Exodus 19 - The Beauty of Holiness

I will invite you to open up your Bibles

to the book of Exodus chapter 19 Exodus

chapter 19 so you're like wait a minute

haven't we been preaching on the book of

Acts for the past like 10 years you know

is there any other book in the Bible

some of you might be wondering I think

I'm pretty much done right it's all all

the sermons from the book of Acts are on

our YouTube page you can get to that

through the church web page and click in

and feel free to check out those if you

want we might revisit it but I think

we're moving on and you know it's

interesting timing that the song that we

kind of saying that the Lord really

brought us to today was that a song that

began with a if there's one word that we

could use to describe if there's one

word they could sum everything up for us

as we come to the Lord what would that

word be and the word was holy holy and

that is a powerful word and a word that

I think what exactly does that mean what

does it mean that God is holy what does

it mean that we're to be holy we have

this sense that it is absolutely central

that it sums up everything and yet what

exactly does it mean and how do we enter

into that we're going to be talking in

the coming weeks about the beauty of

holiness the beauty of holiness and I

know that can sound like a a strange

phrase the beauty of holiness because

for many of us when we think about

holiness we don't think about beauty we

think about other things and different

misconceptions we might have but we're

going to be exploring the beauty and the

majesty of the holiness of God and how

that sticks to each one of us as we

become his treasured possession amen so

Exodus chapter 19 starting in verse 1

we're going to read something that I

would consider the proposal where King

Yahweh the Lord of the universe proposes

to the people of Israel that they would

become

his people Exodus 19 verse 1 just read

it in your rival it's there okay on the

first day of the third month after the

israelites left egypt on that very day

they came to the desert of sinai and

after they set out from ref adine they

entered the desert of sinai and israel

in camp there in the desert in front of

the mountain then Moses went up to God

and the Lord called to him from the

mountain and said this is what you are

to say to the descendants of Jacob and

what you are to tell the people of

Israel you yourselves have seen what I

did to Egypt and how I carried you on

eagle's wings and brought you to myself

now if you obey me fully and keep my

covenant than out of all the nations you

will be my treasured possession although

the whole earth is mine you will be for

me a kingdom of priests and a holy

nation these are the words that Moses

was to speak to the Israelites Father

and Jesus name I pray God that your Holy

Spirit would be here teaching us today

you are the Good Shepherd and I pray

that we as your sheep would hear the

Shepherd's voice today that we would

hear you communicating your heart to

each one of us lord I pray God that your

power would be made perfect in our

weakness is Lord and that we would hear

your heart what you're speaking to us

today Holy Spirit we give you free rein

in this time in jesus name amen amen

holiness holiness what are some of the

images that come to mind when you think

of that word just think to yourself if I

were in a class I'd ask for hands and I

would hear it from people but I won't do

that here but when you think of Holy of

a holy person some of us might bristle

little bit some because we might be from

a background where holiness means you

will bei a lot of rules where holiness

means you let people have it if they

don't obey the right rules right some of

us might have the image of a grim kind

of puritanical and by the way the

Puritans really weren't so bad but we

won't talk about that but a kind of a

grim super serious holy Rite got the

voices got to get deeper holy kind of a

scary thought others might have a

positive impression you might imagine a

person who is just so perfect and holy

then there's nothing that they could do

wrong that they float they just float

right they don't have to walk they can

just try to float around because they've

never sinned maybe they're you think of

like the heroes right do you think of

the mother Teresa you think of the Pope

maybe you think of somebody who just

seems like a monk someone who's so

perfect they certainly don't have to get

up on monday morning and fight with

traffic to go to work they certainly

don't like football and they wouldn't

laugh at a joke or maybe they would but

only the good ones don't leave the nice

ones right sometimes the positive

misconception of holiness does more

damage than the negative because holy

people are someone else someone who

lives in a monastery someone or maybe in

the Protestant setting maybe the

missionary right the mission or someone

who goes we think or a minister a

full-time clergy person but it's not me

I'm just a normal guy if you are a

Christian you do not have the option of

being a normal guy or a normal gal you

are what is called in the King James

Version a peculiar people gotta love

