Good Morning Beloved Family,
I so glad you could all join us today.
Heavenly Father,
Thank You for Your grace
We inhale Your grace
we rejoice in life more abundantly
because of Jesus Christ, our Savior,
Yet You know our hearts
You know that some of us are worried,
we fear for those we love, we fear the future.
Some of us are grieving, we don't know how to go on.
Lord we need Your help
as we frequently discover, we can't resolve these issues on our own
We pray for those in our world
who are without food, income and support
lead to those You want us to offer help to
and those Your want us to share our witness and testimony
In Your precious name we pray
Amen
Today's Message: God's High Call To Holiness
Do you realize that there is a divine purpose and call upon your life?
God is calling you up Higher
There is a higher purpose for your life.
As God called Peter and his brethren to become ‘Fishers of men’, God is calling you to a higher purpose.
What many of us today, fail to realize is that we were not born into this world to carry on our father’s deeds.
We were not born into this world to continue in the generational mindset that eludes the will of God for our lives.
We have a higher purpose.
There is a reason we were born into this world.
God has called us up higher.
God has ordained unto us His will and reason for our existence.
WE come from varied backgrounds here today.
But our purpose is the same – to let our lives become what He has ordained us to be.
Our will today is to allow His will to be done in us.
Our will today is to enter into the riches of his perfect design for our lives.
There is a great responsibility to teach and preach holiness in our times because it needs to be a high priority. It is imperative that we hear God's high call to holiness.
Our culture is changing so dramatically every day that we can get punch drunk unless there is a willingness to find our bearings through a clear understanding of Scripture and a relationship with God through prayer.
Our world is changing, very quickly, a just like that. However, God's standard have never changed and what He has called for in the 1st Century, He is still calling for in the 21st Century.
The heavenly messengers reminded them that this same Jesus would return in the same way. Their words serve as a constant reminder to us. He is coming soon!
The reason we believe in the return of Christ is because Jesus promised it, and He never lies.There is a great responsibility to teach and preach holiness in our times because it needs to be a high priority. It is imperative that we hear God's high call to holiness.
Our culture is changing so dramatically every day that we can get punch drunk unless there is a willingness to find our bearings through a clear understanding of Scripture and a relationship with God through prayer.
Our world is changing, very quickly, a just like that. However, God's standard have never changed and what He has called for in the 1st Century, He is still calling for in the 21st Century.
The heavenly messengers reminded them that this same Jesus would return in the same way. Their words serve as a constant reminder to us. He is coming soon!
"Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also."
John 14:1-3
The Word of God records His promises and is forever settled in heaven.
Psalms 119:89 teaches
"Forever, O Lord,
Your word is settled in heaven.
Your faithfulness continues throughout all generations;
You established the earth, and it stands."
There are nearly 300 references to Christ's return in the New Testament. No one knows for sure when He will come, although many have falsely predicted His return, only to be embarrassed.
Regardless of what views different people may take on God's prophetic program, Christians agree that Jesus is coming again and that He can come at any time. This in itself is a great motivation for faithful Christian service.
The early church stayed alert as they expected Christ's promised return. Christians continues to watch and wait for His return. It is easier to wait if we have something to do.
There are four main things to do while waiting for the return of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Watch: Read Matthew 24:42; 25:13; Mark 13:33; Luke 21:36.
Be ready: Read Matthew 24:44
Serve: Read Matthew 25:31-46
Be faithful in church attendance and abiding in the Word. Read Hebrews 10:25.
“And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming”
1 John 2:28
While waiting, we must continue to serve our Lord in the unfinished task of world evangelism. We should be encouraging one another toward perfection and faithfulness.
Therein lies two major functions of the body of Christ:
Evangelism
Encouragement
But even stranger is the underlying hint of hostility that comes from inside the Church toward the message of holiness. It is sad to not but it appears as if there are those who call themselves Christians who don't want to be troubles by certain specific directives toward holiness.
Even many of the Christian books are oriented toward financial responsibility, healing emotional hurts, managing negative emotions, gaining acceptance in the world by not being so strident in our views and beliefs, and the last, perhaps the largest genres, those of fulfilling dreams with God's help.
Where are the books on how to be holy.
Where are the books on how to separate myself from the world.
Where are the books that were instructive on prayer.
