WEBVTT NOTE Podcast: Acts 29 Vancouver Episode: The Highway of Holiness - Holy Encounter Publishing Date: 2026-02-15T02:04:44-08:00 Podcast URL: https://acts29.ca Episode URL: https://acts29.ca/the-highway-of-holiness-holy-encounter/ 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:15.760 Holiness. That's the title for my sharing. I wouldn't call it teaching today because I'm 00:00:15.760 --> 00:00:21.680 not going to teach about what we should do, what we shouldn't do. It's not about teaching 00:00:21.680 --> 00:00:28.440 today but it's more about sharing, sharing today. Yeah? So I've titled my sharing as 00:00:28.440 --> 00:00:34.400 The Highway of Holiness, Holy Encounter. If you are taking notes, that's the title, right? 00:00:34.400 --> 00:00:42.600 Holy Encounter. And the idea comes from Isaiah 35. And I'm going to read this part. 00:00:42.600 --> 00:00:49.760 And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Highway of Holiness. That's 00:00:49.760 --> 00:00:55.760 where the title came from, yeah? And it shall be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean 00:00:55.760 --> 00:01:01.920 shall not pass over it, but it shall belong to those who walk on the way, even if they are fools. 00:01:01.920 --> 00:01:09.880 They shall not go astray. No lion will be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come upon it. They 00:01:09.880 --> 00:01:16.240 shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there, and the ransom of the Lord shall return 00:01:16.240 --> 00:01:22.760 and come to Zion with singing. Everlasting joy shall be upon their heads. They shall obtain 00:01:22.760 --> 00:01:29.880 gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. Yeah? This is, I think, one of the most 00:01:29.880 --> 00:01:36.960 breathtaking or so to say, one of the most astonishing promises that you see in Isaiah. 00:01:36.960 --> 00:01:43.520 Because this came in the middle of a time when they were going through the wilderness, right? It 00:01:43.520 --> 00:01:49.120 was a very challenging time and this suddenly, you know, Prophet Isaiah, you know, begins to 00:01:49.120 --> 00:01:57.160 announce this, right? And this part, I want to focus because this is for God's people. This is 00:01:57.160 --> 00:02:02.440 not just for the Israelites back in the day, but this is for us, right? And as you look there, 00:02:02.440 --> 00:02:09.000 you see that this road called the Highway of Holiness. Some versions call it the Highway of 00:02:09.000 --> 00:02:18.240 Holiness. Eugene Peterson calls it the Holy Road, yeah? But it's about a road that is exclusive for 00:02:18.240 --> 00:02:26.600 God's people, yeah? And you know, we live in a time where, in the name of being inclusive, 00:02:26.600 --> 00:02:33.000 without any transformation, without any standard, without anything required, we want to embrace 00:02:33.000 --> 00:02:41.800 everybody. But here, Isaiah is pointing something that is not for everyone, yeah? It's an exclusive 00:02:42.040 --> 00:02:52.680 road. It's a Highway of Holiness, but it says it's not for the unclean. Yeah, it's not for the 00:02:52.680 --> 00:02:59.800 unclean. And unless you are ransom, unless you are redeemed by the Lord, you cannot be on this 00:02:59.800 --> 00:03:11.240 highway. Isn't that interesting, eh? It's not for the unclean, not for the unrepentant, not for the 00:03:11.240 --> 00:03:19.560 unchanged. They said, you know, Isaiah is announcing that they will not tread on this path. So it looks 00:03:19.560 --> 00:03:28.600 like this is an exclusive path. It is protected. There are no lions, as in there are no threats, 00:03:28.600 --> 00:03:39.280 there are no dangers when it comes to this path, yeah? And everlasting joy shall be upon their heads. 00:03:39.280 --> 00:03:48.680 They shall obtain gladness and joy. Sorrow and sighing will flee from them. You know, imagine this 00:03:48.680 --> 00:03:56.000 kind of life, eh? Where you are immune, where you are protected, where you are living a kind of life 00:03:56.000 --> 00:04:05.760 where it is full of joy, gladness is upon your head. Sighing and all these sorrows are not part of your 00:04:06.720 --> 00:04:12.400 life. Imagine that kind of life, right? And God is saying that it is for God's people. 00:04:15.760 --> 00:04:25.680 Yeah? But the excess is not automatic. It's not automatic. It's only for the redeemed. 00:04:27.200 --> 00:04:33.680 And, you know, Jesus comes and shares a similar idea in John. Jesus said, 00:04:33.680 --> 00:04:38.960 I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 00:04:40.160 --> 00:04:47.280 It's very exclusive, guys. Christianity is, we have to hold this intention because, you know, 00:04:47.280 --> 00:04:56.240 Christianity on one hand, it invites everyone. Salvation is for everyone. Everyone who is willing 00:04:56.320 --> 00:05:04.080 to receive Christ, Christ belongs to them. Salvation is for the whole mankind on one hand, 00:05:04.800 --> 00:05:12.080 but salvation is only for those who says, Jesus, you are my Lord, you are my Savior. 00:05:13.520 --> 00:05:22.480 Yeah? It's crazy, guys. And so this path, it's an invitation for everybody because this is a path 00:05:22.480 --> 00:05:29.040 to holiness. It's a path that leads to life. It's a path that leads to joy. It's a path 00:05:29.040 --> 00:05:34.400 where there is no sorrow. It's a path where there is no sighing. It's a path where you will 00:05:34.400 --> 00:05:45.680 experience no threats, no dangers. It's the road to life. And yet, it is exclusive. It is exclusive, 00:05:45.680 --> 00:05:55.520 guys. Yeah? And this holy road, for you and I to access this holy road, you and I need to encounter 00:05:55.520 --> 00:06:04.240 the Holy One. And Jesus himself said, I am the door. Yeah? We read that in John, I am the door. 00:06:05.600 --> 00:06:13.360 And so the only way you and I can go into this path is Christ, the Holy One. 00:06:15.760 --> 00:06:24.720 And so when we talk about holy, the word holy, we often limit the word holy to moral purity. Yeah? 00:06:24.720 --> 00:06:31.920 Say, for example, if I'm not indulging in fornication or adultery, if I am morally clean, 00:06:33.120 --> 00:06:40.640 my personal righteousness, then I am holy. But the Bible talks much more than that. 00:06:40.800 --> 00:06:48.240 Holy is not limited to moral purity. Holiness is not limited to personal righteousness. Yeah? 00:06:48.960 --> 00:06:57.200 So, say, for example, ritually pure, right? In the Old Testament, when they come in contact 00:06:57.200 --> 00:07:04.720 with a dead body or with a bodily fluid or a man of disease, then they become unclean. 00:07:04.880 --> 00:07:11.760 So they have to take seven days, right, in order for them to be cleansed. So they are ritually impure. 00:07:12.800 --> 00:07:19.440 And so they have to be made clean, right? And then there is this holiness in our conduct, right? 