Go and Sin No More Part 2

Thank you so much for tuning in today. This is Michael Brown. I hope you're as delighted to hear my voice as I am to spend this time with you. I look forward to it every single day. We really pray for these broadcasts to make an impact on your life.

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So as you listen, as you take in the word of God, you'll be transformed. And all this month, we're talking about the beauty of holiness. I guarantee you, if you listen. Every day, and take in the truths of the word that we present, your heart, your mind will be impacted. You will be changed.

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All right, so. We talked yesterday about why holiness gets a bad rap. And one reason was legalism. Laws without love, standards without a savior, rules without relationship, externally imposed religion, just condemnation, negativity. The other reason holiness gets a bad rap is because people love to sin.

They love the flesh. And and they They would rather not. Put away sinful habits. And that's the battle. That's the battle for holiness.

So What are some wrong reactions then? When you're in an environment where you're exposed to to legalism. and you're beaten over the head with the Bible. and told you're not good enough, you don't measure up. You're not like the others, you're not like me, and you're battered down all the time and condemned.

And what are some of the bad reactions?

Well, one is license. Just go. Whatever. Just cast off. I'm free.

I'm free. I remember being in a service in Italy. I've been there many times and I was in northern Italy. And I was kind of shocked. by the outfits on the women in church.

I don't go to bars, obviously, but if I'd been in a bar. And seen women dressed like that, I would have thought, what are they looking for? What are they asking for? I mean, it was that sensual and revealing and wrong. And it's in a church service.

And there was an American guy there who said to me, what do you do with your eyes in a place like this? You're going to worship.

Well, the pastor had a reputation for being a grace preacher, but not in a healthy way, in a way that was exaggerated, because he was casting off legalism and just saying, hey, you're free. You're free in the Lord. And I talked to one woman who used to be part of a missions organization in Italy, and they lived together, they traveled together, so they had high standards of life because they were living communally. And she made clear that she was done with that way of life, and that's why she was kind of flaunting it now. That's an unhealthy reaction.

That's where you just say, hey, anything goes because I'm free in Jesus. Or there is hypergrace, which goes beyond the glorious revelation of grace in Scripture. It adds things to what the Word of God says. It says that the moment that you're born again, God not only forgives every sin you ever committed, but every sin you ever will commit. Therefore, the Holy Spirit will never convict you of sin.

Therefore, you never have to confess sin. And this teaching of grace that goes beyond the word. That is also a negative and destructive reaction. The question in that is What is holiness? What holiness is not, we need to talk about, and what holiness is.

We need to talk about.

So let's define holiness, but let's start by talking about what holiness is not, all right? I'm going to share some. definitions with you. You'll find all of them in my book. Go and sin no more.

Holiness is not legalism. I want to emphasize that again. It is not legalism, which is binding. rather than beautiful. Holiness is not legalism, which is binding rather than beautiful.

Holiness is not a system. based on fear. and characterized by joyless judgmentalism, producing futility instead of freedom. Let me repeat that. Holiness is not a system.

based on fear. and characterized by joyless judgmentalism, producing futility instead of freedom. Holiness is not A man-made brand of religion governed by law and not love, A mere following of rules. without a relationship.

So this is reiterating. that holiness is not legalism. It's not a man-made brand of religion governed by law and not love, a mere following of rules without a relationship. Listen to what some older leaders from centuries past said about holiness. holiness and what it is not ralph cudworth said this I do not mean by holiness.

the mere performance of outward duties of religion coldly acted over as a task. Not our habitual prayings, hearings, fastings, multiplied one upon another, though these be all good as subservient to a higher end. But I mean an inward soul and principle of divine life, Romans 8, 1 through 5, that spiriteth all these, or that gives life to all these.

So he's saying holiness is not the mere performance of the outward duties of religion, coldly acted over as a task. I read the Bible this amount today. I said these prayers today. I fasted once a week today. I went to church three times a week.

And I just wrote ritual, and that's it. No, that's not a holiness. That's religious performance. Rather And it's not even praying, fasting, being the word itself. Rather, it is the inward soul and principle of divine life.

that spiriteth all these things, that gives life to all these things. Samuel Logan Brengel. Was an early holiness preacher in the Salvation Army. It was Leonard Ravenhill who went to be with the Lord in 1994, author of Why Revival Tarries. To whom I became very close the last five years of his life, extraordinary privilege and honor.

Leonard Ravenhill. Turn me on to the writings of Samuel Logan Brengel. The Salvation Army in its earliest days was a fire-breathing evangelist. Evangelist dynamo, going on the streets, winning the worst of sinners, and then helping in social ways as well. And then ultimately, it switched to primarily social categories.

