Father, we ask that you would gently but deeply pour out the Holy Spirit upon us,
pour out the Holy Spirit upon us who are gathered here in the Ottawa Little Theatre,
those gathered through YouTube Live.
And Father, for those who will maybe watch this service later in the week or in the weeks ahead,
we ask, Father, that the Holy Spirit will fall with might and power and deep conviction.
We, Lord, invite and give you permission to, without any qualifications or any conditions,
we invite and give you permission, Father, to have your words speak into our hearts and rule in our hearts,
so that we might, Father, be in your presence and receive grace from you and respond to you in a worthy manner.
And all this we ask in the name of Jesus, your Son and our Saviour. Amen.
Please be seated.
One of the things before the, we have an 8 o'clock service before this,
and then we, of course, have this 10 o'clock service.
And before each service, there's usually the people involved up front, at least some of us,
we have a very short prayer time.
Basically, it's just me praying.
And at both the 8 o'clock service and the 10 o'clock service,
one of the things that I prayed is just for us to really be thankful and grateful that we're not in Afghanistan.
And I don't say that lightly, but just to think that Christians in Afghanistan,
and there are Christians in Afghanistan, even before the Taliban took over,
Afghanistan was the second most dangerous place in the world for Christians to be Christians.
And so, but especially now, you could just imagine we'd be, we wouldn't be in here,
we'd be in the basement with all the lights upstairs turned off,
and we'd be meeting in the basement, and I can't even begin to say what it would be like to be in a situation like that.
But I can very well imagine that we would all be worried about the sound of a pounding on the door,
that this might be the time that you're caught.
And so, you know, we just take our freedom so much for granted.
And anyway, that's why I prayed.
Thank you, Father, that we're not in Afghanistan.
And at the end of this sermon, hopefully I'll remember to do this,
because I'm going to mention Afghanistan a couple of times in this,
that we'll remember just to pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ.
I mean, for all of Afghanistan, obviously, but especially for our brothers and sisters in Christ.
And it's just a bit of a wake-up call for all of us.
We really have it very easy here, and yet the easiness,
I mean, if you think about it, for many of us,
we'd get upset if we posted something in social media,
and it was Christian, and somebody gave us a thumbs down.
And we might get depressed about it.
And the difference between that and a knock on a door in Afghanistan
is a million, billion miles.
It's just huge.
Some of you might or might not know, I've said it occasionally in sermons,
and I've said it in some of my blogs.
I haven't watched the news.
Other than September 11th attack,
I haven't watched the news since somewhere in the mid-'70s,
so it's over 45 years since I've watched news on television.
I read a couple of books by a man named Jacques Gillil,
and one of them was on propaganda.
And after I read that book, I stopped watching the news on television,
and I stopped listening to the news on radio,
unless it's just sports news.
So I haven't watched the news in a long time.
Don't listen to the news.
But I read newspapers, and of course there's the social media.
I try to stay away from that for my news.
But all of us have been just horrified with the scenes
that are going on in Afghanistan.
Like, it's just heartbreaking to see pictures of people crushed up against the airport in Kabul.
I don't know if I'm pronouncing it correctly.
Just desperately trying to get into the airport to be taken away from Afghanistan.
The pictures of women holding their babies over the wall
in the hope that their baby would at least be taken,
knowing that they'd never see their baby,
knowing it's very likely they'd never see their baby again for the rest of their life.
Like, that's heartbreaking.
It just shows the great desperation they have to leave what they would see
and probably are completely right to see as a place of doom
and a place of oppression.
As you know, God has blessed us with many kids,
and just the idea that my wife would be able to hand a baby over a wall.
Like, on one hand, I could see that she would do that
as a final desperate act of love.
But it would break her heart.
And I mention this not just for any type of cheap emotional effect,
but because all this week I've really struggled.
All of us who have had to preach on these,
we're going through a sermon series on the attributes of God
called Knowing God, the Attributes and Characteristics of God,
and I think all of us have commented.
We found the sermons, on one hand, very, very difficult.
I mean, they've been very fruitful, at least for, I think,
for each of us who've had to reflect upon these things,
but it's just any one of the topics can go in so many different directions,
it's been difficult.
But it struck me that what's been going on in Afghanistan this week
is a perfect way for us to understand the holiness of God
and what it means for us to be called holy.
And so, I really do.
I'll get to it in a moment, but just first,
the first thing to understand about this talk,
that God is personal and God is holy,
and the situations going on in Afghanistan
helps us to understand,
enter into emotionally
and at an imaginative level
and an intellectual level,
what it means when God calls us to be holy like he is holy,
which otherwise just seems like a weird and awkward doctrine.
