167 Sermon Illustrations on Holiness

167 illustrations Page 3 of 4

Holiness in Christian preaching emphasizes purity and separation from sin, reflecting God's perfect nature and Christ's life within believers (1 Peter 1:16). Illustrations often use images of spotless garments, clean vessels, and precious ermine fur to convey the call to live unblemished and wholly devoted lives, guarding against the defilement of worldly influences (Hebrews 12:14).

Clean in A Dirty Place

1 Timothy 5:22

One day a young minister was being escorted through a coal mine. At the entrance of one of the dim passageways, he spied a beautiful white flower growing out of the black earth. “How can it blossom in such purity and radiance in this dirty mine?” the preacher asked. “Throw some coal dust on it and see for yourself,” his guide replied. When he did, he was surprised that the fine, sooty particles slid right off the snowy petals, leaving the plant just as lovely and unstained as before. Its surface was so smooth that the grit and grime could not adhere to it.

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Application

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Our hearts should have the same characteristic. Just as that flower could not control its habitat, so we cannot help it that we have to live in a world filled with evil. But God's grace can keep us so clean and unspotted that though we touch every side, it will not cling to us.

If we want the Lord's full blessing and approval, we must heed the admonition, “...keep thyself pure” (\reference{1 Tim 5:22}{1 Timothy 5:22}). By the cleansing power of His Word and the sanctifying influence of His Holy Spirit, it is possible for the Christian to remain “clean in a dirty place.”

See: 2 Corinthians 7:1; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; 2 Peter 1:4; James 1:27

The TROUBLE LIES DEEPER

A minister who believed that the only solution to the sin problem lay

in the new birth and in the fullness of the Spirit had a clock in his

church that was always either too fast or too slow. He placed a

placard on the wall and on it printed in large letters: "Don't blame

my hands--the trouble lies deeper." ("Choice Illustrations" W.W.

Clay pg. 17)

IN TUNE WITH the INFINITE

The people of London are proud of "Big Ben," which adorns the great

Tower at Westminster and is said to be the largest clock in the

world. English emigrants and visitors to Canada and the United States

are thrilled when they hear "Big Ben' by radio. An English Christian

used to say: "Several times when passing by, I have taken out my

watch, which is less than one-twelfth the size of the end of the pin

that holds the clock hands of `Big Ben,' only to find that its tiny

hands point to exactly the same minute and hour as do the hands of the

giant clock above. So our lives can have a perfection in love that is

in perfect time with the heart of God." ("Choice Illustrations" W.W.

Clay pg. 16)

SANTIFICATION BRINGS SOUL REST

S.A. Keen said that a clock taught us a great spiritual lesson. We

were in a vessel during a violent storm on the Gulf of Mexico. The

ship rolled and lurched. Sometimes it rolled on one side, sometimes

on the other. When the tempest was the fiercest, as we held to a

bracket on the side of the cabin to keep from being bruised by the

lurching of the vessel, we saw at the far end of the cabin a clock.

In every lull in the roar of the storm we could hear its quiet,

regular tick, tick. We could see its hands moving steadily on. As we

looked at the face of the clock, the Holy Spirit said, "This is the

type of the rest which the soul in every storm of life may have. Just

as that clock moves steadily on in spite of the commotion about it, so

by the mighty propulsion of the Holy Spirit's presence within us, our

hearts may be kept in perfect peace." ("Choice Illustrations" W.W.

Clay pg. 16-17)

COMPLETE IN HIS WILL

Colossians 4:12

In Colossians 4:12 there is prayer for believers to “stand...complete in all the will of God.” In commenting on this verse J. Gregory Mantle points out that the word “Complete” is rendered “filled” in the margin. This marginal reading is more accurate because the Greek word pictures a sailing vessel with every inch of sail filled out by the breeze, leaping over the water like a thing of life. It implies that to surrender to Christ's will is not to be towed to our goal by the tug of duty, but like the little vessel, to be in full gale in the will of God.

__________

“Choice Illustrations” by W.W. Clay, p. 17.

Crisis Or Process

Two men were discussing the experiences of the deeper Christian life. One asked, “Is heart holiness a crisis or a process?” The other replied by asking a question: “How did you get from the town where you live to this place?” “I came by train,” was the answer. “And did the train bring you by one sudden jump into this town?” “Oh, no,” he replied. “I kept coming along more and more.” “But when you boarded the train, how did you do it? Was it ‘more and more’?” “No,” said he, “I stepped in all at once.” “Exactly,” said the godly minister; “you stepped in instantly -- that was a crisis; and as you journeyed you kept getting nearer and nearer to your final objective -- that was a process.”

