WEBVTT 00:00:01.129 --> 00:00:04.070 Let me ask you a question. What comes into your 00:00:04.070 --> 00:00:07.490 mind when you hear the word holy? I mean, what 00:00:07.490 --> 00:00:11.429 do you think of when you think God is holy? Is 00:00:11.429 --> 00:00:14.589 it candles? Is it incense? Is it unattainable 00:00:14.589 --> 00:00:17.449 perfection? Well, here's the deal. How can we 00:00:17.449 --> 00:00:19.989 be holy if we can't even define it? Stay with 00:00:19.989 --> 00:00:24.410 me. Welcome to this edition of Living on the 00:00:24.410 --> 00:00:27.210 Edge with Chip Ingram. The mission of this daily 00:00:27.210 --> 00:00:29.670 program is to intentionally disciple Christians 00:00:29.670 --> 00:00:32.070 through the insightful Bible teaching of Chip 00:00:32.070 --> 00:00:34.770 Ingram. Thanks for being with us as we dive back 00:00:34.770 --> 00:00:37.770 into his series, The Real God, How He Longs for 00:00:37.770 --> 00:00:40.450 You to See Him. So far, we've learned about God's 00:00:40.450 --> 00:00:43.189 goodness and sovereignty. And today, he'll shed 00:00:43.189 --> 00:00:45.850 light on another attribute of God that reveals 00:00:45.850 --> 00:00:48.049 a part of his character you may not have thought 00:00:48.049 --> 00:00:50.679 about before. So if you're ready, go to Hebrews 00:00:50.679 --> 00:00:53.700 chapter 12 in your Bible as we join Chip for 00:00:53.700 --> 00:00:57.799 his message, The Holiness of God. I'd like to 00:00:57.799 --> 00:01:01.579 take you back for just a moment and imagine if 00:01:01.579 --> 00:01:05.079 you could that you are a camera crew and that 00:01:05.079 --> 00:01:08.379 God has suspended time and he's going to allow 00:01:08.379 --> 00:01:13.219 you to film something. And I want you to imagine 00:01:13.219 --> 00:01:16.680 that you're sort of that fly on the wall or that 00:01:16.680 --> 00:01:21.920 camera crew. You had to really work on the set 00:01:21.920 --> 00:01:25.140 design because as you watched the children of 00:01:25.140 --> 00:01:27.959 Israel come through the Red Sea, it was just 00:01:27.959 --> 00:01:31.519 mind -boggling. And you've done multiple interviews 00:01:31.519 --> 00:01:36.299 with teenagers and older people, and they talked 00:01:36.299 --> 00:01:40.540 about the terror of watching all those plagues 00:01:40.540 --> 00:01:43.939 and the frogs and the Nile and all these things 00:01:43.939 --> 00:01:49.859 that after literally 400 years, Acts and God's 00:01:49.859 --> 00:01:55.500 power. And I'd like to take you back to Exodus 00:01:55.500 --> 00:02:00.760 19. And imagine if you literally were filming 00:02:00.760 --> 00:02:05.700 and watching and think, I'm always, I guess something 00:02:05.700 --> 00:02:09.439 about me is always drawn to when God does something 00:02:09.439 --> 00:02:13.659 the first time. Seems to me that it's very instructive. 00:02:14.439 --> 00:02:17.219 After 400 years, people don't have a clue of 00:02:17.219 --> 00:02:21.400 who God is. How does he introduce himself? What 00:02:21.400 --> 00:02:25.680 does he want them to know about him first? Exodus 00:02:25.680 --> 00:02:29.599 19 opens up and it says after two months. So 00:02:29.599 --> 00:02:32.439 they've been in the wilderness for 60 days. And 00:02:32.439 --> 00:02:35.580 God says to Moses, I want to introduce myself 00:02:35.580 --> 00:02:39.819 to my people that I have redeemed. These will 00:02:39.819 --> 00:02:42.939 be my people. And it's that picture. And if you 00:02:42.939 --> 00:02:46.270 can just imagine, You know, panning with your 00:02:46.270 --> 00:02:50.069 camera and seeing two million people. Maybe you're 00:02:50.069 --> 00:02:53.370 up high so you have a great view. And two million 00:02:53.370 --> 00:02:56.310 people on this boundary. And then seeing this 00:02:56.310 --> 00:03:00.469 smoke billow. And then fire. And then, you know, 00:03:00.569 --> 00:03:02.330 it's hard to keep a good picture because the 00:03:02.330 --> 00:03:04.490 ground is shaking. Because there's an earthquake. 00:03:04.650 --> 00:03:07.270 And you watch people fall on their face before 00:03:07.270 --> 00:03:12.449 God. And this thundering voice. I guess I would 00:03:12.449 --> 00:03:15.650 ask you if you were... doing a documentary and 00:03:15.650 --> 00:03:19.090 someone said, this God has just introduced himself 00:03:19.090 --> 00:03:23.870 to his people. What's he like? I'm guessing it 00:03:23.870 --> 00:03:26.330 would not be something like, oh, he's the man 00:03:26.330 --> 00:03:34.750 upstairs. He's my homeboy. We have embraced an 00:03:34.750 --> 00:03:37.810 evangelical Christianity and our desire to move 00:03:37.810 --> 00:03:41.870 away from dead ritual and our desire to know 00:03:41.870 --> 00:03:46.379 that. Jesus is our friend, and God being transcendent 00:03:46.379 --> 00:03:51.120 is eminent. We have lost much in our tradition, 00:03:51.199 --> 00:03:54.719 and I would say even in our music, a sense of 00:03:54.719 --> 00:03:58.439 the holiness of God, the purity of God, the righteousness 00:03:58.439 --> 00:04:01.439 of God. And when you see that he's holy, here's 00:04:01.439 --> 00:04:05.159 what you get. You're not. You're not at all. 00:04:05.819 --> 00:04:08.659 Your righteousness is like filthy rags, and so 00:04:08.659 --> 00:04:12.599 is mine. Your motives, your thoughts. Your best 00:04:12.599 --> 00:04:18.160 days, the word holy, set apart, distinct, different, 00:04:18.560 --> 00:04:21.120 separate. The word literally means a cut above. 