Completely Surrendered
Various Scriptures
As we have discussed over the past few weeks, there is a real gospel that is available to any an every person. Genuine holiness is available for every believer. Moses’ humility, David’s heart after God, Paul’s pressing toward the mark, Augustine’s “give me what Thou will,” Wesley’s heart strangely warmed, or Mother Theresa’s one holy passion are not so extraordinary, as they are the right use of grace made available to all of us at one time or another. God neither supplies nor expects less for any man.
But sadly, most of us would rather envy these saintly heroes than imitate them. We would rather believe it came easier for them than for us. All this talk about holiness is overrated, we say. But one day, and typically after we are dead, we will learn that heaven is far more serious about holiness, and much more sophisticated about heart purity than most of us down here. And in the meantime, we still have to confront the Scriptures, which say that ...
“I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” John 10:10 NKJV
“And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.” John 17:19 NKJV
...God has ordained, from the very beginning of time, that we should be “conformed to the likeness of the Son” (Romans 8:29)
... we were chosen “to be holy and blameless in His sight” (Ephesians 1:4); and to “share His holiness” (Hebrews 12:10)
... God “did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.” (1Thessalonians 4:7)
... He “is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” (Ephesians 3:20)
... we should, each of us, offer our bodies as living sacrifices, “holy and pleasing to God - [which is our] spiritual act of worship” (Romans 12:1)
These are not for other men. They are for us.
This morning, I want to throw away all the familiar, or unfamiliar terms about what holiness, or sanctification, looks like. We will not be using terms like “entire sanctification” or “second work of grace.” The term that best describes the life mentioned in the passages I’ve quoted can be simply boiled down to “complete devotion.” They all mean the same thing, but “complete devotion” is a lot easier to chew. It’s is not bogged down in church terminology and unfamiliar doctrinal words.
Over the next two Sundays, we will look at the doctrine of entire sanctification, or complete devotion. This morning, I believe, as we concluded last Sunday, a life totally sold out to God in all aspects is possible. Unlike how it has been preached in the past, it takes longer than we think.
This morning, I want to break down the way that we can come to the place where we can surrender ourselves totally to the will and love of God. There are three stages to this lifestyle. We must (1) wait on God; we must (2) seize the moment; and we must (3) reform our lifestyle. And always in this order.
Wait on God
Jesus often reminded His disciples that “no one knows the Father except...those whom the Son chooses to reveal Him” (Matthew 11:27); or that certain things are “not revealed to you by man, but by [the] Father in heaven” (16:17); or that “the Spirit gives life-the flesh counts for nothing” (John 6:63). What I’m basically saying is that all we have learned about God in the past, or the gospel, has nothing to with what we have done, but how He chose to move on our hearts. We are not saved because we want to be, but because He moved on us. The same can be said about sanctification.
With that said, we realize that He has never left us alone to carry out the task of living a holy life, but “He who begun a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). As Christians, we were given the Holy Spirit that first day we trusted in Christ, and it is only THROUGH Him that we desire and accomplish anything.
Wesley taught that we cannot choose the day of our sanctification any more than we can choose the day of our natural death. But through the Spirit, God deals with us more intensely at certain times than others. If Wesley is right, there are things that we can do, while we wait on God, to open our eyes to the moment when He calls us to completely surrender our wills and our ways to Him.
We can discipline ourselves to read & study the Word as if our lives depended upon it, because they do. “Sanctify them by the truth, “ Jesus prayed, “Your word is truth” (John 17:17). We often stumble because we do not know the word.
We can pursue all the knowledge of Christ that we can get our hands on. How can we be more life someone we do not know?
We can go to church. Since God speaks more often in oracles (public) than un visions (private), we can show up for church services with open hearts and enquiring minds.
We need to find the time get alone with Him. I know that people are “busy” but there is time that we waste that can be used for Him.
We can pray more and longer. Most us don’t need to be taught to pray. We need to be shown it is necessary.
We can join groups that “hold our feet to the fire.” We need to find those in whom we can confide in.
We can take our religion more seriously.
We can stay alert for the moment when God is ready to sanctify us. We will get a sense of being at the crossroads, where we must decide our future.
Seize the Moment
Many potential gains will fizzle into good intentions if we only allow ourselves to feel these wonderful graces, but never act on them. Every Sunday, thousands are stirred in church by the movement of God, yet they are unchanged when the fanfare is over. God has arrested them but, because it is not His nature to do so, He has refused to take them hostage. And they themselves have never finally surrendered.
Is some cases, the act of surrender is an acknowledgement of the fact that God has been cleansing us all along and has finished with the last stain, or that He has finally perfected our circle of Christian love, and from now on will only be enlarging it.
In other cases, this defining moment may take the form of a bold confession of faith whereby we, who have been growing all along, and dying to sin a little each day, and from now on we will live for Christ. This is the critical moment, a crisis point if you will.
We may say a prayer. We may be anointed with oil. We may recite a creed. There may be signs and wonders. Or we may have not of these. The key is not the prayer or the oil or the signs and wonders. It is the will of the individual. Whenever our will is finally surrendered, we are said to be sanctified. We may recognize this moment or we may not. We may believe in the doctrine of entire sanctification or may not. It doesn’t matter. Our sanctification depends on the complete surrender of our whole being, and not on the lesser things. This becomes a matter of faith.
Real faith is not merely believeing that God can cleanse us, but that He will. This faith can be broken down into: a) knowledge - we know that He is capable of cleansing us
b) personal conviction - we believe that holiness is God’s plan for US, not just for others
c) reliance - we rest in God, knowing that He will do it.
Reform our Lifestyle
John told us to “walk in the light as He is in the light,” because the “blood of Jesus... purifies us from all sin” (1John 1:7). Paul told us to “live a life worthy of the calling (we) have received” (Ephesians 4:1) and to “live up to what we have already attained” (Philippians 3:16). This is where the spiritual disciplines come in. Like food and water, they cannot create the new life, but they can certainly strengthen it. In fact, without them we will die. So immediately following our sanctification, and even before it, we should learn the disciplines of prayer, meditation, confession , solitude, worship, stewardship; or even the more radical ones like fasting, chastity or silence.
There is, however, a crucial step the these things: a) repentance
b) faith
c) reformation
If we are faithful to search our hearts, risk our faith and reform our lifestyles, we can live in the grace that God has promised.
Conclusion
A person cannot be sanctified because one day they decide they should be. We must wait for the Spirit’s leading, and then seize the moment when it arises. What does this defining moment look like? Here are a few indicators.
When you have reached a point where you can dig no deeper into your nature or the “why” of your sin; when you have seen self that permeates everything you do and have come to loathe it; when you are not just frustrated by your failures, but truly hate them; and when you can honestly say it is the sin you hate, and no longer only the guilt... it is time for your sanctification.
When there is nothing you desire more than holiness; when you truly have but one holy passion and it is to be holy as Christ is holy; when you are obsessed with God and His likeness; and when you are willing to forgo any pleasure, endure any hardship, sacrifice any convenience, risk any embarrassment, forgiven any offender, obey any orders in order to please God; and when you will not let go until He blesses you... it is time for your sanctification.
When your interest in the word of God has passed from fascination into love; when you look forward to reading it; when you can truly say it is “more precious than gold”... it is time for your sanctification.
When you have had a fresh awakening of God’s love for you; when you feel chosen and singled out to be loved by Him; when you begin to grasp how wide, and how high; and how deep is the love of God, and you have to show that love surpasses knowledge; and when you feel the pull of sin diminish in the light of His live... it is time for your sanctification.
