God's children fail to live up to a higher standard than the rest of the world.
When God reveals himself to humanity it becomes very clear that we are not the same, we like to act like we are God but when you look at the examples in the Bible when God came close to man, the holiness of God is undeniable.
Moses already encountered God in a similarly spectacular event at the burning
bush. That's where Moses got his first lesson about sacred things, God told
him that even the dirt he was standing on was holy ground because of it's
proximity to God. (Exodus 3:1-12)
God told Moses at the burning bush that he would return to this mountain
with all of God's people some day. We can only imagine what Moses was
thinking as they began traveling in this direction and how overwhelmed he was as they arrived in the same place.
Mount Sinai will be their home for a long time because God has some things
to accomplish before he takes them to their promised land. They have just
made a covenant to be God's chosen people and now they will learn about the holiness of God and how he must be
respected as they approach him.
God needs his children to know that he is different from them, he is
near them and wants to relate to them but he is also above them. He is a
personal God that loves relationships but it cannot be the same as the
way that we relate to each other. We are terrible at relating to each
other so it will certainly be a challenge to relate to God.
Too often we show up at church to meet with God without any
preparations. We don't expect the unsaved to come prepared for worship
but too often God's people are just as unprepared, we show up looking to
get something just the same way we show up at the grocery store.
God told his people to purify themselves and prepare their heart and
mind. Being in his presence is a truly awesome experience, unlike the
hundreds of times we use the word awesome everyday, this really is.
Psalm 24:3-4 Who may climb the mountain of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? 4 Only those whose hands and hearts are pure, who do not worship idols and never tell lies.
Access to God isn't given out to just anybody. There were thousands
of God's people that were saved from Egypt, but there was only one
man that had an incredible amount of access to God, through the ages
there have been few people that have ever had such a personal
relationship.
It started with the burning bush but it didn't end there, Moses was
a regular mountain climber as he interceded for his people for the
rest of his life. Even Pharaoh knew that Moses was close to God and
made prayer request to Moses four times to get relief from some of
the plagues. (Exodus 33:11, 17; Deuteronomy 34:10-12)
The Bible makes it clear that God is holy and he wants us to be holy
as well. The popular notion that you can believe the facts about the
gospel without a change in your character is a wide road that leads
to destruction.
Why would your heavenly father want to allow you to
stay in your sin? Is it even possible to agree with God that your sin was so ugly that his son had to pay a huge price to clear you of the charges and then you continue living that way?
2 Corinthians 7:1 Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God.1 Peter 2:9 But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.1 Thessalonians 4:7 God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives.Revelation 1:6 He has made us a Kingdom of priests for God his Father. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.
Secularized religion wants you to believe that God loves you and he is okay with your lifestyle but a quick study of God's word will show you differently. "You be you" sounds nice but God's word tells us that you without his help is completely wicked.
If God approves of your sinful lifestyle so much then Jesus was wasting his time when he left the glory of Heaven. If God is okay with the sins of his people then why did his son confront the religious leaders so harshly and so frequently?
Believers are enabled to grow in holiness on account of the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ, foreshadowed by the OT sacrificial system, and through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit.
God is holy and he tells us to strive to live up to a higher standard, the "you be you" generation sounds kind and loving but you don't get the final say, we have been told to imitate God in our attitudes and our lifestyle. (Ephesians 5:1-33)
Thank you Lord for my rescue from the kingdom of darkness! Thank
you for my gradual transformation to holiness which will be
perfected on the day you take me home! Help me understand how easy it is to live for the unholy attitudes and desires of this world.
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The Holiness Of God
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