00:04:21.800 --> 00:04:25.279 He's in a category. The word holy is he is other. 00:04:25.819 --> 00:04:28.399 There's not a category for him. And when you 00:04:28.399 --> 00:04:31.100 come into the presence of a holy God, you are 00:04:31.100 --> 00:04:34.980 undone. And I don't see many Christians or many 00:04:34.980 --> 00:04:38.500 churches very often undone in the presence of 00:04:38.500 --> 00:04:43.379 God. I think some of the older traditions actually 00:04:43.379 --> 00:04:46.220 helped us grasp God's holiness. Unfortunately, 00:04:46.439 --> 00:04:50.300 he became a distant, cold God who we would reach 00:04:50.300 --> 00:04:53.160 him through significant rituals, which was never 00:04:53.160 --> 00:04:56.300 the intent. But what you find out in church history 00:04:56.300 --> 00:04:59.120 is the pendulum swings this way, then it swings 00:04:59.120 --> 00:05:01.240 this way. Here's what I want to tell you. It 00:05:01.240 --> 00:05:05.680 needs to swing back this way. We need to know 00:05:05.680 --> 00:05:09.079 that... Jesus is my friend and that he loves 00:05:09.079 --> 00:05:12.980 me and he accepts me just as I am. And he's tenderhearted 00:05:12.980 --> 00:05:17.319 and quick of sympathy. But the morality of the 00:05:17.319 --> 00:05:20.240 average Christian in the evangelical church would 00:05:20.240 --> 00:05:24.220 scream, I don't believe he's holy. I think I 00:05:24.220 --> 00:05:27.480 can do what I want, when I want, and God basically 00:05:27.480 --> 00:05:30.160 will give me a pass because in the name of love, 00:05:30.459 --> 00:05:34.500 which now has sort of upped. No matter what scripture 00:05:34.500 --> 00:05:38.519 says, oh, God is loving, so this kind of relationship 00:05:38.519 --> 00:05:41.199 must be okay. God is loving, so this kind of 00:05:41.199 --> 00:05:44.779 morality is okay. God is loving, so I get a pass 00:05:44.779 --> 00:05:46.899 on everything because a loving God just wants 00:05:46.899 --> 00:05:50.639 me to be happy. You know all the statistics. 00:05:50.759 --> 00:05:53.620 I'm not going to go through all the areas of 00:05:53.620 --> 00:05:57.000 morality in America today that the average Christian 00:05:57.000 --> 00:06:00.819 and the average unbeliever look exactly the same. 00:06:02.759 --> 00:06:05.560 And he said, we're a kingdom of priests. He said, 00:06:05.600 --> 00:06:08.379 be separate. He said, come out of the darkness. 00:06:08.579 --> 00:06:11.980 Not weird separate. Doesn't mean you dress funny. 00:06:12.019 --> 00:06:14.100 Doesn't mean that you have just habits that make 00:06:14.100 --> 00:06:16.220 you look weird. It doesn't mean that you're not 00:06:16.220 --> 00:06:18.959 evolved in the culture, but separate from the 00:06:18.959 --> 00:06:22.459 inside out that we're actually holy in, I remember 00:06:22.459 --> 00:06:26.839 praying, in thought, word, and deed against thy 00:06:26.839 --> 00:06:31.100 divine majesty. It was just memorized as I sat 00:06:31.100 --> 00:06:35.839 and knelt and stood as an altar boy. Unfortunately, 00:06:36.120 --> 00:06:39.300 the people who taught me to say that didn't know 00:06:39.300 --> 00:06:41.019 the Lord personally. And I grew up in a very 00:06:41.019 --> 00:06:43.439 traditional church that didn't teach the Bible. 00:06:43.620 --> 00:06:48.879 And our priest, on a sort of a good Samaritan 00:06:48.879 --> 00:06:54.639 trip, went to Alaska to preach the social gospel 00:06:54.639 --> 00:06:59.189 and bring electricity to the Eskimos. but some 00:06:59.189 --> 00:07:02.910 missionaries got there before he did. And those 00:07:02.910 --> 00:07:07.689 Eskimos knew the Lord. And those Eskimos led 00:07:07.689 --> 00:07:12.990 our priests to Christ. Our priests came back, 00:07:12.990 --> 00:07:17.490 and a movement of God inside our particular denomination 00:07:17.490 --> 00:07:20.829 that was contrary to a lot of the form was birthed, 00:07:20.829 --> 00:07:23.850 and people were coming to know the Lord. I'd 00:07:23.850 --> 00:07:26.509 gone off to college, had trusted Christ, and 00:07:26.509 --> 00:07:29.759 I came back. And what I would dream one day is 00:07:29.759 --> 00:07:32.839 that we might grasp the greatness and the holiness 00:07:32.839 --> 00:07:35.800 of God and some of the richest traditions, but 00:07:35.800 --> 00:07:39.459 not lose the intimacy of what it means to have 00:07:39.459 --> 00:07:42.680 Jesus as our friend. You'll notice on the front 00:07:42.680 --> 00:07:45.519 of your notes, Tozer would write, we know nothing 00:07:45.519 --> 00:07:48.199 like the divine holiness. It stands apart, unique, 00:07:48.379 --> 00:07:51.040 unapproachable, incomprehensible, and unattainable. 