Sermon Title: Why is Holiness Dying Out?
Scripture: 2 Chronicles 30:17-20
Wesleyan Community Church
Terry, Mississippi
Sunday Morning – June 23, 2002
Scripture Introduction:
As I was driving back from the hospital the other morning, I was reflecting and praying about the sad state that our holiness camp has fallen into. You look about and you imagine what it was like in its prime, with all the cabins dressed up and well maintained, the sounds of praise and worship filling the air, and the continual reports of lives changed and souls saved.
If you walk through the camp now, you see the decades of neglect very evident in each and every area. The paint is fading, the vegetation is rapidly encroaching on many of the cabins, in fact some of the cabins have vines that are growing well in the inside. Vandals have broken out several hundred pieces of glass, and some roofs are falling in and the remainder are perhaps 10 years overdue a new layer of shingles. Floors are weakened by infestation of termites and the general lack of upkeep. In many respects, it has become a virtual ghost town.
It then becomes only natural to try to figure out why this has been allowed to happen, who did not do their part in continuing what was once an awesome display of God’s power through the presence of the Holy Spirit. The fact of the matter is, the Holy Spirit never left the camp or for that matter, the holiness movement, it is the men and women who have abandoned it, but before they ever abandoned the camp and the holiness churches, they lost touch with the will and the way of the Holy Spirit.
The standard response to this, is that it is the younger generation that has failed to carry the torch of holy living forward. That is true enough, however looking at the example that was set before them, they saw little reason to continue on. When I look back at my own walk toward Christ, and when I compare it to the walk of others toward Christ, I see many similarities. Unfortunately, there are more similarities between myself and my contemporaries and the lost of this world, then comparing myself with some of the holiness movement. If the holiness movement dies, it will be the direct result of their own unplugging of their spiritual life-support systems.
The people of the church that I began with did more to keep me away from ever developing a relationship with Jesus then those who lived in the sinful lifestyles that I was eventually delivered out of. That speaks volumes of the present day effort by the holiness churches to win lost souls. They have become ingrown, inbred, inactive and ineffective. Instead of seeking to point out where others are in need of correction, we would better spend our time seeking the face of God so that His reflection may be seen in us, and through that allow others to see what they truly must strive to become.
Please join me in the reading of this mornings text:
Scripture Reading: 2 Chronicles 30:17-20
17 For there were many in the congregation that were not sanctified therefore the Levites had the charge of the killing of the passovers for every one that was not clean, to sanctify them unto the LORD. 18 For a multitude of the people, even many of Ephraim, and Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet did they eat the passover otherwise than it was written But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying The good LORD pardon every one 19 That prepareth his heart to seek God, the LORD God of his fathers, though he be not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary. 20 And the LORD hearkened to Hezekiah, and healed the people.
Sermon Introduction:
One of the wonderful blessings that we get when we recall the events that led up to and follow our glorious passage from lost soul to a child of the King are the ability to compare from whence we came to where we are in the process that God has called us to. The song says it all, “He’s still working on me!” Praise His name that He didn’t stop by simply saving my soul from an eternity in hell, He is continuing the process of forming, shaping, purifying, and yes – the unpopular word with the non-holiness people – perfecting me. I remember, right after I was first saved, that it was time to go to Wednesday evening service and the weather was hot and humid. I was wearing a pair of decent looking shorts, that were what I considered long enough. Laura asked me when I was going to change into something that was appropriate, and I didn’t have a clue as to what she was talking about, but I went ahead and changed before going to church, and knowing now what I did not then, I would have more than likely received an earful about disgracing God’s house. The rebuke that I would have received, would have been unkind like many that I have heard there and places elsewhere. God has brought me to the point now, where I would never dream about wearing shorts to church, not through a self-appointed holy fashion council, but through the gentle nudging and nurturing of the Holy Spirit.
I am glad that Laura spoke up and certainly glad that I listened to her, because otherwise, those that considered themselves as the appointed, would not have welcomed a new Christian but instead chased another one away, perhaps never to return. This is continuing on in all fronts and all aspects of the ministry. I do not condone compromise, but at the same time we need not terrorize those that are earnestly and honestly seeking to be used and improved for the kingdom of God.
What can we do to avoid this unneeded cruelty to those that are searching for a way to find Jesus? The answer is that we need to continue to seek Jesus in our own lives. The name of this church is a perfect example of a blending off standards that the Bible clearly stresses. This church is named for the combination of nourishment that God intends for His people to receive. There are those that need the meat, and there are those that can handle only the milk. The problem with this combination is oftentimes the attitudes of those that are taking the meat is like adding vinegar to the milk, it becomes curdled and unappetizing for the hungry soul. When we say, Wesleyan – Community church, we combine the goal of seeking holiness and the goal of seeking a beginning relationship with Christ. They are both a process and neither one is a destination. In God’s kingdom, while we are upon the face of this earth, we will not arrive.
