Intentional Pursuit of Holiness

I’m not sure if you are a golf fan but chances are even if you have never watched a round of professional golf you know the name Tiger Woods. Here is guy that has faced many obstacles throughout his life but he has battled back from those adversities and this past weekend he won the Masters Tournament in Augusta, GA. Not only did Tiger win this tournament but this makes his 5th time winning the Masters. The highest win count for the Masters is 6.

Going into the final round Tiger found himself 2 strokes behind the leader. The television network interviewed both Woods and at the time of the interview, the leader Molinari, about their prep schedule for the next day. Molinari seemed somewhat clueless about his final round prep routine as he scrambled to identify his schedule. Woods on the other hand gave a detailed agenda that included a 3AM start time to get his body and mind going in the same direction.

I was impressed with the natural response from Tiger knowing that he would indeed get up on Sunday morning April, 14th to begin prep for the final round of the Masters. His level of intentionality was inspiring. In his mind, he had a plan for breakfast, arrival time at the golf course, and the number of balls he would hit before his tee time. As a result he made history on Sunday. I guess you could say he planned for success!

Unfortunately within the life of the church there is not a lot of intentionality toward the pursuit of holiness. We simply do not plan for success. Imagine if our church went after holiness with Tiger Woods level of intentionality. The results would be staggering. Obviously one of the marks of a health church is holiness. This call to Christlikeness is a result of God’s work within the lives of those who call themselves followers of Christ. The call to holy living is a foundational character of the Christian life. 1 Peter 1:13-16 provides a reminder to this simple vision of life.

Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

The main point of this passage is to be a holy people, we must be focused on Christ’s coming, obedient in all of life, and growing in our knowledge of God’s holiness.

Here are a few things that I find incredibly striking in this passage.
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1. Holy living in light of Christ return requires spiritual alertness. Peter is saying prepare your mind for action. Your mind will feed off of your food of choice. What are you feeding your mind? In verse 13 he uses one of his favorite words to drive this point. The important word is “sober”. Have a clear mind as you anticipate the return of Christ.
   
   
2. The pursuit of holiness is motivated by grace. The expression of Peter is that as we meditate on His return, focus on the grace that will encompass that moment. His grace has been sufficient to bring you through trials and tribulations, that same grace will be profoundly realized when you see Jesus!
   
   
3. A holy life comes from knowing the holiness of God. It is important to understand that the Christians life is all about knowing the God that has revealed himself to all humanity. As we understand the holiness of God we begin to understand the depths of our sin. As we understand our sinfulness the grace of God becomes more clear through the revelation of Jesus on the cross.
   
   

I want to come back to the issues of intentionality. If we are to see a health church with the character of holiness we must be intentional. I pray that we pursue holiness to the glory of Christ.

Pastor Billy