A precious life given to defend ours. Good morning! So good to see you here this Memorial Day weekend. So glad that you are here in the house today. It's a weekend that we honor those who paid the ultimate price and gave their lives so that we could have the freedom to be able to be in this house today, that we can worship the Lord without fear of persecution.
On this Memorial Day weekend, I’ll spend quite a few weekends in Washington, D.C., on Memorial Day weekend, and several of those in Arlington National Cemetery. I had the, I think you would say, distinct privilege—I don't want to say that in a way that's irreverent in any way—but the privilege or the honor of escorting some of our heroes into their final resting place. It is a place where our hearts are heavy at times, but also with great gratitude.
So I thank you, and I hope that you will be able to go and have a great new year. We'll be back next week. Today, I want to take a moment and acknowledge our appreciation for all of those who have worn the uniform and never took it off. These are those that are many buried in Arlington and other places. But Herman just got back—Herman Strickland—and I was with him yesterday morning for a few moments. He just got back from the run that we do, the Run for the Wall, with our chaplains from the IPHC or with our veterans as they're coming across. Their goal is not for Veterans Day; their goal is to continue to say we still have some MIA, some that are missing in action that have never been brought home.
One of the things that we always like to stand for is to make sure that we remember those that need closure in their families for the heroes that died on foreign soil and have not yet been recovered. Some are still classified as prisoners of war; some are classified as MIA. It's hard to know what classification until you actually bring their bodies home or we find them. So we continue to pray for that today—a solemn thought there, but also hope to know that there is peace that can be found for every family that is dealing with the loss of a loved one.
And there's also great satisfaction and pride in knowing that they gave the ultimate sacrifice because of their family and because of you and I. Before we pray, I want to remind you of something that Paul mentioned to us in Philippians 4 in his final exhortation. Paul is writing; it's one of the most encouraging letters in Philippians, but it doesn't end without some instructions. In his final exhortations, as he's calling us to steadfastness in unity in the body of Christ, he says, "Rejoice in the Lord always. I say it again: rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near."
Can I say that? The Lord is near. I want you to know this morning that no matter what you're going through, the Lord is near. In fact, would you help me before I get a chance to lose you too far? Would you just look at your neighbor and tell them, "The Lord is near"? Yeah, that's comforting right there to know the Lord is near.
Then he gives us some additional instructions from that. Because we know the Lord is near, he says, "Do not be anxious about anything." That's simply saying peace. "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."
And then notice this: he says, "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." I want to ask a couple of our prayer partners if you have any questions for them. I want to meet them in a prayer group. Get a bus and pick up your bus if you will to come and join me real quick this morning. Maybe you have prayer needs that you would like to represent with an upraised hand. Oh my goodness, all over the house—many needs, lots of needs across the house today. We certainly want to take each and every one of these to the Lord, knowing that he is able today to hear our requests, and in fact, he wants to hear your prayer and your petition. He wants you to make that known to him.
Even though he's omniscient and knows it all, he still wants to hear from you. Isn't that marvelous to know that the creator of heaven and earth wants to hear from you today? And so I invite you, if you would so like, come receive the peace of God that transcends all understanding. Bring your needs to this altar. Larry Silver, would you come and lead us this morning?
As Brother Larry comes to lead us, this altar is open. We would encourage you, and if you don't have anything else to pray for or anyone else that's heavy on your heart right now, would you pray for the families of those that have loved ones that have given their life for this country? We don't want to forget that in the midst of all we're doing. And continue to pray for them because that journey, it's a long journey of healing that they'll have to go through, and many are still going through.
So let's go to the Lord. Let's go to the Lord together in prayer. Larry, would you lead us?
"Have you found him trustworthy? Hallelujah! Lord, we bless you today, and we are your savior, and you are. Thank you, Lord, for your presence in this place even now. Hallelujah! The precious blood of the Lamb. Hallelujah! Thank you, Jesus. Thank you. Have your will in this place, oh Lord. Continue to move in the hearts of your people, I pray. Holy Spirit, you're welcome in this house right now. Throughout every individual in this congregation, let your spirit abound in this house today, oh Lord. Hallelujah! Touch hearts and lives. Let us be transformed by your spirit.
Now, Father, as we enter into a season of your word, may we find it to be a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our hearts. May we find a light unto our path. May we trust you at levels today that we have never been able to trust. Break off every shackle. Loose every captive. Lord, strengthen every brokenhearted. Those that are downtrodden, be the wind beneath their wings today. Lord, we'll thank you and praise you.
Now, Father, as I have over the last few weeks, I ask that you would bind the enemy. That you would prevent Satan from doing anything that he would have planned to do in this service. God, counsel his every plan. Let your will be accomplished. God, we'll thank you and praise you for the way that we came, but more importantly, the way that we came. In Jesus' name, amen and amen.
Can we bless the Lord as we're being seated in the house? Hallelujah! Amen! Amen! Look at your neighbor and tell them it sure is sweet. It sure is sweet to be able to trust in Jesus. Amen! Amen!
