Take Off Your Shoes | New Ground | Pastor Steve Andres

Do you have an undivided heart? Pastor Steve Andres continued our series, NEW GROUND, this weekend with a message about holiness.Joshua 5:13,15When Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” “Neither,” the commander of the Lord’s army replied. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.Joshua faced an impossible situation, and God appeared in order to help him, but first Joshua needed to acknowledge the holiness of God. Why?1) God’s holiness is GOOD NEWS.For many people, the word "holy" means morally rigid or even proud and judgmental. God's holiness is UNDILUTED PERFECTION, which means he is unchanging in his love, justice, mercy, and beauty. That's good news!2) God’s holiness is the GOAL.In the Old Testament, something was holy if it was reserved for God's use only. Holiness in our lives looks like UNDIVIDED DEVOTION to God.Psalm 86:11Give me an undivided heart to fear your name.God's design is for our devotion to him to be the soil in which all other commitments grow.3) God’s holiness is a GIFT.Jesus was already morally perfect, but holiness is more than that. As he faced the cross he prayed for his followers:John 17:19For their sake I make myself holy, that they too may be truly holy.Jesus was undivided in his devotion to God's plan to save, all so that you and I could receive forgiveness and the freedom to live holy lives!