Col 4:2-6 Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; praying at the same time for us as well, that God may open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; in order that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak. Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned, as it were, with salt, so that you may know how you should respond to each person. 
Last week, we began our consideration of a key aspect of Colossians, Chapters 3+4. We are referring to an article entitled Holy to the Core, by Joel Scandrett, PH.D., at Drew University, associate editor of reference and academic books at Intervarsity Press, as part of the framework of our consideration. As previously mentioned, this article caused me to stop and consider some of the aspects of what is involved in being the Church as delineated in Colossians. Again, in earnest prayer before the Lord, with Colossians as our basis, I would like to continue to share a little more of what is to be seen in regard to holiness and the church. 
	As a quick review of some of last week’s consideration, let us once again realize that the Church, all the members of the Church need to come into a far greater understanding of what it means to live by Christ. Far too many Christians look at holiness as a choice of behavior rather than the fact that we are holy because Christ in us is Holy. Lev 11:44+45, 'For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy; for I am holy. And you shall not make yourselves unclean with any of the swarming things that swarm on the earth. 'For I am the Lord, who brought you up from the land of Egypt, to be your God; thus you shall be holy for I am holy.'" 
This is the call to the people of God to be separated, set apart, and dedicated unto God. We are called out from the midst of the nations of the world because we are no longer subject to the lies and deceit as a slave of this age. We are now freed in Christ, a brand new creation with our entire being and focus now removed from the attractions and traps of this world. Our focus is the expression of the perfection of Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior. As He lives forth His life in us, so do we now have eternal life in Him. We are holy because we are made partakers of His holiness. That is a life that we live by the Omnipotent Grace of God. 1 Peter 1:14-16 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 holiness of our lives is not because of us, it is because of God indwelling us, our union, our becoming dead to self and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Lev 26:11+12 'Moreover, I will make My dwelling among you, and My soul will not reject you. 'I will also walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people. Yes, that holiness of Christ covers us right now, in the eyes of the Lord, but it is also to be evident in the manner in which our lives are lived on this earth. As we live by Christ, as He is the focus of our walk on this orb, as we read and study His Word, as we dwell upon it with all joy at its life sustaining properties, as we trust the Holy Spirit to guide us safely through the course of this life that we live in Him, so will our lives evidence, in victory and triumphant splendor, the holiness of Christ to this world.  
	Holiness involves far more than our outward activities. It is the fact that the very life that we now live in is His Holiness. Gal 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me. 
	We also began to consider what it is that God has created in the perfection of Jesus Christ, His Church, His eternal Bride. There is a true body relationship that God has instituted in the new humanity that is the Church. We are part and parcel of each other as we are fitted together by the Holy Spirit. As such, we need to respond in a manner that is completely foreign to our old life, but is now the overflowing reality of our new life in Christ. We can no longer live in isolation as we did before, insulating ourselves from everything that would hinder our self-lives from self-exaltation, our unquenchable love of self. We are now to consider ourselves dead to self and alive to Christ.
	In complete line with this self-death, there is a need to understand what the Church is and the place it has in the plan and purpose of God. To quote Dr. Scandrett ...we must never forget that the church is a God-created, non-negotiable reality of which all disciples of Jesus are a part and to which we are called to commit and submit. The church is God’s crucible and matrix for forming holy lives in many ways…. End Quote.
One key aspect of the Church, as a crucible, is that we must live lives that are true expressions of the Love of Christ, Who indwells us. Col 3:14 And beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. Our interactions one with each other should be that of the manner of interaction that Christ lived on this earth and still lives forth in us. There should be an intense out flowing of care, concern, prayer, and service, one to each other, as we are made a living part of the Body, together, in Christ. 1 John 2:5+6 …but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked. 
We need to consider each other, no longer in the earthly terms of friends and associates to whom we gravitate because we share similar interests, or whom we tend to shun because of dissimilar interests. No, we need to see each other, as we truly are in Christ, joint-heirs in the glory of God. We are one body, joined together in Him, a joining that far supersedes that body of bone and flesh and sinew. We are joined together in spirit, vitally a part of one another. We need to show forth our love for all the members of the body, not just the few or the ones who are easily loved. We are called to love all the brethren. 1 John 4:20+21, If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also. This is not a matter for choice, as we will soon realize. This is a matter of spiritual life abounding from within the essence of our inner beings. This is the true witness of the One by Whom we are made holy.
