Zechariah 14:20-21 In that day “HOLINESS TO THE LORD” shall be engraved on the bells of the horses. The pots in the Lord's house shall be like the bowls before the altar. Yes, every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holiness to the Lord of hosts. Everyone who sacrifices shall come and take them and cook in them. In that day there shall no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts.”
Tainted Love
One of the High Priestly objects of splendour, apart from his beautiful breastplate and garments of glory, was the white-turbaned head dress, a mitre of eight yards of fine twisted linen coiled into a cap, over which was laid a golden plate, fastened by blue ribbon. This golden plate hung down across the forehead of the High Priest, between his fringe and his eyebrows and had engraved upon it: “Holiness to the Lord.”
I must admit, that my experience of ‘Holiness’ in the church has had more to do with touch not, taste not, handle not, po-faced, hypocritical irrelevant and repugnant ‘We don’t do that here’ philosophy than the real thing. So much so, that something in me just kicks against it! I would say that for me, this kind of Holiness provokes me into a mischievous naughtiness, which I am more than eager to succumb to, rather than cause me to honour and glorify Christ. Surely there must a Holiness which is deeper than that, a Holiness which is more encompassing, indeed, I would say a Holiness that is so at the fore front of who we are that it is all embracing. Well, I am pleased to tell you that there shall be and there is.
Our text for tonight tells us prophetically of a time to come when everything from making a living, to making a home, shall be considered to be and encompassed by a living holiness. Christian! Our Saviour died to make us Holy! We are called to be Holy because our Lord is Holy. To be Holy is to be fully yielded to the Son in the name of the Father by the power of God the Holy Spirit. It is to have our separated-ness to Him, ever and always at the forefront of our being. Indeed, it is to have God’s personal name, reputation and glory, like the old High Priest's, like our Great High Priest's, hanging in imprinted letters of gold between our fringe and our eyebrows. From mission praise to marriage bed, that and everything in between should be offered to God for His namesake and glory.
“Oh, Robert, if only you knew how tainted even my most Holy of thoughts and actions can be!” Oh do stop whining! Why not just move over Muppet and give some other little girl some wasted time in the whimper seat! Of course I know. We all know the tainted-ness of our Holy things. We are all built of the same stuff! Now, please excuse me for giving you a verbal ‘slap up the side of the head’ tonight, but I need your full attention. You see, you have to know right now dear friend, that our Great High Priest is the Great Sin exterminator Himself and the ability of His person, the testimony of His robes and the power of His office, means that He can even exterminate the ever pox-like pollution of sin, which clung then and still clings even today, like the smell of foul sulphured eggs, to our most Holy of sacrifices. Whenever we do good this side of heaven, evil, at some level, is both present and pungent! It is! So please be assured then, that our Great High Priest covers even the sins of our Holy things. Thank God for that! Thank God for that I say, and in the so doing, encourage you to keep on yielding yourself to God for He has all the shortfalls, all the swerve balls and all the long balls well covered by His blood. He has to, for even our Holy things are tainted this side of heaven. Stop making excuses to yourselves for not living a holy life .Listen: - “You shall also make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet: HOLINESS TO THE LORD. And you shall put it on a blue cord, that it may be on the turban; it shall be on the front of the turban. So it shall be on Aaron's forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things which the children of Israel hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall always be on his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord.” Exodus 28:36-38 NKJV
Pray:- Lord, thank You so much that You have all my tainted love also covered by Your blood. Oh hallelujah and amen!
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