“Maturing as Christians” - Holiness

This Message is Part 2 in our Series called:

                            “Maturing as Christians”

Please know that I want to preface this article by stating that everything I am sharing with you here is not meant to scare or disturb you in any way at all. Yet there is good and Godly fear that you might feel while reading this, which the bible refers to as: The Fear of the Lord. If you do begin to sense The Fear of The Lord - please don't run and hide or shy away. The reason you feel that kind of fear (and it is true fear - yet clean and pure) is because GOD WANTS TO DRAW YOU CLOSER TO HIM - AND NO LONGER SEE YOU DRIVEN FURTHER AWAY! He's just trying to get your attention and loving respect so that He can reveal to you that which leads to life and blessing for you. GOD LOVES HIS CHILDREN AND ALWAYS HAS OUR VERY BEST INTERESTS IN HIS HEART AND MIND! That is why He chooses to remind and continue reminding us of things that are of the utmost importance.

The first name of the Spirit of God, Whom Jesus said would come from the Father, is: “Holy.” “Without holiness we will not see God.” (Heb 12:14)

How are we progressing in holiness unto the Lord? Do we find ourselves living a holy life? Or is it cluttered with things that are quite unholy, if we take a closer look?

Things like watching programs on television that we know full well we should not be consistently watching, or watching at all, for that matter. Listening to programs that talk of things that are entirely unfitting for our ears to hear, as God’s holy people. Allowing our mouths to defile us and others by the words we speak. Intentionally allowing our minds to dwell on thoughts that are vile in nature. Stepping foot in certain places that have terrible evil and great darkness within them. Yet the choices are made to do these things, time and time again.

 All of these things: what we watch, what we listen to, what we think and meditate upon, that which we choose to speak and bad places where we allow our feet to lead us, can and will have a negative effect impact upon our walk of holiness with our Lord, Christ Jesus.

I believe one of the the very worst of them all, is a loose and gossiping tongue. If we are not watching our words carefully and asking God to set a guard over the door of our mouths regarding evil things we speak about others, then we may get ourselves into some serious trouble with God, Who is our Father and our Lord. Every loving father will chasten his son or daughter for intentional wrongdoing and that discipline can be quite severe at times, because He LOVES US!

As just mentioned, one of the most serious of evils that we can sin with our tongues is gossip, which the Lord calls an abomination in Proverbs 6:19. Do we have a proneness, an itchy ear, to listen to gossip? The bible says that those words of gossip that seem entirely enticing are like choice morsels of food that go down into the inner depths of our being.

There’s something about gossip. Ever notice when someone is about to share a word of gossip about someone, that most of the time they will come close to your ear and whisper it like a secret and there always seems to be an unusual rush about it at the moment of it being shared? Why is that? Because Hell itself is setting those words on fire and making a nasty, decayed piece of fruit on the inside look absolutely delicious to partake of on the outside!

I also wonder why those words of gossip go so deep, as the scripture says? Could it be because God has a stricter judgment for gossips and those who choose to listen to gossip, as a practice, and thus He allows those words to go way down to where they are, in fact, much more difficult to get rid of once digested? Has it not occurred to you, as it has me, that after someone has gossiped about another person, no matter who they are, even if they have an excellent reputation, that from that point on, your vision of that person is skewed by the gossip you heard…..wondering or perhaps even believing that it’s true?

I read a well-known book some years ago, by a woman named Mary Baxter, whom the Lord allowed to be taken down into the depths of hell in order to see hell most vividly and practically everything in it. He did this so that she could return and warn people of the most dreaded place in existence, that was originally created by God to one day place the devil and the fallen demons within. She mentioned in her book, that at the very bowels (the deepest and most gruesome part of hell), is where unbelievers, who were gossips, would remain for all eternity. The very worst region of hell itself would be where gossipers would find their place in hell forever. WOW!

God HATES gossip, friends. Yet we can actually be quite numb to this reality if we are not choosing to be sensitive to God’s word and His “Holy” Spirit Who dwells within us.

We ought to make a clean and immediate separation from anyone who chooses to get into speaking gossip on a regular basis. It’s one thing to slip up occasionally, and sincerely regret it with Godly sorrow and repent of it afterwards and entirely another to be one who just goes on and on like they have no care about it whatsoever. If we hear someone start a conversation of gossip, we ought to rebuke them lightly if it is the first time we have heard it from them. Saying something like “Please refrain from speaking about anyone in that manner to me because I know I would not want to ever be talked about like that behind my back.”

