's at work in our lives. When you really begin to study it, it's a huge topic in the Bible, especially the New Testament. It covers so much and my desire was just to refresh your thinking in some of the avenues in which holiness is at work in us. I wanted to encourage you that holiness is alive and well and here among us. Hopefully as you've been going through this (and as we go through more tonight) you'll be encouraged in the fact that, "Yeah, holiness is at work in my life; I can see it from the Scriptures." So many times we get a religious notion that holiness is for the spooky, super spiritual people, and it's really not at all. Holiness is lived every day. It's lived by children of God. It's something that is at work. It's that process of sanctification. What a joy and delight to be a child of God and walking down this path of sanctification.

It says here in 2 Corinthians chapter 7, verse 1, "Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves..." This is important. Remember, one of the aspects of holiness that we were talking about is purity. That's an important aspect of the principle of holiness. "Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." Holiness is a journey, a process. It doesn't happen overnight. It's a lifelong process. From now until the day you go home to be with the Lord this process will be at work in you. Why? We saw the other night over in 1 Peter that God said, "Be holy, for I am holy." It is a very simple principle: Two cannot walk together unless they be agreed. If we want to have a relationship with the holy God, then holiness must be at work in us. Hebrews chapter 12 says (we'll take a look at this verse a little bit later) that without holiness no man will see the Lord. It's a very vital topic. It's a very important topic. We need to make sure that it is at work in our lives. I wanted to go through and review with you several aspects of how to know holiness is working, and how holiness does work.

What does God use to work holiness in us? We said the other night that, number one, holiness is a result of justification. I wanted to give these again. We'll move on quickly. Holiness is a result of justification. Aren't you glad that though our sins may be as scarlet, the precious blood of Jesus has been spilt, and it comes to us by faith? It can wash us and make us white as snow. What a promise! If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from...how much unrighteousness? All. That's cleansing! That's purity. That's where holiness starts, in justification. It starts in the cleansing of the blood of Jesus.

Secondly, we said that holiness is a result of faith. You are not going to trip, fall over the curb, and just happen to fall into a pile of holiness somewhere. It doesn't happen by accident. If holiness is going to be at work in your life, it is something that you pursue. It's something that you believe God for. We saw over in Philippians chapter 1 that He who has started a good work will perform it. We know the ageless problem: He starts the work, and we like to jump in the middle; and when we do we get it all messed up. Sanctification, or holiness, is God's work; it's not our work. The best thing you can do is submit and die, and let Him do His job. He does it a whole lot better than you do, so don't get your hands in the pot. Let God's work and will be performed in your life as He is working it through you. It is a matter of faith. You need to trust God. You need to believe God. It's not going to happen overnight, and it's not going to happen by chance. It's something that you pursue.

We said, number three, that holiness is a result of the new birth. We saw over in Ephesians 4:24 where it says that this new man is created in holiness. That's where holiness begins to work. Holiness is not an external standard, or an external set of rules. Holiness is not some stature or status that you obtain. Holiness does not come by anything that you merit or work for. It does not come by any effort on your own. Holiness comes from within. Holiness comes from that born again spirit. Holiness results from that spirit man being recreated into the image of God. Your born again spirit is holy. Can you say, "Thank God," for that? You already have a start on it. It's at work in you. Holiness is Christ in you. That's where it begins and that's where it emanates from.

We said, number four, that holiness is a result of God's Word, the washing of God's Word. Thank God for the power of the Word. The Word is alive; it is powerful. It is sharper than any two edged sword. We saw there in chapter 4, verse 12 of Hebrews that the Word of God will creep into every thought, every action, every motive, and every attitude. The sword of the spirit will dissect between spirit and soul, it says. The Word of God will search every crevice, every corner, and every closet that you try to keep locked. The Word of God has a way of working. Ephesians says it's like the washing, it's like the bathing of water as you take it, pray through it, meditate on it, and listen for the voice of God to speak to you from it. It's like that washing of water that cleanses away all the filth and the impurities. It will change you.

