Sanctifying Yourself - II Chronicles 28-29 and John 17
Most people do not use the word "sanctify" in their daily vocabulary, but it is a very important word for believers. God calls on us to be sanctified. This passage gives us a good picture of sanctification. I pray that God will speak to each of us about this important truth.
When Ahaz became the king of Judah, he did not sanctify himself. In fact, he did the opposite. He did evil, and he engaged in every sinful practice of the world. He even burned his children in fire as a sacrifice to pagan gods. In other words, he did exactly what the world, the flesh, and the Devil led him to do. This happens to everyone in one form or another, even if we do not give ourselves fully to the things of this world. We tend to drift away from God, and we begin to sin. Therefore, we need to recognize the sins and begin the sanctification process. God tried to get Ahaz to realize this by sending wars, pain, and suffering upon him and the country. He will do the same thing to convict us of our sin. The sad thing is that Ahaz did not repent. It was his son, Hezekiah, who led Judah to sanctify themselves and God's House. When He became the king, he opened the Temple which Ahaz had closed. The people had stopped worshiping God correctly. I am sure that has happened to some of you. You have not been in church in a long time, or if you have been going, you have not been worshiping God as you should. You need to sanctify yourself. You need to clean out all of the worldly stuff in your life, like they cleaned out the Temple. You need to repent of your sins, and you need to give yourself to the Lord. That is what sanctify means. It means to be set apart for God. It means to be separate from the things of the world and from sin, so you can serve the Lord alone. Isn't that what Hezekiah did when he became the king? Yes, he led the people in sanctifying themselves, and God blessed them for it.
Read Jesus' prayer in John 17. How does He pray for His disciples and for us? He prayed for their safety in the world. He prayed for them to be unified with God and with each other. He prayed that they would be sanctified in the truth. That is the key. God's Word is truth. To be sanctified, we read God's Word. Then, whatever it says is a sin, we turn from it and clean it out of our lives. Whatever it says is good, we intentionally build it into our lives. That is being sanctified. God blesses anyone who lives like that, but He can't bless anyone who just goes along with the world. He can't bless anyone who tries to live by the world and the Lord at the same time. I urge you to meditate on this truth. Ask God to show you how to sanctify yourself. Then, when you do what He says, your life will be blessed more than you can imagine.
Tomorrow, I intend to read II Chronicles 30-31 and John 18:1-18.
When Ahaz became the king of Judah, he did not sanctify himself. In fact, he did the opposite. He did evil, and he engaged in every sinful practice of the world. He even burned his children in fire as a sacrifice to pagan gods. In other words, he did exactly what the world, the flesh, and the Devil led him to do. This happens to everyone in one form or another, even if we do not give ourselves fully to the things of this world. We tend to drift away from God, and we begin to sin. Therefore, we need to recognize the sins and begin the sanctification process. God tried to get Ahaz to realize this by sending wars, pain, and suffering upon him and the country. He will do the same thing to convict us of our sin. The sad thing is that Ahaz did not repent. It was his son, Hezekiah, who led Judah to sanctify themselves and God's House. When He became the king, he opened the Temple which Ahaz had closed. The people had stopped worshiping God correctly. I am sure that has happened to some of you. You have not been in church in a long time, or if you have been going, you have not been worshiping God as you should. You need to sanctify yourself. You need to clean out all of the worldly stuff in your life, like they cleaned out the Temple. You need to repent of your sins, and you need to give yourself to the Lord. That is what sanctify means. It means to be set apart for God. It means to be separate from the things of the world and from sin, so you can serve the Lord alone. Isn't that what Hezekiah did when he became the king? Yes, he led the people in sanctifying themselves, and God blessed them for it.
Read Jesus' prayer in John 17. How does He pray for His disciples and for us? He prayed for their safety in the world. He prayed for them to be unified with God and with each other. He prayed that they would be sanctified in the truth. That is the key. God's Word is truth. To be sanctified, we read God's Word. Then, whatever it says is a sin, we turn from it and clean it out of our lives. Whatever it says is good, we intentionally build it into our lives. That is being sanctified. God blesses anyone who lives like that, but He can't bless anyone who just goes along with the world. He can't bless anyone who tries to live by the world and the Lord at the same time. I urge you to meditate on this truth. Ask God to show you how to sanctify yourself. Then, when you do what He says, your life will be blessed more than you can imagine.
Tomorrow, I intend to read II Chronicles 30-31 and John 18:1-18.