Let me just tell you, it's amazing to see what God has been doing over the last few weeks here in the house of the Lord. I'm just really super excited as we came out of our series undercover, talking about the Holy Spirit. I want to go into a new series today called Ungrounded. I’ll lay a lot of groundwork—ungrounded groundwork. We'll lay a lot of groundwork today as we enter into this series, but I'm just so thankful for what God has been doing and what I believe he's going to continue to do.
Over the past few weeks, we've seen multiple people give their lives to Jesus Christ. We've seen multiple people sanctified into that deeper experience with God. Just this past Wednesday, if you're missing Wednesday around here, I'm just telling you, you're missing a great extension of what God is doing. Just this past Wednesday morning, I had two people that were baptized. I had two people that were baptized in the Holy Spirit with the initial evidence of speaking in other tongues. God is just moving mightily.
And I just want to—can I just—you might hear this later on—but let me just tell you, buckle up, buttercup. The best is yet to come. Amen! And so don't miss out on anything that God is doing.
Today, I want to talk to you about this idea of practical holiness. It's something that's been stirring in my spirit for quite some time now. I felt it, that we've come out of Pentecost, and now what do we do with the experience of Pentecost? How do we go forward? This is the premise behind what I want to talk to you about today. God has called us to holiness—all people. He has called us into a walk of holiness.
And so I want to give you some things that I believe, as we go along in the next few weeks, that will equip you to be able to experience God in ways that were beyond what maybe you are right now. I was looking at this plug, and I've got a picture of it up here behind us. If you notice, there's something unique about it. You've got a three-prong receptacle here and a two-prong plug. It kind of lets you know that there's something missing right there. So it's ungrounded. That's an ungrounded cord, and really, I could reverse it. If I was being real analytically correct, it would really be a two-prong plug. It would be a two-prong plug and a three-prong wire because every redneck in the house today has at one time or another broken the third prong off of a cord. Let the redneck say amen.
There you go. Amen! But what we're doing is we're doing something and trying to create something that was not originally designed to work. Will it work? Yes. But there's compromise in the way that we're working that process out. And that's where I want to talk about us, as individuals, you and I, that at times we are ungrounded in our walk with Christ.
When we look at this grounding prong or the grounding wire, electricity is always looking for a pathway to ground. That's why you see lightning come to the ground. The same thing with the electricity that's in the wires in the poles. The same thing with everything else. It's looking for a pathway to ground. And so as it's looking for that pathway, if there's damage or a malfunction that occurs and it alters the circuit, the ground wire—this third wire that would be behind me—that third wire is an emergency pathway that protects you and your device from electrical shock.
So this third wire that would be in here—and I'm not trying to do a—I’m not an electrician. I know how to get shocked real good. But this third prong right here is actually something that has been added. It's been added over the years. We didn't have that early on, but we now have that in place in all of our homes, and any time we update, and it is a safety feature. It's a precaution that if there's a malfunction in the pathway of what's technically the neutral wire that we all call the ground wire, this ground wire helps take care of that device so that we don't get shocked when we are electrocuted when we touch something that has been energized inappropriately.
You may ask, is the third prong on a plug necessary? Well, it's not absolutely necessary because, as you've heard, all the rednecks in the house, most of us have broken off that prong at one time or another, and we have still found out that the cord will work. So since plenty of cords have only two, it may not seem terribly important, but according to the National Electrical Code, it is an important safety feature, listen to me, that could save your life. Don't play around with things that can save your life. Be aware of things that can save your life, and that prong can do that.
Today, I want to incorporate this safety feature, this grounding wire, which provided a pathway for safety and usability into your Christian walk of personal and practical holiness. You may ask the same question: is it necessary? Yes, it is necessary since I'm already saved to seek this—and I'm just going to call it the third prong. That's probably not a good name today, but this third prong experience of holiness or sanctification since I'm already saved. My simple response is this: it can save your soul.
It can be the difference between your walk going astray and finding a compromised circuit that will lead to ground, or it can be the difference between your walk going astray and finding a compromised circuit that will lead to ground, or it can be something that will root you in truth, that will equip you to be able to live a life of holiness. So, this third prong experience of holiness or sanctification—my simple response again, it can save your soul.
As with electricity, sin is always looking for a pathway, and when malfunction or temptation or pressures of this world are present, these things can alter the circuit. It can alter the decision options, the choices of an individual when the sanctification piece is absent in our life. Holiness overrides. This third prong, when you're walking in holiness and God, you're a vessel of sanctification; God eliminates the shock hazard. It doesn't mean things won't come; it just means you're well-rooted and well-grounded so that those things will not short-circuit your life.
Are you with me so far? How many of you want to live a life that's not short-circuited today? Amen! I'm talking about a spiritual walk today. And so there are some things that God has equipped us with, provided for you and I, that will help us be able to live the life he has called us to live.
So what happens if we don't have that? If I cut off the third prong on the plug, the appliance will still work, but you've disabled an important safety feature of the plug that is designed, again, to save your life. Let's put that in perspective a second time. What happens if my life is not spiritually grounded? Can I be saved? Let me just say, you're disabling an important facet of God's provision that can short-circuit your soul without it.
