The LORD Makes You Holy: YHWH M'qadash

Sharing good news of great joy to all people.

Elation Church. This is week number 10 in our

series we've entitled, Hello, My Name is God.

Everybody say that. Hello, my name is God. And

we've been looking at God's names. You know,

God has a lot of different names. He's revealed

all these different names to us through the Bible.

And what we've learned is that there's a promise

connected to his name. I'll make sure everybody's

listening. I'm looking. Yeah, there's a promise

connected to his name, and that's what we've

been looking at. So this has been 10 weeks, and

there's so many great things that we've learned.

But there's a lot to a name. There's actually

three things. What's in a name? Names signify

identity. I want everybody to say that. Say identity.

Names signify identity. Like for me, example,

my full name is Jeffrey Nathaniel Forrest. But

the only time someone ever calls me that is if

I'm in trouble. Did you ever have parents call

all three names or however many names you have?

You know, if you were in trouble, they're like,

Jeffrey Nathaniel Forrest, you know. But everyone

just calls me Jeffrey. Another identity name

that I have is Christian. It's not just something

that I practice. It's not just a religion that

I do on the side. No, it's my identity. It's

who I am and how I identify myself as a Christian.

Names also signify, everybody say identity. Everybody

say relationship. Names signify relationship.

So I'm a cousin. Some little things about me.

I'm a cousin. I'm a nephew. I'm a son to my parents.

These are my parents that I'm singing with. Mom

calls me her favorite son. Now, this is kind

of funny because if you know, I'm the only child.

So, you know, I've just said, I'm just going

to take it as a compliment, you know, that I'm

just, I'm her favorite son. I'm a husband to

my lovely wife, Caitlin. She's taking care of

the children this morning. Like we said, we've

been married eight years on Tuesday. That's awesome.

But she doesn't call me husband. Oh, husband,

come here and do the dishes. Oh, husband, do

the dishes. No, she don't do anything like that.

She usually calls me honey. One time she test

drove Pookie, and I shut that down. I said, I

don't want to be called Pookie. That's not okay.

We're not doing that. Names signify identity.

Names signify relationship. And also names signify

activity, what a person does. So like some things

about me. is I'm a student. I've been a musician.

I've been a recording artist. I have a PhD in

philosophy and Christian apologetics. So I know

a whole lot about very little. I've been a sound

engineer, a worship leader, been a professional

photographer before, senior citizens aerobics

instructor. I've been an alligator wrestler.

No, I'm just kidding. I'm just making sure you're

paying attention. I've been a DJ on the weekends.

I was a custodian at Disney right when we moved

here for a little bit. I was a custodian at Disney

for a while. That's where I met Colin. I'm an

evangelist, a chaplain, preacher, and I'm the

associate pastor here at Alation Church. That's

a lot of names, right? It's a lot of names, 16

names, in fact, but I'm just one person. And

you might be like, well, Jeffrey, why do you

keep talking about yourself? We're trying to

prove a point here that names carry weight to

them. It's not just information. It's just knowledge.

It actually reveals who someone is. It reveals

what kind of relationship they have with the

people around them and then the activity and

things that they do. And with God, when we look

at his names, we've learned 10 names now, we're

not looking at different gods. It's just one

God, right? And he's revealed himself. by these

different names, okay? So he's just one God.

So what is in a name? Identity, relationship,

activity. And the Bible says in Psalms 910, this

is our main text through the series, it says,

and those who know your name will put their trust

in you. For you, Lord, have not forsaken those

who seek you. You see, it's so important to know

God's name. And it's so important to know him.

And when I say that, your immediate response

is to say, well, oh, I know him. I know about

him. The Bible says that the demons even know

about him. But the important thing as a Christian,

we're supposed to know him, have an intimate

relationship with him. That changes the way we

live from the inside out. It's not just casual

relationship. It's intimate relationship with

him. Amen. We're supposed to know him and we

know him more and more when we know about him,

the relationship that he wants to have with us,

his activity in the world around us. That's how

we get to know him more and more and more. So

that's what we're laboring to do when we're looking

at the names of God is simply to get to know

God more. How many of you want to know God more?

