Everett Muniz – Be Ye Holy – Class 1 – Be Ye Holy

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This is the 2015 Ontario Winter
Bible School.

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Our speaker for this first
session is Brother Everett Munis

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from Paris Ave.
Ohio.

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His theme this week is Be Holy,
the high calling of God in

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Christ Jesus.
This is his first class and the

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subject for his class is Be
Holy.

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Our reading was taken from First
Peter Chapter 1.

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Brother Ever.
I didn’t even have to look at

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the fact that it wasn’t
centered, but it was going to

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bother me if I didn’t change it.
So I figured I may as well go

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ahead and do that one, one last
thing to to run on the cycles as

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we go along.
Well, it’s lovely again to be

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with all of you.
And I don’t think I mentioned

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that many faces here are new to
me and sister Amanda and I look

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forward to getting to know you.
And we are, we’re looking

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forward particularly I think to
this study and to going through

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some of the things that we’ve
been learning and to learning

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more about these things with and
from you.

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There is, AI think, a caricature
of the concept of holiness.

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And I’ve certainly been taken in
by it at times in life.

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And certainly the younger I was,
the more so I think I was taken

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in by it that it is a
restrictive, constraining thing

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in essence.
It has a kind of negative

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connotation to those who maybe
don’t understand it as well.

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And I’ve certainly been in that
position for a a big part of my

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life, I think.
But in reality, there is

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something expansive, freeing,
comforting, encouraging about

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the concept and the principles
associated with holiness.

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It’s an incredible thing that
our Heavenly Father has

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condescended to be our God and
that he has called us to be like

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him.
And so over the course of the

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our time together this week, I
hope that you’re left with the

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sense of wonder and comfort at
this remarkable calling that

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each of us has received.
We are we’re going to go along

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in this session through through
these sort of mainly four or

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five sections throughout the
week.

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The last section is always just
a slide long.

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This has a few benefits.
If you’re particularly annoyed

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with the session that we’re in
it, it’s going to pass very

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soon.
And also it just sort of gives

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you a sense of of the flow of
thought through all of the the

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series.
So we’re going to begin this

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morning by setting the stage.
We’re going to look at how to

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recognize the concept of
holiness or at least a few

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pointers on how to recognize
that concept, as well as what we

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might sort of take away or one
approach to a simplified

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concordance definition.
And that’s to an extent the

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concordance is useful in that
regard.

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But for me, I find that a
contextual definition is always

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much more moving, much more
helpful, much more robust.

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And so we’ll move on to that in,
in the the next section, we’re

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going to look at a contextual
model for the pursuit of

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holiness.
Because it’s all good and fine

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to say that God has called us to
be holy as he is holy.

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But I instantly I’m the kind of
person who wants to understand

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all the mechanics.
Now, I’m not always motivated

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enough to to understand all the
mechanics, but I want to

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understand all the mechanics.
So how do I do it?

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How do we begin?
And this is we’ll look at at

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least a a few thoughts, one
particular scripture that we

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might go to to help us in that
regard.

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And then finally, we’ll just
take a moment and, and look at

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the structure for our
investigation over the next

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couple of of classes.
Look at maybe what this passage

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in in first Peter that we’ve
looked at this morning can tell

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us about where else to go to dig
in and really explore, expand

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upon these ideas.
So we’ll, we’ll begin then by

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setting the stage for the rest
of our explanation with, I think

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just a few general details about
this concept of holiness.

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And it, it’s been really
interesting for me through the

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process.
I’ve been excited to see that

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that this concept really is.
And we say this about so many

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things, and it’s certainly true,
but this is one of those

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concepts that truly does run
through the whole of our Bibles.

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This is based on sort of maybe a
bit of a pedantic approach,

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which is a problem, a problem of
mine.

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But you can find explicit
reference to the concept of

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holiness in Genesis chapter 2,
verse 3, and you can find it

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again in Revelation 22, verse
19.

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Almost from the very first
chapter of the Bible through to

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the very last chapter of the
Bible and jam packed in between.

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This is, as it were, a holiness
sandwich, kind of.

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There is holiness.
God is expounding upon this

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principle and in fact, I I think
that as we go along, you’ll see

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that even earlier than Genesis
chapter 2 and verse 3, we see

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implicitly this principle
infused within the creation

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narrative of God dividing and in
fact, holiness is largely seems

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to be a a work of division.
Just a few examples of of the

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relative importance of holiness.
Holiness is, is absolutely

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essential to acceptable prayer.
Our Father who art in heaven,

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hallowed be thy name, right?
It’s, it’s a key part of the way

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in which we approach God.
We must acknowledge His Holiness

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in our approach to Him.
It’s essential to acceptable

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worship.
Worship the Lord in the beauty

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of holiness.
It’s essential to acceptable

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sacrifice.
We think of the words of the

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apostle Paul in Romans 12.
I beseech you, therefore,

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brethren, to present your bodies
a living sacrifice, holy,

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acceptable unto God, which is
your reasonable service.

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It’s the aim of God’s chastening
that He might develop in US

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holiness, and it goes on to say,
without which no man shall see

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the Lord.
So it’s absolutely essential

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that we be like our God if we
want to be in His presence.

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It’s the aim of a new life in
Romans chapter 6.

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It is the intention, the goal,
the purpose of this new life

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we’ve been granted, and it’s
certainly a requirement for

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those who would be a part of
God’s family.

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One of the the the cases in our
our Bible where I think the

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chapter breaks really don’t
serve us particularly well

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because after having having
extended this incredible hope to

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be the the father of of
believers and for believers to

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be his sons and daughters.
In Chapter 7 and verse one of

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second Corinthians, Paul goes on
to say that we are supposed to

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cleanse ourselves of all
filthiness of flesh and spirit

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perfecting holiness.
Having these promises to be

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members of the family of God, we
ought to cleanse ourselves from

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all filthiness of flesh and
spirit, perfecting holiness.

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So if we take sort of just a
pedantic again, look at a

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handful of concepts and early on
in the, the study, I, I thought,

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you know, I just want to
understand, I want to sort of

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get a baseline conceptually for
how does this relate to other

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themes in Scripture?
And so I started just thinking,

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OK, well, I’m going to go and
look for sort of the presence,

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the prevalence of, of various
themes.

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And I didn’t put a whole lot of
time into the, the batch that I

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picked other than the fact that
it was going to include

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holiness.
But I also didn’t attempt to

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cede it in any way.
I wasn’t sort of looking for one

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thing in particular.
I was just looking.

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And I suppose we should always
be somewhat skeptical of

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statistics, so I’m told.
But in this case, we’ve got

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hope, truth, grace, mercy,
peace, faith, love, glory, and

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holiness in in that order
flowing from your left to to

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your right on on the screen.
And as you can see in terms of

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prevalence, this concept of
holiness is, is clearly more

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prevalent than these other
concepts.

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Now, I think it would be a
mistake to take from that, that

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it is more important.
That’s not at all, at least the

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sense that I’ve come away with,
that it is in some sense more

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important than these other
principles.