Today, I want to attempt to add some of this—this idea of this third prong, this electrically speaking, this prong of vital importance into your life. My goal is to take a fresh approach to this biblical notion of personal ownership into the idea of holiness for every believer and address how the individual can move from initial saving faith to becoming a fully sold-out, devoted follower of Jesus Christ.
Do I have any folks in the house today that are hungry, that want to be fully devoted, sold-out followers of Jesus Christ? Then God has given us some equipment. He has given us some—and I'm going to use this word, stay with me, don't get sideways on me—but he has provided an experience for us, a supernatural experience for us that will provide us with the means necessary to be able to walk out this holy life that he has called us to live.
Now, let's do a little bit more work here as we get ready to move through some of this. And again, a lot of this is going to be introductory work, so just stay with me. In Genesis 1, we find God created mankind and looked back on his work at the end of day six and declared it was very good. Wives, if you don't ever get another chance, this is your opportunity to brag on your husband and look at him and say, "God said you're very good." God said you're very good. Father's Day's coming. Hold on to that. You may need it.
Actually, God created mankind in that, because when he created man, the seed of woman was there as well. That's why the rib came. We'll go further with that another day. But yet, in Genesis 2, God takes the rib out and created woman. In Genesis 3, we find the fall of mankind when woman was deceived by Satan and man was rebellious against God's word.
It is then that we find God taking the life of an animal—this is important, stay with me—to cover man and to cover woman now that their eyes had been opened because they ate from the tree of knowledge and evil, of good and evil. Now, this is the first time that we see the extent that our— to the extent that our loving Father will go to not only redeem and restore and reconcile his children from sin. It is a picture of what Jesus did for us to not only cover our sins as in the garden, but what Jesus would do, according to Isaiah, that he would then, "Though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be white as snow."
Let me tell you something. What Jesus did on the cross of Calvary didn't just cover our sins; it washed them away. Come on, somebody help me right there! Amen! They are completely washed away. So it's important that we understand that this is not a sin; it's not a covering, but it's a total restoration process.
Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 6:18 and 19, "Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit?" Listen to the mindset that he wants us in because a lot of what I'm going to talk to you about today is equipping the mind with the tool that you need to be able to walk holy before the Lord. He said, "The Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you've received from God, listen to this now, you're not your own."
If you're a born-again believer today, you are not your own. You've been bought with a price. Amen! And it was an expensive price that was paid for you. He didn't pay chicken feed to get you; he paid with the blood of his only begotten son, Jesus. And because he did, then he's going to tell you that you were bought with a price; he's going to give us an extension into that.
Now, on Wednesday night, we talked about how far the pendulums usually swing in the church world. And if you missed Wednesday night, again, you missed something really good because we talked about how serious it is that every born-again believer, though our sins are forgiven, when the judgment day comes, that every one of us are still going to stand before the Lord and give an account for our life.
That's not uncomfortable. That's very uncomfortable to think about, isn't it? In fact, he says we'll give an account for every idle word we've spoken. Every action, every idle word, everything—we'll give an account for. Matthew chapter 12, Jesus tells us that in about verse 16 or so, I believe it is. So, actually, it's in verse 38, rather. So, we see this.
Paul continues in Romans 12:1 and 2, "Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. This is your reasonable, or your true, act of worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world."
Now, listen to what he says. He keeps going. "But be transformed. Be transformed. Be transformed. How? By the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is, his good, perfect, and pleasing will."
There are several things that you could pull out of that real quick, and this is not my passage for today. I'm still introducing some things to you, but there are some things that we could pull out of that. When he says, "brothers and sisters," that's our identity. I think one of the great challenges is we've forgotten who we are today. We've forgotten who the body of Christ is. We've forgotten the work that God did to create you and I, to transform you and I to be sons and daughters of God.
Until we get a hold of who our true identity is, then we will never live the life God's called us to live. That's why over and over he works to help us. He helps us understand our identity. And he goes on to say God's mercy—that's provision. Living sacrifice—that's daily living. Holy and pleasing to God—that should be our goal. The pattern of this world—that's our enemy. This world is our enemy.
Hear me. The author of confusion over this world is the one who is trying his best to short-circuit your life. And when that grounding prong is cut out of your life and that stability that you need through being sanctified daily, living holy before the Lord, compromise can come in. And when it does, it will short-circuit your life. You will find yourself doing things you never dreamed you would do because the fade is slow, but the fade is critical.
When slow fade creeps in, you'll look back and wonder, "How did I do that? How did I get here?" It's because you got away. You lost the grounding mechanism of being sanctified daily. You'll end up finding yourselves in compromising situations.
So the quick question: what is your identity today? Who are you? Lately, I've been intrigued by that very question. Paul starts out his letters, and I don't have time to go through all of these, but I'm going to abbreviate some if I can for you because time's going to get away.
Paul, in his letters—most of his letters—in Romans, in Corinthians, 1 and 2 Corinthians, in Ephesians, in Philippians, in all of these, Paul always introduces himself as "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ." Why is that important? Because for some reason—and this will get me in a lot of hot water today—but listen to me, this is only the introduction. We've got a long way to go, okay?