So first, if you turn in your Bibles,
we're going to look at Psalm 24,
then we're going to look at Leviticus 11,
Leviticus 12, 22,
then 1 Peter 1 and 1 Peter 2,
just five texts today.
But we'll start just with a very, very simple text,
which is Psalm 24, 1 and 2, verses 1 and 2.
And if you don't have your Bible,
you know, it's really helpful to have your own Bible
so you can sort of follow along,
and it's always really good.
I want us to be Bereans.
Those who are Christians maybe know what that reference is,
that people check to see if what I'm preaching on
is what the Bible teaches.
And so it's really helpful to have your own Bible
so you can look around and say,
oh, George took that out of context,
or no, oh, well, he didn't take it out of context,
whatever.
Anyway, so here is the first text,
very simple and famous text,
Luke, sorry, Psalm 24, verses 1 and 2.
The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof,
the world and those who dwell therein.
For he has founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.
So the basic idea there is that everything is God's.
God created everything.
He sustains everything.
Everything is his.
And he didn't only create everything.
He sustains everything.
That's why it says the earth is the Lord's
and the fullness thereof.
In other words, everything in it.
The world and those who dwell therein.
So it all belongs to him
because he founded it upon the seas.
In other words, he created it
and established it upon the rivers.
And both of those have this idea
not only of creation,
but of sustaining,
that he continues to sustain the world.
And so whatever we're going to mean about,
whatever we're going to understand
about holiness or God being holy,
it always begins with this idea
that God owns everything.
It's like the question,
if people ever ask me about tithing,
and they ask,
and do I ask them,
well, is it 10% is God's
and 90% is yours?
And it's easy to think that way.
But actually,
the biblical teaching on tithing
is that 100% of your money is God's.
And that he just asks as a sign,
a token of you believing
and trusting that it's all his,
that you give 10% for his purposes.
And so whatever holy is going to mean,
it doesn't mean that there's just
sort of some people that belong,
that in a sense belong to God
and everybody else doesn't.
No, the bottom line is everything,
every star, every nebula,
every atom, every molecule,
every person, every creature,
ultimately belongs to God.
Now, obviously,
this is going to raise
the whole question about evil.
I just realized
I don't have to always be
looking at the mic
because I have this.
And that, of course,
only the Christian story,
it's only when you understand
Psalm 24,
that the earth is the Lord's
and everything in it,
and then you understand
how evil came.
It's only the Christian story
that really accounts
for human experience.
The human experience
that there is both good in the world
and that there's good in people
and that there's good in things,
but at the same time
that there's evil in the world
and there's evil in things.
And that, and it's, you know,
one of the,
there's many, many, many problems
with critical theory
and all of its offspring.
And one of the great problems
with critical theory
and all of its offspring
is it constantly is dividing the world
between the good and the bad,
the good people and the bad people.
And the Christians,
the Bible rejects that analogy
completely and utterly.
The word Christian is not a synonym
or another word for good.
There's lots of terrible Christians
in the world.
And if we're honest,
every single one of our Christian,
of us who are Christians here,
our walk is second rate.
But the world is not divided
between the good and the evil
because the division
between good and evil
runs right through
every single human being.
It's one of the many ways
that Christianity,
in a sense,
rejects key tenets
of critical theory
and all of the critical theories
offspring.
And some of you
who are involved
in a more intellectual
and that never know
what I mean.
Others,
I've just put you to sleep.
But to get back
to this particular thing,
the Bible has a very,
very simple
and profound story.
And it's the only story
that understands
our human experience
and understands
our human experience
with hope.
Because it understands
that the Lord
made everything.
He made it good.
He continues to maintain
and sustain everything.
And part of the way
that he made human beings good
is he made human beings
have a very special place
in the world.
In a sense,
human beings are made
and not in a sense,
we are made in his image.
And in a sense,
we are made
to every single human being
is to be like a priest
for the entire created order,
offering up,
in a sense,
the entire created order
to God
at the same time
that we were called
to fill the earth,
to flourish,
and to have dominion.
And for God
to create a creature
like that,
which is you and me,
he can only do that
if he gives us freedom.
He can't do it
without freedom.
And then he gives us
that freedom.
And if God
has given us freedom,
then it is possible
that we will use
our freedom
to rebel against him,
to choose evil
over good.
