Mother's Day

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Mother’s Days for Elizabeth

It is a familiar story and one that fits with Mother’s Day.  A woman who wasn’t supposed to be a mother becomes a mother.   It is one of the most familiar stories in the Bible but a story that is over shadowed by another story and so it gets lost.  We are all familiar with the first couple of Chapters of Luke, it is the Christmas story.    

But the Christmas story didn’t start when the Angel appeared to Mary, no the story began half a year earlier and 100 kms away. 

Before the angel appeared to Mary and Joseph he had already appeared in Jerusalem to a man named Zechariah to announce the birth of a boy who would be named John and who would be a cousin to Jesus.

And the story of John, or more important the story of Elizabeth is a story that should resonate with most of the women who are here today. 

So let’s begin our journey where our Journey should begin, at the beginning.  Historically we are at the end of four hundred years of silence in the Story of Israel.  The last recorded words from one of God’s prophets had been written in the book of Malachi and the people of Israel have been waiting to be delivered from the various occupiers of their country.  

So let’s start with a little background about Elizabeth. 

We know who she was, because it is recorded in Luke’s Gospel, Luke 1:5 In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron.  

So she was a descendent of Aaron, who was Moses’ brother.  And it was from Aaron that the Jewish priesthood was descended. 

And then we read in Luke 1:6 Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous in God’s eyes, careful to obey all of the Lord’s commandments and regulations.   Not only was Elizabeth from a religious family, but she herself was righteous and was careful to obey all of the Lord’s commandments and regulations.  She was good people. 

Interestingly enough the Elizabeth who is mentioned here is actually a relative of Mary, Jesus mother.  Earlier I called John a cousin because I didn’t know what else to call him.  And that’s what he would have been called in those extended families, when you can’t think of anything else to call someone who is kin you call them your cousin.  You know if they aren’t your brother or sister, niece or nephew then they have to be your cousin.

When Gabriel appeared to Mary at beginning of the Christmas story he reveals this to her,  Luke 1:36 What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age!

In the King James Version it calls Elizabeth Mary’s cousin but the word in the original Greek was much broader than that and simply meant someone who was related to you, somehow.  And she may have been her cousin, we just don’t know.  What we do know is that Elizabeth was a descendant of Aaron and we are told that Mary was a descendant of David’s so whatever relationship was on their Mother’s side of the family tree. 

However I think if you had of talked to Elizabeth she wouldn’t have defined herself by her family background or her behaviour, instead in her private moments I think she would have defined herself with the next statement in this scripture which says, Luke 1:7 They had no children because Elizabeth was unable to conceive, and they were both very old.   

Now we really don’t know how old she was.  Obviously She was old enough for it to be mentioned, but perhaps because it was in relation to her child bearing years it was just relative.  After all, in that day and culture when women were married and began their families when they were in the teens, if you had been married for twenty years and hadn’t had a child it might be assumed that the baby wagon had passed you by. 

When we were in Truro we had two ladies who had children the same time that our daughter Deborah was born, and in 1987 we thought they were old, they were in their mid-thirties, which twenty nine years ago seemed old to be having babies.  So we don’t know how old Elizabeth was. 

But we do know that she experienced the heart ache of not having a child while all of her peers were.

Elizabeth Knew the Heartache of Being Childless  Now understand, not everyone wants kids.  Sometimes we meet couples who are childless and we jump to the conclusion that they are unable to have children.   But that isn’t always the case, and as a boss of mine used to tell me: The only thing you get from jumping to conclusions are sore feet.  Some couples choose to not have children for a variety of different reasons, and that is fine, that is there decision, it doesn’t make them less as people and when a woman chooses not to have children, that doesn’t make her less of a woman.  And I understand that, some people choose not to own a cat, that I don’t understand.   But I digress. 

But that was not the case with Zechariah and Elizabeth.  We are told that they were unable to have children because Elizabeth was unable to conceive, as we progress in the story we discover that this had been a heartache for them.  And it was a matter of prayer, they had not only done their part in trying to make a baby they had asked God to do his part, to no avail. 

For people who are trying to start a family and it’s not working there is an incredible amount of stress and frustration and eventually heartache.  Often times children have been part of the dream and the plan since the first doll was held.  For many couples and even more women it has always been assumed that children would be part of the equation, and then they aren’t. 

Add to that the cultural demand, even today, on having children, most couples have been there the endless questions about when it’s going to happen, throw perspective grandparents into the mix and the pressure is immense.  And to Zechariah and Elizabeth there was the responsibility to have a son who would carry on the priestly lineage of their families.

But it wasn’t working, and Elizabeth was taking the blame.  Remember the scriptures tell us that she was unable to conceive.  But seriously, they wouldn’t have known that, what they knew was that “They were unable to conceive” but it ended up in her lap and “they” became “She”. 

I would suspect in that time and culture if a man married three different women and none of them had children everybody would say that he was unlucky to have married three barren women, but really?

If there had of been a Mother’s Day 2000 years ago it would have been Elizabeth’s least favorite day, it would have been a reminder of what she wasn’t.  And I’m sure that there are those who worship at Cornerstone who have either skipped the service today or wish they had of skipped the service today for the same reason as Elizabeth, it is a reminder of what they aren’t but wished they were.

And there is nothing I can say today that will ease your hurt or make you feel any better about today.    But let me pray for you. 

It seemed that just when Zechariah and Elizabeth had grown used to the fact that they would grow old together without children God interrupts their plans. 