So if I don't give you all the information, all of it today, just know there's more coming. Don't get nervous and don't get upset. But here's what I want you to understand. Paul never introduced himself as, "I am Paul, a sinner of Jesus Christ." He said, "Paul, I'm an apostle of Jesus Christ."
And then you need to look at all the letters that Paul addressed to the people because Paul didn't address it to sinners. He addressed it to saints. He addressed it to holy people of God. He addressed it to sanctified people that are set apart. And not only did he do that, but then we find also that Peter does the same thing and Jude does likewise. And he said to God's chosen and holy people.
What am I trying to get across to you today? There's a standard that God has set for his people in a way that we're required to live. But listen to me, you don't have to obtain it on your own. He's done the work for you. He has mastered—listen, Jesus didn't just come to cover sin; he came to eradicate sin out of your life.
And you're not powerless in this because listen to me, the Holy Spirit that lives and dwells inside of you will be your guide through every decision you make if you allow it. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Over and over—not only in the salutation, but throughout their letters, they are constantly reminding us of our identity and our position in Christ Jesus as dearly loved saints, holy people, sons and daughters of God who are called out and are being sanctified.
Here's my point today. If you're born again—if you're born again, hear me today. If you're born again today, hear my heart for you today. You're not just an old sinner saved by grace; that's what you used to be. But now you're a child of the most high God. It changes your status.
And because it changes your—it's like, listen, if somebody—if you went to the bank tomorrow and they told you, "We don't know where it came from, but all of a sudden there's a million dollars in your bank account." Oh, I got your attention now! You know what you'd be classified? Not as poor, broke, and disgusting, but as trusted. You'd be classified as a millionaire.
And I want you to understand what God has done in your life changes your classification. Listen, your citizenship is not here anymore. You're in this world, but you're not of this world. And because you're not of it, you don't bow down and give way to the things of this world. It no longer has power over you. It no longer has control over you because you're not of this world. You are of the kingdom of God. You're a child of God.
Listen to me, listen to me. I'm loving you hard today, I know. But listen to me. You're not called to a life of sin, but a life of holiness. In fact, you're more than called to it. It is required of you because without holiness, no man shall see the Lord.
So hear my heart today. This is how I'm going to help get you to heaven by giving you the truth. I could do a whole lot easier, and I could probably get a whole lot more amens if I just tell you, "It's okay. Just keep on living any way you want to, and somehow, some way, it's all gonna work out in the end, and you're gonna go to heaven."
That sounds like what I used to hear 50 years ago from grandmas and granddaddies. But I got news for you. It's not all gonna work out right in the end unless Jesus Christ is the author and finisher and perfecter of your faith. That's the only way we're gonna make it. Hallelujah!
Satan is constantly working to short-circuit your life, and he will short-circuit it every way he can. And listen to me, listen to me. Let me keep loving on you. And the closer you walk to the line—and I'm not even sure how you determine where the line is—but the closer you walk to where the line of salvation is that you can tip either way, the more dangerous game you're playing, and your soul is about to get short-circuited.
It's not a matter of can I do it; it's a matter of should I do it. There are some things that are available that you can do and still be saved, but I got news for you. If you're not careful, those things that you have to question will soon lead you further astray. They will not lead you closer to God.
Well, glory to God! Amen! Look at your neighbor and tell them the air conditioner must not be working. It's getting hot in here! I'm not trying to be hard on you today. Love me, love me, love me, because I'm loving you as hard as I know how.
I just read this morning as I was reading. I was laying in bed late at night last night just reading through scriptures and reading through. And I'm gonna just tell you, I'm gonna be held accountable for everything I preach to you. I'm also gonna be held accountable for everything I don't preach to you. And I'm not willing to—I gotta stand before it. And I want to get you to a place where we can all stand before him with clean hands and pure hearts.
Now, listen to me. Don't go sideways on me yet. I'm not preaching that you're a perfect saint. I'm not preaching that you're a perfect saint. But I am preaching that you're being perfected by the master potter today. You are clay in his marvelous, miraculous hands. And he is remolding you back to—listen to me—all the way back to a Genesis 1 Adam pre-sin. That's his desire for you—that you would be—that you would walk in holiness. That's where you would be.
Now, that's what redemption and restoration and reconciliation is all about. And perhaps, perhaps, perhaps, perhaps, if we would see ourselves not as broke, busted, and disgusted old sinners that will always be old sinners who sin and God is okay with it, but as saints that are chosen.
Look at your neighbor and tell him, "I'm a saint." Look at your neighbor and tell him, "I'm chosen." Come on! Look at your neighbor and tell him, "I'm called out." Come on! Look at your neighbor and tell him, "I'm being sanctified." Hallelujah!
Then perhaps if we would get that mindset, and that we would walk thereof in it, we would realize who we are and whose we are in Christ Jesus, listen to me, seated in heavenly places with God.
Wow! So I have to stop right here and ask, is there anybody in the house today that would say with me, "I want to become a fully devoted, set apart, holy, sanctified believer in Jesus Christ"? Is there anybody? Is there anybody in the house? I just need to know if I'm preaching the right message today. Amen!
I just need to know if I'm preaching to the right folks today because that's my greatest desire. So let's dive into this a little bit. Go with me to 1 Peter 1, and I'm gonna use this for my text today, and this will keep us for a little while.
