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Transform Your Life: The Journey of Sanctification
Pastor Josh Massaro delivers a powerful message on the theme of sanctification during the Sunday Morning Service at Middletown Baptist Church. He emphasizes that true spiritual growth involves not only separating ourselves from the influences of the world but also actively pursuing a closer relationship with God. Drawing from Second Corinthians chapter seven, he highlights the importance of cleansing ourselves from both the filthiness of the flesh and spirit, aiming for a maturity in holiness that honors God. Throughout the sermon, Pastor Josh encourages listeners to reflect on their personal relationship with Christ, urging them to move beyond mere outward appearances and focus on the transformative work happening within. Ultimately, he reassures the congregation that as they draw near to God, He will also draw near to them, offering promises of love, protection, and provision as they grow in faith.
The sermon delivered by Pastor Josh Massaro at the Middletown Baptist Church focuses on the profound topic of sanctification, emphasizing the importance of separating oneself from worldly influences to develop a closer relationship with God. Drawing from the text of Second Corinthians, chapter seven, the pastor outlines the concept of sanctification as a journey of spiritual growth that encompasses justification, progressive sanctification, and ultimately, perpetual sanctification. He emphasizes that believers are called to be different from the world, living out their faith in a manner that reflects their identity as children of God. Pastor Massaro articulates that this process begins with understanding the promises of God, which serve as the foundation for spiritual maturity. He challenges congregants to assess their associations and influences, encouraging them to cleanse themselves from the filthiness
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This podcast is produced by Ralph Estep, Jr., host of the Ask Ralph Podcast, a daily podcast on Christian Finance you can find it at https://www.askralphpodcast.com/
Takeaways:
- Sanctification is a progressive process where believers grow more like Christ over time.
- We need to cleanse ourselves from the filthiness of both flesh and spirit.
- Drawing near to God results in Him drawing near to us, fulfilling His promise.
- Our relationship with Christ requires active pursuit, not complacency or apathy.
- Spiritual growth is not merely external but deeply rooted in the heart's transformation.
- True spiritual maturity reflects in our actions and attitudes toward others.
Thank you for joining our podcast. Visit our website at https://middletownbaptistchurch.org/
Subscribe to our YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@middletownbaptistchurchde5091
Follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MBCDelaware
This podcast is produced by Ralph Estep, Jr., host of the Ask Ralph Podcast, a daily podcast on Christian Finance you can find it at https://www.askralphpodcast.com/
Transcript
Hello and welcome to the Middletown Baptist Church podcast, where we are proclaiming the truth to the world.
Pastor Josh:My name is Pastor Josh, and I want to thank you for listening to this podcast.
Pastor Josh:I hope that this podcast can be a blessing to you and strengthen you in the word of God.
Pastor Josh:Now, come along.
Pastor Josh:Let's look into the Bible and see what God has for us here today.
Pastor Josh:If you have your Bibles this morning, that's where we're going to be.
Pastor Josh:Second Corinthians, chapter seven.
Pastor Josh:We're going to be looking at just verse number one.
Pastor Josh:Now, I got to be completely honest with you.
Pastor Josh:We're not just going to stay in verse number one.
Pastor Josh:We're going to go to some other places in scripture here this morning, but our main text is going to be Second Corinthians, chapter seven, verse number one.
Pastor Josh:Now, last week, what did we look at?
Pastor Josh:We looked at the biblical understanding of separating ourselves from the influence of this world.
Pastor Josh:To not be yoked with unbelievers, to not be influenced by the ways of this world, but to be living differently as children of God, living distinctly.
Pastor Josh:And so what we saw in verse 14 of chapter 6 was this.
Pastor Josh:We were told, be separate.
Pastor Josh:Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers.
Pastor Josh:For what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness, and what communion hath light with darkness?
Pastor Josh:And so the question was asked, what part does a Christian have in this world?
Pastor Josh:Well, that means this.
Pastor Josh:We don't have a part in this world.
Pastor Josh:All we have is an opportunity to influence this world, to be the light in the darkness.
Pastor Josh:The phrase was used to be in the world, but not of the world.
Pastor Josh:So many times we're tempted to think that, you know what, because we're in the world, that we need to start living like the world.
Pastor Josh:We need to start living like unbelievers.
Pastor Josh:And so the Bible tells us, no, that when we are saved, when we are changed, when we are transformed, we are called to be different.
Pastor Josh:Not conformed to this world, but transformed by the renewing of our minds, to be thinking differently, to be thinking biblically.
Pastor Josh:And so what we looked at was this.
Pastor Josh:What we associate with will eventually influence us.
Pastor Josh:So the first question was, who or what are we associating ourselves with?
Pastor Josh:The second question is, what is influencing us?
Pastor Josh:Who is influencing us?
Pastor Josh:Well, the truth is, is that if we are yoked up, if we are joined in, tied together with the world, our association is with the world, our influences then by the world, and then ultimately we compromise and live like the world.
Pastor Josh:But the Bible says That if we're associated with the Lord in fellowship with him, we are then influenced by him, taught by him, as Matthew 11 said, we learn of him and become meek and humble.
Pastor Josh:And ultimately we are then separated and sanctified for the Master's use.
Pastor Josh:And that's really what the Christian life is all about.
Pastor Josh:There's a term that I want you to think about here this morning, and this is a term that we're going to be using quite frequently here in this sermon.
Pastor Josh:And that term is sanctification.
Pastor Josh:Sanctification.
Pastor Josh:The Bible says that as a Christian, the moment that we trust in Jesus Christ as our Savior, the moment faith, we are justified.
Pastor Josh:Justified means we are declared righteous.
Pastor Josh:And so positionally, positionally, we are sanctified, we are set aside as a born again believer, we are now set aside into the family of man.
Pastor Josh:Am I doing something wrong this morning with this?
Pastor Josh:Do I need to take off my jacket?
Pastor Josh:My connection might use the pulpit.
Pastor Josh:Oh, man.
Pastor Josh:Lord, help me this morning.
Pastor Josh:All right, I'll try to stay behind the pulpit today.
Pastor Josh:This is going to be.
Pastor Josh:It's going to be interesting.
Pastor Josh:All right.
Pastor Josh:So we are then positionally sanctified.
Pastor Josh:Positionally sanctified.
Pastor Josh:Meaning this.
Pastor Josh:We don't have to get any more saved.
Pastor Josh:We don't have to get re saved.
Pastor Josh:The Bible says that once we're saved, we are saved for eternity.
Pastor Josh:We are saved, secured and sealed until the day of redemption.
Pastor Josh:And so that's positionally sanctified.
Pastor Josh:But there is something else in sanctification, and that is our spiritual growth.
Pastor Josh:And there's something called progressive sanctification, which means this.
Pastor Josh:In our life, from the moment we are saved till we take our last breath, we are on a path of spiritual growth.
Pastor Josh:And we are called to grow more and more like Christ.
Pastor Josh:Not more and more like the pastor, not more and more like a list of rules, but more and more like Jesus Christ.
Pastor Josh:And so the Bible tells us that that is a progressive thing, meaning just at the moment I'm saved, I am not where I should be in 20 years, right?
Pastor Josh:In 20 years, I should be closer to the Lord.
Pastor Josh:In 20 years, I should be more mature.
Pastor Josh:In 20 years, I should be following the Scriptures in a more real way.
Pastor Josh:And so there's that progressive sanctification.
Pastor Josh:But then we also know that there is going to be a day when we take our last breath and when we are renewed in the Spirit and we are then saved from this world.
Pastor Josh:Thank you.
Pastor Josh:Appreciate that.
Pastor Josh:We are saved from this world and then we have something called perpetual sanctification.
