Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction:

There are godly people here that even if just for brief periods of time, had an impact on my life and your life.

I fear many of us don’t say thank you enough to those that have invested themselves in me, in you, and in others---that come along side for a period of time and encourage you in the things of the Lord and I see a number of you that I honestly thank God for in helping to shape my life, to direct my steps.

And there's a reminder constant reminder to me is the cloud of witnesses as we are in the arena running the race.

The faithful ones that have gone before us and still encourages on.

As we open YHWH's Word, it's is exciting to see what YHWH is doing in our church.

I do see that we still have a problem, and I consider it a potentially exciting problem.

I see many empty seats in this building.

Do you notice them?

I think I know what we can do to help remedy some of this problem.

It is an exciting kind of problem because it forces us to share our hope in a specific way to entice others to come and take part in this hope we have.

Also, we then can praise God alongside the people that you're reaching and for the ministry of our local church.

As you might recall years ago at Grace you can look back and see many things that YHWH has done with the many people that have been through these very doors.

And then, at least, I start to really consider the future as to how am I going to spend these days today and coming ahead, and what investments can I make now to reach my goal of the future personally as well as for the church.

I come to the conclusion that the greatest investments that I can make is in the next generation.

That includes the kids here today and the kids that are in our neighborhoods.

And so I do spend some time with the young kids in our neighborhood as I get the chance in order to give the Gospel and model the Gospel’s power.

I'm very excited about the future.

I am excited to see what us here at Grace today that a heart to serve the Lord will do and be called to do.

But there are some things that concern me.

And there are issues that we have to deal with not only as a pastor that I would see but also as we have a new fresh season coming in as we endeavor to serve the Lord.

I fear we have been like the rest of the world caught up in the American dream.

And whether we would identify ourselves completely with the world, the world still has an affect on the way we think.

We're still soiled every day as we walk through a polluted society.

And many of the themes that we find on billboards and radio stations and on television begin to shape our thinking.

And so the average young person today even though they say I'm saved, I love the lord, I want to serve the lord” have been caught up with that type of philosophy.

And so what do they pursue water they passionate about what they desire what is the direction they are heading.

Well we have that saying to pursue life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

And I start to think about that and I wonder where in the Bible does it talk about pursuing happiness.

But I haven't found it yet.

What YHWH calls us to in His Word is to pursue is holiness.

Transition:

Last week we looked at 1 Peter 4 and 5, but there is more to this letter, so 1 Peter chapter one, has this challenge is given to us —but not a new challenge, just as we can read all the way back into the Old Testament books because it is an overarching eternal theme that YHWH calls us to holiness.

Scripture Reading:

Holiness meaning perfection, completion, full maturity, and the absence of sin.

And what to me is a great paradox is that when we pursue holiness and come into the presence of an Almighty and a completely holy God, there is fullness of joy.

But if we get caught up even as believers in pursuing the pleasures of this life and pursuing happiness and desiring to be a happy person we never ever find it.

But here is a challenge: tell the average American to pursue holiness.

What does that mean?

What is that going to do for me?

How do you know if this thing is holy or not holy?

How dare you tell me that my habits are unholy.

And when I said, “ tell the average American” I’m referring to unbelievers AS WELL AS believers.

And I think we have to be honest a lot of abuses today.

When you drive down the road there's a ditch on either side.

I see one of those ditches as externalism/pharisee-ism as in its focus on everything spiritual is on the outside— an almost legalism.

Now don't misunderstand me, I believe YHWH cares about what's on the outside.

YHWH cares about everything.

But it's very easy to try to clean up everything that is external in your life and still be dead on the inside.

And the problem is in a lot of our conservative churches and I would see this in the past years is that when a new Christian comes in and they are just saved and they want to grow, our immediate concern--and I am guilty of this too-- the first thing I want to do a clean up all of the outside ugliness, all the bad habits of where they go, and what they do, and how they look.

The problem is that they start to feel like, “Well I must be doing okay right now, because I look like everyone else in the church.”

But in their hearts, then, they don't understand the idea of holiness.

I see that as one ditch, but then the other ditch is perhaps more pervasive today: is a looseness toward God.

A carelessness toward the holiness of God.

And a horrific abuse of the concept of grace.

Many young “believers” today say that they are just living the way they want to live, doing what they want to do, acting the way they want to act, because “well, I'm under grace.”

You know the apostle Paul addresses that over and over and over again.

Grace is not given for me to live the way I want to live.

Grace is not this new concept for the New Testament meaning that those OT Israelites were under the law, but “now we're under grace so we are lawless, we just do what we want and God really doesn't care.”

No, the God of the New Testament is just as holy as the God of the Old Testament.

And we have this sloppiness in living out Christianity.

A carelessness about the things of the Lord.

I am reminded of a believer who had told me in response to a confrontation of sin, this believer had said, “Josh let’s stop playing church here for a moment and move to reality.”

I was dumbfounded when I heard that!

Out of shock, I had no idea what to say.

However what I did ask this person was, “Is there really a difference between the two?” is church just an act we put on?”

Transition:

And so this morning, what I would like to do is to bring out from 1 Peter chapter one, a challenge to be holy to us--to this church, and to you as an individual to respond in a biblical way to the call of God for your life to be holy as He is holy.

And I l find in this text four aspects to holiness.

The first of these:

I. Holiness is the Exaltation of a Person

Look at verse 15

So what is the basis of holiness?

what is the premise of holiness that our God is holy?

God is holy.

And that holiness has been perfectly expressed in the person and the work of Jesus Christ.

We cannot be again to understand the concept of holiness or the practical application of living a holy life until we began to see and to embrace a person.

It is what we were drawn to.

The scripture says, “for I am holy.”

But I think that it is much easier for us to define our holy lives by telling people what we don't do.

In fact one time a while back a guy called the church and he said, “My name is so-and-so and our family is new to the area.

We're looking for a church and understand your church is a Baptist church.

I replied, “yes sir!

We are a Baptist church!” and he said, “So if I come here, what are the things I cannot do?” Now think about that for a minute.

It is possible and we can identify holiness in a healthier way.

We just naturally identify holiness by what we don't do.

Now you can not do a lot of bad things and not be holy.

You can visit Salt Lake City and look around and see a lot of so-called Christians in the city.

They all got nice haircuts, they have good outfits, and nice families walking together and just very clean cut, but these people are Mormons.

The vast majority do not believe the Gospel--they are not saved.

You might say, “Well, you know what?

They don't do a lot of bad things.”

So is that really how we identify holiness?

Holiness is beginning the exaltation of a person.

I think sometimes when we begin to identify ourselves or shape our lives but what we don't do and we raise our kids in the concept of holiness of the things that you don't do.

We keep from doing a lot of bad things and never embracing the Lord Jesus Christ as a person and we missed all, we've missed all.

I remember reading an amusing article.

Dudley Hall wrote several years ago and he describes this as giving birthday party for his kids.

I want you listen to this with the of focusing on the negative.

He said, “As a father of 2 children, I have a lot of experience in attempting to remain sane at birthday parties for 5 year olds.