JUNE 20

OUR PERSONAL PROMISES

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1 Peter 3:15

“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;”

1 Thessalonians 5:23

“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

1 Thessalonians 4:3-4

“For this is the will of God, your sanctification:……  that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor,”

John 17:17

“Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.”

John 17:19

And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.

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We are reading a book by Corrie ten Boom, with daily recordings she made to broadcast over Trans World Radio.  Her Dutch family  sheltered Jews during the Nazi invasion of Holland.  As a result, she, her sister Betsy and their father were taken to concentration camps in Germany. The Lord did many miracles to allow both Corrie and Betsy to bring the Gospel to the other women in their camp.   Their father was murdered in an extermination camp and Betsy was sick, dying just two weeks before Corrie and the rest were freed.  After her freedom, Corrie traveled the world, telling everyone even in remote areas, about salvation through Christ, besides radio and writing many books.  This one is entitled, “Not I, but Christ.”

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SANCTIFICATION

In Uganda there is a greeting:  “I owe you nothing; there is nothing between us.”

How does it become evident in our lives that we are set apart, that we are sanctified?  By our actions and reactions.  The above Ugandan greeting is proof that our actions and reactions are right.

Somebody once wrote:  “Sanctification means the Holy Spirit, the Holy God in my heart, which makes me conformable to Jesus.”  I remember that my sister Betsie really grew in sanctification while we were in the concentration camp.  The multitude of prisoners in the camp was always a kind of threat.  There were so many criminals among them, and everything was dirty.  When  we passed through the crowd we always had to brush the vermin from our coats.  I often was afraid.  One day, when quite a crowd came into the barracks, Betsie said, “I love the crowd.”  Well, this was a reaction of love, a reaction of the Lord Jesus in Betsie.  In her own strength she could not have reacted like this.

What happens is that we are being conformed to the image of Jesus.  The thought may then enter our minds:  “How can this be true of me?  How can I have this New Testament experience of sanctification?”

In the first place, complete surrender is necessary.  Romans 12:1-2 says:

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

A potter can form the clay only if it is completely in his hands.  Unconditional surrender is necessary.  And if the Lord says to us, “Give Me your heart,” and we do it, then we must trust that He will take it.  This surrender is not only necessary for the great happenings in our lives, but also in everyday life.

If you have surrendered to the Lord, He is with you and is your guide and shepherd forever.  I mentioned the word “guide”.  A mountain climber has a guide with him not only when the path is very steep and full of dangers but also when the path is quite easy and straight.  He is with him all the time during an expedition.  It is the same with the Lord.  He is always with us today when we are cooking, writing, teaching, doing physical work or doing our office work.

It is quite possible that today there are no difficulties.  But the Guide is with us; the Lord is with us.  We know He will never leave us if there should be difficulties.  I know this from experience.

I accepted the Lord Jesus when I was five years old, and He has never left me alone.  There are many battles to be fought before peace will come.  But we are not alone in this battle.  The Holy Spirit is present, and our secret weapons are our relationship with Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit.  When things are very difficult, we must ask for His help.  God sanctifies that which is surrendered to Him.  We must surrender.  This is a work of grace.  God does that which is necessary to mold us.  Otherwise nothing will happen.  And if we surrender, this is what happens:

God cleanses what He takes:

He empties what He cleanses:

He fills what He empties:

He uses what He fills.

This is the showing forth of Jesus Christ, dwelling in us.  Surrender never is the end, just as marriage does not end with the ceremony.

Sanctification, however, can bring us into a new conflict, and we have to be careful of that.  The devil wants to make us stick to ourselves:  preaching to ourselves, looking at ourselves, our faith, our experiences, and then he says, “Just rest on this experience you had.”

But this is not right.  You must not rest on your experience.  It can strengthen your faith, but sanctification is the showing forth of the indwelling Jesus Christ.  It is a procedure of daily surrender:  a practice of faith, a practice in obedience.  A Christian living in the compromise of partial surrender has a really difficult life.  Nobody can serve two masters.  When You read this now, perhaps you are saying, “Yes, I see.  But my faith is not very strong.”  But you must not look at your faith; you must look at the Lord.

Once I stood before a very primitive bridge in New Zealand.  We were not sure if we should cross it in our car.  One of the men thoroughly inspected the bridge to see whether it was strong enough.  It was.  We safely crossed it.  This man did not inspect our faith in the bridge; he inspected the bridge.

The Holy Spirit will not leave us alone.  His peace will reign in our hearts.  Sanctification is a decision.  The Lord has set us apart for His service.  It is an upward-leading path.  When climbing a mountain you will not at once be on top;  you have to go on and on.  But it is wonderful that we are hidden with Christ in God.

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Lord Jesus, we praise that thank you that You repair our faith if it does not function well and that You are willing to live in us.  We in You, You in us – then we shall overcome like You.  How wonderful!  We thank You for Your Holy Spirit.  Hallelujah!  Amen!

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