The Holiness of God

Will hi church very very grateful to be with you and I really really mean that more than you know.

Because 2021 for me think some health challenges.

I didn't even know we can go thousand to be able to do this. I know you know are not to be surprised by my trials went good. I know James says that about. I'll be honest that surprised this 20, 21, but by God's grace.

I'm here and I'm just very, very grateful I were in a series he looked called the instep and I love how our church has translated that series title in Spanish.

As you know we have a Spanish-speaking congregation and the we have translated it, given that a word that has two meanings that the first meaning is of course the word instep. The second meeting is the word footsteps or footprints and I love that I love the because it reminds me of the old poem footprints in the sand. You'll remember that this is the poem were this person sees just one set of footprints in the sand and start to question God.I thought you were with me along. Where are you, only to know later that the reason there's only one set of footprints in the sand is because God's carrying down.

What a beautiful picture that God carries us is that I know were going through a lot together. I personally lost three close family members in the last nine months I've been battling with some health issues that it is he coming perhaps you are battling with some health issues as well. Perhaps your your your income has plummeted in the last 12 months. Whether you're a restaurant owner or maybe just a restaurant employee has been out of the job.

Perhaps other are trying to disdain nor scorn your name, but I want you to remember today the word of God says in Psalm one 3912 that not even darkness is dark to God that even darkness is dark to God, so want to throw yourselves in the arms of Jesus because he does care you.

He will carry. I know life is hard fact I was I was grabbing coffee earlier in the week and the ones his coffee shop and the person fixing Mike coffee associate. On the other side of the counter asked me.

So how's life going for you and it took me back because you don't because God is a vineyard and I only have superficial conversations AA going in the weather but alive people going to work right, but when she asked me how's life going for you, took me back, loaded questions of llamas. It took me a second. I said you know I'll be honest, I was really hard right now. But God is good God is always good to remember that he carries you real quick before we look at our capacity. Look for. Usually when I breathe I give you a ton of Bible today I'm going to lean a definition that the pastor Mark never uses for expositional preaching. He says you can bridge a chapter of the Bible is positionally. He says you can preach a verse of the chapter expositional.

He says he can bridge phrase in a word out of that you note verse another chapter. The Bible positionally and I'm going to lean on that today because I really believe God is leading me to explain something in a verse in Luke and I'm usually more animated or preaching.

If you would, but I'll do more explaining today, but I really believe God wants us to learn something about it when you need to use my handkerchief think that I usually use but Outlook has a declaration about Jesus that is so powerful, so powerful and so one of the little Bible triggers and we've been in the mood for so long know many of you probably get this right. But there's something that someone says to Jesus in Luke and I want to try and guess who's that if your home to get player along with the laws are in any of other campuses is something that someone says to Jesus that is really powerful and I want to guess is that it this Damon is this I know who you are, the holy one of God I know who you are, the holy one of God that is her text in Luke four, verse 34 remarkable powerful statement what you think said that yes maybe a disciple maybe a Pharisee that that resolve who Jesus was. Maybe a Gentile that got saved know neither one of those. The person that said that was the human now for a kids in the audience and for kids up watching from home. I want you to know that yes of the many scary demon is a spiritual being that that works against God. But we know God is stronger than a demon to your with God. You don't have to be afraid at all, but it is remarkable church that in this story in Luke four and in the tax.

It is this character in the story, the one that's stunned about Jesus holiness that even a demon highlights the holiness of God that is your topic today.

