All right "Getting to Know you, God" that's the title of our series kind of a
shortened series that we're having here. This is lesson number two in this series
entitled "The Character of God: Holiness. "So let's
do a bit of a review of what we've been talking about so far in this series.
So in our first lesson entitled Getting to know you God I talked about the need to
acquire a better personal knowledge of the God that we pray to.
The God that we know we're gathered here today to offer worship to.
And also the God that we depend on for our for our existence.
And the main idea was to get to know God from an emotional perspective you know from the
guts and not just from the brain. And we tend to try to know God
simply intellectually and we intellectualize a lot of
things. And this series is to help us to know God a little bit
also from the emotions. You know when you get married you love the person that you marry not just
intellectually a fine person good character you know and so forth but you also have a
feeling about that person. And so in order to know God you know
completely I believe you have to know Him not only intellectually but
emotionally as well. If we you know we have emotion because He has emotion we're
created in His image. And so we have to know Him on that level as well.
So we talked about the various images that the Bible writers use to describe a being
that was spiritual but who needed to be understood by humans
because God is not human. And so the Bible is filled with physical
and human images of God to help us relate to Him. Now God
is not remember we said last time. God is not a "He" not a "She" not even an "It."
But the Bible uses these he she it type of images to help us
understand a being that encompasses all of these as well
as the nature of the spirit world that we don't understand at all. So
how does a how does a spirit being you
know allow himself to be known by human beings. Well he has to give them human
images. So in the end God used for example the person of a
man. Jesus of Nazareth. To reveal His nature
and will to mankind in a way that was complete and understandable to human
beings. Even with this revelation there
remains certain types of misunderstandings.
So in this and in the next couple of lessons I want to explore with you some of the myths about
God's character and person that hinder us many times from knowing Him more
perfectly knowing who He who He really is. One such false
idea is that God wants us to be afraid of Him.
Now the confusion here is that we have a misunderstanding of God's position and how He
uses His position. In every instance
in every instance where man comes into direct contact with God.
Man is afraid. Ever notice that?
Job after seeing God writes, "Behold I am an
insignificant; what can I reply to you? I lay my hand on my mouth. I have heard of
You by the hearing of the ear; but now my eyes see You;
Therefore I retract, and I repent in dust and ashes."
Then in Habakkuk or
Habakkuk if you wish to get that one up here the prophet says
"I heard and my inward parts trembled at the sound my lips quivered.
Decay enters my bones and in my place I tremble. Because I must wait quietly for
the day of distress for the people to arise who will invade us."
Then one other one in Revelation 1:17 says, "When I saw Him I fell at His
feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me saying. 'Do not be afraid,;
I am the first and the last.'" So these men
were afraid. They were overwhelmed that their meeting with God. But it wasn't a
fear of violence.
It wasn't the fear of injustice or aggression like we feel when confronted by
something or someone more powerful than we are.
It was a fear or an awe or respect that they felt in the
presence of One so great so majestic so awesome that they
couldn't take it all in at once.
And one example that I use and it's a very poor example but it gives us. Imagine you have a
thimble. You know what a thimble is on this side and then you have a gallon of
water on this side. And you begin pouring the water into the thimble.
Well you know that that thimble is going to fill up pretty quick right and there's still plenty here. The
thimble just cannot take in all of the water in the gallon
jug. Well again not the best example but that's what's happening here. When man meets
God one man even sees an angel never mind in the presence of God even in the
presence of an angel a spirit being. Overwhelmed.
The first thing they do is they fall down on the ground that they put their face down to the ground.
So in actually seeing God they saw an actual difference between
themselves and God. They could actually in a way in a
moment they could actually take a measure of his greatness
against their smallness. And they were humbled into reverence by the experience.
It was one of the ideas behind the architects of the old cathedrals in
Europe. You know the church buildings the Catholic church buildings.
You know why they would take decades to build today. You know we want to build a church
building boy we call the contractor in May and we're wanting this. We
wanted this baby to be done by September you know or maybe you know within six months we got a
deadline. We're going to build the building. We got.
