All right, so 1 Kings, I'll keep you there in Chapter 8,
but if you would, go over to 1 John, Chapter 5.
Keep a bookmark there in 1 Kings.
We'll be back, but go over to 1 John, Chapter 5.
I want to preach a sermon this morning entitled
Holiness Before Happiness, Holiness Before Happiness.
And, you know, of course, we as Christians,
we desire to, like anybody, live a happy life,
to be people that have joy and happiness in our lives,
but we have to understand that holiness
holiness always comes before our happiness.
If you come to a place in your life
where you have to make a decision
that's either gonna make you holy
or it's gonna make you happy,
you have to go with the holy,
because holiness is what's required, okay?
And if you're there in 1 John, Chapter 5,
if you look there at Verse 3, it says,
For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments,
and his commandments are not grievous.
And there's a tendency in the Christian life
for people to begin to develop this attitude
where they think, oh, you know,
the Christian life is such a drag.
It's so hard, there's all these,
as we read in 1 Kings, there's all these commandments
and statutes and judgments, and, you know,
the church has standards and there's all these rules,
and if we're not careful, we can start to put our happiness
ahead of the fact that we need to be holy first.
And say, well, I'd rather just not have to deal
with all the pressures of the Christian life.
I'd rather not just have to deal with, you know,
keeping these statutes, keeping these judgments,
keeping these commandments,
keep living up to this standard.
You know, I'd be a lot happier
if I could just cast all that off
and just go do my own thing.
And we think that we'd be a lot happier,
but the fact is, you know, in the long run,
you'd actually be more miserable.
You'll never meet a more miserable creature
than the Christian who is backslidden
and out of sorts with God,
no matter how much on the surface
they may look like they're having a good time,
inwardly, they are miserable people
because they know that they're not right with God.
That's why it's always important
to put holiness before happiness.
And never get this attitude of saying,
oh, his commandments are so grievous.
The Bible says his commandments are not grievous.
The things that God requires of us
and asks of us are not grievous things.
Now, they might be grievous to our flesh.
They might be grievous to the spirit that dwells within us
that lusts at the envy.
But, you know, in the long run,
we'll be happier by following God's commandments.
And that's not to say that there isn't happiness
and joy and peace that comes with serving
and living for the Lord.
Obviously, there is.
But we have to make sure we are putting things
in the proper order.
It's holiness before happiness
and not the other way around.
Go back to 1 Kings, chapter number eight,
1 Kings, chapter number eight.
See, holiness comes first because of the fact
that in order to serve God,
you have to acknowledge the fact that he is holy.
We can't just serve God and live ungodly lives.
God's not gonna bless that, okay?
And that's not gonna make us happy.
That's gonna be a person being a double-minded man.
Having one foot in the world and one foot living
for the Lord, that's gonna make you actually miserable, okay?
If you want happiness, then put holiness first.
The happiness will follow.
And to serve God, you have to acknowledge the fact
that he is holy.
And how do you do that?
Well, you know, without trying to sound too formal here,
but it's really through observing his word.
And that's what we saw in 1 Kings, chapter eight,
was actually what?
A religious observance of God's word,
where they're going through and they're doing things
just like the Lord had commanded them.
They're performing the sacrifices that God had commanded them.
The Levites are bringing the ark just as God commanded them.
The things that are supposed to be in the ark, in the ark,
the ark is being put in its rightful place.
Because you remember, before they tried,
when David brought in the ark the first time,
tried to bring the ark back to Jerusalem,
he did it wrong, right?
And he put it on a new cart and Uzzah touched it and he died.
Right, there was a religious observance here
in 1 Kings, chapter eight.
They're doing things according to God's word.
And you notice at the end there, what was the result?
It wasn't just God's presence,
but there was also joy and happiness at the end.
But what came first?
It came the observing of God's word,
doing things the way God wants them done.
If you look there in verse one, it says,
"'Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel
"'and all the heads of the tribes,
"'the chief of the fathers, the children of Israel,
"'unto King Solomon in Jerusalem,
"'that they might bring up the ark
"'of the covenant of the Lord.
"'Out of the city of David, which is Zion,
"'and all the men of Israel assembled themselves
"'into the King Solomon at the feast
"'in the fourth month, Etheneum,
"'which is the seventh month.
"'And all the elders of Israel came,
"'and the priests took up the ark,
"'and they brought up the ark of the Lord
"'and the tabernacle of the congregation,
"'and all the vessels that were in the tabernacle,
"'even those that the priests, the Levite,
"'and the Levites bring up.'"
So again, notice the Bible's taking the time
to explain to us exactly what took place,
because God's trying to get across the fact
that in order to serve God,
you have to do things God's way.
You can't just make up your own way of serving God.
God has a specific way that He wants His people to serve Him.
And here we see it's specifically,
it's the Levites that are bringing up the ark.
It's the Levites that are bringing in
the tabernacle of the congregation.
What are they doing?
They're obeying, okay, they're being obedient.
You have to be obedient.
Go to Hebrews chapter 11, Hebrews chapter 11.
See, a lot of people, they wanna say,
well, I don't wanna obey, I just wanna do my own thing.
That's what's gonna make me happy.
Actually, that's not what's gonna make you happy,
because that's not gonna bring God's blessing on your life.
That's going to actually bring
God's chastening hand in your life.
It's not like God is just gonna let you do whatever you want
and just say, oh, aw shucks,
I guess they don't wanna serve me, and that's too bad,
and you're gonna go suck His thumb in a corner.
No, God's gonna say, oh, you don't wanna serve me?
You don't wanna do things my way?
Let me convince you.
Let me get involved in your life,
and start to work in your life, and you know what?
Him doing that, that chastening, is not pleasant.
It's grievous, is what the Bible tells us in Hebrews 12.
That chastening is grievous.
In order to bring us around to do what?
Be obedient.
And when we're obedient, and we do things
the way God wants things done in our lives,
then we have happiness.
It's not the other way around.
We have to be holy before we are happy.
If you look there in Hebrews chapter 11,
look at verse five.
By faith, Enoch was translated
that he should not see death, and was not found
because God had translated him.
Now was that, did he do that for Enoch?
I mean, that's a pretty cool testimony.