But in 1 Peter 1, verse 13 through 16, can I just tell you something? God loves you today. Can anybody say amen to that? But when it comes to the blood of his son, he doesn't play games. Are you hearing me? What I'm trying to do here is balance his grace. Are y'all hearing me? He loves you.
But I'm also trying to balance the judgment. And if we don't understand that, we're gonna miss out on some of the greatest times and experiences that we can have with God because we're gonna fall short of walking holy and being a part of the church. And I'm gonna just tell you, he wants you holy so he can spend time with you.
Stay with me now. Stay with me. Here's something else I want to tell you. What God calls us to, we can be. He provides the grace to become. We're called unto holiness by a holy God, and certainly he will do his part to make us become exactly that.
So hear me. This is my best spin on an optimistic message to where we can walk into biblical holiness. 1 Peter 1:13-16: "Therefore, therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober." You know what he's saying there? Glue in, lock in. Get your mind on what's going on here.
"Set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you were a child, when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do. For it is written: 'Be holy because I am holy.'"
Now the Passion Translation says it this way: "So then, prepare your hearts and minds for action. Get ready." This would be where we would say, "Roll up your sleeves, fasten your seatbelt, or buckle up, buttercup." Stay alert, he says, and fix your hope.
Notice this. It's a fixing of. It is an attaching to. Fix your hope firmly on the marvelous grace that is coming to you. For when Jesus Christ is unveiled, a greater measure of grace will be revealed to you. As God's obedient children, listen to this: never again shape your life or your lives by the desires that you followed when you didn't know better.
Instead, shape your lives to become like the Holy One who called you. For Scripture says you are to be holy because I am holy. Yeah!
Let's dig into this a little bit. As seen in our text, the work of God's sanctification that results in a life of holiness is available to every believer. So help me again. Look at your neighbor and tell them this gift is available to you.
Look, look, look! Put on a better smile than you got right now and tell them today could be your day. It's available. He's available. So holiness is not reserved just for the pastor, not just for teachers, not just for missionaries, not just for retired folk.
See, what I'm praying—you all gonna find out how my prayer life—I don't mind revealing some of it to you. I'm praying for an outpouring, a major outpouring, not just in this sanctuary, but I'm praying for it on Wednesday nights in our youth classes. I'm praying for it with our children's classes that they're gonna come up sanctified. Amen!
Some of them—listen, watch this. Some of us might be nervous about it because once our kids start living sanctified, holy lives, they might start asking us questions about how we're living. When your children start asking mama and daddy—I'd better leave that one alone, okay? But that's my prayer life.
Holiness is for everyone who is born again. It is a requirement—the housewife, the businessman, the factory worker, adults and children alike. Holiness is for all who hunger for a life of love and obedience to Christ. So just say this: say this with me. Throw your hands up with me right now. Let's get it in our spirit: holiness is for me! Holiness is for you! Holiness is for everyone who is born again in Jesus' name! Amen!
Therefore, right now, you may not feel holy. You may not think that you're ready for holiness, but let me tell you, holiness is ready for you. So this morning, I want to do somewhat of an overview that will further delve into this thing, but I want to tell you—I want to tell you—I want to talk about this biblical notion of holiness later.
The question is, what is an attainable, practical, biblical holiness that we can grasp and achieve in our lives? Simply put, here's the definition: holiness is Christ-likeness, perfect love—loving God and loving one's neighbor perfectly—and disobedience. Watch this: obedience springs from a life of love.
Can I say that again? Obedience springs from a life of love. You don't believe that? Put that into your practical life, husbands and wives. When the trash is laying on the floor and you're tired and don't want to, and she tells you we need to get the trash out of the house, you don't do it because you're obligated to do it because it's your role. You do it because you love your spouse and you want them happy.
I'm helping somebody's marriage right now, by the way. The same thing with God. Listen, obedience springs out of love. The more you love God, the more you'll be obedient to God. The more you love God, the more you'll love others. The more you're called by God, the greater you'll answer. Amen!
And so this idea of holiness springs out of a life of love because that's where obedience begins to walk us through. Without the prong—that third prong of love being the center of everything—the center round prong, the grounding us in perfect love—without that, holiness is impossible.
Let me tell you something. Let me tell you something. And I'll preach this to the old folk, and I'm going to preach it to the young folk alike. Don't tell me you're holy. Show me. Because here's what I'll see. I'll see how you love God and how you love others. Because if you don't love others, don't tell me you're holy.
If you can walk around and gossip and backbite, I'm just looking at which door I got the easiest access to today and get out of here. Without love, you're not holy. And it would do us good to evaluate our level of love because holiness will spring out of that because obedience is part of that.
All right, here we go. Number one: it's an obtainable goal. The question that often arises is this: Is true holiness obtainable, or is it a pie-in-the-sky impossibility? Since God has called—and I'm going to use the word commanded right here—commanded us to it, this practical holiness must be possible. What kind of father would demand something of his children that was impossible?
So one, God calls us to holiness. And then he helps us and does the work for us to become holy. Take our text one verse further—verse 22. Now because of your obedience to the truth, you have purified. Notice this: that word right there means sanctified. You have sanctified or purified your very soul. And this empowers you to be full of love for your fellow believers.
