Holiness For Today - Part 1
by Kevin Allen
September 30, 2026 · Centerpointe Apostolic Church (Murfreesboro, TN)
Kind: sermon
Scripture: 1 Peter 1:15, Genesis 3, Hebrews 12:14, Hebrews 12:15, Hebrews 12:14, 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24, 2 Corinthians 6:14-18, 2 Corinthians 7:1, 2 Corinthians 6:17, 2 Corinthians 7:1, Romans 12:1-2, Romans 7:18-23, Romans 8:5-9, Ephesians 2:8-10, James 2:17-18, Titus 3:5, Titus 3:8, Matthew 5:16, Ephesians 4:11-16, Matthew 5:28, 1 Corinthians 7:1, 1 Timothy 2:8-10

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/kevin-allen--holiness-for-today-part-1
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

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Tonight we're going to be starting a new series. I know a few weeks ago I preached the message and was talking about holiness and I told you guys that I was going to do a deeper dive on purpose to go into some more specifics about what holiness means and why it's important today. Is it something that's still relevant? So that's what we're going to do. I'm going to be going through this handout as we go along. The notes are also going to be on the screen behind me. So if you'll follow along, the answers will come up and you can write those down. But we're going to be specifically tonight dealing with three important topics as we study in to what is a fundamental issue in what we do and how we live as apostolic Pentecostals. It's a part of our apostolic faith. And things we're going to be talking about tonight is, you know, does the Holy Ghost affect the outward actions and the way we appear as being the vessel that his spirit chooses to dwell in? I think there's been some debate about that in our day and age and even in mainstream Christianity. There's a lot of differences of opinion. And tonight, I want to bring you the word of God. That's always my goal here. And if you've been around this church at all and been under my teaching for any length of time, you've probably heard me say, "Look, just don't take my word for it." My goal as pastor of this church is to bring you the word of God and to teach it to you in such a way that I can rightly divide the word for you.

But ultimately, it's something that you yourself need to do. I would encourage you to take these notes later and to take your own Bible and go through that with me. And don't just take my word for it. Okay? Don't just take my word for what I'm going to talk about tonight. But you this is an important subject matter. Something that I feel like is very very important. And I encourage you to take these notes and these scriptures that I have presented for you tonight and for you to study them out yourself because it's very important. Our standards matter, our life standards, how we live it, it does matter. And especially in the day and age in which we live in and the culture that we live in where everything seems to be drifting. And part of the reason that Taylor and I were talking about you guys being in here tonight is I know there are times where you guys have some questions, too. So hopefully I can help answer some of these questions for you guys as long or at least set it up real good so that Taylor can finish answering the questions for you. So but I'm always open and available. But that's my goal is to talk about this. So what is holiness? The Bible teaches us that holiness is one of the attributes of God. Now we know that God condemns sin.

In other words, God's against it. He doesn't like that. He doesn't want things that go against what he desires for us. He sets before you and I the highest possible aspirations because we are called to be holy as God is holy. 1 Peter 1:15 says, "But as he which hath called you is holy, so be you holy in all manner of conversation because it is written, be ye holy, for I am holy." Now, we'll get into a little bit of studying some Hebrew and Greek here for just a minute. Now, I'm not a Hebrew scholar and I'm not a Greek scholar. I don't know if anybody in the sanctuary is a Hebrew or a Greek scholar. I would doubt it in this room, but it could be. I mean, one of these days, somebody may surprise me and say that I actually am a Hebrew scholar. I've talked to a Hebrew scholar before. they're interesting people. but there's nothing wrong with you and I diving into this. It's nothing that we should be intimidated by. We have a lot of resources available for us to do this. But the Hebrew word that for holy there is kadesh and the Greek word is hagui which means both of the both of them are translated both Hebrew and Greek both of them are a withdrawal or something that is set aside that is there now scholars define holiness as to mean something that is separate or set apart now here's a couple of blanks for me that first one there was meaning to withdraw the second and third blank coming up Being holy does not only mean withdrawing from something.

It also means withdrawing unto something. So where we're coming out from something and we're also drawing closer to something. Is this making sense? We're coming out from the world. God wants us to be separate from the world because the world I is not the influences and the thought processes that is constantly drifting away from God. So he's wanting us to pull out from the world, but he's also wanting us to pull into him. So it's not just to be set over there in the corner by yourself, but his desire is that our relationship and the life we live and the things we do are holy in nature because he is holy. And because he is holy, he desires for us to be holy. And as we become holy, we can draw closer to him. I don't know if you're aware of this or not, but sin separates us from God. >> It distances us from him. That's what happened in the Garden of Eden in Genesis chapter 3 when Adam and Eve messed up and they sinned. They went against God's command from them. When they did that, sin entered the world and that sin caused the separation. That's when God showed up in the garden and he asked the question and said, "Adam, where are you?" It wasn't that God didn't know where Adam was at. He was wanting Adam to reflect on what had happened and where he was because now he was separated from God.