00:07:52.240 --> 00:07:55.399 I mean, there's a lot of uns in there. The natural 00:07:55.399 --> 00:07:58.620 man is blind to it. He may fear God's power and 00:07:58.620 --> 00:08:01.139 admire his wisdom, but his holiness, he cannot 00:08:01.139 --> 00:08:04.399 even imagine. The first time we see this concept 00:08:04.399 --> 00:08:08.779 of holiness is right after the Red Sea is parted, 00:08:08.779 --> 00:08:11.639 and there's a song that Moses sings, and this 00:08:11.639 --> 00:08:14.540 song, we'll learn later, is sung currently in 00:08:14.540 --> 00:08:17.600 heaven, and notice the song is, who among the 00:08:17.600 --> 00:08:21.199 gods is like you, O Yahweh? Who is like you? 00:08:21.240 --> 00:08:24.399 Answer, no one. Majestic in, what's the first 00:08:24.399 --> 00:08:27.420 word? Holiness. The word majestic is the idea 00:08:27.420 --> 00:08:32.259 of exponential multiplying in holiness. Awesome 00:08:32.259 --> 00:08:37.179 in glory, working wonders. My best personal definition 00:08:37.179 --> 00:08:40.639 of holiness is it's both his majesty and moral 00:08:40.639 --> 00:08:44.299 purity. It's the absolute absence of evil. It 00:08:44.299 --> 00:08:48.440 encompasses what's pure, holy, righteous. The 00:08:48.440 --> 00:08:51.720 English root word for holiness has the idea of 00:08:51.720 --> 00:08:55.960 wholeness or soundness. It encompasses the idea 00:08:55.960 --> 00:08:59.940 of health. And so to be holy isn't just candles 00:08:59.940 --> 00:09:04.600 and a black robe and singing special songs with 00:09:04.600 --> 00:09:07.240 a very low voice with low lights. It's about 00:09:07.240 --> 00:09:11.600 the wholeness or the purity of the universe that 00:09:11.600 --> 00:09:14.799 brings life and brings health because as God 00:09:14.799 --> 00:09:19.200 is, he wants us to become. And so not obviously 00:09:19.200 --> 00:09:22.200 in his essence, but in our character that we 00:09:22.200 --> 00:09:25.419 would be holy like he's holy. How has God revealed 00:09:25.419 --> 00:09:28.259 his holiness? In English, when we want to talk 00:09:28.259 --> 00:09:31.500 about degrees, we say someone is good. And then 00:09:31.500 --> 00:09:33.120 we say, oh, someone else is better. And then 00:09:33.120 --> 00:09:36.179 we say someone else is best. Good, better, best. 00:09:36.600 --> 00:09:40.360 In Hebrew, the way you talk about things is you 00:09:40.360 --> 00:09:43.620 repeat it. So in Hebrew, only one time God has 00:09:43.620 --> 00:09:47.950 called something holy, holy. You see it in Isaiah 00:09:47.950 --> 00:09:50.629 6. You see it in Revelation 4. You see it in 00:09:50.629 --> 00:09:54.309 Revelation 5. The outstanding character of God 00:09:54.309 --> 00:09:58.929 is his otherness, his complete purity, his unapproachable 00:09:58.929 --> 00:10:03.549 light. He's holy, holy, holy. When angelic beings 00:10:03.549 --> 00:10:06.720 that... have never sinned, are in His presence, 00:10:06.899 --> 00:10:09.940 they cover their eyes, they cover their feet, 00:10:10.080 --> 00:10:13.620 and they fly, and they perpetually say, holy, 00:10:13.879 --> 00:10:17.820 holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, 00:10:18.019 --> 00:10:20.460 who is, and who is to come. And so I just want 00:10:20.460 --> 00:10:23.279 you to get this majestic picture, and then I'm 00:10:23.279 --> 00:10:25.539 going to just highlight how it shows up in Scripture. 00:10:25.799 --> 00:10:28.659 And I've given you the passages for your study. 00:10:29.200 --> 00:10:31.820 First, through supernatural encounters. Moses 00:10:31.820 --> 00:10:34.940 meets God. John meets God. Daniel meets God. 00:10:35.100 --> 00:10:37.659 Isaiah meets God. And here's all I want to say. 00:10:38.080 --> 00:10:41.340 Whenever you see someone meet God in Scripture, 00:10:41.659 --> 00:10:45.940 they're undone. Bam! They're on their face. They're 00:10:45.940 --> 00:10:49.960 undone. And so the question I have to ask myself 00:10:49.960 --> 00:10:52.580 and you is, when is the last time you were in 00:10:52.580 --> 00:10:56.799 the presence of God and just, you were undone? 00:10:57.740 --> 00:11:00.399 of the distance between what you know he's like 00:11:00.399 --> 00:11:05.440 and how you begin to see yourself. Second, he 00:11:05.440 --> 00:11:08.580 reveals his holiness through places. What you 00:11:08.580 --> 00:11:10.460 need to know is wherever God is, it instantly 00:11:10.460 --> 00:11:13.460 becomes holy. It can be a bush, it's holy. It 00:11:13.460 --> 00:11:15.539 can be just a tent, you call it a tabernacle, 00:11:15.620 --> 00:11:17.820 and his presence comes, it's holy. It can be 00:11:17.820 --> 00:11:20.740 a temple that people build, it's holy. Wherever 00:11:20.740 --> 00:11:25.740 God's presence is, it becomes holy. Third way 00:11:25.740 --> 00:11:28.279 he reveals his holiness, is through the law. 00:11:29.700 --> 00:11:34.539 The first four commands are all about the distinctiveness, 00:11:34.600 --> 00:11:37.840 the holiness of God. Have no other gods because 00:11:37.840 --> 00:11:41.080 there aren't any. And then no graven images. 