The holiness of God goes to say that even the demons believe in Jesus and have great theology but they want nothing to do with Jesus as a pastor thinking was reminding us a couple weeks ago. You know a lot about Jesus you believe in Jesus with actually wanting Jesus without actually trusting him with edema said was just that on right. I know you are Jesus, the holy one of God Mount demons are scary but is the missile something in Jesus that even made them scared and drove them out. I look with these heavy matters. This is not that I want us to now leaving live in fear or that I want to take ourselves too seriously and that now we have to be so uptight with any laugh about ourselves anymore. I'm not saying that in fact I even talking about us. But isn't it ironic that the scariest guy in the story is the one spooked by the holiness of Christ does not just so that you know that your enemies are no match for Jesus. It is also for you to know that Christ is to be revered. Many times we forget that God is holding on to be revered. We can take him, so likely in our day-to-day walk with him doesn't mean we cannot find God is also a God of joy and he he lost it gives us great gifts that we may enjoy. Of course, but too many times we take God's holiness way to lightly somebody would think about a little talk about it or even a demon assured us there is a gravity to the holiness of Christ, that we forget he makes us forget the mighty hand of the undefeated warrior fighting for us. It also makes us make him to lightly but if you even demons think the whole is a price seriously then so should we.

So as you turn to look for. Think about the following.

And by the way, we can apply this that this note in and this is a transcript of the line is, as we do every week so that you have the freedom to listen without the fear of missing anything.

But as as you think of of this phrase about Jesus, the holy one of God and look for. I want to think of the following there certain things in life that have or that produce a dual reaction in a certain things in life that produce a dual reaction in us is very important.

For example, the ocean on one hand you can be sitting in a beautiful beach in the calm waters of the Bahamas. When that be nice with the Bible on your right hand and a nice wonderful fruity drink on your left them on somebody and you having the time of your life. By the way, Bahamas comes from the de novo language upper landing.

This is the ocean Opryland and from the two Spanish words Baha my Bahamas, which means in English. Of course, shallow or low ocean.

So you're having a good old time in the shallow shores of Bahamas. However, the very same ocean just a few miles in him can be. This is a vast, deep, overwhelming, scary, huge body of water that produces recent act and reverent fear.

So the ocean has a dual effectiveness one of peace and calmness and rest. One of reverent fear and its vastness and death. Another example of something that causes a dual effectiveness is a great magnificent landscape like the Niagara Falls. I went to Niagara Falls a few years ago while I went to the USA USA side, I mean letting is really going on the Canadian side. We can go on the Canadians.

I would just can't come back, but just kidding about is I get here Latinos in the me hate emails. Most Latinos are legal. I knew on the team and just relax. But I did go to the Niagara Falls. That is just breathtaking.

I was just talking the talk� Regulate looking. I can't believe it. I was awestruck. I was speechless.

I was honestly speechless.

By the way that's proved that true satisfaction on my culture suggest has nothing to do with self. No one is beholding a big missive and landscape assess. I am so amazing I truly am all that noise doesn't quite the contrary your quiet your silent beholding this beauty, which is bigger than you and you feel completely satisfied awestruck proof that you were made to behold God proved that when you behold God in his glory, you will be left awestruck and completely satisfied.

He's the one that made the very lens can imagine how much more beautiful and amazing. He is, but why did the Niagara Falls produce the Job effectively well.

I was fine. Looking at the falls from the top from a safe distance until my family decided we should go do that little boat tour down there now.

Everything change for me when that happened like that would tell you. I know those little voters are say because otherwise it would have about this right, but when that little boat got that close as he was going to get to the bottom of the falls and I looked up at this giant waterfall coming down that that felt like it was going to swallow me.

I had another tour scare the living daylights out of me. So the falls produce both beauty and reverent fear. The Binswanger you're looking for will church so is the case with the holiness of God here. Look for the least likely candidate to acknowledge the impressive holiness of God. Edema acknowledges it is even driven out by God's holiness has ideally fact that we desperately need to see. I am convinced that if we took the holiness of God. Seriously, a lot of vertical centaurs God and a lot of horizontal centers each other would cease if we took the holiness of doctors.

We do not take sin seriously because we take the holiness of God lightly every hour of every day. You and I either offend the holiness of God or honor it. Now I know some TV preachers don't want to frighten people or scare people and so there's a tendency to leave out the whole character of God.