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I think the key for me, or the
way in which it’s, it’s

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resonated in my own mind, is
that it is a kind of canvas onto

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which these other principles are
painted.

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It becomes the background for
our the way in which that we, we

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absolutely must understand these
other ideas.

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So with that kind of context put
in place, we’ll begin by looking

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briefly at some thoughts about
how to recognize the theme of

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holiness as well as a definition
based on the concordance.

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Now, there are a lot of ways
that holiness surfaces in our

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Bible.
A different English words that

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are used to translate the
original Hebrew and Greek words.

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And again, this is just looking
specifically at the words and

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we’ll talk about a more a more
contextual approach as well.

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But the sizing of the of the
various words sort of relates to

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their frequency or the frequency
of their usage.

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So sanctuary Saints in the New
Testament particularly that’s

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true in the Old Testament, less
so hallow, holy one, sanctify,

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of course, holiness and
consecrate.

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These are all ways that this
concept surfaces in a very

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explicit sense in terms of the
Greek and the Hebrew words that

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are used to to represent this
idea in our Bible.

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So as we’re doing the daily
Bible readings, when we see

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these ideas, we probably already
connect them to the concept of

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holiness.
And, and we can make a note

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maybe over the course of a year.
I know families who have done

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that.
They’ve said this is our theme

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for the year and this is what
we’re going to look for over the

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course of this year in our daily
Bible readings.

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And they’ve made a study out of
it as a family that way.

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And that might be something
worth doing with a concept like

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Holiness.
So of course this list is is not

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exhaustive.
This isn’t every single word,

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but this seems to me to be sort
of the the upper component of

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the list.
Now, of course, there are more

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ways to recognize this principle
than the words explicitly.

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There’s lots of language in
Scripture that directs our minds

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to the principles of holiness.
Light and darkness is key among

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these principles, and we’ll look
at that a bit more in a moment.

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Clean versus unclean.
That’s language that’s very much

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associated with the principle of
holiness as we read through

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Scripture.
And all of these, again, are are

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passages that sort of indicate
very directly that these

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concepts are associated with the
idea of holiness.

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The spirit verse the flesh is
another kind of contrast that we

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can see that represents the
concepts associated with

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holiness as well as
righteousness versus sin and

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unrighteousness.
Romans 6 plays a a big part in

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some of these, helping us to
identify some of this language

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in a very in a very direct way.
The new man verse the old man

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again from Romans chapter 6.
Of course, good and evil is is

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another example of of this
contrasting language that helps

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to to direct our minds to the
principles associated with

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holiness.
And two of my that have become

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I, I think a bit of my personal
favourites only because anytime

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we study our our Bibles, anytime
we study the word of God, we

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bring ourselves and our current
place in spiritual growth and

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development to that process in
some fashion.

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And we can’t let it drive the
process.

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Certainly we have to endeavour
to understand God for who he is,

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not for who we want him to be.
Nevertheless, there are ways in

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which his principles resonate
more with us or certain

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principles may resonate more
with us at, at different parts

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of our lives.
And I think that the principles

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that have resonated more with
me, looking at some of this

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related language have been this
idea of, of walking and a very

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complementary notion, which
we’ll look at in, in a, a good

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bit more detail through the
course of the week.

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This idea of a way walking and
away.

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And, and these see to me, I
think are significant because

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they speak to the idea of a
journey.

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They speak to the idea of a
process.

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So we’ll just come back briefly.
We said we wanted to touch on a

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sort of concordance definition,
right?

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Try to sort of frame this based
on the way that those who, who

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know a good deal more about
Hebrew and, and Greek than me

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would frame it.
So the theological workbook of

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the Old Testament has this to
say.

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The verb kadosh in the heat in
the in the qual connotes the

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state of that which belongs to
the sphere of the sacred.

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Thus it is distinct from the
common or the profane in the

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00:13:50,160 –> 00:13:52,560
pile.
And hephilic connotes the act by

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which the distinction is
affected.

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00:13:55,040 –> 00:13:58,000
And and somewhat helpfully, the
theological Dictionary of the

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00:13:58,000 –> 00:14:01,600
New Testament kind of says,
yeah, go back to the Hebrew.

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Whenever you see this word in
the New Testament, you have to

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00:14:04,720 –> 00:14:07,920
understand it in the context of
the usage of Kardashian in the

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00:14:07,920 –> 00:14:11,360
Old Testament.
That’s these two words are

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00:14:11,360 –> 00:14:16,160
functionally equivalent.
So if we were to sort of just

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00:14:16,160 –> 00:14:20,280
suggest, maybe try to take some
of this information and put it

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into a framework for a, a
paraphrased concordance

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00:14:23,720 –> 00:14:27,440
definition, we might say that
wholly the noun is the state of

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separation from the common or
profane and sanctify the verb is

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00:14:33,000 –> 00:14:37,840
to make separate from the common
or the profane.

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00:14:39,040 –> 00:14:42,760
So this this is what the
concordance seems to have to say

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00:14:42,760 –> 00:14:45,480
about this concept.
And I think this is a wonderful

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starting point.
It was my starting point and and

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00:14:49,000 –> 00:14:51,800
it’s been very useful to begin
here, but I think there’s so

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much more.
And that’s what we intend to go

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on and look at in the context of
a contextual definition.

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So let’s let’s do that.
Brian, is there water?

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Thank you so much.
So we’re going to begin where we

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began this morning in first
Peter chapter 1, verses 14 to

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16, where he says as obedient
children, not fashioning

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yourselves according to the
former lusts in your ignorance,

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but as he which hath called you
as holy, so be ye holy in all

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00:15:28,680 –> 00:15:33,040
manner of conversation, because
it is written, Be ye holy, for I

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am holy.
And so Peter tells us here quite

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plainly that holiness is a
defining feature of Our Calling.

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Without God’s intervention to
reveal His character and His

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ways, we are consigned to be
ruled by our lusts in ignorance.

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But God has something better in
mind for us.

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He’s called us to be holy as He
is holy.

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He’s called us in essence to be
like Him.

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Now, this holiness is something
that can and should be expressed

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in all manner of conversation,
that is, in all of our conduct.

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And in this sense, holiness has
struck me as a kind of

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superintending principle.
It goes back to that idea of a

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canvas, if you will.
True God informed love is holy.

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00:16:36,280 –> 00:16:44,160
True God informed faith is holy.
True God informed mercy is holy.

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Now, right now, we can only
aspire to and grow in holiness,

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but we can’t truly be holy, as
God is holy this side of the

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Kingdom.
And to put His Holiness into

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00:17:01,320 –> 00:17:05,520
perspective, consider that the
place of God’s presence within

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the Tabernacle in the temple was
called most holy.

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And in the Hebrew it’s literally
kadosh, kadosh, right?

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00:17:12,079 –> 00:17:15,440
So rather than the word most
right, it just repeats the word

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to emphasize the holiness of the
place of God’s presence.