________

Choice Illustrations” W.W. Clay, pp. 18-19

IN GRACE, NOT INTO GRACE

Mrs. Hannah Whithall Smith, in 'The Christians's Secret of a Happy

Life,' tells that she was once pressing upon a company of Christians

the duty and privilege of an immediate and definite step into the

promised land of holiness when a lady of great intelligence

interuppted her, saying, "I believe in growing into grace." Mrs.

Smith asked her: "Just how long have you been growing into this

experience?" "About twenty-five years," was the lady's answer. "And

how much more worthy and devoted to your Lord are you now than when

you began?" Persisted Mrs. Smith. And the lady sorrowfully

confessed, "I fear I am not nearly so much so now as I was then." (

"Choice Illustrations" W.W. Clay pg. 19)

Living Where the Music Is

Dr. Archibald Brown, a noted English evangelist of a generation ago, often preached a wonderful sermon on the text, “When the burnt offering began, the song of the Lord began also.” He would point out that it was true not only of the Temple economy, but of the sanctified life. It is only when everything is laid upon the altar of consecration to Jesus Christ that the fullness of joy will fill the heart and break out in thanksgiving and praise to God.

Dr. Brown preached this sermon in one of our large cities. He was to leave for another meeting the next day. As he stepped onto the station platform he was met by a smiling porter who greeted him with the striking statement. “Dr. Brown, I live in the country where the music is.” Dr. Brown did not at first get the connection and in amazement said, “My friend, I do not understand you.” Then the porter said: “I was in your church service last night. I heard you preach from that beautiful text about the song of the Lord. I want to say that I know all about it, for I live on the hilltop where the music is.”

__________

“Choice Illustrations,” W. W. Clay, pg. 19-20

A PENTECOSTAL THUNDERSTORM NEEDED

Dr. G. D. Watson was riding with a friend who asked him to explain the

nature of perfect love. Dr. Watson asked him, "Do you see the

sunshine today? What hinders the sunshine from being perfect?" The

friend replied, "It would be perfect but for the dust and smoke of the

city." "Exactly," said Dr. Watson, "but there is no dust and smoke in

the sun. These arise from the city into the atomosphere where the

sunshine and smoke are existing together, though not amalgamated. Now

if a heavy rain should cleanse the air from this impurity, you would

have sunshine filling the air, and without the dust and smoke it would

be perfect sunshine.

"Now," said Dr. Watson, "when you were converted, God put His love

into your heart. But have you not had much dust and smoke in your

experience?" And the friend sadly acknowledged that this had been the

case. Said Dr. Watson, "But where did the spiritual dust and smoke

come from?" The man answered, "Not from God but from my own heart."

"Then," said Dr. Watson, "if you were to have a Pentecostal

thunderstorm to wash the dust and smoke out of your nature, the same

love you received in regeneration would exist in simple and unmixed

state in you; and that would be perfect love." ("Choice

Illustrations" W.W. Clay pg. 20-21)

ALREADY WITHIN

A man once told a minister that he could not swallow what the

preachers called "original sin." Said the preacher: "There's no

occasion for you to swallow it; it's inside you already." ("Choice

Illustrations" W.W. Clay pg. 21)

PERFECT WILL OF GOD

It is said that in the diamond mines of South Africa they often find a

substance that is half charcoal and half diamond. It was intended to

be a diamond, but somewhere nature's chemical processes were

interrupted, and left it partly a cinder and partly a jewel. It

stopped short and will never get into the king's crown. Let us go all

the way, so that when Christ makes up His jewels we will be so

completely in His perfect will that He will be delighted with us.

("Choice Illustrations" W.W. Clay pg. 22)

The WAY TO INWARD PEACE

In one of our large cities lived a dentist who enjoyed the experience

of full salvation, and was a staunch supporter of those who preached

it. A minister was having a tooth filled by this dentist. The cavity

was large, and its treatment had been neglected. Patiently the

dentist cleansed out the decayed matter. As he got near the living

nerves, it became very painful to the patient. In a spirit of jest

the minister said: "Doctor, I came here to get my tooth filled, not to

be tortured." The dentist replied: "And that is what I am going to

do just as soon as I get the carnality out. If I failed to do a

complete job of taking out this impurity, not only would the filling

not stay in, but in a short time your peace would be turned into

pain. And," continued the doctor,"that is why God insists on a

complete cleansing. He is the God of peace, of harmony, and He cannot

fully dwell where there is something that will eventually cause

discord." ("Choice Illustrations" W.W. Clay pg. 22)

