worship and Sanctification

Messages for November 2018: Our Month of Gratitude and Praise

Message for Sunday 25^th November, 2018

Theme: understanding the Mystery of thanksgiving, Praise and Worship

Topic: worship and Sanctification

Introduction: Last week, we concluded our definition of Gratitude, praise and worship. We saw from our exploration that worship is far more than many know about it. From our studies we also saw that worship would deliver to us much more than we know. If we look at the benefits of worship, we would conclude that they are really incomprehensible. The best that can be known of worship is what the worshipper experiences and the bulk of it cannot be really put into words; you have to experience them to know. For instance Moses’ face took on the form of God’s glory in the place of worship and Moses did not even know it; it was others who saw it and drew his attention to it. He could not really explain the experience so he put a veil on his face to prevent the distraction to the people.

One of the benefits of worship is the actualization of our genuine separation to God which is what we are going to be looking at today.

What is sanctification?

This word is a noun defined by the Farlex English Dictionary as:

1.     The act of being holy or the state of being made Holy.

2.     The act of consecrating or set apart for a noble purpose. In 2Thess.2:13, we read that God has chosen us to salvation through sanctification of the spirit and belief of the truth. See also Jn.17:17-19

The above definition leads us to further examine what it means to be holy. You would recall that from our definition of worship, we saw that worship reveals God’s holiness to us. When we come face to face with the holiness of God, we are changed into the same image as God. In 2Cor.3:18, we learn that we all with open face beholding as in a glass or mirror the glory of God are changed into the same image from glory to glory by the Spirit of God.

God is seeking a certain people: When the Lord walked the sands of time, He revealed to us a hunger in the heart of God that moves Him to seek a certain kind of people to worship Him. I believe that when He finds them, He would not let them God. When I came to realize this, I decided to belong to this group of people who God would not let go because I would not let Him go either. Who are these people? Those who will worship Him:

1.     In spirit – this is when the human spirit is made alive through the new birth experience and comes into alignment with the Holy Spirit and start experiencing the guidance of the spirit as he grows through feeding on the word of God – 2Pet.2:2 and Jas.1:21

2.     In truth. – This is when man begins to make choices that honour God to the point where his decisions and actions are easily controlled by the Holy Spirit. 2Tim.2:18-21 and Gal.5:16

In Jn.4:23-24, He tells us God’s desire and the kind of people He would consider His true worshippers and why. These are people who will worship Him in spirit and in Truth. The reason for this from God’s perspective is that He is a spirit and therefore only spiritual people like Him can truly worship Him.

A look at our text reveals to us that the words “in spirit” starts with a small letter for spirit thus referring to the human spirit. The word truth also starts with a small letter referring to the sincerity of hear based on what God calls sincerity. This leads us to the next question. From the above we see that God has a role to play in our sanctification and so does man.

What is God’s role in sanctification?

1.     He chose to separate mankind to Himself from the beginning. Gen.1:26-28 and 2Thes.2:13

2.     He knew his choice would disappoint him just like we see in Genesis 3 so He proactively prepared a lamb for our redemption from the foundation of the world. Rev.13:8

3.     At the fullness of time, the lamb turned out to be His only begotten Son: Jesus Christ [Mt.3:16-17 and Mk.9:7]. What many saw as his defeat on Calvary turns out to be the road to His victory in His combat for our lives. See Mt.27:42 – if he had come down from the Cross, He would have failed in God’s perspective to redeem us from our sin. This is why flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God because there is a perspective difference with God. See also the belief of the men who walked with the Lord on the road to Emmaus after His resurrection but did not recognize Him. Lk.24:19-21 and what God said through Paul the Apostle in Rm.10:6-11. See also Isa.53:6-12 and Acts 8:32.

4.     When Jesus rose from the dead, the plan of God for our redemption became a reality, but the Holy Spirit had to come to make it manifest which happened on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2:1-4. From that day, the Holy Spirit has been here and all we need do to enjoy Him is receive Him by faith as Paul offered the saints in Ephesus in Acts 19:1.

All the evidence show that God has played His role without question. What therefore is man’s role in Sanctification in relation to worship?

Based on what we already established that in worship we acknowledge the Holiness of God and that beholding it would help to change us from glory to glory. Please note that we behold the glory of God when we come into true oneness with him in worship then His Spirit can guide us into His truth which will actually change us. Only truth revealed to us by His holiness can change us. His holiness is also what is referred to as His glory.

Man’s role in sanctification:

1.     Choose life – Deu.30:19-20; 2Tim.2:19-22

2.     Submit to God – you do this through submission to God’s method of salvation which is receiving Jesus Christ as your Saviour and Lord. Jn.3:3-7; 16-19 and Rm.10:8-10

3.     Resist the devil – this is because light and darkness cannot coexist. If we want the light of God in our lives, we have to get rid of the darkness with the revealed truth of God’s word. Then we are empowered to say no to the devil. Mt.4:10-11; Jas.4:6-7 and 1Pet.5:8-9

4.     Draw nearer to God: When we do this, God has promised to draw near to us in return. Jas.4:7

5.     Worship Him and He will reveal Himself to you. What happens when we truly worship God?

We are empowered by the Holy Spirit – Acts 16:25-31 and Rm.8:13

We can then crucify the flesh - Gal.3:1-17

We can walk in the spirit Gal.5:16

We make choices that honour God.

A good illustration of one who had this kind of victory is seen in the account of the temptation and victory of the Lord over Satan. See Mt.4:1-11 and Lk.4:1-13

On this note, we close the message for this month of Thanksgiving, praise and worship. A reflection on what we have seen this month would disclose to us that choosing and living the way of righteousness is possible only by the help of the Holy Spirit and the revealed word of God which we can really get in the place of the true worship of God.

Like we already established, the commencement of the true worship of God is at the Cross where we renounce our old life and take on the life of Christ through new birth. If you are reading this blog and convicted that you need to do this, you can do so right away by saying the following prayer out loud in faith and you will be born again and start the journey:

Heavenly Father,

Have mercy on me a sinner. Today, I believe that Jesus died for me and you raised Him from the dead for my Justification. I therefore declare that Jesus Christ is my Saviour and Lord and from today, I renounce the fatherhood of Satan and embrace Jesus Christ as my Saviour and Lord. Thank you for this father in Jesus’ name! Amen.

Congratulations! For more information and resources that would help you grow in this new life, please visit our website at www.kingdomheirsministries.org and our blogs at www.flourishinggirl.blogspot.com and follow us on twitter at alero_nanna and on face book on www.facebook.com/flourishinggirl www.facebook.com/khmii2015; www.facebook.com/thewellbeingcenter. Or www.facebook.com/kingdomjointheirsfamily email:  jointheirsfamily@gmail.com.