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00:17:21,599 –> 00:17:25,800
In contrast, though, Isaiah
records a vision in Chapter 9 in

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which one of the seraphim cries
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of

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00:17:31,720 –> 00:17:35,760
hosts.
So whereas the innermost room of

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00:17:35,760 –> 00:17:41,840
the Tabernacle and temple was
holy, holy accounting, because

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00:17:41,840 –> 00:17:48,880
of rather God’s presence, God
himself, as the very source and

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00:17:49,040 –> 00:17:58,520
agent of holiness is holy, holy,
holy, or as one of our hymns

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00:17:59,440 –> 00:18:02,720
expresses it thrice, holy is the
Lord.

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As an aside, it’s interesting
that Isaiah, along with this

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00:18:07,240 –> 00:18:11,280
vision, is probably the other
place to go to in Scripture for

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00:18:11,280 –> 00:18:16,680
this title, the Holy One of
Israel. 25 of the 31 references

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00:18:16,680 –> 00:18:21,000
to God in this way can be found
in the prophecy of Isaiah.

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So right now we are in pursuit
of holiness.

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00:18:27,840 –> 00:18:32,280
The Holy One of Israel has
called us to leave country and

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00:18:32,280 –> 00:18:36,640
kindred and Father’s house and
journey to a land that He will

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00:18:36,640 –> 00:18:39,600
show us.
Now, the transformation that God

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00:18:39,600 –> 00:18:43,280
has called us to is not
immediate.

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It takes time.
It’s the product of a process.

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00:18:48,240 –> 00:18:51,000
And like any significant
journey, arriving at our

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00:18:51,000 –> 00:18:57,240
destination takes determined,
thoughtful effort over time.

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00:18:58,240 –> 00:19:01,120
And that makes our journey
toward holiness much more like a

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00:19:01,120 –> 00:19:06,280
marathon than a Sprint.
In a marathon, though I haven’t

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00:19:06,280 –> 00:19:11,000
run one, I am told that
endurance is absolutely key.

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00:19:11,920 –> 00:19:15,320
We over the, over the holiday
we, we did in our area, they

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00:19:15,320 –> 00:19:19,000
have something called the the
frosty frolic, right?

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00:19:19,000 –> 00:19:24,320
And that’s just a 5K, which for
me is a marathon and and indeed,

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00:19:24,480 –> 00:19:26,320
right.
I could not start out at my top

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00:19:26,320 –> 00:19:32,280
pace and finish at all, quite
frankly, it it required pacing

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00:19:32,520 –> 00:19:35,680
through this process.
And certainly that’s true for us

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00:19:35,800 –> 00:19:41,880
in our journey toward holiness.
Jesus says he that endureth to

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00:19:42,120 –> 00:19:43,800
the end.
It isn’t about getting ahead of

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00:19:43,800 –> 00:19:46,960
some marker that we have some
person maybe that we’ve

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00:19:46,960 –> 00:19:48,640
identified.
We want to catch up to them.

300
00:19:49,000 –> 00:19:52,520
There is only one mark, and we
will look at Him by and by.

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00:19:52,760 –> 00:19:56,040
That’s where we’re aiming.
That’s our goal.

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00:19:56,200 –> 00:19:59,280
We’re not endeavouring to Sprint
our way there, but to move

303
00:19:59,280 –> 00:20:02,600
steadily through the strength of
our Heavenly Father, not our own

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00:20:02,600 –> 00:20:06,120
strength, but through the
strength of our God toward Him.

305
00:20:08,080 –> 00:20:11,360
Now, an important aspect of any
journey is knowing our

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00:20:11,360 –> 00:20:14,440
destination.
Our journey toward holiness, as

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00:20:14,440 –> 00:20:18,680
we’ve said, is really a journey
toward God Himself.

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00:20:19,880 –> 00:20:23,000
We’re supposed to be holy as he
is holy.

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00:20:23,000 –> 00:20:26,280
And this underscores how
important it is to have a clear

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00:20:26,400 –> 00:20:29,240
and accurate picture of who God
really is.

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00:20:29,240 –> 00:20:31,360
And we hope to look at at a bit
of that.

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00:20:31,360 –> 00:20:33,920
And it’s certainly a topic that
could could be the subject of

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00:20:33,920 –> 00:20:35,880
all three classes for an entire
Bible school.

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00:20:35,880 –> 00:20:41,240
But we hope to touch on some of
those ideas in our our last

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00:20:41,240 –> 00:20:43,920
class together.
If God before us to look at who

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00:20:44,040 –> 00:20:49,520
is God in relation to us and and
why ought we be encouraged and

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00:20:49,520 –> 00:20:53,480
invigorated to continue moving
toward him?

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00:20:54,840 –> 00:20:57,800
But for the moment, we’ll come
back to to first Peter and and

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00:20:57,840 –> 00:21:00,720
just note that he says it is
written right.

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00:21:00,720 –> 00:21:04,920
So Peter himself is drawing upon
what has been revealed in the

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00:21:04,920 –> 00:21:07,480
past as he directs us to
holiness.

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00:21:07,720 –> 00:21:11,320
He bases his argument for
holiness on the fact that it is

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00:21:11,320 –> 00:21:16,280
written be holy for I am holy.
And for reasons that we’ll look

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00:21:16,280 –> 00:21:19,440
at more in a bit, it seems very
likely that Peter has one of

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00:21:19,440 –> 00:21:21,560
these passages in Leviticus in
mind.

326
00:21:22,160 –> 00:21:26,400
The last passage here in this
list, Leviticus 20, seems to be

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00:21:26,400 –> 00:21:29,280
particularly interesting for our
purposes.

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00:21:29,280 –> 00:21:33,040
It, it strikes me as as one of
those really lovely things that

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00:21:33,040 –> 00:21:38,000
in, in both brother Mark and
Brother Paul’s comments last

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00:21:38,000 –> 00:21:41,280
night, they talked about the
relationship of their topic to

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00:21:41,280 –> 00:21:44,080
creation.
And in fact, this topic has a

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00:21:44,080 –> 00:21:47,880
very close relationship to the
principles that are expressed in

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00:21:47,880 –> 00:21:55,910
creation.
Strange how when you’re thirsty,

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00:21:55,910 –> 00:22:00,750
water never tastes so good.
So we’re going to go back to

335
00:22:00,750 –> 00:22:05,550
Leviticus chapter 20, verses 22
to 27 for a moment because it

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00:22:05,550 –> 00:22:07,920
seems to bring out some
something really interesting.

337
00:22:07,920 –> 00:22:09,680
At least it has been interesting
to me.

338
00:22:10,480 –> 00:22:14,200
This passage really offers
another aspect to the argument

339
00:22:14,280 –> 00:22:16,880
for holiness.
Israel was to be holy because of

340
00:22:16,880 –> 00:22:24,040
God’s holiness and because God
the creator of heaven and earth.

341
00:22:24,840 –> 00:22:33,960
God had had involved himself in
their national existence, and He

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00:22:33,960 –> 00:22:39,760
had severed them from other
people that they should be His.