We want everything in there. In the Middle Ages,
It wasn't days, months, years. It was decades.
Some centuries. To build these huge build. And they
didn't have obviously the tools and so on and so forth that we have today.
But what was the idea behind that? The idea behind
building these magnificent buildings with the magnificent art and
and statues and all that stuff. Was to give the worshipper
a sense of awe. You'd walk in if you've ever visited these things
you walk in and the first thing you do you know fall on the ground. The first thing you do is you look up
wow look at that dome. It's maybe 200 feet up,
20 stories high.
And the feeling that you had the idea was to give the worshipper a sense of
awe a sense of other worldliness.
Now with the Protestant Reformation when that came along one of the first things that the reformers did is
they took over some of these buildings and they took down the statues. They scrubbed the
frescoes off the walls all the paintings all of that and they went to a more minimalist
idea and were inheritors of that are church buildings are rather simple and
minimalist. Right. Not too much fancy stuff. That comes from that idea of.
You know we believe that the awe of God is seen in the Bible not in the building.
So there are a lot of words that are used to describe this greatness or this
majesty of God.
Or the otherness of God or the transcendent see of God or that He is
sovereign or He is awesome or He is mysterious. But the word that the
Bible uses the most often to
describe God is holy. The word holy.
In the Old Testament God is referred to quite often as the Holy One of
Israel but most often this word holy to refer to God
is used by Isaiah in his book.
Isaiah could use this term with accuracy because he came face to face with
God and describes the experience of his vision, a vision where he
caught a glimpse of God's awesomeness of God's holiness.
Now a little background on Isaiah, Isaiah had been the counsellor to many
kings on earth. Several kings went through and he was their
counsellor if you wish.
But in 742 BC after the death of one of these kings, King Uzziah,
Isaiah enters into the temple and as he writes he sees another king. He has a
vision. He sees another king one who sits on a heavenly throne.
And in his description of the scene he says that he is high and exalted
and the train of his robe filled the temple. In those days,
the king's (earthly kings) would wear these robes and there would be a train behind them right.
And the longer the train the more majestic the king. And so when
the king (earthly king) would come in with his robe there would be two or three attendants
holding the train behind him as he walked and he went to the
throne. That's where we get our tradition of the wedding dress with the
train. Where does that come from?
She is a queen for a day. She has a train she has attendance. This whole idea
comes from that. What when Isaiah sees the king. He says the king that he sees on
His throne, God, His train he said fills the
temple. That's how you know for the sake of other words. That's
how majestic this king is.
Above the king he says in his description. Hover angelic beings called
Seraphs. Now in Egypt the Seraph's would watch over
the king to protect him and their religion. But in Isaiah's vision the
angels have to use four of their six wings to protect themselves.
And that's because God doesn't need protection.
Isaiah hears them calling out to one another and they're saying Holy
holy holy. Why. Why not just holy and holy. Why not just holy one time?
The father, the Son, the Holy Spirit. "Holy, Holy, Holy,
is the Lord of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory."
Isaiah 6:3. So in this scene the prophet sees himself for what he
really is. An impure and weak man in comparison
with this majestic scene. I'm an unclean man with unclean lips, right?
Isaiah says. And then if we continue the story it's only when a
coal is taken from the altar and used to purge his lips is
Isaiah able to stand and respond to the call for service.
So this same scene is repeated in the vision that John the Apostle has in
describing his own presence in God's throne room.
John says that in the center around the throne were four living creatures and they
cover their eyes front and back. Each of the four living creatures had
six wings and eyes that covered their covered them everywhere and day and
night and they never stopped saying what.
"Holy, holy holy is the Lord God. the
Almighty who was and who is and who is to come." (Romans 4:6)
So in these and other heavenly scenes God is seen as holy and man's
natural reaction is fear and reverence and awe and
respect. In the presence of such majesty. There's nothing you can do. You're
there you're just you're frozen on the spot.
