Jesus, Our Sanctifier

My son worked in an office setting this year, and at one point dragged home a sorry-looking no-name plant that he’d found sitting on a file cabinet in a windowless room. I hinted I would like to take the thing out back and pitch it into the woods, but he wanted to try to rescue it.

Actually, he did a great job. With some sunlight and regular watering, it perked up. The drooping leaves lifted their heads. Their dullness gave way to a healthier shine. I was beginning to be impressed. But alas, the plant was doomed, through no fault of Ryan’s. For one day he noticed, as he was tending it, that there were many tiny little flea-like bugs crawling around in the soil.

He bought spray. He sprayed and sprayed. He repotted. He worked and worked at trying to make this plant healthy and fit to live in our house. But the bugs were stubborn tenants, and we feared that they would soon transfer – if they hadn’t already – to houseplants nearby. So eventually that plant ended up… out back, pitched into the woods.

I am no theologian. But I know that some of us who name Jesus as our Savior are like that plant. The difference is – we are plants with a will. We have chosen to stay in that windowless office… because we don’t want to see the Light of Truth. We have traded our shine and our spine for dullness and drooping – because we haven’t wanted to offer Jesus the obedience that brings blessing. We have watched, horrified, as the vermin multiplied exponentially in our personal lives, yet we’ve refused to let Jesus exterminate those sins. We’ve grown resistant to the spray of His shed blood, hardened to the horror of the invasion, refusing to be transplanted into holiness.

It’s not only tragic that we refuse to be made holy, and that we have no witness to those around us (in fact, we often infect them with our own uncleanness and disobedience – it can be communicable). It’s also sad that we miss out on the blessings of living in the Light, beautifying a corner of God’s world, bringing pleasure to God as He looks over His re-creation, maturing in spirit, taking on the likeness of Christ, discovering the promises Jesus has made to those who trust Him, enjoying an unshakeable assurance that we are a child of God and there is nothing between us and Him.

Jesus the Sanctifier is the Exterminator who can remove the creepy-crawly invasion of sin and clean up the soil of our lives, and make us fit to be put on display to show His glory in our world. Here is the Alliance Statement of Faith regarding sanctification:

“It is the will of God that each believer should be filled with the Holy Spirit and be sanctified wholly, being separated from sin and the world and fully dedicated to the will of God, thereby receiving power for holy living and effective service. This is both a crisis and a progressive experience wrought in the life of the believer subsequent to conversion.”

The will of God… is my sanctification and yours(1 Thess. 4:3). Our separation from sin and dedication to His purposes. This is both a crisis (it begins with a specific moment of surrender) – and a progressive experience (because God never takes away our will, surrender must continue).

And one bright, glorious, marvelous, light-as-a-feather Day, we will awake to find that the process of sanctification, once begun and long continued, is Complete. We are precious, whole, sinless and shining. There is no shred of impurity in us. We are holy as He is.

We shall see His face, and surrender will be worth it all… and then some.

It’s All About Jesus

It was mentioned Sunday that in Christ all things hold together; life without Him is chaos. In other words:

In my beginning, Jesus created me (Col. 1:16). Because of sin, my heart was formless and empty, full of chaos, and wrapped in darkness. But the Spirit of Christ hovered over my heart.

Then Jesus said, “Let there be Light,” and understanding began to dawn in my mind. And Jesus called the Light “Truth” and the darkness “Lies.” He invited me into the Day, and when I stepped into the Light, the darkness fled away. And my Lord said, “Let there be space between the earth and heaven,” and separated for me the temporary from the eternal, so I could see what really matters.

Then He said, “Let there be dry ground in My child’s life, terra firma, a solid Rock beneath him.” And Jesus became the firm foundation on which I trusted. He continued, “Let him become fruitful right where I have put him,” and I began to discover what Christ had made me to do and become, and to use the gifts and resources He'd given me to make much of Him.

Then Jesus put smaller lights in my life, imitations of Him, persons to mentor me and teach me to walk in the way that pleases Him. And He went on to say, “Let My child’s life be filled with blessings. May his days swarm with gifts from My hand - blessings in his home, blessings in his work, even blessings in his trials. And let these blessings multiply and spill over onto those around him, and fill his world with joy and praise to Me.”

Furthermore, Jesus said, “Let him reproduce more followers for me, who will go out and reproduce yet more, until My glory fills the whole earth, and men and women from every nation bow and proclaim that I am Lord to the glory of God the Father.”

Jesus Christ is not done speaking in my life – or yours. One day, He will say, “Let this one be fully remade in My image. Give him a new body, immortal as Mine. Give him a sinless heart and a holy mind, untainted by guilt or blemish. And bring him home to live with Me forever.” And on that endless Day, our Lord will say, “It is very good.”

Our lives do all hold together in Christ., and fall apart outside of Him. Life is all about Him. That concept isn’t just Alliance doctrine or congregational creed; it’s truth for our individual lives and pursuits. So a simple yet powerful question provides a tool for evaluating my life and work: Am I all about Christ?