Now is not that I want to scare anyone today because scaring someone is not a great method for change, but the truth is that something beautiful like the ocean in the Niagara Falls.

It is also simultaneously something terrifying. It is frightening to look up from the bottom of the falls is scary what you can find of the Mariana trench and the ocean. You have to respect the ocean. I drove an island let me tell you have to respect it as good as was a QB and the truth about God church is that even though God is the epitome of beauty in a sense, he's also terrifying for he's holy, holy, holy. The only attribute of God in the Bible that is race to the 3rd� the words of RC Sproul the holiness of God is traumatic to own holy people, which is to say all people is dramatic because God is holy and we are not and that's the problem with humanity right there that is your problem. My problem is the problem. That's the reason why we all need Jesus as God is holy and were not so when we soft pedal. The entire biblical portrait of God. We will take sin lightly. God wants us to stop playing with sin because sin is not playing with us and his Holiness is not playing with is even there's a pattern in the Bible of responses to the holiness of God in the presence of God, and those reactions are not that that God is just sweet and tender he is the he's also terrifying beholding not because he's mean anyway but because he's holy and were not, and the Contras of his matchless and perfect purity.

Compare or contrast it to our sinful desires is just too great.

When you look at encounters in the Bible of people with the holiness of God in the presence of God.

The reaction was terrifying due to the holiness of God contrasted with her said that I tried to show you those encounters today. Besides passage he needed an amazing job with the example of Peter last week or the presence of the power and the holiness of Christ.

But his reaction was get away from Jesus and just to sinful. His reaction was right.

He had a right but think of this.

If he encounters using the Bible with the humans and angels of God, which does anyone have the same effect as God himself is drawn the Bible minimal to quake and tremble at the presence of one of his angels how much more we will we not tremble at the actual presence of the holy one, and that's why I firmly believe our brothers and sisters that the reason we need a new glorified body in order to be in the presence of the Lord in our current state. The reason we we can be our current stay there is because if we see the Lord as we are right now we would either die of pleasure for he's exceedingly better and more exquisite than than all pleasures so so he will be too much pleasure for us to the point where this body can take it or we would die of horror as we see the gravity and full scale of our city contrasted to his holiness. FISA got right now. Would it dial Flesher or horror. The only reason I do not drop dead just reading his holy word right now behind the school.

It's because of the holiness of Jesus imputed to me by his grace without Christ. I'm just like Urias in this message.

I carry will be my own death sentence below the church, a lack of regard for the purity on the holiness of God will lead you to be more aware of the sins committed against you, then your many and very daily since I lack of regard for the purity and holiness of God will lead you to not even consider consider whether whether what you are posting or typing or saying to others, honor God's or not a lack of regard for the purity and holiness of God will lead to sexual immorality and morality like addictive secret substance that is a gratification limit that you can fall everyone and play your buyers face in front of everyone.

But God will not and cannot be fooled. Lack of regard for the purity and holiness of God will detour your ears from the word of God to the news and the Internet will become your teacher and mentor and you start looking more like the world that Jesus and he will lead you to on society and the sin of self-pity, making you ignore the little hose mighty in battle, but when we start to take the holiness of God seriously was to examine every thought of every desire and whether those desires honor God or not. Listen the best resolution you can make every month is to please the Lord, because it leads to joy and freedom seek lasting happiness and you will find none in this world seek a holy God by his grace you get both God and the joy your soul longs for now, it is important that I explained to you the two kinds of holiness of God so that you do not fall into despair if you fall into despair today will bless the perfect love of God that will drive you to the rock called Jesus. But there are two miracles that every human being needs salvation and sanctification. What I mean by two types of holiness of God.

