Sanctify Yourself
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· 6 viewsAs Christians we are called to be set apart--"sanctified" to the Lord.
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Good evening and welcome back!
Tonight if you will, turn in your Bibles to Joshua chapter 3.
Tonight I am going to be returning to a subject that we started looking at briefly last week, in both our morning and evening services.
And it seemed that the Lord impressed on me to return to this subject tonight, partly I think because the church doesn’t teach enough on it.
And also, there is a lot of conflicting information and opinions out there on the subject.
And that subject it sanctification, or as the Nazarenes like to call it, entire sanctification.
Other denominations call it being filled with the Holy Ghost.
And some denominations mark sanctification with signs and wonders, namely speaking in tongues.
And tonight we are not going to debate the merits of one way of believing about sanctification over another, because that is not the point.
The point is God calls us to be sanctified, or filled with the Spirit.
And we also don’t want to confuse sanctification with salvation, they are not the same.
Sometimes they happen very close together but they are different events.
Salvation comes when we give our hearts to Jesus and repent of our sins.
Sanctification comes when we give our lives—our entire being to Jesus for his purposes and his use.
It is when we release control of ourselves to the Holy Spirit, so that the Spirit can reside within us and empower us.
And even though what we know as sanctification comes about in the New Testament, the idea of sanctification carries all the way back to the Old Testament.
And tonight we are going to be looking at one example of that, found in Joshua.
So, Joshua 3, starting in verse 1 . . .
Scripture Focus
Scripture Focus
Early in the morning Joshua and all the Israelites set out from Shittim and went to the Jordan, where they camped before crossing over. After three days the officers went throughout the camp, giving orders to the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests, who are Levites, carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before. But keep a distance of about a thousand yards between you and the ark; do not go near it.” Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.”
Background
Background
Now, the time was now approaching for Israel's entering into their promised land.
The first move was from Shittim, on an upper plateau running along the line of the Jordan, to a lower level near the river (probably eight miles).
Here they remained three days facing the land promised to them, but also facing obstacles and difficulties absolutely impossible for them to overcome.
In front of them rolled the muddy, rapid, swollen torrent of the Jordan, overflowing its banks from the melting snows of the Lebanon Mountains.
In the dry season the river at the fords is only about 100 feet wide, and from three to five feet deep, but very rapid.
Now the people gazed upon a torrent rushing along like a mill-race, 500 feet to half a mile in width.
Only the strongest swimmer could cross it. There were no boats and no bridges.
What are they going to do?
In many ways is is like the time they were facing the Red Sea.
Now, they didn’t have Egyptians breathing down their necks but they faced this great raging river that they didn’t really know how to get across.
So, here they are . . .
Early in the morning Joshua and all the Israelites set out from Shittim and went to the Jordan, where they camped before crossing over.
They are making their final preparations to cross over the Jordan River. They had left their camp at Shittim (Acacia Grove) and had set up camp along the bank of the Jordan River.
Here they are at the edge of the river and what do they see.
This rushing mass of water of up to 1/2 a mile wide crashing along and they have to figure out a way to get across it.
They were staring at this great flood trying to think how they were going to get across it.
So, think for just a minute what was going through their minds... Doubts, fears.
Initially thinking "how are we going to figure this out."
And that is the same sort of trouble we get into when we also try to “figure out” how to do things for ourselves, particularly things that God has already said he would take care of.
And the flaw in our thinking is, "we" can’t really do anything.
The only thing that "we" can do is rely on and trust God.
But what do we still do in these situations in life that we have no control over?
We will rack our brains and spend countless hours trying to figure out what "we" are going to do.
It is only when "we" figure out "we" can't do it, then we realize that all we have to do is turn to God.
And when we are thinking this way, remember these passages . . .
Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this:
And . . .
It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.
And . . .
Then you will win favour and a good name in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
And finally . . .
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
And this is really what Joshua is doing here.
He is trying to get them trust in God.
And look at verse 2 again . . .
After three days the officers went throughout the camp,
Between verses 1 and 2 there are three days that pass.
