Pursuing Holiness: Set Apart, Mind of Christ

Devotional

Day 1: Toothbrushes and the Art of Being Set Apart

Holiness begins when ordinary things are reserved for sacred purposes. Just as a toothbrush is designated for one task alone, God calls His people to live distinct lives shaped by His priorities. This isn’t about superficial appearances but about aligning our habits, time, and choices with His character. To be holy means rejecting the chaos of competing influences and embracing our identity as tools in God’s hands. Holiness isn’t theoretical—it’s the daily practice of saying “no” to what distracts so we can say “yes” to what lasts. [03:41]

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2:9, ESV)

Reflection: What ordinary part of your routine—like a toothbrush—could God be asking you to sanctify for His purposes? How might reserving it reshape your awareness of His presence?

Day 2: Eleven Hours of Influence

The average person spends eleven hours daily absorbing digital media—news, entertainment, social feeds. These inputs shape beliefs, values, and desires, often quietly competing with Scripture’s countercultural truths. Holiness requires auditing what fills our minds: Does it reflect Christ’s love or the world’s noise? Like a gardener pulling weeds, we must uproot toxic influences to make space for fruit. [07:20]

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2, ESV)

Reflection: Which of your daily inputs (a show, podcast, or app) most subtly contradicts God’s truth? What step could you take this week to replace it with life-giving content?

Day 3: Spiritual GPS in a Twisting World

Life’s roads rarely run straight. Without a reliable guide, we drift into confusion or dead ends. Just as a GPS reorients drivers, Scripture realigns our priorities when culture’s voices disorient us. Holiness means trusting God’s Word over our instincts, letting His commands reroute us toward Christlikeness. [12:09]

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you been relying on your own “sense of direction” instead of God’s Word? What specific decision today needs the reset of His truth?

Day 4: Nine Days in the Game vs. Nine Days in the Word

A pastor once realized he’d spent nine days playing a video game but hadn’t invested nine days in Scripture over three years. Holiness isn’t about perfection but intentionality—choosing habits that form us into Christ’s image. What we practice daily shapes our capacity to love God and others. [16:16]

“But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.” (Psalm 1:2, ESV)

Reflection: What activity quietly drains your time without nourishing your soul? How could redirecting even 10 minutes of it to Scripture reshape your week?

Day 5: Voting Booths and Blueberry Doughnuts

Holiness invades everyday choices—how we vote, tip servers, or even justify blueberry doughnuts. It’s not about grand gestures but small obediences that declare, “This is who my God is.” When we weigh decisions against Scripture rather than convenience, we become living signposts of His kingdom. [36:29]

“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31, ESV)

Reflection: What seemingly mundane choice this week (a purchase, conversation, or vote) could become an act of worship if surrendered to God’s glory?

Sermon Summary

God has called his people to be holy, and holiness is not some foggy church word that nobody can touch. Core values are the essential things, the things that, if taken away, make the church something else. The first value says the church is a Christian people, a people who have heard Jesus say, “Come, follow me.” The second value says the church is a holiness people, because following Jesus is not just wearing a T-shirt that says so.

Holiness, sanctification, and consecration all mean being set apart for a particular purpose. The toothbrush picture makes that plain. One toothbrush is set apart for a person’s mouth, and another toothbrush may be set apart for cleaning jobs, but nobody should confuse the two. God says, “Be holy because I am holy,” and that means his people are set apart to show the world what he is like.

Style does not define holiness. Bell bottoms, parachute pants, skinny jeans, or whatever comes next do not make a person look like Jesus. Paul puts the issue deeper than appearance when he says the believer needs the mind of Christ. The real question becomes, who or what is influencing the way a person thinks?

Digital media, news, entertainment, politics, games, and social media all shape the mind. The world is sanctified too, but it is set apart for different purposes. Hollywood has a gospel of its own about love, forgiveness, relationships, and what is acceptable, and much of it conflicts with Scripture. The Bible becomes the spiritual GPS, because without that influence, the road twists north, east, south, and west before a person even realizes where he is going.

