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BACKGROUND
DEFINITION OF TERMS
HOLINESS
SANCTIFICATION
HOLINESS, HOLY, SAINTS.
The
full background to this teaching is available online at this link
DETAILED DEFINITION OF TERMS
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Online links to scriptures (New International Version [NIV] unless otherwise stated) are shown in blue
| ENTERING THE HOLY OF HOLIES
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 There are twin keys to understanding holiness to be found in the Holy of Holies.
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| THE WAY IN: Day of Atonement: |
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 Entrance to the Holy of Holies was restricted to the High Priest, once a year, upon the Day of Atonement. On this day he sought and received forgiveness for the sins of all the people of Israel. However, he was not able to go straight in and do it! For to enter into the very presence of God, he had to be pure himself. Remember God cannot live in the presence of sin. So, before entering, the High Priest humbled himself by taking off his grand robes in front of the people, highly humbling, before putting on a plain white, simple, linen (symbolic of righteousness) garment, more like an undershirt than the magnificent clothing he usually wore. Then he went to the Brazen Altar and offered a sacrifice for his own sins, before daring to enter God's presence. Once he had made this sacrifice for himself, he was able to do so for the Israelites.
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 There are three lessons for us here. Firstly, to enter God's presence we must humble ourselves by stripping away those parts of our life that are displeasing to God. Humility is not, as many imagine, putting oneself down as being of no consequence, but recognising that God's way is best every time.
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 Secondly, this humility leads to righteousness, to being a servant to the Father and others, as Jesus was.
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 Finally, we must understand that we cannot do this in our own power. For without coming through the ultimate act of grace provided by the sacrifice of Jesus, as represented by the Brazen Altar, we simply wont make it. For no matter how hard we try, we will never attain holiness through our own efforts. Many try. Good works are not enough. All sin must go and that can only happen through the forgiveness of the Cross. The High Priest had to make a sacrifice for himself before entering into God's presence.
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| THE RESULT |
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 The Ark of the Covenant contained three items that today, give us a picture of what true holiness really is. For unless these items represented holiness, they could not have existed in the Ark itself, for God's presence dwelt there.
Each item relates to an article of furniture in the Holy Place, illustrating the difference between living in the realm of the Holy Spirit, where Spirit filled believers dwell, and the holiness that the Father desires for each of us.
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| Jar of Manna: |
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 Six days a week, God supernaturally provided manna, basically an ingredient with which the Jews could make a form of bread. A small, round, like coriander seed when it fell, the manna looked like hoarfrost on the ground and tasted like wafers made with honey. It could be ground in mills or beaten in a mortar to make flour that could be baked or boiled. On Friday a double quantity fell, which remained usable for the Sabbath the next day. The other days, it would become infested with worms within 24 hours.
As we have seen earlier, bread is symbolic of the Word of God. In the Outer Court, at the Washing Basin, we understand the words 'written on the page'. In the Holy Place, the revelation is of the words 'between the lines'. Yet, like the 12 loaves of bread, we need to keep topping up with reading the Bible daily, or we will lose what we have.
However, in the Holy of Holies our lives become the 'living word', where the Word, like the manna, is supernaturally growing within us on an ongoing basis. The Word, and we become one. This is holiness.
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| Aaron's Rod: |
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 The Budded Staff grew fruit supernaturally. With this staff, God confirmed to His people that the Levites were His chosen priesthood. Of course, today we are all to be priests and are given Spiritual Gifts as God decides and provides. The rods used by Moses and Aaron were symbolic of God's authority and power. But what did Aaron's Rod grow? It grew fruit. For it is the Fruit of the Spirit that represent holiness, not the Gifts.
The Lampstand, to which the Budded Staff relates, had to be topped up with oil and its wick trimmed on an ongoing basis. It is the same with the Holy Spirit and us. We need regular 'top ups' of the Holy Spirit or else we will drift away as the Spirit leaks from us. This is simply spiritual reality! But the more we submit to the Spirit's leading, the greater His power and presence will be within. So too, will our gifts be greater, for we will be able to be trusted with more.
Spirit filled Christians spend a lot of time praying for more gifts, but Aaron's Rod illustrates that in order to get greater gifts, we need first to develop bigger and tastier fruit in our lives. For it is fruit that brings holiness, while the gifts reflect and enhance the witness of the fruit in our life. So instead of asking for more gifts, we should be developing the fruits of character.
