Sanctify Yourselves
Grant van Boeschoten
March 9, 2008
Joshua 3:5 (NKJV) And Joshua said to the people, "Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you."
The people of Israel were about to meet the destiny that God had created them for. They were about to enter and possess the Promised Land, a land flowing with milk and honey. And just like you, God had more in store for them then they could even imagine.
Say that with me, “God’s got more in store for me then I can even imagine.”
This was the generation of Faith. Their parents had all died in the wilderness, as a result of unbelief, but this was a new generation. It was a people who were about to follow through on the promises of God. They would not make the same mistakes as their parents. They would not get to their destiny and say, the giants are too big and we are too small. This was a generation that had a new way of thinking and believing that God is all powerful, all mighty and that if he says something will come to pass, it will surely come to pass.
Now they were getting ready to cross the Jordan River. The boundary of the Promised Land. It was the only thing lying between them and Jericho, and the commanders were going throughout the people, giving them instructions.
And Joshua gathered them all together and said, “Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.”
Sanctify, Consecrate, Purify, Cleanse make yourselves holy, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.
God is saying the same thing to his church today. Sanctify yourselves. Purify yourselves. Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.
God has got a new level for your life to go to. He’s got bigger authority for you to realize. He’s got more souls for you to pray for and save. He’s going to enlarge your vision, enlarge your purpose. But first, before these wonders will come, he says “Sanctify yourself.”
What does that word mean, Sanctify? It is the process of becoming pure and holy, just as God is pure and Holy.
You get saved from your sins, but then you have to get sanctified.
Cindy Jacobs says that “Sanctification is a process in which you become more Christ like.
So what do we do? Keep on sinning so God can keep on forgiving? 2 I should hope not! If we’ve left the country where sin is sovereign, how can we still live in our old house there? 3-5 Or didn’t you realize we packed up and left there for good? That is what happened in baptism. When we went under the water, we left the old country of sin behind; when we came up out of the water, we entered into the new country of grace— a new life in a new land!
That’s what baptism into the life of Jesus means. When we are lowered into the water, it is like the burial of Jesus; when we are raised up out of the water, it is like the resurrection of Jesus. Each of us is raised into a light-filled world by our Father so that we can see where we’re going in our new grace-sovereign country. 6-7
Could it be any clearer? Our old way of life was nailed to the Cross with Christ, a decisive end to that sin-miserable life— no longer at sin’s every beck and call! 8 What we believe is this: If we get included in Christ’s sin-conquering death, we also get included in his life-saving resurrection. 9 We know that when Jesus was raised from the dead it was a signal of the end of death-as-the-end. Never again will death have the last word. 10 When Jesus died, he took sin down with him, but alive he brings God down to us. 11 From now on, think of it this way: Sin speaks a dead language that means nothing to you; God speaks your mother tongue, and you hang on every word. You are dead to sin and alive to God. That’s what Jesus did.
Romans 6:1-12 (MSG)
This is what sanctification is. It is Holy living. It is pleasing to God. It is living at the place where sin no longer has a say in your life. And holy living is very, very, very important to God.
God says “You must be holy because I, the Lord, am holy. " (Leviticus 20:26, NLT)
And your saying, how can I be made Holy?
Jesus prayed to God the Father and said, "And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth." (John 17:19, NLT)
As Christians we are promised a helper to come and encourage, and instruct, and lead us into God’s plan for our life. And is it any wonder that the name of this helper is the HOLY Spirit. The Holy Spirit comes to help make you Holy.
The Israelites were coming up to the Jordan River, they were about to cross over into the Promised Land, and the instruction was given, “Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.
The people weren’t yet ready for what God was going to do. They were not ready for the next level, for the Promise that God had for them. And the way that they were to prepare themselves was to consecrate, and purify and sanctify themselves.
When ever God is going to do something new in your life, he will clean out all of the filth and garbage in your life. Corporately it is the same thing. Before God does something great like a revival, or a new movement, he cleans his house up and sanctifies the people.
I believe that God will use his Church here in Eckville to do something new in this next season. Do you believe it? And so we are being called to sanctify ourselves.
There might have been a day where we allowed for sin to sneak into our minds and into our thoughts. There might have been a day when a blind eye was turned and sin began to be called mistake, and mistake began to take on the name “Character Flaw”, and character flaws became accepted.
But now our eyes are opened to the truth. Sin is sin and it needs to be addressed, confronted and dealt with.
Because the statisticians tell us the God’s people are not Holy. They tell us that there is a large portion of people in the Church today who struggle with pornography. NOT ACCEPTABLE. They tell us that the divorce rate is just as high in the Church as in the world. NOT ACCEPTABLE. They tell us that some work to do if we want to be Holy.
The good news is that each one of us can be cleaned up today. The good news is that the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two edged sword, it is powerful, and it is effective, and even as I am speaking the Truth of the Word of God, his holiness is beginning to make a change in your life.
Do you believe it?
