Sanctified Speech

The meditation for today is taken from Joshua 3:5, And Joshua said to the people, "Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you." (AFV)

There are two phrases that I wish to highlight from the above mentioned verse, the first one being ‘Sanctify yourselves’ and the second one is, ‘the Lord will do wonders.’ Even today God is ready to do wonders, but in order to receive them there are some things that are required of us.

When Jesus lived on the earth, He performed many mighty miracles and wonders. Those who received these miracles were ones who through faith and obedience acted on the words of Jesus. The first miracle that Jesus performed was at the wedding at Cana. It was a practice in those days that wine was served at weddings, and this was an important part of the celebration. On that day the wine got over, and there was a request made to Jesus to help in that situation. There was also a tradition in those days that there were stone pots filled with water that were kept at the entrance, and everyone who entered would first wash their feet before entering the place. Jesus asked the servants to fill the stone pots with water. This was strange as the need was for wine, but Jesus was asking them to fill the pots with water. When the men believed and did so, the water turned into wine.

Jesus was teaching one day from Simon Peter’s boat. After He had finished, he asked Peter to go a little further, and to cast their nets to the other side. Peter explained to Jesus that they had fished all night, and caught no fish. Anyhow, Peter told Jesus he was willing to obey, and do as Jesus bid him to. When Peter obeyed, the miracle happened, and their nets were filled with fish more than they could ever imagine.

We therefore understand that miracles will take place, provided we are willing to do what God commands us to do.

We see that God had led the people of Israel in a most wonderful way, and they were now about to enter the Promised Land. The Promised Land was in their view, but the river Jordan that was overflowing was the first hurdle they had to cross. As it was the time of harvest, the Jordan River was in full-spate. Unless the Lord performed a miracle it would be impossible for the Israelites to cross over to the other side. It was under these circumstances that Joshua assured the people that God would perform a miracle for them the following day, and that they would have to sanctify themselves on that very same day. Their sanctification was a pre-requisite for them to receive their miracle.

Jesus took the sins of all mankind on Himself when He died on the cross. Anyone who believes in the Lord Jesus will have their sins forgiven, and this is the salvation that we receive from the Lord. However, those who receive this salvation are called to purify themselves from all uncleanness, in order for God to fulfill His will in our lives. There are many who will say that Joshua’s life was in the Old Testament, and that we are New Testament believers who are under grace.

Be a vessel of honor

We read in 2 Timothy 2:21, “If any man therefore shall cleanse himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified and profitable to the Lord, prepared unto every good work.” (DRB)

This means that there are certain things that God expects us to get rid of from our life. When we sanctify ourselves this way, we become a vessel of honor fit to be used by the Master. Many people don’t want to do anything on their part, but expect God to do the miracles. All of us as believers need to be sanctified, and the kind of sanctification that God desires is found in the verse below.

Be holy as God is holy

In 1 Peter 1:15, “Be holy in everything you do, just as God is holy. He is the one who chose you.”(ERV)

Here again the word of God is clear that just as the one who chose us is holy, so also we are called to be holy in everything that we do. We all stumble in various ways, but one area where we all fail is in our words, and oftentimes we are not even convicted about this.

Be truthful in speech

The word of God teaches us in Ephesians 4:25, “So you must stop telling lies ."You must always speak the truth to each other," because we all belong to each other in the same body.” (ERV)

We live in times when lying is common practice for many, and the justification people give is that everyone lies or that their lies will not affect anyone in any way. Here’s an example of how it happens. A father gets a call, and since he does not want to attend the call, he gives it to his son, and tells him to lie that the father is not at home, and that he left his phone behind. That same father will be totally upset when his son lies to him, and might even punish him for doing so. We see that this is a contradiction.