Every day, our desire needs to be that we want

to know. God more. We want to experience him

more real and more real each and every day. And

we can put our trust in him. See, when we know

who he is, the relationship he wants to have

with us, and his activity in the world, trying

to recap a little bit, that's how faith begins.

That's why we can have faith. When we know who

he is and what he does, that's where faith forms.

That's where we have something to stand on. Because

it's not just, well, I heard some preacher say

this one day, and so therefore that's who God

is. No, it's this, I know this is God, I know

this is what He does, and this is the relationship

that He wants to have with me, because I've heard

it, I've read it in the Word. And so therefore

I can stand on it, I can have faith that He will

not forsake me, He will not turn His back on

me. He will not leave me. He will not leave me

high and dry. When I seek him, when I seek him,

when I trust him, confidently hope and expect,

not hope so, but know so, out of that relationship,

I can hold him because God is faithful. So I

can hold him accountable because I can stand

firm on who he is. Amen? Today, Our name for

God is Yahweh Mekadeshkum. Yahweh Mekadeshkum.

Yahweh, it means this, and as we've seen in previous

weeks, Yahweh means I am that I am. It's God's

eternal name. It means simply to always be or

exist. To always be or exist. We've talked about

that in previous weeks. Mekadeshkum is another

compound word here. Kodesh is all throughout

the Old Testament and simply means consecrate,

sanctify, set apart, and make holy. And what's

interesting about this, the meh means who, kim

is personal, it means you. So when you put this

together, this concept together for God's name,

it means I am the one who consecrates, sanctifies,

sets apart, and makes holy. you holy this is

god's name that he's the one who makes you holy

amen it's not based on our work our effort right

it's he's the one who makes us holy he's the

one who sets us apart he's the one who sanctifies

us can i get an amen amen this name is only given

three times in the Old Testament. I mean, only

given four times in the Old Testament, even though

Kadesh is given like over 170 times. This name

specifically is given four. And the first time

God reveals to us this name is in Exodus 31,

13. And it says this, listen, it, the law, the

instructions God gave to his people on Mount

Sinai, is given so that you may know. that I

am the Lord who makes you holy. Yahweh Mekadeshkim.

So, what is this saying? It's the law then was

a promise to the Israelites that God had chose

them. He had set them apart. From who? From the

surrounding nations. To be different. They were

supposed to be different than everyone else that

they were around. They were supposed to be different.

And then they were supposed to be blessed because

of it. Because God was the one who made them

holy, right? That's what it says. That's who

God is, and that's how he's revealed himself

to them. God is holy. That's not a fact that

we wrestle with. We know that God is holy. God's

holiness is found in his identity of who he is,

right? It's his identity, but it's also revealed

here, like we said, God's activity to his people.

And therefore, what the verse is saying is that

Israel is holy because God made them holy. It's

their position. Everybody say their position.

It's their identity. Say their identity, right?

Grounded and found in who God has made them,

okay? Another time this name for God is given

is in Leviticus 27 through 8. Listen to this.

It says, so set yourselves apart to be holy.

For I am the Lord your God. Keep all my decrees

by putting them into practice. For I am the Lord

who makes you holy. It's interesting that verse

7, it says, So set yourselves apart. God is telling

his people to set themselves apart. And that

word is called ash again, meaning to consecrate,

sanctify, set apart, make holy. And then he's

saying Yahweh Elohim. learned in previous weeks

so he's saying that i am that i am the supreme

god so he's saying set yourselves apart to be

holy for i am the supreme god the supreme one

the highest one right which kind of is like a

little bit different than what the latter right

it's a little bit different we're kind of like

what what are you saying see setting themselves

apart what did that look like for the israelites

it meant living differently by a different standard,

by a different set of rules, according to a promise

that God had given them that brings protection

and blessing. It brings protection and blessing.

You see, I'm going to keep going before I get

bogged down. Verse 8 says, Keep all my decrees

by putting them into practice. And then we see

this name. Yahweh Mekadeshim, for I am the Lord

who makes you holy. So there's three things.