Luke 1:11-13 While Zechariah was in the sanctuary, an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the incense altar. Zechariah was shaken and overwhelmed with fear when he saw him. But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John.

By this time in history there were more priests than there were jobs for priests, so they took turns working in the temple, good work if you can find it.  And Zechariah’s turn came up and he was chosen to enter into the temple and offer the sacrifices and while he was in there the strangest thing happened. 

He’s doing the things he supposed to be doing, preparing the sacrifice, getting it ready to be offered, preparing his prayers and the scriptures he will read as part of the ceremony and God interrupts him, with an Angel.  I don’t know what angels look like but they always start off their introductions with the words “Don’t be afraid”. 

And Zechariah was a little spooked; actually he was a lot spooked.  After all he was supposed to be alone in the altar area, there were no windows just lit by flickering torches, maybe he’s whistling as he worked.  And all of a sudden he’s no longer alone.  I don’t think he was spooked because there was an angel there, I think he was spooked because there was anyone there.

And if we read through the conversation the Angel, who identifies himself as Gabriel tells Zechariah that his and Elizabeth’s prayers will be answered and that they will be parents and that their son will do great things for God. 

And after the angel drops this bombshell, I mean good news on Zechariah he gets this response; “What?”  Actually that was a rough translation his actually words were Luke 1:18 Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I be sure this will happen? I’m an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years.”

My wife is well along in years, that charitable, love how it is put in the King James Version  Luke 1:18 And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.   Guys here’s a Mother’s Day hint, I don’t think that “well stricken in years” is the most appropriate way to describe your wife’s age.

You got to love this, for years Zechariah and Elizabeth had prayed for a son, They had been praying so long it had become route and I don’t think they really expected it would be answered and had never stopped to consider what would happen if it was answered, there would be diapers to buy, a house to be baby proofed and they’d have to get a baby seat for the camel.

Presumably they knew what caused babies and presumably they had been trying that particular technique without success so the assumption would have to be that there would have to be something miraculous about this.

And to be fair, it may not have been disbelief as much as curiosity that caused his reaction, he knew the other way wasn’t working so what was going to change?

If you don’t know the rest of the story it would appear that Gabriel was a little sensitive about not being believed because he responds by saying in  Luke 1:19-20 Then the angel said, “I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was he who sent me to bring you this good news! But now, since you didn’t believe what I said, you will be silent and unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly be fulfilled at the proper time.”

Boy, do you know where I’d be if folks still lost their voices when they didn’t believe the promises of God?  Yeah, preaching to a very quiet church.

And the story continues. 

Luke 1:14-17 You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord. He must never touch wine or other alcoholic drinks. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth.

Without commentary don’t you find it interesting how those thoughts are joined? 1) Great in the eyes of the Lord 2) filled with the Holy Spirit 3) must never touch wine or other alcoholic drinks, just saying.

Luke 1:57 When it was time for Elizabeth’s baby to be born, she gave birth to a son.

Elizabeth Knew the Joy of Being a Mother  At her age I’m sure that she felt the exhaustion of being a mother and at times the frustration of being a mother but that’s not where we are going today.   And if Elizabeth was like most parents she probably dreamed dreams of what her child would do and what he would be when he grew up. 

Probably because of his divine announcement John’s mother probably pictured him of doing great things for God, maybe someday being the high priest. 

If you were to ask Elizabeth to predict the future of her son it probably would have had to do with the priesthood.  It was John’s lineage, his father was a priest and his mother was the daughter of a priest.  And I’m pretty sure that in Zechariah’s mind that if his son was going to have an impact for God it would be through the religious establishment that the family was familiar with.  After all why wouldn’t it be? 

My father was a sea captain as was his father and his father, and there was a natural assumption that I would be as well.  The entire Denn getting seasick on wet grass didn’t seem to factor in at all. 

The bible doesn’t tell us anything about John’s childhood, but if he was like most children he was loved and doted on.  I’m sure that Elizabeth showed him off at every chance, and probably wasn’t the least bit sensitive when she was around women who were childless. 

But when John had grown up we read that he went into the wilderness and when the time was right he appears preaching repentance, baptising people and telling them that the messiah was soon going to appear.  Both Matthew and Mark give us the same description of John.  Mark tells us in Mark 1:6 His clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. For food he ate locusts and wild honey.

And I’m sure that regardless of the fact that Elizabeth probably didn’t understand what John was doing, nobody in their family had ever done anything like that before, that she was one hundred percent behind him.  She probably bragged to her neighbors about John and all the people that he baptized. 

We know nothing about John’s childhood and how his parents raised him and loved him, what we do know is that Elizabeth and Zechariah were chosen by God to raise John, and God doesn’t do anything without a reason.  So we need to assume that it was because of the way that his parents raised him that John was who he was.  Remember that earlier in the story that John’s parents were described as Luke 1:6 Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous in God’s eyes, careful to obey all of the Lord’s commandments and regulations.  Our children will follow God or not follow God, that will be a decision that they need to make.  However we have a responsibility to lay the foundation that they will need to follow God. 

As we read the accounts of John’s preaching it is evident that the foundation of his faith was well laid.  It was Abraham Lincoln who said “All that I am or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.”  We can only assume that John the Baptist would have said the same thing about his mother.

If there had of been a Mother’s Day 2000 years ago it would have been one of Elizabeth’s favorite days. 