So while we are in the process of being daily improved, why not do something that will make us useful in the meantime. I hate to say it, but there is entirely to much talk and not enough action in the churches of today, in many cases it is all talk and no action. We come up with an idea and we send it to committee, there we select a smaller committee to do the research, which is turned over to another committee to check out its feasibility and then it goes before another board to ensure that it doesn’t offend anyone to the point where they stop contributing to the church.
We need to be men and women of action, and when we are confronted with charges of promoting a social Gospel, why not let that charge go through one ear and out the other. We have selective hearing on other things, why not use that dubious gift for a good reason. How can we ever expect to become proficient in working for the kingdom of God, if we never get our hands dirty? It is time to take our plow out of the museum!
Let us pause for a moment of prayer!
Point 1: God ain’t through with me yet!
As I was looking through the Scripture researching the concept of seeking the Lord, this particular text sprung to my attention:
2 Chron. 30:18b-20a “But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying The good LORD pardon every one 19 That prepareth his heart to seek God, the LORD God of his fathers, though he be not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary. 20 And the LORD hearkened to Hezekiah, and healed the people.
The background of this Scripture is that there were those that were seeking God, that had been living among the pagan community for so long that they knew nothing else other than their need for God, and they came to worship and celebrate, and even though they were clueless about the requirements, they still sought God.
Hezekiah intercedes on their behalf and God heals them. I can give you similar examples that take place today, there are many people who know there is more to life then what they see in front of them, and when they figure out that this something is Jesus, they have two possible outcomes. The first is that they try to begin finding a church, but are more or less put off and put down as outsiders, “They don’t belong to our group!” With this as an introduction to Christianity, they turn their backs on God, perhaps never to return, thinking it was only their imagination that told them there was more to life. Secondly, they could come in and be totally unaware of what is considered “acceptable church behavior” and are not lovingly shown the beginnings of following how God wishes them to live.
I can tell you of an instance where a couple were seeking to begin living for God, actually going through the process of repenting and correcting the errors of the way that they lived, and asked to be baptized, and afterwards the church board decided that they were not of the caliber that the church wanted as members. This out of a holiness church. We need to heed these warnings and not fall into these traps ourselves.
We cannot expect those that we bring in to conform to each and every standard immediately, nor can we enforce those standards upon them, that we must leave for the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit alone. We cannot make them grow in the things of Christ, no matter how long we talk and no matter what color our face turns. It doesn’t matter! The Holy Spirit alone will place the desire to move forward in their hearts.
Point 2: The process of seeking never stops!
Just as the process of learning never stops, there is also no stopping in our learning of the things of God. We do not cease to have the ability to learn and there is never a point where we are so advanced that we needn’t learn any more. There are those that consider themselves perfect, and I might add that they are indicating that they have arrived at some deific stage in their lives. I knew a pastor from another denomination that avoided talking to me, because of the way that sanctified life was defined to him. The last holiness pastor that he met tried to convince him that absolute perfection was possible in this life, the sad thing was that there are many that are convinced of this and push people away from seeking Jesus. We are to seek perfection, but we need to remember that unless we find Jesus first, the seeking of holiness is pointless.
I found the following Scripture that describes this well:
Isa 55:6 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found call ye upon him while he is near:
The word “seek” is an ongoing process, that must continue through time. We cannot simply find Jesus and leave it at that. If we seek to remain in the sunlight, we must follow a path that follows the sun. If we wish to remain in the Son’s light, we must follow a path that follows the Son.
There is also the inference hear that we have specific opportunities to be in the Son’s light. Anytime is a good time to begin a relationship with Jesus, however, there are times that might be more opportune than others. There are times when there are specific people that have been positioned by God to aid and assist in our spiritual growth. Neglect that opportunity and the next chance may not offer as much support.
We are to call upon the Son while He is near. Does that mean that He is leaving us behind, if that is the case then it is by our choice, we remember the Scripture that tells us “I will never leave you or forsake you”. We are to call upon Him when we are in that close relationship to Him.
The process of seeking and calling upon are all things that are continual. We don’t seek for a certain length of time, we continually seek Him. We don’t call on Him at specific intervals, we are to call on Him constantly, and we are to remain in close proximity to Him. This process also never states that these are requirements during certain phases of our walk with Christ. This is required in the beginning, as we begin to mature spiritually, and continues on even well into the times when we would be considered “saints” of the church. Seniority sitting in the pew does not excuse us from actively seeking a fresh encounter with Jesus.