Three things we need to take away from this.

God is holy. Everybody say, God is holy. And

he's made Israel his holy people. And then he's

commanding them to be holy. God is holy. And

as the verse is saying, he's made Israel his

holy people, because that's who he is. But then

also he's commanding them. To be holy. So why

is God telling them? This is a valid question,

right? Why is God telling them to be holy when

he's already made them holy, right? To some,

it might seem like almost like a contradiction

or something like that. Why is God telling them

to be holy when he's already made them holy?

Well, we know that holiness is theirs. It's their

God -given identity and position. But we also

know that man has free will. God has given them

a free will, free choice to do what they want

to do in the earth, right? This is how love is

available. This is how we can genuinely love

him because we have a decision to love him or

not, right? So we have free will in the earth.

But the Israelites, they have a choice. So it's

their identity, it's their God -given position,

but they have a choice to live according to who

God made them to be. Are not. They had a choice.

To live according to the world. Or according

to the word. God spoke to them. And the promises

that he made to them. Are we on? We tracking?

Everybody's good? I see some heads. See some

heads going. We're bobbleheading. I like it.

And listen. When God makes them holy. When he

chooses Israel as his holy nation. That in itself

gives them the opportunity to escape the consequences

of sin. That's why he gave them the law and he's

telling them to live according to it. It was

for their blessing. It was for their protection

in a land that was very hostile. And it gives

them the opportunity to escape the corruption

of sin in the earth. They can escape disease.

And if you go through and you listen to it, there

was a lot of disease going around. There's a

lot of famine. There's times of famine. There's

times of lack, right? And they're saying, and

God's promises were, if you obey me, if you keep

my commands. See, each time God gave this name,

what's interesting, the four times, it's always

in a list of do's and don'ts. When God says,

I'm the one who makes you holy, it's always in

a list of do this, don't do this, be this, don't

be like this. And then he says, I'm the one who

makes you holy. So they have this opportunity

to escape the disease, the famine, the chaos,

the destructive behaviors and consequences of

the culture around them. But God making them

holy also gives them the opportunity to experience

protection to experience peace in the land blessing

and favor but it was their choice everybody say

it was their choice it was their choice and god

has not changed he is the same yesterday today

and forever isn't that encouraging because you

know you and i will We'll change, right? Maybe

next year I'll be a little different. Hopefully

I'm a little more like Christ than I am today.

And we're all on a path and we're all on a journey,

but God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Amen? He's consistent. He is faithful. He is

dependable. He is the same. He has not changed.

And we are. Everybody say, I am. I am his holy

people. And listen, not just the Israelites.

It's the same for them. We're under a new covenant,

but he still commands us to live a holy, set

-apart life. I want to read some verses. Ephesians

1 .4, if you're in your Bible, you can turn there.

Reading out of the NLT, and it's up here on the

screen. Listen, even before he made the world,

God loved us and chose us in Christ. It's important

to be holy and without fault in his eyes. What

does that mean? It means that before the world

was made, before anything, God chose and he loved

those who would one day, come to him, repent

of their sin, and be made new, would surrender

to die to their flesh and be made new to him

and be seated in him, be identified with Christ

in death, burial, resurrection. Now we are alive.

Amen. So if we are in Christ, guess what? Is

Jesus holy? Of course. Jesus is holy. And if

I'm in Christ, listen, I am holy. So don't let

anyone or anybody tell you that I'm not. You

know, I'm not that. I can't be that. That's only

reserved for God. Well, guess what? If you are

in Christ, if you're a born -again believer,

you are holy. In Christ, you are holy. And when

God looks at you, he doesn't see the bad things

that you've done. When you look in the mirror,

all you see sometimes is the bad things you've

done, right? You only know, you know, you think,

and then you live your life shaped upon that,

but that's self -condemnation, and God has freed

us from that, amen? If we're in Christ, we need

to look at ourselves the way God sees us, and

that's without fault. That's without fault. Because

when he looks at us, he doesn't see what you

did. He sees what Jesus did. And in him, come

on, in him you are holy. In him you have no fault.

He sees the blood of Jesus that covers all sin.

