In this sermon, the preacher begins by describing a scene where a little girl desperately wants a bag, highlighting the human tendency towards self-deification and the need for sanctification. He then references Romans chapter 1, explaining how the refusal to honor and glorify God leads to the degradation of the world. The preacher then shifts to the story of Abraham, emphasizing how God's pronouncements not only relate to behavior but also to blessings. He shares a personal experience of seeking God's guidance in his church and emphasizes the importance of doing God's will and recognizing that it is not severe but rather sweet.

Will you turn with me to Romans chapter 10. Romans chapter 10, beginning at verse 1, reading down to verse 4. Romans chapter 10. Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves, is the end of the law for righteousness. We have a very desperate need of you tonight. And oh God, we pray that you may glorify yourself. In this service is only you can glorify yourself, Lord Jesus, and reveal yourself to us. Grant that your name may be high and lifted up tonight. I have to be in full agreement with when he indicates that we are responsible for any distance there is between us and God. We are responsible. That means that we really can have God if we want God. Let's not wait for him to touch us, let's touch him tonight. Amen? We have been exploring together the matter of kingdom righteousness, and what is kingdom righteousness. We have seen the importance of moral nobility, but we have discovered that kingdom righteousness is beyond moral nobility. For whereas moral nobility is the righteousness of the law, kingdom righteousness, we looked at kingdom righteousness in relation to ecclesiastical identity, and discovered that kingdom righteousness is beyond ecclesiastical identity. For kingdom righteousness must be more than the label of a church, it must be the likeness of Christ. And you remember we looked at the matter of ministerial activity, and that is important, but kingdom righteousness goes beyond. For kingdom righteousness has to be a little more than language and label. For kingdom righteousness has to be about life. I am changing the order of the series, and tonight I want to look at the fact that radical sanctity is no less than kingdom righteousness. Kingdom righteousness is about what I am calling radical sanctity. Now when I use the word radical, I am going to say you ought to be, no. Radical is that which reaches down into the absolute root of self-centeredness. It reaches down to the root of self-centeredness, and it reaches up and out to all the regions of self-consciousness. And what God needs to do is a work on self, on self. God needs to get selfish self out of the way, if we are going to have kingdom. Now I use the word sanctity because I have used the word nobility, and I have used the word identity, and I have used the word activity. I need an itty. It's as simple as that. So thank God there isn't. There is an English word called sanctity. It's not a bible word, but sanctity in definition means the quality or state of being holy. Everybody all right? So, and you know holiness is a solid bible word. Sanctity means holiness. So what we are talking about tonight is radical holiness, radical sanctity, or biblical. First of all tonight, let us take a little look, and you pray earnestly that God will help me to, you know, not just make it through this sermon, but be able to communicate his will. I desperately need his help. It might prompt us first to look at the necessity. Is radical sanctity necessary? Is biblical holiness necessary? And I find that biblical holiness, biblical sanctity, radical sanctity is necessary because it is God's will. It is God's will. And of course, you know, the bible contains what I call statements of God's will. Statements of God's will. And we have the statements of God's will in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 and verse 3 brings the statement of God's will into focus. 2 Thessalonians chapter 4 and verse 3, for this is the will of God, even your sanctification, even your sanctity, even your holiness. This is the will of God, even your sanctification. And look at the entire verse, if you will, that ye should abstain from fornication. That you should abstain from fornication. It is a bit unfortunate that we use this passage of scripture as a proof text that there is sanctification. And what we mean is sanctification as a second work of grace. And I want to suggest to you that this passage of scripture does not have to do with sanctification as a second work of grace, because do you notice that the sanctification here addresses fornication. Now don't we all agree that God deals with that sin in the first work of grace? Say something. In the first work of grace. So what we have here is the will of God, and we're going to come to it later, that sanctification involves two crises. And this is referring to the first crisis. Therefore, now I call 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, verse 3, entrance sanctification. This is where we enter, that