| "Walking in Holiness" |
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In Pastor Evon's new series, "Walking in the Footsteps of Jesus", we find
that there are four fundamental characteristics of God,which are only received
from God Himself as we are saved and filled with His Spirit. This first
message is a focus on the Holiness of God, which is purity,
getting un-Godly things out of our life, and separation away from these
things (Lev. 11:44). The most important part of this message is the
realization and knowledge that the closest to holiness that we can get
is through worship. Communion with the Lord and worship will
establish holiness in us.
How do we receive holiness:
1. By relationship - salvation, where Jesus starts to transform us. We
cannot be holy by trying or by our own efforts.
2. By being cleansed - apply the Blood of Jesus to our hearts and life.
Our soul gets scrubbed by the Blood of Christ.
3. By purging - Holy Spirit's fire consumes and purges both our
actions/deeds and our attitudes/thoughts. It's not by our efforts, but by
allowing Holy Spirit to burn within us. We can try all we can, but suddenly the Spirit
of God sees the fire in us, and He simply blows on us, bringing the fire of
purging.
What needs to be holy?
1. Our mind - we have stinkin-thinkin. We must fill our mind with Godly
thoughts
2. Our feelings, emotions and attitudes - let Holy Spirit come into our
emotions and make them holy.
3. Our mouth - our words. What comes out of us shows the true heart of
us. Watch our words! Pray that God cleanse our mouth, and then give
God permission to filter our words before they come out.
In Hebrews 12:14, it tells us "to make every effort to live in
peace with all men and be holy, for without holiness no one will see the
Lord." We must make every effort, which means to pursue consciously,
deciding to live in peace and be holy. Holiness and peace are tied together.
Without holiness, we cannot see God. This isn't a judgmental statement, but one
that shows that unless we are in the sanctification process, that we'll have an
inability to truly see God no matter how hard we try. When we're not in peace
and holiness, we are incapable of truly seeing Him. Holiness is the eye of our
soul - the lens that brings clarity. The more we walk in holiness, the more we
will see God. Holiness is having God's character, and that is one of
gentleness and peace.
We all need to get God's perspective on things. God shows us a
little, and then more and more about yourself and the world. It is then that
we begin to realize that our perception is not real. It is God's perspective
that is the only real one. We simply "see through a glass dimly." Our goal
must be for God to work in us so that we will truly begin to see as HE
sees.
In the Beatitudes (Matt. 5:8), it states that "Blessed are the pure
in heart, for they shall see God." Having a pure heart means that we
continually yield to the cleansing process, and ask ourselves "is our heart
clear?" We must pray and ask God to let us be holy and walk holy like
Jesus, and to see clearly. We must embrace God as He searches our heart,
knowing that we are accountable only for what is in our own heart.
The next Beatitude states: "Blessed are the peacemakers for they
shall be called the sons of God." This once again shows us the link
between holiness and peace. When we walk in holiness and peace, we truly will
be the ones to see God and be called his sons and daughters. This is when
people in the world will see that we are different, we will be Christ's
witnesses in the earth, thus leading others to Him.
Holiness is not an option. If we are to see God, become like Christ, and
be His disciple that bears much fruit, we must open up to Him and allow Him to
purge us and cleanse us, thus having His way in us. There is nothing as
important as this! And remember, it is in worship that holiness is
perfected in us.
 
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