00:07:19.440 --> 00:07:26.400 First Peter talks about this, that God is holy. And so be holy in all your conduct, as in your 00:07:26.400 --> 00:07:32.240 actions, right? The way you live, be holy. So here we're talking about two kinds of holiness here. 00:07:32.240 --> 00:07:37.200 So here we're talking about two kinds of holiness here. Two aspects. One is the positional 00:07:37.200 --> 00:07:44.720 holiness. As in, like, when you believe Christ and you receive Christ, repents of your sin, 00:07:44.720 --> 00:07:51.280 you are made holy. As in, you have been made right with God again. So that's the positional 00:07:51.280 --> 00:07:57.680 holiness. So now, if I am a believer, I don't have to try harder to be more believer, right? 00:07:58.640 --> 00:08:05.360 You know, I don't become more Christian, right? I'm already a Christian. Why? Because I follow 00:08:05.360 --> 00:08:11.840 Christ. But then there is this other aspect of holiness, which is the behavioral holiness, right? 00:08:12.720 --> 00:08:19.600 Where now I have received Christ, so now my lifestyle has to match Christ. 00:08:19.840 --> 00:08:28.000 This is why First Peter talks about be holy in all your conducts, right? So you see the difference 00:08:28.000 --> 00:08:35.200 between the two, right? So we are not trying to be more Christian, but we are trying to reflect 00:08:35.920 --> 00:08:44.880 the life of Christ, the nature of Christ in our everyday living. So today, I am not going to talk 00:08:44.880 --> 00:08:52.880 about how to be holy in our thinking. I'm not trying to teach about how to be holy in our living. 00:08:53.680 --> 00:09:00.640 I'm not talking about behavioral holiness here, yeah? Nor am I interested in talking about five 00:09:00.640 --> 00:09:06.640 ways to sustain our holiness. No, I'm not talking about that route. But I'm more interested about 00:09:06.640 --> 00:09:17.200 the idea of holy, the understanding of holy and how when a man or a woman, something ordinary comes 00:09:17.200 --> 00:09:26.640 in contact with something that is holy, I want to explore that idea. Because if a man who touches 00:09:26.640 --> 00:09:32.880 something unclean can make him unclean, what about a man who is ordinary, who comes in contact with 00:09:33.040 --> 00:09:41.760 something extraordinary that is holy? It is fascinating, guys. The way I tell, I mean, 00:09:41.760 --> 00:09:53.760 as I'm preparing this, I was blown away by this. Because holiness is often made about us, 00:09:54.400 --> 00:10:02.160 which I hate it. I have to fast, I have to pray, I have to read, I have to do this, I have to do that. 00:10:02.160 --> 00:10:10.480 Then it becomes about us, right? But when you read the Bible, holiness has nothing to do with you, 00:10:11.360 --> 00:10:17.200 nothing to do with me. Why? Because you and I cannot manufacture holiness. Because God alone is 00:10:17.200 --> 00:10:23.840 holy, right? God alone is holy and so you have to come in contact, you know Jacob was talking about 00:10:23.840 --> 00:10:31.120 this, right? You have to come in contact with the holy one. And you know what? When you come in contact 00:10:31.120 --> 00:10:38.560 with the holy one, you become holy. Your life change. It's fascinating, guys. And you know, 00:10:38.560 --> 00:10:46.480 the two words, two words that really defines the word holy is separate and other. These are two 00:10:46.480 --> 00:10:53.120 words that defines holy. As in like when we say God is holy, God is separate, separate from everything 00:10:53.120 --> 00:11:00.160 else and everyone else. And then when we say God is holy, God is the other one. Meaning he's not you, 00:11:00.160 --> 00:11:07.200 he's not me. Nothing can be compared. He's the other one. He's separate, he's the other one. 00:11:07.200 --> 00:11:14.000 Those two words are the root word for the word holy. Yeah? So when we say God is holy, God is 00:11:14.000 --> 00:11:24.960 separate. When we say God is holy, God is the other one. God is the other one. Yeah? So when God who is 00:11:24.960 --> 00:11:36.080 separate, when God who is the other one touches you, you become separate. You become the other one. 00:11:36.880 --> 00:11:45.200 This is why God reminds the Israelites, you are separate. You are the other one. You cannot be 00:11:45.200 --> 00:11:51.760 like the Gentiles. You cannot live like the other nations. Why? Because I have touched you. You are 00:11:51.760 --> 00:11:58.240 my people. You are my holy people. You are my chosen race. I am your God. You are my people. 00:11:58.240 --> 00:12:05.520 They cannot be the same. And do you think that has changed for us? Not at all. Why Christians are 00:12:05.520 --> 00:12:13.280 indifferent? Right? Sometimes you cannot differentiate whether he's a Christian or not. Why? Because 00:12:14.000 --> 00:12:20.240 we don't live differently. We don't think differently. We don't behave differently. 00:12:21.760 --> 00:12:28.960 Crazy guys. And this is why I want to focus on this word holy. Why? Because on one hand, 00:12:29.920 --> 00:12:35.760 when we begin to understand this, it'll change you, it'll change me. And this is why I'm saying this 00:12:35.760 --> 00:12:44.560 is not a teaching, but this is an invitation to experience the holy one. The word holy first 00:12:44.560 --> 00:12:51.680 appeared in the Bible in Genesis chapter 2. And it's very interesting. It's not about anything else. 00:12:51.760 --> 00:12:59.120 But it's about a day. Yeah? God made first day, second day, sixth day he rested, right? 00:13:00.320 --> 00:13:07.360 Sorry, on the seventh day he rested. But he blessed the seventh day and made it holy. 00:13:09.360 --> 00:13:16.880 The seventh day was holy. Why? Because the six days he worked, the seventh day was separate. 00:13:17.520 --> 00:13:23.680 Seven day was the other day, which was different from the rest. And he made it holy. 00:13:25.200 --> 00:13:29.760 Yeah? Do you understand what I'm saying here, right? That's what it means to be holy. Something is 00:13:29.760 --> 00:13:35.920 separate. It's the other one. And then you read later, you know, a little later, 00:13:37.200 --> 00:13:40.560 when Moses encounters God at the burning bush, 00:13:40.560 --> 00:13:47.920 the ground becomes holy. The place becomes holy. Now notice here, the first one is the day becomes 00:13:47.920 --> 00:13:57.520 holy. The second one, the place becomes holy. When the presence of God comes, 00:13:58.880 --> 00:14:06.160 it doesn't matter where it is, it becomes holy. That moment becomes holy. That time becomes holy. 00:14:06.320 --> 00:14:12.800 Holy. That time becomes holy. That ground becomes holy. Crazy, eh? 00:14:15.200 --> 00:14:24.240 And we can go on and on. Later on we see holy garments, right? Holy altars, the holy of holies, 00:14:24.960 --> 00:14:34.400 holy objects, holy oil, holy priests. We move on and on, right? But then in Exodus 15, 00:14:35.200 --> 00:14:38.960 this is when Moses for the first time calls God holy. 00:14:41.120 --> 00:14:48.800 Moses comes in contact with God and he said, who among like you, who among like the gods is like you, 00:14:48.800 --> 00:14:58.560 Lord, who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders. For the first time, 00:14:58.640 --> 00:15:01.280 mankind is addressing God as holy here. 00:15:03.760 --> 00:15:06.720 But until this point, God