Session 3 | Pastor Jennifer Neuschwander | Every Woman 2025

Living as His Favorite: The Habit of Holiness

 

 

Session 1 Recap:

1. We discovered that meekness is the doorway to holiness.
2. The “favorite ones” of God are those who walk humbly, yielding their strength to His Spirit.
3. We saw in Jesus the perfect model of meekness: power under control, strength wrapped in surrender, holiness expressed through humility.

 

 

• Holiness is not an abstract state reserved for the spiritually elite — it is a daily lifestyle of those who live as His chosen, His beloved, His “favorites.”
• Where meekness shapes our inner attitude, holiness transforms our outward conduct.

 

God is calling us not only to carry His heart but to reflect His nature in every sphere of life — home, work, relationships, and ministry.

 

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1 Peter 1:15–17 NLT: “But now you must be holy in everything you do (conduct), 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 (conduct). So, you must live in reverent fear of Him during your time as ‘foreigners in the land.’”

 

 

4 Key Truths on Holiness:

 

1. To be holy is to be completely .
2. Holiness is — not earned.
3. Holiness is not automatic! It’s reserved for those seeking with God.
4. Holiness is filled with

 

1. To Be Holy Is To Be Completely Set Apart

 

To be holy means to be completely set apart—distinct, different, and devoted to God. When we compare ourselves to the world, we lose that distinction. The world doesn’t need a mirror of itself—it needs a glimpse of heaven.

 

• The opposite of holiness is defilement; MEANING: when what is sacred becomes .

While Scripture never fully defines holiness, it shows us three things that happen when we encounter it:

 

• Sin cannot stand.
• Pride bows low.
• Worship becomes our natural response.

 

Why?

 

• Because holiness is the of who God is.
• We can’t define it because we can’t contain it.
• When we say, “God is holy,” we are saying He is completely, utterly, unique and separate from everything else in creation.

 

2. Holiness Is Transferred — Not Earned

 

The only true holiness that exists is God’s holiness. Anything or anyone called holy becomes so only because God imparts His holiness to it.

 

Think of the Old Testament temple:

Its instruments were considered holy, not because of their materials, but because they had been in the presence of God. His presence infused them with holiness.

 

The same is true today:

• We are His temple. His presence makes us holy.
• Paul reminds us that the Church is the sacred space where God dwells.
• That’s why holiness in the body matters—not only for individuals, but for the whole community.
• When the Church tolerates what’s unholy, the temple becomes defiled.

 

 

The main idea behind holiness is not moral perfection but apartness:

 

1. God is separate—different from His creation, perfect in all His attributes.

Yet instead of building a wall around that apartness, He us to share it: “Be holy, for I am holy.”

2. Holiness is not something we achieve—it’s something that us.
3. When His Spirit dwells within, His holiness begins to our nature.

 

Unlike the pagan gods of the ancient world—who reflected the impurity of man—our God reflects His own perfection. Every attribute of God is holy:

• His love is holy love.
• His justice is holy justice.
• His mercy is holy mercy.

 

When we call upon our Holy Father, our lives must reflect His holiness. To acknowledge Him as Father is to align ourselves with His character.

 

He shows no partiality, and judges our conduct, not to condemn or shame us, but to lift us higher, calling us to live in the light of His righteousness and draw us closer to His heart.

 

 

1. The is the soil where holiness grows.
2. Only the yields can be filled; only the can be set apart.
3. Holiness is God’s to meekness; “His life reproduced in a humble vessel”.
4. If we want to live holy, we must break free from the chains of “average” and “normal.”

 

We must leave the camp of familiarity and pitch our tents in the presence of God. There, we find 3 THINGS:

• not religion—but relationship
• not rules—but reverence
• not striving—but surrender

 

3. Holiness is not automatic! It’s reserved for those seeking closeness with God.

 

1 Peter 1:15–16 NLT: “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.’”

In this verse, Peter is writing to believers — meaning holiness isn’t automatic. We are sanctified, yet still being sanctified. God is forming a holy people who can steward His presence.

The essence of the Church should be these two things:

• • • We are holy.

This implies that there is a little bit of work on our part.

Not in the “works-based Christianity” way. But in the “I will show you my faith by my works” (James 2:18) kind of way!

• • • Holiness isn’t about legalism or perfection; it’s about .

The closer we draw to Him, the more consecrated we become.

 

4. Holiness is Filled with Invitation

 

When God says, “You are holy,” He is saying: “I am placing My essence on you. You will share in My divine nature.”

 

• • • Holiness is not superiority — it’s surrender.
    • Holiness brings us to the cross, to deliverance, to purification, and to consecration — not through performance, but through presence.
    • Holiness is the ongoing process of being transformed by to Him.
    • Holiness is not about striving; it’s about abiding.
    • Holiness is not about being better; it’s about .

 

 

1. Holiness is beautiful—but it is also . 

 

God doesn’t simply call us holy—He makes us holy. And that process often involves…

• • • Breaking before healing!
    • Pruning before fruitfulness!
    • Fire before fullness!

When we draw near to a holy God, we discover that His nearness both comforts and cuts. The same presence that fills us also refines us. It’s the paradox of His love: He wounds only to heal; He tears only to restore.

This is where holiness becomes REAL and personal. It’s where invitation meets transformation—where we stop admiring God’s holiness from afar and start allowing Him to carve it into our hearts.