Pastor Josh:What is perpetual Sanctification, that means one day we will be glorified, one day we will be with our Savior, and there will be no more sin, there will be no more sadness, there will be no more pain and suffering and loss.
Pastor Josh:And so that's the progressive sanctification.
Pastor Josh:But then we get to perpetual sanctification.
Pastor Josh:Now, in Second Corinthians, chapter seven, what is Paul talking about here?
Pastor Josh:Paul is talking about that progressive sanctification, that spiritual growth process.
Pastor Josh:And so he says in Second Corinthians, chapter seven, Having, therefore, these promises.
Pastor Josh:Now, what promises are we talking about?
Pastor Josh:What's the promises that were given at the end of chapter six?
Pastor Josh:Having, therefore, these promises.
Pastor Josh:Dearly beloved, now he's talking to believers here.
Pastor Josh:Dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit.
Pastor Josh:Now, we're going to talk about that and what that means here in a few moments.
Pastor Josh:But he says, because of God's promises in our life, we then can cleanse ourselves from that filthiness of our flesh and the filthiness of spirit.
Pastor Josh:And then we see this phrase, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
Pastor Josh:Now, when he says perfecting holiness, he doesn't mean sinlessness.
Pastor Josh:He's not expecting us to grow closer to God and then eventually just stop sinning.
Pastor Josh:That word perfecting means completion or maturity.
Pastor Josh:So he's speaking here of spiritual maturity becoming more and more complete in our understanding of who God is.
Pastor Josh:And so our spiritual growth process is this.
Pastor Josh:We know him in salvation in that positional sanctification.
Pastor Josh:But then in that progressive sanctification, we become more and more completely submitted to our Savior.
Pastor Josh:And it says how we do that through the fear of God.
Pastor Josh:So what promises is he talking about here?
Pastor Josh:Well, if you go back to the last verse of chapter six, in verse 18, he says, and I will be a father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
Pastor Josh:Now, now what is going to make us all right?
Pastor Josh:Can you hear me now?
Pastor Josh:All right, good.
Pastor Josh:I'm mobile again.
Pastor Josh:So we see here in verse number 17 how we can be the sons and daughters.
Pastor Josh:How can we understand this truth?
Pastor Josh:He says, wherefore come out from among them?
Pastor Josh:So he's asking us to separate.
Pastor Josh:He's asking us to grow in our sanctification.
Pastor Josh:And he says, the more that we leave the world and come to him, he says, as more you are separate and touch not the unclean thing.
Pastor Josh:I will receive you and will be a father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
Pastor Josh:So when Paul, in verse number one of chapter seven is referring to these promises, he's referring to the promise that the more we separate from the world and the more we grow closer to him, the more we can understand his love for us as a loving Heavenly Father.
Pastor Josh:A verse that we could see that would parallel this is in the book of James.
Pastor Josh:The Lord is testing my patience this morning, but we're gonna.
Pastor Josh:We're gonna make it, guys.
Pastor Josh:We're gonna make it.
Pastor Josh:Promise you.
Pastor Josh:This is a peek behind the veil of technology.
Pastor Josh:All right, so James, chapter four.
Pastor Josh:If you have your Bibles turned there with me, James, chapter four.
Pastor Josh:What's he talking about here?
Pastor Josh:He's talking about that growth away from the world to God.
Pastor Josh:And in James chapter four, we see that there's this condemnation against our flesh.
Pastor Josh:He says in verse one, from whence comes wars and fightings among you?
Pastor Josh:Come they not thence, even of your own lust at war in your members.
Pastor Josh:So he says, you have this war, you have this fighting, you have this lust.
Pastor Josh:Verse 2.
Pastor Josh:And you desire and you don't have.
Pastor Josh:And we see in verse number four, he says, ye adulterers and adulteresses, know you not that friendship of the world is enmity with God.
Pastor Josh:He's explaining that the more we love the world, the less we love God.
Pastor Josh:And he says, whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
Pastor Josh:But then we go down to verse number six.
Pastor Josh:He says, but he giveth more grace.
Pastor Josh:So this shows the characteristic of God that he is a God of grace.
Pastor Josh:Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble.
Pastor Josh:So the call here is us as Christians.
Pastor Josh:The more we want to see God work in our life, the more we need to humble ourselves and die to our pride, die to our own way of doing things, die to our own desires, and therefore go closer to God.
Pastor Josh:He says, submit yourselves therefore to God.
Pastor Josh:Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
Pastor Josh:Resist the enemy, resist the world, resist our flesh.
Pastor Josh:And what happens?
Pastor Josh:Well, we submit ourselves before God.
Pastor Josh:And then verse 8 says this.
Pastor Josh:Draw nigh to God, or draw close, close to God.
Pastor Josh:And the result of that is this.
Pastor Josh:And he will draw nigh to you.
Pastor Josh:Cleanse your hands, ye sinners, and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
Pastor Josh:And so the challenge for us here in this passage and in Second Corinthians, chapter 7, is not just to stop doing the things of this world.
Pastor Josh:Not.
Pastor Josh:Not just to separate ourselves from the things of this world, but ultimately to chase after God, to cling after him to draw nigh to him.
Pastor Josh:And what's the result of that?
Pastor Josh:He draws nigh to us.
Pastor Josh:I use this analogy quite frequently when it comes to that passage of Scripture.
Pastor Josh:When we had our kids in store when they were little, you know, obviously we didn't want them to wander away and get lost and someone take them.
Pastor Josh:And there was a time when Micah was really little and he got on the other side of, like, a display or something, and he didn't see me there, and he freaked out.
Pastor Josh:Dad?
Pastor Josh:Dad, where are you?
Pastor Josh:He thought I had left him, right?
Pastor Josh:Because I wasn't right in front of him.
Pastor Josh:He had allowed some distance to come between us.
Pastor Josh:And then he lost sight of his father.
Pastor Josh:And so in that moment, he thought, maybe dad left me.
Pastor Josh:Maybe dad forgot about me.
Pastor Josh:Maybe dad left the store and got in the car and went away.
Pastor Josh:And so just because he didn't see me, he felt like there was a separation.
Pastor Josh:But the truth is, I was close.
Pastor Josh:I could see him.
Pastor Josh:And that's how it is in our relationship with Jesus Christ.
Pastor Josh:Jesus is there.
Pastor Josh:Jesus is there with us, and he's walking with us.
Pastor Josh:But sometimes when our eyes get off of him and our distractions pull us away, and maybe that distraction is the world.
Pastor Josh:Maybe the distraction is our own desires.
Pastor Josh:Maybe the distraction is our money, our health, whatever that is, our hobbies, and that distraction pulls us away and our eyes are off the Lord.
Pastor Josh:It doesn't mean that God has left us.
Pastor Josh:It means this.
Pastor Josh:When we turn around and lock eyes with our Savior, when we turn around and desire after him, he will draw nigh to us.
Pastor Josh:And that's the understanding that we have in this passage.
Pastor Josh:And so in Second Corinthians, chapter seven, he says this.
Pastor Josh:Having therefore, these promises, the title of the sermon this morning is Standing on the Promises of God and Sanctification.
Pastor Josh:We have to stand on the promises of God in that process of sanctification.
Pastor Josh:Folks, you're never going to grow in your understanding of who he is if you don't trust in his promises.
Pastor Josh:You're never gonna grow in your understanding of his love and his grace and his forgiveness and ultimately the application of those things in your life if you do not stand on the promises of God.
Pastor Josh:We must trust in the truth of God in our lives.
Pastor Josh:We must believe that he will do what he says he will do.
Pastor Josh:Now I'm gonna ask my two children to come up here.
Pastor Josh:Now that I'm mobile, I can come down here.
Pastor Josh:Okay.
Pastor Josh:Mike and Nora, come on up here.
Pastor Josh:We didn't prepare for this this morning.