And that is,
in fact,
what the Christian story is,
that during the time
of humanity's probation,
Adam and Eve
used their freedom
to choose to be
not just like God,
but in a sense,
to be over God.
And it's seen,
if you go back
and you read
the original story
of Genesis 3,
they choose to go over God
in the sense
that they doubt his word.
They now act
as a judge of it.
They don't really
want to be like God,
but because they
want to be like God,
they look at his word
and they think
that his word is wrong,
so they're judging his word.
They very quickly move
not just from,
I want to be like God,
I want to be God's boss.
I want to be God's judge.
I want to be over God.
And when human beings
did that,
it bent them.
It bent us.
It bent you and me.
It created a tear
in you and me.
And because the entire creation
is one piece,
when one piece tears,
the whole thing
is, in a sense,
torn.
If you went
to a store
and you were going
to buy an article
of clothing
and there was
a little bit of a tear,
you'd either wonder
why they didn't
just throw it out
or you'd ask
for a very,
very great discount.
And if they said to you,
well, one moment,
99% of it is untorn,
it's just that one
little bit that's torn.
What would you say?
You'd say,
no, it's torn.
It's torn.
And you don't just
reduce the price,
because there's only
a 0.3% tear,
so you're going
to take 3 cents
off of every dollar.
You'd say it's torn.
You should either
throw it out
or make it
greatly reduced.
That's how we would react
with any article
of clothing.
If we went home
and found out
it was torn,
we would go back
to the returns
and act that.
And if you were handy
at sewing
and you thought
you could sew it,
you might take
the big discount
or you might just say,
I don't want it.
It's torn.
But what the Bible says
is that in the mystery
of God's love,
because God created
everything out of love.
It was out of the
overflowing of his love
that he created all things.
And that what God does
is he doesn't just
sort of discount
and say,
well,
this is now just
a tenth rate creation
and I'm just,
or he didn't discard it.
What he does
is he promises,
well,
first of all,
what he does
is he promises
that there will come
a time
when he will judge
the evil
and that he will
redeem those
who do evil.
And he promises that.
And he promises that
at the same time
part of his love
and mercy
is that not only
does he begin
to give these pointers
about what he's going
to do at some point
in time in the future,
he begins to enact it
right in that original story
by covering them
with clothes.
But at the same time
what he's doing
is he sustains
the created order
out of his love.
And that's what
our situation
is in right now.
So that's why
we can understand
that the earth
is the Lord
and the fullness thereof.
That is why
I can say
to my non-Christian
friends sometimes
when you have
a very, very,
very beautiful day
in Ottawa
can have some
very, very,
very, very
beautiful days.
Days when,
I don't know,
take your pick
about what's beautiful
but it's,
you know,
the mid-twenties,
it's sunny,
there's no humidity,
every, you know,
maybe a day in the fall
the leaves are all
just glorious
and I can say
to my non-Christian friends
days like this
make it easy
to believe in heaven.
And that's part
of God's goodness
that he has
maintained creation
so that everybody
can say that.
But I could also say
very easily
to my non-Christian friends
if we were
maybe in a bar
or a restaurant
and there was
a news clip
going on
about Afghanistan
you'd say
things like this
make it easy
to see
that there's
real evil
in the world
and a real devil
because when you
see something
like this
you can smell
the sulfur
you can smell
the brimstone
and I think
non-Christians
would go
yeah
just as an aside
never say
a day like this
helps you
to believe in hell
because hell
isn't where
the devil rules
hell
is where
the devil
is judged
hell
is death
and the devil's
and evil's
doom
not where he rules
it's a
terrible mistake
to think
that hell
is the place
where he rules
it's the place
where he
is finished
now we mention
all of this
because
as I said
if we look
at Afghanistan
I mean right
if you think
about that mom
putting her baby
up
in the hope
that a soldier
on the other side
will take that baby
for her
not only
that it will then
be under the control
of Great Britain
or France
or
the United States
but that it would
even come to this
country
and be adopted
on one hand
that very same
image
shows
the great
horror
and evil