The INFLUENCE OF HOLINESS

During the Civil War a small Mississippi steamer was crowded with

Union troops. In its laborious attempt to push its way up the river

it got fastened on a sandbar, and there it bogged down. The crew had

become worried in seeking to free it. The soldiers were impatient,

almost mutinous, at the delay and the heat. While this unhappy

condition was at its worst, one of the larger, magnificent steamers

came sweeping down the river, its great prow cutting the stream into

waves which rolled to either side of it. It swept on past the

stranded steamer without stopping to help. But one of the great waves

it sent out came billowing toward the vessel and lifted it off the

bar. The little steamer started churning, and singing on its way. So

the fullness of the Spirit will put into our lives a spiritual swell

which, as we sweep down through the years, will get under the sorrow,

the burden, and the disabilities of others, and help them to go on.

("Choice Illustrations" W.W. Clay pg. 24)

(untitled)

Romans 6:10

Christ's death on the cross was for the PENALTY of sin; we die to

settle the PRACTICE of sin. (\reference{Romans 6:10-11}{Romans

6:10-11})

Creation shows the Hands of God while Calvary shows His heart!

A Sober, But Sincere Request

Here is a real life commitment to holiness.

Pastor Ed Dobson said in a Sunday morning sermon that he has

written a letter to God, sealed it, and put it in his desk. Its

message says, in effect, "Lord, if ever I might be unfaithful to my

wife and bring disgrace to Your name, take my life before I sin." And

he meant it!

LITTLE GREEN APPLES

A man wanted to see some perfect apples. He was taken for a walk

through the orchard...there were a lot of little green apples on the

trees. After returning he said, "You were going to show me some

perfect apples?" "Oh, but I did," explained the farmer. "Those little

green apples are perfect for there stage of maturity. What you wanted

to see was mature apples." We must not confuse perfection and

maturity. (Source unknown)

Wesley On Refining Plain Christianity

“In one point only our friends at Bristol have been once and again in some danger. They have been in danger of being a little hurt, by reading those that are called Mystic authors. These (Madame Guyon in particular) have abundance of excellent sayings. They have many fine and elegant observations; but in the meantime they are immeasurably wise above that is written. They continually refine upon plain Christianity. But to refine religion is to spoil it. It is the most simple thing that can be conceived: it is only humble, gentle, patient love. It is nothing less and nothing more than this; as it is described in the 13th chapter to the [First] Corinthians. O keep to this! Aim at nothing higher, at nothing else! Let your heart continually burn with humble love.”

John Wesley to Miss Newman, October 23, 1772 (Works XIII, 165-166)

Guard the Conscious Part

"Have we recognized that our body is the temple of the Holy Ghost? If so, we must be careful to keep it undefiled for Him. We have to remember that conscious life, though it is only a tiny bit of our personality, is to be regarded by us as a shrine of the Holy Ghost. He will look after the unconscious part that we know nothing of; but we must see that we guard the conscious part for which we are responsible."

-- Oswald Chambers, from "My Utmost For His Highest"

November 8th, “The Unrivalled Power of Prayer”

Committed Without Reserve Into God's Almighty Hands

George Whitefield wrote: "I can call heaven and earth to witness that when the bishop laid his hands upon me, I gave myself up to be a martyr for Him who hung upon the cross for me. I have thrown myself blindfolded and without reserve into his Almighty Hands."

(see also HolwickID #848)

(untitled)

Many years ago there was a famous negro woman evangelist, Amanda

Smith, who traveled nearly all over the world and enjoyed a fame and

success very few scholarly ministers could match. She reached this

glorious privilege by the road of consecration, and this is the way

she told it: "You must make your consecration complete and you must

make it eternal. No experimenting by temporary consecration will

answer. It must be complete and eternal. I gave everything to God.

All that I had was my black self and my washtub and my washboard, but

I gave all, and the Spirit came and sanctified my soul."

(untitled)

Exodus 28:41

The expression "to fill the hand," used so often in the Hebrew of the

Old Testament and translated consecrate in the Authorized Version, is

a reference to the custom of placing a sacrificial offering in the

hands of the new priest, to symbolize his authority to offer

sacrifices and his consecration to the work of the priesthood. This

suggests to us that the Holy Spirit must give the seeker for entire

sanctification the spiritual conception that he has something to

offer. (To fill the hand in Hebrew -- see \reference{Exodus

28:41}{Exodus 28:41}, \reference{29:9}{Exodus 29:9},

######\reference{2 Chron 29:31}{2 Chronicles 29:31} The Strongs

numbers are 04390 and 03027)

######- The Meaning of Sanctification C.E. Brown 167

(untitled)