00:11:41.200 --> 00:11:44.200 Don't reduce me. Don't make a picture of me. 00:11:44.320 --> 00:11:47.620 Don't have an idol. Don't in any way try and 00:11:47.620 --> 00:11:50.799 reduce me in some form. My name is holy because 00:11:50.799 --> 00:11:55.120 it's my character. Don't misuse my name. Don't 00:11:55.120 --> 00:11:59.220 make vows in my name. This Sabbath, there's this 00:11:59.220 --> 00:12:02.220 gift I've given to man that supernaturally when 00:12:02.220 --> 00:12:07.220 I got done, I stopped to pause and for 24 hours, 00:12:07.340 --> 00:12:11.139 I want you to know I'm giving you a gift so that 00:12:11.139 --> 00:12:13.759 you will be separate, you'll be distinct, you'll 00:12:13.759 --> 00:12:16.279 be different. You'll accomplish in six days what 00:12:16.279 --> 00:12:19.159 takes other people seven and you will rest and 00:12:19.159 --> 00:12:22.279 pause so that you'll know the last six days were 00:12:22.279 --> 00:12:24.960 my hand upon you and you will pause to remember. 00:12:25.870 --> 00:12:30.409 This is God. Remember the Sabbath to keep it 00:12:30.409 --> 00:12:33.090 holy. And then the next six commands on the second 00:12:33.090 --> 00:12:36.389 tablet are about health and holiness in relationships. 00:12:36.830 --> 00:12:40.129 In other words, the path of holiness, Isaiah 00:12:40.129 --> 00:12:42.629 would talk about the highway of holiness. There's 00:12:42.629 --> 00:12:45.029 a path of holiness that you walk on, but the 00:12:45.029 --> 00:12:48.860 result is health and wholeness. For you and for 00:12:48.860 --> 00:12:51.580 relationships. So if you want healthy, whole 00:12:51.580 --> 00:12:54.960 relationships, honor your mom and dad, don't 00:12:54.960 --> 00:12:57.340 lie, don't steal, don't commit adultery, and 00:12:57.340 --> 00:12:59.820 don't covet. Those are the parameters around 00:12:59.820 --> 00:13:03.379 holy relationships with one another. For the 00:13:03.379 --> 00:13:05.899 health of God's universe and his people. The 00:13:05.899 --> 00:13:08.299 prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Zechariah, I just 00:13:08.299 --> 00:13:11.840 put a few down. I mean, prophets' job was pretty 00:13:11.840 --> 00:13:16.639 simple. Stop worshiping idols. Name your prophet. 00:13:17.419 --> 00:13:22.120 Here's the message. Stop worshiping idols. Because 00:13:22.120 --> 00:13:25.960 we all do. You're listening to Living on the 00:13:25.960 --> 00:13:28.620 Edge. We'll return you to today's message in 00:13:28.620 --> 00:13:31.519 just a second. But let me quickly ask you, do 00:13:31.519 --> 00:13:33.980 you often find it difficult to read and understand 00:13:33.980 --> 00:13:37.100 God's Word? If so, join us after today's program 00:13:37.100 --> 00:13:40.039 as Chip talks about our useful resource, Daily 00:13:40.039 --> 00:13:43.059 Discipleship with Chip. This tool has helped 00:13:43.059 --> 00:13:46.019 tens of thousands of people study the Bible and 00:13:46.019 --> 00:13:48.720 develop a deeper connection to God. Stick around 00:13:48.720 --> 00:13:51.179 to learn how to sign up. Well, with that, let's 00:13:51.179 --> 00:13:53.279 rejoin Chip for the remainder of his message. 00:13:54.090 --> 00:13:58.970 But God is holy. He's distinct. And so the prophet's 00:13:58.970 --> 00:14:03.690 job was simple. To afflict the comfortable and 00:14:03.690 --> 00:14:07.889 to comfort the afflicted. They were always intervening. 00:14:07.909 --> 00:14:13.529 You don't understand. God's available. It's your 00:14:13.529 --> 00:14:15.830 sin. It's what's happened. It's where you are. 00:14:15.909 --> 00:14:18.289 He wants to help. That's what the prophets kept 00:14:18.289 --> 00:14:20.330 saying. And to the people who acted like they 00:14:20.330 --> 00:14:23.700 didn't need him, They had some pretty harsh stuff. 00:14:25.500 --> 00:14:28.299 Through wrath and judgment, this may sound odd, 00:14:28.360 --> 00:14:31.679 but the holiness of God demands that just like 00:14:31.679 --> 00:14:35.159 a great surgeon would see cancer that needs to 00:14:35.159 --> 00:14:38.340 be operated on, I'm telling you, these doctors, 00:14:38.480 --> 00:14:43.019 they're heartless. They really are. My wife had 00:14:43.019 --> 00:14:46.340 cancer. That guy didn't feel bad. He took a little 00:14:46.340 --> 00:14:50.629 sharp knife. He's got a huge scar. Pulled out 00:14:50.629 --> 00:14:54.090 that, pulled out a bunch of lymph glands. He 00:14:54.090 --> 00:14:57.990 didn't feel bad about it at all. Why? Because 00:14:57.990 --> 00:15:02.250 it was killing her. God, when he sees that which 00:15:02.250 --> 00:15:05.730 is killing you, killing a nation, destroying 00:15:05.730 --> 00:15:09.909 what he has made, he brings his righteous wrath 00:15:09.909 --> 00:15:13.590 and judgment. Acts chapter 5. Think about it. 00:15:13.629 --> 00:15:17.309 The very first sin in the church was what? Remember? 00:15:18.299 --> 00:15:20.340 It was hiding money, but the heart of it was 00:15:20.340 --> 00:15:22.860 hypocrisy. It was their money. They didn't have 00:15:22.860 --> 00:15:25.000 to do anything with it. But remember, the goal 00:15:25.000 --> 00:15:27.700 was Barnabas had given a generous gift from the 00:15:27.700 --> 00:15:29.480 heart, and a lot of people were going, isn't 00:15:29.480 --> 00:15:32.240 Barnabas wonderful? And I think Ananias and Sapphira 00:15:32.240 --> 00:15:34.679 said, we want our cake and eat it too. We want 00:15:34.679 --> 00:15:38.059 people to think this about us, but we don't want 00:15:38.059 --> 00:15:40.480 to be that generous. And so what we're going 00:15:40.480 --> 00:15:42.240 to do is we're going to make up a story that, 00:15:42.259 --> 00:15:44.659 you know, we sold it for X amount and we gave 00:15:44.659 --> 00:15:47.200 it all. And the fact of the matter is, you know, 00:15:47.200 --> 00:15:50.200 we put the other in a CD over here, relatively 00:15:50.200 --> 00:15:55.779 speaking. And I mean, now think of this. It's 00:15:55.779 --> 00:15:59.879 the very first sin recorded in the New Testament. 