that a

distinctive people a holy people and

that might mean that you accepted Jesus

yesterday and you got a lot of stuff

you're still working at you're a holy

person in discipleship level two we

talked about the process of

sanctification and under the place with

the place where I have people put their

names you know the blank where you write

their name I put before the blank the

words the letter S T period st. and then

you got to fill it in does that mean you

have arrived no but does it mean you're

a saint according to the New Testament

we are saints of the Living God in the

process of becoming holy it is a reality

and a process and it's a beautiful

process sometimes we think of the

process of discovering holiness like I

said before as a stressful process a

process where we get to feel guilty a

lot right anyone good at guilt now every

culture yeah every cultures got their

own way of trafficking and guilts we've

all got our own flavors of killed I'm

from Italian to set Italian Italian

grandmother's are experts there there

there there men majestic composers and I

don't got my mother is an Italian

grandmother who is a beautiful human

being so mom I'm not talking about you

but everyone else you feel guilty

already Italian kill japanese guilt

latino or latino guilt i got a lot of

that don't no te preocupes past or voy

estar bien so we're about a pastor I'll

be all right I feel so guilty the guilt

the process of growing in holiness is

not the process of growing in guilt in

guilty feelings it's not the process of

growing to be so hard on myself that I'm

miserable all the time because I can

never be good enough that's not holiness

it is something different real holiness

is beautiful real holiness is majestic

and shining

and powerful and in the context of an

intimate anointed love relationship with

the god of the universe real holiness

will change our lives it'll change our

perspectives on who we are and who the

people around us are it's no accident I

think that in the New Testament the

relationship between God and His people

is compared to a wedding the

relationship between a groom and the

bride coming down that aisle I have the

privilege of doing a lot of weddings in

this church and in every one of them and

I really mean this and every one of them

I experience the presence of God in a

special way especially as I go back over

the vows and remember what I side on to

amen and but there's a sense of

something holy and awesome happening in

that moment that these two human beings

have been given the privilege of making

a covenant with one another of

entrusting themselves to one another and

even God is watching to honor that

covenant I always have a sense of the

angels of God around watching what's

going on at that moment because they're

making a covenant as that bride is

coming down and in the New Testament it

says that that's like Jesus with his

church who gave himself for her to wash

her with water to make her clean without

blemish it's it's a bride is it's like

Jesus is is the groom and we are that

bride coming down the aisle and that

radiant devotion of saying I'm giving

myself to this person that is holiness

as we become his possession we become

his his bride as we belong to him so

we're gonna talk we're gonna explore

this and as we explore the concept of

holiness we're gonna be looking in the

coming months at some bizarre text of

the Bible that you never usually read

some stuff in the Old Testament that you

usually skip over or you read it and

you're like what in the world was that

stuff about some of the Old Testament

rules as they would worship God in the

tabernacle and there were rules

their diet and about their clothing and

about cleansing all of those are

spectacular pictures that God has given

us of what it means to belong to a holy

God and we unpack some of the least

likely texts of the Old Testament we're

going to discover diamonds on the inside

and it's gonna change our lives so i

invite you to buckle your seat belt if

you're still willing to come back next

week after all this because we are going

to unpack what it means to be God's holy

people but I want to start with the

proposal if God were a husband proposing

to his novia his his beloved then this

is it God has the people of Israel in

Exodus 19 they have been delivered from

400 long years of brutal slavery in

Egypt you know the story right the

people of Israel under Pharaoh the

Israelites were slaves being beaten

being abused being degraded God heard

the groaning of his people and he came

to a man named Moses who through a

series of poor decisions ended up in the

desert right for 40 years and God

appeared to Moses in a member bush a

burning bush and he says go down I've

heard my peoples groaning and deliver

them up out of Egypt and he says and

this is going to be the sign to you that

it's really me talking to you when you

have brought them out of slavery you

will worship me on this mountain well

guess what had happened Moses went to

Egypt goes to Pharaoh let my people go

that they might worship me Pharaoh says

no way Bam Bam plagues after plague

after plague God the God of the universe

