By REV. TIMOTHY L. MELTON, PASTOR
CHEROKEE PENTECOSTAL HOLINESS CHURCH
“So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world.
“So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then.
“But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.
“And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time here as ‘temporary residents.’”
1 Peter 1:13-17 (NLT)
“We cannot live like the world in their ignorance. So be holy in your conduct and speech. Father is watching you! and me! Signs and wonders come with this revelation—‘sin is not okay!’ The world is full of sin. It is time for the Church to be the Church! Holiness is a heart issue. Being holy is not only doing what is right, but also doing it, ‘Godly’.
“The Lord is not just using your language to speak the Word of God, it is to be spoken as by a representative of Christ—in holiness. Spend time with God! Being righteous is not just being right in His Presence of Holiness. Holiness is being ‘separated from sin and all its mess, unto the Lord.’ We belong to Him and it is a holiness issue. The Power is bound in Holiness and His Glory, meaning ‘totally other than that.’ Praise only begins the starting of it.
“He wants to spend time with us—as we live in His Presence. Holiness becomes a by-product of our living in His Presence. In other words, God will make you act good. You’ve been good, but not holy, if it hasn’t changed your position ‘in the flesh’. Only the holy will be able to receive the Glory. We are to be obedient as a child of God.”
Living the New Life—What Christians Should Be
“Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand.
“Think about the things of heaven, not the earth.
“For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.
“And when Christ who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.”
Colossians 3:1-4 (NLT). (Read through verse 21.)
“Be full of compassion and pursue separation from worldliness. Holiness is the most important thing if you are in hot pursuit of the Lord. Don’t be disobedient. Say, ‘God use me! Let me give to You whatever You want.’ Get more of Him. Get in His Presence. ‘Lord, cause me to change!’ God has to mean more to us than He does right now.
To All Believers…
“Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.”
2 Chronicles 7:14 (NLT)
“’Humble’ means ‘we have issues that need to be removed’. Say publically, ‘Things need to change.’ Pray to Him, and seek His Face. ‘Turning away from wicked ways’—means not only saying, ‘I’m sorry.’ Then, He will hear. (Where is there sin in the camp?) None can live just any old way! None are holy, nor honorable. Change what all you watch, for Him, to be willing to say, ‘I’ll forgive them and heal their land.’ Cherokee is cursed with the drugs, alcohol, and a hatred for the things of God. Is there racism? Child molestation, abuse, neglect?
The Church should be the most powerful voice to ‘heal the land.’ Are churches ‘zombies’—‘dead men walking’? Are they just waiting to go to heaven? We are supposed to be getting everybody ready—its way beyond just having ‘fire insurance.’ Are we just playing church? We need to see God move. God’s people in the early church, powerfully filled with God and His Glory, meant just a cloth touching the anointed were taken to the sick ones for their healing. If we put in the effort, He will help us. Allow Him to be the ‘you’ in Him.