Pastor Josh:So they are not prepared, and so I don't know how they're going to respond to this.
Pastor Josh:So I'm going to have them stand up here.
Pastor Josh:All right?
Pastor Josh:Micah, Nora, stand over here.
Pastor Josh:Okay.
Pastor Josh:Okay.
Pastor Josh:So what does verse 7 say?
Pastor Josh:Verse 7 says, we have to stand on the promises.
Pastor Josh:What was the promise in chapter six?
Pastor Josh:That when they would draw nigh to their father, their father would show them what it means to understand love and grace, and he would reward them for that.
Pastor Josh:And so does dad love you guys?
Pastor Josh:Yes.
Pastor Josh:Does dad love you?
Pastor Josh:She's nervous.
Pastor Josh:Okay.
Pastor Josh:How do you.
Pastor Josh:All right, Micah, you're the speaker.
Pastor Josh:So how do you know that dad loves you?
Pastor Josh:I show it to you.
Pastor Josh:How do I show it to you?
Pastor Josh:You don't know.
Pastor Josh:Okay.
Pastor Josh:So have I ever told you I love you?
Pastor Josh:Yes.
Pastor Josh:Okay.
Pastor Josh:Do I ever do things for you?
Pastor Josh:Yes.
Pastor Josh:Okay.
Pastor Josh:Do I take care of you if you're hurt?
Pastor Josh:Okay.
Pastor Josh:So I've told him and I've told Nora that I love them, right?
Pastor Josh:And I've shown them that I love them.
Pastor Josh:And so the truth is that they have to trust in the fact that I will keep that promise in my life.
Pastor Josh:As they get older, they have to trust that dad will continue to love them.
Pastor Josh:Now, the truth is, today I'm going to make a promise to them, and we'll see if they believe this or not.
Pastor Josh:I've got two dollar bills here.
Pastor Josh:I got a dollar bill.
Pastor Josh:She liked that, right?
Pastor Josh:She liked that dollar bill.
Pastor Josh:She'll wake up for that.
Pastor Josh:So I got a whole dollar bill right here, okay?
Pastor Josh:It's legitimate.
Pastor Josh:You can check it out.
Pastor Josh:Whole dollar bill.
Pastor Josh:Check it out.
Pastor Josh:But you're gonna have to give it back.
Pastor Josh:Now, my promise to them.
Pastor Josh:My promise to them is if they're good and if they listen in this service today.
Pastor Josh:Now, parents, I'm not saying you should do this, okay?
Pastor Josh:Don't bribe your children.
Pastor Josh:But if they're good today in this service, I will let you have these two holes.
Pastor Josh:Well, you can have $1 each, and we can go to the Dollar Store.
Pastor Josh:Is the Dollar Store a dollar anymore?
Pastor Josh:Oh, man, I'm in trouble.
Pastor Josh:Well, anyway, you can go to Dollar Store, and I'll pitch in a couple other quarters for you, and you can take that.
Pastor Josh:Okay?
Pastor Josh:Now, do you believe me, if you're good, that I will give this to you?
Pastor Josh:Yes.
Pastor Josh:Okay.
Pastor Josh:Yes.
Pastor Josh:Do you believe that?
Pastor Josh:Okay.
Pastor Josh:So now the true test is if you're going to go and actually live that, are you going to go and be good and pay attention, Listen to your father, maybe all Right.
Pastor Josh:We'll see.
Pastor Josh:All right, you guys go ahead, go back.
Pastor Josh:That's a silly way to look at it, but really what it is is that God tells us these promises and he says, look, I not only tell you that these promises are true, but I also keep these promises in my life.
Pastor Josh:He keeps those promises in our lives.
Pastor Josh:And so therefore, what happens is that God tells us to believe, he displays the proof of why we should believe, and he keeps his word in those rewards.
Pastor Josh:Sanctification.
Pastor Josh:When we go back to that, those three steps of sanctification, look at the rewards in all those steps, right?
Pastor Josh:The reward in the first step is knowing that we have everlasting life, right?
Pastor Josh:Being in the family of God, that's a reward in and of itself.
Pastor Josh:When we're saved, that is a blessing.
Pastor Josh:That is a gift.
Pastor Josh:That is a reward.
Pastor Josh:But secondly, there are blessings in that progressive sanctification, right?
Pastor Josh:There's a blessing in knowing His Word, gaining knowledge from His Word, seeing how God's Word helps us in our life, and having maturity and having spiritual growth and being able to share the love of God with other people.
Pastor Josh:There's blessings there, too.
Pastor Josh:And then the ultimate blessing is in that perpetual sanctification when we get to be with our Savior forever.
Pastor Josh:And so what God does is essentially he says this, look, in our relationship as a father and as a child, I am giving you all of these blessings, and I'm giving you all of these promises.
Pastor Josh:And really spiritual growth is just this trusting and living in those promises.
Pastor Josh:And so go back with me to second Corinthians, chapter seven.
Pastor Josh:He says, having therefore, these promises, what were those promises?
Pastor Josh:Well, one of those promises would be that when we separate ourselves from the ways of this world, he would then show us what it means to have that loving father and be sons and daughters.
Pastor Josh:Even if you go back to Second Corinthians, chapter 5, verse 17, he says, Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.
Pastor Josh:Old things are passed away.
Pastor Josh:Behold, all things are become new.
Pastor Josh:That's talking about that positional sanctification.
Pastor Josh:You're now a new creation in Christ.
Pastor Josh:And now he's going to walk with us as a loving heavenly Father.
Pastor Josh:And so as we draw nigh to God, he draws nigh to us.
Pastor Josh:And so I want you to think about that here this morning.
Pastor Josh:What are the promises of God in your life?
Pastor Josh:Well, you say, well, the promise of God in my life is whatever I want it to be.
Pastor Josh:No, the promises of God are found in His Word.
Pastor Josh:And one of the promises here is that as we separate from the world.
Pastor Josh:We die to our flesh.
Pastor Josh:We put off the old man and we put on the new.
Pastor Josh:God rewards us with knowing that he is with us through the ups and through the downs.
Pastor Josh:He is a teacher.
Pastor Josh:He is a comforter.
Pastor Josh:He is a provider.
Pastor Josh:He is the one who has saved us.
Pastor Josh:He has forgiven us.
Pastor Josh:He transforms us, and he equips us to do the work that he has called us to do.
Pastor Josh:And so in Second Corinthians, chapter seven, he says, knowing these promises, what does he tell us to do?
Pastor Josh:Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh.
Pastor Josh:Meaning, we need to stop feeding our flesh.
Pastor Josh:We need to stop living like the world, become more and more like.
Pastor Josh:Scripture says that we are called to be.
Pastor Josh:Be more and more like Christ.
Pastor Josh:Learn from him, grow in him.
Pastor Josh:But then he says something very interesting in the second part there.
Pastor Josh:He says, and spirit.
Pastor Josh:Filthiness of the flesh and spirit.
Pastor Josh:So what he's saying here is this.
Pastor Josh:The change is not just an outward change.
Pastor Josh:Are there going to be outward changes in our life?
Pastor Josh:Of course.
Pastor Josh:The more we grow like Christ, the more we become like him.
Pastor Josh:The more we mature in our sanctification process, the more we understand his love and his grace.
Pastor Josh:There are going to be things in our life that change on the outside.
Pastor Josh:We're going to stop doing things.
Pastor Josh:We're going to stop looking like the world.
Pastor Josh:We're going to stop responding to the things of the world the way that the world tells us to respond to them.
Pastor Josh:We're going to stop being distracted.
Pastor Josh:We're going to have less outbursts.
Pastor Josh:We're going to have less corruption in what we do.
Pastor Josh:But then what we see here is that it's not just an outward change.