The famous Baptist evangelist, Rev. A.B. Earle, prepared a blank book,

which he called his consecration book, and on bended knee slowly and

solemnly wrote in it the following dedication:

This day I make a new consecration of my all to Christ. Jesus, I now

and forever give myself to thee; my soul to be washed in thy blood and

saved in heaven at last; my whole body to be used for thy glory; my

mouth to speak for thee at all times; my eyes to weep over lost

sinners, or to be used for any purpose for thy glory; my feet to carry

me where thou shalt wish me to go; my heart to be burdened for souls

or used for thee anywhere; my intellect to be employed at all times

for thy cause and glory; I give to thee my wife, my children, my

property, all I have, and all that ever shall be mine. I will obey

thee in every known duty.

I then ask for grace to enable me to carry out that vow, and that I

might take nothing from the altar."

######- The above is quoted in "The Meaning of Sanctification"

######by Charles Ewing Brown pp. 182-183

(untitled)

"The essence of consecration is in the sentence, `yield yourselves

unto God.' If you yield yourself, you yield everything else. All the

details are included in the one surrender of yourself. Yield yourself

unto God. Consecration is not to God's service, not to his work, not

to a life of obedience and sacrifice, not to the church, not to the

Christian Endeavor, not to the missionary cause, nor even to the cause

of God. It is to God himself. Yield yourself to God and your work,

your service, your obedience, your sacrifice, your right place and

your alotted duty will all follow in good time. Consecration is the

willingness and the resolution, the purpose to be and to do and to

suffer all God's will. Consecration being a definite transaction and

made once for all does not need to be repeated unless we have failed

to keep it. We consecrate just as we are married. The vow is upon us

and in the force of that vow we walk all of our days." - Dougan

Clark Meaning of Sanctification, Brown 184

(untitled)

For two hundred years saints have sung with captivating melody,

preached with prophetic power, and witnessed with seraphic life to the

glory, the joy, and the power of this uttermost salvation. The gospel

of perfect love and full salvation cannot be destroyed any more than

men can destroy geometry, trignometry, and calculus. Men may forget

these sciences until they have sunk into barbarism, but if ever they

enjoy noble buildings, complicated machinery, and modern civilization

they must revive these sciences; and if the church will ever know, or

wish to know, the glory and the power and the victory of New Testament

Christianity it must revive the gospel of full salvation. - The

Meaning of Sanctification, Charles E. Brown

######p. 189

(untitled)

"I do most joyfully yield myself entirely TO BE THINE.

Therefore this soul which thou hast made in thine own image is placed

wholly in thy hands to do with as seemeth good. This mind shall think

only for thy glory and the promotion of thy cause. This will is thy

will, O God! The spirit within this body is now thine do with it as

thou wilt, in life and death. This body is thy temple forevermore.

These hands shall work only for thee. These eyes to see thy adorable

works and the holy law. This tongue and these lips to speak only

holiness unto the Lord. These ears to hear thy voice alone. These feet

to walk only in thy ways. And all my being is now and forever thine.

In signing my name to this solemn covenant I am aware that I bind

myself to live, act, speak, think,. move, sit, stand up, lie down,

eat, drink, hear, see, feel and whatsoever I do all the days and

nights of my life to do all continually and exclusively to the glory

of God. I must have nothing in my possession or under my control but

such as I can consistently write upon, "Holiness unto the Lord." The

place where I live must be wholly dedicated to God. Every item of

goods or property that is under my control is hereby conveyed fully

over into the hands of God to be used by Him as He will and to be

taken from my stewardship whenever the great Owner wishes, and it is

not my business at all.

She whom I call my wife belongs forevermore to God. Use her as thou

wilt and where thou wilt, and leave her with me, or take her from me,

just as seemeth good to thee and to thy glory. Amen."

######- D.S. Warner Meaning of Sanctification, Brown 179-180

(untitled)

“I go out to preach with two propositions in mind. First, every person ought to give his life to Christ. Second, whether or not anyone else gives Him his life, I will give Him mine.” - Jonathan

Edwards

“To be crucified means, first, the man on the cross is facing only one direction; second, he is not going back; and third, he has no further plans of his own.” - AW Tozer

Consecration is not giving to God, but taking hands off what belongs to God.

Our business is to do the will of God. He will take care of the business.

#13729

Cease From Struggling

E. Stanley Jones has said: “Cease from struggling. Don't try to do this yourself; let Him do it ... You will be tempted to struggle and try instead of relax and trust and receive. When I gave all trying over, simply trusting, I was blessed.... As long as you are trying, you are on the basis of yourself; but the moment you begin to trust, you are on the basis of Christ; He becomes the center, not you.”