This kind of mild and kind rebuke can be very effective towards those who have even a slight ear for wisdom. Yet if they are just downright wicked and do not give a flip, then we ought to make our way away from them immediately, that we may not get snared in their ways. Get away from them like the plague because every single word you hear is going to stick, for who knows how long, and those words are nothing but absolute POISON!

Ever remember how when you see that person who was gossiped about, the first thing you think of, is what the other person said about them? Well that is because that morsel of gossip went way down into the inner depths of your being and, like I said, it’s not very easy to get rid of.

We all must be bold for Christ at some point. Even if it means that we walk right away from some who are engaging in gossip, the moment they get into it. So be it. I have had to do this very thing many times and have chosen to not care one bit about what they may or may not have thought of me. When God sees you make a move of obedience, He can reach out and bless you with something wonderful because He always takes notice of and rewards obedience unto Him.

On another note regarding holiness - if it is boring to not be able to watch those TV programs that were so exciting to the flesh, then let’s do something else that’s exciting which would be more fitting for us as Holy children of the Most High God!

Instead of watching those violent, murderous, lustful or even morbid and fear-filled TV shows, why not play a game of Chess, Monopoly or Uno together? Some might like to knit, sew or bake something wonderful! The point being, anything else that we can and like to do that is wholesome - - common now ?? - - surely we can find something else, right?

There are a lot of things that we can do to have some clean, wholesome fun. Even just switching the channel to something that is fitting is a good move sometimes. Yet I have found that there is less and less on TV, now a days, that is truly fitting for believers. So, I chose to go back and look for some older programs that were on years ago. I found “Highway to Heaven” on the internet, which I LOVED when I was a kid and can watch every episode that was ever made for the five years that it ran, right on Netflix! How about that? That show was not only very Godly, but oh SOOO anointed! I have wept with tears of great joy almost every time I've watched it. Man, that show is good. Love it! There is also “Touched by an Angel” that was also very good, which ran for several seasons as well and a host of others. In fact, there is a Christian/Family version of Netflix available to subscribe to called: Pureflix - which can be a great delight for many.

The point being is that if there is nothing good on TV in the present, we can go back to the past, by simply getting online and doing a search. If we cannot find a good news channel, then go online and get into some Christian based news programs that will be much more positive and uplifting. God has not left us high and dry. We have it all right at our fingertips these days. We ought to make the most of it!

If we are really struggling to change in a certain way, perhaps by going to or visiting certain places that we know deep within our heart and spirit, we're better off not being at, then the best thing to do is begin asking God for help. Then continue asking Him for help, grace, empowerment, faith and strength until it is no longer a struggle.

“Don’t just go around wishing you could change. Ask God for help and keep on asking Him, in faith, until you see the change manifest.”

His grace comes upon us when we ask for help, because it shows Him our humility by declaring We Need Him. God gives grace to the humble. One of my main prayers throughout every day is: “Lord, please help me.” Jesus gave us His all by becoming so obedient that He humbled Himself unto death, and the worse kind: crucifixion. Let’s be more like Jesus - humble, that we may find all the grace we need to be and remain Holy.

Let’s pray:

Father, we come to You with humble hearts, full of thanksgiving and praise, for sharing Your word and heart with us today. We desire to be holy as You are holy, Father. So please help us, oh God. Give us the grace to be holy in all areas of our lives. Reach down and show us if we are starting to get out of line, and bring us back onto the straight and narrow path that leads to eternal life. Grant us the great grace to walk, talk, see, hear and live in holiness, by the presence of Your Holy Spirit, Whom You gave to live on the inside of us.

We ask that You would allow us to Feel the sweetness of Your Holiness and how much pleasure it can and will bring into our lives. Cause our temples to be Holy and acceptable unto You, we pray, Lord. Help us to avoid going to places where we know we should not go and be a part of. We desire and ask that you would lead us not into temptation, but that we would be delivered from the evil one. Lord, let us not walk in the counsel of the wicked, I pray. That if we hear some advice from an unbeliever, we would check with your Holy Spirit and the wisdom you have given us, before we were to make a decision to invest, buy, sell or do anything else that can affect our lives. We thank You for providing good and Godly counsel to us when we need it, oh God. You are not short on giving us all the help we need, Lord. We thank You for all of it and give You all the glory, honor and praise that You alone deserve, Father, in the name above every name, Jesus Christ…Amen and Amen.