He sees his son. 1 Peter 2, 9 and 10. For you

are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a

holy nation, God's very own possession. And as

a result, you can show others the goodness of

God. For he called you out of darkness into his

wonderful light. Once you had no identity as

a people, but now you are God's people. Everybody

say, I'm God's people. I'm God's people. Once

you received no mercy, now you have received

God's mercy. So because God is holy in Christ,

that's now my identity. I identify with Christ.

That is, and we are holy. That is our position

in him. But you and I still have a choice, just

like Israel did, to live according to our God

-given identity or not. All throughout the Bible,

and especially in Romans 6, I believe gives us

one of the best pictures of what this looks like.

Starting with verse 12. Don't let sin control

the way you live. Don't let it. Everybody say

let it. Don't let sin control the way you live.

Do not give in to sinful desires. I like what

the New King James Version says. It says, do

not let sin reign in your body, which is subject

to death. Verse 13. 14, love this, sin is no

longer your master. Think about that. Sin is

no longer your master. I want everybody to say

that. Sin is no longer... Oh, you've got to be

better than that. Say, sin is no longer my master.

Did Jesus have authority to resist the devil

when he was on the earth? Did he resist temptation?

Did he not face the temptations that you and

I did? He faced them all, and what is it said?

He had authority over them. He would speak to

them. It's not his master. And if I'm in Christ,

guess what? Sin is no longer my master. For you

no longer live, back to the verse, for you no

longer live under the requirements of the law.

Instead, you live under the freedom of God's

grace. Hallelujah. But I like what Paul says.

Well then, since God's grace has set us free

from the law, does that mean we can just go on

sinning? Strong language here. Of course not.

Of course not. Just because you have an insurance

policy doesn't mean you should drive like all

the crazy people do around here in Orlando. Thinking

like, oh, it'll be okay. But of course not, right?

16. Listen. Don't you realize that you become

a slave of whatever you choose to obey? You become

a slave of whatever you choose to obey. You can

be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you

can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous

living. You have a choice. You have a choice.

A lot of people say it's just like, well, sin,

you know, has control over me and I just can't.

I can't. I can't. I can't. Well, if you continue

saying you can't, you never will. Because what

you're saying is that, what you're really saying,

if you say that you can't and the devil's convinced

you of that, listen, you're saying that God can't.

Because that's who he's made you. If you're a

Christian, you can. You have the authority over

sin. You have the authority of what has control

over you. Because what this is saying is that

you become the slave of whatever what you choose

to obey. So my question for you this morning

is what or who are you saying yes to? We all

need to ask ourselves this question. What are

we saying yes to? Because most of the problems

that you and I face is because we've said yes

to some things that we should have said no to.

What are we saying yes to? Are we saying yes

to God? His Word? Seems so simple, right? Are

we saying yes, but this is like, in practice,

this is what we got to do as Christians. Are

we saying yes to His Word? The written Word?

The spoken word that's revealed and comes through

our hearts through the Holy Spirit? Are we saying

yes to it? Are we obeying it? Or the world? Because

everything in life is calling for you to respond

to it. Everything. This phone right here, it's

calling for me to respond to it. It's wanting

my attention, right? During, like, COVID times,

and I hate talking about COVID times. It just

seems, like, sad. But during COVID times, my

wife and I, we still had, we still, thankfully,

we had our jobs and everything. But we did have

a lot of free time on our hands. And I remember

we. We sat down and we ate way too much junk

food and fast food and like a lot of people.

And we found some shows. You know, we were talking

to people like, what shows do you like to watch?

You know, we're like, what do you want to watch?

