Sanctify Them - Message Excerpts

John 17:15-19

We are created for relationship – First, for a relationship with God, and second relationships with one another. I want to emphasize to you today that that order is the natural order of things – we are created first and foremost for a relationship with God, and then for relationships with one another. We cannot have truly fulfilling interpersonal relationships with one another until our relationship with God is right. I cannot be the man, husband, father I’ve been designed to be, until I am completely yielded to God in every area of my life. You cannot be a completely whole, healthy person until your relationship with God is restored. The only way for that restoration – that reconciliation to take place is in a relationship with Jesus Christ. That’s a fact that you cannot escape in this life or in eternity, plain and simple.

Jesus prays to the Father, “Sanctify them.”

The word that is used here for sanctify in the Greek is “hagiazo” which is related to the word “hagios” – which means holy. Jesus is essentially saying – “make them holy.” Let me read you a quick story: “Sarah is a confused and frustrated Christian. On her way home after church one Sunday she turned to her husband and said, “One of these days that preacher is going to say something about [sanctification] that I’ll understand. Will you be sure and wake me when he does? She is confused because she doesn’t understand what it means to be sanctified and why she needs to be. She’s frustrated because she’s been told she needs it. So how is she supposed to find it when she doesn’t know what IT is?” When we think of the word sanctify or holy, our minds automatically go to the words, “perfect” or “pure.” We think of the “Holy Bible.” or a “Holy God.” However, over and over in scripture – you and I are commanded to be holy – to be sanctified. The words holy and sanctify are very interchangeable. They mean, “to be set apart.” When we talk about holiness, one of the things we see is that God has “called us out of the world - we have been set apart for His glory and purpose.” He hasn’t taken us out of the world to protect us – He has set us aside for His glory and His purpose. I have used this example before, but I am going to do it again. If I take this screw-driver, and I use it for anything other than driving screws – it is no longer set apart for the purpose it was created for. I may be able to use it as a hammer, but I am using it improperly – I may be able to use it as a pry-bar, but that’s not what it’s set apart in my tool-box to be used for. It’s a screw-driver. Only when I use it for the purpose it was created for is it “sanctified.” The purpose that you and I are created for is laid out as clear as a bell in scripture: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” Whenever you and I live for any other purpose than to bring glory to God with the way we live our lives, we settle for less than God’s best for us – we choose not to be set apart for the purpose we were created for.

For those of you who are long time-time Nazarenes or brand new to the concepts of holiness theology, let me tell you what holiness is not. If you hear anything today, please hear this: “Holiness is not a personal achievement of personal piety. “It is being healed to more fully love God and others, especially the marginalized and those lost in the shadows.” Holiness is God’s work. Jesus did not pray that we would sanctify ourselves – because we can’t.

In college, we used to sing a song that I loved called, “Teach Me to Live.” The words to the chorus are, “Teach me to live what you say, make me a child who’ll obey, holy in all that I do, may I bring glory to you.” One of the verses said, “My life is all yours to take as you will, I’ll be the glove for your hand to fill...” Just as a glove, submits yields itself to the hand, you and I need to surrender ourselves completely to Jesus Christ. In his book, The Great Divorce, C.S. Lewis breaks people up into two groups. The first group are those who say to God, “Not my will, but Thine be done.” The second group are those to whom God eventually has to say, “Not My will, but thine be done. You wanted to have it your way; all right, you can have it – forever.” It is easy to give God stuff, but much harder to give Him ourselves. In order for us to be sanctified – in order for you and I to live in true community with God and one another, we have to surrender our self-indulgence, our self-sufficiency and our self-will and give everything wholeheartedly to Jesus Christ.

. As we grow in communion with God through Jesus Christ, we continually offer ourselves to God. The sanctified life is never static. There is continual growth as we continually allow God to lead our lives in every area. There is continual cleansing as we learn to walk with Jesus in obedience. We do not receive the “once for all” cleansing through Christ’s work and then go on our merry way relying solely on ourselves like we did when we were stuck in our sinfulness. We daily rely on the blood of Christ to cleanse us of our sin and sinful habits.

Holiness – being set apart, is about being connected to Christ in an ongoing, daily, obedient walk of submission. It is walking where He leads. It is relying on Christ for cleansing. Holiness and sanctification simply means Christlikeness. Christlikeness is not reserved for a select few older saints or ministers. It is for every believer – holiness is for ordinary, everyday people.

Living for the purpose we were created for, being sanctified, means turning away from what we weren’t created for. Another word for this is repentance. When we are born again, our sins are forgiven and all things become new. The bridges of our past are burned. We begin to walk on a new path – following Christ. Total consecration to God means not going back to what we had in our sinfulness. I don’t know if you have ever seen the show Extreme Home Makeover, when a family’s home is completely rebuilt, totally transformed, nothing like what it once was. I’ve watched that show a few times, and I’ve never once seen a family go, “This is nice, but could we get our old house back?” The overwhelming joy of complete and total transformation is evident as they explore every new room in the house. It should be the same for us in our relationship with Christ. When we ask Jesus to come in and forgive us of our sins, when we repent – when we turn away from our old ways and turn toward Jesus – let’s not go back!