-- The Way, 76

(untitled)

"He crucifies the flesh by renouncing it with all his heart, by dying

to its appeal, by having a sincere desire for its removal, and through

a realization that his only hope of deliverance from this sinful

nature is through his complete identification with Christ and His

cross."

######- D. Shelby Corlett

(untitled)

"We see why it is that Christians apply to Christ for

sanctification, &c., almost without success. Their object is

commonly general and undefined, and nothing specific is

presented. Let an individual, on the other hand, who finds

his temper, his appetites, his propensities, or worldly

pursuits, the occasion of falling, take one or more of these

definite objects to Christ, and cast himself, in view of some

definite promise, upon His faithfulness, to have that

particular cause of sin removed; let him thus bring all his

powers and propensities to Christ, and how soon would all his

faculties and susceptibilities be so sweetly and perfectly

subjected to the will of God, that all occasion of stumbling

would be taken away!" - Asa Mahan, Christian Perfection, 153.

(untitled)

Asa Mahan describes his own experience in seeking

sanctification -

"the grand defect in my ministry (was) ... Christ had been

but as one chapter in my system of theology, when He should

have been the sun and center of the system ... for

sanctification, on the other hand, to overcome the 'world, the

flesh, and the devil' I had depended mainly on my own

resolutions. Here was the grand mistake, and the source of all

my bondage under sin. I ought to have looked to Christ for

sanctification, as much as for justification, and for the same

reason ... As my supreme attention was thus fixed upon Christ;

as it became the object of my being to know Him, and be

transformed into His likeness; and as I was perpetually seeking

that Divine illumination by which I might apprehend Him - an

era occurred in my experience, which I have no doubt will ever

be one of the most memorable in my entire past existence. In a

moment of deep and solemn thought, the veil seemed to be

lifted, and I had a vision of the infinite glory and love of

Christ, as manifested in the mysteries of redemption... my

heart melted, and flowed out like water. The heart of stone

was taken away and a heart of love and tenderness assumed its

place. From that time I have desired to 'know nothing but

Jesus Christ and Him crucified." - Christian Perfection 182-3.

Faith

Galatians 2:20

"No greater mistake can be made in regard to holy living," says Isaac

M. See, "than that we do the living." It is not we who live; it is

Christ living in us, and the life which we now live in the flesh we

live by the faith of the Son of God (\reference{Gal 2:20}{Galatians

2:20}). Faith is rest in Another. How many there are who struggle in

their own strength to live worthy of Christ, only to find bitter

disappointment and failure! No, it is Christ that lives in us and

manifests His life through us. This life is by faith in Him who

dwells within."

- H. Orton Wiley, Epistle to Hebrews p. 137-138.

(untitled)

######Holiness

1. Not inability to sin, but ability not to sin.

2. Not freedom from temptation, but power to overcome temptation.

3. Not infallible judgment, but earnest and honest endeavor to follow

the higher wisdom.

4. Not deliverance from infirmities of the flesh, but triumph over all

bodily affliction.

5. Not exemption from conflict, but victory through conflict.

6. Not freedom from liability and falling, but gracious ability to

prevent falling.

7. Not the end of progress, but deliverance from standing still.

What real Christians would not desire the beauty and

blessedness of such a life? - G. Campbell Morgan

LAST THING ON the ALTAR

Dr. C.J. Fowler, noted holiness preacher and for many years head of

the National Holiness Association, was seeking to be sanctified. He

was the pastor of a very fine church and felt that he needed this

experience to please God. He attended a holiness meeting and went to

the altar. God guided him in his consecration, and he laid on God's

altar many things, including a gold-headed cane, and his stovepipe

hat.

After saying amen to all this, he still did not get the witness that

he was sanctified.

Then he asked God if there was anything else he should lay on the

altar. God showed him that he had a professional pride, that there

was in his heart a desire to be known as the pastor of a large church,

and that he loved to have places of prominence in the church. But he

promised God that he would be content to be an unknown, and that God

would have his reputation. Then peace came and he knew he was

sanctified. And God gave to him a field of usefulness wider than he

could ever have attained had he refused to take the despised way of

the Cross. ("Choice Illustrations" W.W. Clay pg.23-24)

(untitled)

"When we consider the nature of God, the will of God, the call of

God, the command of God, the promises of God, the provision of God,

the power of God, and the eternal purposes of God, the inevitable

conclusion is that without holiness we cannot please Him (cf heb

12:14)" - Beacon Hill Commentary

(untitled)

“Every time we say, ‘I believe in the Holy Spirit,’ we mean that we believe that there is a living God able and willing to enter human personality and change it.”