glorious experience of sanctification, because sanctification begins in the new birth. Amen. And then of course we have the other expression of God's will in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, chapter 5, and the will is in the middle of things, in verse 18, in everything give thanks for this is the will of God concerning you, and that will involves real holy living. You can't find a more exquisite, excellent presentation of the living of the second crisis sanctification in rejoice evermore, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks, quench not the spirit, etc. What a beautiful life to live. And to accomplish it, it is accomplished in verse 23. The standard is set up, and then God says this is how the standard is met, and the very God of peace, verse 23, sanctify you wholly. And that wholly means entirely. So in the first passage we have entrance sanctification, and in the second passage we have entire sanctification. So when I want to testify to the second work of grace, I do not just merely say thank God for sanctifying me, I say thank God I am entirely sanctified. Amen. And let me say here, friends, that biblical holiness is not light to fear. Biblical holiness is life most dear. It is a natural life. It is a glorious life. I suppose that like me, you have been through the stages where just to hear the word sanctification, just to hear the word holiness, kind of terrifies you. There is nothing more natural than holiness. Any of you here tonight would be afraid of the word health? Health? I am healthy. Wouldn't that be a glorious thing? I am healthy. I would go after that, I believe you mean. At least I'd get rid of some of this pain in my back. I am healthy. Now, as physically we all would love to say, I am healthy, thank God spiritually we can all say, I am holy. Because health is to the body what holiness is to the spirit. Amen. So if there is anybody here tonight who don't mind being healthy, and you have your right senses about you, then you should not mind being holy. Amen? So we have the statements of God's will. Let me suggest to you that we not only have the necessity of biblical holiness in the fact that it is God's will, and we have the statements of this will, but let me suggest that the Bible contains what I call the secrets of this will. And we go to Matthew chapter 7. Matthew chapter 7 contains what I call the secrets of God's will in relation to sanctification or sanctity. And you remember we dealt with this before, Matthew chapter 7 verse 21. Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth. And the secret is in that word doeth or does. Because that word can mean to endow a person with a quality. To endow. Look at John chapter 5 and verse 11. John chapter 5 and verse 11. In John chapter 5 and verse 11, the Jews are interrogating somebody who has been healed, and they want to know all about it. And in verse 11, he answered them, he that made me whole. And the word there is the exact same word doeth. He doeth me whole. So there is a sense that do has to do with make. He that doeth the will of God, he that allows God to make his will in him. And the beautiful thing is that I don't have to go out and struggle to be good and struggle to be what God wants me to be. Thank God he comes in, he invades my heart, he energizes me, he gives me the power to do what is right. Hallelujah. So it is God doing in me. It is God who worketh in us both to will and to do his good pleasure. But it's not so hard being holy when God helps me to be holy, is it? Hallelujah. So, one secret is in the word do. The other secret is in the word will. He that doeth the will of the Father. And the point is, my friends, that sometimes we tend to feel that God's will is severe, that God's will is sweeping. But I want you to know tonight that the truth is that God's will is not severe. It may be sweeping, but it is not severe. God's will is sweet. Amen. It's just a wonderful thing to come to the place where you realize that God's will is so sweet. Look at Genesis chapter 12, if you will. Genesis chapter 12. Verse 1 would kind of make you tremble. And here is God's will. And the Lord had said unto Abraham, now the Lord had said unto Abraham, get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house unto a land that I will show thee. Leave your comfort zone. Leave your well-known surroundings. Abraham, I want you to get out of all of that to a place that I will show you. Isn't it marvelous that God's pronouncements do not only relate to behavior, but God's pronouncements also relate to blessing. So verse 1 looks very terrifying. Abraham, get out of your country, out from your kindred, father's house, go to the land that I will show you. But look at verse 2. Who would mind verse 1 in the light of verse 2? And I will make of thee a great nation. What's so bad about being made great? Amen. I went through a period in my first pastor's when things kind of tightened up. We didn't seem to be getting a move of God. Didn't know what was wrong. The people were just not moving very much. About like the Alabama Pell City Camp 2004. Oh, what