Now God's always wanting you and I to know where we are in our relationship with him. And that's why it's important that part of living a holy life is keeping our finger on the pulse of our spiritual temperature, our spiritual life. Where are we at? We're you and there's been moments in my life just like there's been moments in your life when I have been surprised by some of my reactions or some way that I responded to a situation. Anybody ever been like, "I can't believe I did that." Anybody ever felt that way or maybe even said that out loud, I can't believe I did that. That's a real good indicator that you you're out of touch with your spiritual condition. So, if that happens to you, that should be something that causes you to pause for a minute and ask yourself, what what's going on? Why am I surpris I should not have done that. And what furthermore, I'm surprised that I've done that. It's it it's staying aware of where we are. Now, you and I, we do not live holy merely to make other people look bad. We'll say that again. We do not live holy lives to make others look unholy. God's desires is for you and I to reflect his love and his presence everywhere we go. My wife and I have talked about this many times and I believe I've even said it from this pullpit before that quite often as we are talking to people outside the church walls when we're actually being the church you know when you can be the church and go outside the church walls and be the church there have been many times that she and I have been together and even in separate instances when we're not together where people have talked to us and as they begin to talk to us they just start crying they get emotional and I've watched them we we've talked about this where they like I'm so sorry.

I don't know why I'm just so emotional right now. Now, what we know and what you probably are aware of is that as God's spirit's living in us, the Holy Ghost is known as a comforter. So, they get around you as you're living the life that you should be living. They feel comforted in that. And sometimes they it disarms them and they can truly I've had them several. I don't even know why I'm telling you all this stuff. Well, it's because they feel comfortable because they're feeling the Holy Ghost. They're feeling God's presence around us. That that's his desire in calling you and I to live a holy life. >> It's not that we just stick out for the sake of being weird. It's but that as we are reflecting what's inside of us on the outside. Now I know can people act apart and be awful? Yeah, they can. Jesus talked about that himself and you can read in his gospel and he was reflecting and said, you know, you're all cleaned up on the outside, but on the inside you're just a dirty cup. I mean, I know some apostolics that are just mean as dogs. >> I mean, they make holy look awful. So, yeah, it can happen. It can happen, but that that's never been God's intention. God's intention, and we're going to get into this tonight as I'm setting this up for the next few weeks, is it's a process that you and I are going through.

It's a process. That's why I said a few weeks ago when I was preaching and I was dealing with them, some things that were very specific in that service on Sunday, and I felt very led by God to do that. But I made the statement that if you've been with us for a year, 18 months, that I wasn't really talking to you in that moment because part of the process of maturing in your walk with God is that there are some things that I'm not expecting you to be there yet. For example, this week my nephew [name redacted] was up here and he was in the hallway crawling. I was watching him. He was kind of doing this half crawl, half little leg thing that he was doing there and he's a little cute and I had a moment because I had been working on these notes and God was kind of speaking to me as I was watching him and he was saying this is the same way I view people as they begin to walk with me. Now when I say this, you and I all are going to have a very similar experience with God in regards of how we get filled with his spirit. Okay? There's a lot of commonality there, a lot of common threads. But from that point forward, we all will walk with him at different rates. Some get quickly, some have a hunger for knowledge and a thirst to grow in these things and they begin to search and dig things out and those always excite me because they usually come with a whole bunch of questions and I love answering questions the best of my ability and try to talk about all those things because I want them to have the best life that God has for you.

He has a great life for you. And then some don't move as fast, but I'm okay. I can I want to be patient because God's patient. And the reason I brought [name redacted] up is because I don't look at [name redacted] and say, "Why are you crawling?" Like, "Get up and walk. What's wrong with you, man? What are you doing, dude? You nine months? Is that how old he is? You're nine months old. I mean, you've been doing this for 9 months. Get up and walk." Now, it's funny, isn't it? Because we all know like he's just not there. I mean, there probably has been somewhere a 9-month-old that has walked that may be something that's happened before, but as a whole, most 9 months old, my nine month nine, you know what I'm trying to say? They don't typically they crawl. All right? And we're okay with that. And in your relationship with God, if you're early on in your relationship with God, I'm not going to expect you to do all this. some I've seen this and I'm and being very specific to apostolic Pentecostal churches. I'm not pointing any specific ones out, but I I've known some that demand so much right off the bat. It's like they come in and they have an experience with God and they get baptized in Jesus name. and they get filled with the spirit and they just demand right off the bat that everything about their life they need to be looking and acting like a fully and complete mature Christian who's been living for God for 30 years.

They expect that and some people are so so excited about what God has done. They try to do these things but they don't have a knowledge base of the why you do these things and then ultimately they end up getting very frustrated and they walk away and give up because no one ever taught them the why behind it. So my goal starting tonight and for the next few weeks is to talk about why we do some of the things we do. And a lot of this is going to go very countercultural to the world we live in. But here's the deal, guys. I'm not worried about pleasing the world. I'm not I'm worried about pleasing God. You know, I if God is pleased and everybody else is unhappy, it's okay. God's pleased. And if everybody else is happy, but God's not pleased, then it doesn't really matter. >> Are you guys okay with that so far? >> So that that's our goal with this. Our original state of holiness was lost in the fall of man. Like I spoke about in Genesis, we live holy lives so that we can withdraw back to that original state that Adam and Eve lived in. That's why holiness is important. That's why being separated to him is important. Hebrews 12:14 says this, "Follow peace with all men and holiness without which no man shall see the Lord." I don't know about you, but that's a very sobering verse of scripture.

I can't just pretend it's not in the Bible. I can't just walk away with it's there. And here's how this church believes and this is how this pastor believes. This is how our bishop believes and how he taught for years before me. And this is how his predecessor, Brother Tedrick, taught. That's as far back as I can remember. And the guys who were before them, they were all good guys, too. But this is what we believe that we take the word of God as a whole. >> And here's the deal. This book is controversial. It it's controvers. You open up and read it. It can be offensive. Especially if you take it only in part in peace. >> But if you take it as a whole, >> as it was intended, as it has been given to you and I as a whole, what you will see is the most beautiful love story that's ever been told. That's right. >> When you read about brokenness and things that sometimes you struggle with, what you're reading about is the consequences of sin. >> But thank God that there was a plan >> that he has a redemption plan that you and I have an opportunity to be a part of. That I don't have to let sin have power over me. I don't have to succumb to those things that BY HIS SPIRIT I can live.