We said number five (this was where we left off) that holiness is a result of obedience. Look over in at 1 Peter, chapter 1, if you would. We didn't get to this verse as we were closing, but we'll look at this one verse and then move on. This is number five--holiness is a result of obedience. Remember what we said: it's not the specific action, not the specific act of obedience, which cleanses and purifies you. It says here in 1 Peter chapter 1, verse 22, "Seeing ye have purified your souls [in what?] in obeying the truth..." How did you obey the truth--through a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, just gritting your teeth and grinding it out? No. "Obeying the truth through the Spirit." You remember we said Sunday night that it is not the act of obedience that makes you holy; it is the source of the obedience that makes you holy. It's the cleansing flow of the Spirit of God living through you. It is no longer I that live, but it is Christ now living through me. It is as if you took a hose, stuffed it full of mud, screwed it up to your faucet, and turned on the water. What will happen eventually? Eventually that water is coming through. Little by little, it will clean out all of that mud. It's the flow, the flow of the Spirit of God. You do one deed or one act, but that doesn't make you holy. Someone else can come and copy that action. It is the source, the Spirit of God living and flowing through you--that's what causes the purity and the cleansing of holiness to take place. Let's move on.

This is a huge topic. Sanctification is throughout the New Testament. We won't even cover all of the different aspects, but I wanted to cover with you the aspects that I felt Father would have for us. Number six, holiness is a result of living in the light. If you would, go ahead and look over at 1 John, chapter 1, starting down there at verse 5. This is a very familiar passage. He says, "This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is [what?] light..." We used this the other day to show the beauty and the purity of God's holiness. "God is light, and in him is no darkness at all." That's the beauty of holiness--all light, no darkness; no mixture, absolutely pure, holy, and separate. He then goes on and says: "If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light..."

Well, what is "walking in the light"? Let's try to determine this. Keep your finger here, and look over at John chapter 3. I was thinking about just referring to it, but it would be better if you went ahead and got it there and read it along with me. John 3, verse 19 (don't lose your place in 1 John) is a scriptural parallel. It gives us a little insight into biblical language and terminology, and what these Apostles meant when they were writing. These are Jesus' words, as John records them. "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved." What is "walking in the light"? We just found out what walking in darkness is, didn't we? Walking in darkness is that attitude of heart, that pattern, that lifestyle where you are trying to hide something. You don't want people to see the real you, so you don't give them information. You don't communicate; you don't open up your heart; you don't share your thoughts or feelings. You don't let people in. You kind of keep yourself protected behind a façade, behind an image that you want people to believe. That's what walking in darkness is. You don't let people in. It's sad to say, you don't let God in either. That is the tragedy.

Then He goes on and says, "But he that doeth truth [does what?] cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God." Well, what is a child of light, then? What is "living in the light," or "walking in the light"? Someone who is in the light is an honest person. They are not trying to impress anybody. They're not hiding behind any façade. They love God more than they love their own reputation. They love God more than trying to protect an image. This is a very open person that comes and finds other people of like precious faith. He finds other children of light. Friendships are developed, and bonds are made. In these biblical relationships, then, this person comes and shares his heart, his failures, and his successes. He opens up and makes people part of his heart and life. Why? Because he really wants to know that his deeds are wrought in God. He loves God more than his own reputation, so he is willing to make himself vulnerable. He wants to be sure that he's pleasing God, and that he's on the right track. This is how holiness begins to affect itself in our lives.

Now look back at 1 John, chapter 1. As the Apostle John is penning this epistle, you have to wonder, "Was he thinking back to those words that he heard the Master say there in John chapter 3?" I wonder if, when he was writing these down, if he could still hear Jesus' words echoing in his memory. Watch what he says here: verse 7, "But if we walk in the light..." This is that honest person, truly seeking truth, who opens up his heart and life, who loves God dearly and wants to please Him, and who wants to make sure he's on the right track. "But if we walk in the light [how?] as He is in the light." Well this is getting scary, real scary, because how is He in the light? He is light, and in Him is no darkness. So if we are going to be in the light as He is in the light, then we can have no areas of darkness. It is not saying that we don't have areas of sin, because we all do. It is not saying that we don't have areas of failures and weaknesses, because we all do. This is saying that we aren't trying to hide anything. There are no secrets, no areas of darkness, and no areas we are trying to protect or keep from others. We have opened ourselves up to trusted, loyal confidants that have proven themselves as biblical friends. First of all, as Pastor has shared, hopefully it is your spouse. It should be, can be, your deacon as well. Maybe one or two others, but you go and it's something where you can make yourself completely vulnerable to these people and you know that you will hear the counsel of God from them. You know they will speak openly and truthfully. It is coming to the place of being in the light as He is, to where there is no darkness. There's nothing I hide. You see it all--you see the pretty, you see the ugly; you see the fruit, you see the sins; you see the successes, you see the failures. How many of you can say that you have really arrived at that place in a biblical relationship, either with your spouse or with someone else? I hope you have, because it is one of the most liberating things that you can do.