that exists
in the world
and the great
love
that exists
in the world
doesn't it
the great love
of the mom
and the great
horror of the
situation
and so
it's within this
that we can then
start to understand
what the biblical
teaching of holiness
is
let's look at the
next bible text
which is 11
Leviticus
sorry
a book that
basically
Christians
virtually never
look at
or preach on
when
Messiah
Kanata
is off
and running
for a little
while
Daniel
and I
Daniel
doesn't know
this
but I
and I'm
sure he's
just going
to go
let's do
this
at some
point
time
hopefully
within
the first
year
I've been
meaning
for a long
time to preach
through the book
of Leviticus
and so at some
point in time
we should just
do it
but Leviticus
towards the beginning
of the bible
and if you look at
Leviticus chapter 11
verse 45
look at this
very very interesting
text
and one of the
reasons that
Christians don't
read Leviticus
is you get
these long lists
of the food
you can eat
the food
you can't
eat
and how
to deal
with mold
and whether
it's a bad
thing or not
and leprosy
and all the
sacrifices
and if you're rich
you do this
if you're a little
bit less
you do it
just you know
it goes on
and on
and for many
of us
it's just
very very
very off
putting
hard to read
but one of the
things
and this is too
generally about
the bible
is that one of
the things
about the bible
is that the
bible interprets
itself
and so what
is needed
is for an
attentive reading
of the bible
where you can
actually notice
how it interprets
things
and you go
oh
that's what's
going on in
the rest of
the book
oh
and so this
is one of
the first
moments
about halfway
or a third
of the way
somewhere in
between that
40% of the
way through
the book
there's this
very very
powerful
explanatory
statement
and it's
it's
Leviticus
11 45
I could have
quoted the other
verses a bit
before but this
gets to the
heart of it
for I am
the lord
who brought
you up
out of the
land of
Egypt to
be your
god
you shall
therefore be
holy
for I
am holy
read it
again
for I am
the lord
who brought
you up
out of the
land of
Egypt to
be your
god
you shall
therefore be
holy
for I am
holy
so what is
this revealing
this is revealing
first of all
the lord is
revealing that
he's personal
which I'll
talk about
in a second
he's revealing
that he's
holy
but he
does it
he reveals
himself in
the context
of redeeming
first he
redeems
and then he
calls us
to be
holy
like he
is holy
and this
whole analogy
of Egypt
is very
very appropriate
to Afghanistan
if you just
realize
if a law
came in
Canada
and they
wanted to
show us a
little bit
of mercy
so they
weren't going
to kill
all the
Christians
but they
said that
every time
a Christian
has a baby
boy the
boy will be
killed
that's
Egypt
if it's
saying that
all of the
Christians
will be
slaves
that's
Egypt
and so
God
uses his
mighty power
to deliver
people
out of
slavery
bondage
death
and doom
into a
land that
is promised
for them
and so
look at it
again
I am the
Lord
who brought
you up
out of the
land of
Egypt
to be
your God
you shall
therefore
be holy
for I
am holy
don't know
there's
lots in
this
which is
very
significant
that
first of
all is
that God
says I
am the
Lord
he reveals
himself as
personal
and one
way to put
it and I
put it up
on a
screen is
that the
true and
living God
is a
who
not a
what
the true
and living
God is
a who
not a
what
and all
of the
religions
and the
spiritualities
of the
world
divide
along this
very very
important
distinction
God is
an I
he is
a who
he is a
person
he is not
a what
and most
of the
religions
and
spiritualities
of the
world
conceive
of God
ultimately
as some
type of
a what
but the
Bible is
very clear
that God
is a
who
he is a
person
and the
second thing
is if you
put it up
is that the
true and
living God
and this is
where we
put in a
sense
Psalm 24
together with
Leviticus 11
and Genesis
1, 2, and 3
the true and
living God
made lots
and lots
of what
but he
only made
each human
a who
it's obvious
God likes
what
he loves
atoms
and energy
and light
and stars
and worms
and dogs
and wood
and he
loves it
he made
piles of
what
in fact most
of the
universe is
what
but out of
all of the
universe
he made
each human
being
a who
and that
is why
I can
speak
to God
as a
who
and he
can speak
to me
as a
who
the second
thing we
see
actually
Claire
could you
flip back
to 1145
thanks
for I am
the Lord
who brought
you up
out of the
land of
Egypt
to be
your God
you shall
therefore
be holy
for I
am
holy
well
what does
it
mean
for God
to be
holy
