Raising Holy Hands Last week you may recall that we ended with the statement that worship starts at home. This week we will look at how we prepare for worship before we come. I have chosen to entitle this week's sermon lifting HOLY hands, because we can come into God's house and fail to worship, if we do not come in Holiness. First, lets look at what may be some of the problems that we face during the week that effect our Sabbath worship. The first has to do with an interesting phenomenon that has developed in just the last generation or so. In the world today we are bombarded with so much information so quickly that we have a hard time analyzing it. In the past, as information entered our senses, we had time to evaluate it as to it's goodness or badness. In the mind of the average child and young adult today, information bypasses the center of the brain that makes moral judgments. This leads to a couple of things: First, without a moral basis, there is no right or wrong. Second, people can actually believe as truth two things that are totally opposite. You can imagine the results when you start to tell someone that there is such a thing as absolute truth Another problem that affects what people expect in worship service is that we compare worship to what we see during the week. We accept the standard of society as the norm for worship. For every Charles Stanley on the air on Sundays there are a dozen Benny Hinns. In entertainment our minds have been molded by TV to have an exciting half hour where a problem is presented, totally taken care of in some unusual way, and move on to the next situation. And then there are the Music Videos. Fast half second images quickly moving shots, loud music, and frantic dancing are the fare of the day there. We come to church, expecting entertainment, and think how dull God must be. Sermons about God's will for our lives seem lifeless next to the endless beat of the world around us. What are we to do? There was a prophet who had been in the midst of a very active revival. He had spoken for God, and had witnessed God's miraculous power. He had defeated the religious enemies of the faith. But somehow he had lost a sense of God. After several days of running, Elijah found himself on Mt Sinai. There, you recall he experienced an earthquake, and a whirlwind. But in the noise and demonstration of power, he still did not find God. Then, when he was able to calm down and listen, he heard the voice of God in the still small voice. Then God could communicate with Elijah. Satan wants to keep us so busy that we cannot hear the still small voice. In the pound of the rhythm of the world, we become so driven, that any slowing down seems to be negative. David expressed our need well in Psalm 46 when he wrote: Psalm 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! Let me tell you something. Satan knows that this works. Why do you think that so many are attracted to pagan religions? They have felt the call to stillness and have been unable to find it in the frantic beat of the Christian world. So the first thing that we need to do to prepare for worship is to know how to be still. And that is hard. Let's try something, OK? I want you to sit still for 2 minutes. I am not going to say anything. I don't want you to. Just think on any Sabbath-worthy topic for 2 minutes. Ready? GO! I believe that being still is the first step to Holiness. Because holiness is not about us, it is about God in us. And He rarely shouts at us. Holiness is a word that scares some people. They think of holiness as being a hermit, or some pious person with a perpetually glum face that dresses in strange clothes. Yet others may think of holiness as certain rituals, or things you do. The fact is though, God expects holiness from His people. 1 Thessalonians 4:7 For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness. Hebrews 12:14 Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: Well you may ask, how can we be holy? On what basis does this take place? Well, like everything else, it starts with God. There is no aspect of your Christian existence that is real that is not rooted and grounded in God's work on your behalf through Jesus. Even Moses understood this when he told the Israelites: Deuteronomy 7:6 "For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth. Isaiah describes this experience in beautiful poetic terms: Isaiah 35:4 Say to those who are fearful-hearted, "Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, With the recompense of God; He will come and save you." 5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. 6 Then the lame shall leap like a deer, And the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, And streams in the desert. 7 The parched ground shall become a pool, And the thirsty land springs of water; In the habitation of jackals, where each lay, There shall be grass with reeds and rushes. 8 A highway shall be there, and a road, And it shall be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it, But it shall be for others. Whoever walks the road, although a fool, Shall not go astray. Notice something very telling. Isaiah proclaims that even a fool walking in God's way will not stray. That gives me hope. So after being still enough to hear God the next step in holiness is the fact that when you give yourself to God you are holy because you belong to Him. That is the most important thought of the day. So many want to lease God their lives for 24 hours a week. Or less. Jesus did not die on the cross to rent us from sin, but to buy us from sin. Paul writes in Romans 6:19 I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness. 20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. As we read on in Scripture, we find that like sanctification, holiness is a growth process. Leviticus 20:7 'Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am the LORD your God. 26 'And you shall be holy to Me, for I the LORD am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine. If we have given ourselves to God, then we are to be separate from the ordinary, everyday lifestyle that