We can live an overcoming life. Anybody thankful for that? I'm thankful for that. But here, I'll go back to Hebrews 12:14. It says, "Follow peace with all men and holiness without which no man shall see the Lord." But you don't even have to stop there, and I didn't give them this verse, but the verse 12 says this in there, and you don't have to put it up, but it says, "Looking diligently lest any man fall of the grace of God." The reason I bring that up is because the writer of Hebrews, who I personally believe to be Paul, I can't prove it, but I feel like Paul wrote Hebrews, but whoever wrote Hebrews, is telling you that without holiness, you can't see God. And then he goes on in the very next verse and says that you can fall from grace. Now, that's a tough subject matter in our world today, especially in Christianity as a whole as it is right now where grace is the most abused word ever. It is just stretched into something. I'm thankful for grace. Grace covers me every day. I'm thankful for mercy and grace every morning. I'm thankful for his new mercy. I'm so thankful we live in a dispensation of grace. I'm so thankful and I said this on Sunday that I'm not living in the Old Testament times. I'm living in the New Testament times. I have the ability anytime I want to get down on my knees and to say, "Jesus, I need you and I can feel his presence around me." I'm thankful for that in my life.

>> But you can fall from grace. You can absolutely fall from grace. The Bible teaches you and I that holiness is essential. It's a holiness is essential for our lives. And it also teaches us that our personal holiness develops through the process that's known as sanctification. That's why you've heard me say before that I'm not a fan of the word saved. Now, I'll use the word saved in the particular context, but in the word is referencing to me to say this statement to say, "Hey, I'm saved." And the reason that is because to say it that way, to say, "Hey, I'm saved is to say that I'm that I've made it." But I haven't made it because I'm not in heaven. All right? I can only say I made it when I'm when I've made it. >> You know, I can't go out and I've privilege or what it was, but I have ran a few half marathons in my life. I think about eight or nine I've ran. That'd be like me running a half marathon and say I have finished in mile two. I haven't finished. I'm still running. I'm only finished when I finish you guys. Okay. I know that was profound, wasn't it? That was deep. But that's why, and again, if you use that word, I'm not saying that, you know, you're you shouldn't. I'm just saying I don't like that word because I'm still in the process of being saved.

In fact, I like the better word of sanctification. I'm in the process of being sanctified. God didn't leave me where I was, but I'm not yet where I'm going to be. I'm in the process of being sanctified. 1 Thessalonians 5 23 and 24. We're going to pick up on some things I feel like are very important. Look at this. It says, "And the very God of peace sanctify you holy, and I pray, God, your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved, blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it." Paul's teaching us what I feel like are three very important concepts here. First of all, I need you to know that sanctification is a process of maturing. Maturing takes place over time, right? You don't just arrive and say, "I am now mature." They may try that, but that's not how it works. It takes time to mature. But you see there back in that verse, if you'll put verse 23 of 1 Thessalonians 5 back on the screen, it says, "And the very God of peace sanctify you how?" >> Holy. So there it is. That over time, you can become whole. You can become what God's desire for you to be. But it takes time. It takes time. Now, I'm thankful for the initial experience that we have in the altar.

Anybody remember the day you got filled with the Holy Ghost? Yeah. Wasn't that a great day? We love that. You know, over in the kids' department, they have a Holy Ghost. Kids are over there next door having a great time right now. They have a Holy Ghost birthday party. I loved I remember vividly where I was standing at the old church on Spring Street. I remember what was going on. I was 12 years old. God filled me with the spirit. I remember that day. vividly remember that it changed my life but I was not made whole that day. I was filled with his spirit that day and then I started moving forward. I started moving forward. I started that was the beginning of my process of starting to mature in my walk with God. Now this is what I firmly believe. This is this is very fundamental to our growth in God. And that is this that you and I should be about the process of maturing in our spiritual walk. You should be able to look back. Now, this will be hard for you guys, okay? But everybody that's not sitting in the first seven rows right here, everybody else in the sanctuary, we we're all old enough to look back 10 years and not be in a crib. Okay? So for everybody's not on the seven rows right over here, if we think for just a minute, you should be able to look back and that's how you can evaluate your life is looking at 10ear spans.

Go back 10 years from right now and let me ask this question. Are you more spiritually mature now than you were 10 years ago? The answer should be yes. It should you should not be in the same place. If you're in the same place, that should bother you. >> That should your faith should be stronger. Your walk with God should be deeper. Your ministry should be more mature because I believe everybody has a ministry. You may not do this, but you have a ministry. >> All of these things should be better than where you were 10 years ago. It's important to know this because we're all about the process of sanctification. God created you for a reason and a purpose. He didn't create you just to breathe. >> And I'm going to go a step further. He didn't create you just for tithes and offering. He didn't create you to sit on a church seat. >> He created you for kingdom work. >> He created you with a purpose. He gifted you and give you talents and abilities that belong just to you. And part of maturing in your walk with God is discovering what that is and then how you can use it for his kingdom. And one of the greatest joys as pastor is watching individuals discover what it is that God has for them in his kingdom. And watch them begin to feel that role and how much joy and satisfaction it brings their life when they discover, hey, I know what my purpose is.

