Monday, 17 February 2014

Set apart for God and man

 image courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net


Glory to God!

Yesterday's meeting was awesome! As we worshipped God "in the spleandour of his holiness" (Ps 29:2), God took over the meeting and began to minister His presence and power to us. Many were touched by God and experienced His manifest presence. Hallelujah!

God was confirming His Word as Richard Morschel spoke on The purpose of holiness and showed us the following:

  • God is holy and beyond compare. Isaiah 40:25
  • God's holiness is His otherness that is beyond creation. Isaiah 55:8,9
  • God's holiness is His perfection, wholeness and purity that is inaccessible to sinful man. Romans 3:23
  • Through faith in Christ, the believer is joined to God and therefore joined to God's holiness. 1 Corinthians 6:17
  • The Church was birthed in holiness as the believers were filled with the Holy Spirit and received the gift of holiness. Acts 2:38-47
  • Just as the instruments and articles of clothing in the temple were made holy through the sprinkling of blood and the anointing with oil, so the believer is made holy through the blood of Jesus and the infilling of the Holy Spirit. Leviticus 8:30
  • God's people are therefore holy and set apart for the Master's use, having been changed from being "common" to being holy. Ezekiel 22:26; 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1; 2 Timothy 2:21
  • The gift of holiness is for the believer's sake so that s/he can enjoy intimacy with God and fulfill His purposes for him or her. 1 Peter 2:9,10
  • God commands His holy people to live holy lives for His glory and for the benefit of others. 1 Peter 1:14-16; Ephesians 4:24; Hebrews 12:14; Romans 12:1,2
  • Those who live to become holy for their sake become self-righteous, critical and legalsitic. Matthew 23:5,6
  • Those who live holy lives because they are holy, live to please God and impart God's otherness to others. Colossians 1:10; 3:12-14
  • Holiness is not a process. Rather, it is the believer's choice to put on Christ. Colossians 3:1-14; 1 Peter 1:14-16
  • Jesus lived a holy life by revealing God's otherness in His dealings with man. John 8:1-11
  • Likewise the believer is called to reveal the otherness of God as s/he produces the fruit of holiness. Galatians 5:22
  • The purpose of holiness, therefore, is not so that the believer looks good before man for his or her sake, but to reveal and impart God's otherness for God's glory and for the benefit of others.
  • The purpose of holiness, as seen in the temple, is to bring man in touch with God. 
  • Likewise, the Church, as the temple of God's holiness, is called to bring man in touch with God for the Lord's glory and the benefit of man. 1 Corinthians 6:19,20; Ephesians 2:21,22; 5:8-10

The believer is chosen in Christ to live a holy life.

In response to God's Word, believers were invited to the front to be anointed with oil to establish and proclaim the truth of their holiness in Christ. Hallelujah!

 Upcoming events

14,15.03.  Recovering Lost Ground Conference with Richard Maybery

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