Pastor Josh:More importantly, I would challenge you to think about it this morning is this.
Pastor Josh:It is an inward change.
Pastor Josh:It's the inward change that affects the outward.
Pastor Josh:Remember when Jesus dealt with the Pharisees, he wasn't dealing with their outward appearance, because their outward appearance looked just fine.
Pastor Josh:It actually was very religious.
Pastor Josh:They were clean on the outside.
Pastor Josh:They were like the Bible says.
Pastor Josh:Jesus said they look like whited sepulchers.
Pastor Josh:They looked beautiful on the outside.
Pastor Josh:But the challenge was not the outside, but the inside.
Pastor Josh:He said, hey, your spirit is off.
Pastor Josh:Your heart is in the wrong place.
Pastor Josh:And so when Jesus is dealing with us in our spiritual growth, it's not always about the outside.
Pastor Josh:Now, the outside is manifested by what's happening on the inside, but it's the inside that matters more.
Pastor Josh:God is more concerned with our heart because what we can see is that spiritual growth is not me just learning how to look more like people in the church.
Pastor Josh:That's sometimes what happens.
Pastor Josh:Sometimes as humans, we are really, really good imitators.
Pastor Josh:And we can put on a front, we can put on a show, but true spiritual growth is not me mirroring what other people do and try to be like them.
Pastor Josh:True Holy Spirit change is what happens on the inside and is manifested on what we do on the outside.
Pastor Josh:And so what Jesus is addressing here in this case is a wholesale change of our life.
Pastor Josh:Remember what Romans chapter 12 says.
Pastor Josh:It says, present your bodies a living, sacrifice everything.
Pastor Josh:And so, folks, it's not so much about, hey, you know what?
Pastor Josh:I know now not to say this in the public of other Christians, okay?
Pastor Josh:As a pastor, I get this a lot because as a pastor, usually, usually people are on their best behavior around me.
Pastor Josh:But the concept is this.
Pastor Josh:It's not about trying to stop ourselves from doing bad.
Pastor Josh:It's hopefully at this point, desiring to do good.
Pastor Josh:You understand the difference, right?
Pastor Josh:I want to stop doing bad.
Pastor Josh:Yes.
Pastor Josh:So I'm just going to focus on the bad all the time.
Pastor Josh:I don't want to do this.
Pastor Josh:I don't want to do this.
Pastor Josh:The Bible says, no, there is a difference.
Pastor Josh:And now instead of stop stopping the bad, let's actually start infusing the good.
Pastor Josh:So therefore, we no longer desire those things of the world.
Pastor Josh:We no longer desire that filthiness of spirit in the flesh.
Pastor Josh:And so he says, cleanse ourselves from all filthiness.
Pastor Josh:So it's from the filthiness of the flesh and the Spirit.
Pastor Josh:And then he says, what happens then?
Pastor Josh:Is that perfecting or that completing that maturing holiness in the fear of God?
Pastor Josh:And so as we grow in our understanding of what is good in the eyes of God, we then have that maturity, and we see there that holiness.
Pastor Josh:The Bible says that we are to be holy.
Pastor Josh:Why?
Pastor Josh:Because God is holy.
Pastor Josh:Holy just means to be set apart.
Pastor Josh:Now, God is perfectly holy.
Pastor Josh:You will not be perfectly holy on this side of heaven, but you can be holy.
Pastor Josh:That means set aside for a specific use, for God to use you for his kingdom and for his glory and for his gospel.
Pastor Josh:And so you set aside yourself, and as God sets aside you, you set aside that.
Pastor Josh:And you say, you know what?
Pastor Josh:I'm gonna start living a righteous holy life, honoring God in every way.
Pastor Josh:And we see the motivation behind that.
Pastor Josh:It says, in the fear of God, we respect him, we honor him, we glorify Him.
Pastor Josh:And so the purpose of that holiness is that we humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, and we allow his power to work through our lives and we allow ourselves to be used by Him.
Pastor Josh:And therefore we are cleansed from filthiness of the flesh and spirit.
Pastor Josh:We mature in our holiness and we rest in that fear of God.
Pastor Josh:Now I want to take you to another passage of Scripture that talks about this.
Pastor Josh:And that's Ephesians chapter four.
Pastor Josh:Ephesians chapter four.
Pastor Josh:This is speaking to this understanding of being different, of putting off the old, cleansing ourselves from the old ways and putting on the new folks.
Pastor Josh:All of us, at some point in our lives have to come to the grips with what is my response to the Gospel message of Jesus Christ?
Pastor Josh:If I believe, if I receive, if I repent, then I am now in the family of God.
Pastor Josh:But that is not the end.
Pastor Josh:Let me tell you this morning, if you are in the family of God, that is just the beginning.
Pastor Josh:There is a call to live differently.
Pastor Josh:And so Paul says, trust in the promises, cling after the Lord, allow the Lord to change your spirit and your flesh.
Pastor Josh:Allow yourself to be matured in holiness and allow the fear of God to rule and reign your life.
Pastor Josh:So Ephesians chapter 4.
Pastor Josh:Ephesians chapter 4.
Pastor Josh:Let's go to verse number 17.
Pastor Josh:Ephesians chapter 4, verse 17.
Pastor Josh:We see what it means to live differently.
Pastor Josh:Ephesians, chapter four.
Pastor Josh:He says this.
Pastor Josh:I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk in the vanity of their mind.
Pastor Josh:Now remember back In Romans chapter 12, he says, we live this life of transformed nature through the renewing of our mind.
Pastor Josh:It all goes back to what we're thinking about.
Pastor Josh:And so what does he say here?
Pastor Josh:He says, don't live like the Gentiles live.
Pastor Josh:Don't walk like the Gentiles walk.
Pastor Josh:Now, when he's talking about Gentiles, here, he's talking about the unsaved, he's talking about the unbelievers.
Pastor Josh:And so don't live the way of the world.
Pastor Josh:And then he explains the way of the world in the vanity of their mind.
Pastor Josh:You could say it this way, in the futility of their thinking.
Pastor Josh:It's wasteful, it's empty.
Pastor Josh:That vanity means emptiness.
Pastor Josh:It's worthless.
Pastor Josh:He says, unsaved people live in their worthlessness.
Pastor Josh:Unsaved people, all they know is that vanity of the flesh.
Pastor Josh:So he says, don't live that way.
Pastor Josh:And he explains more about what that looks like.
Pastor Josh:Verse 18, having the understanding darkened, meaning their understanding of the truth has been veiled.
Pastor Josh:Being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them because of the blindness of their heart.
Pastor Josh:The Bible says that unsafe people, whether they know it or not, are walking in blindness.
Pastor Josh:They don't see the truth.
Pastor Josh:They can't see the truth.
Pastor Josh:And he says, as a Christian, don't walk that way.
Pastor Josh:Unfortunately, what happens is that many Christians are walking just as the Gentiles walk.
Pastor Josh:They're walking blinded.
Pastor Josh:And he says, who being past feeling this is the unsaid, have given themselves over unto lasciviousness.
Pastor Josh:That's sensuality.
Pastor Josh:To work all uncleanness with greediness.
Pastor Josh:So he says they're characterized by sensuality, they're characterized by greediness and pride.
Pastor Josh:They're characterized by impurity.
Pastor Josh:And so he says in verse number 20, but ye have not so learned Christ, meaning that's not the way that you learned about Jesus.
Pastor Josh:That's not Christ likeness.
Pastor Josh:Folks, I know that sometimes we overcomplicate what the Bible says, but really all sanctification is, is being more Christ like.
Pastor Josh:He says, that's not the Christ you know, that's not the Christ that saved you.
Pastor Josh:That's not the way of sanctification.
Pastor Josh:Verse 21 he says, if so be that ye have heard him and have been taught by him as the truth is in Jesus.