This however doesn't need to be fear of God as in terror or worry or panic.
It's not that they panic it's not that they're afraid that they're going
to be harmed. They just kind of shrivel up.
You know because they see something so majestic that it makes their
own being their own selves so small.
Don't you feel that sometimes? You're going to college
let's say and you're and you're with one of your professors and
you think you know something until your professor starts talking and starts teaching and you
realize, "wow, this guy."
You don't even feel comfortable talking with your teacher about the topic
because you realize you know so little and he or she knows so
much. Or in sports,
Aren't we in awe of people who have
special athletic abilities?
We applaud them and then if we ever get to meet them we're kind of nervous. Imagine if
Tiger Woods said that (to any golfers out there) "hey Mike, for example, you want
to come and play a round with me, let's go play together?" I would say "no thank you."
And you know when I play golf and I pray God you know what's wrong what am I doing wrong. An angel appears to
me and says Well Michael you're just not very good.
You need to stop bothering me with prayer, practice.
But you know what I'm saying. Like I wouldn't want to be in the same foursome with Tiger Woods
because what it would show how bad I am.
Well there you've got just a little tiny example of what it feels like to be in the presence of God.
So in these and other heavenly scenes God is seen as holy.
And as I say man's natural reaction is reverence and awe.
Now this however doesn't need to be fear of God as in terror. As I said this fear
should be a healthy and respectful reverence for a being who is in every
way greater than we are.
Not greater for the purpose of hurting us. Which is the
case with human sinful power.
We're afraid of people who have way too much power. Why? Because
we know what human beings can do and we know what human beings who
acquire a lot of power do well what do they do.
Well they put into subjection the weaker ones. That's why in our country it's
good to live in our country because we have a system of checks and balances where nobody can
arise to have this kind of totalitarian power to be able to rule over everybody.
We don't like kings and queens.
In the United States, do we? That's not the system that we
that we want here.
But the greatness of God that we recognize greater for the purpose of encouraging
reverence and obedience and love from us.
So God's greatness shouldn't inspire naked fear from us.
It should provoke a desire to serve Him. And here's my point.
Provoke a desire to be like Him.
Another passage of Scripture, I Peter 1:16. Peter says, "because it is
written you shall be holy, for I am holy."
And so his holiness should
engender our holiness. If I come in contact with
God if I get a vision of God in some way through His Word, the thing the
way it should affect me is I want to be like that.
Now I'm afraid of that and I want to run away from that now. I want to be like that.
I want some of that for myself.
Now the reason God wants us to be holy is that being like Him
is the best way to really know Him. I'm going to repeat that
important idea. The reason God wants us to be holy is that
being like Him is the best way to really know Him.
So to view his holiness should not result in frightening us but rather encourage us
to imitate Him. Of course if we are to imitate
Him in His holiness we need to understand what his holiness is.
So the holiness of God has two distinct features. Number one:
Separation. When the Bible talks about a
holy day for example it means that this day has been set apart or
designated for a special purpose.
In a similar way God's holiness implies that He is separate. He is
special. He is separate from the creation in that he
exists in another dimension He exists outside of the creation.
This business, God is in me and I am and God and God is in the tree and I'm
the tree and the tree is me. No.
That's paganism. God is a separate entity.
In the beginning God, over here, created the heavens and earth
over there. He isn't One with the earth and the heaven. He's not
one. He is the creator. The heavens and the earth can just stop existing altogether
and He continues to exist.
He is separate from creation in that he exists in another dimension if you wish.
He is not human in nature although man has similarities to God created in
His image and God is not who or where we
are. We may be like God but we never say that God is like us.
So to be holy therefore is to be separate from what is around you.
So God's holiness is His uniqueness His state
apart from us and the world that we live in. So in our effort to be
like God to be holy we must also be separate and
where He is.
So to be holy you have to be where God is so
far so good.
So many have tried to achieve this holiness by going off you know to a secret place or a
quiet place or living a reclusive life.