And one of those someone turned us on to was

NCIS. How many of you ever watched NCIS? I don't

recommend this show because it's like. 30 billion

seasons long, and the characters just keep dying

off, and it just keeps going. I don't even know

how it's still going. We're three generations

past the original characters, but we're still

cooking. Most shows, they can't make it past

the first two seasons, but this show just keeps

going. And I remember during that time, it was

a very idle time, and we just sat there, and

it would always call for our attention. And I

remember there was a point in time when all of

a sudden I could, we knew that, like, kind of

controlling us a little bit. Like, it kind of

started getting a little weird because, like,

we'd be sitting there and we'd know that, like,

okay, well, probably need to go bed to around

10. We'd be like, oh, let's, you know, you finish

that episode and it's like 10 -10. And then it's

like, you got 15 seconds to decide. Like, it's

like a trap. 15 seconds. That's not a whole lot

of time. To talk to your spouse, to make a decision

as a couple, that's a lot of pressure. I don't

like countdown timers. In school, I hated that.

I failed, like, most of my tests. I hate timers.

Like, if you put me on a time clock somewhere,

that's why I'm preaching long. If you put a time

clock, I'll just shut down. I'll just leave.

But 15 seconds, and we're like, do you want to

start? Okay, let's go. Let's watch another one.

And then all of a sudden it's like four o 'clock

in the morning. We're still glued wondering if

that character is going to make it or not. And

he's the main character of the show. And I knew

it, but I'm like, I can't sleep until I know,

you know. And then you go to work and you're

thinking about it all day long. You're going,

oh my gosh, is he going to make it? I just don't

know. What is that? You know, or whatever. And

before long, and it's funny, right? Like it's

all happened. We have all experienced it. It's

true. But there's a point in time when all of

a sudden it becomes like, man, this is like controlling

a big portion of my mind. Like this is controlling

me in a sense, right? Because I am saying yes

to it. I am letting it. It was our decision.

I could have just said, no, I need to go to bed.

You know, that's the adult thing to do, right?

Need to go to bed. But no, I'm just like, yeah,

let's, next one. Yeah, next one. And soon, sooner

or later, all of a sudden it controls me, controls

what I'm thinking, controls what I'm doing. I'm

like impacted by it. Now it's controlling, it's

affecting the way I work in the world and affecting

my relationships with those people around me.

And it's something so simple, but it's something

that I chose to let happen, right? It's not saying

that those things are... in themselves wrong

but anything that has control over you listen

be careful of the things that you say yes to

because they control you and then you become

their slave and this goes without saying but

the only thing the only person who should have

control over you in all ways, in every way. Control

over your mind, control over your thoughts, control

over your speech, control over your body. The

only person that you give that to better be worthy

of it. It should be God. It should be the Holy

Spirit. Because what you say yes to rules over

you. What you say yes to, you bow your knee to.

You submit yourselves to. And in society, we

don't like that word submit so much, but it means

willful obedience. Not according to pleasure,

but willful obedience to. You willfully bow your

knee to the Spirit and to God. His way, to His

will. And you say no to the ways of the flesh

and the ways of temptation and sin. Sin is not

your master as a Christian. It's not your master

unless you give it power over you. Holiness is

lived in by saying yes to God and no to the desires

of your flesh. Know to the desires of your temptations.

1 Peter 1 .16 says, For the Scriptures say, so

this was repeated in Leviticus and now repeated

in 1 Peter, saying, You must be holy because

I am holy. It's a command for God. Hebrews 12

.14, Work. Everybody say work. It requires effort

on your part. It's not always pleasurable, right?

It's willful obedience. Work at living in peace

with everyone. Work at living a holy life. For

those who are not holy, listen, this is pretty

strong. For those who are not holy will not see

the Lord. So, of course, God has made you holy.

God has given you the opportunity to see him.

He has revealed himself to you. If you want to

know Him more, and if you want to have that personal

relationship with Him more, if you genuinely

want to see God at work, moving, operating in

your life on a day -to -day basis, you're going

to have to work at living a holy life. You can't

continually say no to the will and the way of

the Spirit and expect... God, he'll keep speaking

to you, but your mind will be so clouded because

it's controlled by everything else that you will

not be able to hear him. You will not be able

to see him in the fullness of who he is. Because

that's what the devil wants to steal from you.

He's not willing to steal all these things. If

he can steal who God is, if he can make you doubt

who God is, He can steal every blessing and every

promise away from you. You got to know who God

is. And the only way that's found is by living

a life in the Spirit who reveals God to you.