Pastor Josh:He says, you got to know Jesus to know righteousness, to know sanctification, to know what God wants from you is to know who Jesus is.
Pastor Josh:It's to know his character, it's to know his heart and to know someone.
Pastor Josh:What do you have to do?
Pastor Josh:What do I have to do to know someone?
Pastor Josh:I have to spend time with them.
Pastor Josh:I have to desire to know them.
Pastor Josh:Okay, if I spend time with you and all I did was talk about myself, I'm not gonna know about you.
Pastor Josh:And so it's spending time with him.
Pastor Josh:Yes, but it's also gleaning from him, learning from him.
Pastor Josh:He teaches us.
Pastor Josh:And so through the Spirit, we learn what it is to be Christ like.
Pastor Josh:And so he says, if you have heard about him and you were taught by him, this is the truth.
Pastor Josh:Verse 22, that ye put off concerning the former conversation or the former lifestyle of the old man.
Pastor Josh:The old man is how you were before you were saved.
Pastor Josh:Okay?
Pastor Josh:The old man is the flesh.
Pastor Josh:The old man is your lust.
Pastor Josh:The old man is your way of doing things that emptiness, that vanity.
Pastor Josh:But then he says here, put that off which is corrupt to the deceitful lust, deceitful desires.
Pastor Josh:But then he says, what happens here?
Pastor Josh:Verse 23, what should you do?
Pastor Josh:Be renewed in the spirit of your mind.
Pastor Josh:I hope that you can see a theme here.
Pastor Josh:Thinking about the right things matters.
Pastor Josh:The more we dwell upon, because you hear the Word in scripture a lot, meditation.
Pastor Josh:The more we meditate or dwell upon something in the negative, in the flesh, the more we live that out in our lives.
Pastor Josh:And so there's this renewal, the renewal of our minds.
Pastor Josh:He says, be renewed in the spirit of your mind that you may put on the new man.
Pastor Josh:So you take off the old, yes, but then you put on the new.
Pastor Josh:You take out the bad and you put in the good.
Pastor Josh:He says, put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
Pastor Josh:And so when you trust in Jesus, when you die to the old ways, when you renew your mind, the outcome is this.
Pastor Josh:A life characterized by righteousness and holiness.
Pastor Josh:That's that sanctification.
Pastor Josh:And then he goes on to talk about what this practically looks like.
Pastor Josh:Verse 25, wherefore putting away lying.
Pastor Josh:So he says in everyday terms, stop lying.
Pastor Josh:Okay, you stop lying.
Pastor Josh:But then what do you do?
Pastor Josh:Speak every man truth with his neighbor.
Pastor Josh:Do you see how the bad goes away?
Pastor Josh:But then the good comes in.
Pastor Josh:So stop lying, but then speak the truth.
Pastor Josh:Then he goes on to say a little bit more.
Pastor Josh:He says, for we are members one of another.
Pastor Josh:So he explains the why behind that.
Pastor Josh:Because we are members one another, we are close, we are tight knit.
Pastor Josh:We don't want to lie to each other.
Pastor Josh:Then he says, be angry and sin not.
Pastor Josh:Let not the sun go down upon your wrath.
Pastor Josh:Neither give place to the devil.
Pastor Josh:Let him that stole steal no more, but rather let him labor.
Pastor Josh:Let him work, working with his hands, the things which is good and that he may give to him that needeth.
Pastor Josh:So what that means is this.
Pastor Josh:Don't just stop being a thief.
Pastor Josh:Work hard, get money, and then give to people that are in need.
Pastor Josh:Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth.
Pastor Josh:Meaning don't say the things that are destructive.
Pastor Josh:Don't let negative things come out of your mouth.
Pastor Josh:Don't let dirty things come out of your mouth.
Pastor Josh:But what which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
Pastor Josh:Meaning this.
Pastor Josh:Don't just stop saying bad things about people.
Pastor Josh:Say good things about people.
Pastor Josh:Don't just stop tearing people down, build them up.
Pastor Josh:And so God never wants us to be passive.
Pastor Josh:Sanctification is not a passive process.
Pastor Josh:Sanctification is not just, well, you know what?
Pastor Josh:I'm gonna stop doing bad and be in my default mode.
Pastor Josh:Default mode is always going to be the flesh.
Pastor Josh:Default mode is always going to be apathy, not caring and allowing ourselves to get back into that negative cycle.
Pastor Josh:And so then he goes on to say more and grieve not the Holy Spirit by God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
Pastor Josh:Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor, clamor.
Pastor Josh:Is this idea of just loudness and conflict and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice?
Pastor Josh:So he says, let all, just everything that's in the realm of bitterness and anger and fighting and hate, all of that, let that go.
Pastor Josh:And then he says what verse 32, and be ye kind one to another.
Pastor Josh:One of the marks of a Christian that's growing in the Lord is that he or she will have a kind spirit towards others, tenderhearted, forgiving one another.
Pastor Josh:Folks, a forgiving spirit is a spirit that marks an individual growing in the Lord.
Pastor Josh:Why?
Pastor Josh:Because if we understand what God has done for us, we then will understand how we can do that for others.
Pastor Josh:He says it here, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
Pastor Josh:So what does he say here?
Pastor Josh:He sums it all up this way.
Pastor Josh:If you want to live this Christ like life, learn from what Jesus Christ has done for you.
Pastor Josh:If you have a hard time being forgiving, go back and understand the forgiveness that you have received of the Lord.
Pastor Josh:If you have a hard time speaking good about people, go back to see what God has said about you.
Pastor Josh:If you have a hard time dealing with hate and bitterness against someone, go back and see what God has done for you.
Pastor Josh:Folks, God has every right to hate us.
Pastor Josh:He has every right to hate us in our sin.
Pastor Josh:He has every right to cast us aside.
Pastor Josh:He has every right to condemn us in every way.
Pastor Josh:But yet he.
Pastor Josh:He offers that gift of grace.
Pastor Josh:And so the Bible says if we want to grow spiritually, we must mirror our lives like Christ being.
Pastor Josh:Let me tell you here this morning, I'm just gonna.
Pastor Josh:I'm gonna be a little bit.
Pastor Josh:Be a little bit harsh in this, okay?
Pastor Josh:And it's done in love.
Pastor Josh:But a lot of times what happens as Christians is that we say, hey, you know what?
Pastor Josh:I'm growing in the Lord because I'm in Sunday school.
Pastor Josh:I'm growing in the Lord because I give to the church.
Pastor Josh:I'm growing in the Lord because I'm in a ministry.
Pastor Josh:Folks, those are all good things, but that is not a mark of Christ likeness.
Pastor Josh:An atheist can sit in a Sunday school class.
Pastor Josh:An atheist can give money to the church.
Pastor Josh:An atheist can do anything that we say on the outside looks good, but Folks, it is the change in our lifestyle that matters.
Pastor Josh:I can say one thing, but that might not match up with me when it comes to my heart.
Pastor Josh:And so go back to what 2 Corinthians, chapter seven says.
Pastor Josh:He says it's of the flesh and spirit.
Pastor Josh:So let me challenge you here this morning.
Pastor Josh:The true test of your spiritual growth is not how often you attend church.
Pastor Josh:Now, some of you guys are going to say, pastor Josh is preaching against church attendance.
Pastor Josh:No, come to church, please.
Pastor Josh:But what I'm saying is, don't equate something like church attendance to, hey, this is a product of spiritual growth.
Pastor Josh:Spiritual growth can come from church attendance, but church attendance in and of itself does not make you spiritually growth, spiritual growth, spiritual maturity.
Pastor Josh:And so what I would challenge you to do is think about the deeper issue behind these things.
