HUNGRY TO BE HOLY - Gary Wilkerson July 29, 2011

M

mama27 Jul 29, 2011

FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2011

HUNGRY TO BE HOLY
by Gary Wilkerson

There was a young Scottish pastor, Robert Murray McCheyne who died at 29.
Before his passing he brought a great awakening to his church. This week I read
a quote from this man of God, he said, “The greatest need of my people is my
own holiness.”

We have a plethora of eloquent preachers, an over abundance of charismatic
personalities, more than sufficient number of high profile leaders. What we are
in want of are holy men of God. People need to see more than ministry skill from
their leaders; they need to see a godly heart.

A pastor cannot take his congregation into the depths of Christ any further
than he has gone first himself.

What’s the outcome of a church that has astonishing programs, brilliant
leadership, edge of the seat presentations and state of the art building but
has no vision at its core to be a holy people? What good can come from engaging
speakers conducting entertaining events if that leader is not a man desiring to
bow in brokenness and humbly recognize how estranged he and his congregation
are from a holy and awesome God?

Our churches are often full of frivolity and we know it but it is not changed
because leaders tolerate it rather than grieve over it. The situation in the
church is simply a reflection of the reality that is within the pastor’s
heart. The light pouring from a single broken vessel far outshines the
productions of a thousand religious entertainers. Paul said you have many
tutors but few fathers. Today he might have said you have many church experts
but few holy men.

R.M. McCheyne’s word is more necessary today than when he first spoke this to
a compromised, liberal, nominalist church in Scotland. But not just his words
but his example, the power of his pulpit and the effect of his ministry
empowered his words. His word contained power behind a life that contained
purity.

Are you hungry to be a holy man or woman of God? There is only one way to see
this happen. It is to lay down both human efforts to strive at your own
righteousness and be fully cloaked with the garments of Christ and to simply
receive the finished work of Jesus on the cross.

This holiness is far more than self-willed negating of sin; it is an absolute
surrender to Christ who releases a great and glorious passion for holiness. I
don’t want to spend my life trying to wrestle with my old man. I want to see
Christ form in me the fullness of the new man he has created.

sermonindex Jul 29, 2011

Quote: "A pastor cannot take his congregation into the depths of Christ any further than he has gone first himself."

This is something that I've heard for most of my saved life and have found it to be very true.

I 'had' a fantastic Pastor and leadership, and with their wives as well, until I moved 100's of miles away.

It's up to us to crave this love and passion for Christ, alone.

Coincidently, these verses have been Sis Star's signature as well ~

"If so be that ye have heard Him, and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that "ye put off" concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that "ye put on" the new man, which after GOD is created in righteousness and true holiness.

Eph 4:21-24

LORD Bless you MaMa!!!

S

snowhank Jul 31, 2011

thank you brother for sharing that refreshing word im at the place in my life that above all things in my life i want to be holy before my heavenly father im going to allow the holy spirit to help me grasp this truth and apply it to my life daily regards your brother gary teeters

sermonindex Jul 31, 2011

Amen, Brother Gary. I believe it's ALL about Love. I feel it's all summed up in Phil 3:7-14.

I saw that movie "Braveheart" when it first came out on VCR tapes and all I remember of it was when they were killing him slowly on that table and he had this vision of his wife who was killed earlier and he smiled, despite what they were doing to him. That's the epitome of the world's view of love and it pales in comparison to what our love could be for Him. That our heart's cry should be "that I might KNOW Him" to that point where we're willing to suffer anything for that to happen. Physical pain, hunger, persecution, suffering, anything to love Him anywhere as much as "man loves woman and woman loves man" in some of these dramatic movies. That "mystical" side to our relationship with Him, where we feel as if we've 'seen' Him and the love is so intense that we could almost say that it actually 'hurts' to love that much. The most wonderful 'hurt' that ever was or will be. I just can't see living "a life" without that type of love. We can't "die to self" without that experiential type of love. Where loving Him and wanting to Know Him more and more causes us to go to whatever extreme a lover would go to, in order to be in His presence while we're yet alive. It shouldn't be about anything else but love. As much as I stand for the acedemics of His Word - it has been that mystical union with Him - that true definition of "knowing" Him, as the marital union that has gotten me through and what gives that desire to please Him by what He's written.
Anything less than Love as a motivator is cheap grace and only religion of some sort. Love costs everything. I get upset when I see people glorifying human love relationships when I know how much HE loves us and what His Love for us cost Him, yet, the way extreme love between humans is portrayed in movies puts what we'll do for Him to shame.
We can't walk this walk without that love that Paul says that only suffering produces - that we might Know Him.
Braveheart has nothing on Him nor on the love His Bride has for Him. It's even the more sacrificial than any movie portrays of what "love" is. Regardless of how many mystical or revelatory experiences we've had with Him, we want to go deeper still, because if Paul could say what he did in those verses of Phil 3, who are we? Have we given or experienced as much as Paul did? Have we been to the third heaven and heard things that we can't repeat or been physically persecuted as much as he was or gained such wisdom as he was shown? We need Phil 3:7-14 desperately to be our daily prayer in order to love Him more and have extreme love to be the Only reason for every breath we take and every move we make. We're His Bride and we need to truly Know and see our Bridegroom, for any of this of what we read, hear or write to make any sense at all. And it must be a progressive "knowing" that creates that progressive loving. That type of love that's selfless is the path to our dying to self as He did.
Amen Brother - "that we might Know Him."
Pray one for another, and see you with Him, one fine Day.