Bible Thoughts. Sanctification 4- Our sanctification is our separation from the world. It is our new identity in Christ. We are not of this world. We are of God. This separation is found in God’s word. The Word is the mirror of the believer. It is the only tool for transformation. It is the only substance by which this believer is different from the world. John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth 1 Peter1:23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. James1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. 23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: 24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. The word is our source, sanctification, and mirror. The Word separates us from the rest of humanity. The Word is a person. John1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. His revelation is the Bible John5:39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. 40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life (2 Timothy 3:15-16, Luke 24: 25-27). Therein is the "working word". In its instructions, corrections, exhortations and edification. We must take the Bible as The Word speaking to us. He will never talk outside the written word. The Written word unveils the Living Word. The more times we spend with the bible, the more times we are spending with God! If many of us will look back at the disdain with which we have treated the Word, we will discover the reasons for our "sinful" and" uncontrolled lifestyles. It came from an inconsistent, irreverent attitude to the Word. Rather than feeding on the Word to live right, we have fed on unrighteousness. We have fed on the flesh. The flesh profits NOTHING-John 6:33 We are always at the movies. The actors are not influenced by the Word, yet the movies influence us. We have read books such as 48 laws of power. We have developed thought patterns outside the word. Yet Jesus (The Word) made a clear distinction between power in the godless and greatness in Christ. Matthew 20:25 And Jesus called them to Him and said, You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men hold them in subjection [tyrannizing over them]. 26 Not so shall it be among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, 27 And whoever desires to be first among you must be your slave— 28 Just as the Son of Man came not to be waited on but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many [the price paid to set them free]. Our models are the great men of the faith. Those who serve. Service is not the "way" to greatness. In Christianity, service is THE GREATNESS. We shall be looking at this later. We have made models out of Satan’s children. We quote them often. They have discipled us. We, the light are being led by darkness. It is alarming! A wise man once opined “while it is bad for the blind to lead the blind, it is disaster when the blind lead those who have sight". This is what happens when the Church is led by the world. Some clergy (with due respect) even give them the pulpit. The qualification for ministering to the Church is spelt out in 1 Timothy 3. He must be a capable and qualified teacher. Verse 2 says he possesses the ability to teach the Word. We have desecrated the temple. We are turned to merchandise. We now discuss commerce in the church. We sell shares. National transformation. Economic empowerment. We have lost the Plot. Jesus was so furious at the misuse of Holy gatherings. Mark11:15 And they came to Jerusalem. And He went into the temple [area, the [d]porches and courts] and began to drive out those who sold and bought in the temple area, and He overturned the [[e]four-footed] tables of the money changers and the seats of those who dealt in doves; 16 And He would not permit anyone to carry any household equipment through the temple enclosure [thus making the temple area a short-cut traffic lane]. 17 And He taught and said to them, Is it not written, My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations? But you have turned it into a den of robbers. The world economy is not the beat of the Church. It is the world’s salvation from sin. Only done by the Gospel- The Gospel of Christ (Romans 1:16). Mark 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. Not the gospel of the Asian tigers or wall street. This is the gospel of the cross, NO MORE.. 1 Corinthians 1:18 For the story and message of the cross is sheer absurdity and folly to those who are perishing and on their way to perdition, but to us who are being saved, it is the [manifestation of] the power of God. 19 For it is written, I will baffle and render useless and destroy the learning of the learned and the philosophy of the philosophers and the cleverness of the clever and the discernment of the discerning; I will frustrate and nullify [them] and bring [them] to nothing. 20 Where is the wise man (the philosopher)? Where is the scribe (the scholar)? Where is the investigator (the logician, the debater) of this present time and age? Has not God shown up the nonsense and the folly of this world’s wisdom? 21 For when the world with all its earthly wisdom failed to perceive and recognize and know God by means of its own philosophy, God in His wisdom was pleased through the foolishness of preaching [salvation, procured by Christ and to be had through Him], to save those who believed (who clung to and trusted in and relied on Him). 