A DAILY
INCREASE IN HOLINESS
Psalm 24:1-6;
2 Peter 3:18
In many places in the world, places of
worship are believed to be holy ground and those who enter are required to
remove their shoes. For example, in
India, when I enter a church building, along with everyone else I remove my
shoes to show respect for the holiness of the place. Of course this is not unique to Christian places of worship. In Morocco we were allowed to enter a
mosque, escorted by a bold guide who knew the imam well enough to try to get
away with showing us what was inside.
Still, we were required to take our shoes off since the place of worship
was viewed as holy.
The idea of
treating a place as holy appears in the Bible when Moses encountered the Lord
in the burning bush and was told to remove his sandals because he was standing
on holy ground. How does that translate
today now that the Lord has declared that we are the temple of the Holy
Spirit—we are now the holy place! We
may not be required to remove our shoes, but should we not treat the dwelling
place of the Spirit in a holy manner?
Robert Boyd Munger’s little book–My Heart Christ’s
Home[1] —Imagines what it would be like to have
Jesus come to the home of our hearts.
This little book walks us through the various rooms in our “house” and
explains how they will can be made holy by giving Christ complete control of
them. Here are some key points from
this classic:
Library-the study of the mind, the
control room of the house, must be filled with His Word with a centrally located
portrait of Christ as the focal point.
Dining Room-room of appetites and
desires, choosing either worldly or spiritual foods to satisfy our cravings
Drawing Room-intimate, comfortable room
for fellowship, quiet meetings with Christ, unless we neglect our appointments
with Him
Workshop-well-furnished with
equipment but often producing nothing of value because we attempt only what our
ability can achieve
Play Room-place we keep for our own
entertainment, hoping He will not want to accompany us there, leaving Him out
when we want a good time
Hall Closet-place we keep things we are
ashamed of, personal things we keep even though they are rotten, dead; He just
wants the key to clean up what is too awful for us to face
Transfer of Title-We need to transfer the
title of our heart’s home so He will no longer be the Guest but the Owner!
THESIS: The heart that is holy provides a sacred domain
where the Holy Spirit works to accomplish His purposes of glorifying Christ by
growing us up daily to be like Him.
I. THE
SOVEREIGN DOMINION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
--When God calls us to holiness, He provides the way for
that to become a reality through the ministry of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
--Therefore, we learned what it means to be WORTHY, INDWELT,
FILLED and EMPOWERED by the Holy Spirit in our last message.
II. THE
SACRED DOMAIN OF A HOLY LIFE
-Domain is a place governed by one who has dominion or
sovereign rule…and a sacred domain will of necessity be one in which the
Lordship of Jesus Christ has been established and by the abiding presence and
power of His Spirit, maintained in holiness and purity.
a. CLEANSED
by THE sacrifice of CHRIST
--As we noted in the first part of this message, the Holy
Spirit will not abide in an unworthy dwelling, an unclean heart.
--Therefore, the forgiveness and cleansing power of the
blood of Jesus Christ is essential for the heart to be made worthy as a
dwelling place for His Spirit.
--The domain can never be sacred apart from the sacred work
of purification Jesus accomplishes in us as He prepares us to be holy and
blameless.
--Paul speaks of the special relationship Christ has with
each believer, and with the church overall, by likening us to His bride.
Eph. 5:25-27 25Husbands, love your wives, just
as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her; 26that He might sanctify her,
having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27that He might present to
Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such
thing; but that she should be holy and blameless.
--In the Revelation, John takes it one step further and
speaks directly of believers as “the bride, the wife of the Lamb…”
Rev. 21:9, 27 9And one of the seven angels who
had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues, came and spoke with me,
saying, “Come here, I shall show you
the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”…27and nothing unclean and no one
who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those
whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
--Your heart is intended by God to be a sacred domain, a
holy place made so because you have been washed clean at the great cost of the sacrifice God made of His own Son.
--Because you have been cleansed, because you have been
washed and purified, God wants to make it clear that He will not settle for
anything less in you than a holy life, restored as a sacred domain for the
glory of His Son!
b.
CONSISTENT WITH THE CHARACTER OF CHRIST
--What kind of home would be suitable for Christ? Just any old place kept in any old way? Hardly!!
You can tell a lot about a person by the way they keep their home. Frequently it reflects their personality and
definitely reveals how much they care about keeping things orderly and clean. They may not be able to afford to decorate
as they would like, or to buy the kind of house they would like, but they can
take care of what they do have!
--When we welcome the Holy Spirit into our lives, we must
then be prepared to see our hearts transformed into a holy place, a sacred
domain, consistent with the character of Jesus Christ who has sent His Spirit
to abide in us.