That's all a part of sanctification. That's part of growing. And it's all part of holiness. So often times holiness always gets delegated over to the dos and don'ts. It always gets puts over into the legalistic side of you got to wear this and do this and say this and the look that's a part of holiness but it gets misrepresented because our life should be holiness. >> Holiness is what we are. long long time ago, they made fun of us and said, you know, the bunch of holy rollers and they're on the other side of the tracks and all this stuff and I grew up on the very edge of that stuff where if I'm being honest, when I was when I was over here on this group, I didn't always like to tell people where I went to church, you know, because all you guys are tongue talkers, you know, now everybody's speaking in tongues. And then it used to be, well, you the folks that just baptized in Jesus name, now everybody's baptized in Jesus. It's amazing when they get in the word what they find, isn't it? And then it was you guys are all a bunch of exuberant worshippers. And now everybody's got exuberant worship. And guys, you may disagree with me on this, but I'm going to be honest with you. This is what I feel is that revelation is coming.

Denominal churches are figuring out there's still something different about them apostolic Pentecostals. And what's different about us is holiness. And one day, God's going to open their eyes so that THEY UNDERSTAND, HEY, MAYBE GOD DOES WANT YOU TO BE SEPARATE. MAYBE GOD DOESN'T WANT YOU TO LOOK LIKE THE WORLD. MAYBE GOD WANTS YOU TO BE SET ASIDE UNTO HIM. AND THERE'S POWER IN THOSE THINGS. >> And I feel like in the last day with we are promised that outpouring is going to come is you're going to start seeing denominational churches have. There's no way we can win THEM ALL. THERE'S NO WAY WE CAN. BUT IN JESUS NAME, I PRAY THEY GET A REVELATION OF THE MIGHTY GOD IN CHRIST RIGHT BEHIND US IN BAIR. WOULDN'T THAT BE AWESOME? I DON'T HAVE TO PASTOR THOSE FOLKS. THEY I WANT EVERYBODY TO GO TO HEAVEN. >> I'm just crazy enough to think God can do that. >> Paul teaches us these three things. We're sanctified through God's power. Another blank there for you. And not our own. We can't do it. We can't do it. I I'm not good enough to do it. But it's through his power. Faithful is he that calleth you. The sanctification involves another blank. Three parts of man's being. The spirit, the soul, and the body. Paul just talked about that there. Thessalonians 5. Those three part. So, we got a chart we're going to put up there, and I'm going to do my best to try to explain.

I'm not going to dwell a whole lot of time on there, but I'll go ahead and put the chart up there. And there's the answers there in the bold. So, salvation is a process that takes place in time. There's a past. I've been You and I have been saved from our past. >> It's under the blood. Anybody thankful for that? >> Buried under the blood. I don't want to dig my past up. You I know you probably don't want to dig yours up either. I'm glad it's back there. It's in the past. But I'm also in the process of being saved right now in the present. >> I'm thankful that I get up every day and I can ask for forgiveness. God, keep me before I lay down at night. God, forgive me for all the wrongs I've done, for anything that I that I did willingly and anything I did unknowingly, God, please forgive me of those things. And then have I have a promise of a future hope in him. It's an experience. So here here's where I'm okay using the word saved. I was saved from my past. >> I've been saved from my past. I am being saved in the moment I'm living in right now and I will be saved in the future. I have that hope I hang on to. Theologically we call that in the past that I was justified.

Presently I'm being sanctified and one day I'm going to go to heaven and I'm going to have a glorified body. We're going to be glorified. >> Anybody excited about that? >> I'm saved from sin's penalty from what I have done. I have the power right now that I don't have to succumb to sin. I have that power in me. >> I can resist it. >> And then I have the presence of God that I'm going to be in the future. My holiness is before God. It is positional. Sanctification is as complete from the youngest believer as it is to the oldest. >> Now listen to me. It all depends upon one's position in Jesus Christ. as a new Christian, as a as we're newly in or we're beginning our walk with God. And I'm thankful I talked a few minutes about that moment. We all remember that moment. But that's the moment we begin to walk with God. But all of us, everybody say all of us. >> All of us were immature in that moment. Just like the little child, just like the little child, innocent in that, but immature. So we got to have some experience we go through. And when we have that experiential sanctification, it's one's actual wholeness of lifestyle. As we begin to understand all that God has for us and we begin to digest his word, as we begin to study it out, we begin to understand that there's more to this life than just what I want.

There's what God wants for me in my life. It's imperative that you and I as we're following after God that we allow him to lead us through the process of sanctification because it is possible to forfeit salvation if you refuse to mature in holiness. Now I know this be may be tough and but there are some folks who have dealt with the same thing for 15 or 20 years. They don't mature now. They can come down to service and they can be in the altar area and they can feel God move and they can talk in tongues and they can do they can go through all that but they leave and they go right back to the same immature life and then it's just cyclic. it just over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again. Don't misunderstand me. If you need to come to the altar, come to the altar. Why would you ever not come to the altar? I mean, I'm thankful that there's an altar and it's available anytime. But part of maturing is understanding I got to change some things. Now there will be seasons and I think for those of us who are you know a little older in life we understand that again when we look back in 10 years and part of the reason why we need to be further along is because God takes you through things and as he takes you through things you learn a deeper dependence on him.