For those of you who are raising children, and it doesn’t matter if they are one or a hundred and one Mother’s never stop raising their children, I would like to pray for you today. 

But ultimately it would have been the thing that would have brought Elizabeth her greatest joy, that her son was serving God, that would cause her greatest pain.

Maybe you know the story of John and maybe you don’t either way let me bring you up to speed. You will recall that John had been preaching repentance throughout the country and part of that was confronting people about their behaviour.  After all unless a person feels a sense of wrong over their behaviour they won’t feel compelled to repent.  One of the people that John called out was King Herod, this wasn’t the same King Herod from the Christmas story, instead it was his son, the King Herod from the Easter story. 

Apparently Herod’s younger brother, Phillip, had married a woman by the name of Herodias and somehow she ended up married to Herod.  The assumption is that she left the younger brother for the older brother.  And John began to publically take issue with the morality of the entire situation.  I’m not sure that it bothered Herod that much, he was probably used to people criticizing him, after all he wasn’t the most lovable tyrant.  But it was getting to Herodias and we are told that Herod had John imprisoned as a favour to Herodias.  Here was John who had spent so much of his adult life in the wide open spaces of the wilderness now confined to a prison cell.  Must have been tough but it would get tougher.  

But listen to this little snippet in Mark 6:19-20 So Herodias bore a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But without Herod’s approval she was powerless, for Herod respected John; and knowing that he was a good and holy man, he protected him.

Now maybe you know how the story ends for John, you hear people talk about how immoral our society is, how far we’ve fallen but this account reveals what life was like 2000 years ago in the society that John and Jesus were called to confront.

Herod throws this big party for everybody who was anybody and part of the festivities was a dance performed by his step- daughter.  When the dance was over Herod applauded and told her “that was awesome, I will give you anything you desire, right up to half my Kingdom.”  Not sure how the Romans would have felt about that, but I would suspect that Herod had been in the bubbly. 

So the girl went over to her mother and had a little girl talk and she came back and we pick up the story in Matthew 14:8 At her mother’s urging, the girl said, “I want the head of John the Baptist on a tray!”

Now that seems a little extreme, and I’m sure that everyone knew that it was the booze talking but we read in   Matthew 14:9-10 Then the king regretted what he had said; but because of the vow he had made in front of his guests, he issued the necessary orders.   So John was beheaded in the prison.

Elizabeth Knew the Pain of Losing a Child  and I understand that this is speculation, that because John was born in Elizabeth’s old age that she had probably already passed away when John was killed.  But we don’t know that.  We don’t know how old “Old” was in the case of Elizabeth.  So for the sake of the sermon let’s assume that she was still alive.  I can think of no greatest tragedy for a parent than to lose a child, regardless of the age of that child.  Parent’s aren’t supposed to bury their children; children are to bury their parents.  But from the beginning of time this type of tragedy has happened.  If you are familiar with the book of genesis you will remember that the first funeral wasn’t for Adam or Eve, it was for their son Abel. 

There is a pain that will never go away and a hole that can never be filled.  I don’t know every story at Cornerstone but I do know that are mothers at Cornerstone who have lost children who were in their twenties and thirties and forties. And there may very well be those here who lost children who never grew to adulthood.   And I know that there are mothers in our church family who lost children before they were born, and that loss is just as real and just as heartbreaking.

The second funeral that I ever performed was for a little girl who never breathed air and never looked into the eyes of the two people who loved her more than they could ever say. 

If we believe what we say we believe about when life begins then they are children and their mothers are mothers and when we invite the mother’s to come forward at the end of the service to receive their treats they have the same right to be here as any other mother. 

And there are those here today who have lost a child who is still alive, because of strains in relationships and circumstances that can never be explained there are sometimes chasms between parents and children that can never be bridged and the heartache is always there for lost children and grandchildren.  

If there had of been a Mother’s Day 2000 years ago it would have been a painful day for Elizabeth, a reminder of all that she lost.

Here is what we do know, we know that Elizabeth loved and served God, and we know that John loved and served God so we know that regardless of the present heartache that there came a time that mother and son were reunited.

And I wish that I could speak words of healing into your lives and tell you that someday you wouldn’t grieve for the child that you have lost.  You will always miss your child, and your will always cherish their memory.  It was another Elizabeth, Queen Elizabeth who said “Grief is the price we pay for love.”

But there is a hope, a promise that transcends death.   Early this week friends of ours lost their daughter after a six-month battle with Cancer, she was 36 years old.  The morning following her death her father wrote of their loss and here is a part of what Don wrote:

“She (Lindsay)  is with Jesus. And we have a massive hole in our hearts. Oh how we miss her already! But that aching void will be filled again, for we will see her ourselves someday in the presence of Christ. "Therefore we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." We love you Lindsay! And we will see you later!”

If you have lost a child let me pray for you this morning.

Today we celebrate mothers not because mothers are better people or better women than those who have never been mothers but because each of us owes something to our mothers, even if it is only life. 

The Way of Holiness

For far too many people when they think about a life of walking in obedience to God that would be how they would picture it, a monotonous, dreary forced march.  Nothing pleasurable about it, but if you want to get to heaven, it’s the way you have to go.  All the colour and all the pleasure has been removed from life by a God who forces his children to forsake the pleasures that are offered up to them.  