That sacred
domain will be a home which is…
1. Clothed
with His Righteousness
--When we think of a home, we think of decorating it with
furnishings that are attractive, that are pleasing to us and create an
environment that we can enjoy.
--As we see our heart as the home of the Holy Spirit, we
will want to adorn it with all that is consistent with the character of
Christ—we will want to adorn our lives with Christ and decorate our hearts with
all that is righteous and good.
Rom. 13:14
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard
to its lusts.
Eph. 4:24 and put on the new self, which in the
likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
Col. 3:10, 12-14, 10and
have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to
the image of the One who created him …12And so, as those who have
been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness,
humility, gentleness and patience; 13bearing
with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against
anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. 14And beyond all these things put
on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.
2. Warmed by
His Love
--The heart that is inhabited by the Spirit is warmed by His
loving presence as the love of Christ ignites our hearts and His love burns
within us.
Luke 24:32 And they said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while
He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to
us?”
Where was the warmest place in your home when you
were growing up? In our house, it was
the kitchen where we not only had a gas space heater, but the gas oven and
burners on the stove to make things nice and toasty on cold winter
mornings. We would jump out of bed and
get to the kitchen as fast as we could.
But that was also the place where we spent the most time together as a
family, eating our meals, sharing our lives, entertaining our guests.
The warmth from the physical heat
was more than matched by the warmth of genuine affection. So it is with a
sacred domain where the love of Christ warms us and creates an atmosphere where
our hearts find rest and comfort.
Jer 31:3
…I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have drawn you
with lovingkindness.
3.
Brightened by His Glory
--A home not only needs warmth and a pleasing décor, but it
needs a steady source of light.
--The sacred domain of Jesus Christ will be brightened by
the glory of His presence.
2 Cor. 4:6 For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in
our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Christ.
--When our hearts are holy dwelling places, the light of
Christ cannot be hidden because it shines out of the darkness because of the
One who reigns sovereignly within and whose glory cannot be contained!
4. Secured
by His Might
--A safe home provides a secure place where we can find
peace and relief from the chaotic disorder of the fallen world in which we
live.
Living in a small town growing up, we never locked our doors and had no
sense of insecurity, no fear of anyone violating the safety of our home. Today we take steps to protect our homes
with locks and alarms and flood lights and whatever else appears necessary to
secure our safety.
--When our hearts are guarded by the power and protection of
the Holy Spirit, there is no safer place on earth than to abide in Him!
Psa. 91:1-4 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most
High Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
2I will say to the LORD,
“My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!” 3For it is He who delivers you
from the snare of the trapper, And from the deadly pestilence. 4He will cover you with His
pinions, And under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield
and bulwark.
--When Christ reigns sovereignly over our hearts and the
Holy Spirit rules by His wisdom and power, we are constantly protected from any
assault from without and corruption from within!
--A sacred domain will consistently reflect the character of
the One who makes His home there…and when our hearts are inhabited by the Holy
Spirit, they will be consistent with the Character of Jesus Christ!
c.
CONSECRATED TO THE CALLING OF CHRIST
--Once we have been purified by Christ and made a holy
habitation for the Lord, the sacred domain of our heart becomes a functional
headquarters for consecrated action.
--Holiness does not work well in a house locked and closed
up, isolated from life as if the Chief Resident were hesitant to risk either
defeat or retreat.
--No, a holy heart can stand the heat of active engagement in
the arenas of real life without fear of failing or falling back into an
unworthy state.
Too many Christians find
themselves hiding in the company of others in ‘holy huddles’ to protect
themselves from the problems they would have to face if they ventured out to
put their faith to work in the daily struggles of a world which is not always
kind to the followers of Christ.
Therefore many refuse to get in the game and choose to sit out their
lives on the sidelines and never pursue the calling of Christ to be His salt
and light in a tasteless, dark world in great need of a word and a witness from
those whose lives have been changed forever by Jesus Christ.
1. Prepared
for Action
--Holy hearts are the only kinds of hearts prepared to go
anywhere Jesus tells them because only they have the indwelling power of the
Spirit to spur them on.
1 Pet. 1:13 Therefore, gird your minds for action, keep
sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at
the revelation of Jesus Christ.
--The sacred domain of a holy life serves as an equipping
and empowering center from which faithful servants are launched into action.