Theologians call this this first holiness the perfect holiness of Christ by which were saved and the second the progressive or gradual is what they mean by progressive gradual holiness of God that God calls us to live by. You have to worry about the second of you have the first, you can say you have the first of your not going in the second. The first holiness will call it Christ holiness applied to us and that one has all to do with our salvation or the Bible calls it justification. The second holiness we will call this one are holiness in response to Christ and that's holy that holiness as a whole to do with with legs that sanctification being transformed into the inner likeness and image of Christ is not the same holiness when the Bible says without holiness no one will shall see the Lord and the holiness that Christ calls us to live by when he says be holy as I am holy is not the same moment that it is a record the first holiness that one has to do with our salvation or justification is a monitor just the word mono meaning alone and erg from the root meaning. Work is a single word in the words God alone, alone, doesn't God act alone accomplishes it. This is the perfect holiness of Christ, that we cannot produce imputed to us by grace as he reconciles us to the only holy God is no way you can reduce the standard holy is necessary to be able to be reconciled to God and be with him forever. Now I know this could be a little confusing, so let me explain it using this kind of fake conversation that made up between a person and a bridge right so someone as this, you have to be perfect to enter heaven that which replies yes diversion is a bit confused then asked what is any human being perfect that which replies no mineral that presents a bit ticked off at this point is this. So then if you need to be perfect, go to heaven and no one is perfect.

Then nobody goes to heaven, then the preacher says wrong is called God's grace. The people who are in heaven or not there because of their professional holiness, but because of the perfection holiness of Christ that they humbled himself to trust and acknowledging their sin and repentance and trusting Jesus.

God in his grace imputed to them, his holiness, through Christ, making them just before him, and give them giving them heaven and himself.

Now this second holiness that one has to do with her gradual or ongoing sanctification will call this our holiness in response to Christ builds one is a synergistic work synergistic meaning working to gather it is an enterprise inspired by God but is actually a mutual work between you and God together. This is the whole is that sometimes we forget to mention just listen to me. We cannot just talk about salvation.

We also have to talk about sanctification, which is what I'm trying to do today and seen the holiness of God without sanctification. You have shallow Christians without sanctification. You have this unity without it were in danger of not seeing God's word as our highest authority for the good, the only anchoring the shifting center of this world is the word of God and God didn't save us to leave our worldviews must stop in and deceived.

He wants to renew our minds.

He wants for us to experience the joy of freedom of obedience to him. You may think that your sin gives you some type of satisfaction any doubts. I know you have no idea the freedom and pleasures that lie in obeying God and his word. He says that in Kreiser's fullness of joy delights forever more. Tasted this with the health issues that have battle with wearing today's rapid most pain I am worshiping God.

I can tell you that the pain is terrible. The presence of God is stronger in my pain.

There is fullness of joy. There is pleasures forevermore in Jesus Christ, to listen sanctification.

It is not a word for heaven is a work for here and now, let us humble ourselves and do so often, that God makes is a lot of anything that doesn't look like Jesus Christ, the great commandment is all about growing holiness is about sanctification, love God with all your heart and mind and soul. Love your neighbor to go miss you.

A good mood telling us that mean yes sis at ESE dome animals that when a bully God is perfect. I sent you that videos and said a lot of animosities will cease. If we took the pure and precious and good and awesome holiness of God seriously or if you would desire to honor God first.

You know what would happen God would be honor and the mid-beneficiaries of that will be our neighbors.

If the church brought back the importance of groaning holiness. Many overages and differences would be resolved. I was thinking about this and I was thinking that surely 504 years ago. God used the reformers to bring the Bible back to the church but I was thinking today. We need to bring the church back to the Bible. There is no greater solution to please the one that becomes primary.

Anyone who surrounds you will seek a holy God and glorify him when you realize that your offenses offend a holy God first before they will send your brother or your sister you think twice about offending is been plenty of times in my marriage where my wife and I have had a disagreement. I felt the desire to really defend myself because you know we'll have this like a lawyer advocate for ourselves. We think too highly of ourselves and then I'm like I want to go with a almonds for myself and then the Holy Spirit stopped me in my tracks and whispers to me.