has not called himself holy. 00:15:09.920 --> 00:15:18.320 And later on, for the first time, you see in Leviticus, in Leviticus 11, verse 44, he said, 00:15:18.320 --> 00:15:24.000 I am holy. And he said, be holy. 00:15:26.960 --> 00:15:34.720 Be separate. Be the other one. He expects that we'd be different from others, eh? 00:15:40.560 --> 00:15:46.080 You know, there was this German theologian, his name is Rudolf Otto. 00:15:47.040 --> 00:15:51.760 And Heidi is smiling here. And please forgive me, Heidi, if I don't spell it correctly. But 00:15:52.400 --> 00:16:01.920 he wrote a book called, it's called Das Heilige, something like that. And which is the idea of 00:16:01.920 --> 00:16:10.400 holy. Yeah, the idea of holy. So in this book, he does a research, right? He explored Asians, 00:16:11.040 --> 00:16:17.200 Africans, Europeans, the Aborigines, he explored, and then he wants to understand 00:16:19.040 --> 00:16:26.400 the definition of holy. Because holy is something not just about Christians, right? Even in other 00:16:26.400 --> 00:16:36.800 religions come to this place where they consider things as holy, as sacred, right? And so, in this 00:16:36.800 --> 00:16:43.920 tiny book called The Idea of Holy, many theologians consider this as one of the most important 00:16:45.040 --> 00:16:51.200 books in the 20th century. It's a small one. But he went around and he examined the 00:16:53.680 --> 00:17:01.440 phenomenology of this human experience. Human experience to something holy. When human 00:17:01.440 --> 00:17:09.360 encounter something holy, what's their reaction? Right? And he has been exploring about this 00:17:09.360 --> 00:17:15.760 definition of holy. And you know, he concluded saying that the word holy is mysterium 00:17:16.320 --> 00:17:26.160 tremendum, meaning it is a mystery that fascinates and terrifies. 00:17:29.440 --> 00:17:38.880 It's both. A mystery that fascinates, but it also terrifies, right? So, 00:17:39.520 --> 00:17:45.040 you know, when people come in contact with something holy, people have different reactions. 00:17:48.320 --> 00:17:56.800 Some become quiet, some are overwhelmed, they're stunned. Whereas some people, 00:17:58.320 --> 00:18:03.680 you know, react in certain ways. And he writes something like this. When someone comes in contact 00:18:04.480 --> 00:18:06.560 with something holy, he writes like this. 00:18:06.560 --> 00:18:14.800 The feeling of it may be at times sweeping like a gentle tide, pervading the mind with a tranquil 00:18:14.800 --> 00:18:21.520 mood of deepest worship. Or it may pass into a more set and lasting attitude of the soul, 00:18:22.240 --> 00:18:28.640 continuing as it were, thrillingly vibrant and resonant until at last it dies away. 00:18:29.600 --> 00:18:38.000 Right? But we have different feelings. And I'm saying that not everyone has, or say not every 00:18:38.000 --> 00:18:45.680 season, not every moment are flooded with these kind of moments. Right? Even in our times of church, 00:18:47.040 --> 00:18:53.840 I'm not saying that God is absent, but I'm saying that there are moments where there is this 00:18:53.840 --> 00:19:01.200 heightened awareness of God's presence. Right? There are these moments where we know God is there 00:19:01.200 --> 00:19:07.520 right from the beginning till now. But there are moments when the presence of God becomes more 00:19:07.520 --> 00:19:20.000 evident. Yeah? And he describes that not everyone reacts or responds the same way to these kind of 00:19:20.000 --> 00:19:26.720 moments. And so he concluded saying that after his research, he concluded saying that 00:19:28.080 --> 00:19:36.480 when a man comes in contact with something holy, he said it's a response of ambivalence, 00:19:37.440 --> 00:19:46.000 as in a conflicting feeling. Right? A conflicting feeling, something about holiness that attracts you 00:19:46.480 --> 00:19:50.560 and something about holiness that terrifies and you want to repel. 00:19:52.320 --> 00:20:00.000 Yeah? And this is so true. Right? Everyone in this room had had those kind of moments. 00:20:01.200 --> 00:20:12.160 Everyone in this room, I tell you. I've had such moments when I experienced the move of the spirit. 00:20:12.240 --> 00:20:21.280 The move of the spirit. Sometimes I just can't help but shake violently, vibrate. My body would 00:20:21.280 --> 00:20:29.040 be electrified. I'm shaking violently and I'm terrified, but I'm feeling amazing at the same time. 00:20:30.160 --> 00:20:40.400 Yeah? And there are moments when I'm just overwhelmed. I'm silent, but I can feel 00:20:40.400 --> 00:20:47.840 waves and waves of God's love overwhelmed by his presence. I'm just lost for words. Yeah? 00:20:50.560 --> 00:20:53.440 That's the presence of the holy God. 00:20:57.520 --> 00:21:04.400 We all have those kind of moments, guys. If we are open for it, man, God wants to manifest 00:21:04.400 --> 00:21:17.040 so much in our midst. Psalm 28, Psalm 78 talks about they limited God. They prevent God from 00:21:17.040 --> 00:21:25.920 blessing them. They rebelled again and again. Right? It prevents. If not, God always wants to manifest. 00:21:26.240 --> 00:21:32.720 This encounter with this holy is just mind-blowing, I tell you. Right? You know, 00:21:33.600 --> 00:21:39.680 growing up, we loved to talk about ghost stories. So, you know, by the fireside, we would sit by 00:21:39.680 --> 00:21:45.600 the fireside and talk about, do you have any ghost stories? And then, you know, so we would share and 00:21:45.600 --> 00:21:52.560 then we would have chills over our body. And then the hairs would straighten, you know, and then later 00:21:53.520 --> 00:22:01.840 on, we don't want to go to our own rooms because we're scared now. Right? But why I'm sharing this 00:22:01.840 --> 00:22:07.680 is because on one hand, you want to talk about it because it's exciting. It fascinates you, 00:22:07.680 --> 00:22:17.360 but on the other hand, it terrifies you. Now you're scared. I remember. I know, and you know, 00:22:17.360 --> 00:22:25.200 let me not go there. But what I'm trying to say here is that 00:22:27.360 --> 00:22:33.520 people are drawn to Jesus, but they're also terrified with his presence. 00:22:35.200 --> 00:22:40.320 It's both. And we have the tendency to keep distance, 00:22:40.320 --> 00:22:47.120 a safe distance from the character of God. Because even though we are attracted by it, 00:22:48.000 --> 00:22:50.880 on the one hand, we are repelled by it as well. 00:22:52.640 --> 00:22:57.280 Because this is the otherness of God. You realize that 00:22:59.280 --> 00:23:02.240 God is different. You realize that 00:23:04.480 --> 00:23:07.760 you are too unholy before him. You feel uncomfortable. 