343
00:22:43,520 –> 00:22:47,360
Now if we follow this word
severed back to its earliest

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00:22:47,360 –> 00:22:52,800
usage, we arrive here in Genesis
chapter 1.

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00:22:54,880 –> 00:22:58,200
It turns out that the same word
used to describe God’s work with

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00:22:58,200 –> 00:23:02,640
Israel and their calling to
holiness is used in connection

347
00:23:02,640 –> 00:23:05,560
with the first act of the
natural creation.

348
00:23:06,720 –> 00:23:10,800
In fact, the concept of division
seems to be a bit of of a theme

349
00:23:10,840 –> 00:23:14,560
here in Genesis chapter one.
This same Hebrew word occurs

350
00:23:14,560 –> 00:23:20,200
again in verse 6, in verse 7 and
verse 14, and in verse 18.

351
00:23:21,400 –> 00:23:28,080
So the natural creation was, as
it were, a work of division that

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00:23:28,080 –> 00:23:33,040
began with the division of light
from darkness.

353
00:23:38,360 –> 00:23:44,880
And this by itself was was
inspiring to me, but then it

354
00:23:44,880 –> 00:23:49,440
became even more so when I saw
that this same language that is

355
00:23:49,440 –> 00:23:54,400
used of the natural creation is
then lifted up by the apostle

356
00:23:54,400 –> 00:23:58,680
Paul and it’s applied to God’s
work in you and I, as he tells

357
00:23:58,680 –> 00:24:02,720
us in First Corinthians 15, that
was not first which is

358
00:24:02,720 –> 00:24:06,560
spiritual, but that which is
natural, and afterward that

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00:24:06,800 –> 00:24:09,200
which is spiritual.
And here in 2nd Corinthians 4,

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00:24:09,200 –> 00:24:14,280
Paul uses the events of the
natural creation as a metaphor

361
00:24:14,840 –> 00:24:25,400
for God’s work in us to begin
and to perfect his spiritual

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00:24:25,400 –> 00:24:28,160
creation.
For God who commanded the light

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00:24:28,160 –> 00:24:31,960
to shine out of darkness, hath
shined in our hearts to give the

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00:24:31,960 –> 00:24:35,680
light of the knowledge of the
glory of God in the face of

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00:24:35,760 –> 00:24:38,920
Jesus Christ.
And of course we know that the

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00:24:38,920 –> 00:24:42,520
Lord seems to to allude to the
same metaphor in John chapter 3

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00:24:42,520 –> 00:24:46,520
when he tells Nicodemus that God
sent light in the form of His

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00:24:46,520 –> 00:24:51,000
Son into the world where men
loved darkness.

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00:24:51,880 –> 00:24:54,840
And later in John chapter 8,
verse 12, and in John Chapter 9

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00:24:54,840 –> 00:24:59,320
verse 5, Jesus returns to that
theme when He describes Himself

371
00:24:59,320 –> 00:25:09,680
as the light of the world.
God’s work to affect our

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00:25:09,680 –> 00:25:16,040
holiness is an extension of the
same creative work recorded in

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00:25:16,040 –> 00:25:19,800
Genesis chapter 1.
He takes a personal interest in

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00:25:19,800 –> 00:25:23,560
each one of us.
We are, as it were, his

375
00:25:23,880 –> 00:25:27,360
workmanship, part of his
spiritual creation.

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00:25:28,000 –> 00:25:33,400
The same genius and power that
produced the wonder of the

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00:25:33,400 –> 00:25:42,760
natural world is at work in us,
in you, and in me to affect our

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00:25:42,760 –> 00:25:47,080
transformation from spiritual
darkness to light.

379
00:25:49,120 –> 00:25:54,120
However, the completion of the
work requires our willing and

380
00:25:54,200 –> 00:25:59,680
active participation.
We have to walk, as Paul says in

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00:25:59,680 –> 00:26:04,200
Ephesians, as children of light.
We have to show forth the

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00:26:04,200 –> 00:26:08,920
praises of that creative agency
that is at work in US.

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00:26:10,040 –> 00:26:12,560
And provided we actively
cooperate with his efforts,

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00:26:12,560 –> 00:26:17,720
there is no power in existence
that can prevent him from

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00:26:17,720 –> 00:26:22,320
completing this work.
He that hath begun a good work

386
00:26:22,640 –> 00:26:28,520
in US will perform it.
That said, one of the lessons

387
00:26:28,520 –> 00:26:31,520
that we can draw from the fact
that light and darkness are

388
00:26:31,640 –> 00:26:34,280
opposites, right?
It’s not as if darkness is a

389
00:26:34,280 –> 00:26:38,960
shade of light.
From that we take away the

390
00:26:38,960 –> 00:26:43,600
lesson that holiness is really
the pursuit of a fundamental

391
00:26:43,920 –> 00:26:49,200
transformation, a fundamental
transformation drawn out of

392
00:26:49,200 –> 00:26:59,340
darkness into the light and in
perfect representation of of

393
00:26:59,340 –> 00:27:03,940
God’s call to holiness.
God’s call to the light is a

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00:27:03,940 –> 00:27:08,300
call to be like him.
In Peter and Leviticus, God

395
00:27:08,300 –> 00:27:11,620
calls his children to be holy
because he is holy.

396
00:27:11,620 –> 00:27:15,700
And likewise, God has shined in
our, in the darkness of our

397
00:27:15,700 –> 00:27:19,460
hearts to bring us into the
light and make us light because

398
00:27:20,420 –> 00:27:26,760
he is light dwelling in light
and the Father of lights.

399
00:27:29,320 –> 00:27:35,120
So before we we endeavour to sum
this up in a contextual

400
00:27:35,120 –> 00:27:40,320
definition of holiness, there’s
one last lesson that we’ll touch

401
00:27:40,320 –> 00:27:44,680
on related to the connection
between God’s work of spiritual

402
00:27:44,800 –> 00:27:47,600
creation in US and his work of
natural creation.

403
00:27:47,600 –> 00:27:49,160
And the lesson is really simply
this.

404
00:27:50,040 –> 00:27:55,840
Our pursuit of holiness is first
and foremost an act of God.

405
00:27:58,520 –> 00:28:03,480
Our pursuit of holiness is first
and foremost an act of Almighty

406
00:28:03,480 –> 00:28:06,520
God.
As Paul says in Romans 9 in a

407
00:28:06,520 –> 00:28:10,480
related context, Our Calling is
not of him that willeth, nor of

408
00:28:10,480 –> 00:28:13,960
him that runneth, but of God
that showeth mercy.

409
00:28:15,080 –> 00:28:20,000
Though He absolutely requires
our cooperation, He alone can

410
00:28:20,120 –> 00:28:25,120
begin and can complete the
working of holiness in us.

411
00:28:26,160 –> 00:28:29,560
Without His intervention, our
pursuit of holiness could never

412
00:28:29,560 –> 00:28:34,600
begin in the first place, and
without His continued presence,

413
00:28:34,600 –> 00:28:37,360
we would never reach the end of
our journey.

