Joshua series: Kedesh and Holiness (July 14, 2019)
Elder Bryce Lowrance continues a series of messages concerning the six cities of refuge in Joshua chapter 20, noting that the first city of Kedesh means “holy.” He asks whether we really appreciate how great and holy God is, noting that the typical view of God is far too small and common. Concerning God’s holiness, he begins in Isaiah 6 and the declaration that God is “holy, holy, holy” and set far apart and above us. He considers men’s reactions to the holiness of God as found in 1st Samuel 6 and Exodus 33 before turning back to Isaiah to affirm how seeing God’s holiness also shows us how unholy we are without Him. Brother Bryce then exhorts us to show our thankfulness for His holiness by asking ourselves to consider whether or not we are acting like it in our behavior, devotion, study, prayers, and how often we come to church. He also looks at the scriptures to establish that the same God that set himself aside sets us aside “that we should be holy and without blame before him in love,” adding that we need to be reminded we are sinners to remind us of our need for a holy Savior. Brother Bryce turns back to Isaiah 6 to look at how Isaiah seeing His God’s holiness caused Isaiah to see how unclean he was and ultimately led Isaiah to want to serve His God the much more. He concludes by turning to the New Testament to explain what we can take away from the Apostle Paul’s exhortation to “Quench not the Spirit.”
Mount Paran Primitive Baptist Church 