00:16:01.600 --> 00:16:04.200 Why did Satan cause you, you know, to lie to 00:16:04.200 --> 00:16:07.139 the Holy Spirit? Satan has filled your heart. 00:16:08.320 --> 00:16:13.659 What was the consequences? He died. Do you think 00:16:13.659 --> 00:16:15.539 that sent a message through the early church? 00:16:16.580 --> 00:16:18.519 Or, you know, I'm thinking about becoming a Christian. 00:16:18.620 --> 00:16:19.980 You want to become in that group? I don't know. 00:16:22.019 --> 00:16:24.519 I'll tell you what, authenticity was a pretty 00:16:24.519 --> 00:16:27.080 high value in the early church. You don't have 00:16:27.080 --> 00:16:28.840 to have it together, but you better not fake 00:16:28.840 --> 00:16:34.320 it. But what you see, it's just God declares 00:16:34.320 --> 00:16:39.240 his holiness. See, we're living in a day where 00:16:39.240 --> 00:16:43.399 we actually think. that the commands of God are 00:16:43.399 --> 00:16:46.379 like an optional kind of vending machine or salad 00:16:46.379 --> 00:16:49.460 bar. You know, 10 commandments, I'm good with 00:16:49.460 --> 00:16:53.340 one, two, four, seven, and nine. Could I get 00:16:53.340 --> 00:16:59.840 that to go? But really, it's like we've got a 00:16:59.840 --> 00:17:02.080 whole generation in evangelical churches with 00:17:02.080 --> 00:17:03.700 one of those little knives that, well, you know, 00:17:03.740 --> 00:17:06.720 this one about sexual purity, that's pretty Victorian. 00:17:06.839 --> 00:17:09.299 You know, on this one about greed, I mean, you 00:17:09.299 --> 00:17:13.539 know, we're, no, we're not. And so once it happens, 00:17:13.779 --> 00:17:16.859 we're enough people, we look at one another, 00:17:17.059 --> 00:17:19.779 and since we're all, quote, are sort of fudging, 00:17:19.900 --> 00:17:22.740 and people that we respect, well, I really respect 00:17:22.740 --> 00:17:25.319 so -and -so, and he or they do this or they do 00:17:25.319 --> 00:17:27.420 that. And then pretty soon, it's like a little 00:17:27.420 --> 00:17:32.940 cancer and disease. And then the culture of God's 00:17:32.940 --> 00:17:36.299 people, we're no longer distinct. And what I 00:17:36.299 --> 00:17:38.920 can tell you is part of what God will do is he'll 00:17:38.920 --> 00:17:41.400 bring that velvet vice. I mean, 1 Corinthians 00:17:41.400 --> 00:17:45.440 11, this isn't new. Some in the early church, 00:17:45.599 --> 00:17:48.000 the wealthy would come and they would eat and 00:17:48.000 --> 00:17:50.859 they would marginalize the poor and they were 00:17:50.859 --> 00:17:53.299 disgracing the Lord's table. And 1 Corinthians 00:17:53.299 --> 00:17:55.940 11 says, for this reason, some of you are sick, 00:17:56.140 --> 00:17:58.640 judgment, and some of you are asleep. It's a 00:17:58.640 --> 00:18:01.200 technical term in the New Testament for a believer 00:18:01.200 --> 00:18:04.380 who's died. I'll tell you what, if you were in 00:18:04.380 --> 00:18:06.519 a church where some people died because of their 00:18:06.519 --> 00:18:08.859 greed and lack of concern for other believers 00:18:08.859 --> 00:18:10.519 with the Lord's Supper, I'll tell you what, my 00:18:10.519 --> 00:18:14.920 behavior would change. So where's that God today? 00:18:16.400 --> 00:18:20.359 I don't think he's changed. I would suggest that 00:18:20.359 --> 00:18:23.339 we as Christians often blame the media, education, 00:18:23.720 --> 00:18:29.160 some political party. When the salt gets unsalty 00:18:29.160 --> 00:18:31.759 and when the light gets dim, the culture just 00:18:31.759 --> 00:18:35.720 follows. The shift in the culture is not going 00:18:35.720 --> 00:18:38.079 to happen externally. It's going to happen like 00:18:38.079 --> 00:18:41.880 it always has, inside out. It'll be normal people 00:18:41.880 --> 00:18:44.960 like us that live holy lives. And then we all 00:18:44.960 --> 00:18:47.359 have little networks of relationships. And some 00:18:47.359 --> 00:18:50.299 of you have really big ones. And you'll just 00:18:50.299 --> 00:18:52.359 get bold. And by the way, pretty soon it's not 00:18:52.359 --> 00:18:54.779 going to matter. So you might as well be bold 00:18:54.779 --> 00:18:57.500 now. They're going to whack you. You're going 00:18:57.500 --> 00:18:59.519 to become more and more unpopular. And by the 00:18:59.519 --> 00:19:01.680 way, what we know historically is probably good. 00:19:03.339 --> 00:19:05.160 When they got rid of all the missionaries in 00:19:05.160 --> 00:19:07.079 China and they were persecuted, they went from 00:19:07.079 --> 00:19:11.599 a few million to 100, 120 million today. And 00:19:11.599 --> 00:19:14.700 Greece, Germany, we have some very important 00:19:14.700 --> 00:19:16.900 relationships there. What's happening among the 00:19:16.900 --> 00:19:19.759 refugees because of ISIS? I am telling you, tens 00:19:19.759 --> 00:19:21.740 of thousands of people are coming to Christ. 