TEXT: John 17:16-19
16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
18 As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.
19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.
We are in a series of messages titled “Praying Through the Bible: A Series on Every Passage and Verse Regarding Prayer in the Bible.” The purpose of this series is to encourage and motivate you to pray to the God of the Bible. We highlighted each of these over 500 verses and passages in the Prayer Motivator Devotional Bible. So far, we have completed 194 messages in this series.
This is message #195 titled, The Profound Prayer that Jesus Prayed, Part 11
As Jesus continues His prayer for His disciples — and, by extension, all believers — He asks God to take those whom He has trained and sanctify them. “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” The word “sanctify” means to set apart unto God for special use. Richard Trench said, “The word ‘hagios’ (rendered ‘sanctify,’ ‘hallow,’ or ‘consecrate’) means devote to God — whether it be things, or sacrificial animals, or men for His service.”
It is important that Jesus prayed for God to sanctify the disciples because it lets us know that God is the one who sanctifies or sets apart. We do not sanctify ourselves for God’s use. God takes us, sets us apart, and makes us ready and worthy to be used by Him. Like the process of preservation, it is God who is the active agent — not us. The truth is, if we were left to sanctify ourselves, we would not make it.
But, how does God sanctify us? Jesus prayed, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” God uses the truth of His revealed Word to sanctify us, hallow us, and consecrate us for His use. This takes place in two ways.
The first way is through the revelation of Jesus Christ who is ‘the Way, the Truth, and the Life.’ He is also the Word of God made flesh. Knowing Jesus Christ, as the disciples knew Him and as we know Him through salvation, is the first step in being sanctified. When we accepted Christ as our Savior, His Spirit came to live inside of us. Little by little, He is revealing more of Himself to us. As we get to know Him better, He intends for us to become more like Him. Second Corinthians 3:18 says, “We all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
The sanctified life is a life that is progressively becoming more and more like Jesus Christ. As C.S. Lewis wrote, “The command, ‘Be ye perfect,’ is not idealistic nonsense. Nor is it a command to do the impossible. [God] is going to make us into creatures that can obey that command… and He is going to make good His words. If we let Him — for we can prevent Him, if we choose — He will make the feeblest and filthiest of us into a dazzling, radiant, immortal creature, pulsating all through with such energy and joy and wisdom and love as we cannot now imagine, a bright stainless mirror which reflects back to God perfectly (though, of course, on a smaller scale) His own boundless power and delight and goodness. The process will be long and in parts very painful, but that is what we are in for. Nothing less. He meant what He said.”
The disciples, having met Jesus Christ and worked with Him for three years, were already on the path to sanctification. Jesus had shown them what it meant to serve God and serve others in a self-sacrificial way. This was something they would continue doing throughout their lives and ministries for the rest of their time on Earth.
We ought to be concerned about our own sanctification as well. While the process of sanctification is in God’s hands and is the work of the Spirit of Christ in our lives, our prayer ought to be that we might be made holy as He is holy and made fit for His use.
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Now, if you are with us today, and you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour, your first prayer needs to be what we call the Sinner’s Prayer. First, please understand that you are a sinner, just as I am, and that you have broken God’s laws. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”
Second, accept the fact that there is a penalty for sin. The Bible states in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death…”
Third, accept the fact that you are on the road to hell. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 10:28: “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Also, the Bible states in Revelation 21:8: “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”
Now this is bad news, but here’s the good news. Jesus Christ said in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Just believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead by the power of God for you so that you can live eternally with Him. Pray and ask Him to come into your heart today, and He will.
Romans 10:9 & 13 says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved… For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
If you believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead, and you want to trust Him for your salvation today, please pray with me this simple prayer: Holy Father God, I realize that I am a sinner and that I have done some bad things in my life. For Jesus Christ sake, please forgive me of my sins. I now believe with all of my heart that Jesus Christ died for me, was buried, and rose again. Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and save my soul and change my life today. Amen.
If you just trusted Jesus Christ as your Saviour, and you prayed that prayer and meant it from your heart, I declare to you that based upon the Word of God, you are now saved from Hell and you are on your way to Heaven. Welcome to the family of God! Congratulations on trusting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour. You have done the most important thing in life. For more information to help you grow in your newfound faith in Christ, go to Gospel Light Society.com and read “What To Do After You Enter Through the Door”. Jesus Christ said in John 10:9, “I am the door, by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”
God loves you. We love you. And may God bless you.
Gospel Light House of Prayer International 