22 For while Jews [demandingly] ask for signs and miracles and Greeks pursue philosophy and wisdom, 23 We preach Christ (the Messiah) crucified, [preaching which] to the Jews is a scandal and an offensive stumbling block [that springs a snare or trap], and to the Gentiles it is absurd and utterly unphilosophical nonsense. 24 But to those who are called, whether Jew or Greek (Gentile), Christ [is] the Power of God and the Wisdom of God. We owe our societies only ONE DEBT- THE MESSAGE OF THE CROSS, CHRIST CRUCIFIED! We are not obligated to change the world. Our attempt to do this has brought the spirit of the world, entertainment, frivolity, looseness and lightness into the church activities. We must stop this worldliness. Back to the trenches! Back to the Word. We must have confidence in the Word, ONLY. Not the Word plus or minus! The Word, No more. When we try to secularise the word, what we have is no longer the word. For He is a person. The result of this will be false conversions and worldliness amongst believers. 1 Corinthians 2:1 As for myself, brethren, when I came to you, I did not come proclaiming to you the testimony and evidence or [a]mystery and secret of God [concerning what He has done through Christ for the salvation of men] in lofty words of eloquence or human philosophy and wisdom; 2 For I resolved to know nothing (to be acquainted with nothing, to make a display of the knowledge of nothing, and to be conscious of nothing) among you except Jesus Christ (the Messiah) and Him crucified. 3 And I was in ([b]passed into a state of) weakness and fear (dread) and great trembling [[c]after I had come] among you. 4 And my language and my message were not set forth in persuasive (enticing and plausible) words of wisdom, but they were in demonstration of the [Holy] Spirit and power [[d]a proof by the Spirit and power of God, operating on me and stirring in the minds of my hearers the most holy emotions and thus persuading them], 5 So that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men (human philosophy), but in the power of God. If there is any message accepted by believer and unbeliever alike, be rest assured it is not the Word. When we feed on books, we receive the inspiration of the books. If it’s greed, we become greedy, Lusts, we become lustful, pride, we are proud. We must put a check on what we read! Jesus warned us. Mark 4:24 And He said to them, Be careful what you are hearing. The measure [a][of thought and study] you give [to [b]the truth you hear] will be the measure [c][of virtue and knowledge] that comes back to you—and more [besides] will be given to you who hear. Any serious believer who seeks to glorify God will spend quality time in the Word. He will spend more time with the Word than with men. He will thus live a sanctified life. We must have the right models. The right Mentors. The right examples. 1 Corinthians 11:1 Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. We must see Paul, Peter, James, John. We must look for the life and times of heroes of Christianity. Those who suffered for the Gospel. Those who endured persecution. Philippians 1:29 For you have been granted [the privilege] for Christ’s sake not only to believe in (adhere to, rely on, and trust in) Him, but also to suffer in His behalf. Amp. We must quickly read about the early church fathers. The world’s models ARE NOT our models. Even if they attend churches. Church attendance doesn’t make you more of a Christian than the signboards, chairs, decorations which attend services faithfully too. What you believe is your faith! We must find out about George Whitfield, Charles and John Wesley, Charles Finney. We must read about Oswald J. Smith. D. L. Moody, F.F Bosworth, Howard Carter, Mary Slessor, Kenneth Hagin, E.W Kenyon, Ayo Babalola and many more. We must look out for the right heroes. Those who held or still hold the banner of faith. We must not greedily look for the business magnates (because we crave money) or intellectuals (because we crave acclaim). Hebrews 13:7 Remember your leaders and superiors in authority [for it was they] who brought to you the Word of God. Observe attentively and consider their manner of living (the outcome of their well-spent lives) and imitate their faith ([h]their conviction that God exists and is the Creator and Ruler of all things, the Provider and Bestower of eternal salvation through Christ, and their [i]leaning of the entire human personality on God in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness. Very Clear! We follow them ONLY if they have the testimony of Christian sufferings, living, faith . • A prayer life • Evangelism • Discipleship • Ministry • Service • Submission in the local church • Integrity • Honour We must feed on the Word and follow men who feed on it! A renewing of the Mind is imperative. Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you) We can. We must. It is urgent and confidential! Hope it’s clear? I feed on the Word Only. I live in my sanctification. Jesus is lord,We win!
Posted on: Wed, 31 Jul 2013 22:31:20 +0000