wages war against the superpower of the

day to deliver a poor enslaved people

and plague after plague until Pharaoh

finally lets them go you know the story

they go through the waters of the Red

Sea

they come into the desert and there's no

food and God miraculously provides we're

going to read a little later about bread

in the desert there's no water Moses

strikes the rock and water comes gushing

out of the rock God feeds them but now

is the time where he brings them back to

the mountain where he originally

appeared to Moses Mount Sinai and this

is the moment where God says okay now

you're out of Egypt you've come out now

I have a proposal for you he's going to

propose that they become his people he

is gay I'm not gonna say he's getting

down on one knee right but he's

proposing to them and they're gonna need

to respond to and I want to look at that

so this is a special moment it's after

seven weeks they've been out the third

month they had left Egypt so that

coincides with the modern day feast of

Pentecost there's got to be something to

that as God is going to come down in the

mountain and appear to Moses and he

talks to them and he offers them to

become his people now first I'm going to

say that God proposing to them is God

proposing to us too because the same

words used here are applied to

Christians in the New Testament and God

is issuing a proposal to his people on a

regular basis he's giving us an

invitation and each one of us as

individuals and we as a community need

to decide on a regular basis will we say

yes or will we implicitly say no by

ignoring the invitation there is an

invitation God wants to give us but

before he gives the invitation he

reminds us why he is worth trusting

right why should we be willing to enter

into a covenant ille agreement with a

relationship with God in trust him fully

why should I become God's person and

God's community he begins by saying in

Exodus 19 in verse 4 he says you

yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt

they had seen

they had seen God wage war against this

evil dis oppressing nation they'd seen

the plagues you remember the plagues if

you've never read them they're pretty

dramatic it's the stuff that movies is

made of God says let my people go Moses

says no okay you're gonna have a bunch

of gnats climb all over you until it

annoys you right and gnats cover the

land of Egypt until they say fine let

you go then he changes his mind wait a

minute no way okay we'll try frogs this

time remember that one and frogs come

out of the Nile and jump up into the

places of Egypt into their places of

business into their homes on their

kitchen tables in their beds on their

computers frogs everywhere and Moses is

ok enough frogs you can go now if any

changes is mine there will be darkness a

plague of darkness it's going to be

completely dark but I'm gonna make a

distinction wherever the Israelites are

there's gonna be light but on you it's

gonna be pitch-black darkness no

flashlights no iphones to light the way

darkness okay but you'll hail that

destroyed animals and crops blood

turning the water to blood plague after

playing after plague until that ultimate

and terrible plague on the first born in

which every firstborn son of Egypt every

animal and person was put to death but

God spared the homes of the Israelites

if they would kill a sacrificial lamb

and smear the blood on the door remember

the story the Angel of Death would pass

over their homes and they survived this

terrible plague they escaped and they're

coming out and they remember what God

did to the objections that God is a

warrior you know I remember when I was

when I was new to Lion of Judah 20 years

ago a lot of the Spanish choruses sing

about God is a warrior they draw from

the Psalms where you know God fights for

us and he fights our enemies and

mr. Bergman yo yo yo otra passe you know

and and all the cod roe stay hito hol

Lamar you know and I you know God

through the chariots of Egypt into the

ocean and it would they were very

warlike songs I was used to kind of

meditate the kind of meditative kind of

thing and I remember being like wow this

is hardcore we got some got some angry

songs going on here but they weren't

really angry there were happy songs

because they were celebrating the fact

that our God is a fighter he's a warrior

and you know what it's good to have God

fighting for you know anyone facing some

Egyptians now I don't mean literal

Egyptians okay there's very nice

Egyptians out there we got no problem

with Egypt now that was a long time ago

but what we're talking about those

things that enslave you write those

problems those battles that we deal with

it got it it's good to know that someone

is fighting for me cuz sometimes it

feels like I'm all alone God is on your

side he is aware of you and he is

fighting your battles for you remember

you yourself in the Hebrew this is

emphatic you yourself saw what I did to

the Egyptians you saw how mighty I have

and you saw that I'm willing to fight on

your behalf to rescue you and how and

look at the language of this you

yourself saw what I've done to the