00:19:23.319 --> 00:19:26.380 Christians who are persecuted, this is historically 00:19:26.380 --> 00:19:29.480 always true. God will purify his church. And 00:19:29.480 --> 00:19:31.119 he's probably going to do that to some degree 00:19:31.119 --> 00:19:34.259 and maybe to a big degree in America. So we need 00:19:34.259 --> 00:19:37.140 to get our chin strap on and realize this is 00:19:37.140 --> 00:19:40.039 the spiritual NFL and we want to gain yards and 00:19:40.039 --> 00:19:42.039 people who want to gain yards realize when you 00:19:42.039 --> 00:19:43.640 come through and if it's a good little hole, 00:19:43.700 --> 00:19:45.960 bam, you get hit by a linebacker. Well, you don't 00:19:45.960 --> 00:19:49.019 go, oh, what happened? We got to quit thinking 00:19:49.019 --> 00:19:51.859 that somehow that we are living in a culture 00:19:51.859 --> 00:19:54.630 that is. positive toward our faith and our belief. 00:19:54.809 --> 00:19:56.809 And now we're going to have to learn to love 00:19:56.809 --> 00:20:00.369 people and be kind to people and respond to people 00:20:00.369 --> 00:20:02.970 because good is more powerful than evil as we 00:20:02.970 --> 00:20:07.470 lay out our convictions and live out a life that's 00:20:07.470 --> 00:20:09.410 radically different than probably ever before. 00:20:10.170 --> 00:20:13.990 Because the America that you live in now is not 00:20:13.990 --> 00:20:18.200 the America that was 50, 60 years ago. that was 00:20:18.200 --> 00:20:21.680 very sympathetic, that shared the values. You're 00:20:21.680 --> 00:20:25.640 now intolerant, narrow bigots because you believe 00:20:25.640 --> 00:20:28.619 Jesus is the answer and that there's absolute 00:20:28.619 --> 00:20:31.339 truth. And there's absolute truth about life 00:20:31.339 --> 00:20:34.240 and about eternity and about morality. Now the 00:20:34.240 --> 00:20:37.960 danger is championing that in a way where you're 00:20:37.960 --> 00:20:43.380 hard -headed, legalistic, self -righteous, saying 00:20:43.380 --> 00:20:45.400 that we're better than other people. We've done 00:20:45.400 --> 00:20:48.160 that before. That didn't work. We need to do 00:20:48.160 --> 00:20:50.880 it the way Jesus did. We need to live this amazing 00:20:50.880 --> 00:20:55.160 life before our world that's pure and righteous 00:20:55.160 --> 00:20:59.440 and take a strong stand and then have people 00:20:59.440 --> 00:21:01.680 who think that we're the enemies be absolutely 00:21:01.680 --> 00:21:04.720 astounded. Why are we driving them to the doctor? 00:21:04.920 --> 00:21:08.279 Why are we loving people that outwardly hate 00:21:08.279 --> 00:21:11.019 us? Why do we give good instead of evil? Because 00:21:11.019 --> 00:21:15.970 that is what turns the life around. And that's 00:21:15.970 --> 00:21:21.250 how holiness brings health. His son, obviously, 00:21:21.269 --> 00:21:25.230 the Lord Jesus, a holy birth, his pure sinless 00:21:25.230 --> 00:21:28.269 life. We get the sneak preview of his holiness 00:21:28.269 --> 00:21:32.049 where the transfiguration, his unholy death. 00:21:32.609 --> 00:21:36.869 You understand that all, I mean, this is a great 00:21:36.869 --> 00:21:39.450 theological truth. 2 Corinthians 5 .21 is that. 00:21:39.930 --> 00:21:42.349 When Jesus was hanging on the cross and he said, 00:21:42.369 --> 00:21:45.470 my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Do 00:21:45.470 --> 00:21:48.309 you understand what was happening? For the first 00:21:48.309 --> 00:21:53.690 time in all eternity, God the Father turned away 00:21:53.690 --> 00:21:57.190 from God the Son, and there was a break in the 00:21:57.190 --> 00:22:01.130 fellowship in the singular God, but in the person 00:22:01.130 --> 00:22:03.569 of the Father and the person of the Son, because 00:22:03.569 --> 00:22:08.130 in that... Moment of time, your sin and my sin 00:22:08.130 --> 00:22:11.710 and the sin of all people of all time was placed 00:22:11.710 --> 00:22:16.250 on Christ and he became our sin offering and 00:22:16.250 --> 00:22:20.650 he became sin on our behalf. He carried the weight 00:22:20.650 --> 00:22:25.250 of it all. And then the just wrath of God, the 00:22:25.250 --> 00:22:29.029 just anger of God for all sin of all people was 00:22:29.029 --> 00:22:33.210 placed on Christ and he atoned, he covered it. 00:22:34.950 --> 00:22:37.890 I've often longed for an illustration to try 00:22:37.890 --> 00:22:40.809 and get my arms around holiness because doesn't 00:22:40.809 --> 00:22:44.109 it feel like it's this, it's here and then it's 00:22:44.109 --> 00:22:45.809 here and it's here, but how do you get your arms 00:22:45.809 --> 00:22:48.769 around it? The best picture, I was a young pastor 00:22:48.769 --> 00:22:53.759 in Texas. And I lived in the Dallas area. And 00:22:53.759 --> 00:22:55.700 if you know, between Dallas and Oklahoma, it's 00:22:55.700 --> 00:22:58.359 Tornado Alley. So, I mean, we had tornadoes all 00:22:58.359 --> 00:23:01.359 the time. And I remember hail would come down, 00:23:01.420 --> 00:23:03.380 sometimes golf ball, sometimes like a baseball. 