big books
written
on it
but very
very
simple
there's
two
basic
ideas
the first
is
that he
is
set
apart
and the
third
the second
thing is
that he's
completely
and utterly
himself
and set
apart
now this
is this
is going
to be
very
important
and it's
part of
the in a
sense the
subtext of
the book
of Leviticus
which we
don't really
get unless
we think
of the
the
contrast
or maybe a
better way
to put it
is how
do we
naturally
think of
holy
as
Canadians
and what
most
religions
and most
spiritualities
and most
ideologies
in a sense
the natural
way for us
as human
beings to
think
is something
along the
line of
a chain
of being
and at
the top
there's
like some
type of
God
and then
I don't
know
you know
there's
different
levels
of beings
you know
maybe there's
angels
or something
like that
and then
there's
the
but that's
all the
world
of spirit
so there's
like God
and then
there's
the world
of spirit
or the
world
mind
and there's
different
types of
spirit
or spirits
or mind
or soul
and then
you come
to the
level of
matter
so to
speak
and so
what most
people think
of when
they think
of holy
is they
think of
something
like
Yellowstone
Park
only in
terms of
the levels
of being
in Yellowstone
Park
the earth's
crust
is very
very
very thin
it's
one
of
I
think
only
three
places
in
the
world
where
the
crust
of
the
earth
is
very
thin
and
all
the
stuff
that's
underneath
is
very
close
to
the
surface
and that's
why you
have the
geysers
and the
hot water
and all
those
other
types
of
things
because
the
earth's
crust
is
very
thin
and so
what
most
people
think
of
as
holy
is
those
places
or
people
where
the
division
between
the
realm
of
spirit
and
the
realm
of
the
body
that
is
a
very
thin
place
and
so
when
we
think
of
a
holy
person
generally
speaking
you
think
of
somebody
who's
emaciated
looks
like
they're
starving
themselves
to
death
they
look
anorexic
they
look
as if
they
don't
care
about
things
like
cleanliness
or
grooming
why
well
that
individual
you
see
if
matter
and
everything
is
sort
of
bad
and
evil
and
that
person
is
representing
that
thinness
and
then
maybe
it's
because
they
say
all
sorts
of
pithy
types
of
things
you
know
wipe
left
wipe
right
never
mind
anyway
and
the
other
thing
is
that
we
think
of
like
a
grove
of
trees
or
a
church
or
a
temple
where
everything
is
very
still
and
very
quiet
and
we
can
easily
imagine
that
the
distance
between
the
other
so to
speak
the
spiritual
and
the
physical
is
very
thin
and
that's
how we
tend to
think
of
holiness
but
you
read
the book
of
Leviticus
and
it's
talking
about
here's
when you
have
your
feast
here's
when
you
have
your
time
of
denial
oh
let's
have
another
feast
oh
and
oh
let's
have
some
more
feasts
and
oh
here's
marriage
and
here's
how
you
deal
with
the
babies
and
here's
the
type
of
food
you
can
eat
and
none
of
it
looks
very
holy
it
looks
all
about
how
you're
going
to
regulate
things
like
marriage
and
friendship
and
how
you're
going
to
organize
your
to
work
hard
and
to
make
lots
of
money
and
be
prosperous
and
flourish
and
it
doesn't
look
like
that
thinness
at
all
because
you
see
at
the
heart
of
the
idea
of
holy
is
that
the
Bible
doesn't
say
that
there's
God
and
then
there's
a
whole
world
of
spirit
or
mind
or
soul
and
you
go
down
levels
and
levels
and
levels
and
finally
you
come
to
the
physical
and
then
you
come
to
the
physical
that
has
both
a
bit
of
spiritual
and
body
because
you
have
humans
and
dolphins
and
dogs
and
beetles
and
rocks
the
Bible
said
that
there's
just
this
one
line
there
is
the
triune
God
and
everything
else
what
did
the
psalm
say
the
earth
is
the
Lord's
and
the
fullness
thereof
the
Father
the
Son
and
the
Holy
Spirit
they
create
everything
they
make
everything
there's
the
Father
the
Son
and
the
Holy
Spirit
there's
this
big
line
and
then
there's
everything
else
there's
mind
and
spirit
and
body
and
soul
and
creativity
and
physical
labor
and
there's
sex
and
there's
all
of
this
other
stuff
it's
all
there's
no
level
of
beings
just
God
and
everything
else
and
so
God
is
completely
and
utterly
himself
and
he's
completely
and utterly
separate
and that's
what
to be
holy
and
here's
where
we
come
to
the
thing
in
Afghanistan
and
the
heart
of
discipleship
if
you
fall
asleep
fall asleep
until
now
you're
going to
fall asleep
in three
minutes
you get
this
image
you've
got
the
heart
of
the
sermon
because
what
is it
that
the
people
making
their
way
to
the
airport
desperately
want
they
want
to be
set
aside
and
allowed
into
the
airport
for
freedom
they want
to be
delivered
