The Unsanctified Congregation

Introduction

Good morning and welcome back!

This morning we are going to be going back into the Old Testament, looking at a concept that some in the Church world would regard as a “dirty word.”

And others would regard it as something old and outdated.

Something that those old “Holy Rollers” talked about long ago.

Something that is not relevant to the Church today.

But, I say they are wrong—they are dead wrong.

What we are going to be talking about this morning is something that is vital to the Church and vital to the survival of every Christian on this planet.

And that something is Sanctification.

I know we have hit on the subject a few times here and there recently but we really need to have a good understanding of where we are along the pathway of Sanctification.

And this morning we are going to be returning to a passage from 2 Chronicles 30 that deals with this very subject.

And to set the stage here, Israel had just come out of bondage to the Assyrians.

Hezzakiah was the new king.

He had a goal of uniting the old northern kingdom of Israel and southern kingdom of Judah.

So, Hezzakiah had called for the Passover to be observed.

Sending messengers throughout the whole land.

Some people though mocked and scored, refusing to even go, but many responded to the invitation.

Because they wanted desperately to be reunified with one another and reunified with God.

This was Hezzekiah's call to them, to be unified and come together worshipping and serving God.

2 Chronicles 30:6–9 NIV84

At the king’s command, couriers went throughout Israel and Judah with letters from the king and from his officials, which read: “People of Israel, return to the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, that he may return to you who are left, who have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria. Do not be like your fathers and brothers, who were unfaithful to the Lord, the God of their fathers, so that he made them an object of horror, as you see. Do not be stiff-necked, as your fathers were; submit to the Lord. Come to the sanctuary, which he has consecrated forever. Serve the Lord your God, so that his fierce anger will turn away from you. If you return to the Lord, then your brothers and your children will be shown compassion by their captors and will come back to this land, for the Lord your God is gracious and compassionate. He will not turn his face from you if you return to him.”

So, he was basically pleading with the people to return to God.

As we said, the people responded and returned to Jerusalem and began tearing down the altars that had been dedicated to the Assyrian God.

This act was no less than a representation of a return to God, SALVATION to us today is what is represented.

However, there was more.

More that they needed.

And more that God had desired to give them.

The problem was though, they weren't ready for it.

They were not ready for the blessing that God had in store for them.

The same is true for us.

Once we are saved, that is not the end of it.

There is more to it.

More that God has in store for us.

Listen to what Jesus has to say . . .

Matthew 3:11 NIV84

“I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

And . . .

John 14:25–26 NIV84

“All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

And . . .

John 20:22 NIV84

And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.

And . . .

Acts 1:7–8 NIV84

He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

This Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost if you will.

He is what gives us the power and the strength to overcome.

And this is what we call sanctification.

However, the problem is, we have a great number of unsanctified Christians in our congregations.

And that will rub some Christians the wrong way.

We have a common belief that everyone in Church is saved and sanctified.

But that is not the case at all.

In fact, we have a bunch of people running around in churches everywhere today, living defeated lives because they have never been sanctified.

They have never received that power from God.

According to Ross Hayslip, Holiness Nazarene Evangelist there are three main types of people in the church that explain why we have so many that are unsanctified in the Church.

He says that these are . . .

Those who fail to go on.

Those who profess without possession.

Those who have lost the blessing.

And that’s what we are going to look at this morning, from the context of 2 Chronicles 30, starting in verse 17 . . .

Scripture Focus

2 Chronicles 30:17–20 NIV84

Since many in the crowd had not consecrated themselves, the Levites had to kill the Passover lambs for all those who were not ceremonially clean and could not consecrate their lambs to the Lord. Although most of the many people who came from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun had not purified themselves, yet they ate the Passover, contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, “May the Lord, who is good, pardon everyone who sets his heart on seeking God—the Lord, the God of his fathers—even if he is not clean according to the rules of the sanctuary.” And the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people.

Those Who Fail to Go On

So, we see from our passage the problem that had presented itself.

God was ready, the King was ready, but the people were not.

2 Chronicles 30:17 NIV84

Since many in the crowd had not consecrated themselves, the Levites had to kill the Passover lambs for all those who were not ceremonially clean and could not consecrate their lambs to the Lord.

They had not consecrated themselves, or set themselves apart, or allowed God to sanctify them.

And a lot of these people were this way because they simply failed to go on as Ross Hayslip puts it.

They simply did not feel the need.

