Knowing and Growing – Sanctified - what is that process?
Vern Peterman · Aug 6, 2017
Knowing & Growing, No. 30
Holly Hills Bible Church
https://hollyhillsbiblechurch.org/teaching/messages/492664145481

Transcribed from the recording by SermonAudio, so expect the occasional misheard word.

So the pattern that we have had here for some months is to look at being conformed, that process being conformed into the image of Christ, and next being transformed into the image of Christ. We talked about growing and maturity, and looked at that. And then now, today, we're going to start New Testament calls sanctified. And that also is another process the New Testament talks about. And in each one of these, the pattern that we've been following is to look at first, what is this word? What does it mean? And then next to look at God's part, and then following that to look at our part in that. So that's what we'll do with this as well. So to sanctify means to be set apart for a holy purpose. Is that an adequate definition? Probably has more meaning than that. Okay.

I think that's one thing as we look at definitions of key Bible words, settling for the short definition and letting that be all that there is, is a problem. So it all depends on also what holy means? Yes, and so getting a full and well-rounded understanding of what each word means and exploring how the Bible uses those words. And by the way, does the word get changed from the Old Testament and the Gospels into the Book of Acts and the rest of the New Testament?

And that's true in a number of cases. One of them we're looking at, we'll see it in the book of Acts, is the word disciple. And the simple definition that comes out of what the word means is a learner. That is never an adequate definition anywhere in the Bible. So when we look at sanctified, that's one of the reasons we don't just say, okay sanctified means this, next.

We want to spend a whole Sunday looking at what does this mean and what does the Bible have to say about it. The Greek words that are translated holy and sanctify and its related words And saints, which is a word we'll see in the main service here, in their various forms are all related words in the Greek. So they have different English translations, but in the Greek they're all a family of words. Can you think of a family of words in English? Words that are all connected? Let me just pick an easy one. Clean. What are some related words to clean? Spotless. Spotless, okay. Are there other related words to clean?

And by the way, is that an adjective describing things or is it a verb describing an action? Yes. Yes, the answer is yes, right? And so, for example, we could look at the pews and we could say, well, are the pews clean? Right? So that would be a description of them. If someone comes in, I'm going to come in and clean the pews. then that's an action, right?

So it's the same word, but it's got both a verb and a noun form, and there are a lot of things that have that. And we've even got some that have shown up in recent times due to technology. Did you receive a fax? Please fax this document. And that's short for what? facsimile right so so we have we develop families of words and even as time marches on we develop more so this this word is similar if I say clean I have both the verb and the noun I have other things like cleanse right so that's related cleaning Has it been cleaned? And so there's a whole family of words that goes along with that. So anyway, this word sanctify in the Greek actually has in the family of words holy, sanctify, and saints are all related words. So here are some passages that include One of the reasons we bring this up is John 17. John 17, what's the context there in John 17? In John 17, Jesus is praying, probably there in the Garden of Gethsemane. It appears to be the location, praying in the Garden of Gethsemane.

He prays for himself. He prays for these disciples. Boy, they need a lot of prayer, don't they? And He prays for us. And so here, what we see in John 17, But now I, that is Jesus, come to you, the Father, and these things I speak in the world, so that they may have my joy made full in themselves. I have given them your word. So who's they and them? Who is he praying for at this point? So these are the disciples. I have given them your word. Who is your? The Father's word.

And the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. There's another one. John 3.16 says, for God so loved the world. Is that the same definition? It could be. But in this context, he says the world hates them. Is that the same as for God so loved the world?

Yes, it's the world. The world is the system. Okay, so you have the world system. Did Christ die for the world system? No. So what you have is, again, careful attention to the meanings of the words in the context is key here. So this is the world system that he's referring to, isn't it? So verse 15, I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but keep them from the evil one. Who's the evil one? Satan. And they are not They, the disciples, are not of the world, the world system, even as I am not of the world system.

Then his prayer, that's the focus of what we're looking at here, sanctify them in the truth. Your word is truth. So first he says sanctify, can we put in there, have them be set apart for a holy purpose. the definition that we have at the top. Does that fit? Right? And so he actually prays for that for them. And how does that happen? Sanctifying because I sprinkle water on you. Because we walk into a church building. How does it happen? What does it say there in verse 17? Ah! Sanctify them in the truth and your word is Truth. Let's ask this question.