You know, it has just been a blessing through the years to be able to grow through the years with the other pastors. There are different situations, different times where we have brief periods of actually getting to live with one another. We know each other's inclinations. We know each other's weaknesses. We know each other's failures. We have seen each other sin a whole bunch through the years. Yet, one of the most liberating things is knowing that even though they know me, they still love me. Even though they know me, they are still committed to me; and I to them. It's one of the most liberating, satisfying relationships that you'll ever know and experience, but so many people are afraid to really trust God in this way and come to the light. It hurts to be exposed, doesn't it? It makes the flesh a little uncomfortable.

I've heard this a lot through the years from many different people; "Well, I just need my privacy," or "This is something that's private." What is privacy? Many times what we want to keep private, or what we want to claim as privacy, all we're doing is trying to protect the very thing that needs to come to the light and be exposed and cleansed. What are you being private for? What are you protecting? When we are trying to hide behind a philosophy of privacy, many times, we're just trying to protect self; and self is the very thing that needs to be exposed and crucified.

"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light [nothing is hidden], we have fellowship [with whom?] one with another." This is true fellowship. Fellowship is not watching the Super Bowl together or going to the movies together. According to this verse, you have not had fellowship until there has been true light--hearts have been shared, the Word of God has been shared, and there is a true communion. It doesn't have to be anything formal or official, to where you have a set meeting. You could be carpooling to work just sharing your heart with the friend sitting next to you. Fellowship hasn't taken place until the light of God has been shed on hearts--hearts have been shared, there has been a desire to come to the truth, and the truth has been known. That's when true fellowship takes place.

"We have fellowship one with another," verse 7 says, and what is the result of this fellowship? "The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." From what? All sin. This is the cleansing, the holiness. What begins to happen is that as I come to you, as a child of God--this light is shining on my heart, and I'm sharing what God is doing in my life, boasting in the good things of God, sharing the Word of God, declaring to you what God has spoken with me in the closet, sharing my heart and my thoughts--then you begin to share reciprocally, what begins to happen? There is a flow of life between living stones that are a part of this temple. Now I am no longer severed from the body, but I am actually in harmony. I'm in communion. I'm in unity with the body of Christ, and because I am, His blood and His life can flow to me now bringing this healing and cleansing, cleansing me from all sin. But if you don't like the light, and say, "No, I'm going to keep myself over here in privacy. I don't want to let you in. I'm not interested in establishing biblical relationships. I'm really not interested in coming to the light and having my heart exposed," then you are severing yourself from fellowship. You're severing yourself from unity. You're severing yourself from the body. The blood of Jesus cannot reach you when you're isolated. You are severed; you are cut off. The blood won't flow--you might as well cut off a finger and lay it on a table. That thing is going to die.

This is what he is saying here. As we walk in the light (and we're truly in harmony and unity with one another), we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son is able to flow to us and through us to cleanse us. This produces purity; it produces holiness. Aren't you glad for your brothers and sisters sitting next to you this evening? What a treasure! What a treasure! The blood of Jesus flows through them to you tonight.

Look over at James chapter 5, verse 16: "Confess your faults one to another..." It sounds like moving in the light to me. Let me say one thing while I'm thinking about it. When we talk about moving in the light and sharing what's in your heart, we're not in any way saying that you have to grab somebody after church and keep them here until three o'clock in the morning confessing all your childhood sins, hashing over every thought and every feeling, etc. That doesn't work, so don't even attempt it. That is not what it's all about.

Many times moving in the light has to do with your response. What I mean by that is, what do you do when your life is probed? We all go through cycles in our lives. We go through cycles when things appear to be nice, quiet, and peaceful for me, while, "Poor Joe down the road, his deacon has been after him. He's been in the hot seat the past two weeks. I'm glad it's not me." Then guess what? Next week you're in the hot seat--know the feeling?--and the spotlight is on you. Now your life is being pushed and probed a little bit. What is your response? Do you say, "Yeah, I'll take all the light I can get," or do you snap back at your deacon because he's trying to love you and help you?

