When you were kids how many of you guys pretended to be Superman? Roy Rogers? Spiderman? How many of you in your adult life have had moments when you would like to be one of those action heroes in order to right some wrong? In each of us there is a desire for the heroic, for the supernatural; to be or do something significant and to do something extraordinary. This is why movies have such a hold on us because we want to be caught up in a story that is bigger than ourselves.

You may not know this, but God Himself has placed this desire in you.

God has created each one of us to be extraordinary. In fact we could rename our church, the Church of Extraordinary People. According to the Bible, the church (you and me) is designed to be a people who are filled with God’s Spirit and are developing a model community, a prototype of heaven, which shows the world the amazing power, presence, and life of the living God on earth. You were created, and the church is designed, to illustrate the extraordinary character of God. We are to be set apart and different from everyone else so that they can see what God looks like when God is at work in us so that they will say, “That’s what I want in my life.” The Biblical word for this is holiness.

The question that begs to be answered is this: is there any difference between those of us who claim the name of Jesus and those who do not? George Barna’s national surveys seem to indicate that there is no difference in the lives of the saved and unsaved, the Christian and the pagan. I am encouraged however by Barna’s newest research that indicates that things are improving.

What would it take for us to be a holy people and fulfill the extraordinary destiny God has planned for us?

1. What is holiness anyway? Unfortunately for many people the idea of holiness brings to mind much more negative than positive thoughts—like snake handlers, people swooning in the aisles, or maybe a lot of rules, rigidity and legalism. For some holiness smacks of wearing plain dark clothing, hair in a bun and no makeup, constantly reading the Bible and having no fun at all! The world and Satan and even the Church has done a good job in painting holiness as dreary rather than joyful.

Holiness is rooted in God’s character. Most people think first of God as love but love is a result of His holiness. God is primarily holy…that is His essence and out of holiness comes love, grace, mercy, kindness, and the other attributes of God. The Bible also clearly sets Yahweh apart from all the other gods, which means that our God is unique, different, one of a kind. The literal meaning of the word “holy” means, “set apart, different, special.” Our God is very different from Amon Re, Jupiter, Venus, Mars, Ba’al, Ashteroth, and the other ancient gods. Our God is so different than our modern gods like Allah, Hare Krishna, and the gods of humanism like Hinduism, Scientology, and New Age.

The Bible tells us in Genesis that God made us in His image. His plan for us is that we “be holy as He is holy.” God’s desire is that we be holy like Him!

2. So, what’s the point? What does God desire to DO with His holiness? In 1 Corinthians 10 Paul illustrates the concept of holiness by using the Old Testament nation of Israel. Through Abraham, God had chosen the Hebrew people to be His people, to be a people very different from everyone else, a people who were extraordinary. God wanted to show a watching world what He looked like and what His character was through His chosen people, the Hebrews. Exodus 19:5-6 says, “…all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and an holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel.” As we see in the Old Testament, time and again they failed to live out that holy covenant. True, they were God’s people, but they were neither different nor set apart in the character and lifestyle.

Today, God’s call for His people to be holy is still on the table. The difference is that now we have God’s Holy Spirit, not just with us, but also now dwelling IN us as believers. Note that He is the HOLY Spirit. Again a different kind of spirit, a spirit like no other, unique, and one of a kind. God’s ultimate goal to develop a holy people hasn’t changed, but He did develop a new covenant through Jesus, His Son. And God gave us a new power, His Holy Spirit within the believer. 1 Peter 2:9, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”

Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:19-22, “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling for God by the Spirit.”

