Be Holy and my other choice is???

“…because priests are holy to their God. ⁸ Regard them as holy, because they offer up the food of your God. Consider them holy, because I the Lord am holy—I who make you holy.” Leviticus 21:7b-8. NIV

I’ve been reading through Leviticus for the past week and have noticed that God is passionate about His holiness.  Two of Aaron’s son were killed because they offered an “unholy” incense  to the Lord.  God would not even allow Aaron to mourn their deaths because Aaron had already been consecrated to the Lord as Holy.  God spends a lot of time instructing Moses to identify what makes a person clean or unclean whether it is about types of food or social activities. People were to be cut off from the community or killed if they did not follow God’s plan for holiness.

To try in our own efforts to be holy as God is holy is an exercise in futility that is always ends with us missing the mark.  Yet, on the other side of the coin, we are walking a path of making everything common place so that it is more palatable to the world. Jesus said that our righteousness should exceed that of the Pharisees if we are to be citizens of the new kingdom.   Paul reiterates in 2 Corinthians for us to “Come out from among them and be ye separate”.

There is no condemnation in Christ Jesus…but there is still conviction that should lead to true repentance.  God does care that our attitudes and actions should be pleasing to him.  But how do we obtain holy living without being consumed with following the rules in our head of what we think that God requires for us to be holy?

Actually, it is much more simple than you would think.  When we confessed our sins to God, we gained the same status of Jesus as Holy.  This lifestyle is maintained, not by trying to keep all the rules of the law, but by following the lead of the Holy Spirit.  Wherever He asks us to go, to speak, or to do will be in the direction of holiness, for this is the very core of His nature.  He always moves in the direction of holiness.  Paul says that if we keep in step with the Holy Spirit we will not carry out the desires of our flesh.  Jesus said that the Holy Spirit will lead and guide us into all truth.  We will never be without excuse, because Jesus said that the Holy Spirit will be with us always.

So to remain clean, set apart, and holy before the Lord is to listen to the Holy Spirit and then do what He suggest.  If you ignore his voice or reject his idea…we move into a place of unholiness or our own understanding.  Jesus lived a perfect life because he always walked in step with the Father’s will through the leading of the Holy Spirit.  It was the Holy Spirit that led Jesus into the wilderness where he was tempted by Satan for 40 days.  Yet, Jesus remained faithful.

To be holy as God is holy is to walk a life of dependency on the Holy Spirit.  We trust that He is good and will always lead us into life and truth.  Do you know what his voice sounds like?  Can you discern his whispers?  Are you praying for a recurring and constant infilling of the Holy Spirit?  Do you value His abiding presence more than anything on the earth?

Be Holy by allowing the Holy Spirit’s influence over and in your life, be the aroma that is pleasing to the Lord and the standard among your friends that you are a “called out one.”

Do you have what it takes?

Even when I am old and gray, do not abandon me, O God. Let me live to tell the people of this age

what your strength has accomplished, to tell about your power to all who will come. Psalms 71:18 GWT

It was early August on a hot muggy afternoon and I was laying on my back in the little league football practice area.  Mosquitos buzzed around while I was covered in dirt and sweat.  Just moments before I had caught sight of my dad coming to my team to watch my practice.  He rarely came and something inside of me wanted to make a good impression.  I wanted him to know that I was good enough.

“Rogers on your back for one on one!”  Yes sir, I responded and laid down on my back helmet to helmet with Jones.  When coach counted to three, we were to get up as fast as we could and run straight at each other.  One would tackle and the other was to run straight over his opponent.  I glanced over to see if Dad was watching.  “Three!!!” 

I was small and quick…nearly 20 pounds less than my opponent.  I knew I had to hit first and hard.  I lowered my head, we collided and both fell to the ground.  Our teammates cheered with enthusiasm.  But I felt pain in my neck…some of it remains to this day.  Did Dad notice my sacrifice?  Did he think I am good enough?