By the way the video clip was from the 1927 Science fiction movie Metropolis and it was how Fritz Lang perceived life would be like in the year 2000.  And while that didn’t become a reality in our everyday lives many who don’t have a relationship with Christ somehow picture that as what it means to walk with God.   

I’m sure that many if not most of you have heard the comment “There are many roads to heaven.”  But is that true?  And what does it even mean?  What people mean when they say that all roads lead to heaven is that there is no “one” way.   They feel that all religions eventually lead to God.  That it doesn’t matter if you are a Christian or a Muslim, or a Hindu or for that matter a nothingterian as long as you are a good person and sincere in what you believe then you are good.

But that philosophy isn’t taught by the Muslims, or the Hindus and it certainly wasn’t taught by Jesus, because he made this statement 2000 years ago,   John 14:6  Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.

He didn’t say “I am one of the ways”,  he said “I am the way”.  He didn’t say that he was one of the truths he said he was the only truth, He said that the only way to heaven, the only way to God was through him and through the salvation that he offered.  So let’s start by saying the journey begins when you choose to follow Jesus.  But very seldom is that where the journey ends.  When Jesus promised the thief on the cross, “Today you will be with me in paradise”   It was a very short journey, but for most of us, our Christian life is measured in years not minutes. 

Two weeks ago I spoke about being called to Holiness, and we looked at what Holiness was and what Holiness wasn’t.  And we came to the conclusion that Holiness is being obedient to the will of God in all areas of our lives.

It was Mother Theresa who said “Holiness is the complete acceptance of the will of God.”

And we discovered that holiness is not just  a list of rules.  And that holiness isn’t generic, that is to say that God created us as individuals and his plan and will for our lives is as individual as we are.  It’s not like buying a suit off the rack, it’s like having a suit made to measure.  And we discovered that striving for a holy life is not optional, seriously the bible tells us in Hebrews 12:14  Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.  And that doesn’t sound like you can take it or leave it

So if that message was the Call to Holiness, today we are going to look at The Way of Holiness.

This morning we are going to look at a word picture that was drawn by the prophet Isaiah almost 700 years before the birth of Christ. Isaiah was describing the life that would be offered by the coming Messiah.  The passage was read earlier in the service, but I want to focus on three of the verses Isaiah 35:8-10  And a great road will go through that once deserted land. It will be named the Highway of Holiness. Evil-minded people will never travel on it. It will be only for those who walk in God’s ways; fools will never walk there.  Lions will not lurk along its course, nor any other ferocious beasts. There will be no other dangers. Only the redeemed will walk on it.  Those who have been ransomed by the LORD will return. They will enter Jerusalem singing, crowned with everlasting joy. Sorrow and mourning will disappear, and they will be filled with joy and gladness.

The highway that Isaiah wrote about is a highway that makes its way through a wilderness.  You see in the Bible; the wilderness is a picture of the devastation done by our sin. It is wasteland in contrast with the Garden of Eden.

God created a Garden; our disobedience produced a wilderness, the ungarden, the anti-garden, the place where nothing grows. The Garden of Eden was watered by four rivers; the wilderness is thirsty ground. The Garden had trees bearing fruit for food; the wilderness has no food. The wilderness is a place of burning sand and parched ground a place of snakes and scorpions,  hungry jackals and lions. The garden was a place of life; the wilderness a place of death. We chose death over life, self over God. We still do. And so we live life in the wilderness instead of the Garden.

But when we choose Jesus, and let Jesus choose us it’s like, like you’ve been wandering through the woods, lost, desolate and without hope and suddenly you push through the curtain of underbrush and there before you is a road with a sign that says “This Way Home.”

The wilderness is the place of testing, temptation, trial. In the wilderness Israel was disciplined by God. In the wilderness Jesus was tempted by the devil. In the wilderness John came preaching and baptizing to prepare the way for Christ. The wilderness is where every prop is kicked away, where every support is gone, and where you are left with nothing but God's promise to protect you and his promise is that he is the way, and that he is the truth and that he is the life. 

The holy highway runs from Bethlehem's manger to Calvary's cross to the garden tomb and the resurrection and glory. This is the only path that leads through the wilderness of life to eternal life.  And it is called the Highway of Holiness.   So what does the scripture tell us about this highway.

1) It is a Holy Way, How do we know that?  Because we are told that it is made up of Holy People.  Hebrews 13:12  So also Jesus suffered and died outside the city gates to make his people holy by means of his own blood. And in Colossians 3:12  Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.

Now there are some people who would say that this is a very special highway and only very special people walk on it, you know those Super Saints.  But I beg to differ here.  Let’s start by who’s walking there.

Three descriptions are used here to describe those walking on the highway the first is 1) Those Who Walk In God’s Ways.  2) The Redeemed 3) Those Who Have Been Ransomed.  And then to counter this we are told who won’t be walking on it 1) Evil Hearted People 2) Fools. 

Now when Isaiah writes that fools will never walk there I don’t think he is talking about a person’s mental capacity or even the degree of seriousness that a person views life with.  If that was the case it would be a very lonely highway, think where that would leave me, walking along all by myself.   Instead I think Isaiah’s reaching back to the words that David wrote in Psalm 53:1 Only fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.”

So here’s the bottom line, if you are a believer then you will be walking on the highway, and if you’re not a believer you aint gonna be there.  Because you see the road is not a freeway, it is a toll road, and two thousand years ago Jesus Christ paid the toll and the only people who can gain access to the road are those who acknowledge what Jesus did, and who are willing to accept it as a gift.  So it is a holy way, for a holy people

But it is more than a holy way.  The great promise that is in this scripture is in verse 9 where Isaiah tells us Isaiah 35:9  Lions will not lurk along its course, nor any other ferocious beasts. There will be no other dangers. Only the redeemed will walk on it.