They were not deep enough in the Scripture and did not have a deep enough understanding of God.

Philippians 2:12–13 NIV84

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

They did not obey in the absence of the Lord’s perceived presence.

They did not work out their own salvation with fear and trembling.

And frankly, they were too lazy to go after God.

They want everything spoon-fed and do not want to do the work required to receive the victory.

They were those who talked about having faith but nothing to back it up.

But remember, our friend James tells us . . .

James 2:18–22 NIV84

But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.

There has to be something there to back up what we say.

Beyond this though, there are also some who just did not really understand the doctrine.

And they don’t understand because for the most part they do not take the time to understand God and God’s Word.

They would rather take man’s word for things rather that God’s

And honestly they have a hard time with faith because they do not understand Hebrews 11 . . .

Hebrews 11:1 NIV84

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

That’s their problem, they can’t see it and can’t explain it, so they can’t believe it.

They have no faith.

And without faith, there is no sanctification, because . . .

1 Corinthians 2:9–10 NIV84

However, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him”— but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.

Some however, just flat out refuse to believe the doctrine.

Their problem is, their flesh is competing with the Spirit.

Galatians 5:16–17 NIV84

So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.

These are the ones who really just do not want to submit to God.

They do not want to give up their own fleshly will.

They are the ones who the Bible refers to as “stiffnecked” people.

Refusing to believe because they are refusing to change anything.

“Nobody is going to tell them what to do or how to live.”

And as a result they walk around defeated and unsanctified.

Those Who Profess Without Possession

So, that’s the first group, but what about the second?

What about those who profess sanctification without actually possessing it.

And I do not believe that they are initially lying about it—mostly.

These are ones who honestly, either did not know to seek the Holy Spirit, or just waited too long after conversion to seek Sanctification.

They have been lulled to sleep.

And they have waited for many, many years.

And over that time, their hardened by life itself.

They have been beaten up and beaten down by the lies of the devil and the cares of the world so many times.

And they have fell in defeat so many times, that they honestly were left without hope and had no idea what Sanctification was all about.

And when you talk with them about it, they reject you because nothing has worked for them so far, why would this?

They have been deceived and lied to so many times, why would this be any different?

We have to break in and interrupt that pattern.

We have to convince them that . . .

Hebrews 12:1–3 NIV84

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

We have to convince them give it all to Jesus.

But there is also a second group that fits in here as well.

These would be the ones who have experienced and accepted some emotional experience rather than the true witness of the Holy Spirit.

They have had an emotional experience and got just a taste of what it’s like but would not dive in and allow the Holy Spirit full access.

They have had a “goose bumpy blessing” but failed to go deeper.

They have failed to try and test the spirits.

To know if it is from God or not.

Not every goose bump comes from God folks.

The true test is whether the testimony of Jesus is present in your experience.

Even the Holy Spirit, will testify to Jesus.

Anything less, is not the Holy Spirit.

Now, God may bless us and we feel good, may even run and shout.

But this is not sanctification, this is not being filled with the Holy Spirit.

This could be evidence of, but is not the essence of.

Being filled with the Holy Spirit is not a one time blessing, or just a when you come to church blessing.

Being filled with the Spirit is an everyday walk with God.

And we need to let that sink in because we can have emotional experiences and still fail to consecrate ourselves and all we are doing is offering God lip service, which is why we are continuously defeated.

Those Who Have Lost The Blessing

And sadly though, there are those who have lost the blessing.

They are the ones who took themselves off of God’s altar took up the altar of the world again.

We call them backsliders.

And this usually happens when they fail to testify or show witness of their Sanctification.

They fail to listen to God and fail to nurture the gifts and graces that God has given them.

And thus, they fail to grow in grace.

And it is lost on them.

And they are defeated.

They still come to church.

They still sing and maybe even shout on occassion.

They still pay tithes and get involved.

But they are just going through the motions of it.

There is no substance there.

There is no heart in it.

It is all a show or all done because they think it is what is expected.

Altar/Challenge

And I wonder this morning where we would all fit it.

I wonder if we would fit into any of these categories?

Or if there is a category that I haven’t mentioned that we may fit in to.

Either way, if it is not true sanctification, then we will never have any sort of victory.

And we know.

All we have to do is search our hearts and allow God to speak to us.

The question is what will we do about it?

Are we hungry enough for God to actually do something?

Your soul—your choice.

Let’s pray . . .