Moses was in the desert leading the people of Israel toward the promised land.  While Moses was with God on the mountain the people rebelled, mad a golden calf and worshipped it.  God did not destroy the people, but told Moses he would no longer travel with them.  Then Moses pleaded and interceded with God on behalf of the people…”If I have found favor with you?”

There is a gnawing and a longing to know that we have God’s favor.  We long to hear the words that God spoke over Jesus at his baptism…”you are my beloved son in whom I take great delight.”  Even when we have experienced God’s love, there is an ache to remain in that place.  Are there some activities, steps, some things that you can do, to know that you “are the apple of your heavenly Father’s eye?”

A broken and contrite heart God will not despise.  In other words, when you approach God in humility, he always welcomes you.  This of course begins our salvation experience.  NONE of us are good enough to impress God on our own abilities.  We just can’t do enough “good” to impress God.  So we humbly receive the sacrifice of Jesus to die in our place, to die for the sins that we committed.  This begins our relationship with God as his children John 1:12.

Secondly, walk continuously in the fullness of the Holy Spirit.  He is the promise of Jesus to be with us always.  He will lead and guide us into truth….truth about God’s continuing love for us.  He will speak to you, teach you, convict you, open your eyes of understanding, gift you to purpose, comfort you, challenge you to walk in faith.  There is no Christian life that Jesus understood, that does not include Holy Spirit’s full time involvement in the life of the believer.  Don’t be drunk with wine, but be filled with the Holy Spirit.  Life without the Spirit is like a boat in the ocean that has neither sails nor compass.  You will arrive somewhere at some time, but only because of the influence of the wind and waves.

Read the Bible daily.  Jesus said that man does not live by bread alone, but by the word of God.  Yet, we want to make Jesus a liar.  How you say?  By our actions of NOT being a doer (or reader) of the word…yet we expect to live a full and meaningful Christian experience.  Jesus quoted scripture to resist temptation.  This word was hidden in his heart at an early age…so that he would not sin.  We must capture a renewed hunger and thirst for the word of God.  It doesn’t become us to be spiritually emaciated just because we forgot to eat from God’s bread of life…his word.

Unconfessed and undealtwith (not a word, but it communicates) sin.  God’s voice seems to go silent when we sin.  Isaiah 59:2 says it best. “It's your sins that have cut you off from God. Because of your sins, he has turned away and will not listen anymore.” NLT.  This is not a martyr, I’m just not good enough response to God.  This is areas in our lives where we have told God “not to go there”.  We have just presumed on God’s grace and said that he knows we are weak.  We just don’t want to acknowledge that we are unwilling to humble ourselves and deal with our own selfishness.  But God our Father is serious about following him with our whole heart.  Sin separates us.  So, we confess our wrong doings.  Then He forgives.  Because of Jesus, He forgives completely.  Oh, the cleansing that comes when we are washed once again by the blood of his cleansing.

The final encouragement to know that we walk in his favor is to retell God’s past actions.  When we tell others what He has done…faith grows in our hearts.  This is more than just telling how God has worked in your own life, it also includes telling the great stories of the Bible.  As we share of God’s goodness we become connected to the story.  We become witnesses to the accounting of God and his ways.  We see how he forgave others…and we are encouraged that He will forgive us too.  Telling God’s story places us in the position to live life in the middle of God’s favor.  When was the last time you just told someone about a Bible story that you found interesting?  When did you tell someone how God spoke to you while reading the Bible? 

God loves you!  He has provided so many ways to express to you that He loves you.  In fact all of creation shouts that God prepared a world for us to enjoy…because He loves us.  God, our Father, so loves us that He did not even hold back from giving his only son, so that we could know his favor, blessing, approval, and love.  He is watching and we get to show Him that we have what it takes.  “Three”  Get up and tell somebody how much God cares and loves them.

How big is your listening measuring cup?