Pastor Josh:The deeper issue is this, not that, hey, I'm going to church or not going to church.
Pastor Josh:It's, why do I want to go to church?
Pastor Josh:Oh, reading my Bible.
Pastor Josh:I got to read my Bible this morning.
Pastor Josh:Okay?
Pastor Josh:I read my Bible, so I must be spiritually growing.
Pastor Josh:No, an unsaved person can read a Bible, folks.
Pastor Josh:It's.
Pastor Josh:Why do I.
Pastor Josh:Why do I not want to read the Bible?
Pastor Josh:Why is this?
Pastor Josh:Why is the world pulling me away from that?
Pastor Josh:Why do I want to get on my phone and scroll through some kind of social media before I get to the word?
Pastor Josh:Folks, it's a deeper heart issue.
Pastor Josh:Why do, in the case of, like, I just don't want to be mad at everybody, why am I getting mad at everybody?
Pastor Josh:That's the truth.
Pastor Josh:The truth is, it's the core, the heart, the root of it.
Pastor Josh:And so what I would challenge you with here today is spiritual growth is not the externals.
Pastor Josh:Spiritual growth is what happens in the heart, and the externals follow that.
Pastor Josh:And I would encourage you to think about that.
Pastor Josh:When it comes to this area of sanctification, folks, all of us should be actively, actively pursuing a relationship with our Savior, actively pursuing that spiritual growth.
Pastor Josh:The moment we stop actively seeking after that is the moment we start to regress in our spiritual growth.
Pastor Josh:I don't know.
Pastor Josh:For example.
Pastor Josh:Let me give you an example.
Pastor Josh:When it comes to the marriage relationship, before Alicia and I were married, the highlight of my week was our date, right?
Pastor Josh:We were like, all right, we're gonna go out.
Pastor Josh:We're gonna go do this.
Pastor Josh:We're gonna go dating, right?
Pastor Josh:I'm gonna pursue this, folks.
Pastor Josh:I was doing everything I possibly could.
Pastor Josh:We were doing scavenger hunts and things, and I'm like, Trying to be all romantic and trying to do all that kind of stuff.
Pastor Josh:I was trying to, you know, as a husband, you're trying to do what you can, like to get her to, like, try to trick her into loving you.
Pastor Josh:Okay, that was the thing I was trying to say.
Pastor Josh:Please.
Pastor Josh:I could do everything.
Pastor Josh:I was pursuing her in every way.
Pastor Josh:And we got married.
Pastor Josh:And over time, right, some of you husbands are way more spiritual than me.
Pastor Josh:But over time, the temptation is like, well, the pursuit is over, right?
Pastor Josh:We don't need a date.
Pastor Josh:It's just here.
Pastor Josh:This is what happened.
Pastor Josh:So what happens when that happens is that sometimes the relationship can grow apart because that pursuit isn't there.
Pastor Josh:That love is not manifested as much as it used to be.
Pastor Josh:Is the love there possibly in our hearts?
Pastor Josh:But sometimes we get to a place of apathy because it's there.
Pastor Josh:It's common.
Pastor Josh:It's what we know.
Pastor Josh:And if we're not careful, we can draw, really draw a divide between spouses because we're not actively pursuing.
Pastor Josh:It's the same thing with our spiritual growth.
Pastor Josh:When you came to Jesus, you were excited.
Pastor Josh:You came to Jesus.
Pastor Josh:You're like, I want to be involved in everything.
Pastor Josh:I want to read my Bible.
Pastor Josh:There's nothing you can do to stop me from reading my Bible.
Pastor Josh:There's nothing you can do for stopping me from taking in Christian, you know, content and books and Bible studies.
Pastor Josh:But now what happens is we get so complacent because we're used to it.
Pastor Josh:And we get so complacent in our lives because it's just something that we're tolerating and we don't pursue that relationship with spiritual growth anymore.
Pastor Josh:I would encourage you to chase after the Lord, draw nigh to God as James chapter four says, and what will happen?
Pastor Josh:The promise is, this is a promise, and he will draw nigh to you.
Pastor Josh:Second Corinthians, chapter seven says, having therefore these promises, the promise of God is that when you draw closer to him, he will draw closer to you.
Pastor Josh:The promise of God is that when you separate yourselves from this world and you don't touch the unclean thing, he will receive us, and he will be a father unto us, and we will be his sons and daughters.
Pastor Josh:And He.
Pastor Josh:And he concludes that verse in verse 18 of chapter 6 by saying, Saith the Lord Almighty, the Lord Almighty has made a promise to us that when we separate from this world, we separate from the association of this world, the influence of this world.
Pastor Josh:He will bless us by knowing the benefits of being a child of God.
Pastor Josh:Folks, there My children.
Pastor Josh:Okay, silly analogy.
Pastor Josh:This morning, my children had the blessings of being my child by getting.
Pastor Josh:If they keep their side of the bargain, they get a dollar bill.
Pastor Josh:Right?
Pastor Josh:And the truth is that that's a benefit that they have of being my child.
Pastor Josh:Now, some of you might say, oh, I'm going to give my kids something better later.
Pastor Josh:Okay, you might be able to do that.
Pastor Josh:That's fine.
Pastor Josh:I'm a limited father.
Pastor Josh:God's an unlimited father.
Pastor Josh:He's Lord Almighty.
Pastor Josh:When Lord Almighty makes a promise to his children, he's going to pour it out to them abundantly and he's going to give it to them.
Pastor Josh:The Bible says that he owns the cattle on a thousand hills.
Pastor Josh:All the wealth of the world is in our Savior.
Pastor Josh:So I'm not here preaching prosperity gospel.
Pastor Josh:I am preaching spiritual prosperity.
Pastor Josh:Because the more that you trust in God, the more he's going to pour that out on us.
Pastor Josh:The Bible says without faith, it's impossible to please him.
Pastor Josh:So the more faith we have, the more he's going to pour out blessings upon our life.
Pastor Josh:Not, not necessarily material blessings, but we will see here in this passage of Scripture that Paul says that there's going to be tribulation and he's going to talk about how we have to have godly sorrow, we have to have repentance to get to this place.
Pastor Josh:And so, folks, this morning, some of us might not even see a need to cling to God because we've got.
Pastor Josh:We're too close to this world.
Pastor Josh:I have everything that I need in this world.
Pastor Josh:I have everything that I want in this world.
Pastor Josh:I have all the security that I need in this world.
Pastor Josh:The Bible says no, the.
Pastor Josh:All the security that we can ever have is found in Jesus Christ because all of these things can be taken away from us like this.
Pastor Josh:The gospels say that the material blessings of this world can be taken away.
Pastor Josh:As it says there, moth and rust will corrupt.
Pastor Josh:Folks.
Pastor Josh:Everything that we receive in this world outside of that gospel message of Jesus Christ will eventually pass away.
Pastor Josh:It will pass away.
Pastor Josh:Your job, your finances, your car, your house, your health, all these things will pass away.
Pastor Josh:But one thing that cannot be taken away is what the Bible says is sealed.
Pastor Josh:And that is that trust.
Pastor Josh:That is that promise of God in salvation.
Pastor Josh:And so sanctification is a beautiful thing.
Pastor Josh:It's a.
Pastor Josh:It's a.
Pastor Josh:It's a path that we should all be on in our lives.
Pastor Josh:Paul calls it a race.
Pastor Josh:It's the race.
Pastor Josh:It's.
Pastor Josh:It's pushing forward.
Pastor Josh:It's looking towards that mark and Paul says in Philippians that he never.
Pastor Josh:He never got there.
Pastor Josh:He never got there till the end.
Pastor Josh:Some people would think, like, you know what?
Pastor Josh:I've been a Christian for 50 years.
Pastor Josh:I've arrived.