414
00:28:38,040 –> 00:28:42,080
Except the Lord build the house,
we labor in vain.

415
00:28:46,080 –> 00:28:50,600
So based on what we’ve we’ve
looked at in this section, one

416
00:28:50,600 –> 00:28:53,800
way to to frame a contextual
definition of holiness might be

417
00:28:53,800 –> 00:28:58,080
like this, a state of separation
affected by the inherent

418
00:28:58,200 –> 00:29:02,280
possession of God’s character.
He himself is holy as an

419
00:29:02,280 –> 00:29:06,560
outworking simply of who he is.
But along with that it is the

420
00:29:06,560 –> 00:29:12,040
development of that character,
God’s direct action or faithful

421
00:29:12,040 –> 00:29:14,560
obedience to his will.
And then of course, the the

422
00:29:15,440 –> 00:29:18,400
notion of sanctification is
closely related to the ideas.

423
00:29:19,200 –> 00:29:23,760
God need not be sanctified.
God is so by his very nature.

424
00:29:24,160 –> 00:29:27,800
But certainly we are sanctified
by the development of God’s

425
00:29:27,800 –> 00:29:32,000
character, God’s direct action
or faithful obedience to his

426
00:29:32,000 –> 00:29:36,240
will.
God’s separateness is the direct

427
00:29:36,320 –> 00:29:39,440
outworking, as we’ve said, of
his character and his nature.

428
00:29:39,880 –> 00:29:41,840
He does not need to be made
separate.

429
00:29:41,840 –> 00:29:46,040
He simply is separate because of
who he is.

430
00:29:47,280 –> 00:29:51,160
But the genius, the brilliance,
the wonder, brothers and sisters

431
00:29:51,600 –> 00:29:56,840
and young people, is that we
have been invited to participate

432
00:29:57,320 –> 00:30:05,120
in that separation, to
participate in His Holiness, if

433
00:30:05,440 –> 00:30:09,640
we are willing to respond to
him, to his calling by

434
00:30:09,640 –> 00:30:12,680
submitting to his will in faith
and working to be like Him.

435
00:30:13,680 –> 00:30:16,640
And to put it simply, holiness
is the result.

436
00:30:16,640 –> 00:30:20,360
It is the effect, the outworking
of the principles associated

437
00:30:20,640 –> 00:30:26,680
with God manifestation.
So we’ve seen then that God has

438
00:30:26,680 –> 00:30:29,720
called us to the pursuit of
holiness.

439
00:30:30,680 –> 00:30:34,480
We’d like to spend just a few
minutes then looking at a

440
00:30:34,480 –> 00:30:40,160
strategy that could serve as a
model for our efforts to pursue

441
00:30:40,160 –> 00:30:45,520
holiness.
Now, we’ve described our pursuit

442
00:30:45,520 –> 00:30:49,560
of holiness as a journey, and
that’s largely informed for me

443
00:30:50,280 –> 00:30:52,000
by the imagery that God has
given us.

444
00:30:52,320 –> 00:30:56,640
I think one of the most powerful
examples of this journey motif

445
00:30:56,640 –> 00:31:00,280
in relation to holiness is
Isaiah chapter 35.

446
00:31:00,840 –> 00:31:04,920
And in this moving description
of the Kingdom, there is a way

447
00:31:05,720 –> 00:31:10,360
of holiness on which the
redeemed walk, coming to Zion

448
00:31:10,360 –> 00:31:16,080
with songs and everlasting joy.
Brothers and sisters and young

449
00:31:16,080 –> 00:31:20,600
people, God has set our feet on
this very way.

450
00:31:27,560 –> 00:31:32,480
Imagine after a long trip
through much difficulty seeing

451
00:31:32,480 –> 00:31:36,280
your destination come into view.
We’ve all just driven here

452
00:31:36,280 –> 00:31:39,720
yesterday, and those of us who
had children in the vehicle

453
00:31:39,760 –> 00:31:42,600
might have felt this to some
extent as we saw the Best

454
00:31:42,600 –> 00:31:46,640
Western on the horizon.
This this sense of incredible

455
00:31:46,920 –> 00:31:51,240
anticipation for finally being
at the end of the journey.

456
00:31:51,240 –> 00:31:57,880
Our destination is insight,
knowing that its challenges are

457
00:31:57,880 –> 00:32:02,280
over and done.
By the grace of God, we have

458
00:32:02,520 –> 00:32:06,080
arrived.
Can you just imagine the joyful

459
00:32:06,080 –> 00:32:10,720
relief and anticipation of the
moment that’s described here in

460
00:32:10,720 –> 00:32:15,240
Isaiah?
If this is something that we

461
00:32:15,240 –> 00:32:19,720
want to be a part of, then we
have to give careful and

462
00:32:19,720 –> 00:32:23,040
prayerful attention to the
journey today.

463
00:32:24,040 –> 00:32:25,960
Holiness is not a task for
tomorrow.

464
00:32:25,960 –> 00:32:29,200
It’s not a task for the
completion of some goal that we

465
00:32:29,200 –> 00:32:31,440
have at work.
It’s not a pursuit that can be

466
00:32:31,440 –> 00:32:35,120
put off until we finish some
degree of schooling, until some

467
00:32:35,240 –> 00:32:41,280
family goal has been met.
Holiness, our pursuit thereof,

468
00:32:41,280 –> 00:32:47,360
has to be the focus of our lives
today if we hope to be among

469
00:32:47,360 –> 00:32:52,800
those who come to Zion with joy
and gladness.

470
00:32:56,880 –> 00:33:00,160
And of course, our Heavenly
Father, being good and wanting,

471
00:33:00,280 –> 00:33:03,480
being willing to give good gifts
to those that ask him, has not

472
00:33:03,480 –> 00:33:08,560
left us without strategies that
can serve as a model for our

473
00:33:08,640 –> 00:33:13,640
successful pursuit of holiness.
And so I invite you to come with

474
00:33:13,640 –> 00:33:19,760
me to Philippians Chapter 3,
because it seems that we may

475
00:33:19,760 –> 00:33:22,440
have just such a strategy
expressed here.

476
00:33:37,670 –> 00:33:41,150
And we’ll just begin by by
noting a few of the examples of

477
00:33:41,190 –> 00:33:45,190
journey language in Philippians
chapter 3.

478
00:33:45,550 –> 00:33:50,550
Paul says, I follow after and he
talks about apprehending in

479
00:33:50,550 –> 00:33:53,270
verse 12.
In verse 13, he talks about

480
00:33:53,270 –> 00:33:55,990
forgetting those things which
are behind.

481
00:33:56,640 –> 00:33:58,720
So this is the language of a
journey.

482
00:33:59,040 –> 00:34:02,040
It continues.
He’s reaching forth unto things

483
00:34:02,040 –> 00:34:05,240
which are before.
He describes in verse 14

484
00:34:05,360 –> 00:34:11,000
pressing toward the mark.
And in verses 16 and 17 we see

485
00:34:11,239 –> 00:34:15,239
the language of of walking.
Let us walk by the same rule.