they don't
want to be
people who
are still
caught
in the
terrible
mess
of a
Taliban
controlled
Afghanistan
they are
hoping
that some
soldier
some
bureaucrat
some
person
will look
at what
they hold
and will
do this
and they
will be
set
aside
from the
crowd
to come
into the
airport
to be
taken under
the care
and jurisdiction
of one
of the
powers
my mom
and dad
are immigrants
Louise's
father
was a
basically
a refugee
her
mom's
parents
were
immigrants
Louise's
father
did not
come to
Canada
because he
thought Canada
wanted more
Polish people
he came to
Canada because
he believed
that Canada
wanted more
Canadians
my parents
came to
Canada because
they believed
that Canada
wanted more
Canadians
and you see
at the very
heart of this
idea of
holy
listen to the
text again
for I am
the Lord
who brought
you up
out of
the land
of Egypt
to be
your God
you shall
therefore
be holy
for I
am holy
at the
heart of
this idea
of holy
is that
not only
has God
redeemed
you
which we
need to
do
away
from
evil
but
that
God
sets
people
aside
for
himself
for
his
purpose
and
for
his
mission
if you
could
put up
the
third
point
the
true
and
living
God
made
lots
and
no
sorry
the
third
point
is
here
it
is
I'm
jumping
ahead
aren't
I
don't
put it
up
yet
that's
fine
you're
right
I'm
wrong
I have
to
follow
my
notes
anyway
that
so
that
God
sets
people
aside
for
himself
and
that's
what's
going
on
in
Afghanistan
and
what
we're
to
understand
is
that
God
sets
us
aside
for
himself
in
the
face
of
our
doom
the
face
of
slavery
and
the
whole
situation
in
Afghanistan
helps
us
to
understand
discipleship
because
the
fact
of
the
matter
is
that
the
world
the
idols
of
the
world
are
constantly
beckoning
us
to be
set
aside
for
the
purpose
of
the
idol
okay
I'm
going
to
say
it
I
didn't
watch
very
much
of
the
Olympics
what I
gather
and
what I
saw
is
the
Olympics
were
an
unrelenting
advertisement
for
gay
pride
an
unrelenting
beckoning
to
embrace
the
LGBTQ
plus
movement
see
the
fact
of
the
matter
is
the
world
is
always
calling
us
to
be
set
aside
for
its
purposes
now
just
to
be
clear
LGBTQ
plus
God
loves
you
Jesus
died
for
you
he
is
calling
you
if
you're
watching
this
right
now
he's
not
calling
you
and
saying
this
to
make
you
mad
he's
calling
us
so
you
will
understand
that
he
is
calling
you
to
say
yes
to
Jesus
just
as
he's
calling
heterosexuals
to
set
to
he's
calling
us
to
allow
him
to
set
you
aside
to
transfer
you
from
in a
sense
the
kingdom
of
the
world
and
the
kingdom
of
death
into
his
own
kingdom
and
to
be
his
treasured
possession
it's
going to
become
more
obvious
in the
very
next
text
from
Leviticus
to
but
the
world
is
always
beckoning
us
we
as
Christians
I've
had
some
it's
not
been
a
hard
thing
for
me
but
I've
had
people
on
one
side
who
would
definitely
like
me
to
embrace
the
ultimate
paranoia
of
the
most
paranoid
in
our
society
around
COVID
19
and
I
have
had
people
who
have
left
the
church
because
I
have
not
said
that
we
as
a
church
will
be
united
and refusing to wear masks.
The fact of the matter is,
is that there's political ideologies that want,
that call and beckon me to leave the gospel
and embrace the political cause.
And whether or not it's the call to embrace racism,
or whether it's the call to embrace critical theory,
or whether it's the call to embrace materialism and consumerism,
or the might of empire,
or the shame of our complete and utter culture,
or whatever it is,
the world is always calling us to allow it,
to set us aside for its purposes and its mission.
Just as people going through Afghanistan
are always worried,
well, they're hoping that they can make it to the Kabul airport
so that they will be set aside and allowed to enter.
And they're worried that at a challenge,
at a checkpoint,
the Taliban will tap them on the shoulder
and say,
come aside.
If that happened to me,
I'd wet my pants.
And so in a world
where the idols of the world
are constantly beckoning us
to be set aside,
hear their call,
and to be set aside for their purposes,
their mission,
their glory,
in such a world,
God,
in the person of Jesus
and in his word,
is calling you
and saying
to leave the idols of the world,
the doom that you have
because you will die,
to leave that
and set that aside,
to leave
all smells
and all hint
of brimstone
and sulfur,
because there is a great Savior
and Deliverer
who's died for you
to redeem you
so that if you
heed his call
and say yes,
he will take you
and set you aside
to be his beloved child,
his precious possession,
to be holy.
