Dare to Be Holy in This Secular Age

By Clive Brook

Dare To Be Holy reflects Clive Brook’s many cultural experiences.  

Born at Nagambie in Victoria in 1937, Clive grew up on a sheep farm. He has worked with sheep, and in retail in Shepparton, also in an office in Melbourne. He was trained for the ordained ministry by the Society of the Sacred Mission, a

• Language: English
• Publisher: Clive Edward Brook
• Release date: Sep 2, 2019
• ISBN: 9780648586258

Book preview

• CHAPTER 1 •

Dare To Be Holy

Jesus prayed:

"They are not of the world even as I am not of it.

Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As

you sent me into the world, I have sent them into

the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they

too may be truly sanctified." (John 17.16-18)

In prayer Jesus declared that he had

sent the disciples into the world,

but they were not of the world.

What does that mean?

To be in the world is a statement of where they are,

When I go to Argentina to see my grandchildren there,

I will be able to say I am in Argentina,

but I am not of Argentina

I am of Australia.

I have the character of an Australian country bloke.

It reveals where my heart is.

Jesus said of the disciples:

They are not of the world even as I am not of it.

They were in the world, but their

heart was in another place.

As they lived in the world, they were

confronted with the temptations

of the world, the flesh and the devil.

In this secular world,

people can be led astray by the three

Gs; gold, girls and glory.

Maybe, it is gold, boys and glory in this age,

you can never be sure which way it is working.

Greed, the pursuit of gold can lead

people into doing evil things.

Sexual lust can inspire sinful behaviour.

Some are led astray by the pursuit of

glory and power over others.

Jesus and the disciples did not belong in that world.

He said: They are not of the world even as I am not of it.

They lived for the glory of God and his kingdom.

They knew in their hearts the love that

inspired God to create people

on planet earth whom he could love

and who could love him.

Since they knew the love of God in their hearts,

they loved people with a humble servant love.

They were in the world, but they were not of the world.

What does it mean to be of the world?

The prevailing culture of the world

is one of secular humanism.

Humanists have a great confidence in their own ability.

They believe mankind will build a better world.

Materially, mankind is building a high powered world.

Spiritually, mankind is making a hell of a mess.

People believe that mankind has the

answer to every problem or

in the future mankind will have answers

to remaining problems.

They believe that mankind is his own

saviour; so he does not need Jesus.

Many do not believe there is a god at all.

That world view is being pumped at

us everyday in the media;

it is very easy for Christians to accept that philosophy.

It is easy for people to become secular Christians

who believe in Jesus,

but put their trust in money and possessions

and expect that the government and business

is going to provide their needs.

That is the culture of this secular age.

Secular Christians who are of the world

care about the values of the world.

Many of them never read the Bible

or look to God for inspiration.

If you are not reading the Bible

your mind is being fed with the

secular garbage of the world.

Some never pray or only say the

Lord’s Prayer once in a while

and think that is enough.

Many are not at all sure about heaven.

Some don’t think heaven exists at all and

have no expectation of life after death.

They don’t worry about sin –

If there is no heaven and no hell sin doesn’t matter,

so they don’t need a saviour.

In this secular age, secular Christians live

for this world. They are of the world.

Jesus said: "Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord.’

will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does

the will of my Father who is in heaven." (Mat 7.21)

On the other hand, the true believers love God.

They are grateful that God gave them the gift of life

They know they belong to him.

God made a covenant with them in baptism

and renewed it in holy communion.

They know they are sinners;

but they also know their sins are

covered by the blood of Jesus.

They are sanctified. They are holy.

They know they can look forward to

eternal life with God in heaven

That is a glorious prospect given to

them by Jesus on the cross.

They know they are secure in Christ.

They belong to him. They are holy.

Jesus said of the Holy Spirit:

"The world cannot accept him, because it neither

sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he

lives with you and will be in you." (John 14.17)

Jesus was warning the disciples that there

were people who would not understand or

accept them or their teaching because the

people did not know the Spirit of God.

Jesus was warning the disciples so

that they would understand

why some people were aggressive to them.

Nothing has changed.

Today there are people who will not listen

to us sharing the love of God.

Some get angry with us when we talk about Jesus.

It is as Jesus said: they do not know

God and cannot accept our witness.

In some cases, particularly if they become aggressive,

they are prompted by the devil and his hatred of Christ.

