The Holiness Accord

The holiness of God is a central attribute that signifies His absolute purity, moral perfection, and separation from sin. The Hebrew word for holy, “qadosh,” conveys the idea of being set apart or distinct.  I’ll go a step farther and say it is impossible for God to sin. His eternal existence alone means He sets the bar of holiness. It is all He can be. He is Holiness. God’s Perfect Purity is foundational to His nature and is emphasized throughout Scripture. This is why He is worthy of all Worship. No one and nothing else can be, because no one or nothing else is Holy but God!

In knowing this, we are hit with the dilemma that One so Holy cannot be in harmony with anyone or anything that has sin apart of their DNA, like mankind. This is of course the reason Jesus, “Yeshua”, which means Salvation, came to the rescue of mankind. We were doomed as long as we were hopelessly cursed to be separated from our Creator God by such a great gulf! But Glory to His name, the Blood of Jesus washed away the sin, the curse and the guilt that separated us from our Heavenly Father. Now we can be unified with God and unified with our purpose.

Listen to what Jesus prayed to His Father on behalf of us, in John 17:11;
“Now I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to You. Holy Father, You have given Me Your name; now protect them by the power of Your name so that they will be united just as we are.”  Did you catch that?  “Just as we are”? Wow! In my mind, I can’t conceive of this. Being united with such a Holy God. But Jesus not only conceived it, He made it possible! How humbling! How wonderful! This is just one of the reasons He is worthy of All worship! God the Father loved you and I so much that He wanted us to be in one accord. Jesus was sent to open the door to that possibility and to be the door. And the Holy Spirit is divinely placed in us who believe so that we can be supernaturally unified to God. Lord I don’t feel worthy of this, but I joyfully accept it by faith through Your Son Jesus, my Lord and Savior!  – Amen

Praise the Lord for the Blessings we saw in April of this year. Lives have been touched, we have seen healings, and we have seen the Lord move. Now that we have renewed our celebration of Jesus’ Resurrection in our thoughts, now is the time to realign ourselves with the purpose of the Church and SHOW that HE LIVES. Some have even said that they do not have to show up to some church to prove they know God. Here is why the Lord Jesus, who gave Himself for the church, disagrees.
WHY CHURCH?
1. The Church is purposed to Glorify God. All that is done in the church is supposed to Glorify God. Ephesians 3:20-21 “Glory to God in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.” The church is not placed here for us only, but primarily for God, to display God’s greatness, love, justice, and mercy to the world.
2. The Church is purposed to Make Disciples. Jesus gave the church it’s purpose statement: Matthew 28:18-20 “Go into all the world and make disciples…” This includes evangelism (Reaching the lost), baptism (public transformation), teaching (discipleship), and connecting others of faith (fellowship) .
3. The Church is purposed to be the Body of Christ. We are how Jesus continues His mission on earth. 1 Corinthians 12:27 “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” This mean serving one another, using spiritual gifts, and being a visible expression of Christ’s love and truth.
4. The Church is a Preview of the Kingdom of God. The church is called to be
“now-&-not-yet signposts of heaven.” Revelation 7:9-10 offers a glimpse of what heaven is made up of: A diverse, worshipping people deeply connected to God. We become a preview of this by how we live, love, forgive, and serve—pointing all who see us, the church, to the reality of God’s Kingdom.
The Church was never meant to be a gathering of religious observers, but an active body of passionate disciples, continuing what Jesus started. Let’s pray and mobilize together: “Father Use Me”.

