Last Sunday our family theme at Victory Church was "holiness." Below is my sermon outline for the message titled: "The Battle for Personal Holiness."
Our memory verse is: Ephesians 4:24 (NKJV) Put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
In our D6 CLEAR Sunday school lesson this week we discovered…
1. Growing believers should live in unity with one another. (Eph 1:1-6)
2. Growing believers are active in the ministry (Eph. 4:7-13)
3. Growing believers should mature in their faith, love people, and work together (Eph 4:14-16)
4. Growing believers honor God with their mind and actions (Eph 4:17-19)
5. Growing believers allow God to transform their thoughts and attitudes (Eph 4:20-32)
___________________________________________________________________
Hebrews 12:14 (NIV) Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.
1 Thessalonians 4:7 (NIV) For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.
We pursue holiness not only because Scripture commands it, but more importantly, because God Himself is holy; and we are to reflect that holiness in our lives.
1 Peter 1:15 (HCSB) As the One who called you is holy, you also are to be holy in all your conduct.
I. THE BATTLE GROUND FOR HOLINESS
A. THE HEART
Mark 7:20-23 (HCSB) Then He said, “What comes out of a person—that defiles him. For from within, out of people’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immoralities, thefts, murders, adulteries, greed, evil actions, deceit, lewdness, stinginess, blasphemy, pride, and foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a person.”
Jeremiah 17:9-10 (HCSB) The heart is more deceitful than anything else and desperately sick—who can understand it? 10 I, the Lord, examine the mind, I test the heart to give to each according to his way, according to what his actions deserve.
So we see that the heart is one part of the battleground.
B. THE MIND What we allow into our minds is picked up by the desires of our heart.
If our desires are evil, then our minds are quick to latch on to evil things, which in turn feed our evil desires. It is a vicious circle.
II. THE BATTLE PLAN FOR HOLINESS
God has outlined a plan for us as we seek to reflect His holiness. I believe these are essential to getting a grip on holiness.
A. Salvation
The first, and by far the most important. Aside from bringing us eternal life through the cleansing of our sin, it is the only avenue to getting the other parts of this plan. Taking Christ as Savior is the first step to holiness.
B. Fill your mind with God’s Word.
Hear, read, study, memorize the Word of God. Fill your mind with the Word of God, and you will find it easier to flee temptation. 2 Cor. 10:5 says to take every thought captive to Christ; time in the Word helps us to do that.
C. Fill your heart with God’s Word.
Meditating on what you get from the hearing, reading, etc., helps you avoid being the man described by James 1:22-24 who looks at himself in a mirror and then steps away and forgets what he looks like, because he is not a doer of the Word, but a hearer only. Don’t make that mistake. Meditate on His Word. For those of you who don’t know what I mean, let me explain.
It is NOT the emptying of your mind that the New Age people talk about when they discuss meditation. That’s dangerous, if you ask me. To meditate on the Word of God means to do just the opposite. Fill your mind with it – think it over, asking questions, thinking of how you can apply it to your life and situations. Engage your mind to think on God’s Word and it will fill your heart!
Psalm 119:9-11 (HCSB) How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping Your word. 10 I have sought You with all my heart; don’t let me wander from Your commands. 11 I have treasured Your word in my heart so that I may not sin against You.
Meditation brings the Word from our head to our heart.
D. Worship in a Bible-believing, Christ-centered church.
Hebrews 10:25 (CEV) Some people have gotten out of the habit of meeting for worship, but we must not do that. We should keep on encouraging each other, especially since you know that the day of the Lord's coming is getting closer.
E. Fellowship with like-minded believers who encourage you and hold you accountable.
Acts 2:42 (HCSB) They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayers.
Fellowship means: communion; to live with; to share; to be in union, in partnership, to be closely bound together; to have a close, mutual relationship. It means to be so closely bound together that there is open and mutual sharing: what one has belongs to the other.
2 Cor. 6:14 (NIV) Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?
The point is clear: there is no such fellowship or union between light and darkness. On the contrary, light and darkness are mutually exclusive, of different natures entirely. They cannot coexist.
F. The bottom line – OBEDIENCE.
1 John 5:3 (HCSB) For this is what love for God is: to keep His commands. Now His commands are not burdensome.
Obedience is not an option. It doesn’t matter who you are or what your background. You are required to be obedient.
Comments