The next reality of being the new creation of God, the Church, in relationship with each other, is the fact that to love all the members of Christ’s body requires that we allow them to love us. This is an intense relationship of support, prayer, guidance, encouragement, interaction, and gracious accountability with one another. As we interact with those whom we allow to become an integral force of love in our lives, we will soon discover, very clearly and accurately, a great need that we all share together. It is the need for God’s holiness to become our natural source of strength, endurance, patience, kindness, understanding, and wisdom in dealing with those to whom we open ourselves in the life of Christ’s love. It will be nothing that we can formulate or set our mind upon. It will be the increasingly more accurate work of the Holy Spirit fitting us, piece by piece, glory by glory, heart by heart, into that perfection which is completely honoring to God. Col 3:12+13 And so, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.
Fully in line with the Holiness of Christ in the Church, forgiveness should be the natural response of the Church. We are fully forgiven by God, and as a direct result of that forgiveness, we have been brought into life eternal in Jesus Christ. Jesus linked this heart of forgiveness with that of our Heavenly Father in Matt 6:9-15, "Pray, then, in this way: 'Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. 'Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. 'Give us this day our daily bread. 'And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 'And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.]' "For if you forgive men for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. "But if you do not forgive men, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions. 
Our love, as a member of the Church, is predicated on the fact that as we were forgiven, so do we forgive one another. As we read in Luke 17:3+4, we must forgive our brother over and over again, no matter what! "Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. "And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, 'I repent,' forgive him." That is the heart response of Christ indwelling His Church. 
In this world, true forgiveness is utterly impossible. Apart from Christ, there can be no absolute forgiveness because self is always demanding to be avenged, to be justified, and to be protected. That is why forgiveness becomes such an issue in this realm. It is not the natural response to an injury done, to harm received, or to a hurt suffered. This is a distinct difference that characterizes the Holiness of Christ in His Church. We, the Church must forgive any ill treatment or abuse. We must not hold anything against those who attack or slander us. This is because we know the true source of that anger and hatred. It is the lack of Christ that causes that reaction from them. Consider how Christ, the perfect Being of Holiness and Love, responded when He was put to death for being the Son of God. Luke 23:33+34a, And when they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left. But Jesus was saying, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." Father forgive them should be the cry of the heart of the church in its every member, especially within the Body itself. We are to be that living expression of complete forgiveness for the sake of one another. The Church, all the members of the Church, must be the complete embodiment of forgiveness in witness of the great love of God in Christ Jesus. Amen.
This forgiveness corresponds with the next aspect of the Church. It is a very difficult thing, in this world, to open our lives to complete examination by those who are watching our every move. We feel like we are under a microscope with people looking for our every defect. This is the way this world operates, always looking for ways in which it can exploit a weakness, to belittle someone else in order to elevate itself over them in a false sense of superiority. In Christ’s holiness, however, we need to open our hearts unto one another in service, a service that seeks only to elevate the other, to lift up those in need and to be the instantly ready means by which God can lovingly and fully express Himself to every member of the body. 
 1 Cor 12:24b-26 …But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked, that there should be no division in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. We must always ask the Holy Spirit to bring to our minds on a continual basis that we do not belong to ourselves any longer. We belong to God, and in that truth of being His, we are made to be a part of one another. This is in order that we become a single, unified new creation in Christ. No longer our own, we reflect His life as we are livingly fused with the rest of the members of the Body. As we die to self, we are enjoined, as one, to Him.
	This brings forth the next expression of holiness within the church, that of our corporate worship unto our Lord and Savior and Husband. Again to quote Dr. Scandrett, To be set apart as a member of Christ’s bride is to participate in the church’s worship: to read the Scriptures and hear them preached, to remember our baptism into Christ’s death and resurrection, to confess our sin, to celebrate our union with Christ and one another in the bread and wine, to observe the Christ-shaped seasons of our church year. End Quote. 