This is a man that never died.
When it says he was translated,
God literally just took him up into heaven, right?
Kinda like Elijah when the chariots came,
and he was just swept up with the fiery chariot.
Never saw death, right?
That's pretty cool, isn't it?
I mean, I'd like to, hey, if that's one way you gotta go,
I wouldn't mind going that way.
You know, not having to deal with the pain of death,
and all the mourning and everything else like that.
You know, it'd be pretty cool if just one day I said,
hey, I'm outta here, and God just beamed me up,
you know, and I took off.
But why was it that Enoch got to have that testimony?
Because it says there, for before his translation,
he had this testimony that he pleased God, right?
He didn't just say, well, you know,
that'd be a cool story to have in the Bible.
I guess Enoch will do.
I'll beam him up, I'll get him outta here,
I'll translate him, and that'll make a cool story.
You know, the reason why he had that cool experience
of being translated is because that he pleased God, right?
He did things the way God wanted them done.
Look at verse six.
But without faith, it is impossible to please him.
For he that cometh to God must believe that he is,
and that he is a rewarder of them
that diligently seek him, that do what?
Do things his way that are obedient, that please him.
Those are the people that God is going to,
you know, give happiness to,
they're gonna give his joy to.
Verse seven, by faith, Noah, being warned of God
of things not seen as yet, moved with fear,
prepared an ark to the saving of his house
by the which he condemned the world,
and became the heir of righteousness which is by faith.
And look, you can go all through Hebrews 11,
and every single person, every single testimony
is a testimony of obedience, of people that obeyed God,
that believed God, and that were obedient to him.
And they had these powerful testimonies.
And if we want that in our lives,
to have a testimony for God, then you have to be obedient.
You have to be holy.
And you can't just put your happiness
before everything else in life.
Your comfort, your happiness, you know,
that takes a back seat to serving God.
That's the way it oughta be.
Well, you're not gonna have this testimony.
You're not gonna have, you know,
you're not going to please him, okay?
Because here's the thing, God chooses how we worship him
and not the other way around.
God says, you know, I'm God,
you're gonna worship me in this order, right?
That's exactly what you saw there in 1 Kings chapter eight,
where they're doing things the way God wanted them done.
Because God, and God wants us to be a holy people.
You know, God doesn't just say, hey,
just worship me however you want,
just do things your own way,
doesn't matter how you're living,
and I'll just bless you anyway.
No, God expects us to be obedient,
to do things the way he wants them to do,
wants them done, and to be a holy people.
If you would, just go over to Hebrews 12,
Hebrews chapter 12, we'll turn you there.
The Bible says in Leviticus 11,
for I am the Lord your God,
you shall therefore sanctify yourselves
and you shall be holy.
For I am holy, neither shall you defile yourselves
in a manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
Of course, Leviticus is giving out
a lot of those dietary laws and everything like that.
And he's saying, you know, one of the things you're gonna do
is you're not gonna eat of these creeping things,
as well as a whole other, you know,
host of other animals that he deemed unclean.
Now, why did he do that?
Did he say, hey, you can't eat of this animal,
but you can eat of this one,
just because there's something inherently wrong
with those animals?
No, because we know today that, you know,
we're at liberty to eat those things,
that he has moved away those ordinances.
Those things have been taken out of the way, okay?
That we're not subject to any of those things anymore.
The reason why he did that was to make a distinction
between his people and the heathen, right?
He was making a distinction, hey, we don't eat those things.
You know, we observe certain things as God's people.
And what was the point of that was to show
that we are separate, that we are sanctified,
that another word for that would be holy unto God.
You know, if we're gonna be God's people,
if we wanna be acknowledged as God's people,
if we want other people around us to look at our lives
and say there's something different about that person,
you know, what is it, you know, what is it, you know,
it's so special about being a Christian,
we have to be separated unto God.
We have to be a holy people unto God.
We can't just choose to live however we want
and then expect God to bless that,
or expect other people to notice a difference
between us and everybody else's life.
Because you know what, if we're not separate,
if we're not holy, if we're not sanctified unto God,
we're gonna have the same problems as the world does.
And I'm not saying that if you live for God,
you're never gonna have any problems,
but you know what, there's gonna be a lot of problems
you don't have that the world has.
You're not gonna deal with the alcoholism
and the divorce and the fornication
and all the other things that the world deals with en masse.
It's just one person after another.
It's just like, that's what they do.
They walk after the vanity of their mind
and they suffer the results.
But if we're gonna be different,
if we want different results, you know what,
then we have to live for God the way He is determined.
We have to say, look, we're gonna have to be holy,
we're gonna have to be sanctified according to God's terms
and not just come to God on our own terms.
He said in verse 45, I'm just reading for you,
He says, for I am the Lord that bringeth you up
out of the land of Egypt to be your God.
Ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.
Saying, look, if you're gonna be my people,
I've redeemed you out of Egypt, I've brought you forth,
you are going to be holy.
Why, because God just likes making things difficult for us?
No, He says, because I'm holy.
He says, you're gonna be my people,
you're gonna represent me on earth,
then you know what, then you need to be a holy people.
You're gonna be holy because I'm holy.
Which tells me this, that holiness is not optional.
It's not something of, well, maybe I'll live a holy life.
Now, I understand it is optional, it's not automatic.
You can choose whether or not you wanna live for God or not.
But if you wanna live a life that's pleasing to the Lord,
if you wanna have a good testimony,
if you don't wanna have the results that the world has,
then holiness is not an option.
And you know what, if you really wanna be happy
in your Christian life, holiness is not optional.
It's not optional.
The Bible says the sacrifice of the wicked
is an abomination to the Lord.
And look, can a Christian live a wicked life?
Sure they can, and we see many examples
of that in scripture.
You can go to heaven, you can be saved,
and still live like the devil while you're on the earth,
because salvation is by grace through faith
and not of works, we all understand that.
But on the other hand, yeah, you can go ahead
and live a wicked life and still go to heaven,
but just understand this, that your prayer
will be an abomination to the Lord.
That's what the Bible says.
It says the sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the
Lord, it goes on and says, he that turneth his ear
from the hearing of the law, even his prayer
shall be an abomination.