In other words, it plugs you into his power and safety—not some kind of perverted or perverse kind of love. In other words, the love that flows from God is pure love. It's better than Dove—99.44% pure. No, no! This is pure love from God.
Some of you young folks are looking at me like I'm crazy. It was a commercial, folks. It was a commercial. The love that comes from God—listen to me, listen to me, listen to me, listen to me. Right now, there's a lot of perversions of love going out and around. Are y'all hearing me? I'm saying this carefully, and I'm saying it in love.
Listen to me. But true love is loving God and the love of God. And we love people the same way God loves people. But we don't compromise truth in our love. Are you hearing me today? It has to be true love.
Boy, I'm going to just reel that one back in and save it for another day. One verse alone is packed with the virtues of life of holiness. This verse—verse 22—there's obedience, there's truth, there's purification of the soul, there's authentic love, there's fervent expressions of love, and there's heart purity—all in one verse.
So number one, it's an obtainable goal. Number two, it's an available goal. We become holy. We become holy, Christ-like, through sanctification. Now, that sounds like a big, complicated word. If you're new to the Pentecostal holiness church, this word, sanctification, is not a word to be afraid of. It is a word to welcome. It is a word to desire—the work of sanctification.
Sanctification describes everything God does in us to make us more like Jesus. This work begins—listen to me, listen to me, listen to me. This is where I need you to just be patient because I don't have a chance to unfold the whole package of our articles of faith and theology here. But just listen to me.
The work begins at conversion. God begins working on you at conversion. There's a progress that we grow in this grace. It is one that leads us to the point of experiential—what many would call—entire sanctification, which is a word we've got to work with right there. But it continues on until we—In other words, God starts sanctifying you the moment you're saved.
But hear me. That is only to draw you into the deeper end of the pool where the water is refreshing. Hear me today. Listen. All I'm trying to tell you is there's so much more. There's so much more. In sanctification, God works in your mind, in your spirit, in your soul, and your body as he changes and renews you.
He changes your desires, your thoughts, your interests, your attitudes, and your behavior. Sanctification is how God transforms us into Christ-likeness. Watch this: at the pace of our willingness to submit to him. Did you hear me? In other words, he's ready. It's available, but only at the level you're willing to submit to right now.
And as he works in our life, he draws us deeper. He draws us deeper. He draws us deeper. The hope that we will want more and more of him and less of us. Amen!
So it's not only is it obtainable, not only is it available, it's necessary. Why is it a necessary goal? Can we all agree that while we're not of this world anymore, we're still in it? Amen! Therefore, we need more and more of God, and just maybe God needs more and more of us.
Philippians 1 and 6: God wants to complete the good work he began in you. You're still a work in progress. But here, here, listen to me. God hasn't given up on you. He wants to complete what he started. Did you hear me? He wants to complete what he started. He wants to make you holy.
He wants his holiness flowing through your life, listen to me, without compromise. That's why he wants all the prongs into the receptacle of who he is so that nothing can come along and short-circuit your holy walk.
I'm going to meddle for just a minute, but I can tell you this: It doesn't take but a moment of lapse to lose what it took years to build. Are you hearing me today? It doesn't take but a moment of lapse to lose the influence with others that it took you years to build.
That's why you can never, ever rest in this idea—the idea of being sanctified daily by the washing, renewing, cleansing of the mind. One of your prayers ought to be every day when you wake up: "Thank you, God, for waking me this morning. Thank you for saving me. Thank you today you're sanctifying me."
And you ought to walk out of the house sanctified, fresh, and new every day. And if you're going to Walmart, you need to pray to be filled with the Holy Ghost. Never mind, leave that one alone.
I had a friend say this the other day. Someone had kind of gotten under his collar and made him a little uptight. Y'all know how daddies are with their kids, right? Especially if it's a little girl, right? Someone had said something unkind about his daughter.
And he called the guy up, and he said, "Hey, buddy, this is a good friend of mine." He called him up and he said, "Hey, buddy, I just want you to know next time I see you, I just want you to know I'm a part-time Christian. And the day I see you, I'm going to be on my day off."
Doug, I'm still wrestling. I'm still wrestling through that one, all right? You know what, though? I asked him. I said, "What day are you going to be off?" He said, "The day I see him." I said, "I pray you don't see him then."
Because you can lose what it's taken you years to build. And all of a sudden now you're going to lose your integrity with so many others that you've led in the right direction. Now you're going to lead them in the wrong direction.
You don't have the—listen to me. Listen to me. Listen to me. You don't have the right to say you're part-time. You don't have the right to say you're part-time because you've been bought with a price. You've been bought with a price, and it wasn't part-time price. Amen!
So God wants to complete the work. Here's the fourth thing, and I'll close with this. Pastor Ron, come. It's a necessary response. To receive this wonderful gift of God, to walk in holiness daily as God has mandated over us, we need to be aware that there's a necessary response on our end.
How many of you know that God will do everything within His power to draw you to Him and to do a work in your life, but He will not force Himself on you? He is a perfect gentleman. He is a perfect gentleman in all of His ways.
