God, in several Biblical passages, proclaimed himself as “THE HOLY ONE OF ISRAEL”.

2 Kings 19:22 Who is it you have ridiculed and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes in pride? Against the Holy One of Israel!

The word HOLY comes from the Hebrew “qâdôsh ” and the Greek “hagios ” and means "SET APART".

Such a name given by God to Himself has a foundation, as it defines the TOTAL ABSENCE OF SIN, THE TOTAL ABSENCE OF EVIL, THE TOTAL ABSENCE OF INJUSTICE, that is, the complete separation from God of any form of evil.

Isaiah was the prophet who used this term most in the Bible to designate God, around 25 times and it makes sense, as Isaiah was the prophet who prophesied Jesus in greater detail and with greater clarity, and he did this around 700 years before Jesus was born.

The name “THE HOLY ONE OF ISRAEL” has a deeper meaning than perhaps you can imagine, as God vehemently demonstrated his will for his people to seek to have this same characteristic, simply because God is our father and He is holy.

Insistently, God has called upon his people to sanctify themselves and as you know, the Word of God is law, therefore we cannot refuse to comply with such an order.

Leviticus 19:2 Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.

Leviticus 20:7 Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the Lord your God.

The blood of Jesus, shed on the cross, guaranteed us the right to have full communion with God, as Adam and Eve had before sin, as the blood of Jesus purifies us from all sin.

1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

We will never have communion with God without receiving Jesus as Our Lord and Savior.

Just as, we will never have communion with God without HOLYNESS (SET APART) from sin and injustice.

Hebrews 12:14 Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.

SET APART, as the word itself says, means NOT TO PARTICIPATE in what God has condemned, because whoever disobeys God is being rebellious against God himself and God abhors rebellion, so much so that the devil and a third of the angels in heaven, one day, they were condemned and definitively expelled from the presence of God because of their rebellion.

1 John 3:4 Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.

1 Samuel 15:23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.

Therefore, if you want to have communion with God and hear his voice during your prayers, SET APART (be holy) yourself to God.

Seek holy things, as they please God, and completely despise profane, worldly things, which move you away from God.

Always remember the verse: Hebrews 12:14 ...  without holiness no one will see the Lord.

WITHOUT HOLYNESS, NO ONE WILL SEE GOD!

The Lord bless you and keep you.

Pastor Val Martins