The Call to Holiness

Good morning to those watching online and those who will

listen to the podcast later. Our theme this month is

the power of holiness. And the title the Lord gave

me is the call to holiness. So I'm going to

start by making you think, which may not help with

my popularity, but never mind. So how many verses can

you think of that start with the word be? Anyone

call out? So just call out. Be strong and courageous.

That's a good one. Joshua 1.9.

Anyone else? Another great one. Thank you.

Psalm 46, verse 10. Be still and know that I

Psalms 46:10

am God.

One more. Say that again. Behold. I stand at the

door and knock. Thanks, John. Thank you. We are coming

to that. Thank you for that one. And I'll give

you one more. James 1.22.

Be doers of the word only and not hearers only,

deceiving your own selves.

I'll be honest. I cheated and Googled to get a few.

But anyway, just for speed.

But how do you understand a verse that starts with

the word be doers? I hear it in my heart

as a command, not in a harsh way, but neither

is it merely a suggestion. In the army, if a

commanding officer gives an order, it's not up for debate.

But for us, our commanding officer is love. God is love,

as it says, for example, in 1 John 4 verse 8.

1 John 4:8

Love that is so gentle that it will not break

a bruised reed, as it says in Matthew 12, 20.

And for your information, a bruised reed is really easily snapped.

Love that is so powerful that whilst he was without sin,

Jesus chose to fulfill his destiny and be tortured and

murdered on the cross for our sins today. despite, as

he said at his arrest in Matthew 26, 53, having

the option of asking God for more than 72,000 angels

at his service. Love that is so wise that he

finds a way to combine justice and mercy, as Jesus did,

for example, when the woman was caught in adultery, was

brought to him. The Lord demanded that she be stoned

to death, And he said, let the one without sin

be the first to throw the stone.

When we see the.

Word be, to put it this way, our commanding officer, love,

is giving an instruction with no alternative option. In Greek,

the meaning of the word be includes.

To begin to be, to become.

In other words, it may be the start of a journey.

or somewhere in a process. I read that as whilst

the expectation is not of immediate perfection, the instruction is mandatory.

So we come to our main verse for today, as

Rubina helpfully pointed out. 1 Peter 1.15, and I'll read

it from the NIV. That's 1 Peter 1.15. But just

as he who called you is holy, so be holy also.

Holiness is not an option. God, in his holiness, is

so powerful that he invites us into the process of

becoming holy, like he is. In my opinion, it would

take power, the power of true love, to make us holy.

If we have surrendered our lives to him as Lord

and Saviour, an invitation that's open to all, by the way.

If we've recognized Jesus' sacrifice on the cross for our

sin and his resurrection from the dead, then this invitation,

this instruction to be holy is for us, and it's

not one that we can refuse. It comes with surrender.

I'll put it another way. This honor is for us

to become like him, And it comes at a cost.

Holy, the Greek word means.

Sacred, physically pure, morally blameless, consecrated or set apart, dedicated

for divine purpose. I find that a helpful way of

putting it. I recently started reading the biography of James

Hudson Taylor. Who's heard of James Hudson Taylor? Yeah.

Yeah, one or two. And he was born in 1832.

In Yorkshire, actually. So that's one tick against his name.

For those who know, my husband's a Yorkshireman. James came

from really ordinary beginnings and went on to found the

China Inland Mission. It's an absolutely amazing story of faith

and self-sacrifice.

And I've not even read much of it yet.

But something to encourage us all is that absolutely nothing

in his background qualified him for the call he received

from the Lord. But he went to go to China.

But he went to extraordinary lengths in practical ways to

prepare for it.

I'll just give you one example.

He and a willing cousin even found out the meaning

of over 500 Chinese characters. using one tract of the

Gospel of Luke that they had in Mandarin and a

method they devised of comparing it to the Gospel in

English of Luke. At 17, James had had the revelation

of what Christ had done for him that went beyond

head knowledge to his heart and surrendered his life to

the Lord. I'll quote now to encourage all Christian parents

and those with children in their lives. The unspeakable value

of years of steady discipline in a Christian home now

became apparent. He was in a position to make rapid progress.

The Bible was familiar territory, a land of promise waiting

to be possessed. Prayer was the natural expression of a

heart long accustomed to turn to God. I'm sure his

parents weren't perfect like the rest of us, but did

their best. I caught a snippet of a podcast recently

where a guy was talking who's the son of well-known

Christian teachers. To paraphrase what he said, home life wasn't

all speaking in tongues and prayer.