Thinking you know I'll just separate myself and I'll just be by myself. They won't. I won't
talk or whatever.
Many have attempted a holy life by living in a manufactured separate
state as hermits or monks. Or perhaps you know I don't cut my
hair I don't wear buttons I don't you know what I'm saying. We don't drive cars you know we're going to we're
going to create a state of being and just stay in that state of being.
We're going to we're going to shun modernity you know
no new inventions nothing we're going to we're going to flash freeze a time a
period of time in history and we're going to live within that box and somehow that will
enable holiness. Because we've created a separate
state than what is a normal state.
But the key to being separate or being holy. Is to go to the
place where God is not create some sort of holy
place for ourselves.
For example. If we want to go where God is then we must go to
His Word. Why? Because that's where He is. So when I'm
saying when you're in his When you're in God's word
you're where God is.
We must go to our knees in prayer. Why? Because that's where God is.
Hearing prayers. Please don't get me wrong about the knees expression.
Some people pray on their knees. Other people pray sitting down. Whatever I'm not making that
necessity here.
The idea I'm saying is when you are in the state of prayer. Then you
you are and you are spirit. You are where God is. That's where He is.
We must go to worship Him. Why? Because when we are gathered in His name, He's there with us.
We must go into the battle against our own sins and the sins of the world. And when
we do what do we do what do we find rather we find the Spirit of
God waging war there.
We must go into all the world and preach the gospel.
Why? Because He promises that He will always be with us
in this effort right. Doesn't He say that? And lo I will always be with you until the end
of the age when I preach the gospel when I am doing that task when I am
sharing when I am making the effort supporting the
spread of the Gospel. I am in the place of labor where God is.
So a holy God is in these places and we
find Him and we imitate Him. And we get to know Him when we
separate ourselves from this world and go where He is and where
He calls us to be.
Okay. A second distinct feature of God's holiness So the first one is he
is separate from all these things and if we want to be separate we have to go where
he's at. In the word, in prayer, in worship.
The second element: absolute purity.
The first is separateness.
The second is absolute purity. Remember the two facets of his holiness.
God is completely and absolutely pure. This means that He
does not and can not sin. Sin is a problem that infects
humans not God. So every thought every intention every
action of God is pure from beginning to end. And this
purity is at times described in terms of moral perfection.
But this is more to show how different god is from man.
Even if there was no sin in existence God's holiness would
still be described in terms of purity. A more
accurate image is that of light.
Isaiah referred to God as the light of Israel.
In speaking of God's holiness (Isaiah 10:17). I believe.
Jesus said, "I am the Light of the world."
In speaking of His essence and purity (John 8:12).
Paul says that the Lord dwells in an "unapproachable
light" (I Timothy 6:16). So it's not that God
reflects light or He needs light, it's that He is the
source of light. He gives off light. Not the dim
light created by a mixture of physical elements doomed to
eventually burn itself out here in this world. His is the light of
absolute reality, absolute truth, absolute power,
absolute purity. These things create this light.
And we use the word light because it's the word that comes closest to describing
His purity. Paul tells us to walk as "children
of light" (Ephesians 5:8).
And when we do ,we tap into that reality, we tap into that truth, we tap into
that power. It's the glimpse of that light and that purity that fills our
dark minds and hearts with hope. And reveals the true darkness of this world.
If our quest is to be like God, then this
quest must include an effort at purity.
What does Jesus say? "Blessed are the pure
In heart, for they shall see God."
See what he's getting at here. (Matthew 5:8) Those who want to know God
never take sin lightly. Every sin is an
affront to God.
Every sin threatens our relationship with God and so
purity means that we don't make excuses for our sins or we don't tolerate
it within ourselves and purity requires us to be at
war with sin so that the blood of Jesus can continually purify us and allow
us to stand in the presence of a holy God, a God of light.
So when God seems far away when our relationship with Him
seems dry and tasteless. Perhaps the reason is
that we're not where He is. Or we're not acting
how He acts. There is no, there's no
satisfaction in Christianity.