 

2. The Call — Drawn, Broken, and Made Whole

 

Hosea 6:1-3 ESV: “Come, let us return to the Lord; for He has torn us, that He may heal us; He has struck us down, and He will bind us up. After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live before Him. Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord; His going out is sure as the dawn; He will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.”

Hosea 6:1-3 ESV: “Come, let us return to the Lord; for He has torn us, that He may heal us; He has struck us down, and He will bind us up. After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live before Him. Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord; His going out is sure as the dawn; He will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.”

This passage reveals a side of God’s heart we don’t always want to see — His love that cuts in order to heal. When we draw near to Him saying, “Lord, I want to know You,” He invites us forward through the sword of His truth.

Just as a doctor sometimes has to rebreak a bone that has healed improperly or must conduct surgery to remove a tumor, God invites us to be pruned and refined by His holy scalpel.

• • • It cuts us — but with the intention of healing us. It breaks us — but to bind us up. That is holiness in motion: the loving wounding that restores.

 

3. A Holy People for a Holy — From Surgery to Healing to Calling

 

God’s refining work in us is never random. He restores us so we can represent Him. 

Once He has mended what was broken, He entrusts us with His holy purpose. The heart He heals becomes the vessel He uses.

1 Peter 2:9: “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”

This verse captures 4 THINGS that are the essence of holiness:

• • • We are possessed by God to proclaim God.
    • Holiness is not only separation from darkness — it’s devotion Him.
    • It’s both identity and calling: to belong and to declare.
    • We don’t just “talk about” God — we proclaim His excellencies because we’ve encountered Him.

4. The Priestly Call to

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In the Old Testament, only the priests could draw near to God’s presence — but with reverence, cleansing, and sacrifice. Their nearness came with requirements, because the closer you get to glory, the higher the standard.

Holiness still works that way today:

• • • As we draw near, we are being conformed to , changed from glory to glory.
    • Our priestly duty isn’t just attending church — it’s approaching God.
    • Holiness isn’t about perfection; it’s about proximity.
    • It’s not about performance; it’s about presence.
    • The more we come before Him, the more like Him we become.

 

5. A Presence To Enter

Once God has called and refined us, when we have opened our hearts to the Divine Surgeon’s scalpel, we discover that holiness isn’t a mystery to solve—it’s a presence to enter.

In the book of Leviticus God repeatedly declares, “BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY” (Leviticus 11:44-45; 19:2; 20:7)

• • • Holiness in Leviticus was about dwelling near His presence, drawing close to the God who chose to dwell among His people in the Tabernacle.

Every law, offering, and act of worship was designed to bring Israel nearer to Him while setting them apart from the impurity of the world.

• • • Holiness, then, is not distance but NEARNESS, to live consecrated, purified, and aligned with the nature of the One who is perfectly holy.
    • To be holy is to live close enough to reflect His character, to walk in His presence, and to let His nearness shape who we become.

 

Holiness flows from:

• , to
• , and
• in His presence.

 

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Psalm 24:3-4: “Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart.”

 

1. Holiness begins with .

 

“Clean hands” speak of outward conduct.

“Pure hearts” speak of inward motives.

Together, they describe those who keep both life and worship aligned with God. This is keeping your life submitted to cultivating a heart to hold His holiness.

Psalm 15:1-2: “O LORD, who shall sojourn in Your tent? Who shall dwell on Your holy hill? He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart.”

 

2. Holiness , not visits.

 

Those who dwell in God’s presence practice integrity and truth because communion demands consistency.

James 5:16: “Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”

3. Holiness is . 

 

Healing and holiness grow in the soil of humility and meekness—confession keeps the heart soft and the Spirit free to work.

Psalm 51:10-11: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from Your presence, and take not Your Holy Spirit from me.”

 

4. Holiness is wholly on God.

 

David reminds us that purity can’t be self-made—it’s God-made. We are sustained by His Spirit, not our strength.

Hebrews 10:22: “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”

 

5. Holiness draws us near and reminds us to near.

 

We are invited—cleansed and confident—to live in continual nearness to Him.

 

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Holiness has always been God’s invitation to dwell near Him — to mirror His heart in our conduct, our worship, and our daily walk.

 

From the beginning, He has longed not just for obedience, but for oneness — for a people who reflect His nature and carry His presence into the world.

 

Putting It All Together:

 

• Meekness — the soil where holiness grows.

Meekness taught us that strength is found in surrender, and that God fills what He first empties.

• Holiness isn’t about perfection but proximity—it’s not earned by effort, but received through intimacy.
• Like Hosea’s call to return, God still beckons us: “Come, let us return to the Lord… He will heal us.”

 

His refining cuts are never punishment—they are invitations to deeper wholeness.

He tears only to heal, prunes only to make fruitful, and calls only those He intends to dwell with. Holiness is where we reside.

 

Let this be our prayer and pursuit:

• To live lowly before Him in meekness.
• To walk closely beside Him in holiness.
• To shine brightly for Him in purity and truth.

 

The secret of holiness has never changed: Abide in Him, and He will make you holy.  It’s not who you are — it’s where you are.

Not striving, but staying. Not achieving, but abiding. Not earning, but encountering.

Step into His presence — stay there — and let His holiness make you whole!