00:23:08.160 --> 00:23:14.080 The disciples had experienced this with Jesus, right? On one hand, they saw the astonishing 00:23:14.080 --> 00:23:20.880 wisdom and the power of God manifesting in this man called Jesus. And then they also understood 00:23:20.880 --> 00:23:25.920 that it's linked with his devotion to his father. And so they come and said, 00:23:25.920 --> 00:23:31.680 Jesus, would you teach us how to pray? And then Jesus said, also, Jesus, 00:23:31.680 --> 00:23:34.720 come and said, Jesus, would you teach us how to pray? 00:23:36.800 --> 00:23:41.280 And then Jesus said, All right, I'll teach you how to pray. You know, I'm paraphrasing here, 00:23:41.280 --> 00:23:50.480 but he said, our father, who are in heaven? And then the next line says, hallowed be thy name. 00:23:51.600 --> 00:23:57.600 It's not an address to who God is. One way to define hallowed be thy name is, 00:23:58.240 --> 00:24:00.560 you will treat God as holy. 00:24:03.760 --> 00:24:12.720 His name will be revered as holy. That's another way to put it, hey? Let's pause that for a moment. 00:24:16.320 --> 00:24:18.320 The Lord takes his name seriously. 00:24:21.040 --> 00:24:23.440 You know, when we think of the Ten Commandments, 00:24:23.760 --> 00:24:26.560 the first three commandments is all about God. 00:24:28.560 --> 00:24:34.160 Yeah, I am the God who brought you out of Egypt. Right? You shall have no other gods before me. 00:24:35.200 --> 00:24:39.760 Right? You will not have any idols, any carved image, you will not bow down to any other thing. 00:24:40.240 --> 00:24:48.560 And then the next one goes, you will not use the name of the Lord in vain. Yeah? Man. And you know 00:24:48.560 --> 00:24:54.560 what? These Ten Commandments, these are the ten most important things for humanity. Right? 00:24:55.680 --> 00:24:59.440 God has these Ten Commandments. Do you think that he'll put something insignificant there? 00:25:00.160 --> 00:25:08.640 Not a chance. If you are to pick ten things and make ten commandments for your son or for your 00:25:08.640 --> 00:25:14.800 kid to grow up with these principles, with these truths, you'll be careful, man. You wouldn't write 00:25:14.800 --> 00:25:21.520 anything random there because you only have ten things to say. And you know what? The first three 00:25:22.160 --> 00:25:29.040 things mentioned here, it's everything about God. Nothing to do with humanity. It's about his name, 00:25:29.040 --> 00:25:34.560 it's about not bowing to any other gods. Yeah? You shall not use the name of the Lord in vain. 00:25:34.560 --> 00:25:41.280 And then the next one goes, you shall observe the Shabbat. Right? But the first three things 00:25:41.920 --> 00:25:44.240 is very clear. It's about God. 00:25:50.480 --> 00:25:56.800 And so that's why it's no wonder when Jesus taught us how to pray, 00:25:58.880 --> 00:26:00.640 to revere his name as holy. 00:26:04.240 --> 00:26:07.920 You know, one man of God wrote like this, and I just want to read it out. 00:26:08.640 --> 00:26:15.840 I don't think the kingdom of God will ever come on this earth, or that the will of God will ever be 00:26:15.840 --> 00:26:24.400 done on earth, until and unless the name of God is revered by his people. And he goes on to say, 00:26:24.400 --> 00:26:31.200 how is it possible for a people to honor a king and at the same time desecrate his name? 00:26:31.360 --> 00:26:36.000 God doesn't like when his name is used in vain. And he goes on to say like this, 00:26:36.000 --> 00:26:43.360 let me tell you like this. If you use the name of God as a common curse word, 00:26:44.560 --> 00:26:54.560 you are at root a profane person. You have no respect for holiness of God. And I urge you to 00:26:55.120 --> 00:27:07.120 think before you let those words pass over your lips again in a frivolous manner, because God will 00:27:07.120 --> 00:27:15.280 not tolerate the desecration of his name. Strong words, hey? Strong words. 00:27:15.280 --> 00:27:27.280 But it makes sense. It makes sense. If these makes the top three, 10 commandments, if they are on the 00:27:27.280 --> 00:27:35.760 top list in God's constitution, do you think it doesn't matter to him? It does, guys. It does. 00:27:37.920 --> 00:27:44.960 Not to profane the name of the Lord makes the top 10 percent, top 10 most important commandments 00:27:44.960 --> 00:27:55.760 in his constitution, man. God alone is holy. His name is to be exalted. His name is to be lifted high. 00:27:59.520 --> 00:28:07.120 That's why I find it strange when if you have understood who Christ is, 00:28:07.200 --> 00:28:11.840 if you have believed who Christ is and has got to know who he is, 00:28:12.960 --> 00:28:17.280 it would be very weird to come into this room and not worship him. 00:28:21.040 --> 00:28:23.600 You will be very weird, I tell you. 00:28:26.000 --> 00:28:27.120 Because he's holy. 00:28:27.120 --> 00:28:28.080 Because he's holy. 00:28:30.880 --> 00:28:38.160 It would be very weird, guys. It's strange how Christians can be comfortable in the presence of 00:28:38.160 --> 00:28:46.640 God without giving him the due worship and honor that he deserves. I tell you, guys, we have reduced 00:28:46.640 --> 00:28:54.400 Jesus to a buddy. And I'm not saying that we shouldn't be casual. No, I'm not saying that. 00:28:54.400 --> 00:29:00.080 But I'm saying we have to hold this intention. On one hand, he's my father. On one hand, he's 00:29:00.080 --> 00:29:06.960 my brother. On one hand, he's my friend. On one hand, he's my teacher. On one hand, he's the most 00:29:06.960 --> 00:29:15.920 fun guy to hang out with. But I shouldn't forget that he's holy. He's God. Right? On one hand, 00:29:15.920 --> 00:29:21.680 can I be undignified before him? But on the other hand, can I learn how to remove my sandals quickly? 00:29:21.680 --> 00:29:28.000 Because the ground that I am standing is holy because of his presence. Right? It has to be 00:29:28.000 --> 00:29:37.440 hold together, guys. This is why let's move on to what happens when the people of God begins to 00:29:37.440 --> 00:29:43.840 encounter the holy presence of God. And I want to share three stories here. And I'll end with that. 00:29:47.040 --> 00:29:48.160 Three points, three stories. 00:29:48.160 --> 00:29:51.680 Three stories. But long stories. 00:29:58.800 --> 00:30:05.040 You know, remember the story in Exodus when God invites Moses to come up to the hill and spends 00:30:05.040 --> 00:30:10.480 time with him because he wants to give the Ten Commandments. So Moses goes up to the hill. 00:30:10.560 --> 00:30:17.440 And it took a very long time. Yeah. And the people must be anxious. You know, here I am just making 00:30:17.440 --> 00:30:27.440 up here. But I'm like, where is Moses? Yeah. Is he going to return? Has the earth swallowed up? 00:30:29.040 --> 00:30:35.920 And like, has he been swallowed like the sons of Korah? Right? They're anxious. They were waiting 00:30:36.880 --> 00:30:48.480 for days. What happened to their leader? And Moses was at the mountain and he was spending 00:30:48.480 --> 00:30:54.080 time with the Lord. And I'm here, you know, I'm just, you know, improvising here again. Yeah. 00:30:54.080 --> 00:31:03.840 But Moses did something quite daring. He said, like, God, I've seen you, how you rescued us 00:31:03.840 --> 00:31:13.360 from Egypt. I've seen how you part the Red Sea. I've seen how you destroyed with plagues, 00:31:13.360 --> 00:31:22.080 like Egypt with plagues. I've seen quite a lot. But I want a little more this