You know, we wanna go live some wicked life
and then we're gonna need God's help one day.
You know, we're gonna be backslidden, living in sin,
we're not gonna care about the holiness of God
and we're gonna be living holy lives,
and then we're gonna find ourselves driven to our knees
by some circumstance, by some tragedy,
crying out to God and God's gonna say,
oh, now you wanna talk?
It's been years and you didn't feel like, you know,
I wasn't good enough to talk to you back then,
but all of a sudden you have some big problem.
You know what, God's gonna look down and say,
that prayer is an abomination.
I don't want that said about my prayers.
I don't want that said about my sacrifices,
the things that I do for God,
that God just says it's an abomination to me.
You know, I want God to be pleased with my prayers,
I want them to be heard, I want them to be answered,
I want God to be pleased with the life that I live from,
I want him to be pleased with the sacrifices.
That means I can't be living a wicked life.
That means that holiness is not optional
in a Christian life, it's something that has to be there.
Look there, you're in Hebrews chapter 12, verse 14,
follow peace with all men and holiness.
You know, holiness is something to be pursued,
it's something to be sought after.
I'm not saying we're all gonna reach
some sinless state of perfection.
You know, we're all gonna have to pursue holiness.
And there's a process there of being sanctified,
you know, as we get the sin out, we get the good things in,
you know, people grow in these areas.
That's why you have to follow after these things.
You have to follow peace with all men,
you have to follow what? Holiness.
And it's not optional because the Bible says,
without which no man shall see the Lord.
Now obviously the greater application there
is that you have to be saved in order to see God.
If you're not sanctified through the blood of Christ,
you're not gonna see God.
When the same, in the same way we can apply that
and say, look, without holiness,
you're not gonna have God's attention.
I mean, and let me rephrase that,
you will have God's attention,
it's just not the type of attention you want.
It's just not the way,
you're not gonna be getting the good side of God,
you're gonna be on his bad side.
Go over to 1 Peter chapter number three,
or 1 Peter chapter number one.
The Bible says in Leviticus 19, go to 1 Peter one,
and the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
Speak unto the congregation of the children of Israel,
and say unto them, Ye shall be holy,
for I the Lord your God am holy.
He says, look, you're going to be holy because I'm holy.
Holiness is not optional in the Christian life.
And I'm preaching this
because there's, under the umbrella of Christendom today,
there's this attitude that just says,
you can just do whatever you want and God's okay with it.
There's all the best sellers that are written,
God's not angry with you.
Your best life now,
that God doesn't get upset about things.
No, God is still a God of anger and vengeance and wrath,
and he's jealous for his people.
I mean, look what happened to the children of Israel,
and that's what the whole Bible is about.
He's saying, look, you're going to do this, right?
You got Deuteronomy, Leviticus,
where he's just giving them all these rules,
and he's telling them that this is how things
are going to be done.
He's warning them, look, if you don't do this,
I'm going to chase you, I'm going to take you out of the land,
and that's exactly what happens.
Because you have to have holiness in the Christian life.
You have to have holiness
if you're going to serve a holy God, it's not optional.
And it's interesting in Leviticus,
he's giving this commandment,
you shall be holy for I the Lord your God am holy.
And there's a lot of different things
that would come into that.
We say, well, I have to do this and I have to do that.
There's certain things we do do
and certain things that we don't do.
And it's interesting that right after that verse,
he says, look, you shall be holy
for I the Lord your God am holy.
He says in verse three,
you shall fear every man, his mother and his father
and keep my Sabbaths.
I mean, God says, he's putting that like,
obeying your parents on par with keeping his Sabbaths
at that time.
Like, I know we don't observe the Sabbaths anymore,
you know, that God has done away with that,
but he hasn't gone away with obeying your mother
and your father, fearing every man, his mother
and fearing every man, his father.
That's still enacted today.
You know, that's, you know, repeated several times
in the New Testament.
Children obey your parents and all things for this is right.
You know, we got to obey our parents in the Lord, okay?
So it's interesting that he brings that up.
Because look, I mean, how can we live like wicked people
and, you know, disobey our parents,
cast off their rules and just live however we want
and then turn around and say, but God's pleased with me.
You know, that's not how it works.
We have to, you know, fear every man, his mother
and his father, keep his Sabbaths.
I am the Lord your God, turn you not into idols,
nor to make to yourselves molten gods,
I am the Lord your God.
So, I mean, it sounds to me like obeying your parents
is a pretty big deal.
I mean, he's like, keep my Sabbaths, obey your parents
and don't, you know, commit idolatry.
You know, it's like, so we shouldn't have this flippant
attitude about obeying our parents.
You know, we need to learn to do what our parents tell us
and to honor them.
Look at 1 Peter 1, verse 13.
Holiness is not optional if you're gonna serve God.
He says in verse 13, wherefore guard up the loins
of your mind and be sober and hope to the end
for the grace that is brought to be brought unto you
at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Isn't it interesting, verse 14, as obedient children,
not fashioning yourselves according to the former lust
in your ignorance.
You know, you need to learn the obedience to your father
and to your mother and your youth so that when you grow up
and you're an adult, you'll continue to be obedient
to who?
To God.
Because our parents are, you know, a picture of God
in our lives.
He's, you know, I think God's called our heavenly father,
that's right.
Right, he's likened unto a father.
We're likened unto his children.
You know, that's why it's important, you know,
kind of picking on the kids this morning,
but you parents too.
That's why it's important that you teach obedience
in your home.
That you discipline your children.
So that you teach them that there are consequences
for misbehavior.
So that when they get out of line, when they don't obey
your rules, when they mouth off, when they, you know,
don't do what they're told, whatever,
that there are harsh consequences, you know,
in the form of a spanking.
You know, that's what we believe the Bible says.
You know, to spare not the rod.
You know, and to chasten them betimes, okay?
That's important for us because we're teaching our children
to what?
Be obedient, to be obedient to the Lord.
Now obviously a lot of times we chasten our children
for our own pleasure, you know, because we want them
so we can get some peace of mind and run a household.
But at the same time, we're still also teaching them what?
That God is a God that chastens.
That God is holy.
That God has rules.