What is Joshua doing during those three days?
Joshua is seeking the Lord.
He is seeking God's Will and God's favor.
Joshua already knows that God has promised the land of Canaan and that God has promised to deliver them and they will possess the land.
Joshua is seeking the Lord's will on how the Lord wants it done, not how Joshua wants to do it.
Joshua doesn't get in a hurry and jump right on in the water, he first seek's God's direction.
And we should be doing the same thing.
Instead of jumping in head first in the deep end, we need slow down and listen to God.
We need to be preparing ourselves to receive what God has for us—including the Holy Spirit.
And when we pick up in verse 2, three days later and Joshua has heard from the Lord and sends the Israelite officers throughout the camp to instruct the people that they are about to cross over the river.
giving orders to the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests, who are Levites, carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before. But keep a distance of about a thousand yards between you and the ark; do not go near it.”
So, they tell the people to watch the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant, they are to follow them and since they had never been that way, the priests and the Ark will guide them.
Joshua tells them to stay about 1/2 mile behind the priests, keeping their distance from the Ark, because if one of them accidently touched it, they would have died.
Consecrate Yourselves
Consecrate Yourselves
So, with the instructions given, then we get to verse 5.
This is a pivotal verse of the passage.
Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.”
Joshua tells the people to consecrate or to "sanctify" themselves.
They are to "purify" themselves.
And this gets to the true root and meaning of sanctification.
To the Israelites that means that they were to be ceremonially clean.
They were to be holy and acceptable to God. But why?
Because Joshua tells them "for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you."
In other words, they were about to enter into the very presence of God.
They were about to witness the miracles of God.
And in order to be in the presence of God, they had to be fit for service.
So, what does this mean for you an me?
Well, do we want to see the wonders and miracles of God?
I’m assuming everyone would say “yes” to that.
So, since God does not change, then what does it take for us to see them come to pass?
We have to come into the presence of God in a way that is acceptable to God.
We have to be pure, holy, set apart for God's use.
We have to have our minds made up and sold out to serve the Lord.
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
And I know I read these verses a lot but they are vitally important.
Because we have to present ourselves as a living sacrifice to God.
We are the sacrifice, not some animal or some object but ourselves.
We are to give ourselves completely to God, everything that is about us should be given to God.
And we do this by not being conformed and warped by the ways of the world, but by allowing God to transform us into what He wants us to be.
Allowing God to shape us into His servant.
Folks, we will never see a miracle if we can never give it all over to God.
We have to trust God completely.
Lean on God and not on ourselves.
Then you will win favour and a good name in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
A change has to take place.
And this change is evident in the attitudes attitudes of the Israelites here than in the wilderness.
They had their eyes set on Canaan, their minds made up, and were not looking back.
They were putting their faith in God, trusting God and knowing that they could do all things through God.
The question is, Do we have our mind made up?
Do we have our eyes fixed on Canaan?
Where is our heart?
You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”
What is in our heart dictates who we are.
Our hearts inform our words, and our words either acquit or convict.
And our hearts must be pure.
And the only way to purify the heart is with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
That is the only way.
So, we have to ask ourselves, How many of us are looking for a miracle?
Ask yourself....Are you sold out to Jesus? Have you given Him all you are? Or are you holding something back?
That is the key to sanctification.
It is a made up mind that says, "God here I am, I give you all of myself to do your will."
If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
All we have to do is ask.
That is all that is required.
Altar/Challenge
Altar/Challenge
And some will say “I don’t need to be sanctified to get to heaven.”
“All I have to do is get saved.”
True, you have to get saved, but you also have to stay saved.
Consider Hebrews 12:14 . . .
Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no-one will see the Lord.
What do you make of that?
We must be holy to see the Lord?
Can we achieve holiness on our own?
No, we cannot.
We need help and that help is the Holy Spirit.
That help is Entire Sanctification.
And all we have to do is ask.
But are we willing to do that?
That’s where we end tonight.
Where are we at right now with the Lord and what are we willing to do to get to where we need to be?
Let’s pray . . .