Where are the books on cross-bearing and sacrifice.
That is the challenge of our times, finding an atmosphere that is encouraging holiness to develop. You will discover that you will have to really seek out places that will encourage your own mind and heart to pursue a higher level of communion with God, not a lower one.
I have a responsibility for accountability in my personal life:
To the Church, children, parents and others.
The priority of holiness is ultimately accountability to God!
I know a pastor, who stated that his forty-something year old daughter told him, “Dad, don’t mess up!!!” This pastor had lived some 50 plus years under the mantle of faithful responsibility but Satan is very deceptive, especially these days and can derail those who are not vigilant. This man’s daughter was encouraging his father to live out a life of godliness even to his grave. You must understand that the priority for holiness becomes much higher the longer that you live.
You will also discover that the greatest battlefield for holiness is on the inside. You have to fight the battle within before you will ever win those on the outside.
Holiness is not a cultural battle although our world does not seem to promote holiness, in any form.
Holiness is not a political battle as we are realizing that our nation can no longer really be cast as a Christian nation.
Holiness is not a denominational battle as many have brought to my attention that Twitter, Instagram and Facebook has literally blown the cover of many those who have professed but have never possessed it, posting videos of pastors and church members caught in "inappropriate circumstances!"
This is deeply saddening and terribly disturbing to me.... terribly, terribly disturbing.
Holiness is not a form of behavior modification; it is living a life where the priority of pursuing God and making Him the very center of our life.
The battle for a life of personal holiness comes from within the heart of a man.
He must be determined to pursue and seek after a holy relationship with God.
The apostle Paul had a conscious for holiness:
"For our proud confidence is this: the testimony of our conscience, that in holiness and godly sincerity, not in fleshly wisdom but in the grace of God, we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially toward you."
2 Corinthians 1:12
This passage from 2 Corinthians introduces us to word “conscience.”
You have to win the battle for holiness on the inside. If you do not win the battle on the inside you will most certainly lose the battle on the outside. And we are seeing the evidence of that today!
The stronger your conscience is the more productive your battle for holiness will be.
Beloved,
It is far better to go to heaven with a few, than to hell in the crowd. We must walk in the opposite direction than those of the world.
If we want to win the battle of holiness and kill the sin in our lives, we must load our conscience with the seriousness and guilt of it. There are far too many people who play with and mock their conscience until it is so insalubrious it can no longer even asseverate their wrongdoing.
Our conscience is a God-given gift, one we must carefully consider and cultivate.
Conscience is a tremendous gift from God as is pain, it indicates something is very wrong.
Conscience either indicts or exonerates. Accuses or excuses. Conscience is the soul’s red light warning system.
It works best and most efficiently when it has been filled with the Spirit and the Word of God.
Most people in our society think of themselves as imperfect and in need of improvement, yet they never think of themselves as sinners in need of forgiveness and redemption.
Disease, antisocial behavior, political views and lack of moral development have replaced the concept of sin in our culture. It is now common to hear of people having an affair instead of calling it adultery. Our own personal choices are now the thing to be achieved instead of the approval of God.
Though the conscience of society has become seriously flawed by the curse but it can be transformed by the work of the Spirit and the Word. It will certainly have the capacity to continue to say to those who can hear it, “Change your course of direction, there's an obstacle ahead!” But when it can no longer lead us in the direction of holiness it has been severely compromised.
Beloved, we all need to consider the recurring theme in Psalm 119: In God’s mercy and kindness, He has afflicted me. Why? To draw me back into the ways of God!
I cannot emphasize enough that a fully engaged conscience must be a priority for each of us. A call to holiness. A fully engaged and functioning conscience will desire to worship God.
in Closing...
There is quickly approaching the day when conscience in the end will turn on the sinner with a vengeance! Conscience will forever make the sinner admit the truth of every charge it brings against him and the justice of every tormenting pain he suffers. They will beg, to no avail, for it will not become silent!
The highest human court is that which is in the confines of the human conscience. The battle is won by the grace of God in our conscience. You can glory in a life of holiness, God’s high call to holiness leads us to a clear conscience. When sin is mortified the conscience is most satisfied.
Today, I pose the question to all of you:
What is your conscience saying to you?
What will it say on the coming day of our Lord?
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
Brian Monzon Ministries