There are a few, a small remnant of those fire-breathing salvation armies. I mean that in the good sense of the word, but mostly it's become a social organization. Brangel was one of the earlier guys and a powerful preacher of righteousness and holiness. And Brangel came up with a definition of holiness that really surprised me. I had never ever thought of it in these terms, but it's one of these concepts that's a life changer.

He said holiness is is pure love. Chew on that one You're going to sleep at night. When you're praying, You're just taking a drive and got some free time. Ask God for insight on that. Holiness is pure.

Love. Wow. That's a life changer if you grab hold of that. It so smashes our paradigms and it so speaks of who God is. and we want to be holy accordingly.

Samuel Lucas said this The essence of of true holiness. Consists in conformity to the nature and will of God. You want to be holy? What does that mean? It means conforming to the nature And will of God.

And then Some some concepts from there that I expanded on. Holiness is becoming like Jesus. And saw it. Word and deed and heart. mind and conduct.

Let me say it again. Holiness is becoming like Jesus in thought, Word and deed and heart, mind and conduct. Don't you want to be like Jesus? As one of his followers Don't you want to be like Jesus? Isn't that the highest goal?

Well, he's perfectly holy. and to be like him means to be like him in thought? In word, in deed, in heart, and mind and conduct. Holiness From sin. And separate it to God.

Even items in the temple or garments in the temple. or the tabernacle or temple themselves. They were considered holy, they had to be separated to God, they had to be kept from pollution and separated to God. That's us. When the Lord transformed my life December 17th of 1971, I've shared this many a time, and if you've never heard it, my joy to share it again.

God had been dealing with me the previous five weeks. November 12th of 71, as a 16-year-old Jewish hippie, rock, drummer, rebel, heavy drug user, I believed that Jesus died for my sins and rose from the dead for the very first time. And the weeks leading up to that, the Holy Spirit had been powerfully convicting me of sin. I didn't know it was conviction then, but it absolutely was. And then I had a five-week battle from November 12th of 71 to December 17th.

I'd shoot heroin one day, I'd be in church the next. I'd smoke pot morning, afternoon, evening, be in church the next back and forth battle, back and forth battle. And then December 17th, 71. I'm in the little Italian Pentecostal church where I came to faith. singing these little ditty hymns.

You know, when we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be. Or there's power in the blood, or blessed assurance, Jesus is mine. and I become overwhelmed. with an inexpressible and glorious joy. King James, joy unspeakable and full of glory.

I it it was Like nothing I'd ever experienced. I went to rock concerts every opportunity I had, you know, seeing Hendrix and Zeppelin and Grateful Dead and Jethro Tull and Janice Joplin and The Doors and all. All the who and all the big groups of the day, and the music so loud you could scream at the top of your lungs, and you couldn't even hear yourself. That's how loud it was.

Now, just pastor's wife playing piano, singing these hymns. I experienced this exquisite joy And I realized this must be what they call the joy of the Lord. This is different. This is different than a drug high. This is different than a music high.

This is different than a sports high. This is different than a friendship high or a doing good high. This is different. And at that moment I I I saw in my mind's eye I saw myself. covered with filth and muck and mud from head to toe.

I I saw Jesus wash me. from head to toe and put beautiful white robes on me. And and I was going back and playing in the mud. And I said, Lord, I will never put a needle in my arm again, and was free from that moment. That's the beauty of holiness.

separated from sin. to God, washed, cleansed, so you can serve are wonderful perfect God. But a high calling. What? a privilege.

Holiness Is good. All right, important announcement. Please give a good listen, and we will be right back. I'm Paul Burnett, a board-certified doctor of holistic health, and I want to take this opportunity to talk to you about the importance of healthy blood flow. And at Trivita, we take blood flow seriously for our members, and we've developed a nitric oxide plus supplement that has been formulated with natural ingredients designed to maximize nitric oxide production in our blood vessels, which increases blood flow.

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So call now one eight hundred seven seven one five five eight four. one eight hundred seven seven one fifty five eighty four. or online at TRI VITA TRIVEDA. com. Michael Brown, so glad to be with you, to have this opportunity to pour into you.

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And as we raise funds on the broadcast, it's for one reason only. It's to get on more stations, to reach more people, to spread the good news. I live to do it. And if we're a blessing to you, if we're helped you, let us know. Shoot us a note.

Go to thelineoffire.org. If you're enjoying the broadcast, shoot us a note through the website. Let us know. That will encourage our entire team. The Beauty of Holiness Some Puritans from centuries ago.