This confession is not preformed mechanically or religiously--sitting down and going through every bad thought you've ever had about your mother. It doesn't work that way. It comes through communion. You've heard Pastor say it before: It's not about you, anyway. This is a natural result of communion. Many times, it comes from talking about the Word, not talking about you. You're just fellowshipping in the Lord, and talking about how good God is, and, "Did you see this verse? This is the verse I was meditating on this morning. This is what God was speaking to me." This fellowship that they're talking about here is always in the light. That means it's always God-centered. It's not some psychological couch that you can lie down on and express your deepest, morbid feelings. That's not what it is for. It is centered around God. It initiates in God. It initiates with His word--and from there the sharing and exposing of the hearts can take place where it should, in the light, with the Word as the center.

Here he says that in this environment of love and care for one another, "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be [what?] healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much" (verse 16). This is describing what we were just talking about. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man will bring healing for faults. As you are confessing your faults one to another, coming to the light, wanting to make every deed manifest, coming to the truth of the Word, saying, "Can you help me on this? What do you think the Word says about this? This is what I've been dealing with. What has God shared with you about a situation like this?" and as you are coming to the light in that way, what begins to happen? They begin to pray for you. They are a good friend, a loyal friend. They're going to cover your sins with the blood of Jesus as they pray for you. As they are praying for you, their prayer is the blood of Jesus washing you and cleansing you. That's how God set up this body to work. That effectual fervent prayer brings healing and it brings deliverance from the sin.

Look over at Hebrews chapter 10, verse 23. We do this so well here, but I want to tell you something. If we are going to be a holy people, then the relationships we have one with another must line up with the Word of God. In this wicked generation in which we live, with the onslaughts of the enemy, you will not stand if you are an island by yourself. The only way holiness will affect itself in your life is in the community, in the body, with the strength of many. You won't stand by yourself. Hebrews chapter 10 tells us this. Look down at verse 23: "Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised:) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works." "Let us consider one another." Again, this speaks of relationship. "Consider" means "to observe fully." I almost tremble to say that because--let me be quick to say this--this is not license to be a busybody. Mind your own business. Commit to those relationships that have committed to you, that have invited you. If you are uninvited, then keep your nose out of someone else's business. In the environment of these relationships that we're talking about--where there is a true confidence, true upholding of the standard of the Word of God, trust, proven loyalty in friendship--he says that in those types of relationships, you are to watch that other person. You are your brother's keeper. There is to be a certain vulnerability and a certain level of intimacy to where you can watch this person, fix your eyes upon them, and consider them. It is not just a casual glance. It is not talking about a relationship of limited knowledge. It's talking about the fact that you know this person, and they know you. You are to consider them to provoke unto love and to good works. That takes relationship. That takes communion. That takes knowledge.

One of the things we deal with here in Discipleship Training with your children is how to motivate a certain student. Some students need a two-by-four across the head to be motivated. Other students respond much better to praise and positive reinforcement. You get to know the person well enough to know what motivates this person. If I am here to provoke them and stimulate them, then I need to know what provokes them. What stimulates them? What would be the best approach to take with this person? "Consider one another to provoke unto love and good works." We are here to apply that positive peer pressure. We are here to see them excel in Jesus. We are here to help them reach that next level of holiness in their life.

"Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation." Do you know what that "sinning willfully" is? It is saying, "I know this is wrong, but I'm going to do it anyway." Because you have never let anybody into your life, you have nobody there that can stop you. Tragically, you have nobody there that can reach out with a lifeline and help you--I mean a real lifeline, not a Do You Want to be a Millionaire lifeline. You don't have anybody there. You haven't had this fellowship; you haven't run to the light. What he is saying here is very, very important.

Look at verse 26. What is the first word of verse 26? "For." Do you know what the context is speaking here? The context is that these relationships, of exhorting one another daily, are God's method of protecting you from sinning willfully. The probability is very high that if you do not have relationships of exhorting one another daily, you will sin willfully; because you are out there alone, and your strength is not sufficient if there's not another person walking with you down this journey. "For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth [what?] no more sacrifice for sins." What a sad, sad place to be in, just out there all alone where the enemy can pluck you off. These relationships are God's method of protecting us. There is strength in the community. There is strength in numbers. There is strength in being in the light in this way. We have to move on.