They are not fighting you – they are fighting Jesus in you.

Nonetheless Jesus’ command is there for you

Go and make disciples of all nations. (Mat 28.19)

It is God’s will for you to share Jesus

and his love for people

and lead them to Christ.

Jesus prayed for the disciples to be

sanctified, just as he is sanctified.

To be sanctified is to be made holy just as Jesus is holy.

The word holy means belonging to God –

Something is holy when it is set apart for

godly use – like communion vessels.

When you invite holy Jesus into your

heart you become a holy person.

You are set apart for God – you are not of the world.

You are holy (sanctified) because you belong to God.

Your heart is focussed on him.

You delight in reading his word,

especially the New Testament.

That way you get positive spiritual inspiration.

You live for his glory.

When Jesus is in your heart you feel his glory.

Jesus is here in this world and with God the

Father in heaven at the same time.

When you live with Jesus,

your spirit can see the glory that Jesus has

with the Father whilst he is in you.

The glory of God is beautiful! It fills us with joy.

With Jesus in our heart, we are secure because we

are sealed with the Holy Spirit and belong with him

not only in this world but also with him in heaven.

We are sanctified by the blood of

Jesus and share in his glory.

Remember it is not your glory for you to boast about.

It is Jesus’ glory which he lovingly shares with you,

thereby sanctifying you - making you holy.

Jesus prayed for the disciples:

For them I sanctify myself, that they too

may be truly sanctified." (John 17.16-18)

Truly sanctified - not half sanctified.

He wants his disciples to be fully sanctified

He does not want half-hearted secular Christians.

God wants fully sanctified Christians who delight in him;

who delight in his love and delight in his glory,

who see the people around them with the love of Jesus,

and delight in telling people about him..

Holy living will prepare you for your holy

life with Jesus in the glory of heaven.

Be fully sanctified.

"Be Holy because I the Lord your

God am holy."(Lev 19.2)

• CHAPTER 2 •

Being Family Is Not

Always Easy

"Where did this man get these things? They asked; What’s this

wisdom that has been given him, that he even does miracles!

Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother

of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here

with us? And they took offence at him." (Mark 6.2 & 3)

The good citizens of Nazareth were confused.

They didn’t know what to make of Jesus.

They all knew him; they had played with him

as a boy; he had grown up there and worked as

a carpenter like Joseph had done before him.;

his brothers and sisters were still there.

He had been away for a few months

wandering around the Sea of Galilee.

Then he returned bringing some friends with him.

The Nazarenes might have thought

that he had come back to stay

and would resume his work as a carpenter.

He didn’t start working. He spent a lot time

talking to people about spiritual things

that he had never been taught in Nazareth.

Where did he get all that wisdom?

How could he produce miracles and heal people?

Many could not think of him as anything more

than one of Joseph and Mary’s family.

Joseph must have been dead by that stage.

They referred to Jesus as Mary’s son.

If Joseph had been alive they would have

referred to Jesus as Joseph’s son.

In the synagogue, he read from Isaiah:

"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has

anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He

has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners

and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the

oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour."

(Luke 4.18 & 19)

They heard him say:

"Today this scripture has been fulfilled

in your hearing." (Luke 4.21)

People were amazed and said "Isn’t

this Joseph’s son?’ (Luke 4.22)

Jesus was not Joseph’s son. But they did not know that.

The virgin birth only became known, years later,

when Mary shared her story with Luke

to be included in his Gospel.

"Jesus said to them, ‘Only in his hometown,

among his relatives and in his own house

is a prophet without honour.’" (Mark 6.4)

There is a saying familiarity breeds contempt.

That is what Jesus was experiencing.

The people of Nazareth could not make the change

to think of their local boy becoming a leader in Israel.

The situation got worse!

Jesus pointed out that God’s love reached

out to all people, even foreigners.

"All the people in the synagogue were furious when they

heard this. They got up, drove him out of town, and took

him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built,

in order to throw him down the cliff.

But he walked right through the crowd

and went on his way." (Luke 4.28-30)

Jesus left Nazareth despised and rejected by

the whole town including his own family.

That situation continued for some time.

Jesus’ ministry developed and great crowds

came to hear him and to be healed.

At the same time, opposition built up

from the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Jesus’ family became alarmed that he was

heading into trouble that could destroy him.

Mary and his brothers decided that it had gone too far.

