Call To Holiness

Holiness, a ‘garment of moral and spiritual purity for
which God is our pattern.’ God said, ‘be ye holy, for I am
holy.’ We are called to holiness; holy living, purity,
sanctification. 2 Corinthians 7:1 says: “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from
all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in
the fear of God.” ‘Cleanse’, meaning to make clean, purify.
‘Flesh’ meaning carnal, fleshly, carnal minded, the old nature. ‘Perfecting’ meaning to finish, accomplish.
It says to cleanse ourselves!

In Hebrews 12:14 it says without holiness no one shall
see God. If we have had an ‘experience’ with God, but there
is no change, or if we continue to live as we have before,
we have not truly met God! When we get a glimpse of the Holy God, we will desire to be like Him,to act like Him, to talk like
Him! If we say ‘I can’t help it’ when we continue to do
those things we did before, we are deceiving ourselves
and denying the transforming power of God. He says ‘behold,
all things are become new, old things are passed away.’ We are a new creation, and ought to ‘walk’ (live) worthy of our calling.

Galatians 2:20 says, ‘I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless
I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now
live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved
me, and gave himself for me.’ We are ‘bought with a price’ we
are not our own any more. We need to crucify the flesh, and let Christ live out His life in us. If Christ lives in us, then the life we
live is by the faith, (assurance, belief, faith, fidelity) of Christ.
The Word says, ‘I can do all things through Christ.’ All things meaning, yes, we can ‘crucify’ the flesh with its carnal desires.
Yes, we can live a holy life, pleasing to God. No, we do not
have to ‘sin’, we do that because we want to, because the
flesh is still ruling.

The closer I get to God the more I understand His holiness, and what He requires of those who name His name, who claim
to be Christians. I understand that if we go clubbing on Saturday night, or sleep around on Friday night and go to Church and raise our hands and say ‘praise the Lord’ it is abhorrent to Him! He
does not accept that praise. We are offering ‘strange fire,’ and
it is by His mercy we are not struck down! I am talking about the person that habitually does these things, that this is their lifestyle.

The closer I get to God, the more I understand that God is not playing! We can no longer afford to ‘play church!’ We have
to clean up our act, and start living the life we are called to live.
We can no longer be babies, swigging on that milk, but we have
to eat the meat of the Word! We have to grow up! We have to
say yes to God and no to the devil!!! Yes, that is possible! God would not ask us to do something we were unable to do.

The Bible says no sin will enter in. Well, one might say, I
can always ask forgiveness. However, Jesus is coming back and
we will be caught up in the twinkling of an eye. There will not be time to ask for forgiveness if we are caught in the act or doing wrong!

The Bible says not everyone that says Lord, Lord will enter in, only those that do the will of the Father. If we call Jesus,
‘Lord,’ we are saying we submit to His Lordship, His ownership.
If we still struggle with issues we have been struggling with for years, we have not really accepted Him as ‘LORD.’ We have not really submitted to His authority. We are still carnal, babes, still allowing the flesh to have its way. Paul says to ‘lay aside’ the
sins and weights that beset us.’ Lay aside; to cast away, to get
rid of. If we allow a sin, a hindrance, or a ‘weight’ to have
control of us, we are denying that God is more powerful than
what has us enslaved. If we overeat, we are saying that God
does not really satisfy us, He is not enough for us so we use
food to compensate. If we take another puff of that cancer
stick, we are saying that the addiction to that is stronger than
the ability to lay it down. If we use alcohol to cope with life,
we are saying our life is so unbearable that only another drink
will help. If we gossip, we are saying I can't control my tongue,
and I don't love like Jesus told us to love.
If we say 'I can't help it',' we are denying the
transforming power of God, and giving the flesh the
power to rule.

I am not saying that these things are sins, but they are
‘strongholds.’ Anything that has that strong a hold on us needs
to be broken, to be dealt with. We should never be comfortable living in disobedience or feeding harmful habits. God says our weapons are not carnal, but mighty to the pulling down of strongholds. Anything that has us bound is a stronghold, and
Satan will use that to keep us in bondage. We cannot do ‘greater things than these’ (the things that Jesus did) if we are bound by
a habit or stronghold. God cannot use us as mighty warriors if things of the flesh hinder us.

