http://bible.com/events/49251326
Church of the Nazarene – Harrisonburg
Holiness as Wholeness, Part 4
Holiness is living the abundant life.
Holiness as Wholeness
The idea behind this teaching series is that Holiness, rather than being a heavy burden of impossibility placed on believers, is a healing and freeing effect of Christ’s sacrifice.
Holiness is good for us; it restores to us the design of God for our lives. The enemy wants us to believe it is a chain placed upon us, so we dread its requirements so that we’ll turn our back on it or roll our eyes at it. But, in essence, holiness brings all that we really want into our lives. It makes us whole with all of the attendant beauty of that idea.
The Nazarene understanding of Christian Holiness or Entire Sanctification is freeing, not binding. Through this sermon series then, we want to see Holiness as Wholeness.
James Pedlar
…God’s mission is not only for those outside the church but for believers as well, who are currently experiencing the ongoing healing work of God in their lives. In other words, mission is not only “outreach” but also includes the corporate life of the church. Cultivating holiness, spurring one another on in our response to God’s ongoing work in our lives, teaching, catechizing, discipling – all these things which help to form people as disciples are part of the church’s mission.
John 10:9-10
I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
John 10:9-10
Jesus told this simple story, but they had no idea what he was talking about. So he tried again. “I’ll be explicit, then. I am the Gate for the sheep. All those others are up to no good—sheep rustlers, every one of them. But the sheep didn’t listen to them. I am the Gate. Anyone who goes through me will be cared for—will freely go in and out, and find pasture. A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.
John 10:9-10
I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
This word “abundant” in the Greek is perisson:
Meaning “exceedingly, very highly, beyond measure, more, superfluous, a quantity so abundant as to be considerably more than what one would expect or anticipate.”
Oswald Chambers
We must never measure our spiritual capacity on the basis of our education or our intellect; our capacity in spiritual things is measured on the basis of the promises of God. If we get less than God wants us to have, we will falsely accuse Him as the servant falsely accused his master when he said, “You expect more of me than you gave me the power to do. You demand too much of me, and I cannot stand true to you here where you have placed me.” When it is a question of God’s Almighty Spirit, never say, “I can’t.” Never allow the limitation of your own natural ability to enter into the matter. If we have received the Holy Spirit, God expects the work of the Holy Spirit to be exhibited in us
Change (transformation) is not the absence of temptations, it is holiness in the midst of temptation.
THE WAY OF CHRIST
IS THE ABUNDANT LIFE
C.S. Lewis – Mere Christianity
“Give up yourself, and you will find your real self. Lose your life and you will save it. Submit to death, death of your ambitions and favorite wishes every day and death of your whole body in the end: submit with every fiber of your being, and you will find eternal life. Keep back nothing. Nothing that you have not given away will be really yours. Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised from the dead. Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in.”
ONCE GOD SETS YOU FREE YOU HAVE TO DECIDE TO LIVE FREE!
John 14:6a
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life.
Holiness and the Church of the Nazarene
Former Nazarene General Superintendent Dr. J.K. Warrick discusses the distinctiveness of the Nazarene Church with a focus on Holiness.
Updates on the new Waynesboro campus
God is inviting us to step out in faith to plant a Spanish-speaking campus in the Waynesboro community. Join us on the journey! Check out the link below for more information and for frequent updates throughout the journey.
Giving at COTN
If you ever have questions or need help with online giving, please let us know: finance@cotnaz.org Thank you for your partnership in building the Kingdom of Christ as you impact others!
Establish COTN as Your Church on the App
In this YouVersion Bible app, we encourage you to set up COTN as your church. It’s a simple process and will open up opportunities to stay connected to us!
https://help.youversion.com/l/en/article/y03uerubo8-mychurch
Additional Scriptures:
John 15:9-11
9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
1 Timothy 6:6
6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.
Psalm 16:11
You make known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
John 8:36
36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
Hebrews 12:14-15
14 Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.