2020.03.01 - Holi-Mess - The Church

2020.03.01 - The Church 

Saturday, February 29, 2020

11:14 AM

1.     What does holiness even mean?

a.     First time the word holy was used in the Old Testament

                              i.         Exodus 3:5 And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. KJV

1.     Holy - OT:6944 qodesh (ko'-desh); from OT:6942; a sacred place or thing; rarely abstract, sanctity:  KJV - consecrated (thing), dedicated (thing), hallowed (thing), holiness, (X most) holy (X day, portion, thing), saint, sanctuary.

b.     First time the word holy is used in the New Testament

                              i.         Matthew 1:18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. KJV

1.     Holy - NT:40 hagios (hag'-ee-os); from hagos (an awful thing) [compare NT:53, NT:2282]; sacred (physically, pure, morally blameless or religious, ceremonially, consecrated): KJV - (most) holy (one, thing), saint.

c.     Sacred, hallowed, consecrated

                              i.         I collect books

1.     My Bibles have a special place, they are holy, hallowed and consecrated

a.     Some of my Bibles are very old and in bad condition

b.     How would you feel if I just threw one of them on the floor and stomped on it

                                                                       i.         Even thought it is old and not in perfect condition it is still HOLY 

                                                                     ii.         Holiness does not mean perfection

1.     Some of my Bibles are barely held together yet each of us would declare them to be holy.  Not because of what they are written on or the leather binding or even because the word "holy" is inscribed on the front cover, but because they are the "inspired Word of God"

d.     Holiness comes from God

                              i.         Holiness is not a list of things we do or don’t do

                             ii.         Quote from Steve Ely

1.     He will not give out a list of what makes us holy but refer people to The One who DOES make us holy for a clear definition of what holiness means and is 

2.     Holiness And Perfection

a.     We have been taught that they are one and the same.  They are not.  We can see from the illustration of my Bibles in my collection that holiness does not necessarily mean being perfect.

b.     It should tell us something that the first time the word holy was used in the OT was God talking about dirt, or the ground where Moses was standing.  That dirt was not perfect or sinless, but it WAS set apart and consecrated.  It was dedicated and hallowed. God has caused it to be come sacred from all the other dirt around it!  God can and does do the same things to people.

c.     This series is about being holy, and about being real.  Real people living in a real world with real issues.  This series is about the fact that though we are holy we can still be messed up and that God can and will still use us!

3.     The Church 

a.     Tension between Jews and Gentiles

                              i.         Acts 6:1-7 - Some felt that the people were not being taken care of by the Church as they should have been 

                             ii.         Acts 15:1-2 - did not understand that salvation was a gift of God and not of works, thought you had to be circumcised to be saved

                           iii.         Romans 13:1-7 had issues with their government of the time 

                           iv.         1 Corinthians 5:1-9 - sex issues within the Church 

                             v.         1 Corinthians 5:1-9 - early church sued one another

                           vi.         Galatians 1:6-10 - heresy and false Gospel being preached

                          vii.         Philippians 2:1-4 - lack of unity 

b.     Romans

                              i.         The Bad

1.     Romans 16:19 - tended towards being wise in evil and simple in good things

                             ii.         The Good

1.     Romans 1:8 - reputation was widespread

2.     Romans 1:8 - faith 

3.     Romans 16:19 - obedience

c.     Corinthians

                              i.         The Bad

                             ii.         The Good

4.     Gates Of Hell Shall Not Prevail!!!

a.     Matthew 16:17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. 18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. KJV