So, what is God’s plan for us? God’s plan is to display His holiness through us who are called to be different than ordinary humans, to be extraordinary like our God. God’s first and primary goal for us is to be holy. Some of you know the name Joe Theismann, former NFL quarterback and ESPN host. Here is what he supposedly said to his soon to be second wife on why he had an affair, “God wants Joe Theismann to be happy.” That is ordinary humanity talking, not redeemed and saved talk. God’s greatest desire for us is not that we would be happy, but holy! God knows that when our primary goal is to be happy, we aren’t happy, but when we are holy, then we are also happy! What a contrast between God’s way and the world ways. God has planned for us to be

• Loving vs. selfish

• Gracious vs. unkind

• Forgiving vs. unmerciful

• Giving vs. hoarding

• Joyful vs. despairing and depressed

• Peace-filled vs. anxiety and worry and turmoil

• Handling life with grace and truth vs. dishonesty and anger

Someone has said that God’s glory is “His holiness going public.” So here are the questions for us: Are you holy? Do you want to be holy, like that? Do you want to be a part of a community, a church that is like that? Depending on your answers to these questions, you can keep listening or feel free to zone out or take a nap! The next question is how can we get there, how can we become “holy as He is holy?”

3. How does God plan to release His holiness through us? Again Paul uses the story of the Hebrew people and their unholiness to illustrate the path to holiness for our lives. Holiness is both a crisis and a process. The crisis is that point in our lives when we come to the place that we desire not only to have Jesus in our lives but that He be Lord of our lives. It is when Jesus gets in the driver’s seat, when we put His name on the owner’s title of our lives. Holiness is a point of decision. Holiness is also a process. We see it in the Israelites. Unfortunately the vast majority of the Hebrews failed to graduate from the school of holiness. God’s method was to teach them a truth, then give them a test. Sadly at almost every turn they failed the tests. The nation of Israel missed God’s holiness by at least 4 wrong responses:

TEST --> RESPONSES

1. 40 days without Moses --> Idolatry verse 7

2. Immoral neighbors --> Immorality verse 8

3. No food or water --> Impatience verse 9

4. Bad report from spies --> Insubordination verse 10

Because of our natural sin nature, when we come to Christ in salvation, we are very unholy. There is much about us that is not like Jesus. Like a sculptor God begins to chip away everything in us that doesn’t k like him. He puts us into circumstances that are designed to reveal our unholiness so that we could come to Him in repentance—confess it and repent of it. Since the Holy Spirit now lives in us as Christians we can live from the inside out, letting the Spirit of God take control and give us the power and ability to respond in holy ways. The more we do that, the more holy we become as God chips away our excess ‘stone’ in our lives. The spiritual nature increases and the carnal, fleshly nature decreases. It’s a kind of retraining. Look at Hebrews 12:10b-11, “He disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”

Only Christians have the Holy Spirit in them and only they have the potential to become extraordinary humans. How are you doing? Are you passing the holiness tests or are you more like the Israelites—turning to idols to fill your life? Running to immorality to fill the vacuum? Responding in disobedience? Grumbling and complaining about the very things God is using to make you like holy like Him?

Sometimes we think God is asking too much of us, and the tests are too difficult. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 10:13 that every test we face is

• Common to man: Others are gone through the same thing and succeeded. This erases our self-pity.

• Controlled by God: “God is faithful.” God knows you even better than you know yourself. When you are in the furnace of life, remember God controls the thermostat. This erases our fear.

• Conquerable by you: He “will also provide a way of escape that you be able to endure it.” In other words, by the power of God’s Spirit you do have everything you need to become holy.

Becoming holy is not for the faint and weak-hearted because we live in a sin-wrecked world. Satan is working hard in unholiness and is seeking to destroy your holiness. Our lives are like a garden. Weeds grow naturally and are plentiful. Flowers must be planted and cared for, nurtured and watered. If left unattended weeds will take over the garden and they will choke out the flowerbed. Is an extraordinary life of holiness possible? Absolutely, but it doesn’t come naturally. The fruit of the Spirit need careful attention—nourished and watered, carefully and systematically nurtured, and it takes time. At the same time we watch for the weeds and get rid of them as soon as they appear.

Fruit or weeds—what’s in your life?

Thank You for Taking The Time to Read This Message.
May God Use These Words to Help You and Strengthen You.