a naughty fellow. And by the way, I've had a hard time finding you on the spiritual radar this camp. I don't know why. Things just seem a little tight for some reason. Everybody alright? Anyway, I'm talking about my church, not you. So things were a little, and I am praying and seeking God. And I tell you this weekend, God came on my heart with such a powerful message for Sunday morning. I just knew that it was impossible for anybody to stand before that glorious truth. And would you believe when I gave the message Sunday morning, nothing moved. I bowed my head and I said, Dear God, I cannot see all of the blessing that you have go back to you unclaimed. And I said, Dear God, would you please give me all the blessing that my people are turning down this morning? And it was as though he was speaking, you know, human language. He says, I'll do that. I'll do it. Look at Genesis 12 again. And two, I will make a great nation and I will bless thee. What's so wrong about being blessed? God says, I'll give you all those blessings. And I didn't ask for this one. But as though God continued and he said, to show you that I have given you those blessings, I will send you around the world preaching the gospel. At that time, I had not even been out of that particular island. The very next year, I got an invitation to go to Curacao, one of the rich Dutch islands. And you know, since then, God has sent me to every single continent of this world, except Antarctica. I haven't been that far down south yet. 44 countries. What's so wrong about the will? So you see, the will of God is not just affecting our behavior. The will of God involves the blessings of the Lord. Hallelujah. And I want to thank God tonight that I have ceased to fear the will. For Romans says, his will is good and acceptable and perfect. And I cannot possibly do any better in life than to be in the center. Sanctity is necessary because it is God's will. We have the statements of God's will, we have the secrets of God's will. Sanctification is necessary because it is God's way. It is God's way, Isaiah 35. Isaiah 35, it is God's way, Isaiah 35 and verse 8. And an highway shall be there and a way, and it shall be called the way of holiness. There is a way of holiness. Hallelujah. And when we talk about a way, we're talking about a course of life, a mode of action, a way of living. Holiness is a way of living. And oh, I'm so glad that God has helped me to see that this way of living is the most wonderful way to live in the whole wide world. Did I tell you since I've been here that suddenly I realize that things that people did that should irk me were not irking me anymore. Did I tell you that? It just, it doesn't irk me. No, it must have been over at Brother Shields' church I said that. And God says the reason is that you are realizing that you are not the important person and the unimportant things that unimportant people do cannot affect a person who is unimportant. Well, I really, I don't know of anything that's better than that. I mean, it's just wonderful to get to the place where you're so lost in God. I mean, these things don't matter. My darling little girl is going to be with me tomorrow night. Sometimes I drive her up a wall, but perhaps, you know, I don't know who, but she drives, I know she drives me up the wall sometimes. Well, I used to go up the wall and decide I don't belong up the wall, so I come down. But these days I don't even worry to go up the wall. I just don't go up. It doesn't matter. Holiness. You are so lost in God that God brings you to this course of life, this mode of life, and it's called a way. Now, thank God this way is an explicit way. Matthew chapter 7, when the Lord Jesus says that the way is, the gate is straight and the road is narrow. And the gate is not straight because the entrance is small. The gate is straight because the entrance is fixed and required. God demands holiness. And nothing we can say is going to change that. And then the road is narrow, not because it is just a little footpath, but it is narrow because it is permanently designed by God and cannot be modified. But you see, there are people in the world who don't like the straight gate. They want a wide gate because they want to shape their own openings to suit themselves. And they want a broad road because they want to mark out their own route in life and what they're going to do. Thank God when you can take God's way. And His way is the right way. It is not only an explicit way, it is an express way. It is an express way. A highway shall be there if you please. Amen? This is no little track in the woods. This is a turnpike. Amen. In fact, that's what strong concordance tells us. It's a turnpike. You know the old Pennsylvania turnpike. Now we call them superhighways, but you know them. Beautiful. Especially coming from a little island like mine, you can tell how wonderful it is to hit a highway. Amen. Amen. Four lanes, six lanes, all the way, and not a stoplight. Hallelujah. Holiness is an express way. Praise the Lord. Every valley is brought up and every hill is brought down so that we have