Jehovah M’gaddischem – The LORD Who Sanctifies You

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, `You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so that you may know that I am the LORD, who makes you holy.’” Exodus 31:1-13

As a worship leader it is highly important for me to remain holy and pure in my thoughts and actions. To come before the congregation on a Sunday morning in any other manner hinders true worship in my heart and can affect my ability to represent a true worshipper.

There are times when I have found myself striving for holiness in my own strength, looking to my own abilities to walk a pure and holy life, but find myself failing miserably and hindering the work of the Spirit. Those are the times that I must take the opportunity to hear the Lords word to me… “I am the LORD, who makes you holy.”

Just as the Lord spoke to Moses, He desires to speak to us and declare His works in our lives. Just as He spoke to Moses and declared that ‘He makes holy,’ He desires to declare those words to our own ears and heart.

The LORD makes us holy!! He alone has the ability to make one holy because His is the only one that is holy. He alone has the ability to sanctify and set apart one for holy service. He is holy and can change our very nature and make us a new creation. Why do we think that we need to ‘do’ something before we are accounted holy? There is nothing we can offer that even comes near to holiness apart from Him. If we read beginning in Exodus 31:1 we find that God tells Moses something about His ability to make us as He choses purely on His ability…

Then the LORD said to Moses, “See I have chosen ……, and I have filled…. with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge ….. Moreover, I have appointed ….. ”

Ok, so what about scriptures that tell us to *‘be holy because God is holy’? Just how should we interpret that? Lets try to look at it from this perspective. When you become conscious of the fact that God has set you apart for holiness and that He has proclaimed you holy, giving you a new nature, then you can begin to walk in a manner that is consistent with that understanding and the knowledge of that proclamation.

How about a little exercise? If you were told today that you were the descendant of Queen Elizabeth and that you have been selected to sit at court tomorrow morning how would that change your behavior and conversation? How about if someone told you that you were the descendant of Alexander the Great?….would you feel alittle stonger somehow? or more powerful? Ok, how about if I told you you were decended from a monkey….? How would you expect that to affect the way you behaved? Even though these are untrue statements they can have an affect on your thoughts about how you would behave if you believed they were true.

The truth is….the LORD has proclaimed you holy today! Give Him praise and be holy for truely He is Holy. Worship Jehovah M’gaddischem the LORD who makes you Holy! Eph 1:4* For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.

*Le 19:2 “Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: `Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.

*Le 20:26* You are to be holy to me because I, the LORD, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own.