They were children.

What he did mention, however, was what he learned subconsciously

from what he overheard. For example, how his parents addressed

different issues, spoke to each other, etc., Anyway, James Hudson

Taylor's spiritual growth wasn't a straight line of progression either.

But one day, he went up to his room to

be alone with God. I quote, Well do I remember,

he wrote long after, as in unreserved consecration, I put myself,

my life, my friends, my all upon the altar. The

deep solemnity that came over my soul with the assurance

that my offering was accepted. The presence of God became

unutterably real. Stretching myself on the ground and lying there

before him with unspeakable awe and unspeakable joy, a deep

consciousness that I was not my own took possession of

me that has never since been removed. This is one

man's experience of dedication to divine purpose that is one

expression of the meaning of holiness. It's both an invitation

and a challenge to us all to understand from the

Lord where we really are on this journey, to honestly

ask him to show us any hindrances to this and

be prepared to change. 1 Peter 1.15 says, but just

as he who called you is holy, So be holy

in all you do. Remember, in all that you do,

all that we do, we are dedicated for divine purpose.

The classic Amplified Bible says, be holy in all your

conduct and manner of living.

Why does God call us, instruct us to be holy?

I think it can feel huge, even overwhelming as an instruction.

So I think an important starting point is to remember

that the motive for this instruction is love. God's motive

for asking us to do anything is love. Even if

it costs us and it's painful, but he is love

and he knows the end from the beginning, which is

why he asks us. God wants us, his children, to

be like him. How often do parents ask And others

delight in seeing themselves in their children or pointing out

the similarities. There's something about sharing who you are and

having that common bond. Even now, some years after my

parents have passed, Simon will sometimes say, for example, that

I say, oh, just like my mom did. And apparently

I stand like my dad did. There's something about it.

Simon can see something of my parents in me. Similarly,

God wants people to see him, our heavenly dad, in us.

As it says in Ephesians 5 verse 1, and I'm

Ephesians 5:1

reading from the Amplified, Ephesians 5 verse 1, become imitators

Ephesians 5:1

of God. Copy him and follow his example as well-beloved

children imitate their father. To give the context, it goes

on to talk about walking in love as Christ's love does.

Whilst I'm not going to dwell on that right now,

I don't think we can separate holiness and love. If

holiness is dedication to divine purpose, then love is one

aspect of that. I would also like to suggest that

this instruction to be holy is not only because it's

what's best for us, but because it's how God designed us.

He designed us to be consecrated to him, dedicated to him.

Think back to the Garden of Eden and the fellowship

that Adam and Eve had with God before sin spoiled everything.

To repeat 1 Peter 1.15, this time in the New

Living Translation, but now you must be holy in everything

you do, just as God who chose you is holy.

In this call to holiness and everything that it entails,

never forget that it's because you're loved and chosen. Let

this be the anchor for our souls as we consider

the power of holiness and start to get to grips

with what it means for us. Let's look briefly at

at the well-known passage at the beginning of the book

of Isaiah chapter 6 in the Old Testament, where the

Isaiah 6 · chapter mention

prophet Isaiah had a vision in approximately 740 BC. I've

abridged it slightly to focus on the relevant parts. So

Isaiah 6, and I'm going to read from verses 1

to 8. Isaiah 6, 1 to 8. I saw the Lord,

high and exalted, seated on a throne. And the train

of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphim,

majestic beings with no earthly equivalent. And they were calling

to one another, holy, holy, holy is the Lord almighty.

The whole earth is full of his glory. At the

sound of their voices, The doorposts and thresholds shook and

the temple was filled with smoke. Woe to me, I cried,

I am ruined. For I am a man of unclean

lips and I live among a people of unclean lips.

And my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.

Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a

live coal in his hand. which he had taken with

tongues from the altar. With it, he touched my mouth

and said, See, this has touched your lips. Your guilt

is taken away and your sin atoned for. Then I

heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I

send and who will go for us? And I said,

Here am I.

Send me.

In the presence of the one true God, even the

seraphim cover their faces and feet. Such is the power

of God's holiness which clearly consumes their focus.

Even at the entrances.

Into God's presence, the doorposts and thresholds shake at the

expression of God's holiness uttered by the seraphim. The purity

and power of God's holiness is clearly beyond expression in

earthly language. And God says, be holy because I am holy.