Let's go to number seven. Number seven comes right on the heels of living in the light. Number seven: holiness is a result of submitting to chastisement. Chastisement is a normal, sometimes everyday, part of a believer's life. It is nothing strange, nothing unusual. How many times do we think, "I'm glad I'm not in the hot seat. My deacon hasn't had to speak to me in six months. I'm doing good!" Really, it should be just the other way around. Your thinking should be, "This is a little scary. Where's the chastening? Where's the discipline as a son?" Discipline is to bring about holiness. We always think of it as punitive for when we do something wrong; then we think that if we don't have it, we must not have done anything wrong. Really, though, that is not God's idea of discipline and chastisement. Discipline and chastisement here in Hebrews chapter 12, talks about training. The punitive is a part of it, but it's dealing with a whole lot more than just being spanked. It's dealing with a whole lot more than just you blatantly doing something wrong. It's dealing with training you in holiness, a continual cleansing, a perfecting--not because you went out and did an action which is wrong. This is what He is talking about here in Hebrews chapter 12, and this is the process that God has for your life. That's why I say that you should be worried if this isn't happening. Don't try to see how long you can stay out of the hot seat. Chastening and discipline is something you should be seeking from the Lord as that discipline and spiritual training.

Look in Hebrews chapter 12, verse 5: "And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord." That word "despise" means "to take lightly, to blow off." It's like just sitting there and yawning right in the deacon's face when he is trying to bring you some reproof and correction. You kind of give a trite, "Oh, whatever." It means to take it lightly, to not see the seriousness of it. We have been in meetings lately and I'll tell you what, it has been scary to see some of the responses where people are not seeing their condition for what it really is. He is saying, "Don't despise it. Don't take it lightly."

Secondly, he says, "...nor faint when thou art rebuked of him." That word "faint" really means, "to just give up." It's not talking about fainting because you're just so exhausted, you've spent all of your strength, and so you just collapse and pass out because you have no more resources to pull from. It's not talking about that at all. It is talking about giving up. That word literally means, "to relax." It means to say, "I ain't taking this any more. See you later." You faint in your mind. He's saying, "Don't faint when you are rebuked of Him." The Scripture goes on, "For whom the Lord loveth he [does what?] chastens." This is the training. This is the discipline. This is the love of God. Verse 6 is a verse that we really need to re-train our thinking with. Why do we take chastening as rejection so often? Why do we take chastening as though somehow God is going to love us less now, because we must have done something to displease Him? It doesn't work that way. He is chastening you because He loves you. It is the expression of His love. "[He] scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers..." All sons are partakers. Are you being chastised? You're not experiencing anything new, strange, or unusual, because all sons are chastised. So stop the little pity party and stop moaning about how unfair it is and how nobody has had to endure what you're enduring. No. Every son is a partaker.

If you do not have chastisement, he goes on to say, "then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his [what?] holiness." Let me tell you something, there is no holiness without chastisement. If you are going to pursue being a holy vessel unto the Lord, a holy child of God, then you will be chastised. Chastisement brings holiness.

"Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous." It hurts. It's the death process. Nobody likes the death process. It's very uncomfortable. "...nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees" (verses 11 and 12). Do you know what he is saying there? Notice this is a directive to you, the son that is going through chastisement. "Lift up your hands. Stop dragging your knuckles in the dirt. Strengthen your knees." In other words, "Stop whining. Stop complaining. Every son endures chastening; this won't kill you. If God meant to kill you, you'd be dead by now. This is meant for your life. This is meant for your victory. This is meant for your holiness, for your purification, so stop whining. Straighten up, and receive the discipline of the Lord as a true son."

"And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way." What is he saying there? You have to take a peek back up at verse 1. What does he say in verse 1? He says to lay aside every weight and sin. We're supposed to be running this race, but what do weights and sins do? Weights and sins make you lame, as referred to in verse 13. Weights and sins slow you down. Weights and sins cause you to not run the race as you should. So he is saying here in the discipline, "Stop whining! Grow up. Lift up the hands which hang down. Make a straight path for your feet." Many people make a left hand turn and say, "Forget this. I'm fed up. I'm not taking this anymore. It's not fair. I don't deserve this. See you later." He's saying, "No. You're on a path of discipline. Do not turn off the path. Keep going straight and let that which is lame be healed. Don't let that which is lame be turned out of the way. You're lame. You have this weight. You have got this sin attached to you. Make a straight path for your feet. Gird up the loins of your mind. Gird up your knees. Lift up the hands. Take the chastening as a son. Continue straight on the path of training." What will happen then? "But let it rather be healed." Your lameness will be healed. God will be faithful and you'll be set free and delivered from that weight and sin you've been carrying around. It will be for your victory. It will be for your strengthening.