people to take Egypt and how I carried

you on eagle's wings and brought you to

myself you know some people view the god

of the Old Testament as a scary distant

harsh God not at all God is the same God

God has the same heart in the Old

Testament as in the new and God says I

carried you on eagle's wings when you

came through those waters of the Red Sea

and you're looking from one side to the

other and you're like is this a dream

and you come out to the other side and

he like

I can't believe on living there any

people who can't believe they're still

living there any people who God has had

to fight for you and he has carried you

on eagle's wings and here you are you're

in one piece you're living he's carried

you on eagle's wings and it's not just

for nothing he's done that and he says

and I brought you to myself here the

heart of God he rescued us to bring us

to him so that we would have an intimate

relationship with him you know there's a

beautiful text in the Old Testament in

the book of Hosea where God calls Israel

his firstborn son see God uses people

the way we view a little child that is

our own and he says out of Egypt I

called my son now here the heart of God

as he says it was I who taught ephriam

that's a word for Israel who taught

Ephraim to walk taking them by the arms

but they did not realize that it was I

who healed them I led them with the

cords of human kindness with ties of

love to them I was like one who lifts a

little child to the cheek and I bent

down to feed them that's God they didn't

know that it was I who healed them there

have been moments when you have been

delivered and you didn't know it was God

who healed you it was God who was

watching over you That moment when you

felt all alone and you thought no one

could hear well there was someone who

heard your groaning there's someone who

knows what you were going through and

who cared who is weeping with you the

heart of God hear the passion of God for

his people I love these people so much

I've rescued them and in the New

Covenant God did that at the cost of his

own son you were bought with a price how

much he loves you and to bring them to

myself now because I love you so much

because I've shown that I'm powerful to

do to deliver you and take care of you I

invite you if you will fully obey me and

keep my covenant a covenant is two way

two ways God can't force us to be his

people God can't force you sometimes I

want to force people I want to make

people love Jesus right I want a

discipleship I want two feet you know

you can God invites us but we've got to

decide if we're going to respond to him

or not and he's I'm inviting you into

this covenant and you will have your

part you will be me fully and you'll

keep my covenant but if you will do this

if you will enter into this continent I

will be there for you Jesus still makes

that invitation come to me all you who

are weary and heavy laden and I will

give you rest learn from me take my yoke

upon you and learn from me for I am

humble and gentle in heart and you will

find rest for your souls for my yoke is

easy and my burden is light behold I

stand at the door and knock if anyone

hears my voice and opens the door I will

come in and dine with him and him with

me he's beckoning he's inviting and he

makes some spectacular promises and

here's what we're going to begin getting

into the meaning of holiness of what God

means by holiness look what it says in

Exodus 19 verse 5 now if you obey me

fully and keep my covenant then out of

all the nations you will be my treasured

possession although the whole earth is

mine you will be for me a kingdom of

priests and a holy nation well if you

will accept the

proposal of all the nations on earth you

will be my treasured possession that is

holiness belonging to a God who

treasures us who is holy now I looked up

the I did a little bit cracked open my

Hebrew Bible it's been too long I find

the crack that open the word here for

treasured possession has a very

technical meaning in the Old Testament

it's the word that is used for a king's

royal treasury King David King Solomon

it's their gold it's their silver it's

their jewels it's their treasures that

they they have in their royal treasury

God is saying I am King Yahweh king of

the whole universe and if you will

accept this invitation then you will be

as a king you will be my royal treasured

possession and I will treasure you like

a diamond I will cherish you in the

wedding vows to love and to cherish

right who doesn't long to be cherished

right that's why we often in marriage

can give each other a hard time because

whoever you marry won't do it good

enough right so don't because they're

human but there is one who will cherish

you there is one who sees your value

there's one who can take care of you as

you deserve to be cared for of all the

nations on earth you will be my

treasured possession like a like a

person treasures of jewel like a groom

treasures a bride like a parent

treasures a newborn child like a child

treasures a puppy you will be that for

me right my little guy wants a puppy

he's giving giving me a hard time all

three of them over here you give me they