time. Yeah. Can I 00:31:22.080 --> 00:31:32.160 see your face? And God said, you know, Moses, nobody can see my face and live. And yet, 00:31:33.120 --> 00:31:38.960 that's the crazy thing about Moses. He knows that he will die. He asked for it. 00:31:40.640 --> 00:31:46.400 I find that very interesting because he knows that nobody can see the face of God and live. 00:31:46.400 --> 00:31:52.400 And he dares to ask to see the face of God. That's one thing I like about Moses. He does 00:31:53.040 --> 00:32:00.000 things that nobody asks. This is why God says, with other prophets, I speak to them in dreams, 00:32:00.000 --> 00:32:06.080 in visions. With Moses, I talk to him face to face. The intimacy, the level of intimacy 00:32:06.080 --> 00:32:15.120 is different with Moses. Yeah. And so, you know, back to the story. Here, God's saying, 00:32:16.720 --> 00:32:22.880 all right, I know you won't survive. But what I'll do is I'll hide you in the cleft of the rock 00:32:22.880 --> 00:32:32.080 and I'll cover you and I'll let my glory pass by. And I know that if you see my face, you will die. 00:32:32.080 --> 00:32:40.480 So I'll allow you to see my back. And you know what? God did exactly that. And Moses 00:32:40.480 --> 00:32:51.680 saw a tiny glimpse of the Lord's back. Yeah. It was in instantaneous glory of God that he saw 00:32:51.680 --> 00:32:58.960 for a brief moment. And then he comes down. Yeah. He comes down. Now the people are waiting for him. 00:32:58.960 --> 00:33:04.320 They have been waiting for their leader. He has gone 40 days, right? Like, finally, you know, 00:33:04.320 --> 00:33:10.080 they saw a man appearing. They are now running towards Moses. They're excited about their leader 00:33:10.080 --> 00:33:19.760 who is back. And then, to their surprise, when they saw the face of Moses, they began to retrieve. 00:33:20.240 --> 00:33:29.280 They were terrified. They shrunk back. Why? Because Moses' face was radiating with God's glory. 00:33:30.560 --> 00:33:34.560 They couldn't see his face. He was blinding to them. And so they said, 00:33:34.560 --> 00:33:41.840 Moses, cover your face. Cover your face, right? So Moses covers his face. It's a fascinating story. 00:33:41.840 --> 00:33:45.360 And you know what? This is a mere mortal. 00:33:45.520 --> 00:33:51.920 Moses didn't even see the face of God. He just saw the back for a brief moment, passing by. 00:33:52.720 --> 00:34:00.800 And you know what? Man could not handle the glory of God that was reflected through this man. 00:34:02.560 --> 00:34:11.040 Just imagine, eh? This is why you will see people terrified. And whenever God encounters man, 00:34:11.040 --> 00:34:19.120 God will often say, don't be afraid. Don't be afraid, right? 00:34:29.040 --> 00:34:35.760 That's the holiness of God. Man cannot face the holiness of God. 00:34:35.760 --> 00:34:42.480 And so they get ruined. They get ruined. They get undone. 00:34:43.360 --> 00:34:49.520 Saul on the road to Damascus, he was strong. He was plotting evil against Christians. 00:34:50.240 --> 00:34:55.520 He encounters the glory of God, the holiness of God on the road to Damascus. He was undone. 00:34:56.160 --> 00:35:02.640 Guys, all you need is an experience with this God, the encounter. 00:35:03.520 --> 00:35:07.680 That's why my subtitle was The Encounter, The Holy Encounter. 00:35:09.440 --> 00:35:13.600 It transforms people, man. One encounter is all you need. 00:35:15.200 --> 00:35:20.640 You know, even angels have to cover their faces. Angels have six wings, right? 00:35:20.640 --> 00:35:28.240 And you know, in Isaiah chapter 6, two wings covered their faces, two wings covered their feet, 00:35:28.240 --> 00:35:37.600 and then they were using two wings to fly. But even angels could not see, could not face God, man. 00:35:38.480 --> 00:35:41.760 You know, the Bible didn't explain why they have to cover their feet. 00:35:42.640 --> 00:35:53.040 Yeah, but one can imagine because feet in the Bible often symbolizes our creatureliness, right? 00:35:53.040 --> 00:35:56.720 The feet of a clay, made from the clay. 00:35:57.680 --> 00:36:05.840 So feet represent something creaturely. Now, they cannot face this holy presence of God, 00:36:06.400 --> 00:36:09.440 and even the angels had to cover their feet. Yeah. 00:36:12.000 --> 00:36:14.000 That's the encounter of Moses with God. 00:36:14.000 --> 00:36:24.560 It ruined him. It commissioned him. Right? And after the burning bush encounter, Moses was never the same. 00:36:25.440 --> 00:36:30.480 He was commissioned to lead his people. He said, I'm slow to speak. I cannot speak. Right? 00:36:30.480 --> 00:36:35.600 He was self-focused, but the encounter with the Holy One changed him. 00:36:36.480 --> 00:36:40.400 He was always focused on what he was saying. He was always focused on what he was saying. 00:36:42.160 --> 00:36:48.080 He was always focused on what he was saying. He was always focused on what he was saying. 00:36:48.240 --> 00:36:53.520 Right? He was self-focused, but the encounter with the Holy One changed him. 00:36:55.040 --> 00:37:00.640 In Isaiah, that's the second story. The encounter with the Holy is even more fascinating. 00:37:01.360 --> 00:37:05.520 Yeah? Something spectacular that Isaiah encountered with the presence of God. 00:37:12.320 --> 00:37:16.320 You know, in English, when we want to emphasize something, 00:37:17.280 --> 00:37:24.560 we capitalize it, right? We make it bold. We underline it. We put it under inverted 00:37:24.560 --> 00:37:30.240 comas so that we are trying to highlight a word that we're trying to emphasize. Right? 00:37:31.040 --> 00:37:36.320 But the Hebrew is very different. In Hebrew, if someone is really trying to make a point, 00:37:36.880 --> 00:37:44.560 they'll repeat the word. Right? So you'll see this when I say, go, go. That means you really need to 00:37:44.560 --> 00:37:52.960 go. Yeah? And this is why you will see in the life of Jesus as well. Jesus said, 00:37:52.960 --> 00:37:59.760 verily, verily. Some virgins say, truly, truly, I say to you, Jesus is saying, 00:37:59.760 --> 00:38:09.840 what I'm saying right now is really important. Right? And here in this passage in Isaiah 6, 00:38:10.800 --> 00:38:22.720 for the first time, the word holy, holy, holy is repeated not twice, but thrice. 00:38:24.720 --> 00:38:34.960 That's the superlative. It's the third degree of repetition. No other character, no other 00:38:34.960 --> 00:38:41.680 characteristics or the attributes of God has been repeated thrice. Nowhere in the Bible, 00:38:42.560 --> 00:38:52.080 nowhere in the Bible it says love, love, love, or joy, joy, joy. It says holy, holy, holy. 00:38:53.040 --> 00:39:01.520 Meaning God is not just holy, but God is infinitely holy. Nothing beyond that. It has reached the third 00:39:01.520 --> 00:39:13.360 degree of holiness, man. Nothing beyond that. The word holy is, you know, you know, kadosh, 00:39:13.360 --> 00:39:22.480 right? Which we sing, you know, kadosh. But it's a fascinating story here. For the first time, 00:39:23.120 --> 00:39:27.120 an attribute of God has been repeated thrice, and it was never repeated again. 