Am I sanctified?

Holy Spirit led

Our pastor at Pekin First Church of God, Pastor Steve, said it best when he stood up at the pulpit last Sunday and said, “Sanctification is inviting the Holy Spirit to take total control of our lives.” After accepting Christ’s sacrifice of the cross for us, we are made right in God’s sight, justified. Sanctification, then, is when we take it a step further and stop living for ourselves but letting God live through us.

In my personal story, I came to know Jesus as a young girl of about six years old. I knew that Jesus was God, that God was our creator. I had heard the stories of Jesus’ birth, life, and death in vacation Bible school. However, I cannot say that the Holy Spirit really had control over my life until rather recently. The last couple of years I’d felt God calling me to something deeper. I felt like something was missing and had an overwhelming urge to understand what.

I would take a few steps forward and a few steps back, struggling the entire way. Part of what held me back was, when I failed, I felt like God was going to leave me. I had failed again, and I just knew God had to be getting fed up with me by now. That couldn’t have been further from the truth. For me, the key to truly giving my life over to God and growing in sanctification was the realization that it is a process that I cannot give up when I fail and that God does not give up on me when I fail.

Realizing what sanctification is has helped me grow in endurance, knowing God will not give up on me. It has enabled me to keep going and growing in the Lord. It has taught me to give my failures to Him, so He can help me learn from them. In Philippians Paul tells us ” God is working in you to make you willing and able to obey him.” (Philippians 2:13) This has pushed me to keep leaning into God and stepping out in faith because I know He is not done with me yet. He is still working in me to make me willing and able to obey His every command.

“I have not yet reached my goal, and I am not perfect. But Christ has taken hold of me. So, I keep running and struggling to take hold of the prize.” (Philippians 3:12) Paul is talking about sanctification. The process of doing what the Lord wants, forsaking our own wills.

Even Paul sometime into his ministry did not feel he’s achieved, perfection or complete sanctification. It is a long process, and we will fail, but what is important is that we don’t give up when we fail, we “keep running and struggling”(Philippians 3:12). God knows us, He knows everything before we do it, yet he still calls us to Himself.

Set apart

Another side of sanctification is used to denote being set apart, made holy, and belonging to the divine (Lexham Bible Dictionary). We as Christians have heard that we are to be set apart, and be holy unto the Lord. It is not just a call to be different from others, but it is an opportunity to be a representative of heaven, an image bearer of God.

We cannot bear the image of Christ if we are not letting the Holy Spirit guide and control our lives. Jesus taught “The only one that has seen the Father is the one that came from the Father. No one else has seen the Father.” (John 6:46) Jesus is talking about Himself.

When Jesus walked the earth no one else had seen the Father, God, beside Jesus. He was the only one to know the father’s heart truly and completely. It was Jesus’ mission, besides redemption, to reveal the Father’s heart to man.

When Jesus ascended to heaven, he sent a helper. The Holy Spirit reveals the Father’s heart to us as Jesus did when He was on Earth. “But the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things, and remind you of all things I said to you.” (John 14:26)

By inviting the Holy Spirit to take control of our lives we are inviting God to have his way in our lives, for Jesus to walk with us in our daily lives. When it is more important that God’s will be done than mine that is when I am living a righteous and sanctified life, a life set apart for God and not myself.

We are human and we won’t always live a sanctified life, but when we fail, we need to humble ourselves and ask God for forgiveness. His Word promises that he is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins. (1 John 1:9)

Conclusion

Sanctification does not happen in an instant, but rather over time. To grow in sanctification, we must surrender our will to God and allow Him to take over. When God takes over, He will help us learn, grow, and remember His word so that we can live lives fully pleasing to Him. ” … So I beg you to offer your bodies to him as living sacrifices, pure, and pleasing. That is the most sensible way to serve God.” (Romans 12:1) We can only do that by letting the Holy Spirit teach us how to please God.

Application

I invite you, my readers, to share your thoughts, feelings, and experiences. Either send me an email at emilyb@moreofjesusplease.com or post a comment below.

“Take this week to reflect on the idea of sanctification and what it means to you. Share your thoughts and engage in meaningful discussion with others in the comments below.”

• What are some areas of your life you need God to sanctify, or help you to grow in?
• What are some things in your life that you need to give up control of to walk closer to the Lord and grow in faith?
• What has been your journey of sanctification?
• Take some time a pray to God to help you give full control of your life to His Holy Spirit.

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