want a puppy right and the biggest

argument the biggest argument that's

almost got me over the edge was when

Noah was like you know what sometimes I

see a puppy or dog and I just I wanted

to love me because I love it so much and

I think that's how God feels about us

and I'm like oh man okay oh dude okay

get the puppy I don't know okay we got

some people who are we gonna hook us up

holiness means you're that puppy for God

he loves you he chose you he saved you

he rescued you he knew you from before

you were born and he's followed your

journey and you are called to be of all

nations on earth his treasured

possession holiness means we belong to

God that God looks at us and says that

one that's mine that one's that's mine

that's mine mine not in now mine mine

mine I don't want to be like Nemo right

but in a good way it's good to belong to

God and God looks at us yeah that's mine

that one's mine Dodd already if you have

accepted Jesus that's already your

reality that is holiness that which is

set apart for God that's what the

definition of holiness a holy person is

a person who belongs to God doesn't mean

you've already fully then growing in a

life of holiness means simply growing

into my identity you already are holy

now there's I there I have some dear

friends that I love who have accepted

Jesus and their heart as their Lord and

Savior they're real Christians

struggling with addictions that are

awful then that are just just it's it's

so hard but they are already holy if

they believe in Jesus it's already a

reality and the power of that belonging

will transform their lives I know that

I've seen it I've lived it in different

ways holiness is a reality that then

it's a reality before God that then

becomes part of who we are that's the

process of holiness it's not about being

issued a list of rules that now you must

obey it's about a transformation from

the inside out because I belong to God

and I love

him I want to please him and the

transformation begins but it begins by

God looking at you and saying you're

mine you're mine you're his treasured

possession you are special you have a

special identity out of all the peoples

on the face of the earth the Lord has

made you his treasured possession and

chosen you a special dignity it says he

declared that he will set you in praise

and fame and honor high above all the

nations he has made and that you will be

a people holy to the Lord your God as he

promised God will clothe you in holy

Majesty in the beauty of holiness a new

dignity a new identity now lest this go

to your head okay God does make a point

when he talks to the people of Israel of

saying you are a people holy to the Lord

your God the Lord you God has chosen you

out of all the peoples on the face of

the earth to be his people his treasured

possession but the Lord did not set his

affection on you and choose you because

you were more numerous than other

people's for you were the fewest of all

peoples but it was because the Lord

loved you and sworn oath to your

ancestors you don't deserve it okay I'm

not trying to be mean here okay I'm just

say in a reality there's nothing you did

that means oh this one's I've got to

make this one a Christian oh man I need

I need a few good men I need a few good

women please please will you sign I

really need to hire you you're such a

good person I want you to be a Christian

that's not it it's a loving choice of

choosing us in spite of the fact that we

don't deserve it and making us his own

there's a word for that it's called

grace and grace is not only a new

testament concept grace is God's way of

dealing with these people from the

Garden of Eden

to the book of Revelation grace people

have never deserved his love and mercy

and he's always found us in the Garden

of Eden when Adam and Eve sinned against

the lord what did they do first they

know they're naked they make these

ridiculous you know leaf garments for

themselves and hide in the bushes

trembling afraid and God doesn't leave

them hiding in the bushes he says Adam

where are you he comes and finds us in

our sin and we become his his treasured

possession he looks at those garments I

said that's not going to do it and he

clothes them in animal skins we talked

about this in discipleship level 1 where

did those skins come from for a from

Adam and Eve an animal had to die blood

had to be shed to cover their shame God

has always been about finding us where

we hide clothing us and covering our

shame even at the cost of the blood of

another that's the God we serve a God of

mercy a God of love and of kindness now

as we are called to be that special

people out of all the nations on earth

he says I will make you to be for me in

verse 6 you will be for me a kingdom of

priests and a holy nation a kingdom of

priests what does a priest do in the Old

Testament we're going to learn about

this a priest is the one who goes into

the presence of God the visible we're

going to read the visible manifest

Shekinah glory of God that God chooses

to dwell among them and that priest

worships in that Tabernacle in that

movable temple and allows and serves

that God and worships him so that that