That God, you know, cares more about your holiness
than he does about your happiness.
He says, as obedient children, verse 14,
not fashioning yourselves according to former lusts
in your ignorance, but as he which hath called you
is holy, so ye be you holy in all manner of conversation.
In every area of your life.
In every area that you're living.
In every, you know, in all your ways,
in all of your conversation,
in all manner of conversation, we have to be holy.
Because it is written, verse 16, be ye holy, for I am holy.
I mean, how can we expect to serve a holy God
and live an unholy life?
These things are at odds with one another.
That's not a good reflection of our, you know,
of our Heavenly Father.
And what does it mean to be holy?
Well, you know, a big part of it is to be separated,
to be sanctified.
If you would go over to Ephesians,
or actually go to 1 Corinthians 6, 1 Corinthians 6.
He said in Ephesians 4,
that you put off concerning the former conversation,
the old man, which is corrupt according to deceitful lusts,
and be renewed in the spirit of your mind,
and that you put on the new man,
which is created after God,
which is after God is created in righteousness
and true holiness.
Right, so there's a putting off of the former
and putting on of the new,
which is created in righteousness and true holiness.
It's a separating, right, from the old man.
It's putting away the former things,
the former conversation.
You know, that is what it means to be holy.
You know, the things I used to do,
I don't do them anymore.
The places I used to go, I don't go there anymore.
The friends I used to know, I don't know them anymore.
You know, if they're living ungodly, wicked lives,
you know, I have to cut them off.
I have to be separate, because I have to be holy.
I can't go to those places anymore.
That's the old man.
I'm putting off that conversation.
I'm gonna live a holy life unto God.
You know, holiness means to be separate
from certain things, doesn't it?
You're there in First Corinthians chapter six, verse 14.
Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers,
for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?
And what communion hath light with darkness?
And what concord has Christ with Belial?
Or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols?
For ye are the temple of the living God.
As God hath said, I will dwell in them and walk in them,
and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
That's quite the privilege, isn't it?
To say, hey, this body, this earthen vessel,
this temple that I have is actually
the temple of the living God.
That's quite the privilege, to have the indwelling
of the Holy Ghost in my life, and to have God's presence,
you know, in my life.
But again, it doesn't come without some stipulations,
and what is that stipulation?
If you just sum it up, you have to be holy.
Be holy, for I am holy.
Wherefore, come out among them, and be ye separate,
saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing,
and I will deceive you, and will be a father unto you,
and ye shall be my sons and my daughters,
saith the Lord Almighty.
You know, part of the reason I'm preaching this this morning
is because, you know, here, we don't celebrate Halloween.
You know, we don't believe it.
I mean, I believe it exists.
I know it's out there, right?
But we don't celebrate it, you know,
and I don't wanna preach the big Halloween sermon.
I'm sure there's like six of them
on the internet this morning already,
and you can go, I've preached on it in the past.
I think last year, I preached a thing on Halloween.
You can go listen to that.
Well, you know, we don't celebrate that here.
Why?
Because we're separate from that,
because we're not about observing, you know,
some Celtic pagan holiday, you know,
and we're not about observing death,
and witches, and everything else.
You know, the Bible says,
suffer not a witch to live, right?
And that necromancy, and all these other wicked things
that go on, and it's just, you know,
and again, I don't wanna go off on it,
but I didn't read the article,
but I saw a headline in my newsfeed this week.
It said that Halloween is the fag Christmas,
and yes, I said fag,
because I don't use gay to describe, you know, the homos.
I don't use that, because I'm gay,
and I know a lot of you are gay, right?
Because gay means happy, friend, right?
That's what that means, and those are not happy people.
They're miserable people, okay?
And anyways, this article, I know I'm kind of going off,
but this article said, you know,
that Halloween was the fag Christmas.
I mean, they love Halloween.
Why do you think it is that they love Halloween so much?
Because it's everything that is not Christian.
It's so anti-Bible, it's so anti-God, it's death,
and the Bible says, all they that hate me love death.
Isn't that what it is?
Isn't it just skulls, and bones, and blood,
and dead bodies, and ghouls, and goblins,
and everything that God hates?
No wonder the haters of God love a holiday like that.
So that's why I'm preaching this,
but there could be some people that would get a little,
oh, well, why can't we celebrate,
why can't I dress up like whatever,
and go run around, and get all that free candy?
Why do we have to have these rules?
Because God's called you to be holy.
And we're giving you some chili this afternoon,
and if you ask me, chili is greater than cheap candy.
That, by the way, you could probably go buy it tomorrow
in the stores, and a whole bag of it
would be way cheaper than it is right now, right?
All the candy to get bought.
So you know what, you can have your chili and your candy.
But I'm sorry you don't get to dress up
like a dead whatever.
You don't have to put on your witch hat,
and run around, and beg people for candy.
I said I wasn't gonna go off on it, but I kinda am, right?
But that's what kinda inspired me to preach this,
is that we do have rules.
We do have standards here, because God does.
And we're not preaching for commandments,
the doctrines of men.
We're preaching that God wants us to be holy people,
to not have anything to do with what?
The works of darkness.
Because what concord hath Christ with Belial?
That's the devil.
You know, what part he that believeth in infidel,
what hath light to do with darkness?
You know, and they love darkness, don't they?
They celebrate it today, out on Halloween.
And I don't want people to just, you know,
get all bent out of shape because we have some rules.
Because God has some rules.
Because God actually expects you to be holy
if you're gonna serve a holy God.
And so I just wanna be happy.
Well you know what, holiness comes before happiness.
It comes before happiness.
And here's the thing, people don't wanna be holy today
because you know what being holy will do?
It'll make it different.
It'll make you stick out like a sore thumb today.
You know, on the job site.
It'll make you stick out like a sore thumb in the office
when they find out you're a Christian
and you don't do this and you don't go there.
You don't run after the same excess of riot that they do.
You can say, well you know what, I don't drink.
I don't go watch at filth.
I don't tell those jokes.
I don't live that kind of life.
Sorry, I'm not gonna go out on a date
and commit fornication.
I don't do those things.
I'm not gonna dress up for the office Halloween party.
I mean, grown adults dressing up and going to work.