-- J.B. Phillips

“I have learned to place myself before God every day as a vessel to be filled with His Holy Spirit. He has filled me with the blessed assurance that He, as the everlasting God, has guaranteed His own work in me.”

-- Andrew Murray

A man praying at a conference in England for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, said: “O Lord, we can’t hold much, but we can overflow lots.”

-- S.D. Gordan

(untitled)

Acts 2:3

"At Pentecost the Holy Spirit came as He had never come before. The

signs were not new except in their combination and intensity. The

Wind and the Fire and the Tongues had all been associated with the

gift of the Spirit, but they were now intensified, enlarged, and

distributed to a community of believers. There was a sense of

overflowing fullness. Something had happened in the cosmic order that

sent forth the Spirit of God in larger measure, with new powers and

enlarged opportunities. He was the gift of God to His Son, and the

gift of His Son to the world." - Samuel Chadwick, The Way to

Pentecost, 24. See: \reference{Acts 2:3}{Acts 2:3}

(untitled)

The city of Arequipa in southern Peru obtained their name through a

misunderstanding. Diego de Almagro, the first white man who visited

it in 1537, pointed to the ground and inquired the name of the

locality. The natives thought that he was asking permission to sit

down and they courteously replied "Arequipa" meaning "Yes, you may

rest here."

Lady Maxwell

"I rest in Him; I dwell in Him. Sinking into Him I lose myself, and

prove a life of fellowship with deity so divinely sweet I would not

relinquish it for a thousands worlds ... When I look back, I rejoice

to see what I am saved from; when I look forward, it is all pure

expanse of unbounded love. Surely the heaven of heavens is love."

######- Lady Maxwell (Quoted in Wiley's Epistle to Hebrews p.121)

(untitled)

Hebrews 4:9

######The "REST of Faith" \reference{Hebrews 4:9-10}{Hebrews

4:9-10}

1. It is not the Sabbath Rest - but God blesses and sanctifies the

######totally committed soul! He dwells here and desires our worship

######and reverence.

2. It is not the Creation Rest - but as God rested in His perfect

######work, so He wants to complete and perfect us! * Expositors

3. It is not the Canaan Rest - but God wants us to rest in the Canaan

######land of perfect love. A type of heart holiness!

4. It is the Rest of Faith -- when we cease from our own works (4:10)

######and surrender (4:11) by faith to His perfect Will!

######- Wayne Steury

(untitled)

When all our powers are harmonized, each with each, and all with God,

the souls enters upon a condition of undisturbed rest which is beyond

the reach of doubt and fear. Among the many characteristics of the

spirit-filled life there is none more marked than this feeling of rest

which is developed in our personal consciousness.

######- New Testament Holiness, Thomas Cook p. 88

(untitled)

"If the Church is to rise to its fullest stature in God, if it is to enjoy the abundant life, if it is to meet all foes in the spirit of triumph, it must rely, not upon its numbers or skills, but upon the power of the Holy Spirit."

######- Authur J. Moore

NOT THINGS BUT OURSELVES

Consecration that brings the Holy Spirit in His fullness into our

hearts is not the surrender of things. True, we may have to itemize

things to be sure we have made the consecration that God wants. But

true consecration is yielding ourselves for time and eternity to His

will.

At the close of a sermon on the Holy Spirit, Dr. Torrey was asked by

the pastor to pray with their church visitor that she might receive

this baptism. She was an excellent worker and the pastor told Dr.

Torrey that their church had lost instead of gained by their splendid

visitor's receiving the Holy Spirit. Dr. Torrey expressed surprise and

the pastor explained, "She has gone as a foreign missionary."

("Choice Illustrations" W.W. Clay pg. 23)

Play His Music Even In the Dark

Once when the Cleveland Symphony was performing “The Magic Flute” by Mozart, an electrical storm caused the lights to go out. Undaunted by the difficulties, the members of the orchestra knew the music so well that they completed the performance in the dark. At the end of the performance, the audience burst into thunderous applause.

It is much the same way in the spiritual realm. If you know the Master, you can play His music even in the dark. Putting the principles into practice, you can live a holy life on a sin-stained planet. You can live a moral life in an immoral world.

________

The Deacon, September, 1996, “Being Moral in an Immoral World,” p. 9

Higher Ground

1. I’m pressing on the upward way,

New heights I’m gaining ev’ry day –

Still praying as I’m onward bound,

“Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.”

Chorus

Lord, lift me up and let me stand

By faith on heaven’s tableland;

A higher plane than I have found –

Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.