2) It Is A Safe Way.

To really put that into perspective we need to look at 1 Peter 5:8  Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 

The problem is that when we think of a lion we think of something cute and cuddly but they are dangerous creatures that kill people.  And so when the Dentist shot Cecil last year everybody was outraged, but a month later when another lion in the same area mauled and killed a villager it hardly made the news. 

If you are a Christian and if you are serious about serving God then you’ve discovered the truth about the devil and that is that he is real, and he doesn’t want to lose you.  And if he isn’t interested in you then that means he doesn’t consider you much of a threat.  The greatest compliment you can receive as a believer is to hear the growl of the Devil.  But if you are living in obedience to God’s will for your life then you may hear his growl but that’s as close as he’s going to get.

According to Isaiah the one place that is the safest for you as a believer is walking the Highway of Holiness.  When you are in obedience to God the Devil is repulsed, he can’t stand to be around you.

So here’s the highway, put some lines on it and this is where we are supposed to be, and off here is the lion that’s not allowed on the highway.  Now where is the safest place on the highway?    Right, in the middle, just as far as possible from where the lion is, as a matter of fact the place the believer is supposed to stay is right smack dab in the middle of God’s will for their life.   So how come so many Christians want to play over here by the edge? 

And then after they’ve been over by the edge for a while and nothing really bad has happened they try crawling down into the ditch, just for a minute, they aren’t going to stay long, and it’s not going to do a lot of harm and then they run back up to the road again and everything seems to be fine.  But they start spending more time off the highway then on the highway, and even though others’ might not realize where they have been playing they know exactly what they are doing. 

And then one day when they are playing down over the edge and the lion gets them and when the truth comes out people stand around and say “wow that was sudden.”  Who would have thought?

But the truth is people don’t go from the safety of the centre of the road to being in danger in the ditch in a single step.  Doesn’t happen like that, instead it happens step by step. 

So why doesn’t God do something to keep us on the road?  He does,  he’s done all kinds of things.  Probably the biggest thing that he’s done is that he’s given us guidelines.  It’s called the Bible and it tells us what God expects of us, it tells us where the centre of the road is. 

That’s the centre line of the highway, that’s obedience.  And when we are living in obedience then we are right where we belong right in the centre of the road, as far as possible from the edge.  And the scripture also warns us about certain behaviour, behaviour that leads into sin and disobedience.  And that is the line on the shoulder of the road.  And like a warning line on the highway, the bible tells us what we shouldn't do -- but it does not keep us from doing it.

And because God has given us that incredible gift called free will we can at any time we want walk to the edge of the highway, cross the line and crawl down into the ditch.  And there have been people who have done exactly that who have walked away from the highway of holiness because they think they’ve found a better way but listen to the word of God Proverbs 16:25  There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.

You see the highway is a safe way, and it is the only safe place for believers, you stay on the highway you stay protected from the evil one, you get off the highway and you have voided the warranty.  You gotta understand God doesn’t didn’t lay down his guidelines to ruin our fun, he does it to keep his children safe.  We tell our kids don’t play on the road, is that because we are spoil sports or because we don’t want our children harmed? 

And so God tells us to stay in the centre of his will, to walk in the light, to be obedient to his will and we will be safe.  Does that mean that we will always be safe physically and emotionally, that we will never have any problems or trials?  No, if that’s what it meant the road would be crowded with people taking it as an escape from humanity, it would look like the road out of Fort McMurray during the fire. 

But the promise is that staying on the Highway will keep you spiritually safe.  But ultimately a highway has to go somewhere, otherwise it’s just a mistake, a folly.  If it doesn’t go anywhere it’s just a really long driveway.   Which makes me wonder why do we park in driveways and drive on parkways?  Just wondering.

And the Highway that Isaiah is describing has a destination, if we keep reading we disover  Isaiah 35:10  Those who have been ransomed by the LORD will return. They will enter Jerusalem singing, crowned with everlasting joy. Sorrow and mourning will disappear, and they will be filled with joy and gladness. 

When Isaiah wrote those words Jerusalem was for many their dream destination.  Israel had been conquered by foreign powers and many were living in exile having been taken prisoner by the conquerors.  And for them the thought of returning to Jerusalem was the ultimate expression of freedom.  In the New Testament Jerusalem is used as a metaphor for Heaven.

And so it is here we discover that  It Is A Heavenly Way  It doesn’t matter how nice the road is and how safe the highway is if’n it’s not leading in the right direction.  And this highway of holiness, this road of obedience leads to an eternity with God. 

And it is the only road to God.  If there were many roads, many paths to heaven then why did Jesus have to come to this earth?  If there were other ways why did he have to suffer the humiliation of a trail and the pain of crucifixion?  If people could chart their own path to heaven then Jesus came and lived and died in vain.  But they can’t and he didn’t.

Life is a journey.  It begins with conception and winds it way through 80 or so years of our existence.  And each one of our lives will end at a final destination.  

In the Gospel of Luke in the New Testament we read about a lawyer who came to Jesus and asked in  Luke 10:25 “Teacher, what must I do to receive eternal life?”