It's ridiculous, folks.
When I became a man, I put away childish things,
the Bible says.
And I don't wanna go off on Halloween.
I mean, I really do.
Because it's just so ridiculous where that came from.
It was literally, you know, people only originally,
when that first started as a tradition,
you dressed up as a beggar.
You didn't dress up as, you know, Batman or whatever.
You dressed up as a beggar,
because that's what you were doing.
That's where it comes from.
It comes from an act of begging.
It was, anyway, right?
But now we have grown adults that are doing it.
You can get your adult-sized costume of some superhero.
It's childish.
And look, we're saying, look, you can't,
God doesn't want us doing that,
participating in the works of darkness,
because God wants us holy.
Well, that doesn't make me happy.
I want cavities, you know?
I wanna get delayed onset adult type two diabetes, you know?
No, you don't.
You don't want that.
That's what we're saying.
Avoid that, you know?
Come have the chili.
And look, it'll make you stick out like a sore thumb, right?
If you would, go over to Titus chapter two,
Titus chapter number two.
But you know what?
That's what God's called us to.
God has called us to stick out like a sore thumb.
God's called us to be different,
because God has called us to holiness.
The Bible says the whole world lieth in wickedness.
So just be like them.
Just blend in with them.
No, he said, I'm holy, so be ye holy.
So through no fault of your own,
without even trying, by living a holy life,
you're going to be different.
The Bible says ye are a chosen generation,
a royal priesthood, and holy nation,
a peculiar people, right?
That ye should show forth the praises of him
who hath called you out of darkness
into his marvelous light.
And again, what a privilege, right?
To be able to be called out of darkness
and to show forth his marvelous light,
to show forth his praises.
You know, that's a privilege to be called
a chosen generation, a royal priesthood.
Not everyone gets that title,
but the believer who's been born again,
that the child of God, that's the title that you have.
Royal priest, you know, and holy nation,
but what else?
A peculiar people, right?
Different, odd, strange, you don't fit in.
That's the way it's supposed to be.
I'm not trying to fit in with the world.
You know, have you noticed that here about our church,
that we're not trying real hard to put on a show up here?
We're not, you know, we're not getting the rock band
up here, we're not going to, you know,
sing Bon Jovi's Living on a Prayer.
That sounds ridiculous,
but they do that all across this country.
I'm not going to illustrate my sermon
with some R-rated movie up here this morning.
That kind of thing goes on all around the country.
That's the vast majority of Christianity, so called today.
Why?
Because they're trying to fit in.
Because they don't want to be peculiar,
and in the process, you know what they are?
Unholy.
They're not living holy lives,
and God is not pleased with that.
Because we just can't make up however we want to worship God,
however we want to live with God.
You don't get to decide that.
God's the one who decides that.
Look at there in Titus chapter two, verse 11.
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation
hath appeared unto all men,
teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts,
we should live soberly.
Again, to be holy is to be separate.
It's a putting on of the old man, or the new man,
and putting off of the old.
It's a denying of the ungodliness and worldly lusts.
There's a denial there of saying,
I'm not going to do those things,
even though my flesh may want to,
so that we could, what, live soberly,
righteously, and godly in this present world.
And that's going to make you peculiar.
Looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing
of the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ,
who gave himself for us that we might redeem us
from all iniquity and purify unto himself
a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
Say, well, you know, this Christian life,
putting off the old man, you know, denying ungodliness,
it's just not very much fun.
It's, you know, it doesn't make me very happy.
And I don't want to stick out like a sore thumb.
I don't want to be a peculiar person.
I don't want to be different
because it makes me uncomfortable.
I don't want everyone to think that I'm that Bible thumper.
You know, I'm that Christian.
I'm goody two shows, that I'm too straight laced.
I don't want people to think that about me
because it makes me uncomfortable.
Well, you know what, you need to read that verse again.
It says in verse 14, who gave himself for us
that he might redeem us from all iniquity.
You know, you know, being a Christian,
living a holy, godly life makes you uncomfortable.
Consider how uncomfortable it was for Christ
when he came down here and lived among sinners
as a holy God.
Consider how uncomfortable it was for Christ
when, you know, he was crucified on the cross
to redeem us unto himself, to be a peculiar people.
You know, and God just says, hey, be holy,
and it might make you a little uncomfortable
at the workplace or at school or whatever setting it is
where you start to stick out like a sore thumb
and you start to be a peculiar person
because you're trying to be separate and live a holy life.
You know, that might make you uncomfortable,
but consider the fact how uncomfortable Christ was made
if you're going to start to get, you know,
bent out of shape over these things.
So I don't like this preaching.
Well, look at verse 15.
These things speak and exhort and rebuke with all authority.
Let no man despise thee.
It's literally my job to get up and preach this.
You know, to speak it, right,
to just say, hey, this is what the Bible says.
The Bible says, don't do this.
The Bible says, do do this.
And I'll speak it and I'll even encourage you
once you've heard that and you understand it
and you know it, and then I'll exhort you, right,
encourage you, don't forget what the Bible says.
And then when people wanna just continue to get stiff-necked
and if people wanna just, you know, reject it,
then you know what comes after that?
Rebuke with all authority.
Say, no, God wants you to be holy.
And if it makes you uncomfortable,
consider how uncomfortable Christ came
so that you could be that peculiar person.
You say, well, why do I wanna be holy?
Why do I wanna go through all that?
Go back to 1 Kings chapter eight, 1 Kings chapter eight.
Because being holy brings the power
and presence of God into your life.
You know, I might not be able to go out
and indulge in all the wicked, sinful things
that the world does, but you know what I'll have?
By living a holy life, I'll have the power
and presence of God in my life.
I'll take that any day over, you know,
some barstool somewhere or some stupid movie
or some bag full of candy.
You know what, if me having to live a holy
and godly life brings the power and presence
of God in my life, I'll take it.
That's a good trade.
I'll make that trade any day.
1 Kings chapter eight, verse five,
that's what happened, right?
They bring in all the, you know, the ark
and the tabernacle and all the instruments and everything.
It says in verse five, in King Solomon,
all the congregation in Israel that were assembled unto him
were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen
that could not be told nor numbered for multitude.