2. My heart has no desire to stay

Where doubts arise and fears dismay;

Tho’ some may dwell where these abound,

My pray’r, my aim, is higher ground.

3. I want to live above the world,

Tho’ Satan’s darts at me are hurled;

For faith has caught the joyful sound,

The song of saints on higher ground.

4. I want to scale the utmost height

And catch a gleam of glory bright;

But still I’ll pray till heav’n I’ve found,

“Lord, lead me on to higher ground.”

[Tune “Higher Ground”]

Try Not To Sin Very Much

"One day as I was reading the second chapter of 1 John, I realized that my personal life's objective regarding holiness was less than that of John's. He was saying, in effect, 'Make it your aim [not] to sin.' As I thought about this, I realized that deep within my heart my real aim was not to sin 'very much' - can you imagine a soldier going into battle with the aim of 'not getting hit very much?'"

________

Jerry Bridges, "The Pursuit of Holiness" (Colorado Springs,

CO: Nav Press, 1978), 96.

The Cleanup Imperative

Isaiah 52:11

If you don't like to wash your hands, don't ever become a doctor or a nurse. I mean, you have to wash your hands a lot! Scrubbing up is routine procedure for people in the medical profession. I don't think any of us wants to be opened up by some doc who hasn't washed his hands all day! Actually, a loved one of ours had major heart surgery a few years ago - which she made it through. What she didn't make it through was the staph infection she picked up in the hospital. It's avoiding that kind of thing that is at the heart of a hospital's insistence that healers and caregivers get really clean before they touch you. If they carry infection, they can do a lot of damage.

Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “The Cleanup Imperative.”

It isn't just doctors and nurses that have to be clean for what they do. It's a requirement God makes of anyone He's going to use to do His work on earth - from teaching a class to working in ministry, to raising a family in His ways.

Listen to His uncompromising words, for example, in Isaiah 52:11, our word for today from the Word of God. “Depart, depart, go out from there! Touch no unclean thing! Come out from it and be pure, you who carry the vessels of the Lord.” When you're doing anything for God, you're touching the holy, whether you realize it or not. And you'd better not be handling the holy with dirty hands, with a dirty mind, a dirty motive, or a dirty attitude. God says, “Get rid of that infectious junk! You're carrying the 'vessels' of Almighty God!”

No one serving the holy, holy, holy God should dare to do it without “scrubbing up” on a regular basis - knowing that we get polluted some each day. When you're dealing with holy things day after day, frankly it's easy - but deadly - to become casual about it. And about sin that you're allowing to creep into your life. But the judgment is greater for those who know what you know. Who bring infection into the spiritual “hospital” where He is trying to heal lives.

In 2 Timothy 2:20-21, Paul makes very clear what God is looking for when He decides who He's going to use for great things. He describes a house with gold and silver vessels - which are used for special things - and with wood and clay vessels, which are used for dirty and gross things. He concludes, “If a man cleanses himself ... he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master, and prepared to do any good work.”

God isn't impressed with your abilities, with your great resumé, with your connections, your credentials, your cash, your charisma. All He cares about is your character! He's looking for clean! Getting rid of the dirt, staying clean - that's how you qualify to be an instrument in the hands of Almighty God.

Maybe you've let your hands, your mind, your spirit get dirty. You've gotten careless about the sin that killed your Savior. Don't defile the work of a holy, holy, holy God. Bow before Him. Let Him forgive you, cleanse you, and purify you again. He has great work for you to do, many lives for you to touch with His healing love. But only if you're clean.

________________

[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #15410]

A Prayer For Circumstances

Teach me, O God, to use all the circumstances of my life today

that they may bring forth in me the fruits of holiness rather

than the fruits of sin.

Let me use disappointment as material for patience:

Let me use success as material for thankfulness:

Let me use suspense as material for perseverance:

Let me use danger as material for courage:

Let me use reproach as material for longsuffering:

Let me use praise as material for humility:

Let me use pleasures as material for temperance:

Let me use pains as material for endurance.

__________________

John Baillie, A Diary of Private Prayer

Let the Beauty of Jesus Be Seen In Me

Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me —

All His wonderful passion and purity!

O Thou Spirit divine,

All my nature refine,

Till the beauty of Jesus be seen in me.

Comfort In the Pigpen

In our quest to reach people for Christ, we must caution ourselves to never compromise the gospel's standards in order to accommodate those people who are not interested in repentance. Billy Graham's sentiments on this concern are most appropriate: "We are dangerously near to saying to the prodigal son, 'It is not necessary to return to your father and home; we can make you comfortable in the pigpen.'"