                                                                                                         * Source: James A. Murray

There are a few answers that are obvious to us who are believers. Let’s go over just a few; in short: Jesus died for me to save me from my sins and break the curse of sins control over me. When Jesus died on the cross, He suffered the punished for our sins; both physically and spiritually so we could be brought to the Father blameless. Because Jesus suffered our punishment, we are acquitted of all guilt and made righteous in God’s eyes. (1 Peter 3:18) The greatest news of all is that through faith in Jesus’ finished work on the cross and His resurrection, we have the promise of eternal life in heaven to be with God.
But there are some earthly reasons Jesus died for me as well. Jesus died for me so He could use me with the time I have been gifted to live on this earth. He died for me so I could take on His mission and become a representative of His hands and feet to the world. God anoints me with His Holy Spirit so I can be an extension of His Love, showing the world His compassion and grace. (Ephesians 4:32) God uses my gifts, talents and abilities to serve His Kingdom instead of serving myself or the devil.  (1 Corinthians 12:5-6)
Jesus did not die on the cross for me so I could sit around waiting for Him to come back. He did not die for me so I could binge my favorite TV shows at home. He did not die for me so I could sit on a pew at church and never participate in the ministry. He did not die for me so I could complain about how those who are serving and doing for the Lord are not doing it to meet my preferences. He did not die for me so I could find fault in others and be judgmental about how “they” are living. Jesus died for me so I could SERVE HIS FATHER. When Jesus comes back, He is going to step out on the clouds and call us up to be with Him. We will have an eternity to serve and worship God in heaven. But if our “salvation” never motivates us to serve Him and worship Him on earth…are we truly ready to go? Has Jesus death and Resurrection really changed me and moved me? This Easter and beyond, let’s pray with much soul searching: “Father, use me.”

Have you ever had a favorite cup, plate, or even a decoration that broke? But because you liked it so much you glued it back together so it could be used anyway?

It’s kind of what God did for us right? I mean, do you have any brokenness in you?  Things from your past, issues you have struggled with or just things that have happened in your life that have broken you?  God is not only in the business of fixing the broken, He thrives on it!  Psalms 34:18 says “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit.” But more powerful than this is the many examples in the Bible of God using broken, damaged, and flawed people. We heard of some of these recently in our revival like Sampson, David, Abraham, Moses, Rahab, Naomi, Ruth, Joseph, Jacob, Peter, Paul, Matthew, and the list goes on and on! As the song says: “If You can use anything Lord, You can use me”.  And what God needs more than anything today is laborers!  Matthew 9:37 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.” We were challenged in the revival to stop focusing our prayers for the world but for laborers who can save the world. As Jesus instructed us in the next verse 38: “So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask Him to send more workers into His fields.”
God will not only fix, repair, and save the broken so we can be used again; He will deliver us, break strongholds, pour into us His precious Holy Spirit, and anoint us to use our unique giftings in powerful ways! GOD CAN! And He can do it through you!  God keeps putting in my spirit about us taking His word to the streets, to the people, to our community. There are some broken people out there that need to hear this gospel message. Ask God. Is it Your will for me to be apart of this? “Father Use Me”. I want to make this a reality. I want Grace Family Fellowship to touch our community with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I’ve got lots of ideas, but I need help! God needs laborers. We can do it! In Jesus name!

What is your vehicle’s passenger capacity? If you have a mini-van or large SUV, it might can squeeze in 8 people total. If you have a sedan, you might can squeeze in 5 passengers. Okay, so what is your love capacity? How many people can you love? Your spouse? Children? Siblings? How many people do you have the capacity to love?

If we are to love like Jesus, Jesus has the capacity to love the whole world! 1 John 2:2 says: [Jesus] “Himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of the whole world.” And of course, we know what John 3:16 says. Jesus even said in Matthew 5:44 “I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!”  I believe this is so important for us to be reminded of. So often it feels like there is a struggle for Christians to even show love for other Christians. Or at least treat one another with respect and kindness. To show mercy. To forgive one another. To treat each other the way we would want someone to treat us. That’s in the Bible too. But Jesus calls us to so much more! He calls us to love like He loves. And the only way we can do that is if we have the Love of Jesus inside of us. And most importantly, to have Jesus inside of us and for us to be in Jesus.

If we are having problems having patience, showing mercy, exhibiting kindness to those who are “easy” to love. How can we love our enemy? The point is, there is something wrong with our relationship with God if we can’t show love to those “WE” should have the capacity to show love to. Because God calls us to have love for those we do not have the capacity to love…without HIS HELP. So we need a REVIVAL of love in our hearts. In 1 Chronicles 4:10 “The prayer of Jabez” he prayed: “Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” So God granted him what he requested. And God can do the same for us. “Enlarge my territory” could definitely be “enlarge my capacity to love”. And Father, help us not to have evil in our hearts so we do not cause others pain. Instead, we pray Father, that You help us to bless others out of the overflow of revival in our hearts! Father, help us to love like You love! I can only do that with Your help LORD. Amen.