00:23:03.599 --> 00:23:06.240 I mean, it was, all my cars had little dents 00:23:06.240 --> 00:23:10.089 all over them or big dents. And we had just a 00:23:10.089 --> 00:23:13.130 very simple little like 1 ,200 square feet house 00:23:13.130 --> 00:23:15.630 and three small little bedrooms and no basement, 00:23:15.710 --> 00:23:18.130 which is not good when tornadoes come. And so 00:23:18.130 --> 00:23:20.730 they, on the radio, they would tell you, you 00:23:20.730 --> 00:23:22.730 know, if you have that kind of house. But we 00:23:22.730 --> 00:23:25.069 had a bathroom in the center of the house. And 00:23:25.069 --> 00:23:26.809 I get my wife and I only had three kids, three 00:23:26.809 --> 00:23:28.910 kids that I put them in the bathroom. And now 00:23:28.910 --> 00:23:31.990 you get a mattress. And then when all this starts 00:23:31.990 --> 00:23:33.849 happening, and then you take the mattress and 00:23:33.849 --> 00:23:35.230 everyone gets in the bathtub and you put the 00:23:35.230 --> 00:23:38.460 mattress over you. pray like crazy that one, 00:23:38.480 --> 00:23:40.220 it doesn't hit your house, and two, if it does, 00:23:40.259 --> 00:23:44.640 that the house goes and you don't. And it sounds 00:23:44.640 --> 00:23:47.720 funny now, but it was terrifying then. But something, 00:23:47.839 --> 00:23:50.579 what happened is the winds would start, but just 00:23:50.579 --> 00:23:52.640 before they would start, you know, that you, 00:23:52.700 --> 00:23:56.079 you have these sirens, you know, tornado warning, 00:23:56.220 --> 00:23:58.619 you know, and then you'd go out and, you know, 00:23:58.619 --> 00:24:00.539 I'd put my family in the bathroom, but I wanted 00:24:00.539 --> 00:24:03.670 to see what was going on. And there'd be like 00:24:03.670 --> 00:24:06.690 this sky would turn this really funky color of 00:24:06.690 --> 00:24:10.650 pink. And then this sort of weird gray. And it 00:24:10.650 --> 00:24:14.369 would be like this stillness. And it'd be like 00:24:14.369 --> 00:24:17.490 eerie, terrifying, but really kind of beautiful. 00:24:18.670 --> 00:24:22.569 And then the winds would come. It'd go. And so 00:24:22.569 --> 00:24:24.390 I remember, you know, you'd see trees, you know, 00:24:24.410 --> 00:24:26.069 not, I mean, the ones that are around like, they 00:24:26.069 --> 00:24:28.009 were just completely bent over. And then often 00:24:28.009 --> 00:24:30.630 the hail would come down. So I would be in the 00:24:30.630 --> 00:24:33.700 bathroom, you like this. But it was so beautiful. 00:24:34.119 --> 00:24:37.140 There was something that would draw you because 00:24:37.140 --> 00:24:40.259 it was so amazing and so powerful and so terrifying 00:24:40.259 --> 00:24:43.240 and so beautiful at the same time. And so, you 00:24:43.240 --> 00:24:45.460 know, I need to check and see if it's safe yet. 00:24:45.759 --> 00:24:48.140 And I would go out there and I would just see 00:24:48.140 --> 00:24:50.819 the trees and hail coming down. And it's just 00:24:50.819 --> 00:24:53.160 like this. And that's my best picture of the 00:24:53.160 --> 00:24:57.029 holiness of God. There's something so beautiful, 00:24:57.049 --> 00:25:00.029 so powerful. It's like you know about the hurricane. 00:25:00.170 --> 00:25:02.130 In the very center of the hurricane, there's 00:25:02.130 --> 00:25:05.789 this absolute stillness and quiet. And there's 00:25:05.789 --> 00:25:08.369 something about the holiness of God that just, 00:25:08.509 --> 00:25:13.470 it scares you to death. There's such power, and 00:25:13.470 --> 00:25:17.930 yet there's beauty. And I think it's that's what 00:25:17.930 --> 00:25:20.849 the men and women of old, when they got a snapshot 00:25:20.849 --> 00:25:28.279 of God, and it changed them. This is Living on 00:25:28.279 --> 00:25:30.779 the Edge with Chip Ingram, and you've been listening 00:25:30.779 --> 00:25:33.259 to part one of Chip's message, The Holiness of 00:25:33.259 --> 00:25:36.299 God, from our series, The Real God. Chip will 00:25:36.299 --> 00:25:38.380 be back shortly to share some helpful application 00:25:38.380 --> 00:25:42.119 for us to think about. You know, we've all unintentionally 00:25:42.119 --> 00:25:44.559 projected some of humanity's worst qualities 00:25:44.559 --> 00:25:48.259 into our Creator. Many view God as moody, weak, 00:25:48.480 --> 00:25:52.079 unfair, impatient, and merciless. But those ideas 00:25:52.079 --> 00:25:54.940 couldn't be further from the truth. Through this 00:25:54.940 --> 00:25:57.920 series, Chip explores key Bible passages to reveal 00:25:57.920 --> 00:26:00.640 seven fundamental characteristics of our Heavenly 00:26:00.640 --> 00:26:03.700 Father, attributes that reflect the very essence 00:26:03.700 --> 00:26:06.779 of His divine nature. Join Chip on this journey 00:26:06.779 --> 00:26:09.640 to reshape your perspective toward God, which 00:26:09.640 --> 00:26:11.900 will deepen your relationship with Him like never 00:26:11.900 --> 00:26:14.599 before. You won't want to miss a single part 00:26:14.599 --> 00:26:17.519 of this study. Well, before we go on, Chip's 00:26:17.519 --> 00:26:19.900 joined me in studio now to share something with 00:26:19.900 --> 00:26:22.420 all of you. Thanks, Dave. I'll be right back 00:26:22.420 --> 00:26:24.480 to share a few final thoughts for this message. 00:26:24.680 --> 00:26:27.619 But let me pause and ask you a direct question. 