The natural course of action for those who have become like Jesus in
holiness is to become like Him in His willingness to take on the challenges
posed by the evils of society and the wicked ways of the culture. The evangelicals of the 18th
century were the social activists because their hearts had been enflamed by
Christ and they knew they could do no less than take action for righteousness’
sake. Wilberforce and his counterparts
realized that holy hearts meant more than sincere worship and a growing prayer
life—it meant confronting the ills of the day, in his case the primary concern
being the slave trade.
In Africa in the 1990’s, it was
Festo Kivengere and Michael Cassidy fighting against injustice in the nations
of Africa and finally seeing the dismantling of apartheid in S. Africa as the
20th century was drawing to a close.
The sacred domain of a holy life
means that we are prepared to swim upstream against the prevailing currents and
be men and women consecrated to Christ who reigns as Lord over all things and
who calls us to live rightly as well
as ‘holily’!
2.
Priorities in Order
--When our spiritual house is in order, our priorities will
be in order so that we will seek first those things which contribute to our
holiness and guard our holiness and avoid, even fight, those things which
distract us and divert us from our call to holy living.
Matt. 6:33 “But seek first His kingdom and His
righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.
--The priority of living now in the light of eternity seldom
finds a place in the hearts of modern Christians, but if we order our days
according to our eternal calling to holiness, we would be better served both in
the short-run and the long.
If my priority is to become holy and to set my heart on becoming a
sacred domain, I will not be so concerned about the things in my life that have
no eternal significance. What I will
pursue as the first order of my day and the pre-eminent matter of importance in
all that each holds will be able to withstand the careful scrutiny of the
biblical standards of what holiness truly is.
3. Passions
on Target
--The greatest passion in my life will be to live in such a
way that I may know Christ as Lord in each area of my life.
Phil. 3:8 More than that, I count all things to be
loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom
I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order
that I may gain Christ,
· Will I count my standard of living as less valuable than my
pursuit of the holiness of Jesus Christ?
· Will I count my popularity and reputation as inferior
desires when compared to the value of bringing delight to Jesus?
· Will I count my physical appetites as inconsequential when
seen in contrast to my hunger for righteousness?
· Will I count my personal freedom as less important than
being held captive by a deep longing to be held in the grip of Christ?
--My passions must belong to Christ when the domain over
which He reigns is a holy life, consecrated to Him at every level of my life.
4. Purpose
Understood
--Finally, if my heart belongs to Christ, the fact that God
has made me holy makes sense as I grasp the ultimate reason for my existence—to
live in all things and in every way for the glory of God.
--I am not my own and was never created to live for myself,
but the very thought of me originated in the mind of God as a special means of
bringing greater glory to His matchless name!
--If I do not understand that His purpose for my life over
rules any design I could devise, then I will waste my life running in the wrong
direction, seeking the wrong things and living for the wrong reasons.
--My purpose is to live a holy life in such a way that my
life is a sacred domain governed by the Lord who has sovereign dominion over
me.
--I am to present myself to the Lord as a living sacrifice,
ready to offer my heart to Him as a holy place from which He might accomplish
His eternal purposes through me.
--My heart must be committed to increase in holiness day by
day as I grow into what He called me to
be, a sacred
domain set apart for His glory and my good!
Once again, the book My
Heart Christ’s Home, gives us the picture of how our heart can become a
truly sacred
domain:
“I said to myself, ‘I have been trying to
keep this heart of mine clear for Christ.
I start on one room and no sooner have I cleaned that than another room
is dirty. I begin on the second room
and the first room become dusty again.
I am so tired and weary trying to maintain a clean heart and an obedient
life. I am just not up to it!’ So I ventured a question: ‘Lord, is there any chance that You would
take over the responsibility of the whole house and operate it for me and with
me just as You did that closet? Would
you take the responsibility to keep my heart what it ought to be and my life
where it ought to be?’
“I could see His face light up as He replied,
‘Certainly, that is what I came to do.
You cannot be a victorious Christian in your own strength. That is impossible. Let Me do it through you and for you.’
…Running as fast as I could to the strong
box, I took out the title deed to the house describing its assets and
liabilities, its situation and condition.
Then returning to Him, I eagerly signed it over to belong to Him alone
for time and eternity…He took my life that day and I can give you my word, there
is no better way to live the Christian life.
He knows how to keep it in shape and deep peace settles down on the
soul. May Christ settle down and be at
home in your heart as Lord of all.”
With that
picture of our heart as Christ’s home, the temple of the Holy Spirit, the
abiding place of the Lord God Almighty, it is our joy to hear God calling us to
holiness because we know that in doing so He makes it clear that He will come
and establish His sovereign dominion in us to do whatever it takes to make our
hearts a sacred domain for a life of holiness.
Providence Baptist Church
© David Horner 2003
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