He reveals God to man. Amen. And when God tells

you to do something, oh man, this has been so

heavy lately. When God tells you to do something,

listen, he gives you the authority and ability

to do it. Think about this. The things in the

Bible that you read as you're studying, when

he tells you to do something, that word gives

you the authority and the ability to accomplish

it. Not confined, this is not confined just to

the natural laws of man. This is confined to

the laws of the kingdom. You have the authority

and the ability to do whatever God tells you

to do. I have the authority then, therefore,

to have self -control over what controls me.

Why? It's because I've... Worked and I've done

and I've, no. It's because God has given me that

because that is who he is. And when temptation

comes, when my body says, you know, I really

want this, I really want this sugar, I really

want this thing, whatever it be, I can say no.

When my mind tells me this seems better, this

seems the right way to process the world, I can

say no because this doesn't align itself with

the realities of who God is and the life that

he promised me. So therefore, I can stand on

the promise of who he is connected to his person.

And I can stand in faith and say, no, that is

not true. Because I believe God. I obey him and

his word. And this is what matters to me more.

Therefore, God has control over me. God has control

over my thoughts, my words, my actions. Amen.

You give them to God. So, real quickly, and I'm

done. What does being holy look like? Living

by the standards of the word instead of the standards

of the world. It's very simple. Very simple truth.

We just got to apply it. What does that look

like? Jesus prayed in John 17, 15 through 17,

I'm not asking you to take them out of the world,

but to keep them safe from the evil one. They

do not belong to this world any more than I do.

Then he says, make them holy by your truth. Teach

them your word, which is truth. Amen. What does

being holy look like? Looks like being led by

the spirit instead of being led by your flesh.

Surrendering, yielding, submitting to the spirit.

Not your flesh. Not. Your mind, your will, and

your emotions, you're being led by something

beyond that. Because those things are often indicators,

but they're terrible leaders. You know, your

mind, your will, and emotions are often good

indicators, but they're terrible leaders. They

will lead you to a place that you don't want

to go. They'll lead you, pull you, and the enemy

uses those things to pull you away and to keep

you from the life that God wants for you. Romans

8, 6, So letting your sinful nature control your

mind leads to death, but letting the Spirit control

your mind leads to life and peace. You want freedom?

And you want, well, what must I do to be free?

What does it say? Letting the Spirit. Surrendering

to the Spirit. Yielding, bowing your knee to

the Spirit. And saying, God, I take this thought

captive to the obedience of Christ. And you have

it. I know this is not your plan for me. I know

this goes against your word. And I believe your

word more than anything. And I give up what I

think. And it hurts. But I lay it down on the

altar of who you are. That leads to life. The

life of God. Not just the life of everyone around

you. Don't crave the life of everyone around

you. Don't copy their behaviors is what we're

going to read here in a second. But that leads

to the abundant life of God. Amen. It's characterized

by peace. So you are in charge of what you set

your mind on. You're not in charge, listen, you're

not in charge of every thought that comes into

your head, but you're in charge of what you set

your attention on. Because what you set your

attention, what you set your focus on will rule

over you. You have a choice. You say yes to that

thought, or do you say yes to what God says in

His Word? You have an opportunity to respond

to everything that you think. You either act

upon it or you don't. You either take it to God

or you don't. Romans 12, 1 and 2. Listen. And

so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you

to give your bodies to God because of all he

has done for you. Let them be a living and holy

sacrifice, the kind that he will find acceptable,

For this is truly the way to worship him. Worship

is not a song. It's not a service. It's a surrender.

It's a submission. It's obedience is what worship

is. It's saying, God, not my will, but yours

be done. It's praying for your kingdom to come

and your will be done in my life. in my home,

in my family. Your will to be done in my mind.

I know it's hard. Verse 2, don't copy the behaviors

and customs of this world. If God tells me through

the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, through Paul,

if he tells me that I... Don't have to copy the

behaviors and customs of the world. Therefore,

I have the authority and the ability not to copy

the behaviors and customs of the world. No matter

if that seems like the easiest way for me. To

lean on my own understanding. Right? Because

if I do what the world does and if I behave like

the world behaves, I'm going to have everything

that the world has. If I say, listen. If I say

what the world says, I'm going to have what the

world has. And it's always going to be something

in the natural. And if you want to see something

supernatural take place in your life, you're

going to have to live according to a different

standard. Let God, everybody say let God. Let

God transform you into a new person. This happens.