The truth is that the lawyer was asking the wrong question.  Because we are all going to live forever.  Good, bad, indifferent it don't matter, believer, non-believer, Christian, non-Christian it doesn't matter how you live here because you are going to live forever.  If you thought that you had to be a Christian to live forever you are wrong, dead wrong, so to speak.  Now before you decide to fire me let me just say one thing, you can't.  And before you organize a party to string me up or burn me in effigy listen up.  Death is simply a comma in the story of life.  If the first chapter the nine months that you spent in your mother’s womb was short, the eighty or so years that make up chapter two aren't much longer in the entire scheme of things.

However similar life may be for the believer and the non-believer it becomes dramatically different when death turns the page.  You see although we're all going to live forever, the Christian and the non-Christian aren't going to live forever in the same place.  We are heading for different destinations.  I know you're thinking "Pastor you don't really believe all that stuff about heaven and hell?"  Yep sure do.  "Well" you say "I believe in heaven but I find it hard to believe that a loving God would actually send someone to hell."  God doesn't send anyone to hell, people go to hell because they don't choice to go to heaven, and if you scan the gospels you will discover that Christ spoke a whole lot more about hell then he did about heaven.

The Non-believers, well they are heading for a Christless eternity, forever without any love, without any good, without any light, without any God, an eternity they chose.

  But in contrast to the Christless eternity reserved for the unbeliever there's an eternity prepared for the believer which is spent with God, again listen to the words of Christ, this time in  John 14:1-4  “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me.  There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?  When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.  And you know the way to where I am going.”   

Keep listening as John pens a description of heaven as he saw it in  Revelation 21:4  He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”

Same author and chapter Revelation 21:22-23  I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.  And the city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light.

"No pain?  No darkness?  No sorrow? How can I get there?" Good question I'm glad you asked, It’s the destination that lies at the end of the highway of holiness.  This truly is the highway to heaven. 

Called to Be Holy

For those of you who have kids, do you remember when your children were little, and you envisioned all they could be?   You never pictured them as being average, normal yes, average no.  You had high expectations for what your child could be and would be.  If they played hockey they’d be the next Gretzky, if they sang they would be Bono or Gaga or whoever tops your iTunes play list.  And you encouraged them to be the very best that they could be, to try their best and to do their best. 

When they hit the wrong note, sang off key or scored on their own team you took it as a personal affront.  But you continued to encourage them, “Just do your best” you’d say, but your version of their best may not have been the same as their version of their best.

And there is nothing wrong with having high expectations for your kids, as long as they don’t become unhealthy.

Way back in the Old Testament God set the bar fairly high for his people, the people of Israel.  He tells them through his prophet Isaiah Isaiah 62:11-12  The LORD has sent this message to every land: “Tell the people of Israel, ‘Look, your Savior is coming. See, he brings his reward with him as he comes.’”  They will be called “The Holy People” and “The People Redeemed by the LORD.”

 

Wow, you ever feel like you’ve just received an impossible mission?  A goal that is just too great, a target that’s just too far away?  I wonder if that is how the people of Israel felt when they heard the prophet Isaiah make the proclamation.

It’s one thing to be called a chosen people, or a special people, even a redeemed people, but what is this “Holy People” thing that Isaiah is speaking of?

A Holy People, the People Redeemed by the Lord.  That’s pretty heavy isn’t it. 

And for all you who think, “Well yeah but that was the Israelites.”  Listen again to the scripture that was read for us early to what Peter writes in 1 Peter 1:15-16  But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy.  For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.” That’s quite a statement isn’t it, you must be holy in everything you do.  Why?  Because you are a chosen people a people called to be Holy. 

And it’s gets even heavier because the word that Peter uses here for holy is a Greek word. Now I was probably the dumbest person in the world but when I first became a believer, I thought the Bible had been written in English.  Duhh.  But it had actually been written in Greek, at least the New Testament, the Old Testament was written in Hebrew.  And the Greek word that Peter used here is Hagios and it means, “Sacred, (physically pure, morally blameless and religiously and ceremonially consecrated.) What do you think?  Pretty accurate description of you?  No?

In 2016 too many Christians think that holiness is just for certain people, and they would certainly never think of themselves as a Holy People. Instead they figure that holiness is for the Super Saints or else it comes with age.  When I was in Bible College I had a theology professor by the name of Bruce Bridgeo, a saint of a man confirmed by the fact that his mother-in-law lived with them.  Now Rev. Bridgeo’s mother-in-law’s name was Grammy Hayward and she was a thousand years old. Well I was nineteen and she looked a thousand years old.  And anyone who says there’s no such thing as Christian perfection had never met Grammy Hayward.  And we think “When I’m a thousand years old then I’ll be holy too.”  But the word of God does not say that old people shall be called a Holy People and It doesn’t say Super Saints will be called a Holy People, instead It says that those who have been redeemed will be called a Holy People.  And if’n you’re a Christian then you have been redeemed and you can figure out the rest of it for yourself.

God could have personalized it by saying, Denn you must be holy because I am holy, or Stefan you must be holy because I am holy, or Roman you must be holy because I am holy.  You, each of you who make up Cornerstone Wesleyan Church are called to be holy people. 

Do you remember what Peter said “But now you must be holy in everything you do,” Not some of what you do, not part of what you do, not most of what you do, not what you do on Sunday mornings between 9:30 and noon.  The Bible the word of God says “be holy in everything you do.”  In what you do with your family, what you do with your business, what you do for recreation and what you do in your spiritual life.