I think it's okay that I go this far. Bill, I know he'll beckon, but I believe he loves you so much he'll go so far as to beg you to come and receive. I know I will. I want you to have what God wants you to have.
When riding around the countryside, I started noticing along the tree lines—I don't know, maybe y'all did—and it took me a while, but I kept seeing trees along the roadway that had purple rings painted around them. Have y'all seen the purple rings painted around all the trees? I'm like, "What in the world's all these purple rings?"
I'm like, "What in the world's all these purple rings painted around the trees?" So I started Googling it. Google didn't have an answer. So I waited later and I Googled it some more. And finally, I found out that instead of putting up no trespassing signs anymore, you paint purple around your trees. And that means no trespassing.
Did y'all know that? Guess what? How was I supposed to know that's what it meant? I didn't know what a purple ring meant. I mean, when I see purple, I think of a '73 Plymouth Barracuda—this plum crazy purple. Right, Marty? I mean, that's where our mind goes, to purple.
I thought, you know what? If we don't know what true sanctification is, it might as well be a purple ring around the tree. But if we know what it is, we know where we can go.
I wonder, can I just for a moment—nobody but just me and you talking one-on-one—there's nobody else in here but me and you one-on-one—but I just wonder, do you have any purple rings in your life? Do you have any no trespassing signs in your life anywhere?
Well, Lord, you can have this part of my life, and Lord, you can have that part of my life, but Lord, you can't have my temper because that's what I use. That's what I use to defend myself with. Lord, I'm known for somebody that'll stick up for myself.
I wonder, would you be willing to be known for someone who would surrender it all to Christ? Would you be willing that vice or habit you have that's holding you back from walking in holiness with God, you'd be willing to say, "Lord, not only do I want, don't want purple around my tree, but I'm all right if you cut the whole tree out."
That's really what he wants to do. He wants to get to the root of any and everything that's carnal in our life. Anything that is carnal in our life. You remember what I said about the slow fade?
All it takes—all it takes are inappropriate looks to begin with. Glances here or there. Next thing you know, you'll be scrolling and enjoying what you're looking at that's inappropriate. Next thing you know, you'll strike up a conversation with someone you shouldn't.
That's why we have as many divorces inside the church as we do outside the church in America—not because people are bad, but because they're not sanctified. If you're sanctified, you'll give—you'll, listen to me—you'll take the orange purples away from around your eyes. You won't listen—you won't listen to things that are not appropriate because you'll take the purple ring around from your ears.
You won't go places you shouldn't go because, listen, the purple around you—listen to me—you won't be bound by those things. You'll be set free by God.
I wonder how far you'll let God go in your life today. God wants your thoughts. God wants your time. He wants your talents. He wants your future. He wants your associations. He wants your hopes. He wants your possessions. He wants your reputation. He wants your habits. He wants your likes. He wants your actions.
Can I just sum it up and say God wants everything of you because he bought you with a price? Will you let him set you apart today? Will you let him set you apart today?
I wonder, are you tired of part-time Christianity? Are you tired of part-time Christianity? Will you give him your all? Why don't you go ahead and stand with me?
All you have to do today is to release every aspect of your life to him. He'll begin to make you holy. Why is it so important? You remember what I said in Matthew 13:39 that we're going to give an account for everything we say and do?
God's called us to be holy, church. Not because it's on our sign, but because that's what's going to require us to get to heaven.
Pastor, how will I know if God's sanctifying me and if he's sanctified me? Here's some prerequisites, and I'm only going to run through these real quick. Love fills your heart. Is your heart overflowing with love for God? Or is it just a part-time thing?
You'll know you're sanctified if you love others the way God loves them. You'll know you're sanctified and are being sanctified if you're totally consecrated—everything that you have to Jesus Christ.
You'll know that you're sanctified and are being sanctified if you've got power over sin. And I'm preaching real good right there. When you can really say, "I'm crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live. But it's not I that live, but Christ in me." Galatians 2:20.
You'll know if you're sanctified and being sanctified, you will experience the Holy Spirit inside of you like never before. Relationship. You'll be closer to God because you'll be walking holy with him in the cool of the day.
Let me give you one last caution. Be mindful of this because I don't want to paint something that's unobtainable today. I want you to understand this is a work of God. Perfect love is different than perfect performance. Did y'all hear that? Perfect love is different than perfect performance.
I want to be realistic. That's what I told you. This is going to be very practical and very realistic. That while God is perfecting you in perfect love, you're not there yet. Are y'all hearing me?
So there may be a glitch in the giddy-up every once in a while. But you want to know if you're really sanctified and are being sanctified? When the glitch in the giddy-up comes and you find that the third prong in the plug is not in there, it will grieve you to the deepest of your core.
It won't be something you'll casually just gloss over. It will break your heart because you know you broke his. We're not hanging from the chandeliers today, but I'm going to tell you the rubber's meeting the road. Are y'all with me?
When you're sanctified and God is sanctifying you, it is not impossible to sin, but it is possible to not sin. I wish I had time to really preach right there. When we say this, we're talking about sin here. We're talking about premeditated and purposeful sin.