defines the ungodly. In other words, a holiness that is only visible on Sabbath morning, or in the fellowship of brothers and sisters in the faith, is not really a separated holiness. Now, while holiness is because of our relationship with God, and never because of our own efforts, we are to actively let Christ work in our lives. God is so good. He calls us holy, He covers our sins, and then He works in us to make us what He calls us. Again we call on Brother Paul: 2 Cor 7:1 Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Eph 4:20 But you have not so learned Christ, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. We all recognize that we do make choices. God is not going to drag anyone into heaven by their hair against their will. And our choices strengthen us. Each time you say no to a temptation, it becomes easier to say no to that temptation again. So as we work through the process we find that while your holiness is from outside of you, you can choose allow that same power that began the work to continue the same work in you. Notice that Paul knows where this takes place. It is in the mind. You probably don't think of it very much, but your mind is you. The body that you have is a mechanism that God created to support and care for the wonderful gift of consciousness that He has given you. It is in the mind that holiness takes place. 1 Peter 1:13 Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 14 as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; 15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy." And the mind controls the body. Many aspects of holiness are played out from the mind to the body. And when we are joined with the mind of Christ that affects our bodies. Again Brother Paul: 1 Corinthians 6:15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! 16 Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For "the two," He says, "shall become one flesh." 17 But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. Here we could argue since in holiness our minds are one with Christ, then our bodies are also tools of Christ's, if you will. This plays out in many ways. Leviticus 19:2 "Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them: 'You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy. 3 'Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and keep My Sabbaths: I am the LORD your God. As we read the next text, I want you to keep in mind the concept that Protestants teach: We believe in the priesthood of the believers. Our personal ability to approach God. Leviticus 10:8 Then the LORD spoke to Aaron, saying: 9 "Do not drink wine or intoxicating drink, you, nor your sons with you, when you go into the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations, 10 "that you may distinguish between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean, 11 "and that you may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the LORD has spoken to them by the hand of Moses." Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist made this prophecy when his speech came back: Luke 1:68 "Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited and redeemed His people, 69 And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of His servant David, 70 As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, Who have been since the world began, 71 That we should be saved from our enemies And from the hand of all who hate us, 72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers And to remember His holy covenant, 73 The oath which He swore to our father Abraham: 74 To grant us that we, Being delivered from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear, 75 In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life. How important is holiness? In the time of Israel, discontent priests tried to substitute something not holy for some thing holy. They found out in a terrible way, that it does make a difference to God when He calls for holiness. Leviticus 11:44 'For I am the LORD your God. You shall therefore consecrate yourselves, and you shall be holy; for I am holy. Neither shall you defile yourselves with any creeping thing that creeps on the earth. 45 'For I am the LORD who brings you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy God does not make holiness optional. It is part and parcel of the Christian experience. Numbers 15:40 "and that you may remember and do all My commandments, and be holy for your God. 1 Corinthians 6:19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's. 1 Corinthians 3:16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17 If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are. Well you may ask what holiness looks like. Forget the movie holy people. Let's see what God sees as holiness. Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. 1 Timothy 3:12 And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, 13 so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints. Hebrews 12:12 Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed. 14 Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, What place does holiness take in the church service? Remember, Holiness starts at home. In the church the teaching should be on becoming more holy. The focus should not primarily be on current events, though they may get our attention. Our teaching should not be primarily about prophecy, and our sometimes speculative interpretations. The goal of our worship, at church and at home, should be to learn how to please our Father in Heaven by being His children, His witnesses, His beloved. And this so that one day, we will live with Him in a perfectly sinless world, and be comfortable there. God told Ezekiel what the teaching should be. Ezekiel 44:23 "And they shall teach My people the difference between the holy and the unholy, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. When we do that then we can come to the sanctuary of our Lord and fulfill the desire of Paul: 1 Timothy 2:8 I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting; Benediction 2 Peter 3:11 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?