For God says “Be Holy as I am Holy. Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow I will do wonders among you.”
Each word of God is a word of life, and it is a word of truth, and each word has power to renew your mind, and reshape your thought patterns. Just by speaking it out loud, the word of God is released to work in your life.
It drives out sin, it cleanses and it purges. We do not have to struggle with addictions that bind us because we have the word of God.
I said, you don’t have to struggle with addictions. Because we have the word of God. We are taking on addictions this morning in the name of Jesus and we will see the victory. AMEN.
And I can imagine the skepticism that is in the mind of some people. You are recalling all the times that you tried to quit and you couldn’t, you are remembering how you had found victory only to slip back into your old habits.
But no matter how strong the temptation that come against you, no matter how powerful the forces that want to bring you back into sin and death, the Holy Spirit is stronger, bigger, mightier, greater, more powerful and well able to fight with you whatever it is that you are up against.
"Becuase you belong to God, CHRISTIANS. You have already won a victory over those addictions, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world" according to 1 John 4:4
God wouldn’t call us to be Holy if it was impossible. Jesus made a way. God calls us to be Holy because then we can do the impossible.
That’s right, God wouldn’t call you to be Holy if it was impossible. And when you live holy for God you can do the impossible. We can be used by God to do miracles, and pray for the sick, and cast out demons, and shape cities and nations. Because we can be Holy and our lives can count for God.
Romans 12 says that living a Holy Life is REASONABLE. It is not too big to ask of somebody, it is not too hard, it is reasonable because you have the HOLY SPIRIT.
And so, friends who are a part of the family of God, I plead with you this morning to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living sacrifice, holy--the ONLY kind he can accept.
Don’t offer up your life and try to hang on to some sick pleasure. Don’t be like Annanias and Saphira who thought that they could trick God. There sacrifice was not pleasing and it was not accepted.
When you think of what Jesus has done for you, is this too much to ask?
When you think of his torture, of the whips that he took in your name, when you think of the nails being driven through his hands and his feet for your sins, when you think of the love that he personified so that you could be made holy, is this too much to ask. To live your life as an offering for God.
It’s not to much, in fact it’s reasonable. It is expected. Anything less would be an insult to God.
We have spent far too long living under our potential because of a lack of holiness in our lives. It is well time to put that behind us. It is time to consecrate our lives for God’s glory, to purify our heart.
When you present your life before God it means that you make some clear decisions and choices in your life.
You make a choice that you will not sin.
You make a choice that if you are addicted that you will get help.
You make a choice to not entertain temptation.
Do you need help with that? Of course you do. You’ve got a helper promised to you by Jesus Christ Himself, you’ve got the Holy Spirit.
But you also must discipline yourself.
Speak to your mind, read the word of God out loud until the HOLY WORD moves inside of your life and beings to transform you. His word is alive, it changes you, it renews your mind. And if you are under temptation then read it out loud to the devil. The Word of God is so powerful; it is more powerful than your addiction and it more powerful than any temptation.
Some people look at God’s expectation for their life, to be Holy, and they think that they are boxed in. Some people may not see certain benefits to living within the structure that the Bible gives us.
I would like to tell you a story about a Pastor who bought some sheep.
When he bought the small flock, a few goats were thrown in by seller as a kind gesture. At the time the pastor thought this was kindness but he soon realized why the goats were free.
In the middle of his property he fenced off an area and put up a shelter with food and water for his flock. One morning he came to check on them and found they all had broke through the fence and were grazing beyond its perimeters. He found the breach, repaired it and managed to get them all back inside.
The next day the animals were out again: not far away, just a few feet outside the fence. He thought to himself that there must be something there they wanted and needed, so he enlarged the fences border just enough to include the area where the sheep and goats had been grazing. He said to himself, “Now you will be happy. This is just what you wanted.”
When he came back the following day, they were again outside the fence, not far but just beyond the bounds that he thought would make them happy. He repaired the breach and once more herded them all back inside, only to come back another day and find them outside. He enlarged the fence once more, saying, “OK, this is where you want to be. The fence is now big enough to accommodate your desire.” But the next day there were outside the fence again.
The property where he kept his flock was surrounded on all sides by a fence and dirt roads. The fence surrounding the property obviously had little ability to keep the sheep and goats in, and the pastor was frustrated and tired of the animals constantly getting out. He figured there would be nothing appealing in the road for them to eat and would therefore probably be safe enough. So he removed the fence completely. His attitude was this, “All right go ahead and have the whole field. I’ll let them do whatever they want. I know they can get through the main fence but why would they want to? They’ll be alright.”
Early one morning, he received a call from a neighboring farmer. He said, “Preacher, you had better come down here. You’ve really got a mess on your hands. A pack of wild dogs came through last night and they’ve slaughtered your flock.”
When the pastor arrived on the scene he found every sheep and every goat dead. Their stomachs and throats had been ripped out and the carnage was gruesome. The dogs did not even eat them, they just slew the flock in a blood lust and left them while they yipped and yapped their way back to whatever pit they came from.