Verse 14 says, "Follow peace with all men, and [follow] holiness." If you are going to follow holiness, you are going to follow chastisement. You are going to be a person of the light. You are going to run to the light. You are going to seek counsel. You are going to seek chastisement. You are going to seek instruction. You're going to bring your deeds into the light so that it might be manifest that they are wrought in God. If you really want to be holy, it comes as a result of submitting yourself to chastisement and without this holiness, he says, "no man shall see the Lord." I would say we need holiness.

Let's move on to number eight. Number eight, holiness is a result of progressive maturity, progressive growth. Sunday we were saying that in holiness, there is an element, a process of discrimination. Part of holiness is learning how to discriminate. Look over at Hebrews chapter 5 for a moment, just back a few chapters. Verse 12 says, "For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern." It goes on to say, "to discern between good and evil," but I want to highlight and focus on having your senses exercised to discern. There is discernment, discrimination. You don't have to turn there, but remember that passage (I can't remember whether it was Sunday morning or Sunday night) in Leviticus chapter 20? Moses was giving the instructions of the Lord, and he said, "You shall make a difference between the clean and unclean." If you are going to be holy, you must have your senses exercised. You're going to have to learn how to discriminate.

I can think of no passage that better brings this to light than Philippians chapter 1. Look over there for a moment. Philippians chapter 1 kind of ups the standard. That's the wrong way to say it. Not necessarily ups the standard, but it brings further illumination to us about this holiness. In Philippians chapter 1, verse 9, he says, "And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment." Who are the mature? Those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern. Make sure that you place a difference between clean and unclean. Verse 10 says, "That ye may approve things that are excellent." That word "approve" is interesting. It means "to test, examine, prove, or scrutinize." How good has the scrutiny of your life been lately? You are to scrutinize and prove so that you may approve things that are excellent. How many of you know that "excellent" is better than "good"?

"That ye may be sincere and without offence" (verse 10). Here is this holiness factor coming in again. This purity, this sanctification, being set apart as holy vessels for the Lord's service. "That ye may be sincere and without offence until till the day of Christ; Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God." Think about your home life for a moment. How many of you spend time meditating on your life, what you fill your life with, and what you allow into your life? As you pass through this life and this world--you go to work, out to dinner, to the movies, out shopping, or whatever you do as you're passing through this life--how much of the world is sticking to you? How much residue do you carry around? Hopefully we are going through this life like a greased pig, and nothing is sticking. How much is able to attach itself to you as you walk through this world as pilgrims and strangers? We're supposed to be discriminating enough to where we will only accept excellence in our lives.

What things are excellent? What things are not excellent? Think about the different elements of your day-to-day life. Things that are not excellent are things that may not stop your pursuit of God, but they definitely slow you down. You say, "It's just a little bit." Have you ever even been up to full speed to find out how fast you can go, or have you always been entangled with the things of this life? Things that are not excellent don't steal your love for God out of your heart; they just steal one affection at a time. Things that are not excellent don't cause your flame for God to go out, but it is definitely not burning as hot as it could. You all know the things that I'm talking about, don't you? I'll tell you what, I can go through my life and name things that are amoral, there's nothing wrong with them, but what are they doing to my pursuit? These non-excellent things don't stop you from being good, but they stop you from being excellent for God. If you want to be a holy person that is sincere and without offence, if you want to be a holy person who is filled with the fruits of righteousness, you have to learn how to discriminate and choose the excellent. You will have to learn how to say, "No, there isn't anything wrong with this, but it's having an effect on my relationship with God."