486
00:34:15,480 –> 00:34:18,920
Mark them which walk.
So so there’s a certain kind of

487
00:34:19,120 –> 00:34:23,280
journey idea that Paul is using
here that the the spirit is

488
00:34:23,280 –> 00:34:26,560
using through Paul to express
what seems to be a very

489
00:34:26,560 –> 00:34:31,120
important notion and it it
really is in verses 13 and 14,

490
00:34:32,840 –> 00:34:39,320
Paul says this one thing I do.
He’s, he’s engaged in the

491
00:34:39,320 –> 00:34:42,360
pursuit of something and he
describes that pursuit in a

492
00:34:42,360 –> 00:34:45,320
particular way.
And these, these next two

493
00:34:45,440 –> 00:34:49,080
phrases are really about how he
does the one thing because those

494
00:34:49,080 –> 00:34:50,560
are two things.
That’s not one thing, right?

495
00:34:51,080 –> 00:34:55,280
The one thing that he does is
that he presses toward the mark

496
00:34:55,760 –> 00:34:59,800
for the prize of the high
calling of God in Christ Jesus.

497
00:35:01,200 –> 00:35:05,480
The strategy that we’re looking
for, for our pursuit of holiness

498
00:35:05,480 –> 00:35:11,000
seems to be beautifully captured
here in verses 13 of and 14 of

499
00:35:11,960 –> 00:35:17,560
Philippians chapter 3.
So what is the mark that Paul is

500
00:35:18,360 –> 00:35:23,040
so diligently moving toward,
pressing toward, as he says

501
00:35:23,040 –> 00:35:25,040
here?
Well, if we go back a few

502
00:35:25,560 –> 00:35:33,440
verses, he says that I may know
him, Jesus and the power of his

503
00:35:33,480 –> 00:35:36,920
resurrection and the fellowship
of his sufferings being made

504
00:35:36,920 –> 00:35:43,720
conformable unto his death.
Well, the mark that Paul is

505
00:35:43,720 –> 00:35:48,000
pressing toward is none other
than our Lord Jesus Christ.

506
00:35:48,160 –> 00:35:50,360
Not surprising in the least, is
it?

507
00:35:51,520 –> 00:35:56,320
In fact, we come to Philippians
rather Romans chapter 8 verse 29

508
00:35:56,600 –> 00:36:01,560
where Paul has this to say for
whom he that is God did

509
00:36:01,560 –> 00:36:06,800
foreknow, he also did
predestinate to be conformed to

510
00:36:06,800 –> 00:36:11,960
the image of his son.
And so this mark to which Paul

511
00:36:11,960 –> 00:36:15,680
is pressing is the Lord Jesus
Christ.

512
00:36:15,920 –> 00:36:21,280
It’s interesting, isn’t it, that
he is called the Holy one, is he

513
00:36:21,280 –> 00:36:24,120
not?
Psalm 16 you will not leave your

514
00:36:24,120 –> 00:36:28,400
holy one in the grave to see
corruption and an idea that’s

515
00:36:28,400 –> 00:36:34,680
picked up at at least twice in
in the Acts and and in Hebrews

516
00:36:34,680 –> 00:36:37,440
as well in reference to the
Lord’s high priesthood.

517
00:36:38,560 –> 00:36:41,000
So what about this idea of the
prize?

518
00:36:44,000 –> 00:36:47,280
Well, we we notice what it says
in Philippians chapter 3 verse

519
00:36:47,280 –> 00:36:50,840
20 and 21.
We look for the Savior, the Lord

520
00:36:50,840 –> 00:36:55,120
Jesus Christ who shall change
our vile body, that it mean be

521
00:36:55,120 –> 00:36:58,800
fashioned like unto his glorious
body.

522
00:37:00,000 –> 00:37:05,640
This is the prize of our high
calling, to be set free, to

523
00:37:05,680 –> 00:37:14,040
finally be holy as He is holy,
which we cannot be this side of

524
00:37:14,040 –> 00:37:17,440
the Kingdom.
We can be in pursuit of those

525
00:37:17,440 –> 00:37:21,760
things, we must be in pursuit of
those things, but we cannot be

526
00:37:21,760 –> 00:37:24,480
holy as He is holy.
But if those are the things

527
00:37:24,480 –> 00:37:27,960
which we are pursuing, is it not
a prize?

528
00:37:29,520 –> 00:37:34,680
Is it not a prize to receive
finally, by the grace and mercy

529
00:37:34,680 –> 00:37:41,000
of our Heavenly Father, a
changed body, the opportunity to

530
00:37:41,000 –> 00:37:45,280
be holy as He is holy?
But there are two things that we

531
00:37:45,280 –> 00:37:48,480
glossed over earlier that I
think for me, again, this is one

532
00:37:48,480 –> 00:37:52,160
of those occasions in the study
where where it was very

533
00:37:52,160 –> 00:37:56,280
vulnerable for me because God
had touched on something in me

534
00:37:56,440 –> 00:37:58,440
that desperately needed to be
spoken to.

535
00:37:59,320 –> 00:38:03,040
There are two things that that
Paul describes in the context of

536
00:38:03,040 –> 00:38:05,880
his effort to press toward the
mark for the prize of our high

537
00:38:05,880 –> 00:38:08,040
calling.
And he describes those two

538
00:38:08,040 –> 00:38:13,760
things this way.
He says that he forgets what’s

539
00:38:13,760 –> 00:38:16,320
behind.
So that’s one piece of it.

540
00:38:17,160 –> 00:38:22,880
He forgets what’s behind, and he
presses toward the mark by

541
00:38:22,960 –> 00:38:26,080
reaching forward.
And that seems to be his

542
00:38:26,080 –> 00:38:29,800
description of what it means
then to press toward the mark

543
00:38:30,120 –> 00:38:32,200
for the prize of our high
calling.

544
00:38:33,080 –> 00:38:35,640
And I can’t speak to your
experience, but I can speak to

545
00:38:35,640 –> 00:38:40,840
my own and say that I have spent
far too much of my life dwelling

546
00:38:40,840 –> 00:38:45,240
upon failures of the past or
looking back longingly to Egypt,

547
00:38:46,800 –> 00:38:51,840
or, you know, worried and
anxious about the future, trying

548
00:38:51,840 –> 00:38:55,280
to plan for some, you know,
horrible eventuality that could

549
00:38:55,280 –> 00:38:57,560
possibly happen if, you know,
things don’t go right.