I mean, these people, they're just so happy
to sacrifice unto God that they're just,
there's so many oxen and sheep, they can't even count them.
I mean, they're sacrificing them outside the court, right?
And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant
into its place in the oracles of the house of God,
the most holy place, even under the wings
of the cherubims, verse seven,
for the cherubims spread forth their two wings
over the place of the ark and the cherubims
covered the ark and the staves thereof.
And they drew out the staves and the ends of the staves
are seen out in the holy place before the oracle
and they were not seen without
and there they are to this day.
Jump down to verse 10, and it came to pass
when the priests came out of the holy place.
So after they brought the ark in,
put it where it's supposed to go,
did things the way God wanted them done,
made these sacrifices the way God wanted them done
when they obeyed the Lord, it says in verse 10,
they came to pass and the priests came out of the holy place
that the cloud filled the house of the Lord.
So the priests could not stand to minister before the cloud
for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord.
Now, today, we just read a while ago,
or I read for you that we are that temple today.
And look, if you live a holy and godly life,
if you do things the way God wants them done,
you make the sacrifices in your life
that God wants you to make
and you put the holiness of God
before your own personal happiness,
you know what, you might not have a lot of things
that the world has, big deal,
you know what you're gonna have?
You're gonna have the presence of God
filling that temple, you.
You're gonna have the fullness of the Holy Ghost.
It says there, they came to pass,
the priests came out of the holy place
that the cloud filled the house of the Lord.
That's us today.
We are the temple of the living God.
And you know what, that's what I want.
I want the power and the presence.
I mean, could you imagine being there on that day?
You know, some guy's been out of shape
over an ox or a sheep he had to sacrifice.
I mean, there's already so many,
what do I gotta give up mine for?
I mean, I guarantee you, I'm not saying anybody was,
but if there was some guy who's a little,
you know, why do I gotta give?
I already sacrificed enough, you know?
As soon as that cloud comes down
and the priest can't even stand it
and the presence of God is there,
and he'd been like, have another one,
have all of them, because God's presence,
the God of the universe, the true and living God is there,
God Almighty, His presence is there.
Don't you want that in your life?
I mean, I can't imagine living my whole Christian life
and never knowing the presence of God in my life.
But you know what, Christians do it all the time.
They live their whole lives
and never know the fullness of the Holy Ghost.
They never know what it's like
to have God present there with them.
I'm not trying to be all mystical this morning
and act like it's some hocus pocus spooky thing, you know?
It's not, but it's a reality that we can have,
that God is close to us.
And anyone who's experienced that
knows what I'm talking about.
But you know what, how does it come?
Just because I got saved?
Look, we know we're sealed
on the day of our redemption by the Holy Spirit,
but that doesn't mean we're filled with the Holy Spirit.
To have the fullness of the Holy Spirit,
to have the fullness of God in your life,
to have the presence of God in your life,
you have to be holy.
It's required.
It comes first.
I mean, no one there that, and Solomon's,
you know, this dedication of the temple,
there wasn't anybody there that was thinking,
man, serving God's such a drag.
You know, it's such a buzzkill to live for the Lord.
I'm so sick of this.
No, they were like, wow.
They're blown away at the presence of God.
And look, when you start living for the Lord
and God starts answering prayers,
and I'm talking like little tiny prayers
that you think, why would I even bother God with this?
And then he starts to, and you realize
that God is paying attention to your prayers,
that God cares about you specifically
and starts answering your prayers.
That's amazing.
I just say, I want more of that.
That'd just keep you on the path and say,
hey, anything else I need to get out of my life, Lord?
How can I be even holier?
And here's the thing,
we all want the presence of God in our lives,
at least we should,
but you know what, it makes us accountable.
You know, being God's people
and having God's presence in your life
makes you accountable to the Lord.
You know, and I'm not gonna take the time
to read the rest of the chapter,
but you go through it, you know,
and Solomon starts talking about,
you know, if we do this, you know,
we'll pray to your house, forgive us.
You know, if there's famine, if there's war,
if we're removed from the land,
and wherever we are,
your people turn to this house and they pray,
dear God, you know, remember us.
And he said, then hear from heaven
and answer those prayers.
But if you, you know, that just shows me
that the presence of God makes you accountable.
You know, I want the presence of God in my life.
Then be holy.
Then live a holy life.
And quit making your life about just pleasing yourself
and just being, making about,
oh, how can I be comfortable and happy
and not inconvenience myself to live the Christian life?
How can I just squeak by serving God
without really being inconvenienced
and still feel like, you know, I'm living for the Lord?
I don't want to, that's, I don't understand that mentality.
I don't understand that type of Christianity.
People that just want to dip their toe in living for God.
Because what if the water's a little cold?
Oh, well, nevermind, I don't want to do that.
That's uncomfortable, you know?
But once you got all the way in
and you were kind of in that water for a little while,
you'd warm up.
That's not, you know the way I want to live
the Christian life, I want to belly flop
into the Christian life.
And that's the way, the best way
I always sort of illustrate it.
I just want to be that guy that just runs
the end of the board, just, you know,
and just, you know, spread eagle,
just splash right into the Christian life.
That's how I want to live it.
I want to be in that deep end, swimming around.
You know, and it might be uncomfortable,
might have to exert some more effort,
you know, slapping that water's behind,
feel too good, but I want to get into it.
I don't want to be that guy that's just over
on the edge of the pool, like, oh, that looks like fun.
Wonder what that's like.
Now I want to get in the Christian life.
I don't understand the other way around.
But, you know, here's the thing,
that doesn't come without a price.
You know, you have to be holy.
You have to do things the way God wants them done.
You have to be willing to make sacrifices in your life, folks.
They got the presence of God there that day,
but you know what, there was a lot of sacrificing
going on too, and God was pleased with that.
He said, hey, look, you did things
the way I wanted them done.
You made some sacrifices.
I'm going to show up, and I'm going to fill that temple,
and I'm going to blow your minds.
And that's what I want in my life.
I want to know that I have the presence of God,
that God is with me, but that makes me accountable.
So why should I want God's presence?
Well, here's another reason.
Because God's presence grants us benefits
that unholy people don't have.
