"What Have We Lost?"

I want you to think. What have we done? Are we forgetting about the holiness of God and our holiness because we are tied to Him? Peter speaks of holy behavior like God (I Pet. 1:15-16) and living holy and godly lives (II Pet. 3:11). We know God doesn't dwell in "temple made with hands" and He is all present and all knowing. We know the church is not a building but the people. When we speak of the Old Testament, we dismiss a lot of it because it is a nothing more than a shadow of things to come. Many think the Old Testament is graceless and I am afraid we have taken it to the point in the mind of some, unspiritual. Where does all this leave us? THERE IS NO LONGER ANY PLACE THAT IS HOLY!

We have made everything so mundane, so laid back that we have forgotten about the holiness of God. Because we know our buildings/locations we assemble in are not holy, we have taken out there is no holy place for God, no special place of His dwelling. I heard someone say, "Ah, but every place is special and it's precisely for that reason that the New Testament will have no regard for the holiness of special location." What shallow understanding we have of the New Testament. Sleeping attire in a bedroom is totally appropriate but pajamas, shorts, holes in jeans at the holy assembly of God's people? We need to rethink our approach of our holy God. We are His holy people and His holy dwelling is in us! That should spur as to watch what we wear and how we live. When we assemble as His people, what should be the foremost thing present? HOLINESS! We have little understanding about His holiness in relationship to us. Too many are becoming so laid back that we need to be more "contemporary" and consumer friendly that we have forgotten the God who purchased us and called us into a holy relationship! We speak of joy and being more open as we assemble but rejoicing without trembling is not worship!

I am not speaking of people cowering before Him, afraid of Him and gloom and doom atmospheres! I am not trying to dictate what we wear. We are too laid back. We have seem to lose reverence for God. In fact, how little today we hear about reverence and holiness. When we come to the assembly of the saints, that should bring about a holy fear, a godly reverence. We are the living temple and His Spirit dwells in us. As the body comes together, that should make us more mindful, more in tune that He is holy and we are His holy people. It should lead us to understanding, "The Lord is in His holy temple, let all the earth keep silent before Him." We need to realize there are holy places and the assemblies are one of the holiest of places because the holy people of God assemble there.