Pastor Josh:If anybody could have arrived, it was Paul, right?
Pastor Josh:If anybody.
Pastor Josh:If you study life of Paul, that guy was a pretty amazing guy when it came to his commitment to Jesus Christ.
Pastor Josh:But Paul says at the very end, he says, I don't count myself to have apprehended, but this one thing I do, pressing for the mark, pressing toward the mark, for the prize of the high calling.
Pastor Josh:Paul says, I'm never done.
Pastor Josh:This is never a thing in my life that I say, I've reached, I've accomplished, I'm gonna push forward.
Pastor Josh:I'm never gonna be satisfied with where I am.
Pastor Josh:I'm gonna push forward and I'm not gonna look back.
Pastor Josh:He says, one of the things that would hold us from going forward is looking back.
Pastor Josh:And there's a couple ways that we can look back in our life.
Pastor Josh:One way we can look back is by looking back to the things we've done poorly as failures and say, you know what?
Pastor Josh:Because of my failure, I'm not able to push forward.
Pastor Josh:Because of my past, I'm not able to push forward.
Pastor Josh:Folks, your past means nothing when it comes to what Jesus Christ has done for you right here and now.
Pastor Josh:Okay?
Pastor Josh:So if you say, well, you didn't know me back 20 years ago, I might not have known you.
Pastor Josh:But Jesus knows you and he still loves you.
Pastor Josh:He loves you in your failures.
Pastor Josh:He doesn't condone your failures.
Pastor Josh:He doesn't celebrate your sin.
Pastor Josh:But what he does do is he says, you know what?
Pastor Josh:In my forgiveness, I don't hold that over your head.
Pastor Josh:But you know, there's a lot of people that will say, well, I don't have a bad past.
Pastor Josh:I have a good past.
Pastor Josh:Look at all the things I used to do for the Lord.
Pastor Josh:And now, you know what?
Pastor Josh:I'm just going to rest in that now.
Pastor Josh:There's nothing wrong with looking back and saying, hey, look, this is what God has done.
Pastor Josh:But I would say when we look back to see what God has done, that's always to drive us forward, to do more for him.
Pastor Josh: God was with me back in: Pastor Josh:He'll be with me tomorrow.
Pastor Josh:God was with me in my struggles yesterday.
Pastor Josh:He will be with my struggles 20 days from now.
Pastor Josh:And I would tell you here this morning that God is going to be with you because the Bible gives us a promise that he will never leave us nor forsake us.
Pastor Josh:And so Ephesians chapter four tells us to put off the old man.
Pastor Josh:Put on.
Pastor Josh:Second Corinthians, chapter seven says, trust in the promises of God.
Pastor Josh:James chapter four says, for us to draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to us.
Pastor Josh:He will draw near to us.
Pastor Josh:And so actually, Second Corinthians, chapter seven, verse one is a continuation of chapter six.
Pastor Josh:God gives us a promise.
Pastor Josh:He gives us a challenge, and he gives us a promise.
Pastor Josh:The challenge is to separate ourselves from the ways of this world.
Pastor Josh:Separate yourselves from the worldly way of thinking.
Pastor Josh:Separate yourselves from your worldly association.
Pastor Josh:Separate yourselves from the worldly influence.
Pastor Josh:And when you do so, God will reward that.
Pastor Josh:God will give you the promise of a child of God.
Pastor Josh:And what does it mean to be a child of God?
Pastor Josh:It means that we're loved.
Pastor Josh:It means that we are protected.
Pastor Josh:It means that we are provided for.
Pastor Josh:And so the commandment to come from out of the world and be separate is coupled with a promise in the fact that he will receive us and that he will equip us if we confess our sins.
Pastor Josh:He's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Pastor Josh:And so there's this idea of cleansing that we see here in this passage.
Pastor Josh:And that cleansing comes from God, and that cleansing comes from the inside of the spirit.
Pastor Josh:And it's manifested in our flesh.
Pastor Josh:It's manifested in the way that we live our lives.
Pastor Josh:Our pride, our legalism, our self focus, our self righteousness, our bitterness.
Pastor Josh:And all of the hatred that could come along with that can be far worse to deal with than the obvious sins of the flesh.
Pastor Josh:You know, if someone came in this morning and they had this terrible sin that we could all see, it would be a lot easier to deal with that, right?
Pastor Josh:We could see it.
Pastor Josh:We could say, okay, let's deal with that.
Pastor Josh:We know how to deal with that.
Pastor Josh:But sometimes the most egregious sins are the ones that are hidden in the hearts of man, that none of us see the hidden sins.
Pastor Josh:And what we see here is that there is a complete cleansing that can happen not just on the outside, but also on the inside.
Pastor Josh:And so he says the result of that is that perfecting holiness, that maturity based in the fear of God, based in the truth of respecting Him.
Pastor Josh:And so most of the time, we're concerned with the holiness of others.
Pastor Josh:We're concerned with the life of others.
Pastor Josh:He says the first step is to inspect our own lives.
Pastor Josh:The first step is to say, where do I stand in these promises of God.
Pastor Josh:And so Paul even includes himself here.
Pastor Josh:He says, let us cleanse ourselves.
Pastor Josh:Paul is lumping himself into this group.
Pastor Josh:He's saying, I have not achieved this.
Pastor Josh:I have not reached this.
Pastor Josh:And we all have to realize that we have not reached this.
Pastor Josh:And so as we close here this morning, we often think of purity before the Lord in terms of putting on a front, checking off a box, being a certain way.
Pastor Josh:What I would say for us this morning is it's not just purity of action, it's purity of thought.
Pastor Josh:Jesus mentioned this, right?
Pastor Josh:Think about when Jesus is talking to those people there on the Sermon on the Mount.
Pastor Josh:He said, you know, you've been told that you shouldn't murder.
Pastor Josh:That is true.
Pastor Josh:But he said, also, when you hate your brother, you've already murdered him, right?
Pastor Josh:You've that.
Pastor Josh:That's murder in your heart.
Pastor Josh:He says, don't commit adultery.
Pastor Josh:That's good, don't commit adultery, but don't look after a woman with lust, because then you've committed in your heart.
Pastor Josh:So God is concerned about heart.
Pastor Josh:A lot of times people think, well, Jesus came to just weaken the law.
Pastor Josh:Actually, Jesus came to show how much deeper God is looking.
Pastor Josh:He's not just looking at our outside appearance, he's looking at our inside appearance.
Pastor Josh:And so the thesis of all this as we close this morning is this sanctification.
Pastor Josh:That progressive sanctification is not ultimately measured by what other people think about you and how they observe you.
Pastor Josh:True progressive sanctification happens in the heart, and it's an action change, and not just a speech change.
Pastor Josh:It's a heart change and not just a perception change from the world.
Pastor Josh:And so I would encourage you to think about where you stand in that process of sanctification.
Pastor Josh:Number one, have you been accepted into the family of God by way of submitting yourselves to him in faith?
Pastor Josh:Folks, there's a lot of people here today that have trusted in Jesus Christ as their Savior.
Pastor Josh:But you know what?
Pastor Josh:I don't know for sure if everyone has.
Pastor Josh:And you can't be on the path of progressive sanctification without being on that first step of positional sanctification.
Pastor Josh:If you're not in the family of God, you can't know the benefits.
Pastor Josh:Now, you saw that I didn't call up every other child in the house today.
Pastor Josh:First of all, I don't have that much money.
Pastor Josh:Second of all, they're not my children.
Pastor Josh:I don't have the authority to promise those blessings to them, right?
Pastor Josh:And so what happens is, is that God has the authority to do whatever he wants to do.
Pastor Josh:But what he does do is he gives those promises to those that are his children.
Pastor Josh:So these promises are not for everybody in this world.