a nice level, broad, beautiful highway on which to travel. I don't call that so bad. But it is not only an explicit way and an express way, it is an exemplified way. And the example that God gives of His way is not the example of a pattern. It is the example of a living person who says, I am the way. Amen. Holiness is all about a living Christ living in you. Living out His life in you. What a marvelous thing that is. So, biblical radical spantity, we have looked at its necessity. It's God's will. It's God's way. And there is no detour. But let's take a little look at its theology. The theology of radical sanctity. Let's look at the why. Why holiness? The why of holiness takes us back to self-deification. Like God. Self-deification. Everybody wants to be God. That's the problem of our world. It was so helpful to me to suddenly wake up to realize that carnality is not just some naughtiness down in me that gets angry. Carnality is that which has been stamped on my nature by Adam that makes me want to be God. Now, if I am trying to be God, and I am not God, and I get frustrated, the only way I know how to act is to get angry. If you are not God, and if you are not perfect, and you come up against frustrations, you don't get angry. Anger doesn't settle anything. Does it? I don't think so. Maybe blow off somebody's finger or something, but it doesn't settle anything. You know what? It's so good. Holiness is so good these days. When I get into a situation that is frustrating, whatever you want to call it, I look up and say, God, what is the solution? Amen. I want to know how to handle this. That's it. That's it. You know? I mean, whatever it is, God, how do you and I get out of this? And it is never anger. God has a beautiful solution. So you see, the why has to do with this self-deification. Your little children, no matter how young, who teaches them? They want to have their own. I looked at a mother giving her little, I don't know how old the dear little darling was, was giving her a candy. And she made the mistake of letting the little girl see the bag of candy, when she only wanted to give her one candy. The girl did not want the one candy, she wanted the bag. And what a scene. You know, you know that scene. Those feet, have you ever seen them go up and down any faster? And since the little girl was of a certain race, have you ever seen a face get redder? I mean, you know, Adam, self-deification. That's why God wants us to be sanctified, because we need to get rid of that self-activity. And the self-deification automatically leads to sinful debauchery. Once you, Romans chapter 1, when they refuse to honour God and glorify Him as God, then here come all the degradating, degradation of this world. The degrading sins of this world. Homosexuality, you name it. It is because we want to be God. And self-deification is always followed by sinful debauchery. The theology tells us about God's why. The theology tells us about God's what. What is sanctification? And I find that it is very tragic that, for some reason or other, the holiness movement has emphasised only one of the what's of entire sanctification, and that is the what of behaviour. That is the what of saintliness. But sanctification is not only the what of saintliness, it is also the what of set-apartness. It is not only the what of behaviour, it is the what of belonging. The what of belonging. Let's look at Leviticus chapter 11, the great book of holiness. Leviticus chapter 11, verses 44-45. Leviticus chapter 11, verse 44. You see, if we are to be holy, we are to be people who do not defile ourselves with wrong. We behave. We are saintly. But then look at Leviticus chapter 20. Leviticus chapter 20 and verse 26. Leviticus chapter 20 and verse 26. Leviticus 20 and verse 26. And ye shall be holy unto me. You see, we have it there. Unto me. For I the Lord am holy and have severed you from other people that you should be mine. I've been telling people that I began my Christian experience with birthing, and it's a wonderful experience mine was. And then I came to Bible school and heard about being filled with the Spirit. And so I got one night, prayed through a Christian bee, I knew that God's Holy Spirit had come in, all of his power and glory, and I call that blessing. I went back to the Caribbean and suddenly discovered I needed burying. I needed burying. I had some little ways with my wife that were not very lovely. And all of you husbands can just pray for me because you've always been perfect with yours. I mean, she would do things that, you know, in fact, she had a habit of lateness. I thought so. She doesn't think so. I still think so. She's going to be here tomorrow night. It's alright. She knows I do this. And I would get so upset. I'm on my way to church, on my way to preach. And we have about 11 miles to drive, and I have not a word to say to her. Not because I have nothing to say, but because I'm too angry to say it. You see, I'm one of those guys, you know, when I used to get angry. I don't blow any top. I don't blow the top, but I seal the lid. Same anger. Big baby going about your