It's not absolute perfection, but a perfection of love through our motives and our actions. So let me ask you, are you ready to go from ungrounded to grounded today? Are you ready to live up to the calling of God on your life?
Are you ready to receive the classification of the Lord that Paul addressed? I mean, listen to me. Listen to me. Paul addressed them as saints. But have you read the letters? They're still messed up. But Paul knew that God was still working on them.
I want to be careful, Bill, that I don't put the bar so high that we can't get there. But I want to be so careful that I don't put the bar so low that your love doesn't grow enough to where it breaks your heart when you break his.
Are you ready? Are you ready? Are you ready for more victory in your daily life with your thoughts? With your actions? With your habits? With your words? And with your love? Is anybody ready for more victory in their life?
I mean that. I'm asking you. Are you really ready for more victory in your life? Less stumbling and more walking? Less staying at this plateau and more going from plateau to plateau, from glory to glory to glory in the Lord? Is there anybody in the house ready for that?
That's what he's calling us to today—that you can walk with the Lord a little bit or you can walk with the Lord more today than yesterday and more tomorrow than today. Here's how he does it. He sanctifies you.
Pastor Frank used to have a saying that I totally agree with him. Here's what he used to say. He said you can fake—now I may not get an exact word for word, so y'all give me a little latitude right here. I'm going to give you the essence of it, though. He said you can fake being saved; you can fake being baptized in the Holy Ghost, but you can't fake a sanctified life.
Here's what a sanctified life will do. It'll take you out on a part-time basis, and it'll put you into full-time holiness with the Lord. And remember, without holiness, none of us—no man—shall see the Lord.
Bow your heads with me. Father, I've done my best with this introduction and the time I have to call your people, remind your people these are your sheep, Father. I'm the under-shepherd to you, and I'm just simply proclaiming your word today.
But you call your people to be holy. It's a mandate over our life. It's not a suggestion. And you've provided the means by which you will do that. To receive the work of sanctification is simply to boldly by faith receive the same way we received our salvation.
And to believe when we believe and when we receive, you will do a supernatural work in our life. Yes, it begins at salvation. Yes, it's a growth process. But there's also a crisis experience that we'll talk about in the days to come, Lord, if you allow me.
But at that crisis experience, this entire sanctification that we call from John Wesley's term, Lord, it will totally and radically transform our lives. And we will no longer be part-time Christians.
And the stumbling that we've been doing in our walk will now become steps on the solid rock. The ungroundedness of current pathways and circuits being short-circuited—that will be done away with because there will be consistency in the electrical flow that comes into our lives.
And you will empower us through your Holy Spirit that dwells in us. And this morning, I'm going to do something a little bit different. Lord, if you'll allow, I just want to open the altar.
And for any and everyone that's comfortable—I don't want you to do anything you're not comfortable with—but I'd like for every individual in the house that's comfortable, regardless of where you are in this journey of sanctification, I'd like to invite everyone to the altar today. Amen!
I know that's different for us on a Sunday morning. But would you just start stepping out from where you are if you're comfortable? And I want us to pray for ourselves and to pray for one another. I want us to pray throughout this season that we have right now that God would begin to sanctify us.
Sanctify us from left to right. From back to front. Come on! Press in! Press in! Press in! Press in! Press in! Lord, it was clear. It is my will. It is my will that you would be sanctified. That's the word of the Lord today over you.
It is God's desire and God's will that we stop making excuses and we start walking in freedom that is delivered into our lives through holiness. Come on! Just ask Him to be the center of your life. Ask Him to be the center of everything.
Lord, crucify any and everything in me that's not of you. Sanctify me today. Come on! Open your mouth and declare that. Speak words of truth today. Sanctify me today, God. Unto holiness, God. Sanctify my friendships.
Nothing is more important than God right now. Come on, ask Him to be the center of your life right now.
All right, let me give you a dismissal. Let me give you a dismissal. If you're through praying, look at me real quick. Here's what I want you to understand. Galatians chapter 5, these are our marching orders for the sanctified of the Lord.
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love and joy." You want more joy? Let Him sanctify you. Need more peace in your life? Let Him sanctify you. Let Him sanctify you. Forbearance. Watch this. And kindness. And goodness. And faithfulness.
That's not part-time, Larry. Faithfulness is everyday consistency. Gentleness and self-control. Did you—did Bobby—that's self-control. That's who we're responsible for. Self-control.
Again, against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ—listen to me—we changed our classification. Those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and its desires. Sanctified.
Come on, just say that word with me: Sanctified! Sanctified! Sanctified! Since we live by the Spirit, here's your marching orders: Let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking, or envying each other.
Be sanctified in Jesus' name. By faith today. And watch and see what He will do in your life. You'll never—look at your neighbor and tell them—you'll never be the same. You'll never be the same. You'll never be the same.
Come on, you're not finished. You'll never be the same. Look at them. In Jesus' name. Not in Mark's name. Not in Jim's name. Not in Larry's name. Not in Bobby's. Nobody else. In Jesus' name. You'll never be the same.
In Jesus' name. Amen! Amen! Bless the Lord! Amen! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
on May 28, 2024