There is much more involved in worship as the Church, than many of us, if any of us, have yet come to discover. Many people come to church, as it is called, to get something. Whether it is a soothed conscience because we know that we are supposed to be in church, or to have a need met, or for social interaction and entertainment, or for a sense of satisfaction, our focus is on our need. True corporate worship, however, rather than seeking our benefit, is desirous to touch the heart of God. This is not for how wonderful it will make us feel, but because it will bring honor and glory to God, Alone. There is that full function of intimacy with God that is expressed as we, His Beloved, prostrate ourselves before Him in utter abandonment of anything that we want or desire. It is as we cast aside any concerns and all the cares of this life, and determinedly and deliberately set our hearts only on bringing to Him glory and honor and majesty in love. This is something that needs to be a driving desire of our heart, individually and corporately, to bless God for the very basic fact that He is worthy of all blessing and honor and adoration. 
Ps 81:1+2 Sing for joy to God our strength; Shout joyfully to the God of Jacob. Raise a song, strike the timbrel, The sweet sounding lyre with the harp. 
    Ps 95:1-3 O come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. For the Lord is a great God, And a great King above all gods, 
The Church is the visible expression of the heart of man that has been created anew in Christ. Worship is the offering of thanksgiving that is to be the constant characteristic of one who has been so brought to life in Christ. As we read in Col 3:15-17, And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.
In Ps 100, verse 4, we read, Enter His gates with thanksgiving, And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him; bless His name. 
And in Ps 107, vere22, Let them also offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, And tell of His works with joyful singing. 
Our call to life in Christ as His Bride, His Body, His Church, is evidenced by the heart we bring as one in worship. Again to quote Dr. Scandrett, As we participate in this collective “service” of God’s people to God - week in, week out, year in, year out - its external forms and internal logic shape our thoughts and behavior in increasingly Godward ways. The more we participate in the life of the church’s worship, the more we come to know at every level not only that we are a part of the church, but that we are the church – and the church is us. End Quote.    
As the church, we are the temple of God, His dwelling place upon the earth. He does not reside in tents or buildings; He resides in us, His Beloved Church, the union of man and God in Christ Jesus. Eph 2:19-22 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household, having been built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together is growing into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit. 
Our last aspect for this morning is that we are set apart as the Church for the sake of others. 1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 
To be holy, to be set apart to God, is never an end in itself. It is always for the sake of God in this world. God’s intent is that His covenant people are the means by which all the nations of the world are blessed. True Biblical Holiness leads us to participate in the ministry of reconciliation that God has given to His Church. 
   	2 Cor 5:18+19 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 
Through the Church, people of every nation, tribe, and tongue will come to know the love of God that is in Christ Jesus. We are the beacons of the light of God to the world. We are the living expression of the new creation that is only found in Jesus Christ, to the sole glory of God. As we live forth the fact that we are holy because He is holy, we will absolutely realize that the concern of our heart is not primarily about moral purity, which will be naturally in evidence as our heart seeks to please Him. We, the Church, are made holy because, in our living expression of Christ’s life, we are exhibit A to the fact that our holiness is about union with God in Christ. The Church is the manifestation of God’s life in man through Jesus Christ. The Church, all of us joined together in Christ show forth the Lord Jesus Christ as the only hope for this world, now and forever more. Amen. 
	Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; praying at the same time for us as well, that God may open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; in order that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak. Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned, as it were, with salt, so that you may know how you should respond to each person. Amen.

Guests
Meetings – no women’s meeting, no young people’s meetings - All are welcome to the Weds Night prayer meeting at 7:30 at Therese’s home. 
Announcements
	Men’s Retreat July 6, 7 and 8th at the Lyche cabin at Big Bear
	Marian – Dads and Grads
	Graduates – Samuel Lyche, Teal Pacyna, Christina Lexutt, Vickie Moraga
Anniversaries 	Today – Doug and Dona Bryant	
			Saturday – Jack and Erica Parnell
Birthdays		Tomorrow – Phyllis Greene
			Friday – Sherri Willis

Our benediction is from Acts 2:17-21 'And it shall be in the last days,' God says, 'That I will pour forth of My Spirit upon all mankind; And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, And your young men shall see visions, And your old men shall dream dreams; Even upon My bondslaves, both men and women, I will in those days pour forth of My Spirit  And they shall prophesy. 'And I will grant wonders in the sky above, And signs on the earth beneath, Blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke. 'The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the great and glorious day of the Lord shall come. 'And it shall be, that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.' Amen