00:39:27.680 --> 00:39:35.520 Holiness of God is something you and I needs to learn how to behold. I love how Don kept repeating 00:39:35.520 --> 00:39:39.280 behold, behold, behold, because he has no idea of what I'm going to teach today. 00:39:42.720 --> 00:39:49.520 He has no idea. We haven't talked about this. But all I'm trying to say here is that come 00:39:49.920 --> 00:39:59.360 and behold this holy God. That's all I'm saying here. That's why you don't even need to take notes 00:39:59.360 --> 00:40:07.840 here. All I'm saying is these guys have behold the holiness of God. It has ruined them. Yeah. 00:40:09.200 --> 00:40:15.120 And I'm saying that if you're confused with life, if you're unsure, if you're unsatisfied with where 00:40:15.120 --> 00:40:24.960 you are, come. Simply come into the presence of this holy God. He will ruin you, man. 00:40:27.200 --> 00:40:28.880 And we do this Sunday after Sunday. 00:40:31.040 --> 00:40:34.880 There have been so many times when I've been ruined when it comes to worship. 00:40:34.880 --> 00:40:42.800 You know, notice here, holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty. The whole earth is full of his glory. 00:40:43.360 --> 00:40:48.000 At the sound of their voices, the doorposts and the thresholds shook and the temple was 00:40:48.000 --> 00:40:56.000 filled with smoke. Right? And then, you know, notice here, you know, Isaiah is known for saying, 00:40:56.000 --> 00:40:58.000 right? And then now here he's saying, 00:40:58.000 --> 00:41:00.000 Yeah? 00:41:00.000 --> 00:41:06.000 I'm a man of unclean lips and I live among the people of unclean lips. My eyes have seen the king. 00:41:08.000 --> 00:41:14.000 Wow. It's fascinating, guys. And you know, I'm saying, I'm saying, I'm saying, I'm saying, 00:41:14.000 --> 00:41:20.000 I'm saying, I'm saying, I'm saying, I'm saying, I'm saying, I'm saying, I'm saying, I'm saying, 00:41:20.000 --> 00:41:26.000 Wow. It's fascinating, guys. And you see the progression of this story. 00:41:30.000 --> 00:41:36.000 Then one of the seraphim flew, flew to him, right? And with a live coal in his hand. 00:41:40.000 --> 00:41:48.000 Yeah. And which he had taken with tongs from the altar. And then with it, he touched his mouth and said, 00:41:48.000 --> 00:41:58.000 See, this has touched your lips and your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for. 00:42:02.000 --> 00:42:08.000 Did you notice how here is this man who is called a prophet, who is supposed to be a holy man, 00:42:08.000 --> 00:42:16.000 comes in contact with the holy God, ruined. He begins to admit he is a prophet. 00:42:16.000 --> 00:42:24.000 He begins to admit he is a man of unclean lips. He is a man of God. He says, I'm a man of unclean lips. 00:42:24.000 --> 00:42:28.000 Right? He is ruined. 00:42:36.000 --> 00:42:40.000 You notice that there is a holy cleansing that is happening here. 00:42:40.000 --> 00:42:48.000 The angel touched him with live coal in his mouth and said, Your guilt is taken away. Your sin has been atoned for. 00:42:48.000 --> 00:42:52.000 Cleansed. Made holy. 00:42:54.000 --> 00:42:58.000 Then the commission followed, right? The commission of Isaiah follows after that. 00:42:58.000 --> 00:43:04.000 Who will send, who will go, right? And then Isaiah says, Send me, right? 00:43:04.000 --> 00:43:06.000 Here am I. Send me. 00:43:06.000 --> 00:43:11.000 Here am I. Send me. And then, you know, God tells him to go, right? 00:43:11.000 --> 00:43:19.000 But you know what? My point of sharing this is that as we come in contact with this holy God, 00:43:19.000 --> 00:43:26.000 he doesn't just ruin you, but he sets you on the highway of holiness that I've been talking about. 00:43:26.000 --> 00:43:32.000 It's an exclusive road. It's an exclusive highway. But it's for the redeemed. 00:43:32.000 --> 00:43:38.000 For the ones where the holy God has touched them. It's for those people. 00:43:38.000 --> 00:43:42.000 This road is for those people. It's a highway for the holy people. 00:43:42.000 --> 00:43:48.000 Yeah? The third one, third story. 00:43:50.000 --> 00:43:54.000 It's the disciples with Jesus. 00:43:54.000 --> 00:43:59.000 In Mark chapter 4, one time Jesus was with the disciples. 00:43:59.000 --> 00:44:04.000 And then they wanted to go to the other side of the shore. 00:44:04.000 --> 00:44:09.000 And he was sleeping in a stern, you know, with a cushion, right? On a cushion. 00:44:09.000 --> 00:44:16.000 And then a fierce wind came up and then the waves broke over the boat and it nearly swam them, right? 00:44:16.000 --> 00:44:21.000 And so they woke him up and said, Don't you care? 00:44:21.000 --> 00:44:26.000 Don't you care that we drown, right? 00:44:26.000 --> 00:44:30.000 It's crazy how they brought up such a question. 00:44:30.000 --> 00:44:37.000 Here is the author of life who is sleeping on a boat and he's like, Don't you care? 00:44:37.000 --> 00:44:41.000 Jesus has been taking care of their needs all this time. 00:44:41.000 --> 00:44:46.000 And yet, you know, we don't know what Jesus responded to that question. 00:44:46.000 --> 00:44:52.000 But he said, he woke up and he said, Quiet, be still, right? 00:44:52.000 --> 00:44:55.000 And we know the story. 00:44:55.000 --> 00:44:59.000 The waves were calmed. Yeah? 00:44:59.000 --> 00:45:07.000 And yet, what fascinates me about this story is not just there, 00:45:07.000 --> 00:45:13.000 but it's the reaction of the disciples that really surprised me. 00:45:13.000 --> 00:45:18.000 They reacted this way. 00:45:18.000 --> 00:45:26.000 Who is this man that even the waves and the sea obeys him? 00:45:26.000 --> 00:45:29.000 They were terrified. 00:45:29.000 --> 00:45:33.000 Instead of being happy, I knew you would do it, Jesus. 00:45:33.000 --> 00:45:36.000 No, they didn't say that. Yeah? 00:45:36.000 --> 00:45:38.000 I knew you would come to me. 00:45:38.000 --> 00:45:42.000 I knew you would do it, Jesus. No, they didn't say that. 00:45:42.000 --> 00:45:45.000 Yeah, I knew you would come the storm. Yeah. 00:45:45.000 --> 00:45:50.000 Yay, you know, the waves are gone. No, right? 00:45:50.000 --> 00:45:52.000 They were shocked. 00:45:52.000 --> 00:45:58.000 More than the natural forces, they were more terrified by this man with them. 00:45:58.000 --> 00:46:04.000 Because they suddenly realized that they suddenly realized the otherness of Jesus. 00:46:04.000 --> 00:46:06.000 Right? The otherness of Jesus. 00:46:06.000 --> 00:46:10.000 Here, the storm is calmed, but they were terrified. 00:46:10.000 --> 00:46:21.000 Why? Because that was something only God can do. 00:46:21.000 --> 00:46:27.000 See, guys, in every human heart, 00:46:27.000 --> 00:46:34.000 there's this regard for something beyond the natural forces 00:46:34.000 --> 00:46:42.000 that draws you, that terrifies you. Yeah? 00:46:42.000 --> 00:46:46.000 Because you will see guys doing crazy stuff, yeah? 00:46:46.000 --> 00:46:54.000 Risking their lives, like on a motorbike or skiing or whatever it is, they take risks, man. 00:46:54.000 --> 00:46:58.000 They're not scared about natural forces, 00:46:58.000 --> 00:47:03.000 but they're scared of something beyond that. 00:47:03.000 --> 00:47:09.000 And when they come in contact with this holy, holiness of God, they always get terrified. 