Now in 2016 we try not to read it that way, most preachers won’t preach it that way and most of us wouldn’t have written it that way.  Most of us would have been a lot more comfortable if Peter had of written; be mediocre in everything you do or be average in everything you do or try to do your best in everything you do. 

And if that was God’s intent then he would have had Isaiah write “And they shall be an ordinary people.”  But it wasn’t written that way because that isn’t what God wanted us to do or be. 

And that call for Holiness extends to his people today and if God had of meant that holiness was a nice touch but only if you wanted to go that route then he wouldn’t have included Hebrews 12:14  Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.

Now that’s kind of in your face isn’t it?  For those who are not holy will not see the Lord.  Now I know that you are sitting there thinking “Well he doesn’t mean that.”  Ok, so what does he mean?

Here’s the question for today, if God has called us to be a Holy People and it would appear that he has, and if those who are not holy will see the Lord and they won’t then what is this holiness thing and how in the world can we possibly be holy?

You’ve probably heard the story of the man who got the big chunk of marble and said he was going to carve an elephant.  His friend asked how he would go about it and he replied, “By chipping away the bits that don’t look like an elephant.” 

So let’s start by figuring out what we aren’t called to before we try to figure out what this holiness is that we are called to.

1) Your Calling is Not Generic Holiness is not the same for me as it is for you.  That simply means that if I’m totally obedient to God and you do everything that I do you might not be totally obedient to God.

Too often we know what God expects of us and we presume that if God want us to do those things then he wants everyone else to do those things as well.  What we fail to recognize is that God created us as individuals.  Each one of us is distinct in the way that God created us and we are unique in how God deals with us, we are not generic or no name, as a matter of fact in the book of Isaiah we read Isaiah 43:1 But now, O Jacob, listen to the LORD who created you. O Israel, the one who formed you says, “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine.

The Prophet is not talking to a guy named Jacob.  He is using Jacob metaphorically to refer to his chosen people.

God calls us by name, he doesn’t just say “Hey you!” and he doesn’t try to make us fit into somebody else’s mold.

God’s will for our lives is not one size fits all.  You don’t just take holiness off the rack and it fits.  Instead holiness is tailored by God to exactly fit you.  Now if I was having a suit tailor made I wouldn’t send Mike in to the tailor to be measured for me.  No, I would go myself and if the tailor was a real pro he would probably have me back for several different fittings.  He might pad the right shoulder of my suit so it was as high as the left, he might lower my collar and shorten the sleeves but when he was done it would fit me perfectly.

I love the story of the man who was buying a suit off the rack and told the salesman the sleeves are too long, so the salesman says “Just hold your arms like this.”  “Ok” said the customer “but the collar bunch up”, “No problem” says the salesman “just hunch over like this.”  “that’s fine” replies the customer “but he pants are too long as well” “Simple, just walk like this” says the salesman.  The man buys the suit and walks out of the store on his tip toes with his arms curled up in front of him and his shoulders all hunched up.  Two women see him and the first one says “Look at that poor man.”  “Yes” said the second lady “but his suit fits nice.”  And that’s what we look like when we try to fit into someone else’s holiness, all hunched over and bent out of shape.

2) Your Calling is Not Static  One of the basic tenants of our Christian life is that God expects us to continue to grow, and as we grow he expects more of us.  And so the actions that permitted us to live a holy life a week after we became a Christ follower may not meet the criteria a year later.

I’m sure that we’ve all seen people who have grown out of their pant length.  I don’t want to talk about people who have grown out of their pant width, but you know what I’m talking about, they have three inches of sock showing between the cuffs of their pants and their shoes.  Now I don’t know what they are called now but when I was in school we called them floods.

There is no doubt that those pants fit that person at one time, but no longer, because as they grew their pants didn’t grow with them.  John was one of Jesus’ best friends and he wrote these words in 1 John 1:7 (NIV) But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.  There was a verb an action word in there did you catch it?  Right, it was “walk”.  John didn’t say “if we stand in the light” or “sit in the light.”  Instead he said “If we walk in the light.”

Now think about it, Jesus said in John 9:5  “But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world.”

So here we are, walking in the light and Jesus is the light.  Now if we are walking and we are staying in the light what must the light be doing as well?  Right, it must be moving as well.  Stay with me folks.  The light is moving and we are moving with the light.  We are living in the light that Jesus gives us.  But what happens if we stop moving but the light keeps moving?  The light goes on without us.  Holiness is not a past tense, it is present and future, it’s not something we’ve done it’s something we are doing.  It’s not something we did yesterday, it’s what we are doing today and what we will do tomorrow.  Loretta Lynn said “You've got to continue to grow or else you're just like last night's cornbread -- stale and dry.”