You know how many understand what I'm talking about a deeper dependence. How many didn't enjoy going through the process, but you look back and you're like, "God, you are faithful and you were good and you stood with me and even though I didn't know what was going on, you never left me alone." >> And you come out on the other side with a deeper appreciation for him and what he can do. That that's part of that process. What happens though is when people refuse to change. >> Living for God is the best life. Living for God is not an easy life. There are still trials. There are still tribulations. There are still frustrations that take place. But you're not by yourself. He goes with you. And often times, he's working stuff in you and he's working stuff out of you. That's the maturing process. Early on in my walk with God, there were things that hindered me that I look back now in my life and I'm laughing at. I'm like, I can't believe that was some such a struggle for me. Now it's there's no struggle at all. But it's you mature. You can go and he can take you from glory to glory. He can't put more he can't put more weight on you of glory until you shed some of the more of you out of the way. That's a deeper Bible study for another day.

I I'll get back in there. So that maturing is a must because you can forfeit salvation. It doesn't mean that God's saving work is any less powerful. But if you refuse the maturing part and then there's the eternal sanctification will occur in believers at rapture when they are instantly and eternally transformed in the state of complete conformity over to him. Most issues of holiness, here's a couple of blanks for you, are not salvation issues. They are maturity issues. there. You got to reach a point to where you just have to settle some stuff in your life. Okay? And this was this is for everybody. Don't think if you struggle this is just you. This was me. I can speak with knowledge about me. There were time and there was a time in my life. There was a time even in my ministry as I was as I was moving towards and things were lining them up for myself to be the pastor of this church that I spent the better part of a year going back through our apostolic life one piece at a time. It wasn't because I didn't believe it. is because I wanted to know that I know that I know that this was the life to live and I had to make sure that I had settled some issues for two reasons. The first reason is because I had three girls and that is my chief ministry responsibility is my home >> and I had three girls that I wanted to be able to sit down with them and say this is the life we live and this is why we live this life.

Secondly, it was so that if I did become pastor of this church that I could stand in this pullpit and continue to preach the apostolic doctrine that this church was built on. >> And if I could not do that, I would not have accepted the pastor. I wouldn't even let my name vote. I wouldn't have done nothing. That that's how much I respected. I would have walked away. But through that process, I went back to shore up my foundation. And instead of me being discouraged, I was even more encouraged that his truth was there. That what I had been taught my life, what I had went before me was true. And I settled those things. I'm going to tell you something. There's something about settling things. That when it's settled, I don't go back and revisit it. >> I don't have to. It's settled and I've been able to build my life on it. That that's part of maturing. Again, most issues of holiness are not salvation issues. They are maturity issues. Only as we do not obey God in these areas do our willful disobedience become a salvation issue. That's where people say, you've heard me say this before, well is that Pastor Kevin, is that a heaven or hell issue? Man, that frustrates the snot out of me. I mean, is it Well, I don't know if Are you telling me like that's a heaven or hell issue?

I got to do this. I just I know the best way I know to do this, and you've heard me say this before, is that you're asking me what's the minimum? What's the minimum to get in heaven? When I married my wife, I didn't ask her how what what's the minimum amount of affection you need? How many hugs? How many kisses? If you can give me that list, I'll make sure to check them off. I'm a list guy. You know I am. But that didn't work. You know, I can tell you right now that would not have worked. That would have been a bad conversation to have with her. Like, what's the minimum amount of love you need? That's what I feel like when people say, "Well, is this a heaven or hell issue?" Like, really? Are you saying is it like what's the minimum amount I got to give? I just want to skate into heaven. I mean, I just want Pete, he's gonna be closing the gates. I just want to slide right in there. I don't want I don't want I don't want to take that kind of chance with eternity. >> Part of maturing is settling some issues. And it's only then once issues have been taught, once you've said, that's why I told you, don't just take my word from it. You got your Bible. You should. You got your Bible.

You go back and check. Make sure what I'm teaching you, what I'm preaching to you is the truth. 2 Corinthians chapter 6 verse1 14. Be you not unequally yolked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ of Baal? And what part hath he believeth with infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God hath said, I will dwell in them and walk in them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you, and I will be a father unto you, and you shall be my sons and daughters, sayeth the Lord Almighty. This continues on in the next chapter. So 7 verse one says, "Having therefore these promises." What promises is he talking about? Well, we just talked about some of those things, right? All right. You got to come out and you got to be separate. Don't touch it. And if you don't do those things, I will receive you. Right? That's what he said. That's Paul's writing here to the church at Corenth. Who's Paul writing to? >> The church at Corinth. He's writing a letter here. And as he says, and then he starts the next chap.

Now, chapters, this was one letter. We put chapters in there that they had when they were trans transcribing this stuff. All right. So, so here it is. This is a continuation of the same conversation. Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Ladies and gentlemen, the battle for holiness or the word I've been using tonight, sanctification, is won or lost in the mind, next blank. You got to settle it up here. You got to settle it. Otherwise, you're going to fight all the time. Our mind, our soul, you can say it that way, must be transformed on a daily basis. On one side in this battle is our redeemed spirit, there's your blank, directing us to do good, but on the other side is our unredeemed body tempting us to do evil. In other words, your flesh. Anybody ever notice you got to fight your flesh? >> Yeah. Does anybody like fighting your flesh? >> No. Doesn't it so much easier just to give into the flesh? Have you noticed how that is? Anybody ever feel like your flesh is weak the moment we call a fast around here? It's like you're normally not really a, you know, an irrational person, but pastor calls a three-day fast and you're like instantly you're just like flesh always trying to drag us down.