00:26:28.059 --> 00:26:30.960 How do you see yourself? And more importantly, 00:26:31.180 --> 00:26:34.619 how do you think God sees you? So often we believe 00:26:34.619 --> 00:26:37.420 lies about ourselves based in shame and guilt 00:26:37.420 --> 00:26:40.180 or insecurities. And I want to give you a divine 00:26:40.180 --> 00:26:43.130 mirror to see yourself. the way God sees you. 00:26:43.349 --> 00:26:45.529 Let me encourage you to sign up for our daily 00:26:45.529 --> 00:26:48.390 discipleship series, Discover Your True Self, 00:26:48.609 --> 00:26:51.130 based in Ephesians chapters one through three. 00:26:51.269 --> 00:26:54.009 This is a free video resource where you and I 00:26:54.009 --> 00:26:56.130 will study the word together for 20 minutes a 00:26:56.130 --> 00:26:58.849 day. 10 minutes with me, and then 10 minutes 00:26:58.849 --> 00:27:01.849 on your own. I promise that if you'll join me 00:27:01.849 --> 00:27:04.089 on this 20 -day adventure through Ephesians, 00:27:04.230 --> 00:27:06.670 you'll break through the lies that we all believe 00:27:06.670 --> 00:27:09.049 about ourselves. You'll get God's perspective 00:27:09.049 --> 00:27:12.049 on who you really are, and you'll build a life 00:27:12.049 --> 00:27:14.910 -changing habit of meeting with God. I sure hope 00:27:14.910 --> 00:27:17.289 you'll check it out. Thanks, Chip. To learn more 00:27:17.289 --> 00:27:19.769 about our daily Discipleship with Chip series, 00:27:20.130 --> 00:27:23.230 Discover Your True Self, go to livingontheedge 00:27:23.230 --> 00:27:26.559 .org. This free video tool will help you ignore 00:27:26.559 --> 00:27:29.559 the lies the enemy tries to tell you and embrace 00:27:29.559 --> 00:27:33.180 the unique, cherished person God created. Again, 00:27:33.220 --> 00:27:35.579 to sign up for this or any of our other daily 00:27:35.579 --> 00:27:39.859 discipleship series, go to livingontheedge .org. 00:27:40.140 --> 00:27:43.619 App listeners, tap discipleship. We'll hear again 00:27:43.619 --> 00:27:46.059 as Chip with a few final words to wrap up this 00:27:46.059 --> 00:27:49.299 program. I don't know about you, but Tozer's 00:27:49.299 --> 00:27:54.690 words haunt me. He said, We know nothing like 00:27:54.690 --> 00:27:58.569 the divine holiness. Left to myself, I reduce 00:27:58.569 --> 00:28:01.950 God and I take this high and holy and majestic 00:28:01.950 --> 00:28:06.009 God and I make him small. And instead of comparing 00:28:06.009 --> 00:28:09.569 myself to his holiness, I tend to find other 00:28:09.569 --> 00:28:11.630 Christians that are a little less holy than me 00:28:11.630 --> 00:28:15.509 and I compare myself to them. And yet when I 00:28:15.509 --> 00:28:18.089 gaze, when I get those brief moments where I 00:28:18.089 --> 00:28:21.410 gaze into the absolute purity and the sinlessness 00:28:21.410 --> 00:28:26.849 and the power of a holy God, it crushes me. How 00:28:26.849 --> 00:28:29.690 about you? What went through your mind when I 00:28:29.690 --> 00:28:33.170 described what the human heart is like? What 00:28:33.170 --> 00:28:35.970 mid -course corrections might you need to make 00:28:35.970 --> 00:28:38.990 in light of the holiness and the purity of God? 00:28:39.710 --> 00:28:42.990 You know, maybe you're like me, and maybe you 00:28:42.990 --> 00:28:46.529 need to repent of a low, casual view of God that 00:28:46.529 --> 00:28:49.029 you don't mean to have, but you've just slipped 00:28:49.029 --> 00:28:52.430 into. Maybe you need to remember that though 00:28:52.430 --> 00:28:55.670 God is eager to be our friend, that he is immortal, 00:28:56.069 --> 00:28:59.970 invisible, the only wise God, that he dwells 00:28:59.970 --> 00:29:04.089 in unapproachable light, and he and he alone 00:29:04.089 --> 00:29:09.049 is holy. Almighty God, would you please forgive 00:29:09.049 --> 00:29:13.450 us today as you listen to our voice at this moment 00:29:13.450 --> 00:29:18.319 for reducing you, for making you like us. Lord, 00:29:18.400 --> 00:29:21.700 we say that you are totally other and pure, and 00:29:21.700 --> 00:29:24.460 we ask today that you would help us to see you 00:29:24.460 --> 00:29:28.119 accurately and then live appropriately. In Jesus' 00:29:28.220 --> 00:29:32.410 name, amen. Amen. Thanks, Chip. Let me take a 00:29:32.410 --> 00:29:34.589 quick second before we go and thank the generous 00:29:34.589 --> 00:29:36.869 people who support this ministry every month. 00:29:36.990 --> 00:29:39.930 Your faithful gifts help us inspire Christians 00:29:39.930 --> 00:29:42.910 to live like Christians. If you haven't partnered 00:29:42.910 --> 00:29:45.269 with us, would you prayerfully consider joining 00:29:45.269 --> 00:29:47.809 the Living on the Edge team? You can set up a 00:29:47.809 --> 00:29:51.869 monthly donation at livingontheedge .org or by 00:29:51.869 --> 00:29:59.410 calling 888 -333 -6003. That's 888 -333 -6003. 00:30:00.079 --> 00:30:04.259 visit livingontheedge .org. App listeners, tap 00:30:04.259 --> 00:30:07.380 Donate. Well, from all of us here, I'm Dave Drewy, 00:30:07.380 --> 00:30:09.359 thanking you for listening to this edition of 00:30:09.359 --> 00:30:11.940 Living on the Edge, and I hope you'll join us 00:30:11.940 --> 00:30:12.819 again next time.