It's no wonder that Isaiah responds as he does. Woe

to me, I cried, I am ruined for I am

a man of unclean lips and I live among a

people of unclean lips. And my eyes have seen the King,

the Lord Almighty. This revelation of God's holiness that comes

from his presence causes Isaiah to become fully aware of

his own sinfulness. I would suggest that the emphasis on

his lips is something to do with his words. In

other words, what comes from the overflow of his heart.

As Jesus says in Matthew 15, 11, What goes into

someone's mouth doesn't defile them, but what comes out of

their mouth, that is what defiles them. Isaiah also becomes

aware of the impact of the spiritual environment in which

he lives and the contrast with the holy place of

God's presence. Isaiah 6, verses 6 to 7. Then one

Isaiah 6:6–7

of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal

in his hand, which he'd taken with tongs from the altar.

With it, he touched my mouth and said, See, this has.

Touched your lips.

Your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.

At the point of Isaiah's awareness of his sinful state,

God doesn't leave him in a state of guilt and

potentially condemnation. He does something about it. Now, since Jesus

has died and risen again, at the point where we

become aware of our state of sinfulness, there is the

opportunity to recognize that God has already done something about it.

Notice it wasn't God himself, but a seraphim, a servant

being in his presence who did something about it, using

that which God had provided. We too can be that

servant to others and let them know that God has

done something about it. Sometimes we may need that reminder

ourselves that doing time in condemnation won't help. We need

to humble ourselves to recognize the price that Jesus paid

is even greater than our sin. It covers even that,

whatever it is. Verse 8. Then I heard the voice

of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send and who

will go for us? And I said, Here am I.

Send me.

I'd also like to point out that Isaiah's sin didn't

disqualify him from working for the Lord, from representing him,

because it's the Lord who qualified him. It was the

Lord's choice to appoint him that qualified him, and the

Lord took care of the rest. But it was still

up to Isaiah to say yes. The apostle Peter had

a similar experience as recorded in the New Testament in

the book of Luke chapter 5. Jesus was standing by

Luke 5 · chapter mention

the lake Gennesaret. A crowd wanted to hear him teach.

So he got into a boat which belonged to Simon

and asked him to put out a little. I'm going

to read from Luke 5 verses 4 to 11. That's

Luke 5:4–11

Luke 5 verses 4 to 11. When he had finished speaking,

Luke 5:4–11

he said to Simon, put out into deep water and

let down the nets for a catch. Simon answered, master,

we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But

because you say so, I will let down the nets.

When they had done so, they caught such a large

number of fish that their nets began to break. So

they signaled their partners in the other boat to come

and help. And they came and filled both boats so

full that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw this,

he fell at Jesus' knees and said, Go away from me, Lord.

I am a sinful man.

For he and all his companions were astonished at the

catch of fish that they had taken. So were James

and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon's partners. then Jesus

said to Simon don't be afraid from now on you

will fish for people so they pulled their boats up

on shore left everything and followed him Whilst this is

a familiar story to many, let's not miss the point

the Lord wants to make today. Simon Peter was at

the end of his shift. He was probably tired and

wanting to go home. He was probably disheartened as they'd

caught nothing, and this was their livelihood, their means of

supporting their families. Nonetheless, this didn't stop Simon from showing

Jesus basic courtesy when he asked Simon to put out

the boat. Simon was in a great position to listen

to Jesus' teaching. Something about it meant that when Jesus,

a carpenter by trade, as well as a rabbi, told Simon,

a professional fisherman, to do something that didn't make sense

with respect to fishing, Simon did it and got a

miraculous haul.

What was Jesus' purpose? To bless Simon? Yes.

Although he could have done it in many different ways.

For example, Jesus could have said, boat, fill up with money,

and it would have done. But the way Jesus chose

to bless Simon meant him taking a step of faith

by acting on what Jesus said before he committed to

following Jesus and then seeing the miraculous abundant provision. If

Jesus had created the money, It would have taken no

faith on Simon's part to receive it. When Jesus is

in your boat, don't expect business as usual. Then we

come to the main point here for today. Luke 5

Luke 5:8

verse 8. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at

Jesus' knees and said, Go away from me, Lord. I

am a sinful man. Notice the impact on Simon Peter

of the miraculous. There was nothing wrong with Jesus' teaching.

It was Jesus. But there is.