priest enables the people to worship God

in his presence a priest mediates the

presence of God see the nation of Israel

we're going to have a very special

mission as a nation they were going to

host the visible

presence or manifestation of God even

though God is over the whole earth he's

in all places he's omnipresent he will

manifest his presence in a visible

glorious fire cloud among the people of

Israel they will host his presence he's

moving in he's moving in who's your

neighbor right who is in our

neighborhood well god is saying the

presence of God will be in your

neighborhood and you will have the job

as priests of hosting that presence now

for an ancient Israelite that raises a

huge question how can the visible

presence of God a holy and morally

perfect God dwell among a sinful and

dirty people like us and that's what the

Old Covenant is about that's what the

Book of Leviticus is about we're going

to be studying that how can this

presence be among us without melting us

in His Holiness I'm aware of my

sinfulness and when I'm in the presence

of a holy god I'm like God I don't

deserve it and we're gonna find out how

God makes it possible for us to welcome

his presence and to house his presence

and not just to have his presence in a

tabernacle near us but to actually we're

gonna see in the New Covenant to be that

temple of the Holy Spirit so that the

glory of god dwells in you and in me

it's a real thing guys that's a real

thing this is not just a hypothetical

concept the presence of God truly can

dwell among and inside people now thanks

to the blood of Jesus as we're going to

learn about in the future God's presence

can be here in that presence now rather

than destroying us transforms us to

reflect the glory that we're touching I

love i'm teaching discipleship level one

this semester I so enjoyed on Friday

nights because I love it when people

learn how to plug into the presence of

God for themselves where they learn how

to really put their faith in Jesus how

to pray how to read the Bible because

when they do

there is a power that starts flowing and

there is a light that starts shining and

I am addicted to that I love in the best

sense of the word I love seeing people

plug into God's power and to see how he

changes our heart from the inside out

you will be a kingdom of priests you

will mediate the presence of God as a

church this is our calling to we're

going to talk about this more and you

wherever you are whether it's at work or

on the street you are called to be a

priest of the Living God but when you're

there in a very real sense God is there

not because your God but because God is

coming through you as a priest of the

Living God amen where you go the

presence of God goes with you and there

we see the meaning of living a holy life

it's not because I feel obligated it's

cuz i have a special dignity a special

office I want my life to reflect the

perfection of the god I represent I want

that love to shine through it's a

totally different view of how to grow in

holiness but it's not just that God says

also you will be a holy nation a holy

nation so you will be a nation unlike

any other nation before or since you

will be a political geographical

political nation whose king is Yahweh

who's king is the Lord no primaries no

elections know you know all the stuff

for watching on CNN these days because

there is one king and he will be the

king of the nation he says my laws will

be your national laws I will write your

Constitution I will rule I will put a

human rulers who will reflect my kingdom

among you I will be your king and you

will be a holy nation now as Christians

there is also a new people a new

priestly people that God has created I

talked about this in other sermons in

the book of Revelation there's a

beautiful song being sung in heaven

where they it says they say

the Angels sang a new song saying you

are worthy to take the scroll in to open

its seals because you speaking to Jesus

King Jesus you were slain and with your

blood you purchased for God persons from

every tribe and language and people and

nation and you have made them to be a

kingdom and priests to serve our God and

they will reign on the earth there's a

new people that God has formed a new

race you've heard about la raza that is

used in Latino the circles right

blending Africa and Spain and indigenous

cultures into a new race well we are a

new raza right here we're a race that is

not based on ethnicity but on a new

birth we share the same birth we are all

born of the same spirit there's a new

kingdom on earth that is no longer a pal

it's greater than a political Kingdom

it's a kingdom ruled by King Jesus with

people from every tribe and tongue and

nation and language every socio-economic

situation and together there is a new

King ruling on earth and people look and

said what are you all doing in the same

room singing these songs we're here

because there is one king that has given

us the same spirit and we are a new

nation a holy nation a new race a holy

race in first Peter 29 it says 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 the one who called you