550
00:38:58,560 –> 00:39:02,200
This is a different vision.
This is a different way of

551
00:39:02,200 –> 00:39:05,520
being.
We forget those things which are

552
00:39:05,680 –> 00:39:08,960
behind.
We recognize God’s presence in

553
00:39:08,960 –> 00:39:12,720
the experience that has brought
us to this place, and we reach

554
00:39:12,760 –> 00:39:17,680
forth to the mark.
We keep our eyes, as it were, on

555
00:39:17,680 –> 00:39:23,840
the prize of our high calling.
And so this has been very, very

556
00:39:23,840 –> 00:39:27,360
helpful to me.
I feel a novice at this effort

557
00:39:27,560 –> 00:39:31,840
today, but it’s something that
has been moving and helpful to

558
00:39:31,840 –> 00:39:34,640
my own experience, to my own
journey toward holiness, to

559
00:39:34,640 –> 00:39:41,200
realize that this must describe
my pursuit of holiness if I am

560
00:39:41,200 –> 00:39:45,960
to be successful.
Our greatest opportunity to to

561
00:39:46,080 –> 00:39:50,840
affect our progress, to
cooperate with God in his

562
00:39:50,840 –> 00:39:54,400
efforts to transform us right
now.

563
00:39:54,960 –> 00:40:01,240
This is the moment over which we
have the most control, if we

564
00:40:01,240 –> 00:40:03,680
have control at all.
It is the moment over which we

565
00:40:03,680 –> 00:40:07,560
have the most control over our
thoughts, over our speech, over

566
00:40:07,560 –> 00:40:09,840
our actions.
And so it’s so essential in our

567
00:40:09,840 –> 00:40:14,200
pursuit of holiness to be in
this moment, to be here and and

568
00:40:14,520 –> 00:40:18,200
aware of our Heavenly Father’s
presence now and working to

569
00:40:18,200 –> 00:40:24,000
pattern our lives after him.
Now you’ll recall that in terms

570
00:40:24,000 –> 00:40:27,200
of just a structure for our
investigation as we as we bring

571
00:40:27,200 –> 00:40:31,280
things to a close, you’ll recall
that we began our investigation

572
00:40:31,280 –> 00:40:35,080
of a contextual definition for
holiness in first Peter chapter

573
00:40:35,080 –> 00:40:38,920
1 verses 14 to 16.
And it turns out that the first

574
00:40:38,920 –> 00:40:42,400
two chapters of Peter have a
good bit to say about holiness.

575
00:40:42,400 –> 00:40:45,640
And you may have noticed it as
we read through, even more

576
00:40:45,640 –> 00:40:50,200
valuable for our purposes, they
seem to suggest where we ought

577
00:40:50,200 –> 00:40:53,480
to go to investigate this
subject further.

578
00:40:53,480 –> 00:40:57,000
So we’ll just take a moment and
point out a few of those

579
00:40:57,000 –> 00:41:01,720
examples where the theme of
holiness sort of presents

580
00:41:01,720 –> 00:41:04,440
itself.
So you’ve got verse two of first

581
00:41:04,440 –> 00:41:07,320
Peter chapter 1, sanctification
of the Spirit.

582
00:41:07,320 –> 00:41:09,720
We said earlier that
sanctification is one of those

583
00:41:09,720 –> 00:41:13,680
other English words that’s used
to to translate the the Greek

584
00:41:13,680 –> 00:41:15,440
and Hebrew words associated with
holiness.

585
00:41:15,760 –> 00:41:20,440
Obviously verses 15 and 16,
which we been to a few times

586
00:41:20,440 –> 00:41:24,440
this morning, verse 22, the word
purified is a, is a related

587
00:41:24,440 –> 00:41:25,640
word.
It’s one of those words, if you

588
00:41:25,640 –> 00:41:28,640
look in the Strong’s
Concordance, it says from that

589
00:41:28,640 –> 00:41:30,960
word that’s that’s typically
translated holiness.

590
00:41:32,880 –> 00:41:37,360
Verse 5 describes this idea of a
holy priesthood and we have

591
00:41:37,480 –> 00:41:43,720
holiness again in relation to
being a royal priesthood and and

592
00:41:43,960 –> 00:41:47,040
a nation in verse 9 of chapter
2.

593
00:41:47,160 –> 00:41:50,600
And we’ll come back to those two
ideas in a good bit more detail

594
00:41:50,600 –> 00:41:55,040
in in class 3.
So this is just sort of evidence

595
00:41:55,080 –> 00:41:59,200
of the theme in first Peter
chapter 1 and 2.

596
00:41:59,800 –> 00:42:03,800
Now, interestingly, if we begin
to then sort of look at, well,

597
00:42:03,800 –> 00:42:07,720
where what is the, what is the
basis for much of the, the

598
00:42:07,720 –> 00:42:09,800
thought process that Peter seems
to be using?

599
00:42:09,800 –> 00:42:11,240
We’ve really already had the
hint, haven’t we?

600
00:42:11,560 –> 00:42:15,720
Because verses 15 and 16 seem to
be taken from the language of

601
00:42:15,720 –> 00:42:18,200
Leviticus.
And in fact, as we begin to look

602
00:42:18,200 –> 00:42:22,400
through the, the concepts that
are presented, our minds are

603
00:42:22,400 –> 00:42:24,600
drawn back to the period of the
Exodus.

604
00:42:24,960 –> 00:42:28,720
We are in a sense, transported
back to Israel’s experience.

605
00:42:28,960 –> 00:42:30,880
We have this notion of being
elect.

606
00:42:31,400 –> 00:42:35,520
It’s an idea that means chosen.
And Israel was chosen of God,

607
00:42:35,520 –> 00:42:37,320
were they not?
They were his chosen.

608
00:42:37,320 –> 00:42:40,520
And in Deuteronomy Chapter 7,
God says I did not choose you

609
00:42:40,520 –> 00:42:42,320
because you were more numerous
than other people.

610
00:42:42,320 –> 00:42:45,560
I chose you, you know, because I
love you and because I would

611
00:42:45,560 –> 00:42:47,880
keep the promises that I made to
the Fathers.

612
00:42:48,040 –> 00:42:49,800
So we have this idea of being
chosen.

613
00:42:49,800 –> 00:42:54,560
Well, how was Israel chosen?
What kind of process was

614
00:42:54,560 –> 00:42:57,080
involved in their consecration?
And this is something that we’ll

615
00:42:57,080 –> 00:42:59,760
look at in their, their
installment, if you will, as a

616
00:42:59,760 –> 00:43:04,600
nation, something that we’ll
look at in Class 3 as well, that

617
00:43:05,160 –> 00:43:07,640
it’s described here as
sanctification of the Spirit

618
00:43:08,160 –> 00:43:12,600
unto obedience and sprinkling of
the blood of Jesus Christ.

619
00:43:12,600 –> 00:43:16,080
And if we, if we go back to
Exodus chapter 20 to 23 and then

620
00:43:16,080 –> 00:43:20,720
we look at the language of the
1st 8 verses of Exodus 24, we

621
00:43:20,720 –> 00:43:27,160
see this exact progression of
experience, this exact

622
00:43:27,160 –> 00:43:30,720
progression of experience,
Israel as it were sanctified by

623
00:43:30,720 –> 00:43:34,280
the Spirit Word of God coming
into covenant relationship with

624
00:43:34,280 –> 00:43:36,760
him.
And when Moses comes and he

625
00:43:36,760 –> 00:43:40,800
reads them, he conveys to them
verbally what God has has told

626
00:43:40,800 –> 00:43:43,160
him in in Exodus chapter 20 to
23.