And he is not calling you
because he wants
more Canadians
or more rich people
or more poor people
or more handicapped
or more mightily athletic
or brilliant
or gay
or straight.
He's not calling you
because he wants
more of them.
He calls you
because he wants
more of his children
where we get
a new identity.
just as that baby
that goes over
and is accepted
and eventually
goes to Germany
or France
or the UK
or United States
will learn
how to live
within that country
within,
with its language
and its culture,
so it is
that when we give
our lives to Christ
and we are set aside
for him,
we learn the language
of grace
and of mercy
and of justice
and of peace
of the importance
of truth over lies,
justice over injustice,
mercy over cruelty,
goodness over evil,
peace over conflict,
love over hate,
flourishing over diminishment,
respect over belittlement,
that God sets us aside
in his kingdom
to be holy
like he is holy
so that we will breathe
his air
and eat his food
and drink his drink
and learn his language
and learn his culture
and see the world
for what it is
and to react
to the world
not with hatred,
not with despair,
not with despising,
but with love
and with prayer
and with pressing forward.
If you could put up
the next text,
let's turn to Leviticus chapter,
I have to sort of
wind this up very quickly,
Leviticus 22
verses 31 to 33.
See, here's the other type
of thing within the text
is that the Lord
reveals himself
as personal,
he reveals himself
as holy,
which means that he's
completely different
than everything else,
he's always completely
and utterly himself
and he calls us
to be holy
and to be holy
means that we will be
set apart for him
and in a very,
very odd way
as we're set apart
for him,
we become ourselves.
Just as God's holiness
means that God
is himself
in this profound mystery,
when we give up
our other ambitions
and allow him
to set us aside
for himself,
we become ourself.
You know,
it's just like
the moon is the moon
because it circles
the earth.
If the moon was ever
to break its gravitational hold
and stop circling the earth,
it would just become
a comet
that would move
to its eventual demise.
But as the moon
circling the sun,
it's itself.
In the same way,
we weren't meant
to be our own bosses,
our own gods.
We just become comets
that will flame out
and die.
And this profound mystery
is we allow God
to set us aside
for himself,
knowing that he is himself
and no other.
In a mystery of grace,
he begins to make you
and me more like
what we really are
in our uniqueness.
I haven't used this analogy
in a long time,
but if you go into a room
of people who are all
stoned or drunk,
their differences diminish.
If you go into a room
where people aren't stoned
or drunk,
then you notice
more the peculiarities
of their personality
and their sense of humor
and their wit.
You see,
sin and evil
always diminish us
and goodness
and grace elevate us.
But look at this text here.
So you shall keep
my commandments
and do them
for I am the Lord
and you shall not profane
my holy name
that I may be sanctified
among the people of Israel.
I am the Lord
who sanctifies you,
who brought you
out of the land of Egypt
to be your God.
I am the Lord.
See,
here's this great mystery
of redemption
is the Lord
who sets me aside.
When I, in a sense,
say,
Jesus,
I want you to be my Savior.
I trust you to be my Savior.
I can't reach Him.
He reaches me.
He takes my hand.
He covers me
with His righteousness.
He is the one
whose death upon the cross
covers all of my wrongdoing
and all of my sin
from the moment of my birth
to the moment of my death.
So I,
both the,
there's a just dealing
with all the wrong I've done
because He takes my place
and I'm covered with His righteousness
and He takes me
and sets me aside
as His own
and I am on one level
called to give 100%
of seeking to be holy,
always mindful
that I am only growing
into what God
has already called me
and destined me to
in His Son
and at the end of the day
it is only God
who makes me holy.
All of these texts
are pointing,
all of these texts
are telling our Jewish friends
and pointing to the day
they say,
you deal with the lamb,
you kill the bull,
you kill the cow
and it deals with the sins
that you perform today
but if you take these texts
at their great depth
you realize that God Himself
must provide some greater sacrifice
that will one day have to come
for which all of these small sacrifices
are but a hint
and a foretaste and a pointer
and when Jesus appears,
John the Baptist says,
behold the lamb of God
who takes away
the sin of the world
and all of the promises
of Leviticus,
all of the promises
of Genesis
are all fulfilled
in the person of Jesus
and we are the heirs of that
when we receive it.
