WORSHIP THE LORD IN THE BEAUTY OF HOLINESS
1 Chronicles 16:29, “Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.”
Introduction:
We will worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness today. For he says in Habakkuk 1:3a, “Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity:” God cannot stand sin in His presence. No sinner will go to heaven without holiness.
God has put holiness as the requirement for entrance into His presence. That holiness comes by trusting Jesus Christ as Saviour. Let’s look at God’s holiness for a few minutes.
I. FOR WHO IN THE HEAVEN CAN BE COMPARED UNTO THE LORD?
Psalm 89:6, “For who in the heaven can be compared unto the LORD? who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the LORD?”
A. God is greatly to be feared, Psalm 89:7, “God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him.”
B. He is to be held in reverence, Hebrews 12:28-29, “Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: 29For our God is a consuming fire.”
II. THY MERCY IS GREAT ABOVE THE HEAVENS
Psalm 108:3, “For thy mercy is great above the heavens: and thy truth reacheth unto the clouds,”
A. Great is thy mercy toward me, Psalm 86:13, “For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.”
B. Through His mercy the Lord will perfect us, Psalm 138:8, “The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.”
1. God will not give up on us, Philippians 1:6, “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:”
2. The Lord will lead us in paths that we have not known, Isaiah 42:16, “And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.”
III. HIS NAME ALONE IS EXALTED
Psalm 148:13, “Let them praise the name of the LORD: for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven.”
A. Be still and know the Lord, Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.”
B. Jesus is exalted at the Father’s right hand, Acts 2:33, “Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.”
C. The Father is to be exalted in our lives, Isaiah 30:18, “And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.”
IV. HOLY, HOLY, HOLY, IS THE LORD
Isaiah 6:3, “And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.”
A. Be ye holy in all manner of conversation, 1 Peter 1:15-16, “But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; 16Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.”
1. That ye would walk worthy of God, 1 Thessalonians 2:12, “That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.”
2. God hath not called us unto uncleanness, 1 Thessalonians 4:7, “For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.”
3. Without holiness no man will see God, Hebrews 12:14, “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:”
B. Set yourselves apart, Leviticus 20:7-8, “Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God. 8And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am the LORD which sanctify you.”
1. God has chosen us to be holy and blameless before Him, Ephesians 1:4, “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:”
2. He has chosen us to be conformed to the image of His Son, Romans 8:29, “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.”
3. He has chosen us to be “rooted and grounded in love,” Ephesians 3:17, “That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,”
4. He has chosen us to be “new creatures,” 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
CONCLUSION
The holiness of God demands that we be a holy people. That is what God said through the Apostle Peter in 1 Peter 1:16, “Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.” We are to strive to live clean lives before the world in order to EXALT our God and Saviour.