house with your lips all buttoned up and you can't speak to your wife because you're too angry to speak to her. I hope you're alright, you know, something. And God showed me this, and showed me I needed burying. So I had birthing, I had blessing, I had burying. I am going on with God. I am now president of the college. We are having spiritual emphasis week. The preacher is preaching, and I feel a little uncomfortable. I don't feel spiritually together. And I said, Lord, what is this? This is not normal, is it? And God says, your problem is that you build your life around crisis. Am I? Am I not? And you are making a circle around the crisis experience. You need to cut out and grow. You need to learn continuation. So God showed me becoming. Would you believe only in 1992, and my church seemed to be falling apart, and people were turning away from what I call those sensitivity standards, and I was all for keep the standards, don't deviate. In fact, in one conference I said, you want to allow this now, what about in the next ten years, when all our people do this, and I won't tell you what this is. And you know that whole conference burst out laughing, and said that I had talked about impossibilities. It has come to pass. It has come to pass. So I was so disturbed, I was so distraught. And suddenly God says, look, look, what is Christianity all about? And he says, why don't we just begin in kindergarten? And he says, is Christianity about religion? And I had to say no. Jews are the most religious people, but I wouldn't take them as an example when Jesus was around. Is it ritual? I had to say no. These people know how to get Jesus killed on Friday, and go comfortably to Passover on Saturday. And then God says, is it righteousness? And that is where he completely struck me out. Because that was the passion of my life. I wanted to be right, I wanted my family to be right, I wanted my church to be right, until I drove people up a wall. And God says no. The bottom line of Christianity is not religion, and it is not ritual, and it is not righteousness. The bottom line of Christianity is relationship. It is loving, a living, loving God. And my eyes opened, and God taught me belonging. We just don't emphasize it as a church, my friends. The wholeness movement will get down on you to behave, behave, behave. But holiness is both behave and belong. In fact, now that I belong, and let me share with you that I belong to only one person in the world, and that is God. Don't belong to myself, don't belong to my wife, don't belong to my children, don't belong to anybody else but God. I mean, why should I try to belong to you? Do I want a heart attack or something? No, you try to belong to people. Aren't you up against it? At least, if people try to belong to me, I know I'm funny. I belong only to God. Now I belong only to God. He teaches me how to belong to the funny people quite nicely. No problem. Bless your heart, if you want to be funny, I can tolerate a little bit of funniness. A little bit of, you know, whatever you want. Amen? It is wonderful to belong. And we are made to belong only to God who created us. We were never made to belong to ourselves. We were never made just to belong to other people apart from God and what God is doing. And I thank God for the what of holiness. It is both set-apartness and saintliness, both behavior and belonging. What about the when? When do you get sanctified? You get sanctified in crises. You get sanctified in a first crisis that is called the new birth. Hallelujah. 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. And I'm going to try to wrap this up in a little while. Not finish the message, but wrap this night up. 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. This is the will of God, even your sanctification. That you should keep on abstaining from fornication. But come down a little further and it says, who have called us unto holiness, that's crises. And who have given us of his spirit, that is crises. When you go to John 3.3 it says you must be born again, that's crises. The entrance sanctification. I don't know of any lady here tonight who would want to have a baby borning, borning, borning, borning, for a long, long time. Just borning, borning. You want to know that after whatever the agony, thank God the baby is born. And the presiding doctor can say, here's your boy, here's your girl. Amen. That's what God does in the first work of grace. When everything has been done and all the agony, whatever the, thank God the moment takes place. Amen. And then we come to 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. The very God of peace sanctify you wholly. And that is like the John 12 passage that speaks about a seed falling into the ground and dying. No farmer wants a seed forever falling, falling, falling, falling. You'll never get a harvest. The seed must fall. And it is done. Hallelujah. But don't we do that in normal life when you go to the altar to get married and the preacher asks you, will you? Do you take three and four months to say you will? I mean, you're going to lose a wife or a husband. You