Be careful what you say to her, and how you say it because before you offend her you will be offending me a holy God. I remember long long time ago this past Monday I went downstairs ready for myself.

All that day. I felt so pious I felt like I have prayed for my wife serve my wife by nighttime, you know I fell so pious because of something to happen and I was going to go downstairs and defend myself and in a and literally as I was going the first pairs of Holy Spirit whispers this to raise that lady was for this to be a lot and by the time I got down I got now would like being ahead. Let's fix it and she says in the UK like yeah I just came to get water from the refrigerator for the life correct because before offend her.

I am offending the holiness of God. Some of there's nothing more beautiful than a church that wants to be pure and purified, pure and humble people look beautiful, beautiful, conceited can some Barbies the total incentive occasion.

The liver pretty everything you got is not impressed with numbers is that impressed with your theology is not impressed with glamour. He wants of righteousness of heart in word and deed. It is written, past the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord.

Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice as worship and to heed than the fat of rams. We can fool everybody but the he sees when you exploit others for your okay he sees when you love yourself to others, the seizing difference which hurts more than hate is a lease let me tell you a lease hate has a reason I like eight but I like a bit of indifference is a lease hate is a reason he sees when you think so much about yourself that you ignore blessing others. He sees that your lack of passion, a hunger for him might be that you're too full of yourself and he wants to make you free.

He wants you to taste freedom. Hugs you would take the holiness of God seriously. Now let me make this clear. God calls every disciple to purity to holiness. Everyone who follows Jesus is called to purity. This is one of the marks of a disciple of Jesus Christ. But it is for your joy and your good and his glory. God told the prophets speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel say to them, you shall be holy, for I am the Lord your God am holy because the grace of therefore be holy, for I am the Lord your God shall be holy to me, for I am the Lord, I'm holy and have separate you from the peoples that you should be mine says the Lord, and you shut be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. It is written, you shall be holy, for I am holy. For God has not called us for impurity but in holiness now. The caveat to this is that any sanctification that is not rooted in the unmerited grace and justification of God is just the growth of the ego and self-sufficiency, leading many to believe there growing in reality growing in their own pride as he relied the phrase over. We owe Jesus to months I get it why we say of course we all everything to Jesus. But the reality is that if you think any pious staffs. Any if you do anything good at all that your mowing that we Jesus because he's the he's the author and perfecter of faith he he is the author justification and perfecter sanctification of her faith in the grace doesn't mean lack of effort. Grace doesn't mean that that that you don't have to put the deeds of the flesh to death in his holiness.

You do this and if it does not honor God is not good for you. If it does not honor God is not good for you. Let me start to wrap this up with a question you may have. It's got drum breathing is gone like a mean and cruel God because he is holy is Manny you make him look so terrifying and he is remembering a taxi look for the demon is terrified by Jesus holiness. But what is the context of that statement is that Jesus is sending somebody free if that Jesus is flexing his muscles on being a bully. No, not at all the competencies that Jesus is restoring life and wholeness and heels.

Please know that of the Lord Jesus Christ restores life and wholeness and heels using the business of reconciliation on and restoration. Perhaps that's why like car.

