John 17:19-21 NIV ~ “19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified. 20 My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”
Yesterday we read about consecrating ourselves before we could go to the next level! Well, you can’t just stop there you have to sanctify yourself too! Yes, you must consecrate (your choice) yourself God before you become sanctified (God’s Work)!
What is sanctification? It is a work of grace that is received through faith in Jesus Christ’s Blood. It is a process that begins when a young the (believer) is regenerated, given a new nature, and continues to grow in grace. And in order to be sanctified, you must choose to consecrate yourself first to God, and this is the process that you started yesterday. Keep this in your mind, consecration is the quality decision you made to keep yourself separated and holy unto the Lord. And Sanctification is your willing act of separation unto God. You consecrated yourself when you made the conscious decision to surrender and yield to God with your whole heart! You chose to God’s Will over your will!
I have a question for you, have you ever gotten a stain on your favorite outfit and no matter how much you washed it the stain wouldn’t come clean? And then you tried it one more time with a different cleanser and it came clean. Well, think about your life before Jesus, you tried everything you know how to get rid of the stain (sin) but no matter what you couldn’t do it, until you tried Jesus! His Blood cleansed you. (I can hear the words of this old song, I Know I’ve Been Changed, by Lashun Pace, “Somebody said how can a brown cow eat green grass and give you white milk? Huh, well, if you think that’s something God’s chemical laboratory of redemption took my, my black soul and dipped it in red blood and I came out white as snow”, Isaiah 1:18! The Blood of Jesus Christ cleaned you up! This is your shouting moment, you should be singing Glory Hallelujah and saying Thank You Jesus!
Do you like putting on dirty clothes? No, you don’t, you want clean clothes on! Well, when you don’t repent and ask God to cleanse you from the inside out, you are only surface clean. And nobody wants to be surface clean, I mean you look good from the outside, but on the inside, you are filthy! None of us can be holy on our own, we need God! He does the purifying and sanctifying work in your lives once you have made the decision to be consecrated unto the Him! I’ve come to tell you that only Jesus Christ can clean you from the inside out, will you let Him? As a matter of fact, everything that happened to you was God working on you, it was done to draw you closer and closer to Him! It’s designed to conform you into the image of Jesus Christ! In everything that you walked through it was God working through you and He’s working on you right now through the process of sanctification and it’s all for your good! God is sanctifying you for righteous living and this should be good news to your ears and heart! Leviticus 20:7 ~ “Sanctify yourselves therefore and be ye holy: for I am the Lord your God.”
As I live and learn more about God, I’ve come to know that we are in this world but not of this world and that we are commanded by Him to stand out and be different! As His child you are to act and think differently, to have separate values and views, from those in the world in everything that you do (Deuteronomy 14:2)! You and I were made in the image of Jesus Christ, so we are supposed to resemble Him and stand out and not look like anyone else, because we have been chosen, (2 Peter 2:9) redeemed and sanctified by the truth of God’s Word! There can be no distinction without separation; if you remain like the world, you will die like the world and that is not what your Father intended for you! But until you change your natural desires from the world to wanting the Word of God and be transformed, (Romans 12:2), you will never change or be different and no one will be able to tell you apart from an unbeliever in the world because your habits are similar to each other (1 John 2:15-16)!
I mean just because the whole world is doing a thing doesn’t make it right. God’s standards and ways are higher than the world, they are the same every day, they don’t change, they are the one constant thing that you can trust and depend upon all of the time! 1 Thessalonians 5:23 ~ “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The principles of God cannot and will not be changed to suit you when you want to compromise the Word of God to fit into the world. You must be a believer every day and all day, you don’t get a holiday or time off just because! For when you compromise, your destiny is no different from theirs, you cannot walk on both sides of the fence, you have to make a choice (Joshua 24:15)! I’m praying that the Grace of God would give you what you need in your character to stand for God, even if you have to stand alone, you must make the Word of God your standard and not man’s word! Be determined to be different in your character and your conduct from the unbelievers in this world!
I just have one more thing to ask you, can you imagine watching a movie that showed what your sin history looked like? Every bad thought, idol word, contrary behavior that went against what He told you not to do, those hidden sins, even those that you thought you hid from yourself, every sin, every day, all day long and day after day. No one would want to see this movie over and over again, yet Jesus Christ, sees everything that you do, and He is the only One that can wash you clean through and through and give you His Mercy and Grace! When God washes you through and through, He gets rid of everything, and the perfect peace of God becomes your portion! Others should be able to tell the difference between you and an unbeliever! Shouldn’t they? God has giving you His statutes and He’s calling you to do a new thing, to be Holy, to be Consecrated, to be Sanctified, to be Different and to be Set Apart for His Purpose and Only your Lord and Savior can do this, “Trust The Process of God, as you continue to consecrate and be sanctified before God!
Let’s Pray:
Thank You Father! Father, search me and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts and remove anything from me that is wrong. Wash me through and through, until I look just like you. Father, I choose to consecrate myself on your Altar, burn off everything that is not like You. Then Father, may I be Sanctified by You and for Your Glory. Thank You Father, for forgiving me and cleansing me from all unrighteousness. Keep my mind and heart clear that I may hear from You at all times. Father fill my mind with good thoughts as You mold me into the image of Your Son Jesus Christ. Father may Your peace encompass me today as I draw near to You! May You continue to sanctify and washes you through and through! Please make me holy. Please make me look more like Jesus today. I pray Lord, that You will continue to work through every circumstance in me and that I will encounter You today in my life and that my life will never be the same because of what You have done for me, in me and through me, it’s for my good and Your Glory! In Jesus Christ Name. Amen!
Blessings…
Love, Minister Jean