say, I will. Hallelujah. And it's done. Praise his name. The when is crisis, but the when is also continuation. That's another bit of doctrine that we don't seem to preach as holiness people. We're always at people for the crisis, crisis, crisis. But there is continuation. There is endless earthly sanctification. Look at Hebrews chapter 2. Hebrews chapter 2 and verse 11. Hebrews chapter 2. Hebrews chapter 2 and verse 11. For both he that sanctifyeth, and that means keeps on sanctifying, and they who are sanctified means being sanctified. So when the Bible says in Thessalonians, the very God of peace sanctify you wholly, that's crisis. But here in Hebrews it is a continual sanctification. You are growing, you are learning, you are developing, you are becoming more proficient in your holiness. Amen. There are some things God can't do for you at a crisis altar. It has to be done by walking in the light and saying, God, you just keep helping me. Isn't it a great thing to wake up one morning and realize that I'm not irked by things? Isn't that great? Hallelujah. Because there is this growth and we have not emphasized continuation. There is not only endless earthly sanctification, but the likelihood is that there is going to be endless eternal sanctification. Revelation chapter 22. He that is holy, let him be holy still. Still. And that word still means something went on formerly, now it is going to go on in a different state. You are beginning a new realm. Let him be holy still. And I just look forward, friends, to all eternity becoming more and more lovely like my Jesus. Amen. Amen. I just want you to know now that it has gotten to the stage of excitement. Holiness has gotten to the stage of excitement for me. I love God mastering behaving in me. I love it. Amen. I was telling a friend of mine that my problem has never been anger. That's why I preach these days about constitutional carnality and cultural carnality. I've never had any problem with anger. It's just not in my nature as much. Maybe that's why I don't blow the top. I do seal the lid on, in that sense, anger. But I have a strange thing about me that jealousy keeps dogging me. So you tell me, good morning, Brother Taylor. Good morning, Wingrove. And then you turn around and say to the next person, good morning, and suddenly I feel that my good morning has been lessened. Have you ever seen such craziness? Well, you know, just look at me and pray for me. I'm just opening up my heart. So I look to God. I say, no, God, I don't want this. And God says, son, do you realize that you could never deserve a good morning, and that it is only God who deserves good morning? Not a one of us here can deserve a good morning. Only God is good. And if only God is good, how do you deserve good morning? So when somebody, God says, son, remember, when somebody tells you good morning, you're receiving that for me. Don't take it for yourself. And when they say to the other person, good morning, they're also doing that for God. It's not for the other person, and I can't possibly be jealous of God. So suddenly I find myself victorious over that foolish jealousy, because it's not Wingrove anymore. It's all God. And we're going to sing again tonight, 503. 503. There is so much more to the message, but this is where we're stopping. I just want to know. I just want to know. You know, there is some kind of need here in this place. I've been able to put my finger on it. I'm not going to try to judge. I'm not going to try to... I think any of us who are sensitive would know, would feel. And we need to do something about it. Can I give you a little theory that I have? I am beginning to observe that you are turning away from the sensitivity standards. And if you keep going down that road, you're going to be heart sick 10, 15 years up the road. The only way, the only way to get beyond the sensitivity standards is to come to the Saviour standard. Believe you me, no church now need to tell me what I ought to be or do, because I have made an absolute commitment to the Saviour. And I cannot do just what I want to do. The sensitivity standards can go, but the Saviour standard holds me steady. And churches lose their way because they major on the sensitivity standards, which may be necessary. It's all there in the book. But we need more than sensitivity standards. We need the standard of the Saviour Himself. And when the whole world can move, God will hold you steady. I'm just giving you a little theory. I sense that that may have to do with our need to draw nigh to God. Now why don't we do what Brother White told us. Was it this morning, Brother White? Don't wait for God to touch you. You reach out and touch Him. Amen? Do like the woman with the issue of the blood. Don't wait until God touches you. You reach out. And somewhere we need to just say to God, yes God, either I need crisis or I need continuation. If God has given you light tonight, walk in it. But remember, kingdom righteousness is nothing more nor less than radical holiness. It is the holiness of Christ Himself. Let's sing and the altar is open. Let's find the Lord.