And Jesus calls us
like those people
in Afghanistan,
He says,
it's like people
being picked out
and called
and taken
out of doom,
set aside for Himself.
Here's the point,
the Lord redeems you
from doom,
sets you aside
for His way
and mission
as His treasured
and adopted child.
Just in closing,
very briefly,
I'm just going to not comment
on them basically at all,
just read two texts
in 1 Peter
to see that these
very same things
that I've been developing
just out of the book
of Leviticus
is exactly what
the New Testament
is talking about.
1 Peter is a small book
right towards the end
of the Bible,
which I'm momentarily
having trouble finding.
There we go.
1 Peter 1,
verses 13 and 16
says this,
Therefore,
preparing your minds
for action
and being sober-minded,
set your hope fully
on the grace
that would be brought
to you
at the revelation
of Jesus Christ.
As obedient children,
do not be conformed
to the passions
of your former ignorance,
but as he who called you
is holy,
you also be holy
in all your conduct.
Since it is written,
you shall be holy
for I am holy.
He quotes Leviticus.
And then just look
on the very next page,
1 Peter 2,
verses 9 to 12.
He's referring
to those of us
who've accepted Jesus.
Some of us
have become Christians
out of great homes.
Some of us
have become Christians
without knowing
who our parents are.
Some of us
grew up in homes
with great privilege.
Some of us
grew up in homes
with great abuse.
Some of us here
struggle with
great sexual problems.
Some of us,
it's not a particular issue.
Some of us
have come out of poverty.
Some of us
have come out of riches.
Some of us
have great IQ.
Some of us
have low IQs.
But when we put
our faith in Christ,
this is what he says.
But you are
a chosen race,
a royal priesthood,
a holy nation,
a people
for his own possession,
that you may proclaim
the excellencies
of him
who called you
out of darkness
into his marvelous light.
Once you are not
a people,
but now you are
God's people.
Once you had not
received mercy,
but now you have
received mercy.
Beloved,
I urge you
as sojourners
and exiles
to abstain
from the passions
of the flesh
which wage war
against your soul.
Keep your conduct
among the world
honorable
so that when they
speak against you
as evildoers,
they may see
your good deeds
and glorify God
on the day
of his visitation.
I invite you
to stand.
If you are
watching this
and you've never
given your life
to Jesus,
there's no better
time now
than to call out
to him.
And he redeems you.
And when he calls,
and when you accept him,
when he takes you,
he accepts you,
he sets you aside
as his own
adopted child
that he loves.
He sets you aside
and he calls you
to become like him,
to allow him
to do his work
of redemption
and grace in you,
that we,
you,
and I
can live
for his glory,
not allowing
the world
to call us
to be set aside
for its purposes,
but to know
that he has
called us
and set us
aside for his
own purpose
that will end
in glory.
Let's pray.
Father,
first of all,
we commend
into your hands
the Afghani people.
Father,
it's hard
to pray
in the face
of
victorious
evil.
so we cling
to your word
and know
that
evil never
has the final
word,
that whether
on this side
of the grave
or the next,
that you will
judge.
You will judge
all injustice,
all hatred,
all evil.
But we call out,
Father,
for this people
we believe,
help our unbelief.
We ask,
Father,
that you would
turn the hearts
of those
who seem bent
on great evil,
that you would
bring about a day
when there are
leaders of that
land
who seek
freedom
and human
flourishing
and not
oppression.
And we call out
especially,
Father,
for our brothers
and sisters
in Christ
in Afghanistan.
Father,
we confess
we are so
soft and weak
it is hard
for us to even
imagine
that in a land
like that
someone would
willingly choose
to heed your
call and
become your
child.
It's hard
for us to
imagine.
So,
Father,
we thank you
for their
courage,
their testimony,
for your
great grace.
We ask that
you would
bless them
in this
great hour
of trial,
that you
would deliver
them,
that you
turn the
heart of
their
persecutors
away,
Father,
from persecution
and to
Jesus.
And we ask
for ourselves,
Father,
that you
would help
us to be
holy as
you are
holy,
that you
would help
us to
learn to
live as
your
children in
your kingdom
under your
gracious rule,
being fed
by you,
being led
and guided
and directed
by you,
for our
true good
where we
become
ourself,
we're the
good of the
world,
and for your
great glory.
and we
are so
weak,
Father,
we ask
for the
outpouring
of your
Holy Spirit
upon us,
that this
might be
our walk.
We praise
you that
you are
holy,
praise you
that you
are God,
you alone
are God,
and all
God's people
said,
Amen.