Holiness Matters

Micah J. Sturm

Recently, I finished 1,827 days as pastor of our flock in Georgia. 

They heard 708 sermons from me.

Just thinking over the past five years and sharing a few lessons learned by a middle-aged preacher…call them my “last-Sunday thoughts…”

(1) We need more URGENCY! Time is moving quickly! 

(2) Words are powerful…they either energize or drain the hearer.  “Oh, be careful, little mouth, what you say!”

(3) Time + Energy = Difference 

Prioritize…Rest…Encourage…then see and be the difference!

(4) Lost people matter most.

(5) We’ve confused the shepherd/sheep model in the Church.  Sheep are not pets to be pampered.

For the shepherd, the sheep are his livelihood—his ‘life’s work’ to which he becomes very attached as the sheep provide companionship with the wool and milk to meet the needs of others. They further the shepherd’s work by reproducing and enlarging his flock.  

For the sheep, the shepherd is their very life.  He leads, feeds, and protects them.  

(Psalm 23–Led/ Fed/ No Dread)

(6) Pastors and their families get discouraged.

(7) Success is not always measurable.

(8) The miracle of grace where God sanctifies a believer entirely is a definite necessity for this journey! (I still preach holiness because I’ve seen both the devastation of carnal attitudes AND the beauty of those lives devoted fully to Christ!)

(9)  The fruit of the Spirit must be tended to be kept fresh!

(10) Struggle does not get the last word—resurrection does!  

www.podbean.com/ei/pb-w4nu2-19e34f5

Yesterday, I preached from Matthew 3:1-12.

John the Baptist’s message is clear:

“WATER”…this moment is entry into a life beyond forgiveness—kingdom living!

“WORTHY “…holiness can only be received in humility…we are not worthy to carry His shoes either!

“WINNOWING”…our forgiven hearts need cleansing from the worthless things that clutter our lives…the chaff He burns up in entire sanctification!

Thanks be to God!

Micah J. Sturm

It’s a long story, but I was born to preach Jesus Christ.

The call came to an eight year old boy who loved books. For my eighth birthday, I got my first “big boy” Bible—a black bonded leather with red-letters and no pictures.

I’ve always enjoyed stories.
The Bible has become a close companion.

Details drive stories deeper into my heart and bring the scenes to life.

“Stories are the lifeblood of the body, and the blood of Jesus is the Life of all life, the Story of all stories…

If you cut preachers, they bleed the Scriptures, and their bloodletting is healing, a balsam of the body, a balm for the soul”
(Leonard Sweet, Giving Blood, 25).

Here’s three reasons I preach:

HOPE
As bad as it is, we have hope in Jesus!
The world needs this Good News!

HEALING
Brokenness, dis-ease, and despair all find remedy in Jesus!

HOLINESS
God’s grace is greater than our sin.
He calls us to be holy.

The goal of the gospel is not only to get us into heaven, but to get heaven into us—that’s a miracle of grace that transforms everything!

Jesus Christ is Hope, Healing, and Holiness.

This is why I preach…the Story must be told!

Micah J. Sturm

“Oh, that’ll never happen!”

Too often we limit the One for whom there are no limits!

THE LORD LIKES THE UNLIKELY!

Look at His way of working…

• A 600-year old amateur sea captain named Noah (Genesis 7:11)
• A baby shower for parents Abraham—age 100 and Sarah—age 90 (Genesis 18:10)
• A preaching donkey [just stop there] (Numbers 22:28)
• A boy and a sling shot does more than an army (1 Samuel 17)
• Surviving an enclosed campfire (Daniel 3:11)
• Sleeping well on Lion-Mane pillows (Daniel 6)
• A small, unimpressive village—Bethlehem (Luke 2:4)
• A young, faithful woman—Mary
• A devoted, hardworking carpenter—Joseph
• A manger (Luke 2:7)
• Poor shepherds (Luke 2:8)
• A leper (Luke 5:12)
• A widow losing her only son…(Luke 7:13)
• An IRS agent in a sycamore tree gets saved (Luke 19:9)
• Malchus gets his ear back (Luke 22:50)
• THE CROSS
• “But on the first day of the week…” (Luke 24:1)

Need a miracle?

The response is not—“Oh, that’ll never happen!”  Have hope in God!

THE LORD LIKES THE UNLIKELY!

He just might use YOU in the most unlikely way today!

Micah J. Sturm

Somehow we’ve missed it.

We know the story Jesus told about The Good Samaritan, but we’ve missed it.