627
00:43:43,400 –> 00:43:45,480
And then all the peoples, what
do they say?

628
00:43:46,760 –> 00:43:49,000
All that the Lord has said we
will do, right?

629
00:43:49,360 –> 00:43:51,480
And then he goes and I, I just
love the progression because it

630
00:43:51,480 –> 00:43:54,160
has this sense for me of like a
deposition and it has a very,

631
00:43:54,840 –> 00:43:57,960
very legal feel as if Israel
cannot possibly get get away

632
00:43:57,960 –> 00:43:59,040
with saying, well, we didn’t get
it.

633
00:43:59,120 –> 00:44:02,280
We didn’t understand.
God goes to great pains, not

634
00:44:02,280 –> 00:44:05,120
because he wants to wag his
finger at them, but because

635
00:44:05,440 –> 00:44:08,240
through Moses he’s making
utterly sure that they

636
00:44:08,240 –> 00:44:11,520
understand the nature of that
which he has called them to,

637
00:44:11,560 –> 00:44:13,840
right?
It’s his desire to see them

638
00:44:13,840 –> 00:44:16,920
succeed, not his hope that he
can wag his finger at them when

639
00:44:16,920 –> 00:44:20,200
they fail.
Moses goes, he writes it down,

640
00:44:20,200 –> 00:44:21,480
he brings it back and he reads
it to them.

641
00:44:21,480 –> 00:44:23,040
And what happens?
They say all that the Lord has

642
00:44:23,040 –> 00:44:25,240
said we will do.
And then almost as if they’re

643
00:44:25,240 –> 00:44:26,840
like, OK, and maybe he needs to
hear more.

644
00:44:26,880 –> 00:44:29,720
And he says, and be obedient,
right?

645
00:44:30,480 –> 00:44:33,680
And then what does Moses do?
He sprinkles the blood of the

646
00:44:33,680 –> 00:44:36,400
offerings that had been made on
the people and on the book.

647
00:44:36,400 –> 00:44:39,480
And he says, this is the book of
the covenant that God has made

648
00:44:39,480 –> 00:44:42,680
with you here.
So this language, just a quick

649
00:44:42,680 –> 00:44:45,120
little turn of phrase at the
very beginning of first Peter

650
00:44:45,280 –> 00:44:49,200
chapter 1, evocative of so much
in the experience of Israel’s

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00:44:49,200 –> 00:44:52,240
history.
Of course, we already looked at

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00:44:52,560 –> 00:44:57,920
verses 15 and 16 and they’re
they’re links back to Leviticus

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00:44:58,440 –> 00:45:01,280
of the Pentateuch of the those
first five books of the Bible.

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00:45:03,280 –> 00:45:05,160
I can’t remember the exact
numbers off the top of my head,

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00:45:05,160 –> 00:45:06,480
but I think we’ll touch on it
later.

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00:45:06,920 –> 00:45:09,320
But more so than any other book,
as you might imagine, Leviticus

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00:45:09,320 –> 00:45:12,640
deals with the principle and the
concept surrounding holiness,

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00:45:12,640 –> 00:45:15,920
how Israel was to be holy at
that time in their national

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00:45:15,920 –> 00:45:20,640
life.
And then verses 18 and 19, we

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00:45:20,640 –> 00:45:22,840
were not redeemed with
corruptible things, but with the

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00:45:22,840 –> 00:45:26,240
precious blood of Christ as of a
lamb without spot, without

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00:45:26,240 –> 00:45:28,840
blemish, and without spot.
And of course, we can’t help but

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00:45:28,840 –> 00:45:32,520
be drawn back to the Passover in
this language and the, the, the

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00:45:32,520 –> 00:45:35,800
Passover sort of description of
the Lord Jesus Christ and the

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00:45:35,800 –> 00:45:39,080
redemption that we have through
his blood.

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00:45:42,960 –> 00:45:49,400
And finally, then in in chapter
2, verse 5, this idea of being

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00:45:49,400 –> 00:45:53,120
lively stones built up into a
spiritual house and a holy

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00:45:53,120 –> 00:45:55,480
priesthood.
And, and in Exodus chapter 25,

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00:45:55,480 –> 00:45:58,600
verse 8, which we’ll look at
more in in our session tomorrow,

670
00:46:00,040 –> 00:46:04,080
we will a touch on God’s desire
that Israel should make him a

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00:46:04,640 –> 00:46:10,160
sanctuary, a holy place that he
might dwell among them.

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00:46:10,720 –> 00:46:14,280
God wants to dwell among his
people, but he requires a holy

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00:46:14,280 –> 00:46:17,880
place.
And that’s why we have Exodus 25

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00:46:17,880 –> 00:46:20,960
and verse 8 listed there.
And then finally, one of

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00:46:20,960 –> 00:46:24,800
probably the most sort of leap
off the page examples is Exodus

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00:46:24,800 –> 00:46:28,920
19, verses 5 and 6 in relation
to first Peter chapter 2 and

677
00:46:28,920 –> 00:46:32,400
verse 9, where where Peter says
ye are a chosen generation, a

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00:46:32,400 –> 00:46:36,320
royal priesthood, a holy nation.
And that can’t I, I, you know, I

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00:46:36,440 –> 00:46:39,680
expect many of us are that we
can’t help but go back to, to

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00:46:39,680 –> 00:46:43,640
what God through Moses conveys
to the children of Israel there

681
00:46:43,640 –> 00:46:45,320
at the, at the foot of Mount
Sinai.

682
00:46:46,200 –> 00:46:50,160
So with this in mind, on the
basis of these links, we will

683
00:46:50,160 –> 00:46:55,320
sort of be beginning our study
tomorrow back in the Exodus,

684
00:46:55,480 –> 00:46:59,600
looking first of all at the
beginning of the way of

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00:46:59,600 –> 00:47:03,280
holiness, which which cannot be
other than our redemption.

686
00:47:04,040 –> 00:47:07,680
As we said, our holiness is
first and foremost an act of

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00:47:07,680 –> 00:47:10,040
God.
We’ll look at the end of the way

688
00:47:10,040 –> 00:47:14,560
of holiness.
Well, a holy place for God to

689
00:47:14,560 –> 00:47:19,080
dwell and we’ll look at the idea
of, of a holy place for God to

690
00:47:19,080 –> 00:47:24,040
dwell and the Sabbath.
So with that, we’ll bring this

691
00:47:24,120 –> 00:47:26,760
first session to a close.
And I’ll, I’ll say thank you

692
00:47:26,760 –> 00:47:29,440
very much for your kind
attention and your, your smiles

693
00:47:29,440 –> 00:47:32,240
and your eye contact.
And we’ll begin again tomorrow.

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00:47:32,440 –> 00:47:32,840
Thank you.