Topic: Called Unto Holiness [Sunday July 19, 2015]
Memorise: But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; -Matthew 5:44
Read: Matthew 5:43-48 (KJV)
43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?
48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
Bible In One Year: 2 Chronicles 23:16-25:13; Luke 24:36-53
MESSAGE:
The call to salvation is a call to holiness. The day you were invited to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, you were automatically called to a life of holiness. The Bible in 1 Thessalonians 4:7 says:
“For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness”
Have you responded to this call? The reason why many Christian leaders are heading for Hell today is because they have not answered the call to holiness. This ingredient is so indispensable to the Christian faith that having salvation without holiness is like leaving the substance and taking the chaff that can be easily blown away. Without sanctification, the salvation experience may not know stability. The accounts for the rising-and-falling syndrome being experienced by many Christians. When you are sanctified after receiving Christ into your heart, your faith in Christ is given the strong roots it needs. Hence, when the winds of affliction, temptation, persecution and other challenges of life blow, your faith in Christ will be unshaken, because it is deeply rooted. While the experience of salvation is akin to cruising in God’s shallow waters, experiencing sanctification is like launching out into the deep oceans of God’s nature. You need this experience!
When you are sanctified, you will have control over your emotions. If you have been battling with lust and sexual sins, ask God for a sanctified heart and you will overcome. Do you know that many leaders still have problems with anger? When they are angry, they can destroy just about anything. They become filled with rage and behave irrationally. What they need is sanctification. When you are holy, you are not easily provoked. In fact, after several failed deliberate attempts to make you angry, people will wonder whether you can ever get annoyed. If you are sanctified, you will find it impossible to cheat anyone, how much more your fellow Christian brother. With a sanctified heart, you will easily forgive your persecutors like Stephen and Jesus did. You will make excuses for those who fall below your expectations. You will have grace to love the unlovable, and pray for those who spitefully use you. When Jesus gave the instruction in today’s reading, He was actually calling us to holiness. Have you accepted this call? Have you received a new heart?
Prayer Point: Father, as I renew my mind with Your Word, sanctify me wholly that I may live to please You.
Open Heavens Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer's Ministries.
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God is holy....may my life be holy.
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