We understand from scriptures that every child of God is ordained to live a sanctified (holy) life. This is because every believer by redemption has the potential to be as holy and perfect as our heavenly Father. Remember, God cannot tell us to be what he has not empowered us to be. This is why the Scripture admonishes us to be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:48).
Sanctification is man's quest to please God at all costs as a lifestyle, insatiable hunger and thirst for righteousness. While sanctification does not connote a state of "sinlessness", it is man's quest to please God at all costs as a lifestyle. By this, we mean an insatiable hunger and thirst for righteousness; for blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness; they shall be filled (Matthew 5:6). This makes sanctification a possible adventure that many have imbibed and are walking on the highway of holiness. For instance, we saw how Paul, the great, lived a sanctified life, and as such, he had a glorious ministry.
In essence, our desire to please God spiritually at all times determines our level of glorification; as no one's life will ever be more glorified than his or her commitment to be sanctified.
However, sanctification is not possible without engaging the ministry of the Holy Spirit. That means when you try to live a sanctified life in the energy of the flesh, frustration sets in. This is because the Holy Ghost is the Spirit of holiness as described in
Romans 1:4: … declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.
Thus, until we engage the Spirit in our quest for sanctification, our effort will be in vain. We saw how Jesus the Son of God needed to depend on the Holy Spirit to live a sanctified life. In order words, that was the Spirit at work in Christ that empowered him for dominion over sin.
Furthermore, the Scripture describes the Holy Ghost as the refiners' fire that purifies the sons of Levites so they can offer unto God offerings in righteousness. It is written: And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness (Malachi 3:5).
It is common knowledge that gold is precious but until it passes through the furnace, it holds no value. Likewise, every one of us carries an enviable destiny, which must be processed through the refinery of the Holy Ghost for our real values to manifest.
There is no personal effort that can set a man free from sin; except through the Spirit (Romans 8:13). In addition, according to scriptures, there is the mystery of iniquity; nevertheless, there is also the great mystery of godliness which can swallow the mystery of iniquity just like in the case of Aaron's rod swallowing up the rods of the magicians (2 Thessalonians 2:7; 1 Timothy 3:16). However, it is important to recognise that the mystery of godliness lies in the ministry of the Holy Ghost. There is no personal effort that can set a man free from sin; except through the Spirit (Romans 8:13).
A wise man once said, «When the purpose of a thing is not known, abuse is inevitable». It also means, if we don’t know why we need something, we may never be committed to it. This is why we need a better understanding of why we need sanctification to avoid being victims of sin and its evil vices.
WHY DO WE NEED SANCTIFICATION? 1- Sanctification is a requirement for Answered Prayers. The Scriptures lays credence to the fact that without sanctification, our prayers will remain unanswered. It is written:
If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me… (Psalm 66:18).
2- Sanctification is a requirement for new levels of Anointing. Our enviable destinies require new levels of Anointing; but we cannot achieve this if we keep living in sin (Psalm 45:7; Luke 5:39; Proverbs 1:23).
3- Sanctification is a requirement to Secure Destiny. Many great destinies in scriptures crashed for lack of sanctification. Among others is Achan, who saw a wedge of gold, coveted it, dug the ground and kept it there. That did not only end his destiny but his entire family were stoned to death (Joshua 5:19:25). We saw another great destiny by the name of Gehazi who was the heir apparent of the prophetic office of Elijah but his destiny crashed because of the love of money. Also, Judas, one of the twelve disciples was not left out as he sold his master for 30 pieces of silver, after which he hanged himself (Mathew 26:14-26; 27:3-5). It is regrettable that many will do anything to get money, and this has landed them in miserable and irrecoverable conditions. As regards the lust of the flesh, Samson and Solomon, who had great destinies, crashed as a result of lust (Judges 16:1-2; 1 Kings 11:1-3).
Watch out for pride! In addition, pride is a sin before God and as such, we cannot fulfil destiny with it. We saw the great destiny of Ahithophel, crashed to pride because his counsel was rejected; as a result, he hanged himself. Likewise, Herod and Nebuchadnezzar destinies crashed as a result of pride. No truly sanctified man walks in pride because the anointing of the Holy Ghost naturally destroys it. However, today, by the encounter of the Holy Ghost, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life will be destroyed and that will open up your destiny to a colourful fulfilment.
Are you born again? Nevertheless, are you born again? If you are not, this is an opportunity to do so. Simply say the following prayer:
Lord Jesus, I come to You today. I am a sinner. Forgive me my sins. Cleanse me with Your precious Blood. Today, I accept You as my Lord and personal Saviour. Thank You Jesus for saving me! Now I know I am born again!
For further reading, please get my books: Anointing for Breakthrough, Understanding the Anointing, Anointing for Exploits, Release of Power.
Related Topics : David Oyedepo, Sanctification, Pride, Prayer,
