1. A Call to be Holy
Leviticus 20:7-8
1 Pet 2:9-12

2. The Cry to Be Holy from Leviticus to Today
20:7-8 “Consecrate Yourselves and be Holy, because I am the Lord your God. Keep my decrees and follow them. I am the Lord who makes you Holy”.
New Testament
Rom 12:1 Living sacrifices
1 Pet 2:9 Chosen and connected people
Holiness is the key theme of Leviticus, ringing like a refrain in various forms throughout the book. The word Holy appears more times in Lev than any other book of the Bible. Israel was to be totally consecrated to God. Her Holiness was to be expressed in every aspect of her life. To the extent, all of life had a certain ceremonial quality. Because of what God had done, his people must dedicate themselves fully to him.
Holiness in ancient Israel was quite specific: it might be regarded as the "god-ness" of God, an invisible but physical force. Specific objects or even days are holy, but they derive holiness from being connected with God —the seventh day, the tabernacle, and the priests all derive their holiness from God. So too are we to be connected with God; for from the Lord comes our Holiness “he makes us Holy” – we can not do it on our own.
We are asked to consecrate ourselves – Consecration is defined as the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service – Bishops are consecrated when they take office for instance. It is thus a serious commitment to live according to God’s decrees and keep them – surely a command that is not to be taken lightly.
This call to be Holy and the concept that it is God who makes us Holy via our connectedness to him, is repeated often in the New Testament for example:
Rom 12:1 “therefore I urge you brothers, in view of God’s mercy, offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual act of worship” God is urging us to respond to his great gift of salvation by committing to live our lives in a radical and new and HOLY way.
1 Pet 2:9 “But you are a chosen people. A holy Nation. A people be-longing to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” God is reminding us that he first chose us and we are to respond by worshiping him, being intimately connected with him, so that we can indeed be light in this fallen world.
But how do you respond to these commands of God to be a living sacrifice and an intimately connected people of God?

3. Bodies as a Living Sacrifice 1 Pet 2 9-17
So what is to live as a living sacrifice?
V11 “abstain from sinful desires”
V12 “live such good lives .. that they may see your good deeds and glorify God”
V13 “submit to every authority”
V16 2”live as servants of God”
V18 “ love the brotherhood of believers”
What are the keys to live like this?
Celebrate your successes and don’t over analyse your failures
Routed in the love of God and his promises
Fixed on the tramlines of God’s unique purpose for your life
Let God change you!
So turning to these big asks of each of us - firstly how do we react to God urging us to respond to his great gift of salvation, by committing to live our lives in a radical, new and HOLY way?
To unpack this it is perhaps worth reminding ourselves of some of the key elements of what it is to live as a “living sacrifice”. Apostle Peter goes on to define this as abstaining from sinful desires, living lives that speak God’s goodness to others, submitting to authority, serving others and loving our fellow Christians.
Well I don’t know about you but this is a high calling and one which I find seemingly unobtainable at times. As Viki will testify I fall short of this standard rather often and thus I stand here today saying that this command, like so many aspects of being a Christian, is a life long journey towards being more Christ like. Thank God, we have a God who knows our frailties and is standing holding out his hand to pick us up as we fall down and encourage us as we move forward.
So what are some of the keys that I feel we need to grasp hold of as we pursue this journey of being living sacrifices to our God:
Celebrate your successes – God wants your life to be one of fun, hope, not one routed in over anlaysis of failure to achieve. God celebrates every step you take to becoming more Christ like, just as a Mother or Father celebrates every early step of its child. God does not expect perfection; but indeed uses our weaknesses to show his glory and strength.
Never let your faith in God’s love for you be shaken – as it says in Rom 8 “ for I am convinced that nothing will be able to separate us from the Love of God that is in Christ Jesus or Lord”. God has good promises for you, not bad ones and his love is unshakeable even when we draw away from him in shame, depression or the busyness of life.
Know the purpose God has for you, know that it is unique for you as you are special to God and he has a special mission for you. Remain fixed on the tram lines God has set for you, do not waver but be confident that with God’s help you will succeed.
Let God change you – lets be honest we often get stuck in our routine, our habits, our personality. Well we need to wake up and allow a loving God to change and mould us. This can be a bit frightening, but God promised a life of adventure, not mundane repetitiveness and we need to step forward, take a risk so to speak for and with God, to allow him to mould us and make us more Christ like. God is a willing partner on your and my journey; the real question is do we have the faith to allow him to be our partner?