How does this happen? This happens by, we talked

about one thing. It's about sitting at his feet

and spending quality, intimate time with him

each and every day. It's how your mind is transformed.

It's how you are transformed into a new person.

Because who you spend the most time with, you

talk like, you sound like, you begin to look

like that person. And if you want to look like

God, guess what? God is holy. And we're talking

about these things, but for you and I to be holy,

it means that we want to look like what God looks

like. It's a restoration of his image upon his

being. It's us surrendering ourselves to him

and saying, God, you're everything to me. You're

who I want to be like. You're my model. I'm not

going to obey these other things. I'm not going

to obey my flesh. I put those things under. I

say no to them, and I say yes to the Spirit,

His will and His way. And then God transforms

you into a new person. How? By changing the way

you think. Then you will learn to know God's

will for you, which is good, pleasing, and perfect.

You want to know that your life can be good and

pleasing and perfect? You have to know who God

is. It has to be found in who He is. That word,

the revelation of who He is, you've got to spend

time with Him. Therefore, you will see your life

being good and pleasing and perfect because you've

spent that time. in the relationship with him,

and he's shown you those things. That's how you

can have faith that these things are going to

happen. That's when everything around you looks

not good and not pleasing and not perfect. You

say, my God says in his word that my life will

be good, my life will be pleasing, and it will

be perfect. It's not dependent on your circumstances

or what you see in the natural. It's dependent

upon his word. And by faith, we can take a hold

of the things that God tells us. By faith, we

can experience the good and pleasing life of

God and perfect life of God. If you submit to

him, the Holy Spirit will use the word of God.

to change the way you think. When you begin to

think differently, you will begin to live differently.

Example of this, when you begin to have the mind

of Christ and you see people, it changes how

you perceive them. Even when they do wrong to

you, you see them through the eyes of God and

you love them because he loves them despite.

what they've done to you despite being mistreated

you have compassion and empathy for them instead

of harboring bitterness and letting that control

you and drive a deep root of hate which will

destroy you you say no to that you say but god

loves them i love them So what does being holy

look like? It means living by faith in the promises

of God instead of living in sin and its negative

consequences. It rains on the just and the unjust,

but we can escape the negative consequences of

sin and everything associated with the law, the

curse of the law. We escape those things. Those

things, the natural things of this world, don't

necessarily have to apply to you. That's what

we see in Scripture. Those natural things don't

always have to happen. A and B don't always have

to equal C in the kingdom of God. It matters.

Listen, we don't have to, just because there's

a storm brewing outside my house doesn't mean

that I better batten down the hatches and I'm

like, oh, the hurricane or whatever is going

to blow my house away. Just because it's raining

outside, just because some tragedies happened,

just because COVID happened. Guess what? That

was a season of blessing. I know it wasn't for

everybody, but for my family and I, it was a

season of blessing. And it was a season of transition.

And when a lot of people in the world were having

a tough time and barely making it, get this,

God supplied all my needs. According to his riches

in glory. God protected us. God took care of

us and blessed us beyond where we currently were.

So in a time of lack and in a time of famine

and a time of chaos. Come on now. By faith, you

can live in the promises of God. and avoid the

negative consequences of sin. God is the one

who makes you holy, but he needs your cooperation.

Psalms 910, and those who know your name will

put their trust in you, for you, Lord, have not

forsaken. He will not forsake us when we seek

him according to his name. I want us all to stand

up on our feet. Everybody stand up, stretch your

legs. And I want us all to say these things together,

these statements, these good confessions. All

together. My God is Yahweh Mekadeshim. God has

made me holy. I am set apart for God and His

kingdom. I make every effort to live a holy life.

I say no to temptation. I say no to every form

of evil. I am led by the Holy Spirit. I say yes

to God. His word and His way.