out of darkness into his marvelous light

we have a mission as a people your job

together with the people of God is to

say god is awesome he is excellent he is

loving look at what he can do he can set

me free he can bring me together with

other people and the holiness of that

shines out of us because we're people

that belong to God that's our mission is

a holy people it's what we're called to

do and to be in all of the different

rules of moral living

flow out of that when I see my body as a

temple of that Holy Spirit then we think

of the vote Paul said to the Corinthians

he said do you not know that your bodies

are temples of the Holy Spirit who is in

you whom you've received from God you

are not your own you were bought at a

price and therefore honor god with your

body's my body belongs to God my life

belongs to God my my tone my everything

about me so I will honor God with my

body as is fitting my identity is a

royal priest of the Living God holiness

means I belong to the God who loves me

it means I'm his it's the mark of God on

my life holiness means we belong to that

God you know in the old testament the

priests and i'll begin kind of bring it

to a close with this the priests used to

wear very special garments to symbolize

their being set apart to serve God in a

special way beautiful symbolism that

we'll talk about actually and on their

turban they had a very special head

plate that they would wear right there

and it was majestic clothes by the way

there was a breastplate with jewels that

represented the people of Israel that

they would carry on their heart and all

kinds of beautiful symbolism and the

priestly garments they were majestic

looking when they were fully in their

full outfit that God prepared for them

but on the the turban there was a plate

that had simple words three words no for

words holy to the Lord holy to the Lord

on the plate on their forehead for me

that says it all holiness means I am set

apart for a holy God and that i have

that plate right here on my forehead the

god has written right there mine holy to

yahweh he this one belongs to me when we

discover that in the spirit we are

wearing that identification it is a

beautiful thing and that's why God says

that he is majestic over the whole

universe he made the

Mountains and the waters and the Seas

but in his house holiness adorns his

house for endless days see God is all

over the universe right but he lives

here in this group of people in a

special way and holiness adorns this

house and makes us beautiful and that's

why we worship in the splendor of his

holiness we respond to the God who has

joined us to himself in that coven ental

relationship and that then spills over

into all of our life i invite you to

think about this week as you go through

your week as you interact with people as

you deal with situations think of

yourself as wearing that head plate holy

to the Lord you know some people do this

by maybe they'll wear a cross or

something but that's fine because it is

comforted but even more important than

that is internalizing in my heart I

belong to him I am I you think the Pope

is holy you think mother well you are

too you are too I will reflect the one

who has married me who owns me and that

is a beautiful thing because then

there's this love and gratitude saying

what did I do to deserve this nothing

and I can't lose it and there's a joy

that you just can't hold back that's

what submission means its submission to

the one who loves us and bought us with

his own blood amen so i invite you to

stand with me and let's pray together

and invite the the worshipers let's

begin this this new series we're going

to be talking about by hearing the

proposal god has made to us and saying

yes right you gotta say yes he can

invite you he can propose but we have to

say yes and so God we come before you

today and lord I thank you God for the

way you have delivered us in dramatic

ways father there are many of us here

who should not even be here toward God

we are here because you have fought for

us

ready you've carried us on eagle's wings

you've brought us to yourself and you

invite us into this relationship with

you Lord we say yes Lord God we say yes

to you Jesus we say Lord God we humbly

submit to you Lord we want to be your

treasured possession we want to be a

kingdom of priests and a holy nation we

want to live up to the dignity of that

and appreciate God how awesome that is

Lord God Father I pray for peace and

your people today and I especially want

to invite I'd ask people to close your

eyes and really focus in on the Lord if

there is anyone here today who you've

never accepted Jesus in your heart as

your Lord and Savior he invites you to

do that today is there anybody who wants

to receive Christ in their heart and to

become a Christian today I'd invite you

to demonstrate that by raising your

heart your hand boldly to the Lord as a

symbol of thank god i want to give

myself to you is there anyone here in

that situation today who wants to give

your heart to Jesus as your Lord and

Savior you've never done it before and

you want to do it today is there anyone

here in that situation I want to be able

to pray for you in a special way

amen and now I invite all of us to if

you're comfortable doing so to raise

your your hands to the Lord if you're

comfortable doing so has a symbol of

yielding your heart to him I thank God

thank you I say yes I say yes to you I

yield to you today Lord God take my life

and let it be ever only all for the Lord

God that you would shine through us as

your people and that we would belong to

you as your treasured possession