As he stood there in the midst of the blood and gore, looking at his slaughtered flock, the Lord God spoke to him these words: Fences are not just to keep things in, they are also to keep some things out.
Not only does holiness draw you closer to God. Not only does Sanctification make you more like Jesus. But resisting temptation and establishing discipline in your life will keep our enemy the devil out of your mind.
His purpose is to kill, steal and destroy, but he can’t do that to you when you are living in Holiness.
I’m not sure how many here this morning have spoken in front of a Church before, but one of the things that happens is that God begins to work on your life on the topic that you are speaking about.
This is what has been happening in my life this past week. Brenna and I have even joined our Pastor, Mel Mullen, on an 8 day Daniel Fast for the purpose of Sanctification. We have dedicated this past week to Holiness, and to having God purge out the sin in our lives.
Sometimes it’s neat to see the stuff that God can clean up in you, other times it is painful. God has been showing me that Pride and Envy need to go in my life. Pride, by the way, is at the root of almost every sin in the book.
And God exposed the way that I was thinking about my significance in this world. You see, I look around at my friends and they work in big urban centers, they have churches that are huge, and I here am I, in a small urban place and in the best kept secret in Eckville.
And God said to me, “Stop envying those people. Stop wishing that you had that opportunity and stop talking about it all the time. You are where I want you. You are at the centre of my will and I love you, and I want you here because here is where my plan is for your life. Here is where you will win souls for me, here is where you speak and minister. And I made you for this purpose, so stop wishing that you had some other glorious opportunity. This is home.
And I found out that as God worked in my life, pulling out the bad that he loved me so much. And I found out that he takes care of me and that if I’ll just put my faith and my trust in him, that life will be everything that he promised it will be.
The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy. Satan is trying to wreck your life from the inside out. He is trying to close your eyes to God’s love, he is trying with everything that he has to steal God’s destiny for your life and he is out to destroy you.
But Jesus, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Jesus Christ who conquered the grave and who conquered sin, Jesus who sits at the right hand of God the Father where every name in heaven, on earth and under the earth bows to him. I said Jesus, Jesus is saying to you, I have come that you might have life, and that you might have it abundantly.
It’s time to start living holy for God. It’s time to recognize sin for what it is and no longer turn a blind eye to it.
3800 years ago it was time for the people of God to enter the Promised Land. Joshua rounded the people up and said to them, “Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.”
And I promise you, I absolutely promise you, that if you will sanctify your life that God will start to wonderful things for you and through you. You will find purpose like you have never known it before, you will have passion in the most Holy of ways, you will have new eyes and God will use you and you will walk into the PROMISES that he has for your life.
EVERYONE, STAND TO YOUR FEET.
Because as I have been speaking the truth of God this morning, as I have been proclaiming these verses from the word of God which is living and active and sharper than a double edged sword.
There has been something holy and sacred happening in your spirit. You see, when the Word of God is spoken it has the power to get inside your life and stir things up.
And this morning the Holy Spirit wants for you to be Holy, even as He is Holy. I believe that he is showing and has been showing you areas of your life that are sinful. He is showing these things to you because number one he loves you and number two it is so that you can be made Holy.
The Word of God is alive today, and it says that if we confess our sins HE IS FAITHFUL AND JUST to forgive us our sins and cleanse us every unclean thing in our life. That filth will be taken from you, that stench will be taken out you will be beautiful, head to toe, shining in purity and holiness, because God is faithful to his word and he will make you holy.
There are things that you need to confess to God and repent of. Maybe some of you want to come to the front this morning and get prayer.
But there are addictions that are on some of your lives right now, and if you want, you can come and leave those addictions at the altr. You don’t have to leave this church with that on your life. You don’t have to live another day under that power on your life.
Come, leave your sin at the alter. Leave the sin of Pride at the altar this morning, leave the sin of envy, lay down your burdens at the feet of Jesus, for he says Come Unto me all you who are weary and I will give you rest for your souls. Take my yoke upon you for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
Holiness doesn’t have to be a chore God says. Holiness becomes a natural and then a supernatural way of life. You are more free in Holiness then you will ever be outside of God.
Come to the cross and find love this morning. Come to the cross and find the arms of Jesus, now risen from the grave, find his arms wrapped around you. Give him your sins, give him your life today, offer yourself up as a living offering unto God.
God says, Be Holy even as I am Holy, and as you act in obedience and faith, God acts on his word and helps you.
This is a new day for our church. Tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among us, but today we need to Sanctify ourselves, o thank God for his love and his forgiveness. Praise Him, Praise Him, Give him your very best. Don’t hold back, give God your best because he is making you Holy, give him your best because of your love, give him your best because he is worthy to be praised.
AMEN, AMEN. Now may God Bless you and Keep you, may he make his face to shine on you and may he give you his precious peace all the days of your life. In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