If you look at verse 30 there, 1 Kings 8, it says,
And hearken thou unto the supplication of thy servant
and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray
towards this place, and hear thou in heaven,
thy dwelling place, and when thou hearest, forgive.
Look, that's a privilege that the unholy people don't have,
that the unsaved don't have.
I mean, sure, they can pray and get saved,
but God's not going to hear their prayers.
Like, I want God to know that he's,
I want to know that my prayer is being heard.
But, you know, go read 1 Kings 8 again.
There's a lot of stipulations that come along, isn't there?
There's the sacrifices.
There's the, you know, bringing the altar,
the tabernacle and the ark and putting it in its rightful place.
Just things that have to be done a certain way.
And you know what, when we do, when we put holiness first,
we do things God's way,
when we're willing to make those sacrifices,
we have God's presence.
You know what that gives us?
A privilege that other people don't have.
Bible says in Hebrews chapter 13, I'll read for you.
We have an altar whereof they have no right to eat that serve the tabernacle.
Of course, it's referring back to Levitical priesthood.
For the bodies of those beasts and whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by
the high priest for sin and are burned without the camp.
Wherefore Jesus also that he might sanctify the people,
excuse me, the people with his own blood suffered without the gate.
Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp bearing his reproach.
For here we have no continuing city, but we seek one to come.
By him, therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually.
That is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name.
So the Bible's saying here that what God has sanctified us through his own blood,
right, that God is holy through his holy blood.
He sanctified us.
He made us separate.
He made us holy.
And we should be willing to go forth without the camp and bear his reproach.
You should never be ashamed of Christ or of his testimony.
But you should be a partaker of the afflictions of the gospel,
like Paul told Timothy.
To not be ashamed of him with the testimony of our Lord, but
be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel of Christ, right?
And if me having to live a holy life means I have to suffer some reproach.
If some guy has to make some snide remark at me at work.
If someone has to make fun of me at school, or
some relative just kind of wants to mock me in my faith, then so be it.
I mean, that's just such a mild reproach.
It's not like they're crucifying me.
It's not like they're whipping me and pulling my beard out, spitting in my face.
All right, that was Jesus.
He did that, okay?
And you know what?
That's what we need to do.
We need to be willing to suffer that reproach and offer sacrifices today.
And he's telling us here that the sacrifices that we offer today are what?
Praising God, to offer God praise continually.
He says, let us therefore come boldly under the throne of grace that we might
obtain mercy and find help, and find grace to help in time of need.
That's a pretty big privilege, isn't it?
To think that you can go boldly before the throne of God.
I mean, you can just storm right in there like you own the place, but
maybe not that much.
But you get to go right in there, right?
And get right to the, you have direct access to the Father.
It can go through the blood of Christ, can just go right to him and pray.
That's a privilege, to have your prayers being heard by a holy God.
And that's what we see there in First Kings chapter eight.
Look at verse 50.
And forgive thy people that have sinned against thee, and
all their transgressions where they have transgressed against thee.
And give them compassion before them who carried them captive,
that they may have compassion on them.
For they are thy people and thine inheritance,
which thou brought us forth out of Egypt and from the midst of the furnace of iron.
Several times in the Old Testament, that's what it refers to Egypt as,
as an iron furnace.
And I've always thought about, what does he mean by that?
And I think I preached a sermon, I'm not sure.
But it's this picture of, when they were in Egypt, they had no hope.
I mean, Pharaoh was gonna destroy those people.
They were being, he was making them labor with hard bondage.
He was telling them to sacrifice their kids,
to throw their children in the river.
He was plotting to destroy them.
And that's the same way for me and you.
Before we were saved, we had an evil task master called Satan, right?
Who was just hell-bent on destroying us and
making life as hard as he possibly could for us.
And you know why he calls it an iron furnace?
Because one, the furnace, it's hot, right?
It's uncomfortable.
It's persecution.
But it's iron because there's no escape.
There was no escape from that.
God had to intervene and bring them out of the iron furnace.
And that's exactly what he did in Egypt, in the same way in our own lives.
If God hadn't intervened, we'd still be stuck in that iron furnace of sin in
the world.
But God did intervene, right?
And has redeemed us and has made us his people.
And what does he want us to do in return?
To live a holy life, to offer sacrifices unto him, to be holy even as he is holy.
And he says there, that thine eyes may, where would I leave off there?
Yeah, verse 52, that thine eyes may be opened unto the supplication of thy
servant, unto the supplication of thy people, to hearken unto them in all that
they call unto thee.
For thou didst separate them from among all the people of the earth to be thine
inheritance, as thou spakest by the hand of Moses thy servant, when thou brought us
our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord God.
Look, when God saved you, he didn't save you just to go to heaven.
He saved you to separate you from all the other people of the earth,
to make you different, to make you a light that shines in a dark
place, to make you a city set upon a hill that cannot be hid, to make you a light
that is not to be put under a bushel, but to give delight to all them that are in the
house.
You know, God wants us to be that testimony.
God wants us to be separate.
You know what?
If we're not going to live holy lives, it's like we're just going to put that
candle right under the bushel and say, oh, no, I'm not a Christian.
I heard you're saved.
I heard you go to church.
No, no, not me.
That's you putting that light under a bushel.
And look, you're under the bushel with the light, right?
You can still see plenty, but the fortunate part is everybody that's around you, there's
no light there.
They can't see that.
Why?
Because you don't want to live a holy life.
Because you don't want to make the sacrifices.
And let me just, I know I'm going long.
I've got to wrap up.
This is my last point.
You know, the main thrust of the sermon is what?
That holiness comes before happiness.
You know, if you come to a place in your life where I have to make a decision, this is either
going to make me holy or it's going to make me happy.
You go with holy.
Because holy has a whole bunch of benefits, doesn't it?
Answered prayer, the presence of God, being a light, being separate and different from
others around you so that you can, you know, testify the true and living God, okay?
But I don't want to be misunderstood this morning.
I say holiness before happiness, but notice I didn't say holiness at the expense of happiness.
Because I think sometimes people get this idea that living the Christian life is just
this long drudgery that's just to be endured.
It's not.
You know, I can look back and honestly, I've never been happier than after I've been saved.