Romans 8
"There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are
in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."
'Walk' meaning to deport oneself, to live, follow.

We like to quote that Scripture, and we usually quote the first
part of it, but it clearly says 'no condemnation to them
who walk after the Spirit!' And not the flesh!!!'
'Condemnation' in this verse meaing:
"Adverse Sentence, The Verdict.'

4. That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us,
who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
5. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the
flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.

"Mind" meaning set the affection on, regard, to exercise the
mind, be like. So if we walk after the Spirit, we have our mind
on Spiritual things, we want to please the Lord, to do those
things that are profitable, to be like Jesus. The Bible says
the flesh profits nothing.

6. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually
minded is life and peace.
"Peace" meaning prosperity: one (to join), quietness, rest.

7. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
8. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
12. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh,
to live after the flesh.
13. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through
the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
14. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are
the sons of God.
15. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to
fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby
we cry, Abba, Father.
"Bondage in this verse meaning slavery."
"Fear: alarm or fright."

We are children of the Most High God and we should
never accept the bondage of being enslaved to anything
contrary to the Spirit of God. It costs us to live after the
Spirit and crucify the flesh. Paul says in
1 Corinthians 9: 27: "But I keep under my body, and bring it
into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. " Paul said he died
daily! But the 'sufferings' of
doing so is tiny compared to the glory that will be revealed in
us. 'Revealed' meaning to 'take off the cover, disclose.'

I was 'addicted' to food. Especially since my divorce, I have
used food for comfort, etc. Since I have been without a job for
the last month, I have gotten deeper into the Word, I have fallen
more in love with Jesus. And I have decided that I want God
more than another helping of potatoes, another cookie, another candy bar! I want to be used of God, and I do not want
anything to get in the way of that. Yes, I was saved when
I was overeating, but I wasn't yielding my flesh to be crucified.
I let the flesh have it's way. As a result, I developed high blood pressure and have to daily take medication for that. I gained
weight, and felt miserable. Now I am in the process of
reversing the damage done to my body by letting my
'flesh' have the upper hand. We reap what we sow, and I
sowed to the 'flesh', and reaped an undesirable harvest!

2 Corinthians 5:17 says: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all
things are become new.” Romans 13:14 says: “But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil
the lusts thereof.” The word ‘not’ in this verse meaning: no,
never, absolute denial.’ We should ‘put on’ our garments of righteousness, our weapons of armor, and ‘resist’ the devil and draw near to God. We should make Jesus the LORD of our life, (supreme in authority, controller, Master.)

God’s Word says where sin abounds, there is more grace, more grace to overcome and get the victory over it. If we
know the truth, the truth will set us free. I pray that in 2006 we
will be all overcomers, that we will break those strongholds of the flesh that hinder our Spiritual beings, that we will become the powerful, sold-out body of Christ.

We are the ‘bride of Christ,’ His body, the church.
Ephesians 5: 27 says, ‘That he might present it to himself
a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish’. Judgment
begins at the house of God. ‘Begins’, in order of time,
commences. God says that everything hidden will be revealed.
If we don’t repent of that ‘secret sin’ we cling to, God will
reveal it. Because He loves us, and He knows that sin kills,
that sin destroys, sin makes ugly everything it touches! But
God has given us power over all the power of the enemy, and
we can tell him to ‘get behind us.’ We are not to be ignorant
of his devices, but we are to know what the perfect will
of God is.

God help us to understand the holiness of God, to have a reverent fear, and awe of Him. He is not ‘the man upstairs’, but
a Holy God, and while He is love, He is also judgment. God
help us to understand and live in holiness, as He commands us
to. Be ye holy, for I am holy, He says. God help us to long for
and aspire after holiness. God help us to never settle for
anything less, and help us to get an understanding of what
you require of us!

The time is short, I do not want preachers to ‘tickle my
ears’, but I want the whole truth of God’s Word. All of it! And
because I love God’s people, ‘I speak the truth in love.’ And
I pray you will read it that way. I do not mean to sound 'harsh'
but it is not what I say that matters, it is what the Word of
God says that is important! I pray that from this day forward,
we will pursue holiness with all we've got!