In a spiritually dead person, listen to me. In a spiritually dead person, the spirit is alienated from God because of sin. It's separated. Remember I talked about the garden? That's how it's what sin separates us. Unless that person makes a choice to change it, that is an eternal condition. Well, you saying they eternally are damned. They eternally I'm telling you if they don't do something about it, that's the condition they're in. sin rules the day. They have to make a choice. They got to make a decision. They need to accept the finished work at Calvary and apply it to their life. Since the spirit is dead, now the mind or the soul is in charge, led by intellect and emotions and will, the person can't understand spiritual concepts because they're foreign. That's why sometimes you may have had an experience and talk on someone who is spiritually dead and you try to talk about spiritual matters and they have no concept of this. Anybody ever experienced that before? I have. And trying to be kind, trying to be nice, just try to talk to them, but they have no way of make connecting the dots. That's why it's important that as you and I are living the life that we're called to live, that we allow God's spirit to radiate from us so that they can number one be somewhat disarmed and feel comfortable around us.

And so that you can begin to talk about the love of God. As you heard me say before, that's a great place to start. The love of God. He loves everybody. There's nothing that they could have ever done to disqualify them from God's love. Talk about that. That love is there. and then allow that spirit to draw them. God's spirit has to draw them. God's spirit doesn't draw them. That's what the word says. He said, "Except a man be drawn." >> So it's not you doing it. Now, we got to go by his mouth and his hands and his feet. But in part of our living our holy life that we should be living, that presence emanates. It radiates. It's around us. It's coming out and people can see that salt and that light that we're supposed to be living. And they're drawn to the presence of God. And then you can start talking about his love. Don't talk about deep theological things. I'm going to tell you right now that if they're not being led by his spirit, you're just going to get frustrated and they're going to get frustrated. And as a sidebar note, nobody ever saved anybody through social media. It's just a big debate. Everybody's got an opinion. That's nothing. There's nothing special. Everybody has an opinion. Nothing special about it. You got one. I got one. But work to manifest his love.

be led. Now, when someone is not being led by his spirit, their body becomes a tool for acting out their lust and their passions, which means that man is simply acting as immortal, which means they are doomed to death. That's what's there. Now, that that's not what God has for them, but it's the life they live and the choice they're making. And a someone who's who being spiritledd or who is spiritually alive, their the spirit is back in fellowship with God because of salvation, they have a connection back with him. They're being led by his spirit. And because of this, unless he makes a choice to change it, it's also an eternal condition, right? He fills you with his spirit. He He's not going to take the spirit back unless you make a choice. Unless you live in a way, but it's a choice you make. His choice is to fill you. >> It's the gift of the Holy Ghost. The gift of the Holy Spirit. It's a gift. You don't earn a gift. It's a gift. It's given freely given. Since the spirit is now alive, then the person's soul is allowed to be is not allowed to be in charge because God's spirit is in charge. Thus, there's an ongoing war between the natural mind and the body and God's spirit now dwelling in the redeemed human spirit. That's the fight. That's the fight right there.

We're going to get into Paul talking about this, but that's what's going on. Now, for those of us that are spiritfilled people, we're still fighting. Have you noticed? >> Have you noticed it's a daily fight? >> Getting up, struggling with those things. Why? Because we're still in these bodies. We still got this flesh all wrapped around us. So I got to fight it all the time. Every day I got to get up. Every day I'm in a fight. Every day I got to make sure my flesh doesn't rule the day that God's spirit rules my life. I have to make that choice. In doing so, the body is now offered as what Paul said in Romans 12, a living sacrifice to do the will of God and to not allow it to fulfill the fleshful lust. It is now subject to the direction of the spirit. We are new creatures in Christ. We have been reborn as the spirit says us through the middleman of the soul. Thus, it is the mind that determines the quality of his service to God. And that's why Christian maturity is important. And that's why it's a constant struggle to live a holy life. And by the way, this man is now immortal, which means not doomed to death, not the body, but the spirit. So look at some scriptures with me. Romans 7, Paul writing to the church at Rome says in verse 18, "For I know that in me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing." So what's in his flesh?

Anybody feel like Paul? Ain't nothing good there. It's weak. It's terrible. It's constantly trying to drag me down. For to will it present with me, but how to perform that which is good, I find not. For the good that I would do not, but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do not that would I would not there's a lot of woods and knots there. It is not more than I do it but the sin that dwelleth in me. 21 I find then a law that when I would do good evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man. But I see another law in my members waring against the law of my mind and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. So, we see Paul here being very transparent, saying, "I want to do good, but I find myself doing bad." Anybody had that day? Yeah. Well, I want to do what's right, but there's a war going on inside me. There's a fight going on. The next chapter, chapter 8, verse 5. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh, but they that are after the spirit the things of the spirit. Listen to this. Verse six. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

Verse seven, because the carnal mind is immity against God. For it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. Did you catch that? If you're in the flesh, you can't please God. But you're not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if so the spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the spirit of Christ, he is none of his. Verse 12. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service, and be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. So, quickly, because I'm running out of time, I'm going to give you these seven. You're probably looking at your notes like, man, pastor's gonna have us here until 9:30. Let's talk about seven principles of holiness. Number one, holiness involves both the negative concept of separation and the positive concept of dedication. I'm separated, but I'm dedicated. Brought out, but I'm part of him. 2 Corinthians 6:17, "Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, sayith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you, and I'll be a father unto you, and you shall be my sons and daughters, sayith the Lord Almighty.

Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and the spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. So number one, you need to know that there's a negative but a positive. Number two, we are not saved by works, but we were saved unto works. That comes up a lot. Many apostolic Pentecostals, it's all about what you got to do and got to do this and you got to do that and you just you think you're going to earn your way into heaven. I'm not trying. There's no way to earn your way into heaven. You can't do it. It's impossible. This isn't a merit badge system like the Boy Scouts. It doesn't work. But I am saved unto works. I put it this way. Out of all that he has done for me. The least I could do is give him my life. The least the minimum my holiness lifestyle convictions are or homage I pay to a god back to say, "Hey, you want me to be holy? I'm going to do my best to figure out what holy is. I want to live that way because I know without it I can't see you. Without it, I can't please you. So, we're not saved by that. Ephesians 2:8, for of grace are you saved through faith and not of yourself. It is a gift. What's a gift?

Grace, not of works, lest any man should boast. For we his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto what? >> Good works, which God hath ordained. We are created for good works in his kingdom. That's why I said everybody's got a ministry. Everybody has a ministry. We were created to do good things for the kingdom. James 2, some of you say, "Uhoh." >> Yeah. James gets right in your grill. Verse 17. Even so faith, if he had not works, is dead being alone. Yay. And man may say, thou hast faith and I have works. Show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show you thou my faith by my works. Number three, holiness is not a means of earning salvation but a result of experiencing it. Titus 3:5 and verse 8. Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us by the washing and regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost. Verse eight, this is a faithful saying, and these things that will thou affirm constantly, that they which hath believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. You should be having good works in your life. You should be experiencing these things. It's a result of a life well live for him. Number four, God demands external witness of our eternal holiness. Matthew 5:16, "Let your light so shine before man that they may see your good works and glorify your father which is in heaven." Now, I think in this moment it goes without saying that external compliance is worthless before God unless there's also an internal reality of holiness.

I said that early on in this message. Number five, give God gives us three holiness teachers to show us how to live a life that pleases him. The supreme source of holiness teaching is the Bible. A holiness standard must be either a specific Bible statement or a valid application of biblical principles. Go to the word. His word is forever settled. He doesn't change. He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. I'm just going to say this. All right. That's I feel like it's important in the culture that we live in, the day and age we live in. If God hated it ever, he still hates it. He uses a word that we don't talk about a lot in our culture. The word abomination. Best way I can say abomination. The best way I know to describe it is something that's abominable to God. He's saying when you do whatever he says in abominal it's like you make me want to throw up. I'm so disgusted by it. And there's a lot of stuff in our world and I'll go in spit. There's a lot of stuff in Christianity today that is being allowed that God said is an abomination. >> If it has been an abomination, it always will be an abomination. Now again, God loves everybody. And even if you're doing abominal things, God still loves you. But part of the maturing process is discovering what God hates and what God loves and stop doing what he hates and start doing what he loves.

>> That's maturity. The Bible is our teacher. Number two, God's also given us spiritual leadership in the church to help us apply biblical principles to situations that we encounter in our contemporary life. Ephesians 4:es 11-16 talk about that. Finally, we have his Holy Spirit to teach us directly through internal prompings and convictions if we will learn to tune in and listen to him. Our three teachers work to compliment each other. His spirit is never going to go against his word. And I should never ever ever preach anything that goes against his word. That's why I tell you, don't just take my word for it. You go study it. think enough about where you're going to spend eternity, your salvation is worth the investment of your time and studying the word of God. >> But those are the three teachers that are there. Number six, the Bible teaches us three kinds of holiness standards that God expects every mature Christian to adhere to. That's biblical standards. Those are there in scripture and they demand obedience. There are church standards that are established by spiritual leadership to deal with the practical application of scriptural scriptural principles in our modern day situations in our culture and the world we're living in today. And then there are personal standards. Let me say it this way. There are things that the Bible is very black and white about. There are things that the Bible points to.

You've heard me say this before that the Bible doesn't say anything about crack cocaine. I don't care what version you got. You know, you word on the street, New Living. It doesn't. There's nothing in there that says crack cocaine is bad. Now, how many of you believe that you can smoke the rock and go to heaven? No, you can't. All right? You just can't. There's a lot that goes in here that says that that's not good for me. All right? And as I said before that there's some things that Paul talked about and other sins, some stuff we deal with today falls in the other category. Y'all okay? Biblical standards and there's church standards. As pastor, there are things that I feel led to say to the church. That's what happened a few Sundays ago is I got up and I said, "This is some things that are bothering me and I feel like God wants me to correct some things." So, I talk about those things. I hope you know that was done with love and I hope you know that was done with a lot of prayer and a lot of time. I don't take those things lightly. I know that my words are weighed and I got to go before him one day with my hands clear and say, "I preach what you gave me." And then there are personal convictions, personal standards that I have myself that are just for me that I do just because I feel like God wants me to do those things.

And I'm not going to preach those things to you because they're not a church standard. They're a Kevin standard. Those are there. Holiness standards are not the central part of holiness. The central part of holiness is the internal work of God's spirit inside of you. However, holiness standards are an external sign of an authentic work of salvation that's going on inside a mature Christian. I know I went over a couple minutes. Can y'all give me five minutes? >> So, there are if you read through the Bible, you you'll notice that when he refers to the church in the scriptures, often times the he he'll say he talks about his bride, the bride of Christ. That's the church. We're his bride. and he uses marriage a lot of times to talk about the relationship that he has with us and how that's important. Now, I bring that up for this reason and because there there's situations where regardless of what society a culture says is okay, there are just some things that I would prefer my wife not to do. There are some actions and mannerisms and apparel that she's my wife and I love her and I'm dedicated to her and I want her to be dedicated to me and there are just some things it's not me lording over her. I'm going to tell you right now, she's a strong gal. She beat me up.