It was time to take him home and calm the

situation down for his own protection.

When they arrived to see him, he

was surrounded by a crowd.

"Someone told him, ‘Your mother and brothers

are standing outside, wanting to speak

to you.’ He replied to him, ‘Who is my mother

and who are my brothers?’" (Mat 12.47 & 48)

He knew they wanted to take him home –

they did not understand his ministry.

Talking to them would have been painful,

and would not have served any good purpose.

So he did not go out to them.

Instead he directed attention to his

spiritual family. He said:

"Here are my mother and brothers. For whoever

does the will of my Father in heaven

is my brother and sister and mother." (Mat 12.49 & 50)

That must have been very painful for

Mary her sons and her daughters.

They would have gone home seeing more trouble ahead;

but Jesus whom they loved was not

willing to listen to them.

His family could not persuade Jesus to give up.

He was on a God-given mission.

It all changed with time.

No doubt, Mary prayed a lot. She

became a believer in due course.

She probably meditated on the visit of the angel, Gabriel,

who told her she was called to give

birth to the Son of God.

She came to believe that God was

with Jesus in all he was doing.

She was with Jesus and the disciples in holy week.

She stood with John the disciple at the foot of the cross

with pain and grief in her heart as she

watched her Son being crucified.

"Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s

sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.

When Jesus saw his mother there and the disciple whom

he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother,

‘Dear woman here is your son’, and to the

disciple, ‘Here is your mother’.

From that time on, this disciple took her

into his home." (John 19.25-27)

Jesus’ words from the cross show

that love and compassion

had been completely restored between him and Mary.

In Acts 15, James, the brother of Jesus, presided

in the great council in Jerusalem.

This demonstrates that James was

completely on board with the disciples

to the point where the Church accepted

him as their leader in the council.

It is possible all of Jesus’ brothers

and sisters came to faith.

Indeed it is probable, because in biblical

times people thought corporately.

Decisions were made by whole families together

rather than individuals deciding for themselves.

Normally, the father led and shaped

the thinking of the family.

When Mary accepted in her heart that Jesus

was the Son of God on a divine mission,

the whole family would have embraced

the faith and rallied behind Jesus.

Family harmony is not always the case. Jesus said:

"Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell

you, but division. From now on there will be five in one

family divided against each other, three against two

and two against three. They will be divided, father

against son and son against father, mother against

daughter and daughter against mother, mother-

in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-

in-law against mother-in-law." (Luke 12.51-53)

It was true in Jesus time and it is also true now.

The devil hates Jesus, and will do all

he can to lead people astray.

Aggressive humanism and atheism

have drawn many people away

from faith in the Son of God, Jesus.

There are people of faith who rejoice

in the love of God and Jesus.

They are saddened when some of their own

family don’t want to know about Jesus,

or even aggressively deny that God exists.

They have the grief of knowing that some

of their family will never get to heaven,

but will be lost in hell instead.

Being family is not always easy.

Even Jesus’ holy family experienced stress and pain.

Being family is a source of great joy.

Parents experience great joy in caring for their children,

loving them, watching them develop into loving people.

Parents have the joy of sharing their love, their values

and culture with their children. Children have the

great joy of growing up in the love of their parents and

family. They absorb the love and faith of their parents.

For Jesus, the painful problem he had with

his family was beautifully resolved.

No doubt, much prayer went into it.

What do you do when you are confronted with a problem?

Love and pray!

Love the person at the centre of the problem.

God loves them, so you can love them

even if they are aggressive.

Jesus prayed, Father forgive them they

don’t know what they are doing.

Pray trusting prayers.

Pray that the Lord will lead you to the

perfect resolution of the disagreement.

Dare to be holy. Tell people how you love Jesus.

God loves families! They were his idea in the first place.

Dare to be Holy —

Love those who God gave

to you to be your family.

Love them with the love of the Lord.

• CHAPTER 3 •

By What Power?

By what power or what name did you do this? (Acts 4.7)

Power is very important. We use it all the time.

We turn a light on; we turn on the

TV; we turn on the phone;

we drive the car; we are relying on power –physical power.

We get upset if it doesn’t work.

An employer has power to give us a job or sack us.

The pilot has power to take off and land an aeroplane

and deliver us safely to our destination.

The football referee has power to start or stop a game.

Police have power to discipline people.

Governments