00:47:09.000 --> 00:47:22.000 I have not come across any man in the Bible who had experienced the presence of the Holy God and was not scared. 00:47:22.000 --> 00:47:26.000 They're no longer talking about the waves. Yeah? 00:47:26.000 --> 00:47:29.000 You know, did you notice? They were not talking about the waves anymore. 00:47:29.000 --> 00:47:34.000 They were talking about this guy, Jesus. 00:47:34.000 --> 00:47:40.000 Isn't that amazing? 00:47:40.000 --> 00:47:43.000 This xenophobia, right? 00:47:43.000 --> 00:47:49.000 Zenos meaning foreign or stranger, and then phobia is fear, right? 00:47:49.000 --> 00:47:52.000 Something unfamiliar. 00:47:52.000 --> 00:47:58.000 They come in contact with something unfamiliar, something different. 00:47:58.000 --> 00:48:05.000 That's where they realized that Jesus is different. 00:48:05.000 --> 00:48:07.000 Jesus is the other one. 00:48:07.000 --> 00:48:11.000 And you know, these kind of stuff did not happen just one or two occasions. 00:48:11.000 --> 00:48:12.000 It happened multiple times. 00:48:12.000 --> 00:48:16.000 You know, another time was when Peter and his friends were fishing, right? 00:48:16.000 --> 00:48:21.000 The whole night they fished, they caught nothing. 00:48:21.000 --> 00:48:32.000 And you know, the Bible projects Peter as someone who is impulsive, someone who is rash, someone who is a hot-headed. 00:48:32.000 --> 00:48:34.000 Yeah? 00:48:34.000 --> 00:48:39.000 And so here, you know, I'll improvise here again. 00:48:39.000 --> 00:48:40.000 Yeah? 00:48:40.000 --> 00:48:46.000 But when Jesus said, you know, how did the fishing go? 00:48:46.000 --> 00:48:49.000 You know, Peter said, well, it was a lousy night. 00:48:49.000 --> 00:48:52.000 We tried the whole night, caught nothing. 00:48:52.000 --> 00:48:56.000 And then Jesus said, why don't you try on the other side of the boat? 00:48:56.000 --> 00:48:59.000 I'm sure you know, Peter must be thinking. 00:48:59.000 --> 00:49:03.000 Jesus, I know you are a good theologian. 00:49:03.000 --> 00:49:04.000 You teach well. 00:49:04.000 --> 00:49:06.000 You do stuff here. 00:49:06.000 --> 00:49:08.000 But you're not a fisherman. 00:49:08.000 --> 00:49:11.000 You're a carpenter, right? 00:49:11.000 --> 00:49:13.000 Now, what do you know about fishing? 00:49:13.000 --> 00:49:16.000 And I'm a professional fisherman, right? 00:49:16.000 --> 00:49:21.000 But Peter, well, all right, you're the master. 00:49:21.000 --> 00:49:22.000 I'm a disciple. 00:49:22.000 --> 00:49:25.000 So let me just do what you say. 00:49:25.000 --> 00:49:27.000 And you know what? 00:49:27.000 --> 00:49:34.000 When he cast his net on the right side of the boat, the whole fish in Galilee jumped onto his net. 00:49:34.000 --> 00:49:36.000 He was blown away by that. 00:49:36.000 --> 00:49:42.000 They need another boat to draw the fish, right? 00:49:42.000 --> 00:49:50.000 And you know, there was one guy who was narrating about this story. 00:49:50.000 --> 00:49:53.000 Peter is a Jewish. 00:49:53.000 --> 00:49:56.000 He's a professional fisherman. 00:49:56.000 --> 00:49:59.000 He's not fishing for fun. 00:49:59.000 --> 00:50:03.000 He's fishing for profit. 00:50:03.000 --> 00:50:06.000 He earns his livelihood through this. 00:50:06.000 --> 00:50:08.000 He's not fishing for fun. 00:50:08.000 --> 00:50:14.000 It's one thing to fish for fun, and it's another thing to fish for your daily bread. 00:50:14.000 --> 00:50:17.000 And so this pastor was narrating about this story. 00:50:17.000 --> 00:50:22.000 If I were Peter, I would make a deal with Jesus. 00:50:22.000 --> 00:50:30.000 Jesus, all you can do is come once a month on Saturday, just for five minutes, tell me where to cast my net, 00:50:30.000 --> 00:50:35.000 and then you can go back home, and I'll share 50% of my profit with you, right? 00:50:35.000 --> 00:50:39.000 Because Jesus knows exactly where to put the net, right? 00:50:39.000 --> 00:50:41.000 Yeah. 00:50:41.000 --> 00:50:43.000 But you know, how Jesus... 00:50:43.000 --> 00:50:45.000 I'm sorry. 00:50:45.000 --> 00:50:50.000 It's amazing how Peter responds to this. 00:50:50.000 --> 00:50:53.000 His response was astonishing. 00:50:53.000 --> 00:51:00.000 He said, away from me, Jesus, for I am a sinner. 00:51:00.000 --> 00:51:02.000 Wow. 00:51:02.000 --> 00:51:04.000 Wow. 00:51:12.000 --> 00:51:21.000 What happens here is this man suddenly comes in contact with something holy. 00:51:21.000 --> 00:51:23.000 Couldn't face it. 00:51:23.000 --> 00:51:25.000 I cannot handle your holiness anymore. 00:51:25.000 --> 00:51:28.000 Jesus, be away from me. 00:51:28.000 --> 00:51:32.000 I'm dreadfully aware of our unholiness. 00:51:32.000 --> 00:51:38.000 This is what an ordinary man experiences. 00:51:38.000 --> 00:51:42.000 Even in our own lives, I had seen this, guys. 00:51:42.000 --> 00:51:52.000 Where it's not even God, but I had seen how people put away their cigarettes, put away their bottles, 00:51:52.000 --> 00:51:57.000 just because they saw their pastor or someone who is a spiritual man. 00:51:57.000 --> 00:52:03.000 You know, the pastor didn't say anything, or this man of God didn't judge him or say anything, 00:52:03.000 --> 00:52:06.000 but the person becomes uncomfortable. 00:52:06.000 --> 00:52:09.000 Have you ever experienced that? 00:52:09.000 --> 00:52:14.000 Maybe someone with you? Yeah? 00:52:14.000 --> 00:52:23.000 It's because the holy presence of God is in you. 00:52:23.000 --> 00:52:24.000 And you know what? 00:52:24.000 --> 00:52:34.000 It is interesting to note that the most vehement enemies that Jesus had in his lifetime were the Pharisees, 00:52:34.000 --> 00:52:39.000 who were supposed to be devoted to righteousness. 00:52:39.000 --> 00:52:40.000 Yeah? 00:52:40.000 --> 00:52:53.000 And they were so self-righteous that people cannot embrace their kind of holiness, 00:52:53.000 --> 00:53:02.000 because it was a holiness that is human, a holiness that is religious, a holiness that is self-righteous. 00:53:02.000 --> 00:53:12.000 But Jesus on one hand is so holy, and yet the kind of people that he draws to him is sinners, prostitutes, tax collectors. 00:53:12.000 --> 00:53:13.000 Why? 00:53:13.000 --> 00:53:18.000 Because these people have no illusion about their own righteousness. 00:53:18.000 --> 00:53:19.000 Right? 00:53:19.000 --> 00:53:25.000 They have no illusion about their own self-righteousness. 00:53:25.000 --> 00:53:29.000 And you know, how the story ended was beautiful. 00:53:29.000 --> 00:53:32.000 When Peter said, go away from me, Jesus, right? 00:53:32.000 --> 00:53:36.000 Leave me alone, because he cannot just stand the holiness of God. 00:53:36.000 --> 00:53:42.000 And yet Jesus didn't leave. Jesus didn't leave. 00:53:42.000 --> 00:53:46.000 Instead, he said, Peter, come. Come, Peter. 00:53:46.000 --> 00:53:52.000 You know what? Today, you will be fishing men. 00:53:52.000 --> 00:53:57.000 Wow. He changed the course of his destiny. 