Leviticus
11:44-45 (NKJV)
44
For I am the Lord your God. You shall therefore consecrate yourselves, and you
shall be holy; for I am holy. Neither shall you defile yourselves with any
creeping thing that creeps on the earth. 45 For I am the Lord who
brings you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. You shall therefore be
holy, for I am holy.
Peter saw
this as a necessity for proper Christian living, he realized that it wasn’t
something that we could work out of the flesh, this was (and is) resting in God’s grace as Jesus Christ is continually revealed
to us.
1
Peter 1:13-16 (NKJV)
13
Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully
upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 14
as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your
ignorance; 15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in
all your conduct, 16 because it is written, “Be holy, for I am
holy.”
So, now I am brought back to the question—what does it mean to be holy?
I remember
someone once told me that “to be holy is to be separate”, made special for the
master’s use, with purposeful intent to be used.
Romans
9:20-21 (NKJV)
20
But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say
to him who formed it, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 Does not
the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for
honor and another for dishonor?
Could we say
then that holiness is by design? Doesn't
God form us to be what we will become?
Some of us (like me) are a
little slow on the uptake to get into the rhythm of that potter’s wheel which is circular in
motion, which allows the turning and forming process to create in us a truer
image of our Master Potter and His desires for us.
Holiness starts with complete surrender to the Master Potter, our form and shape (like clay) is changed regularly by the Master Potters loving hand. And sometimes our vessel is broken, for He may desire to use us another way, or in a different way. He takes and renews the clay by pouring water on it to revive it and soften it. So it is with our hearts.
Holiness starts with complete surrender to the Master Potter, our form and shape (like clay) is changed regularly by the Master Potters loving hand. And sometimes our vessel is broken, for He may desire to use us another way, or in a different way. He takes and renews the clay by pouring water on it to revive it and soften it. So it is with our hearts.
Ephesians
5:25-27 (NKJV)
25
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave
Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the
washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to
Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but
that she should be holy and without blemish.
“What is holiness? I know what it is,
and yet I cannot in a few words define it. I will bring out its meaning by
degrees, but I shall not do better than the poor Irish lad who had been
converted to the faith. When he was asked by the missionary, “Patrick, what is
holiness?” “Sir,” said he, “it is having a clane inside.” Just so—morality is a
clean outside, but holiness is being clean within. Morality is a dead body
washed and laid in clean white linen: holiness is the living form in perfect
purity. To be just to man is morality, to be hallowed unto God is holiness. The
church of God must not be reputedly good, but really pure; she must not have a
name for virtue, but her heart must be right before God, she must have a clean
inside. Our lives must be such that observers may peep within doors and may see
nothing for which to blame us. Our moral cleanliness must not be like that of a
bad housewife, who sweeps the dirt under the mats, and puts away rags and
rottenness in the corner cupboards. We must be so clear of the accursed thing
that even if they dig in the earth they will not find an Achan’s treasure
hidden there. God desireth truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part he
would make us to know wisdom.”
From a Sermon Entitled:
What is Holiness? by Charles Haddon Spurgeon Link to Full Sermon
Holiness is
a matter of the heart, trusting our Master Potter to make us into whatever He
wants to shape us into on the inside, conforming the hardness of our hearts to something much softer and pliable.
Amazing
though, the end result of all of this shaping, forming and breaking is that our
form and shape begins to reflect the likeness of the Master Potter
Himself. I really didn’t know He was
making a self-portrait through us! Did you?
24
I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking
in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church, 25
of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was
given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God, 26 the mystery
which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed
to His saints. 27 To them God willed to make known what are the
riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you,
the hope of glory.
Colossians
1:24-27 (NKJV)
24
I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking
in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church, 25
of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was
given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God, 26 the mystery
which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed
to His saints. 27 To them God willed to make known what are the
riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you,
the hope of glory.
There is no
possible way I could fully describe the depths of holiness in this short blog...other than to say that Jesus is our righteousness, as well as our
holiness. It is Him working His purpose through us as we surrender to Him.
Jesus emanating His fragrance upon our bodies. Holiness is the risen Christ working out His life in us, and making us like He is...Holy!
To close this topic I have included the following song which I learned many years ago at a church in Southern California. This is a wonderful song of worship which describes that it is the Lord who makes us holy, and it is our desire for Him that drives our passion for Holiness. I hope it is a blessing to you as it is for me.
To close this topic I have included the following song which I learned many years ago at a church in Southern California. This is a wonderful song of worship which describes that it is the Lord who makes us holy, and it is our desire for Him that drives our passion for Holiness. I hope it is a blessing to you as it is for me.
Click the Red & White arrow ↓ below to listen to the song
O Holy Lord
Song by:
Michael J. Pritzl
We love you Lord
For you are pure, for you are holy
We want you Lord
To make us pure, to make us holy
Set apart for you
O holy Lord
Who rules above the earth
We cry to you
Make us holy like you
Make us holy like you
I love you Lord
For you are pure, for you are holy
I want you Lord
To make us pure, to make us holy
Set apart for you
O holy Lord
Who rules above the earth
I cry to you
Make me holy like you
Make me holy like you
I love you Lord
I want you Lord
I need you Lord
To make me holy like you
Make me holy like you
Copyright © 1989 Mercy/Vineyard Publishing. All rights
reserved. International copyright secured.
The music above is copyrighted by the respective artists, and is demonstrated here for educational purposes only
The music above is copyrighted by the respective artists, and is demonstrated here for educational purposes only
No comments:
Post a Comment