Several years ago there was a movie entitled, “The League of Extraordinary Humans.” It depicted a team of people with unusual powers. (Bad movie, great title.) Why is that title so intriguing? It’s because in each of us there is a desire for the heroic, the supernatural, to be significant, to do something extraordinary.
God created you to be EXTRA-ORDINARY! In fact, we could coin a new title for the church: The League of Extraordinary Humans! The church is designed to be a people who are filled with God and are developing a new community, a prototype of heaven, which shows the world the amazing power and life of God. We are to be different, set apart. In fact, the biblical word for this difference is HOLINESS.
But, as we look around us and in ourselves, we see nothing but the ordinary. We are like the world, not Christ—we need a renewal of HOLINESS in our lives to become a league of extraordinary humans.
What is holiness, anyway? For most people, “holiness” brings up bad images of rigidity, rules, and legalism. Satan and the world have done a masterful job of distorting this beautiful truth to the point that many run from any thought of holiness.
The best way to understand holiness is to look at God, for He is the standard of holiness. He IS HOLY. The definition of holy is to be “set apart, different.” God made us in His image. His plan for His creation, His people, His church, is that we be “holy as He is holy” (1 Peter 1:14-16). God wants us to be holy (different) just like He is.
God created you to be EXTRA-ORDINARY! In fact, we could coin a new title for the church: The League of Extraordinary Humans! The church is designed to be a people who are filled with God and are developing a new community, a prototype of heaven, which shows the world the amazing power and life of God. We are to be different, set apart. In fact, the biblical word for this difference is HOLINESS.
But, as we look around us and in ourselves, we see nothing but the ordinary. We are like the world, not Christ—we need a renewal of HOLINESS in our lives to become a league of extraordinary humans.
What is holiness, anyway? For most people, “holiness” brings up bad images of rigidity, rules, and legalism. Satan and the world have done a masterful job of distorting this beautiful truth to the point that many run from any thought of holiness.
The best way to understand holiness is to look at God, for He is the standard of holiness. He IS HOLY. The definition of holy is to be “set apart, different.” God made us in His image. His plan for His creation, His people, His church, is that we be “holy as He is holy” (1 Peter 1:14-16). God wants us to be holy (different) just like He is.
What does God desire to DO with His holiness? He wants us to be holy, as He is. In the progression of His plan, God has transformed a group of people. He God sent Christ to provide a way of forgiveness for our sins and then placed His Spirit in us.
These people with Christ in them (Christians), have a new power, the Spirit of God. God’s plan is for the church to be a new community of extraordinary people who have a new power to live differently, the power of the Holy Spirit within them.
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 called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”
God wants to display His holiness through us, to be different than ordinary humans, to be extraordinary like God. He has destined us to be the League of Extraordinary Humans! Are you like that? Are you holy? Do you WANT to be like that? Do you want to be a part of a community, a church that is like that? If this is what we want, then how can we get there? How can we become “holy as He is holy”?
How does God plan to release His holiness through us? He has a process, teach a TRUTH, give a TEST. We come to Christ very un-holy, when we trust in Christ, God begins the process of chipping away everything about us that doesn’t look like Christ!
He puts us in circumstances that are designed to reveal our unholiness and cast us into a position where we must trust Him to live through us. He shows us the standard of holiness. The Holy Spirit shows us God’s holiness, convicts us of sin, and shows us how far short we are in our humanity of that holiness. We can now choose to let the Spirit of God within us take control and give us the power to respond in a holy way.
The more we make these choices, the more we pass the holiness tests. The more we pass the tests, the more the “excess stone” falls away, and the “angel” of Christ’s image emerges!
Do you have the Holy Spirit in you? (Are you a true believer in Jesus Christ?) If not, you do not yet have the capacity to be extraordinary, to be holy. You need, even today, to cry out to Him for His forgiveness, cleansing, and entrance into your life.
Holiness is not easy, but it is abundantly possible for all who hunger for God’s glory to be seen through their lives. So what should be our response? Accept your calling to holiness, embrace God’s process to develop holiness, and aggressively pursue His holiness in your life. Cooperate with God at every turn as He convicts you of your unholiness and calls you to a holy response empowered by His Spirit.
Remember, you are part of a high calling, a great community . . . you are a part of the League of Extraordinary Humans!
These people with Christ in them (Christians), have a new power, the Spirit of God. God’s plan is for the church to be a new community of extraordinary people who have a new power to live differently, the power of the Holy Spirit within them.
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 called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”
God wants to display His holiness through us, to be different than ordinary humans, to be extraordinary like God. He has destined us to be the League of Extraordinary Humans! Are you like that? Are you holy? Do you WANT to be like that? Do you want to be a part of a community, a church that is like that? If this is what we want, then how can we get there? How can we become “holy as He is holy”?
How does God plan to release His holiness through us? He has a process, teach a TRUTH, give a TEST. We come to Christ very un-holy, when we trust in Christ, God begins the process of chipping away everything about us that doesn’t look like Christ!
He puts us in circumstances that are designed to reveal our unholiness and cast us into a position where we must trust Him to live through us. He shows us the standard of holiness. The Holy Spirit shows us God’s holiness, convicts us of sin, and shows us how far short we are in our humanity of that holiness. We can now choose to let the Spirit of God within us take control and give us the power to respond in a holy way.
The more we make these choices, the more we pass the holiness tests. The more we pass the tests, the more the “excess stone” falls away, and the “angel” of Christ’s image emerges!
Do you have the Holy Spirit in you? (Are you a true believer in Jesus Christ?) If not, you do not yet have the capacity to be extraordinary, to be holy. You need, even today, to cry out to Him for His forgiveness, cleansing, and entrance into your life.
Holiness is not easy, but it is abundantly possible for all who hunger for God’s glory to be seen through their lives. So what should be our response? Accept your calling to holiness, embrace God’s process to develop holiness, and aggressively pursue His holiness in your life. Cooperate with God at every turn as He convicts you of your unholiness and calls you to a holy response empowered by His Spirit.
Remember, you are part of a high calling, a great community . . . you are a part of the League of Extraordinary Humans!
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