4. An intimately Connected Life
So what is it to live a connected life:
Recognition that God, not ourselves, is key to success (Phil 4:13)
Holy Spirit over flowing in our lives (2 Tim 1:7)
Prayer is our first thought, not an after-thought (1 Thes 5:17)
Fellowship with others is actively sought (I Jhn 1:7)
A compassion for lost is upper most in our minds and actions (Mt 25 v 34-35)
So what are some of the keys to living like this?
Mindful of basics – regular communication and reading of word
Seeking out encouragement and accountability of believers
Never forget that the true source of power and life is God not ourselves or mankind
So turning to the second of these big asks of each of us – secondly God is reminding us that we are to be intimately connected with him, as this is the key to being the light in this world that the Great Commission demands.
So what is it to live a connected life with our wonderful God. Well some of the hallmarks are as follows:
Phil 4:13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength – I don’t know about you but my tendency is to do things in my strength, rather than go to the well of all strength. Well you know what over the years I have found such to be counter productive and it is a constant challenge for me to remember!
2 Tim 1:7 for God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self discipline – Often as Christians we seem to feel timid or worse brow beaten. But as Steve Thomas was urging us on Sunday, we need to see our life, church and mission through God’s eyes and recognise we have “kingdom authority, we are advancing not retreating” and if we remain connected to the vine we will be successful.
1 Thes 5:17 be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Mother Theresa said “Let us always meet each other with a smile, for the smile is the beginning of love”
This is so true. A smile and indeed love is so powerful and as a people who want to change the world for God we need to see through Jesus’ eyes of compassion and act out of his love.
1 Jhn 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus, his son, purifies us from all sin. To walk in the light we need to be connected to the ultimate source of light, or we may shine our not Jesu’s light into the world.
Mt 25 Come you who are blessed by my father .. For I was hungry and you invited me in, I was thirsty you gave me something to eat .. For whatever you did for the least of these you did for me”. Compassion is innate in some people; but for most of us we have to look to Jesus first before we truly are compassionate for those around us. I truly believe without this connection, then susstaining any compassionate work will be very hard if not impossible.
So what are some of the keys to living this way?
As Steve Thomas reminded us last Sunday – just keep it simple pray for others, read bible, thank Jesus for blessigs and put your tiny hand in his big hand daily. Don’t worry about the length of each of these but make it part of the rhythm of your life – in essence be as connected as you can be all the time.
Don’t be a lone ranger – seek out fellow brethren and draw on their encouragemen. Be open to being accountable to them and be open to their wisdom and perspective.
As I mentioned earlier if we recognise an all powerful God - as it says in Psalm 121 “My help comes from the Maker of Heaven and Earth”, then surely to avoid this resource and turn to others or ourselves is both foolish, as well as un biblical. So lets simply stop doing it I shout to myself!

5. Final Thoughts A Call to be Holy
Build relationship with and enlist help of God:
Frustration and bitterness over issues distances us from God.
Surrender to God (in contrast) frees us from pride, envy, fear and resentment
Willing to let go past – completely
What you cling to controls you – money, power, control ...
Forgiveness (just as Christ forgave you) is the true healer (Eph 4:32)
God’s plans for you are better than you can ever imagine (Joel 2:25)
So turning to some final thoughts.
The foundation of responding to God’s call to be Holy is to be routed with him. We need to intentionally .. Yes I say intentionally, build connectedeness, a real relationship with God and enlist his help. We must throw off any sense of frustration with or bitterness with issues and or our failures (be they emotional or physical) as they tend to distance us from God. We also need to surrender to God as this has the opposite effect that the world thinks; namely its frees us from pride, envy or fear and allows God to truly mould us and change us.
Similarly we need to not allow the past to be our captive – here I am speaking to myself as well as all of you as things like money, power, control often act as heavy weights to keep us pinned to mediocrity rather than the great plans God has for us. Where we have hurts (be it a father who has abandoned us, a partner or friend who has broken a bond of trust, a fellow Christian who ignores us) we need to not stay put with the burden of un forgiveness but set ourselves free and recognise that just as Jesus forgave us we are to do the same for those around us.
I have been challenged recently by my House Group to confront my broken relationship with my Father. I would prefer to ignore it, keep it buried so to speak, but as Dan said to me Jesus loves my Dad – the call is clear less of me and my thoughts, rights, hurts and more Jesus’ compassion. I am not sure where it will end, but the first step has been taken and we shall see where the Lord will take us both.
God has great plans for us, indeed a unique and wonderful purpose for our lives, but without a strong and connected relationship with him and a willingness to throw off the shackles of the past we will find those plans rarely reach their rightful conclusion.
Living a Holy life can at first seem unobtainable; similarly having a connected life with God can seem a burden not something that sets you free. I passionately believe such thoughts are not of God and indeed as I look around me I see many who are on their personal journey towards living out God’s command to be Holy and I believe we should all join in and encourage one another and remember this one thought; namely we are connected to a God who is always on our side.
Lets pray
Lets pray.