William Jenkins said this There is nothing destroyed by sanctification, but that which would destroy us. Oh, I mean these are powerful concepts. There's nothing Destroyed by sanctification, but that which destroys us. If sanctification, if being set apart is holy, that's what sanctification means. If that burns up something in your life, it's burning up something that would kill you, it's burning up something that would destroy you.

George Swinock said this, another Puritan. There is a beauty in holiness. as well as the beauty of holiness. That being holy itself, there's something beautiful about it. Ask yourself a question.

Let's say you're single. You're a follower of Jesus, you love the Lord. Would you like to marry someone holy or unholy? Let's say that you've got a child and your child is marrying age and you want to see that child married. They've been raised in a godly home.

You've got a beautiful Christian daughter, a wonderful Christian son. Do you want them to marry someone holy or unholy? Let's say that you are going to invest your life savings in a new business venture. with a partner. Do you want that partner to be holy or unholy?

I think you're getting the drift of what I'm saying. I think it is making sense. Remember, Leviticus 19, God says, be holy. For I, the Lord, your God, am holy. And in the days ahead, We're going to bathe you with lots and lots of scripture.

Today, we want to. Do our best to help you change your thinking to see the beauty of holiness. I want to be holy. Holiness is a good thing. Holiness is beautiful.

Mm-mm. is our goal. It's our destiny. It's our portion. It expresses the very nature of the an essence of the character of God.

And describes the highest level of spirituality attainable by man. Holiness It's just pain wonderful. All these quotes are taken from my book, Go and Sin No More. Consider this. And I want to reiterate, I said this yesterday, I want to reiterate it today.

Everything holy is good. Nothing unholy is good. Everything unholy is bad Nothing Holy is bad. I hope these concepts are making more sense to you. Ephesians chapter chapter 1 verse 4.

Holiness is our Destiny Holiness is our destiny. Ephesians 1.4. For God chose us in Him, in Jesus. He chose us in Him. Before the creation of the world To be holy.

and blameless in his sight. When God saved us, when he foresaw before the foundation of the world that he would have a people in his son. When he did that, He purposed us to be holy and blameless. Wasn't just saved from sin, wasn't just going to heaven. But it was to be holy and blameless.

Picture it like this. That that that Someone You love is in a terrible, life-threatening accident. and their body is mangled and maimed and bones out of joint. blood gushing out of wounds everywhere. You don't just want to see that person survive.

and they'll be crippled. and vegetable, unable to communicate. In a coma. and it was looking horrific the rest of their lives. You want to see that person whole again and able to walk and talk and have a normal life.

God did not just save us so we don't go to hell. And there will be these wretched, saved sinners forever. No, but to make us into something like Him. He is God. We are the created beings.

It's our honor to serve him forever. We're his bond slaves in this world. but to share his nature. His character, that beauty of holiness. Ephesians 5.

25 to 27. Ephesians 5. 25 to 27. Husbands. Love your wives.

Just as Messiah, as Christ, loved the church, and gave himself up for her, to make her holy. Jesus died for us to get a holy bride. He gave himself up for the church to make her holy. cleansing her by the washing with water through the Word. and to present her to himself as a radiant church without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish.

but holy and blameless. I want to read those words again. I'm just blessed to read them. I'm getting blessed teaching about holiness. I hope you are hearing it.

Husbands Love your eyes. Oh, and what a call for us this is, as husbands. Every husband, listen carefully. Husbands love your wives. just as Christ loved the church, and gave himself up for her, to make her holy.

cleansing her by the washing with water through the Word. and to present her to himself as a radiant Church. Without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. That's a picture of holiness, a radiant church. Without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish.

That means you, that means me. Another Puritan, Joseph Carroll, said Perfect holiness. Is the aim of the saints on earth. and is the reward of the saints in heaven. The first time I read that quote, it struck me.

Wow Holiness A reward? But think of it, forever. That beauty, that radiance. Being like the Lord. No temptation to sin, no desire to sin, no guilt, no pollution, no junk.

That's our destiny in the Lord forever. John Whitlock said. The Christian's way Is holiness. His end, happiness Holiness and joy, friends, go hand in hand. And John Wesley, Those that bring the most holiness to heaven will enjoy the most happiness there.

One more quote. about holiness being our destiny. Oswald Chambers. God has destined one destined end for mankind. Holy Nif.

His one aim is the production of saints. God is not an eternal blessing machine for men. He did not come to save men out of pity. He came to save men because he had created them to be. Holy.

This is Dr. Michael Brown. Thanks so much for tuning in. Just a reminder that we are listener-supported. If we have been a blessing to you, if you're being enriched in the word and prayer and your own walk with God through this broadcast, then stand with us so that we can reach many, many more and bless many, many more.

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