God’s sovereignty gloves human responsibility. What MUST God do because I cannot? In responsibility, responding to His direction, what MUST I do, that He will not?
Consider these two scriptures: Hebrews 10:14, speaking of Jesus, “For by one offering he has perfected forever those who are sanctified.”
1 Peter 3:14-15 “…..do not be afraid of their terror, nor be troubled, but sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asks you of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.”
What is my limited understanding of sanctification? To sanctify is to set apart, consecrate to God, purify. We are sanctified, made holy, by the shed blood of Jesus Christ and the finished work of Calvary. The resurrected Christ enters our hearts and lives and indwells us when we enter into salvation and are born again by the Holy Spirit of God. After our re-birth our spiritual journey begins. Now our Heavenly Father has set us apart for His purposes. We are IN the world, but not OF it. There will be times when God requires of us, as Peter wrote in his epistle to “..sanctify the Lord God in your hearts.” (1 Peter 3:15) How do I do that? God’s word teaches us that the only place I can sanctify the Lord’s name is in my heart. The peace of God is an expression in a person’s life of a Christ ruled heart:
KNOW GOD, KNOW PEACE.
NO GOD, NO PEACE.
Colossians 3:1 “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts….” LET…Surrender to the Lord is a choice I make as I exchange my will for His. This choice dismantles my stubborn self-rule and my heart is Christ-ruled. Here is where I sanctify God in my heart.
The heart of man is the seat of responsibility. Proverbs 4:23 instructs “ Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.”
Jeremiah 17:9 warns us “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it,” that is why it needs to be Christ-ruled.
Jesus said, “But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart, and they defile the man…” Matthew 15:18.
When my heart is out of order, self-rule is operating and I do not sanctify the Lord’s name in my thoughts, words or deeds. An unruly heart expresses itself in demonstration. It demands it’s rights and stubbornly fights it’s corner. God’s peace is absent by a refusal to surrender. On the other hand, a Christ-ruled heart, in a surrendered vessel, sanctifies the Lord’s name in a godly expression of the nature of Christ Jesus. God’s peace and joy are the hallmarks of His presence, the evidence of His smile and pleasure as I live my life to please Him before man. I give Him the pre-eminence He deserves, and requires, from His child. To God be the glory!
God is out to dismantle anything that has the D.N.A. of man in our spiritual walk. He wants to see the D.N.A. of His Son, the mighty resurrected Christ, indwelling and flowing out of His children. Thou mighty Christ, come forth in me!” Luke 12:32 “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”
Prayer : Psalm 19:14 “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.” Sanctify the Lord God in your heart….today…. and discover anew His expression through you, to His glory! Just over the horizon is the Promised Land of all fullness. Keep walking with Jesus enjoying His victory in you.