But there's a way that I want her to behave in social settings around members of the opposite sex and how she conducts herself. She's always a lady. She's a classy lady and she makes me proud to be her husband. She conducts herself that way and it's a beautiful thing. That's what his desire is for his church when he says he wants us to be holy is there's some things he it doesn't matter what society says is okay. He's saying, "I want you to be my bride, pure and holy and undefiled, separated unto him." And sometimes we can be such selfish, self-centered things that are ruled by flesh and we can say, "I don't understand why I can't just do those things." There are some things that we just shouldn't do because he's not pleased with them. and he wants to come back and he wants his bride to just belong to him to not if you look into the Old Testament scriptures and if you've read King James, New King James, and even some of the NLT modern translations, he says "You went out whoring with idols and I am jealous and I am angry for how you have behaved yourself because you belong to me." Yes, >> but you've went out and you've given yourself away and he is not pleased. That has to resonate in our mind. Part of living a holy life is knowing that I am not my own but I had been bought with a price and I belong to him and he wants me to live a holy life.

Seven. Holiness principles deal more with our creation than with our culture. God's word emphasizes them differently for both women and men. And the reason there seems to be more external standards sometimes for women when you read through the scriptures that God created men and women differently. Have you noticed that? Anybody? Is that a revelation to anybody that they're different? Yeah. As I said before, he took one verse to make man in Genesis and he took six to make woman. Six times more words to make her than it was to make us. That explains a lot right there, doesn't it? I helped somebody out today. For example, in the scriptures, men are stimulated by sight. That's why Jesus said in Matthew 5:28, "Whosoever lookth on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already. A man's always attracted to women physically before he's connected to her emotionally." I don't know who needed that. Yeah. He's not worried about your IQ as much as he's like, "Hello." Now, later on, the IQ may help out, but that's not what he's drawn to right off the bat. That's why sometimes there's such a struggle and pornography is just an epidemic in our day, and I don't have enough time to go into how much it has eroded and destroyed our society. But Paul went on to give a different command in 1 Corinthians 7 concerning women.

And he said, "It's good for a man not to touch a woman. While a woman is commanded to appear a certain way so that a man is not affected, the man's acted or is commanded to act a certain way so that the woman's not affected. Holiness is for men and women." But it's different. He's writing to Timothy and this is one of the last verses. In fact, I think it's the very last verse I have for you. 1 Timothy 2:8. I will therefore that men pray everywhere lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting. In like manner also the women adorn themselves with modest apparel with shamef faceness and sobriety not with brooed hair or gold or pearls or costly ray but which becometh women professing godliness with good works. And what I'm going to do over the next few Wednesday nights is kind of dive into a little deeper deeper deal with what was God meaning to that? What how do we apply that as men and women? Because here's the deal on a couple more blanks for you. A lot of times the women typically will struggle. I say typically because there's always exceptions to the rules. Not everything's 100% but what quite often time the nature that's inside a woman and the nature inside of a man struggle with these things. Women's in number one's adorment. Number two is apparel and number three is attitude.

No, nobody point fingers or you're going to be in trouble and I have to do marriage counseling. Adorement apparel and attitude. But the men's primary struggles with holiness typ typically go around appetites, anger, and apathy. And I'm going to explain this in more detail over the next couple of weeks if you'll join me on Wednesday nights coming up. Now, that's not to say that women never have problems with inner holiness or men never have problems with outer holiness. That's these are tendencies only. Okay? Just tendencies that are there because of the distinct natures of the sexes and how God created us. For both men and women, holiness begins on the inside and must be demonstrated on the outside. As long as we let the spirit lead us, we won't sin. As long as we sew into the spirit, we will reap the spirit. But the problem is we get up every day fighting the flesh. And it's so easy to give in the flesh. But when we feed the flesh, we make it stronger. So we war every day. That's why we have to make our minds up that when I get up in the morning, God, I'm living for you today. >> I'm going to be a living sacrifice for you today. as you stand with me. The law of the spirit does not destroy the law of sin, but it overcomes it. I'm going to say that again.

The law of the spirit does not destroy the law of sin, but it overcomes it. Just like a bird, a bird flapping its wings. All right, physics, the law of physics keeps it in the air. And as long as it's flapping its wings, the law of physics overcomes the law of gravity. But the moment he stops flapping, guess what takes over? Gravity. So in a spiritual sense, we have to keep flapping our spiritual wings to overcome the law of sin. Okay? It gives us the ability, but we have to purposely live that life every day. Purposely live that life. And we can do it. He's called us to be his bride, holy and separated unto him. and I want to live that life. I'm going to pray. I hope you guys will join me in the next couple weeks as we'll do a little deeper dive in this. God, we love you so much. So thankful for this opportunity we had tonight to hear your word and to see the truth that is in your scripture. I pray God that you would let these seeds settle in our hearts and in our minds. I pray God that we could be ever mindful of our spiritual condition knowing that we fight every day against our flesh. It is a fight. But God, you have given us your spirit that we can live that overcoming life for you.

I pray God that we would be sensitive and led by you each and every day. Lord, as we leave here tonight, watch over us and keep us. Bring us back on Sunday. I pray God there'll be an outpouring of your spirit this weekend. In Jesus name we pray. And they