3) Your Calling is not to a list of Rules

To too many Christians, holiness means: that thou shalt do this and thou shalt do that, but thou had better not do that over there.  And so we decree that if you are holy then you do this whole list of things and at the same time you don’t do this whole list of things.  In his book “Loving God” Chuck Colson warns us of several problems with this type of rule keeping mentality. 

a) It limits the scope of true Biblical Holiness.   If we can narrow holiness down to a set of rules or guidelines then any area of our life those rules don’t touch are outside the Lordship of Jesus Christ.  Holiness must effect every area of our lives and not just those covered by the rule book.

b) Even though the rules may be Biblically based we end up obeying rules instead of God.  And anytime we begin to serve anything, no matter how good and no matter how noble that thing might be then it is idolatry.  Now we might as well set up our list of rules and regulations on an altar and say Ok, this is it, this is how you become holy, just follow these and you will find true holiness.  At that point we will have become so engrossed in following the letter of the law that we completely forget the spirit of the law. 

c) Emphasis on rule keeping deludes us into believing we can be holy through our own efforts.  Listen up, there can never be holiness without the work of the Holy Spirit just as there can’t be salvation without the work of Jesus. Whenever we preach or practice a holiness of rules then we preach and practice a holiness of works.  A theology that says you are saved by grace but sanctified through your own efforts and that isn’t a theology it is a heresy. 

d) And finally our pious attempts at holiness can become ego-gratifying, leading us into an illusion where our holiness is judged in a spiritual beauty contest.    You know what I mean “Look at me, see how holy I am.”  “I don’t smoke, cuss, cheat, drink or fool around.  I read a hundred pages of the bible a day, give forty percent of my income to the church, pray five times a day and attend church six times a week.  Sunday School, Morning Worship, Evening Worship, midweek service and then twice a week I just come and hang around the foyer to round things out.” 

But such self centred spirituality leads to self-righteousness which in turn is just the opposite of holiness.

So the question remains: if those things aren’t the holiness that we are called to what is it that we are called to?  I’m glad you asked.

4) Your Calling is to Wholeness The whole of Christ in the whole of your life.  Holiness vanishes when you talk about it, but becomes gloriously conspicuous when you live it.  John Wesley said “Holiness is having the mind that was in Christ and walking as Christ walked.”  Chuck Colson states that “Holiness is the opposite of sin.” But what is sin?  The Westminster confession defines sin as “Any want of conformity to or transgression of the law of God.” Holiness then by Colson’s definition would be  “Holiness is conformity to the character of God and obedience to the will of God.” But probably the simplest yet most profound definition of Holiness came from Mother Theresa who said “Holiness is the complete acceptance of the will of God.”

But regardless of how you define holiness please, please, please don’t ever think that holiness is simply an option is our Christian walk.  Holiness is the pivotal point on which the whole of Christianity turns. People, listen up, holiness is the central covenant and command of the scripture and God will not tolerate our indifference to his central command!  The Bible, the Word of God records over six hundred instances where either the word holy or holiness is used.  That in itself should be indicative of the importance that God puts on Holiness.  Ephesians 1:4  Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.

Every person who responds to the claims of the gospel responds as well to the claims of holiness.  All too often when we think of someone who is holy we think of St. Francis Assis or John Wesley or Billy Graham or Mother Theresa.  We figure that most of us live our Christian life down here and then there are the “Holy Christians” who live their lives way up here.  But if we believe the Bible, then we have to believe that holiness is what God desires and requires for all of us.  And if God desires and requires it then God will give us the where with all to achieve it. Right?

Because when you get right down to it, right down to brass tacks, right down to where the rubber meets the road, right down to basics holiness can be defined in one word “Obedience.”  God wants his children to be obedient.  However our inclination is to push the envelope as far as possible and hey if we blow it we can always ask for forgiveness, right?

There’s a story in the Old Testament that is a lot like that.  It has to do with King Saul and how he was commanded to go into battle with the enemies of God and when he was done he was to destroy all of their livestock and belongings. But no, instead he only destroyed the weak and cripple and kept the very best.  He obviously hadn’t caught on to the fact that you can’t hide disobedience from God.  Samuel the prophet was sent to ask Saul why he was disobedient and the King realized that he had fumbled the ball and he tried for a quick recovery.  1 Samuel 15:21  Then my troops brought in the best of the sheep, goats, cattle, and plunder to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal.”

That’s sounds alright, I brought the very best to offer as a sacrifice.  But listen to what Samuel says in the very next verse. 1 Samuel 15:22  But Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the LORD: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.

In New Testament terms we’d say “to obey is better then asking forgiveness.”   In his book “Pursuit of Holiness” Jerry Bridges writes “It is time for us Christians to face up to our responsibility for holiness, too often we say we are defeated by this or that sin. No we are not defeated we are simply disobedient. It might be well if we stopped using the terms victory and defeat to describe our progress in holiness.  Rather we should use the terms obedience and disobedience.”

And so our Christian life comes a full circle, it begins with obedience, depends on obedience and results in obedience.  Loving God, really loving God, not just “Mamby pamby wishy washy, yes I love Jesus” type love but really serious honest to goodness love, means obeying God, no matter what the cost, no matter what you have to give up.

That’s why Jesus told his disciples in John 14:15  “If you love me, obey my commandments.

Of course the reverse is also true, if you don’t obey his commandments then you don’t love him. 

But how do you get to that point that you place obedience to God over personal gain, or personal comfort or personal desire? Well Paul gave the believers in Rome some practical advice concerning that very subject.  Romans 12:1  And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.

If you were to read the same text in “The Message” Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase it says “So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you; Take your everyday ordinary life – your sleeping, eating, going to work and walking around life – and place it before God as an offering.  Embracing what God does for you is the bestthing you can do for Him.”

Bottom line is this, you need to sell out to God.  You take everything you have, ambition, work, hobbies, house, car, family, pride and everything your are and you pile it up before God and when you get everything on the pile you find a ladder and you climb on top of the pile and you say “Ok Lord, I’m yours.”