This is the day for the Weekend Sermon, and I am thankful that the Lord has given me the opportunity to post it. I hope that you are all doing well and having a very good week.
Last week, we continued with our series on faithfulness. Since it was the week that was the beginning of the Lenten season, we focused on the theme of being faithful in our sacrifice for the Lord. For today, I want us to continue with the theme of faithfulness, and I want us to focus on the theme of being faithful in holiness.
I don't often quote from the book of Joshua here on the blog, but one of the verses I want to bring to your attention today comes from Joshua 24:14 that says, "Now fear the Lord and serve Him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshipped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord."
One of the major parts of being faithful to the Lord is obedience and holiness. The Bible tells us in Hebrews 12:14 that, "without a life of holiness, no one will see God." The Lord expects those of us who believe in Him to live our lives in accordance with what He has told us to do. Those who are not willing to make the attempt to follow the way of the Lord are like those we read about in the book of James who only had a profession of faith. They did not have a true possession of faith. They said they had faith, but they did not have the works in their lives that demonstrated that they really had faith and really had the desire to live the life of holiness that God had called them to live.
When the Lord calls a person to follow Him, we are called to leave the old ways and the old life of sin behind us. Hebrews 12 tells us that we are to lay aside the sin that easily besets us, and we are to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.
We know that living a life of holiness means that we are to lay aside sin, but what does it mean on a deeper level? First of all, the Bible says that sin is failing to do what we know is good. We read this in James 4:17. We know what is good and right from the life and the teachings of Jesus, that is why the Bible tells us to keep our eyes on Jesus. He lived a holy and sinless life. He is our example in this world as to how to live a life that is pleasing to God. If we follow the teachings and the commandments of Jesus, we will be able to do what is good as we are empowered by the Holy Spirit dwelling within us.
The Bible tells us that there are some things that lead us astray. Sin is following these things that are the opposite of the way of the Lord. In I John 2:16 it states, "For everything in the world - the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life - come not from the Father but from the world." Seeking to gratify the flesh, being filled with greed and selfishness, and being prideful lead us away from God and into sin and immorality.
The Lord Jesus calls us to be faithful to Him and follow Him. Jesus told us succinctly what it takes to live a life of holiness. He told us that we are to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, and we are to love our neighbors as ourselves. Jesus said on these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.
During this Lenten season and beyond, let us strive to be faithful in living lives of holiness. We can do it as the Spirit gives us power. Amen.
Prayer Requests
Please pray that we won't have bad storms again in my area this week. Thank you.
Pray that there will be peace in Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, Syria, Yemen, Sudan and wherever war and conflict are present in this world.
Keep praying that aid will reach those harmed by natural disasters. Please keep praying for Mayotte.
For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those living in the nations of Kyrgyzstan and Libya. Pray that many will come to know Jesus.
Now for an announcement. I am currently working on my new blog book project. I am calling it 30 weeks of Psalms. If you remember a couple of years ago, I posted a short message on 30 Psalms for 30 straight days. This year, it will be a little different. On the Wednesday after Holy Week, I will post a short message on a Psalm for 30 weeks. I hope you will read the messages. The Psalms will be different than the ones I previously wrote about.
Next week, we will continue with our current series. I will post the verses on Tuesday. May God bless you all.
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