Pastor Josh:He very clearly says that when you separate from the world, you then become the ones who are his children, his sons and daughters.
Pastor Josh:And he'll be a father unto us, a loving father, a personal father.
Pastor Josh:And so, first step, being in the family of God.
Pastor Josh:Second step is being a growing, maturing member in the family of God.
Pastor Josh:That's where I would venture to say that most of us are at right now.
Pastor Josh:Most of us in this room have trusted in Jesus Christ as our savior at some points.
Pastor Josh:But we are on that path of progressive sanctification.
Pastor Josh:It doesn't mean that we're getting saved more and more.
Pastor Josh:May I be clear about that?
Pastor Josh:Okay.
Pastor Josh:I'm not teaching about levels of salvation.
Pastor Josh:What I'm talking about is spiritual growth to become more and more like Christ.
Pastor Josh:You know, I know my wife probably as well as anybody else here or better.
Pastor Josh:But some of you might say, okay, I know Alicia.
Pastor Josh:You knowing Alicia is true.
Pastor Josh:You would know her, right?
Pastor Josh:Most of you.
Pastor Josh:Most of you say, maybe I don't know who she is.
Pastor Josh:That's okay.
Pastor Josh:But most of you would say, I know your wife.
Pastor Josh:And I would say, I know my wife.
Pastor Josh:Right?
Pastor Josh:Both statements are true.
Pastor Josh:But I think all of you would agree that I would know her in a better way, right?
Pastor Josh:I would know what she likes to eat.
Pastor Josh:I would know not to cook this for her.
Pastor Josh:I would know not to take her to this place.
Pastor Josh:Why?
Pastor Josh:Because I have been with her longer.
Pastor Josh:I've been in a more intimate relationship with her longer.
Pastor Josh:And so therefore, I know her in a greater way.
Pastor Josh:So there's a lot of people in this room that would say, I know Jesus, I know God.
Pastor Josh:And it's true, you do.
Pastor Josh:But what we want to do in our lives is to know him in a greater, more personal way.
Pastor Josh:And so what I would encourage you to do is think about where do I stand on that path?
Pastor Josh:Do I spend time with God because I have to?
Pastor Josh:Am I spending time with God because I'm afraid he's gonna strike me down?
Pastor Josh:Or am I spending God spending time with God because I want to, I desire this?
Pastor Josh:What if I just said, well, guys, I can't come out with you tonight.
Pastor Josh:I gotta spend time with my wife, gotta go out on a date with her.
Pastor Josh:I gotta take her out once in a while.
Pastor Josh:Folks, that's not.
Pastor Josh:If I'm doing that, I got a big issue, right?
Pastor Josh:I got a big issue with my love for my wife.
Pastor Josh:I'm trying to find every which way to spend time with her, right?
Pastor Josh:And so what I would say to you tonight or to this morning is this.
Pastor Josh:We have to inspect our lives to say, why?
Pastor Josh:Why?
Pastor Josh:Why have I lost my passion for Jesus?
Pastor Josh:Why have I lost my time alone with Him?
Pastor Josh:Why have I lost my passion to spend time in His Word and to tell other people about him and reason being?
Pastor Josh:And I'm going to boil it down to this.
Pastor Josh:What Paul said in chapter six, it's because our love for this world has had such a tight grip on us that it is holding us down from loving Him.
Pastor Josh:It's constricting us.
Pastor Josh:And that constriction of the love for this world does not allow us to love God.
Pastor Josh:We can't love both.
Pastor Josh:And so I would encourage you to relinquish your tight grip on this world.
Pastor Josh:I would encourage myself to relinquish my tight grip to this world and allow myself to see Jesus for who he is and what he has done.
Pastor Josh:And therefore we can then grow in our spiritual walk with Him.
Pastor Josh:I'm gonna ask everyone to stand with me.
Pastor Josh:Every head, about, every eye close.
Pastor Josh:As the music plays this morning, I'm gonna say to you that there is a time of response here, and the time of response is this.
Pastor Josh:It's not a.
Pastor Josh:It's not a complicated message, but the complication sometimes is putting this to practice.
Pastor Josh:Do I want a close relationship with Jesus Christ?
Pastor Josh:I hope you do this morning.
Pastor Josh:What is the promise?
Pastor Josh:If I draw near to God, he will draw near to me.
Pastor Josh:How many of us are clinging to this world so much, gripping this world so much that we're not able to draw near to God?
Pastor Josh:Question I would have for you this morning is, do you even want a close relationship with the Lord?
Pastor Josh:If you don't want that close relationship, what's going on?
Pastor Josh:Why?
Pastor Josh:Why is that no longer attractive to you?
Pastor Josh:But if that is attractive to you, this morning you say, I want that close relationship with the Lord.
Pastor Josh:I want to know him in a better way.
Pastor Josh:Are you willing to say, you know what, I'm going to take the initiative, I'm going to take the first step and say, I want to draw near to Him.
Pastor Josh:And drawing near to him is the most basic thing.
Pastor Josh:To spend time with him, to spend time in his word, to spend time in prayer, to spend time in the things that he cares about.
Pastor Josh:Folks, some of us just need to stop and be still and know that he is God and say, you know what?
Pastor Josh:I need to take More quality time with my Savior.
Pastor Josh:Some of us, our biggest struggle is our busyness.
Pastor Josh:We're distracted with the busyness of this world that we miss out on the times that we need to be with our Savior.
Pastor Josh:We miss out on those special moments.
Pastor Josh:Don't get so busy that you miss the opportunity to see him and to grow with him and to become more and more like him in your life.
Pastor Josh:Maybe it's a challenge just this morning to set aside some time in your day in which you say, this is my priority.
Pastor Josh:Time to put Christ first.
Pastor Josh:To put him first.
Pastor Josh:This world has so much to throw at us.
Pastor Josh:The Bible says, hey, we need to put that off and put on the new man, put on the new way of thinking, put on that transformed lifestyle, put on that new focus.
Pastor Josh:Maybe some of us need to start that here today.
Pastor Josh:Maybe some of us just need to have that revived in our hearts.
Pastor Josh:The beauty is that first John, chapter one, verse nine says, if we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Pastor Josh:He's tenderhearted, he's waiting for you.
Pastor Josh:May we be those that are seeking after him, humbly submitting before him.
Pastor Josh:Lord, I pray that you'd be in this time of invitation, working hearts and lives.
Pastor Josh:I pray that you convict our hearts, Lord, if we don't know you as Savior.
Pastor Josh:I pray that there could be someone here today that could come and to take the word of God and to see what it means to know you in salvation.
Pastor Josh:Have that positional sanctification.
Pastor Josh:But Lord, many of us, most of us probably this morning, we've trusted in you.
Pastor Josh:But man, we have gotten our eyes off of you.
Pastor Josh:Lord, help us to keep our eyes fixed on you, to have that renewed passion, that renewed desire to walk with you in a more personal way, to grow in our knowledge and our love of you.
Pastor Josh:Lord, help us to cleanse our flesh and our spirit.
Pastor Josh:Lord, we thank you.
Pastor Josh:In Jesus name, Amen.
Pastor Josh:As the music plays, follow as the Lord leads here this morning.
Pastor Josh:Thank you again for listening to the Middletown Baptist Church podcast.
Pastor Josh:I hope that this sermon has been a blessing for you.
Pastor Josh:If you would like to find out more information about our church or this sermon, you can find us at middletownbaptistchurch.org or find us on Facebook or YouTube.
Pastor Josh:You can also email me directly at joshmasaro at middletownbaptistchurch.
Pastor Josh:Com.
Pastor Josh:If you've enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe and follow along for future podcast and updates.
Pastor Josh:Thank you so much.
Pastor Josh:God Bless.
Pastor Josh:Have a wonderful day.