One group says the Samaritan is “good” because he does good deeds.

Running a shelter, food bank, or health clinic is helpful, but not necessarily holy.

Just because it’s charity doesn’t mean it’s Christian.

Good deeds cannot gain godliness.

Another group piously stops here.
Their “love” for God stays sealed in hearts.
Missing it.

REAL LOVE LEAKS.
It overflows out of a full heart…unable to be contained.

The Good Samaritan was good because his heart was filled with the love of God and it leaked!

Jesus says, “You go, and do likewise”—

Be so filled with the love of God, by the Spirit of His only Son, that a trail of love is left.

This begins in a moment of miraculous grace, but bubbles over into the lives of others—this is true holiness.

Make it so, dear Lord.

Micah J. Sturm

What does a vibrant, up-to-date, and authentic holy life look like?

Those who came before us in the Wesleyan-Holiness Movement had a way of describing the characteristics of  Christlikeness.

A believer who has surrendered completely to Christ and ceases to live for self or sin will be graciously soaked in the Spirit of Jesus.  

This miracle of grace the Bible calls “entire sanctification” will ignite a lifelong journey of becoming less like us and more like Jesus.

Over 120 years ago, preachers would describe such a life as:

• Loving the Lord more today than we did yesterday 
• An enabling to love all people 
• Understanding spiritual things more
• Having a tenderness…a softened heart
• A deep, quiet awareness of God’s presence 
• Extreme simplicity of life
• A calm sweetness 
• Seeing God in every step…His fingerprints everywhere 
• Constantly cooperating with God

I was won to Jesus by people who live this way!

We need this kind of blessing…

“He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.”

‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5‬:‭24‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Micah J. Sturm

The truth is most days in my life are worse than I say and better than I think.

Everyone wants the appearance of calm, cool, and collected. 

(Here in the South, we value the opinions of others ad nauseum.)

But there are depths of pain and struggle that no one else can understand. Heavy burdens, broken hearts, hurting bodies are carried around in silent anguish.

“How are you today?”

“I’m fine…” (but it’s really worse than I can say).

Yet, the truth remains—everything is better than I think because of Jesus! 

“Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places. To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.”

‭‭Habakkuk‬ ‭3‬:‭17‬-‭19‬ ‭ESV‬‬

So, go easy on your neighbors—it’s probably worse for them today than they say!

“But, Lord, help me to remember that You are with me—You are up-to-something in my life—so it’s better today than I think!”

Micah J. Sturm

Joseph believed God was up to something in his life.  This trait made him a target for some to attack.

Those who closest to him abandoned him.  

The people whom he trusted most betrayed him.

Family that he loved hurt him the deepest.

FAITH IN GOD STABILIZES US IN UNCERTAIN TIMES.

Joseph’s faith in God remained when others joined in abusing and accusing him—to the point of being wrongfully held in a dungeon.

FAITH SUSTAINS US EVERY MOMENT 

Every “little thing” adds up to something BIG that God is doing in, for, and through us!

FAITH SEES IMPOSSIBILITIES ARE POSSIBLE 

Joseph’s long and painful journey put him in the exact place at the exact moment that he could save many lives—including his own family.

I believe the Lord is up to something in OUR lives too!  We will be targets too…targets for His blessing.

There is great peace in trusting the One who never fails.

“You planned something bad for me, but God produced something good from it, in order to save the lives of many people, just as he’s doing today.”

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭50‬:‭20‬ ‭CEB‬‬

“Lord, help me to hold steady—walking each step with You by faith—until I can say, ‘I see what You mean!’ Amen.”

Micah J. Sturm

I believe that Jesus saves from all sin!

He doesn’t do a “halfway job” of salvation—however, many believers choose to live short of the possibilities His grace provides.

A clear definition of terms will help point us in the direction of “full salvation” and the journey of joy in Jesus!

Sin—disease of humanity’s heart caused by rebellion of first parents, centered on self, resulting in death

Sins—symptoms of humanity’s heart disease displayed as disobedience to God, ruled by senses—feelings, destructive 

Saved/Justification—sins forgiven by God through faith in Christ, preceded by confession and repentance (turning away from) sins, resulting in new life by the Spirit of Jesus.

Sanctified/ Entire Sanctification/ Holiness—a cleansing of the diseased heart and its tendency to rebel against God; the realignment of life’s center from self to God; the enabling power of Christ’s Spirit to daily live in complete love for God and humanity…preceded by entire consecration (emptying of selfishness and surrendering completely to Christ)…resulting in a deepening journey of grace.