There's no emotional. You know what I'm talking about here is emotion. There's no
feeling of Christianity unless we're separate from the world
because if we're not separate from the world the things that we feel are the world feelings
what the world feels. If we want to have the feeling
that comes from knowing God then we need to separate ourselves and be where He is because that's where
those "feelings"
are available. If we want to be those
that actually give off light. Then we have to you know
strive for purity because every sin obstructs the light.
That's why we if you know God is not trying to get
us to not have fun.
It's usually a very immature view of
Christianity is that well you know why doesn't God let me have some fun get up and get drunk and crazy.
No.
God wants us to know the energizing
power of giving off light. We can't give off light
if we're buried under sin. That's the reason.
So it's a sad thing that people are simply afraid of God. That was
my first point that I made at the beginning.
That kind of fear is a sign that they may know that God is there
but they don't really know the God that is there.
But God doesn't want us to be afraid of Him. He wants us to know Him
and be like Him. That's what he wants.
And what is that being like Him mean? Well set apart where He is.
Clean and pure and full of light as He is. What do you think heaven
is like? Heaven is not like here.
Heaven doesn't offer the same
carnal pleasure. Other religions promise that.
In Islam, the promise of 72 virgins.
For the person that
gives his life in jihad will have 72 virgins.
That's earthly pleasure.
We don't have earthly pleasure in heaven. We have something better than
earthly pleasure in heaven.
With the gospel it's possible to go from where we are to where He is.
To put aside what we are and become
what He is. In the heavenly vision. I go back to Isaiah.
He was purified by a hot coal that says that the angel went and got a
hot coal from the altar there and and touched his lips and purified his
lips because why? Because God was calling Isaiah to
go on a special mission to become his spokesman. And Isaiah
realized that I can't do that. I'm a man of unclean lips.
And so a call is taken and placed on his lips and he's told
your lips are now purified. And so now,
now Isaiah, God says who shall we send?
And now Isaiah after the lips have been purified. Now Isaiah stands and said.
"Here I am Lord. Send me."
But before the lips were purified he wasn't able to say that he wasn't
even able to speak all he could do was acknowledge that he was a sinner.
In other words what am I doing here. I don't belong here. It's like me. You know what
am I doing in a foursome with Tiger Woods. You know I don't belong here.
Well that was Isaiah. I don't belong here.
Now in the New Testament another image is used to purify the hearts and the
lives of those who want to remain in the presence and in the service of a holy and pure God.
And that is through the cleansing water of baptism.
The imagery of the hot coal is now
accomplished through the imagery of baptism.
So those who wish to know God to be like God
they begin by confessing their faith in Christ repenting others sin. Isn't it what Isaiah did?
He saw what he saw and what did he do? He said I am a man of unclean lips. You know he
acknowledged I'm not worthy I'm a sinner.
Now it's interesting that Isaiah would say I'm a man of unclean lips from a people
because Isaiah was a very educated man.
And he was a leader in his community
He came from an aristocratic family.
He had all the advantages.
In human terms he was at the top of the scale. The top of the
social ladder. Next to the king.
But when he comes before God. What does he acknowledge nothing. I'm just a sinner.
Well in the same way when we come to the waters of baptism What do we say?
I'm nothing. I'm just a sinner. That's who I am.
And so those who wish to know God to be like God begin by confessing their faith in
Christ repenting of their sins and being immersed in the water of baptism to wash away
all the impurities of the soul. And at that point the individual can say.
God is saying "who's going to come to me?" "Who's going to be like me?"
Because we've been washed clean all of us can say.
Here I am Lord. Here I am. Call me.
Bring me forward. I can come. So all those
who need to come closer to the holy God. That's the place to begin.
And I know I'm kind of preaching to the choir here in our in our classroom but you need to
remember the very important significance of baptism. The very
important significance of this first step as you call others to come and
be like and be like God. All right. So we're going to stop there for today. Move
on with this lesson about. Getting to know God more perfectly as we continue.
Thanks.