00:53:57.000 --> 00:54:00.000 Right? An encounter with the Holy One. 00:54:00.000 --> 00:54:11.000 See, guys, when we come in contact with this Holy God, it sets you on the path, on this highway called the Holy Road, called the highway of holiness. 00:54:11.000 --> 00:54:18.000 Man, no threats. You will only be joyful. No sighing, no sorrow. 00:54:18.000 --> 00:54:23.000 Because God's protection is upon your life, life becomes different. 00:54:23.000 --> 00:54:27.000 You're on a highway, a highway of holiness. 00:54:27.000 --> 00:54:30.000 Fascinating, guys. Yeah? 00:54:30.000 --> 00:54:33.000 And you know, it's not just for Peter. 00:54:33.000 --> 00:54:35.000 This invitation is not just for Peter, guys. 00:54:35.000 --> 00:54:38.000 It's for you and it's for me. 00:54:38.000 --> 00:54:43.000 We are invited to come into the presence of this Holy God. 00:54:43.000 --> 00:54:46.000 You don't have to do anything. 00:54:46.000 --> 00:54:50.000 You don't have to get to a certain level in order to encounter this Holy God. 00:54:50.000 --> 00:54:53.000 No. Come. Come. 00:54:53.000 --> 00:54:58.000 The invitation is so simple that sometimes I'm sure there's something to do. 00:54:58.000 --> 00:55:01.000 No, there's nothing to do, guys. 00:55:01.000 --> 00:55:08.000 Just come into his presence. 00:55:08.000 --> 00:55:13.000 Shall we close our eyes? I would like the musicians to come up. 00:55:13.000 --> 00:55:28.000 But let's close our eyes and pause for a moment. 00:55:28.000 --> 00:55:40.000 As we close today, the highway of holiness still stands before us, guys. 00:55:40.000 --> 00:55:45.000 This highway of holiness, how we started, still stands before us today. 00:55:45.000 --> 00:55:50.000 It is not crowded. It is not casual. 00:55:50.000 --> 00:55:53.000 It is not entered by accident. 00:55:53.000 --> 00:55:58.000 But it's a holy way prepared by a Holy God. 00:55:58.000 --> 00:56:01.000 And it is open to only one man. 00:56:01.000 --> 00:56:03.000 And that is Jesus. 00:56:03.000 --> 00:56:08.000 The question is not about whether this road exists. 00:56:08.000 --> 00:56:14.000 The question is about, will you enter this road? 00:56:14.000 --> 00:56:18.000 God's holiness is never meant to push you away. 00:56:18.000 --> 00:56:21.000 God's holiness is never to judge and condemn you. 00:56:21.000 --> 00:56:30.000 God's holiness is always to expose sin in us and then draw us to himself. 00:56:30.000 --> 00:56:36.000 The same presence of God that ruined Isaiah for good, 00:56:36.000 --> 00:56:41.000 that same holy presence that ruined Peter for good, 00:56:41.000 --> 00:56:45.000 that same holy God is in our midst today. 00:56:45.000 --> 00:56:48.000 He can ruin you for good, guys. 00:56:48.000 --> 00:56:51.000 You will be undone. 00:56:51.000 --> 00:56:57.000 Jesus, the Holy Lamb of God, He is the way and He invites us now. 00:56:57.000 --> 00:57:04.000 Will you repent where you have grown comfortable with the things that are unholy in your life, 00:57:04.000 --> 00:57:08.000 things that are sinful and you still hold them? 00:57:08.000 --> 00:57:12.000 Will you lay down what cannot be brought to this highway of holiness? 00:57:12.000 --> 00:57:17.000 Will you drop things that cannot be brought to this highway of holiness? 00:57:17.000 --> 00:57:22.000 Will you step into this true encounter with this holy God? 00:57:22.000 --> 00:57:26.000 Today, don't just wish for this highway of holiness. 00:57:26.000 --> 00:57:29.000 Don't just wish for it, guys. 00:57:29.000 --> 00:57:32.000 Step into it. 00:57:32.000 --> 00:57:34.000 Encounter His holiness. 00:57:34.000 --> 00:57:37.000 Receive the Holy One, guys. 00:57:42.000 --> 00:57:47.000 Father, we recognize what you're doing tonight. 00:57:47.000 --> 00:57:54.000 Abba, I like to use the word setup rather than invitation. 00:57:54.000 --> 00:58:00.000 This is a setup that you have set before us for us to enter. 00:58:00.000 --> 00:58:04.000 I love the chapter that Thuney said about, Abba. 00:58:04.000 --> 00:58:10.000 Isaiah chapter 6, the throne room of God. 00:58:10.000 --> 00:58:15.000 The creatures that are covering their feet, 00:58:15.000 --> 00:58:19.000 covering their face because they can't even look at the Holy. 00:58:19.000 --> 00:58:24.000 With two, they are flying and they're crying, holy, holy, holy. 00:58:24.000 --> 00:58:28.000 But there is another chapter, Abba, in Revelation chapter 4. 00:58:28.000 --> 00:58:38.000 Same throne room, same God who is holy, same holiness, the same four creatures. 00:58:38.000 --> 00:58:48.000 But in this case, it says that the wings are covered with eyes that can see this Holy One. 00:58:48.000 --> 00:58:52.000 It's covered with eyes outside and inside the wings. 00:58:52.000 --> 00:58:54.000 They're not covering their faces anymore. 00:58:54.000 --> 00:58:57.000 They're clearing, looking at the Holy One. 00:58:57.000 --> 00:59:02.000 The difference is one person and who is a lamb that was slain. 00:59:02.000 --> 00:59:11.000 The lamb that was slain is the reason and the invitation now for us to open our eyes and look at the holiness. 00:59:11.000 --> 00:59:17.000 Because you said, Abba, be holy as I am holy. 00:59:17.000 --> 00:59:29.000 This is a set up by you because by beholding you, by looking at you, by holding you close, Abba, 00:59:29.000 --> 00:59:34.000 there is this invitation for us to lay things down. 00:59:34.000 --> 00:59:44.000 Abba, for us, some of us who need a fresh encounter with the Holy, 00:59:44.000 --> 00:59:47.000 I pray tonight is the night. 00:59:47.000 --> 00:59:56.000 For Abba, for some of us who have not had an encounter yet with the most powerful spirit, 00:59:56.000 --> 01:00:00.000 with the most potent spirit, may tonight be the night. 01:00:00.000 --> 01:00:10.000 Abba, as Tuni was saying, there are moments when we shake because we can't control the power of the most holy God. 01:00:10.000 --> 01:00:14.000 It ruins us for good. It changes us for good. 01:00:14.000 --> 01:00:16.000 May tonight be the night, Abba. 01:00:16.000 --> 01:00:21.000 As we pray and as we worship, Abba, I pray that we open ourselves up. 01:00:21.000 --> 01:00:28.000 We gaze into your presence and holiness and we say, instead of saying woe to me, I will say holy, holy, holy. 01:00:28.000 --> 01:00:35.000 Instead of crying out, I am not worthy, I'll say because of the one who paid the price, I am now worthy. 01:00:36.000 --> 01:00:44.000 I will say I want to be holy just as you are holy because this is my rightful place, Abba. 01:00:44.000 --> 01:00:52.000 So, Father, I pray that people in this room be touched tonight, 01:00:52.000 --> 01:00:56.000 that something new happens because of the setup that you have made tonight. 01:00:56.000 --> 01:01:00.000 We'll spend some more time, Abba, in worship. 01:01:01.000 --> 01:01:09.000 May this not be a closing up, winding down ceremony, Abba. 01:01:09.000 --> 01:01:11.000 This is not that worship. 01:01:11.000 --> 01:01:15.000 This is the time to look into your presence and cry out holy, holy, holy. 01:01:15.000 --> 01:01:19.000 In the process, I am ruined and become holy.