Some of them a car guy and you know I just love to see old cars rusted out cars be restored and returned to the glory in which their maker made it will. God is waiting better restorer than the meal any car got as he reached towards her, so and that is the context now. Why then does the holiness of God crushes us without Christ, because God is angry and in a grumpy and resentful, not at all part of the answer will decide that God is holding that were not part of the answer. It also is that he's very nature is holy and that's good for you. You know why is God doesn't mix with evil at all. And that's good news does because you don't want to God that that seems holy and the inner corner hidden somewhere. He has some evil secret agenda is not a holy God. Think of it this way. Think of the sun. The sun many sunny son. When you let asunder the leg living with you to go the way to rainy. Now think about this. No one hates the son we actually depend on how we will freeze to death. You will never hear a NASA scientist to say that being grumpy hateful son has never allowed us to land a spaceship on it. Nobody says that many many a mosque is trying to land anything on the sun. The reason we can land on the sun is not because the sun is mean or bad or grumpy is because the sun is heat in the same way. The reason a sinner cannot commune and be with God, apart from Christ is not because God is bad but because God is holy. Listen now in the same way that anything that approaches the sun to close will incinerate a sinner in the presence of God, apart from Christ will disintegrate down because God is bad but because God is holy. Even the Caribbean's angels that that I ride by the throne of God covered their faces with two wings and sing holy, holy, holy, so please don't think or say that God is bad because he's fierce because he is terrifying. The sun is terrifyingly fierce and nobody badges it. In fact, we praise it because we needed. Why would you price than the one who made the sun and is holy. Also, apart from Christ is holy is will crush you in eternity. And that's it. Of love because is just for your good.

He will not mix with evil. Again, you wouldn't trust a God there's little hidden evil in him right there is an evil and the fact that God is holy, makes and you know what trusts were you know the angels around the throne, dosing, holy, holy, holy, because they like repetition because God really is a little because he is stressed were more trustworthy than any income. There is no evil, worsening the only time I'm the closest time God came close to sin was when he out of love for your me voluntarily and the cross took upon himself our sin and assured that and what happened to sin and death when they counter holy God. Well, Beth died and he left sin was crushed and he rose hope of the holiness of God for your me as the holiness came to for his there is a way to be just, there is a way not to be afraid. There is a way, his holiness will crush a sinner like you and that is to receive the holiness of another George is my son Danny got saved last year and a lot of have some good things to that we have and he got say over a family devotional row explaining the holiness of Christ.

At first he fell into despair, because he saw the size and the weight of the holiness of God comfort to sin, an inability to attain that he saw Jesus alone was his hope were things he said when he was getting baptized as he said the Lord, open my eyes to his holiness with heroes and what I can accomplish.

I can only run to Jesus again. I am no longer a slave receive any of you have a ready trust in him, stopped taking God's holiness likely every hour of every day. Honor his holiness or offend take sanctification seriously is for your freedom and joy listen.

Nobody in the Bible has a response other than my God I am so so when they encounter the holiness of God you guys not been poor, have, or have my life. Thank God for this amazing country that gave me a tremendous welcome that I don't deserve but I hadn't seen things and you know what gone was when I was going candy and all the rest of can't tell the story, but I was really shocked by so many things I want them walking one is like laser tag places. I know a laser tag will die, but I'm like you know you know this has to be same as you know you are saying you know someone I went in there.

What I was not expecting whether there's a dark room with this ultraviolet light and it was the most embarrassing thing because there all the stains like the coffee stains that have been using right now in my shirt.

It was all exposed that ultraviolet light exposed all my stains that centrifugation because it got you get to God because he gets to the holiness of Christ. Nobody says on another level, the level of sin because what you see is you see your staying.

You see how much greater. His grace is so take the holiness of God seriously let me wrap this up in 10 seconds.

As the text wraps up saying that people saw what Jesus did and start telling everybody listen how much more wouldn't we tell all people reporting of what Jesus can do barman at a time. I wish you more about the holiness of God and how the holiness of God is, it brings goodness to all the world is always rented a league with his little portion of the old hymn, holy, holy, Santo sent to him who holy darkness hi the eye of sinful man thy glory may not only lower person on the site.

God your perfect power and love and purity.

Let us bring thank you Jesus for your word.

Thank you, you holy and precious because of Jesus, thank you for reminding us that grace also is no lack of effort and there is a sanctification you caused a renewing of her mind, purity, renewing your mind will forgive us for sending your holiness thing changes that we may not like it was sprinkling changes in your holiness. Seriously, we may see the scene is not playing with us is in your holy transformers. The image of Christ.

I pray in Jesus name, amen