Hebrews 12 says, “Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life,” because “those who are not holy will not see the Lord.” Holiness does not happen by accident. It is not something a person trips over while walking down the street. It has to be worked at, with distractions named and influences weighed.

Nazarene language calls this sanctification, even entire sanctification, the work of the Holy Spirit that cleanses, renews the image of God, and empowers love for God and neighbor. “Perfect” does not first mean flawless, but complete. Like a thousand-piece puzzle with every piece in the box, God calls his people to find completeness in the Father who is complete.

Holiness finally comes down to ordinary decisions. Voting, tipping, working, watching, praying, reading Scripture, confessing, and choosing friends all reveal what influence is winning. Holiness is not hard in the sense of complicated. It is intentional. God’s people are called to look more like Jesus today than yesterday, to sound more like Jesus, to think more like Jesus, and to let hands and feet go where Jesus would go.

##

Key Takeaways

1. Holiness means being set apart Holiness is not first a mood, a style, or a religious costume. Holiness means a life has been set apart for God’s purpose, the way a toothbrush is set apart for one use and not another. The question is not whether a person is set apart, but what purpose has claimed that person’s life. [02:54]
2. Influence quietly forms the mind The mind does not stay neutral while screens, ads, shows, politics, and games pour into it. Every influence carries a purpose, and many of those purposes are not holy, even when they feel harmless. The mind of Christ is not formed by accident while other voices get the best hours of the day. [07:20]
3. Holiness must be worked at Hebrews does not treat holiness as a spiritual accident that just happens along the way. The holy life requires attention, discipline, and the courage to remove what keeps pulling the heart away from God. The warning is weighty because holiness is tied to seeing the Lord, not merely to being a nicer person. [18:42]
4. Completeness is found in God The word “perfect” carries baggage when it is heard only as flawlessness. Scripture’s idea of completeness points the believer toward wholeness in the Father, not toward anxious self-polishing. The thousand-piece puzzle may not be assembled yet, but God’s grace brings the pieces into the box and begins putting the life together. [23:30]
5. Grace reaches ordinary choices Holiness shows up in places that seem too normal to count, like leaving a tip after bad service. The world says to respond by what was earned, but grace asks a deeper question about what God is showing through the action. A holy life learns to ask whether each choice honors God or simply protects comfort.

## [38:39]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:35] - Core Values and Holiness
[02:12] - Following Jesus Beyond the T-Shirt
[02:54] - Sanctified Means Set Apart
[05:42] - Not Style, But the Mind of Christ
[07:20] - Digital Influence and Holy Thinking
[12:09] - Scripture as Spiritual GPS
[16:16] - Nine Days on the Xbox
[18:42] - Hebrews Says Work at Holiness
[21:12] - Sanctification and Nazarene Essentials
[23:30] - Perfect Means Complete
[31:11] - Spiritual Disciplines That Shape
[34:46] - Homework: What Influences Decisions?
[38:39] - Grace in Ordinary Choices
[40:57] - Looking More Like Jesus

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Hebrews 12:14
“Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” [18:42]

1 Peter 1:16
“Since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’” [05:19]

Romans 12:2
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” [39:40]

Philippians 2:5
“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,”

Observation questions

In Hebrews 12:14, what two things are believers told to strive for, and what warning is attached to holiness?
What everyday picture helps explain what it means for something to be holy, sanctified, or consecrated? [02:54]
According to Romans 12:2 and Philippians 2:5, what part of a person’s life especially needs to be changed if that person is going to follow Jesus faithfully? [06:40]
What kinds of influences were named as shaping the way people think and make decisions? [07:20]