Look over at 2 Timothy, chapter 2. All of us in here, because of the society that we live in, have hobbies, different recreational things, and leisure things that we like to do. Again, there is nothing wrong with those things, but just the time factor--the time that you spend with that thing--is slowly eating away. These are all things that have to be considered. I'm not in any way suggesting that we live like monks. All I'm saying is that especially in the society that we live in, where money and ease and recreation come so easily to all of us, this is something that we have to guard against. 2 Timothy, chapter 2, verse 4: "No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier." How entangled are you? Is there something out there that's stealing away your affections, one affection at a time? Is there something out there that can cause you to turn your head away from the Lord, that will keep you amused and interested--even if it's just for a moment? What is out there in the world's system that you're flirting with? We saw in that verse in Hebrews 12 that those are the weights that need to be cast off so that we can run with patience the race that is set before us. The Greek word for "weight" means "a swelling tumor." There is this mass, this lump growing in you and it's slowing you down; it's like a tumor. It's slowly growing bigger and bigger and bigger. We all adapt. You have that tumor, and so you adapt to it. You learn how to live with it; you learn how to work around it. It starts growing bigger and bigger, and you just keep adapting to make more room for it. Soon it's bigger than you are and you're still carrying it around. You have no idea how it got that big and how it has robbed you so much of His presence.

Look over in Mark chapter 4 quickly. This is what we're talking about, the cares of this world. How do I evaluate what is excellent? How do I evaluate whether I'm becoming entangled? He says here in Mark chapter 4, verse 18, "And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, And the cares of this world..." All of the cares, all of the distractions, all of the activity, all of the demands, responsibilities, and requirements, all of the distractions--that's what the word "cares" really means. "...and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in [what do they do to the Word?], choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful." If you want to be sincere and without offence, if you want to be a holy vessel unto the Lord, you'd better learn how to prove what is excellent; you'd better have your senses exercised to discern, and you'd better settle for nothing less than excellent.

So you go through your life and you go through the activities of your life, and what you've filled your life with. You go through one by one and you say, "How is this affecting my pursuit? Is it slowing me down at all?" If it is, maybe it is not like the eye that needs to be plucked out, but maybe it needs to be pruned and cut back. You are the one that will have to work that out as you work out your salvation between you and Father. Nevertheless, this is something which has to be done every day on a continual basis. Paul is praying for these Philippians saying, "I hope you abound in judgment. I hope you learn how to distinguish and discriminate the excellent. That's the only way you'll end up being sincere and without offence." So number eight is: holiness is a result of progressive growth and maturity. That growth and maturity comes from making choices, and those choices are based upon your discernment--that process of proving what is excellent and choosing it, not settling for anything less. If I even have a hint that this activity or this part of my life is slowing down my pursuit, then I will do whatever it takes. I may start with pruning it back; but if it needs to go, then it will go because I'm striving for the excellent. I'm striving for holiness. I'm going to prove and approve that which is excellent. If it's stealing any part of my heart away, it has to go. Those are the weights that we throw off as we run this race.

We're going to stop there for this evening. We are going to pick this up Sunday morning, so we'll finish with some different aspect of holiness Sunday morning. What did we cover tonight? Number six, holiness is a result of living in the light. Number seven, holiness is a result of submitting to chastisement. If you want to be a holy person, there is no holiness without chastisement. It's the way of life for the believer. Number eight, holiness is a result of that growth and that maturity, the exercising of our senses to discern, knowing how to discriminate, knowing how to approve things that are excellent.

Let's stand before the Lord this evening. Father, what a wonder You are to us! We do come tonight and we do worship You in the beauty of Your holiness. Father, it's our heart's cry that we'd be like You, that we'd be children of holiness, that we'd be children of the light that would run to You. Oh, Father, we look to You. We know that it's nothing we can do in and of ourselves, but we thank You that You've started the work. We thank You that You'll finish it. Father, we give You the praise and the glory. Father, how we worship You. Father, we give You the praise. We want to be holy vessels; holy sacrifices, sanctified and meet for the Master's use. We want to bring You praise and glory and honor. We want to be inhabited by Your spirit. We want You to be pleased to dwell within us. We want to be holy sanctuaries. We give You the praise and glory.

Let's sing it together. "Come into the Holy of Holies...". Oh, Father, we thank You. Father, we do lift holy hands to You. So many have been sick in our midst. Let's just join our hearts right now and pray for our families. Father, we come right now and we ask for You to move among us. We ask for You to bring healing and drive out every virus, every flu symptom. Father, we know that Jesus died and bore our sicknesses, and that with the stripes of Jesus we are healed. We know that You love us and pour out Your love to us--and healing is in that love, Father. Father, move through this congregation, move through our families, move upon the sick ones that are at home tonight. We ask for Your mercy and we ask that You would glorify Yourself and make Yourself big in our lives. Father, we thank You for healing, in Jesus' name. Amen. God bless you. We'll see you tomorrow night in prayer.

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