Scripture Romans 12:1
Therefore, I urge you brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, this is your spiritual act of worship.
Holy Toledo! Holy Cow! Holy Mackerel! Holy Smoke! --- Holy Spirit!
Set Apart
Holy first of all means “set apart”. Something that is set apart form everything else. To say God is ‘holy’ means to say God is set apart form everything else. God is not what all other things are, God is different from all other things. As such, anything else is only holy, in that it is related or connected to God. When Moses was tending his sheep in the wilderness he was walking on ordinary dirt - until he came before God who spoke to him from a bush that was on fire but was not being burnt up. From that bush, God said to Moses - Exodus 3:5-6 "Do not come any closer. Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob." At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. (also in Acts 7)
1 Peter 1:13-16
Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."
The audience of 1 Peter are people in what is modern day Turkey, then it was the Roman provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia. Socially, the people were below citizens, and above slaves. They were strangers and aliens. They were Gentiles who likely had some connection to Judaism before coming to faith in Christ. They were socially homeless people who had found a family in Christianity. In Christ, they became full citizens of a new kingdom and Peter even uses language that the people he is writing too are the new Israel - the new chosen people of God. They are people who have become “set apart” holy and pleasing to God.
Peter answers a question that was asked in their cultural situation that is no different than the questions we ask today. In light of our cultural context, how should we live? Should we retreat? Should we hide? Should we attack? Should we engage our culture? As Christians, how should we live? The answer he gave them is 100% applicable today, just as it was then - live lives that are holy and pleasing to God. Were Christians oppressed and excluded from society then? Yes! Are we today? Absolutely! Peter tells us how to live in light of that - holy and pleasing to God.
Hear this clearly - Peter does not say we should live holy lives to please God. We live holy lives in response to God’s salvation. We have now become His children who will live forever, and as any child looks, acts and behaves like their parent, so too should we, with God as our father - who is holy - we ought to be holy too - this becomes pleasing to God. Ethical and moral behavior are not designed to get you closer to God, but - because in Christ you are closer to God - you should look more like Him = for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."
Lev 11:44 I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy.
Lev 19:1-2 The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: 'Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.”
Lev 20:7-8 “Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the Lord your God. Keep my decrees and follow them. I am the Lord , who makes you holy.”
ABRAHAM
Genesis chapter 22 (Heb. 11:17-19). Abraham made Isaac Holy to the Lord - set apart.
Similarly, Romans 12:1-2 tells us to offer ourselves as living sacrifices to God, set apart and pleasing to him.
TATTERED UMBREALA
Queen Mary made it her practice to visit Scotland every year. She was so loved by the people there that she often mingled with them freely without a protective escort. One afternoon while walking with some children, she went out farther than she’d planned. Dark clouds came up unexpectedly, so she stopped at a nearby house to borrow an umbrella. “If you will lend me one,” she said to the lady who answered the door, “I will send it back to you tomorrow.” The woman didn’t recognize the Queen and was reluctant to give this stranger her best umbrella. So she handed her one that she intended to throw away. The fabric was torn in several places and one of the ribs was broken.
The next day another knock was heard at the door. When the lady opened it, she was greeted by a royal guard, who was holding in her hand her old, tattered umbrella. “The Queen sent me,” he said. “She asked me to thank you for loaning her this.” For a moment the woman was stunned, then, she burst into tears. “Oh, what an opportunity I missed,” she cried. “I didn’t give the Queen my very best!”
FILL IN THE BLANK
“Will you please tell me in a word,” said a Christian woman to a minister, “what your idea of holiness is?” Holding out a blank sheet of paper the pastor replied, “It is to sign your name at the bottom of this blank sheet, and to let God fill it in as He will.”
So far I have not said anything that would compel anyone to live a life more holy and pleasing to God. It’s not by trying - it’s by Jesus dying - his Holy Spirit living in you.
4 Object lessons about the HOLY Spirit
1 Hole through hand (paper tube)
2 You need the holy spirit like a glove needs a hand
3 Filling of the spirit dark water in glass replaced by light liquid
4 Needle thru balloon - to resist the devil.
King David through Solomon built the Temple
1 Chronicles 29:1-5
In my devotion to the temple of my God I now give my personal treasures of gold and silver for the temple of my God.
You are the Temple of the Holy Spirit
1 Cor 6:19-20 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
The Holy Spirit is received at the moment of salvation. Paul could not say that we all were baptized by one Spirit and all given one Spirit to drink if not all of the Corinthian believers possessed the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:9 is even stronger, stating that if a person does not have the Spirit, he does not belong to Christ. Therefore, the possession of the Spirit is an identifying factor of the possession of salvation. Further, the Holy Spirit could not be the “seal of salvation” (Ephesians 1:13-14) if He is not received at the moment of salvation. Many scriptures make it abundantly clear that our salvation is secured the moment we receive Christ as Savior.
This discussion is controversial because the ministries of the Holy Spirit are often confused. The receiving/indwelling of the Spirit occurs at the moment of salvation. The filling of the Spirit is an ongoing process in the Christian life.
In conclusion, how do we receive the Holy Spirit? We receive the Holy Spirit by simply receiving the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior (John 3:5-16). When do we receive the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit becomes our permanent possession the moment we believe.
The same power of the Spirit that raised Christ from the dead, is at work in you - but do not quench the spirit - recognize his presence and be available to be used by him and you will become holy and pleasing to God as your spiritual act of worship!
Roamans 8:11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.
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