As we mature into Christ-likeness in the Holy of Holies, so we can be entrusted with greater Spiritual gifts. This is holiness.
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| Tablets of the Law: |
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 Contrary to popular belief, each tablet contained all 10 Commandments, written on the front and back of each tablet. They represented God's 'covenant' with His people. A covenant is similar, but not identical, to a contract today. When we buy and sell a house, there are two copies of the contract, one for the seller and another for the buyer. In this case, God and mankind's copies were both kept in the same place - inside the Ark.
Moses broke the original copies, supplied and written on by God.
Exodus 32:15-19
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 The destruction of the tablets was not simply a voluntary act of Moses, as sin cannot live in the presence of a holy God. It had to happen, for the tablets represented God!
The second set however was provided by Moses and written on by God.
(Picture 'The Adoration of the Golden Calf' Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665) - National Gallery, London.)
Exodus 34:1-2
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 When Moses came down the mountain the second time, the people were still not perfect, but as the tablets were now a combination of both God and man, they did not need to be broken this time.
So here we have a picture of man, represented by the tablets, being perfected, written on, by God. As we allow our behaviour to be molded to God's perfection, as symbolized by the 10 Commandments, so we have a picture of holiness, ultimately resulting in perfection.
John Wesley believed perfection was possible in this life through the grace of Jesus, as a gift from God.
(Moses and the tablets - a portrait by Guy Rowe)
Daniel 12:9-10
Others believe that perfection cannot fully be attained until the life to come. Putting aside this argument, it is clear that holiness comes as we move towards living a sin free life. This is holiness.
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| SUMMARY |
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 As we move on from the Holy Place and into the Holy of Holies, our character must change. Sin must decrease in our lives, in order that we might grow more and more into the likeness of Jesus.
As we develop into the 'living word', our Christ-likeness enables us to be trusted with greater spiritual gifts. As we move towards living a sin free life, so we are participating in the process of attaining holiness. Holiness is not an instantaneous event, but a challenging lifetime process, to be approached one step at a time.
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| <i>NEXT WEEK</i>
A REVELATION OF……. THE WAY OF HOLINESS
PART 4 OF 9
<b>PARABLE OF THE SOWER</b> |
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 The Parable of the Sower too, points the way to holiness. In fact, most of the teaching of Jesus does, one way or another, particularly the parables.
A short, summarised teaching of the full version elsewhere.
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| A NOTE FROM DAVID |
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 How I long to live in the Lord's presence in the Holy of Holies, experientially as well as positionally! As I submit more of my life to Him, so I discover more about the wonder of His holiness. May we all be prepared to make the sacrifice, for the reward is heavenly!
RIVER JORDAN
- The Jordan River starts in northern Israel at the foot of Mount Hermon, more than 1,500 feet above sea level, and ends almost 1,400 feet below sea level at the Dead Sea.
- The Jordan River meanders 200 miles from Mount Hermon to the Dead Sea (a straight distance of 90 miles).
- The Jordan flows through the Great Rift Valley, the largest cut in the earth’s crust. The Rift Valley extends all the way to Lake Victoria in southern Africa.
- The Jordan River received its name from a Hebrew word meaning “to descend, to go down.” The river descends from the slopes of Mount Hermon to the Dead Sea.
- The Jordan is one of the fastest-flowing rivers for its size in the world.
- The Jordan is only fifty to seventy-five feet across in most places.
- Today, the Jordan has been dammed up where it runs out of the Sea of Galilee in order to meet the state of Israel’s water needs.
Source: http://www.followtherabbi.com
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So until next week.......
MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND YOU BLESS GOD!
His servant and yours
Learn more about us at...
www.wwj.org.nz/about.php
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A DAVID'S DOODLING
1003. Holiness comes, as we let the hold on our lives, go.
David Tait
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Check
out the WWJ website for….
More David's Doodlings: www.wwj.org.nz/dd.php
Waxing Lyrical: http://www.wwj.org.nz/waxing.php
If Only I'd Thought of it: http://www.wwj.org.nz/thought.php
Laughing at Ourselves: http://www.wwj.org.nz/laugh.php
A look at some of lifes curious questions: http://www.wwj.org.nz/why.php
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