Interpretation questions

If God says, “Be holy, for I am holy,” what does that suggest holiness is really about? How is that different from treating holiness as mainly outward style or appearance? [05:19]
Hebrews 12:14 says to strive for holiness. Why might that word matter? What does it reveal about whether holiness happens automatically? [19:47]
Philippians 2:5 calls believers to have the mind of Christ. What might it look like in real life for Jesus to shape the way a person thinks before Jesus shapes the way a person acts? [07:04]
Romans 12:2 speaks about refusing the world’s pattern and being renewed in the mind. Why is Scripture like a spiritual GPS for discerning God’s will when so many other voices are competing for attention? [12:09]

Application questions

What has been influencing the mind most strongly lately—Scripture, prayer, social media, news, entertainment, friendships, work, or something else? What does that influence seem to be producing in thoughts and attitudes? [34:46]
Holiness is being set apart for God’s purpose. Where does life currently feel divided between God’s purpose and some other purpose? Is there a habit, show, platform, pattern, or distraction that may need to be limited or removed? [19:58]
“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.” What is one decision coming up this week where there is a real need to stop and ask, “Would this honor God, or would it mainly serve comfort, pride, or convenience?” [39:59]
Many ordinary choices reveal what is shaping the heart. How might holiness change the way a person handles money, leaves a tip, responds to poor service, or treats someone who feels difficult to love? [38:30]
If the Word of God is the spiritual GPS, what would it look like to give it more actual influence this week? Would that mean setting aside a regular time to read, pray, meditate, or confess honestly before God and a trusted believer? [31:11]
Completeness is found in God, not in success, approval, possessions, or control. Where is there a temptation to look for completeness somewhere other than the Father? What would it look like to return that part of life to him? [24:43]
Holiness is intentional, not accidental. What is one clear step that could help someone look a little more like Jesus today than yesterday—in speech, thought, relationships, habits, or use of time? [40:57]

Sermon Clips

32s

#BecomingLikeJesus

“``believe in the church of the Nazarene that God calls us to be a holiness people who are pursuing that relationship deepening. And I look more like Jesus today than I looked yesterday. I sound more like Jesus today than I sounded yesterday. I think more like Jesus today than I did yesterday. My hands do the things that Jesus would do. My feet go the places that Jesus would go. That's the pursuit of holiness. It's not hard. It is intentional.”

29s

#SetApartForGod

“So I I want us to understand this term, this holiness idea, this sanctified idea, this consecrated idea. It's it's not that hard for us to understand. It's just when it when we talk about it in spiritual terms, it's like, what does that mean? What it means when Jesus says that we're to be holy, when God says, be holy because I am holy, what he's saying is, be set apart. Don't look like the guy next to you. Rather, try to figure out what it means to look like me.”

43s

#WorkAtHoliness

“Did did you hear what the writer to Hebrews said in verse 14? Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life. Here's here's what I think we need to understand. Holy life doesn't come accidentally. It doesn't just you're not just walking down the street and like, poop, oh, holy. You you have to work at it. You have to try to figure out where the influences are that are distracting you from God, and you have to try to eliminate those distractions, those influences that would lead you. You have to work at living a holy life. That's what the author says. But did you hear what he said right after that?”

60s

#GuardYourMind

“So I'm gonna ask this question. Who influences how you think? Maybe I'll ask what influences how you think? We could read in the scriptures, and and we'll we'll look at some stuff in a minute. We could we could read in the scriptures where it says that we should set our minds on things above, not on things of this earth. The last time I looked, the average American spends eleven hours a day influenced by digital media. Now, of that's Facebook, some of that's Instagram, some of that's the news, some of that's email. Most of us, many of us, get a lot of our information digitally now, and we we spend all kinds of time in front of TV screens or computer screens or phone screens. Let me just tell you, there's an awful lot of influence coming into our lives that is is not at all holy.”

Ask a question about this sermon

New Life Church This sermon · AI assistant

What does holiness mean in practical terms?

How does sanctification enable loving God and neighbor?

What influences should Christians eliminate to pursue holiness?