And I've never been happier after I've gotten right with God and decided to live for Him.
I mean, the best years of my life are the lives that I've spent serving the Lord and
living for Him and living a holy life.
So yes, holiness always comes before happiness.
That's the decision we ought to make, because it's required, it's not optional.
But that doesn't mean that if you live a holy life, you're going to be an unhappy person.
Like you're going to have to be some monk that just walks around and beats themselves.
You know, like just slap yourself with a whip just to show how whole you are.
No, that's not biblical.
Holiness comes before happiness, but not at the expense of it.
And that's what you saw there in 1 Kings chapter 8, he said, and well, let me just jump to
verse 64.
The same day did the king hollow the middle of the court that was before the house of
Lord and for there he offered burnt offerings and meat offerings and the fat of the peace
offerings because the brazen altar that was before the Lord was too little to receive
the burnt offerings and the meat offerings and the fat of the peace offerings.
And at that time, Solomon held a feast and all Israel with him, a great congregation
from the entering in of Hamath onto the river of Egypt.
I mean, this is a huge host of people that are there, just like everyone's there, millions
of people.
And he has this big feast, right?
And then it says there at the end, from the entering of Hamath under the river of Egypt
before the Lord, seven days and seven days, even 14 days, on the eighth day, he sent away
the people and blessed the king and went to their tents, you know, dragging their feet
saying, man, that was what a waste of two weeks.
Think of everything else I could have gotten done.
I could have had to have so much better time.
And is that how the story ends?
Remember how it starts, right?
Holiness first.
They're doing things the way God wants them done.
They're bringing the priests, the Levites, the ones that are handling the ark, the way
they're supposed to do it.
They're putting in the place that's where it's supposed to go, the way God wants it
done.
They're making all these sacrifices and people are offering even more than they need to.
And how does the story end?
It ends on happiness.
So it's holiness before happiness, but not at the expense of happiness.
It says on the eighth day, he sent away the people and they blessed the king.
And they went into their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the
Lord had done for David his servant and for all Israel his people, for Israel his people.
Look, they got done doing things the way God wanted them done.
They got done making the sacrifices and they went home with joy in their hearts.
They went home glad that they had gone and served God the way they ought to.
That's the way it'll be in your life if you put holiness first.
Holiness will follow.
Go to Psalms 100.
We'll end here.
Psalms 100.
That's the formula.
Look, it's holiness first, but that doesn't mean that it's this long, just boring life
that is just a drag to live.
No.
You will be happy if you serve God, I guarantee it.
You mean I'm going to be happy if I give up all this sin and if I start living a separated
life and living a holy life for God and you're telling me I'm going to be happy?
Yeah.
You might not have all the things the world has, but you know what you'll have is you'll
have the presence of God.
You'll have the fullness of the Holy Ghost.
You'll have his love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, faith, meekness, temperance.
You'll have the fruits of the Spirit in your life.
That sounds pretty good to me.
You know, you want to get something sweet on Halloween, why don't you get the fruit
of the Spirit?
You know, that's going to last year round.
Look at Psalms 100, verse 1.
It says, Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.
Serve the Lord with gladness.
Holiness is what brings happiness, folks.
Yes, it comes first, but you know what comes after holiness when you live for God?
The happiness follows.
That's why you can't just be led by emotions in life.
You can't just let your emotions, whatever I feel like doing, I'm going to do.
You have to look at the Word of God and say, What does God want me to do?
What does God expect me to do?
And you do that, the emotions follow.
The happiness comes after the holiness.
Serve the Lord with gladness.
Come before His presence with singing.
Knowing that the Lord, He is God, it is He that hath made us and not we ourselves.
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise.
Be thankful unto Him and bless His name.
That's the attitude you've got to have when you come to church.
It's like, Oh, let's see what He's going to preach about today.
Hopefully, He doesn't get on my sin today.
Hopefully, He's amped up.
Hopefully, He's not tired and cranky and everything else.
Let's just go to church and get it over with.
Let's just check off the box.
I hope no one comes, and I don't think anybody does, but you know what?
Search your own heart.
If you come to church with that attitude, that's not right.
And just say, Well, I'm here because I have to.
The teenagers and the young people in the room.
I'm only here because my parents dragged me.
Well, I'm glad they're dragging you.
But you know what?
You can still come to church with a good attitude.
When you start to consider, you're not just coming to hear me speak.
You're actually coming to hear the word of God being preached.
It's not about me.
It's about the Lord.
It's not about that.
We are the sheep of His pasture.
And we ought to come into His courts with thanksgiving and with praise.
We ought to be thankful in Him and bless His name.
Why? For the Lord is good, and His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endureth to
all generations.
We need to serve God in order to be happy.
If you want to really be happy in life, put holiness first.
Because I'll tell you this right now, what do you think God is more concerned with?
How happy you are or how holy you are?
God's concerned about how holy you are.
He's more concerned with your holiness than He is your happiness.
And if God's looking down and saying, You know what?
I know that you're unhappy living for me.
I know that you're having to make a sacrifice.
Things are difficult right now.
Maybe you're going through some kind of persecution.
Maybe life's a little hard, but you're endeavoring to live a holy life.
God's pleased with that.
Rather than the Christian who's over there, who doesn't care about the things of God,
is just enjoying the pleasures of sin for a season and has no holiness in life,
God is not pleased with that individual.
And He's not going to have God's blessing.
But you know what?
The one that is sticking by the stuff and is saying, you know what?
I'm going to be holy before I'm happy, they have God's favor.
And the happiness will come, I guarantee you that.
Do you know what the good news is about this?
Is that you get to have both in the Christian life.
Obviously, holiness comes first, but honestly, in the Christian life,
you get to have both.
You get to be holy, you get to be sanctified, you get to be separated,
you get to be that royal priesthood, that peculiar people, that holy nation.
You get to be all those things, you get to be the sheep of his pasture, and
you get happiness on top of it.
And you get the happiness that the Lord gives you,
you get the joy of the Lord in your life.
You get to have both.
But look, if it comes down to having to make a decision between the two,
every single time, it's got to be holiness before happiness.
Let's go ahead and close in a word of prayer.