He was all about me.

It’s How You Say It

I remember as a teenager being strictly admonished by my father for something I had done. It was not to be repeated. “Do you understand?” he finished. I affirmed that I understood.

That’s when the trouble escalated. I think it was not my agreement with him that got me into hotter water… it must have been that flippant tone in my voice and the dismissive shrug of my shoulders. My father had not been merely listening to my reply; he was watching for my attitude. And it was in for a change.

My parents were in cahoots about this sort of thing. I can still hear mom insisting: “It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it.” Attitude.

I think of that in relation to persecution. Yes, it’s to be expected in some form, though for most of us (but not all) it’s quite diluted. As Keith pointed out Sunday, we should never invite persecution, just to feed our martyr’s complex. But when it does come…with what attitude do we greet it? That’s what our Father is watching for. And that’s what makes all the difference in the world.

I think it gets a little complicated sometimes, hard to know just what attitude we should take. For instance, there exists in America an element of general persecution against the unborn, against conservative Christianity, against traditional values, etc., etc. This is displayed in areas of the entertainment industry, the business world, and the government… and comes home to lodge sometimes in the places we work and the movies we watch and even the attitudes of loved ones who oppose our views and values.

How do we respond to hostility and opposition at each of these levels? How do we answer our relative, or the public figure that seeks to destroy our freedoms? What is our attitude? Is it militant and abrasive? Do we turn their tactics on them, give them a taste of their own medicine? Focus on their demise? Be slanderous, ruthless, merciless?

How then will we win these who are against our Lord and His followers? Or are we saying that they’re not “winnable,” that they’re hopeless and we only need to be Christlike to those who seem open to our message?

The apostle Paul left us a prime example of how to treat persecution at any level. It doesn’t matter if we are crusading against abortion or living with an unbelieving, antagonistic spouse:

Live wisely among those who are not Christians, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and effective so that you will have the right answer for everyone – Col. 4:5-6 NLT

I say it’s complicated, because there surely is a time for exposing evil and confronting the work of Satan in this world. There’s a need for crusaders of righteousness. But there’s no need for mean-spiritedness and ridicule. An ambush by the low road may win the battle, but lose the war. We may regain personal rights but alienate eternal souls. May beat back the opposition, but give it reason to turn its face from God forever.

So I think my parents had it right. It’s not just what we say, it’s the attitude with which we say it. It’s not what we do, but the motive and spirit with which we do it. We needn’t be doormats; we are called to take a stand. But we’d better be careful. Our attitude is on display, and we don’t want to get into hot water with Father.

Fine Dining

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness”…

How long has it been since you’ve been really hungry to be holy? Thirsty for more of God?

My guess is that many of us don’t remember when we last were truly famished for God and His Kingdom and His righteousness. I think it has something to do with fast food vs. fine dining.

Fast food is available… well, fast. You hardly have time to work up a good appetite, just barely get the smell of burger and fries in your nostrils, when – poof! – there it is, all bagged and ready for your wolfing pleasure. Fine dining, in contrast, can be a little aggravating as the wait stretches out, but isn’t it worth it? When you finish that seven-course meal, you haven’t just stuffed an empty stomach, you have had an experience! You have tasted something new and intriguing and (hopefully) pleasing to the palate; you have been refreshed and relaxed by a lovely atmosphere. You haven’t just mumbled around a half-chewed hamburger bun; you have connected with your dining companions, have talked about things that matter, have shared your true feelings, and have listened, really listened, to those around you.

Why doesn’t that happen more often in the spiritual realm? Why do we so often feel like we’re hopping from one fast food chain to another, keeping body and soul together but never really experiencing this abundant feast God is supposed to offer?

Perhaps it’s because, as Pastor Ben said, as soon as we feel a slight pang of desire to experience God’s pleasure, to be like Him, to show our colors for the Kingdom, we do something. Something to make Him happy with us, to let Him know we’re about our Father’s business. In doing so, we choose doing over being. Fast food over fine dining. And we miss the smile that says, “You don’t have to prove anything. You bring Me pleasure just by loving Me and sharing your heart with Me.”

It’s not that doing isn’t important. It’s that the good feeling of having done something for God can take away the hunger pangs to be more like Him, get closer to Him, become holy and righteous and blameless and pure.

Maybe it would be helpful to set aside a day to just “be.” To intentionally not do anything for God or ask anything from Him; instead, to just spend time with Him, focus on Him, sit at His feet and, as we move through the duties of the day, listen to His heart. Maybe in that day we would grow hungry for a finer dining experience than we’ve been giving ourselves lately. And maybe we would again hear our Lord say,

“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat!... Listen, listen to me and eat what is good, and your soul will delight itself in the richest of fare” (Is. 55:1-2 NIV). “I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it… You would be fed with the finest of wheat; with honey from the rock I would satisfy you” (Ps. 81:10,16).

Maybe in that day, we would make reservations to come to those waters more often, just to share His pleasure in our company and dine on His finest.