Quotes On Religion & Holiness

Acts 7:30

“It is well to have specifically holy places, and things, and days, for, without these focal points or reminders, the belief that all is holy and 'big with God' will soon dwindle into a mere sentiment. But if these holy places, things, and days cease to remind us, if they obliterate our awareness that all ground is holy and every bush (could we but perceive it) a Burning Bush, then the hallows begin to do harm. Hence both the necessity, and the perennial danger, of 'religion'.”

-- C. S. Lewis, Letters to Malcolm,

quoted in Christian Quotations of the Day (CQOD), editor Robert M. Adams

“Let your religion be less of a theory and more of a love affair.”

-- Gilbert K. Chesterton, in BrainyQuote.com

"The more I study religions, the more I am convinced that man never worshipped anything but himself."

-- Richard Burton, English explorer, in BrainyQuote.com

“Holiness does not consist in mystic speculations, enthusiastic fervours, or uncommanded austerities; it consists in thinking as God thinks, and willing as God wills.”

-- John Brown, Nineteenth-century Scottish theologian,

quoted in J. Bridges, The Pursuit of Holiness, p. 51.

“The mark of a saint is not perfection, but consecration. A saint is not a man without faults, but a man who has given himself without reserve to God.”

-- W. T. Richardson

“A faith that has not changed your life has not saved your soul."

“If your religion does not change you, then you should change your religion.”

-- Bob Jones, Jr.

"According to [Jonathan] Edwards, while all these things [loving the church, an increase in joy, etc.] may be evidences of true Christian growth, the only certain observable sign of such growth is a life of increasing holiness, rooted in Christian self-denial."

-- Mark Dever, NINE MARKS OF A HEALTHY CHURCH

Sanctified Wholly

by Aaron Hills

Sanctification is a work of God that cleanses the body, soul, and spirit from sin and makes us holy.

The Reason for Our Hope

by Aaron Hills

We have a sublime hope of being sanctified and holy through the plan of God, which He has provided for us through Jesus Christ.

The Second Blessing in Experience, in Theology and in Scripture

by Aaron Hills

The sermon emphasizes the importance of the second blessing in Christian experience, theology, and scripture, advocating for entire sanctification as a vital aspect of faith.

What This Pentecostal Blessing Is Which People Are Rejecting, and How It May Be Obtained

by Aaron Hills

The sermon emphasizes the importance of holiness and sanctification, and provides a call to action for believers to seek the Pentecostal blessing.

Ye Are the Salt of the Earth 1:15:28

by Aaron Hurst

We are called to be the salt of the earth, preserving and adding flavor to the world, and to be the light of the world, shining brightly for all to see and glorifying God.

2 Corinthians Chapter 7 Paul's Testimony About Holiness

by A.B. Simpson

The sermon emphasizes the importance of separation from evil association, cleansing, perfecting of holiness, indwelling of God, living as the children of God, and enlargement in th

Christian Life in Thessalonians

by A.B. Simpson

The sermon emphasizes the importance of living a life of holiness, faith, love, joy, cheer, and prayer, as taught in the epistles of Thessalonians.

Confess Over Him All the Iniquities of the Children of Israel

by A.B. Simpson

Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can lay our sin on Jesus, experience separation from evil, and be consumed by His holy fire.

I the Lord, the First, and With the Last

by A.B. Simpson

The sermon emphasizes the importance of knowing Christ as a living Person rather than depending on experiences or a static condition of sanctification.

Paul's Testimony About Holiness

by A.B. Simpson

A.B. Simpson emphasizes the importance of holiness through separation from evil, cleansing, and the indwelling presence of God in the believer's life.

Preserved Blameless

by A.B. Simpson

A.B. Simpson's sermon emphasizes God's promises and provisions for preserving believers blameless through faith and obedience.

The God of Israel Hath Separated You

by A.B. Simpson

True separation from the world is not just abstaining from certain things, but being separated from the love of the world in our hearts.

2000+ Bible IllustrationsVarious
Illustrations and MeditationsF.B. Meyer
New Cyclopaedia of Prose IllustrationsElon Foster
Cyclopaedia of Moral and Religious AnecdotesKazlitt Arvine
625 New Bible Stories and IllustrationsGeorge Noble
C.H. Spurgeon AnecdotesC.H. Spurgeon
Feathers for ArrowsC.H. Spurgeon
Barbed Arrows from the Quiver of C.H. SpurgeonC.H. Spurgeon
Cyclopedia of Illustrations for Public SpeakersRobert Scott and William C. Stiles
Kerux Sermon and Illustration Databasecompiled by Rev. David Holwick

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