"Consider carefully what you hear," he continued. "With the measure you use, it will be measured to you--and even more.  Mark 4:24 NIV

This verse is given at the end of the explanation of the parable of the Sower.  Jesus is explaining to his disciples how God’s word enters our lives to become fruitful.  3 of the soils don’t have the capacity to produce a healthy plant, but the 4^th produces a harvest.  I have studied this passage for many years and have preached about the 4 soils.  But the secret to the soils is found within this verse.

The whole passage is about our focus on receiving, listening, paying attention, and hearing God’s word.  This is the key to becoming fruitful in God’s kingdom.  How hungry are we to wait on “hearing God”?  God responds to our level of interests.  His desire is for hearing and understanding to flow forth in abundance in our lives.  That is what I am praying for you and I right now.

If hearing from God is so important, why is it so hard and how can we get better?

1.       As a child of God it is vital for you to know that everyone has the capacity to hear God…Jesus said in John 10…my sheep hear my voice and the follow me.  He speaks to each of his children regardless of their calling, occupation, intelligence or status in life.  Jesus fixed our hearing loss that happened as a result of the fall of mankind.

2.      God responds to humbly asking for ears to hear.  In fact, He is roaming through out the entire earth looking for those who are intentionally seeking him.  Every time you read the Bible, ask the Lord to speak to you.

3.      God has the ability to break through the hardness of our heart especially when we are full of ourselves.  Don’t be discouraged if you hear “little”, God will help you.

4.      God is speaking, but we “0wn” the responsibility to listen.  How much time and effort do we give to listening to God especially in relation to our listening habits toward other media and conversations with others? 

5.      Repentance is the first spiritual step to clean the wax out of your ears.  There is no other place to start, because repentance recalibrates our spiritual receiving to Holy Spirit’s broadcast.

6.      Celebrate when God speaks to you…that will nurture faith that is necessary to hear even more.  It will also help you to discern His voice from others.

How big is your listening measuring cup?  The one that you use to express your desire to hear from God.  That is the same one (level) God uses to speak to you.  Let’s expect that this cup will increase for all of us.

God who sees me

Do you think your way (life) is hidden from the Lord?  She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: "You are the God who sees me," for she said, "I have now seen the One who sees me."  Genesis 16:13 NIV.

Hagar was pregnant with Abraham’s son Ismael.  She had obeyed Sarah and slept with Abram resulting in her pregnancy.  Now she despised Sarah and was being mistreated out of jealousy and strife.  The tension was too great so Hagar ran away out into the desert.  She was running away from her problems.  God was with Abram….now she was in the desert…nowhere near God.

Yet, God spoke to her in the desert.  He revealed that she would have a son and he would become a father to many nations.  He also told her to return back to her mistress.

Where are you?  Let me give you some possible hiding spots when we are avoiding God.

1. Rebellion- we know about God, but we just run hard into the sin of our own choice of living.  

2. Deceitful sin – somehow we think God will overlook this sin because “it’s not that bad, it doesn’t hurt many people, and no one knows what I am thinking or doing”.

3.  Cares of the World- we have gotten so busy and life is moving so fast…God can’t keep up.  So there is little time to interact with God.

4.  Pitiful Me – life is so hard and difficult that God overlooks my situation.  “If God truly cared, was involved in my life, then I would not be going through this struggle.  No one has it as hard as I do”.

5. Religious Activity – one of the most deceptive hiding places.  We participate fully in all of the church activities.  We think our involvement puts us close to God.  Yet we never take the time to dialogue with Him.  Since we don’t talk with him, we are hoping that we can impress him with our duty in serving him.  But we were made for relationship with him first.

God is able at any moment to invade our hiding places.  He whispers, “turn back to me you sinners, I see all your sin.  Why do you stay burdened with life’s struggles, take my yoke upon you and learn from me.  If I care about the birds of the air and the lilies of the field, I see all of your need and will help you.  Many things are important in life, but spending time with me is the most important.”

Hagar changed that day…not because God saw her…but she had seen the one who sees her and lived.  That personal encounter changed her life.  How would you describe the last personal encounter that you had with God?  What did He say to you?  I am sure it included something about His love for you and that He sees you.