Point 3: It is time to take our plow out of the museum!
Let us now look at a section of Scripture found in the book of Hosea. This section follows right along with the active action of the previous Scripture verse:
Ho 10:12 Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.
The action words are sowing as in seeds, reaping as in harvest, cultivating as in preparation, seeking as in active pursuit and finally waiting as in the fulfillment of a promise. These are all terms that have absolutely nothing to do with warming a pew and everything to do with hitting the bricks with the Gospel message as our purpose.
Notice that this has very little to do with holiness until the very end, and it is nothing that we do for ourselves, it is what the Lord will in turn do to us. We are to sow the seeds, in other words, we may never see the result of what we sow, and the result of what we sow was never God’s intent for us in the first place. The sowing of the seed is just as important as every step that leads up to the harvest, in fact without the process of sowing there will be no harvest. We may not be able to get them to come to church, we may not be able to get them to come to our church, but if they eventually come to a Bible believing church, then big deal if they are not in this particular fellowship, as long as they are in fellowship with true believers.
We may need to be involved in the cultivation of a new Christian. They may be as those that were not prepared and required the nurture and prayer of Hezekiah. They may not know anything about Scripture. They may not know anything about Christian traditions. They may not know any hymns. They may not know the depth of the sinful condition that they are being led out of. All they know is that Jesus will take them the way that they are, and in His time turn them into what He would have them be. We are guilty of forgetting that on a regular basis.
We may be called to participate in the harvest. This is a little of our treasure in heaven allocated to us while we are still upon the face of this earth. There is nothing sweeter then to be blessed with the privilege of praying alongside a tearful sinner on their way to becoming a child of the King. There is nothing better than to watch somebody whom you have tried to witness to surrender their carnal will and longingly seek to be captive to the will of God.
Conclusion:
There is much truth to the statement “God ain’t through with me yet!” I am so grateful that He revealed Himself to me a little at a time, because if I would have been made aware of everything that I am aware of now, my mind would surely have been overwhelmed.
The best is yet to come. The more we learn the better equipped we are to understand the next lesson that He so graciously arranges for us. We never get to the point where all that is required of us is to sit and wait for His return, we must learn until He returns.
We also need to remember The process of seeking our Lord and Savior never stops! I will not settle for simply seeking the face of Jesus during my morning devotions! I will not settle for simply seeking the face of Jesus during my time of prayer. I am not satisfied with just Sunday mornings, Sunday evenings, Wednesday at prayer and Bible study. I want to seek the face of Jesus 24 hours a day and seven days a week. I want to seek Jesus and after I have found Him, I wish to seek Him all the more. This is what we need to be doing as Christians. We needn’t be bickering over petty doctrinal issues! We needn’t be carrying grudges one for the other! We needn’t be badmouthing the other denominations! We need to be seeking Jesus on a full time basis and if that is what we are doing the results will be visible. Moses was in the presence of God for 40 days, imagine that 40 glorious days with our heavenly Father and when he returned he was so full of the radiance of the King that PEOPLE COULDN’T HELP BUT NOTICE!
It is time to take our plow out of the museum! Yes, we need the time of worship and praise and prayer and testimony with our fellow Brothers and Sisters. Anyone who says that they needn’t fellowship is missing out on the recharging benefits of our mutual worship and adoration of our Lord and King. We need to sit and listen to the messages. If we fail to get blessed then perhaps we ought to pray harder that we receive a blessing. Anytime God’s Word is read at a service, it isn’t the service that is dead, it is the once on fire servant who is dead and cold for the things of God.
Get up and shout hallelujah if the Spirit so guides you! Let the Amen’s be heard. Get out among the world and proclaim the Word of God like it was meant to be shared. Yes we wish to stress holy loving, but if we don’t even try to get people saved, the what use to them is holiness.
Jesus set an example for each and every one of us to follow, and how are we at living up to His example. Jesus touched and healed a leper, yet how many of us would not even associate at a distance with a person suffering from AIDS. Jesus’ last outreach from the cross took a thief from an eternity in hell to paradise, while we wouldn’t even pass so much as entertain a thought to invite a thief to church. There is work to be done, there are souls to be saved, yes we are called to holiness, but never at the expense of those that are still seeking a way out.
If God has done all that He will ever do in your life, then you are dismissed. If you are satisfied that you have sought Jesus’ face sufficiently, then you are dismissed. If you feel no obligation or feel that you have done your part for God’s Kingdom, then you are dismissed. However, if you feel that you are lacking in all of these areas, then let us all join hands in a prayer of rededication.
Close with chorus:
I Have Decided to Follow Jesus