Something about the miraculous that brought the revelation of holiness

that created Simon Peter's awareness of the true state of

his spiritual self. And with it came the revelation of

who Jesus was. It went from master to in verse 5,

to Lord, in verse 8. And let's look at Jesus'

response to Simon Peter in verse 10. Then Jesus said

to Simon, Don't be afraid. From now on, you will

fish for people. So they pulled their boats up on shore,

left everything, and followed him. That's grace, isn't it?

Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid.

He addressed Simon Peter's emotional need before proclaiming the call

on his life. This is similar to what happened to Isaiah,

isn't it? With the revelation of holiness came man's revelation

of his sinfulness. Then came God's mercy to address it.

Then came the call. James Hudson Taylor's story was similar

in some respects. Like I said, his spiritual growth wasn't

a straight line of progression even after his genuine dedication

to the Lord. To quote, somehow there seemed a gap

between the power of the Lord Jesus to save to

the uttermost and the needs of everyday life. The good

he longed to do, he did not. And the evil

he hated too often had the mastery. Something I suspect

that we can all relate to. The Apostle Paul said

the same thing in Romans 7.

But it goes on.

Hudson Taylor had not yet learned to cry. Thanks be

to God. The law of the spirit of life in

Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of

sin and death. Romans 8 verse 2. At such times,

Romans 8:2

two courses are open to the troubled soul. One is

to abandon the ideal. and gradually sink down to a

low-level Christian life in which there is neither joy nor power.

The other is just to go on with the Lord,

and because of.

His exceedingly great and precious promises, claim complete deliverance, not

only from the guilt, but also from the mastery of sin.

Nothing could satisfy Hudson Taylor now but unbroken fellowship with God.

He pushed on.

The specific revelation that hits home and helps us keep

going may be different for each of us, as our

Heavenly Father knows us personally and treats us as individuals.

But this is one promise that is valid for us all.

It's in James 4, verse 8. James 4, verse 8.

James 4:8 James 4:8

Come near to God and he will come near to you.

Come near to God and he will come near to you.

Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

The Amplified Bible is helpful here. It says, come close

to God with a contrite heart and he will come

close to you. The invitation to come close to God

remains open to us all now. This is how we

do it, with a contrite heart. genuinely repentant, and the

promise is there that he will come close to us.

Washing our hands is about repentance and cleansing from sin.

We do things with our hands, both good and wrong.

So washing our hands of the wrong that we do

is done by repentance and receiving forgiveness by faith. Being

double-minded pollutes our hearts. As the Message Bible puts it,

Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. The Lord

gave me a word for someone, actually. I don't know

whether it's someone here in the room, someone watching online,

or someone who's going to listen afterwards to the podcast,

but it's this. You've been trapped in habitual sin for

some time now, and whilst you know it's wrong, you've

not been truly committed to making any changes. Today, I

invite you to make that commitment to me. It's obviously

not something to be taken lightly, but if you do,

I will cut you free from the stronghold of addiction,

although you will still need to go through the process

of changing your thought habits, your patterns of thought. You

may need external help with this. Don't be proud and

try to do it alone. Accepting help from others is

a process that changes people too, in a positive way.

If you accept my invitation, then ask me to show

you where to get the help and trust me to provide.

Going back to Hudson Taylor's biography, what was it that

kept him from the life for which he longed? What

was the secret of his frequent failure and backsliding in heart?

Was there something not fully surrendered? Some disobedience or unfaithfulness

to light? Fervently he prayed that God would show him

the hindrance, whatever it might be, and enable him to

put it away. He had come to an end of self,

to a place where only God could deliver. Like Jacob

in Genesis 32, 26, he felt compelled to cry out,

I will not let you go. unless you bless me.

I'm going to leave it there because I'd like to

spend a few minutes in prayer. Our loving Heavenly Father

has called us to be holy as he is holy.

But I'm not sure, I'm sure I'm not the only

one who sometimes finds themselves doing or saying or thinking

what they don't want to do because they know it's

wrong and not doing what they know is right and

honouring to the Lord.

So let's pray.

Father God, thank you for the honor and privilege that

you call us to be holy because you are holy.

We know it's going to cost us and yet we

know it's worth it to become like you. Please show

us where there's something not fully surrendered, some disobedience or

unfaithfulness to light, and help us to address it honestly

with you.

Because we ask this.

In Jesus' name, knowing that you've heard us, because you've

promised to always do so.

Thank you, Lord.

Amen.