Live Free with Josh Howerton - What Does it Mean to Be “Holy”? | Ep. 427 | Tuesday, September 24, 2024

Episode Date: September 24, 2024

Holiness is what God wants for us: to be set apart and fully His. “And [ the angels ] were calling to one another: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.’”- Isaiah 6:3 (NIV) Holy is not used to describe God; sometimes, it is who He is all the time. Today, Pastor Carlos will discuss what it means to go deeper in holiness. For more information, visit lakepointe.church/dailydrive

Thanks for tuning in to today's Daily Drive with Lake Point Church, a daily dose of God's word for your morning drive. When the word, not the world, becomes the majority of your week, your life will start to change. For that reason, our prayer is that God will speak to you through today's devotional. For more digital content to feed your faith, visit lakepoint.comit. And now let's dive in to today's devotional. Well, hey guys, welcome to our daily drive. If we haven't met, my name is Carlos, and I get to be a part of the team here at Lake Point,

and we get to hang out this week for a few minutes every day as we together dive into the Word of God. And I said this yesterday, but I want to repeat for emphasis. I believe that what we need more than anything right now in this season is a deeper and deeper relationship with God. And for that reason, this week we're going deeper on one particular aspect of our lives and our relationship with Jesus.

And yesterday, we talked about going deeper in intimacy. Today, we're talking about going deeper in holiness. And so listen to what the book of Isaiah chapter 6, verse 3 says. And the angels were calling to one another. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty. The whole earth is full of his glory. Let me ask you this. What would you say is the most,

important thing about you. Is it your job? Is it your family? Is it your net worth? Is it whether you're happy or how many followers you might have on social media? The writer AW Tozer spoke about this once and he said that the most important thing about us is actually what comes to mind when we think about God. Like when you hear about God, whatever comes first to your mind, Tozer says, that thing is the most important thing about you. And so for some, the first thing that they think about when they think about God is that God is good. And maybe somebody else would say, actually, for me, when I think about God, I think he's angry. Or other people would say, I think about God as loving.

Or maybe somebody else might say, you know, for me, honestly, when I think about God, I first think he's unknown. I just don't know who he really is. And here's why this matters. Because if you think about anything that you're wrestling with today, any issue, any problem, any challenge, any obstacle, any sin, whatever it is, it all traces back to forgetting or not understanding who God really is. And let me just give you some examples of this. If today you're struggling with perhaps guilt, you need to be reminded of the grace of God. If today you're struggling with always wanting to maybe be in control, you need to be reminded of the sovereignty of God. If today maybe you're struggling with fear or anxiety, you need to be reminded of the faithfulness of God.

If maybe today you're struggling with anger or frustration or lack of forgiveness, you need to be reminded of the mercy of God. And the reason why I think oftentimes we miss out on going deeper in our relationship with God is because we still have not fully grasped the holiness of God. And in the book of Isaiah, the prophet Isaiah has this amazing vision of God high and exalted seated on a throne, surrounded by all these angels as they sing a song describing what they see. They say, holy, holy, holy is the Lord. And in the Bible, you need to know this. every time you see repetition, it's for emphasis. And so we see a clear example of this in the words of Jesus when he often says truly, truly, which is a Hebrew way of saying, this is very important and very true.

However, in this case, the angels don't repeat the same word twice. Interestingly enough, they repeat it three times. Now, this is the loudest and the boldest proclamation of something that is of utmost importance and absolute truth. the angels can't help but look at God and proclaim in his presence the words holy holy holy it's interesting because if you pay attention they didn't say God is father father father though he is but they didn't say God is love love love though he is and they didn't even say God is good good good though he is instead they declare his holiness three times now When they declare God is holy, they mean to declare God is set apart.

He's different. God is transcended. He's sinless. He's pure, perfect, beautiful, majestic, glorious, worthy of praise. And if you want to truly know God and experience His presence, you need to understand His holiness. Holy is not just another word we used to describe God sometimes. holy is who he is always. But here's the thing.

It doesn't just stop with God. Holiness is also what God wants for you and I. First Peter chapter 1, verse 15 to 16 says, 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. God's will is for you and I to be holy, and this is the reason why. We are called to be holy because we are made to reflect who God is.

And let me just explain to you what this means. When my son Elias was born, the doctors decided it would be best for him to spend several days in what is known as the neonatal intensive care unit, also known as the NICU. So as his parents, we had a moment where as parents, we could hold and touch our son for. a moment and then they took my newborn baby to another room to run test, you know, give him care, check that everything was okay with his health and more. Now, I'm aware that that usually happens with many other babies in the hospital at the same time. And maybe this is, this is a funny question that I had, but genuinely in my mind, I'm asking, hey, how do hospitals make sure that they don't mix up babies when they take him? I mean, I can only imagine that at some point, at least,

I got to imagine at least one baby has been taken and accidentally confused with another baby. And honestly, babies all kind of look the same. And maybe it was a silly concern, but that's kind of what I had in my mind at that moment. And I remember thinking, hey, I want everybody here to know that this right here is my baby. This right here is an arrasal. He has my name. He belongs to me and his mother. He doesn't belong to any other couple.

I'm thinking, can we just, you know, maybe put double bracelets on his little foot or maybe maybe we can tattoo my initials in his back. Something we need to make sure that everybody here knows that I got plans for this baby to grow up in my house with my traditions. I'm going to give this baby my wisdom. He's going to receive my kisses, my affection, my care. I don't have anything against the other babies right now.

I just want to know this baby and everybody needs to know that this baby is set apart to be mine. That's a glimpse of what holiness is. Holiness starts with your heavenly father saying listen, you're mine. You've been set apart. I have a purpose for you. I want you to know me. I have a good plan and a good future for you. You are my son. You are my daughter. Your past doesn't define you. Your mistakes don't define you. Your sins don't define you. The price I paid for you in Christ defines you. And today, I am calling you to go deeper in holiness, to have a deeper.

experience of my presence. Today I have called you to a life that is, listen to this, set apart for me. So his invitation today is for you to simply draw closer. We'll see you tomorrow. Thanks for tuning in today. For more biblical teaching and worship, join us for our church online live weekend services on Saturdays and Sundays. For more information about all the digital ministries of Lake Point, visit lakepoint.compt.combe. Also, if this podcast was helpful to you, would you be sure to rate, review, and share this podcast to help get the word out.