At this point in time, what does the Word consist of? At the point Jesus is praying this, it's all the Old Testament. None of the New Testament have been written at this point in time. When the New Testament is written, does that get included in this? Yes. The answer is yes, because we have the Old and the New Testaments both included in your Word.

So this verse is referring to an ongoing process of being sanctified, set apart for a holy purpose. So he's praying for them about this process, for them. The instrument that sanctifies is the Word of God. At that time Jesus spoke this, referred to what we now call the Old Testament. So here, your word has now come to mean, in our time, the entire Bible, what we have come to call the Old and New Testaments.

By the way, if you were talking to Peter on the day of Pentecost, and you talked about the Old Testament, would he know what you meant? No, right? So these are terms that we use After the fact, these were not terms that were even used in the early part of Acts. If you said, hey Peter, what you said was out of the Old Testament, he'd probably look at you and say, what? There wasn't any such understanding.

It's a term that we use now. Okay, so 1 Corinthians 1-2, to the church of God which is at Corinth and to those who have been sanctified, perfect tense, a completed past action with ongoing results into the future, implying permanence, in Christ Jesus, saints, remember we said sanctified and saints are related words, saints by calling, with all who in every place call in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours. So, how is this church of Corinth doing that he's writing to here? How are they doing? As you start reading through the book of 1 Corinthians, which by the way is actually the second letter that he wrote to them, as you read through 1 Corinthians, you get the picture that this church is really messed up. I mean, they've got lots and lots of problems. Really big problems. It's not lots of little problems. Really, really big problems. What are some of the examples of big problems that they've got? Sexual immorality.

And you said? Gluttony at the Lord's Supper. Gluttony at the Lord's Supper. As a matter of fact, their behavior and attitude and spiritual standing at the Lord's Supper is so bad that some of them are getting sick and what else? Even dying is that bad.

And that's just one thing. Right? The sexual immorality problem is a biggie and He brings up in chapter 5, here is this guy who is sleeping with his stepmother, and everybody in the church thinks that's great. And those are just picking some examples. In chapter 3, he says, you guys are fleshless. He doesn't mince any words, he says, you guys are fleshless. Starts chapter 4, you guys need to understand that we're stewards of the mysteries of God. God has given us this message and this authority. You guys need to get it. So they've got lots of issues. Stan? Also in their worship was a misunderstanding and abuse of spiritual gifts. You see that today in so many places.

Yes, and it's one we address from time to time as we go through the book of Acts, because the misunderstanding of what Acts is saying is itself a part of the problem. What is Acts saying? And people misunderstanding that then try to say, okay, what happened right here, that's now the norm. No, it isn't. You can't determine a norm or what's normal from the book of Acts, which is constantly in transition. We'll see that continually as we go through the book of Acts, all the way into chapter 19.

Okay, so they got lots of problems. How is it that he can write to this church? He knows. He's got piles and piles of really big problems to talk to them about. By the way, you guys are suing each other, you know, and taking it before pagan courts to get your lawsuits between believers settled. And it goes on and on and on about the different problems that they have. How is it that he can say you've been sanctified?

And by the way, the perfect tense doesn't show up that commonly in the New Testament. And the reason is it's for something that is completely and totally done. And in most contexts, it implies permanence. I have been crucified with Christ. Perfect tense. And it's not, you know, you have been crucified with Christ and it has an effect for the next five minutes. It has permanent impact.

So this is those who have been sanctified. So how can you write that about this messed up bunch of people? By the way, in chapter 15, what's that? God did it and it's a fact. God did it and it's a fact. In chapter 15, some of them are giving up on the belief in the resurrection.

Which by the way, that's what the Greeks in their normal culture taught. So they're getting influenced by the world, that's the bottom line. So does he say, well you guys, because you've lost belief in the resurrection, you're not sanctified anymore.

That's something he doesn't tell them that. Before talking about any of his problems, he says, you guys have been sanctified, perfect tense, completed past action, and no exceptions. I mean, that's almost shocking. You guys have been, and it's related to the words saints and holy. You guys are saints by calling. Holy ones. By the way, what does the word holy mean besides the condition of my socks? Holy, related to this sanctified, means set apart for a specific and righteous purpose. And that also, the flip side of that, means absolutely, totally, spotless, free from sin, right, in the biblical context. So how can you tell them that you guys have been sanctified? When, by the way, we already know from what Jesus said, John 17, that sanctification is a process. Is the Bible mixed up, or what's going on here? Yes?

Vernon, would you say that the word blameless in the Old Testament, like Job being blameless, would be similar to holy? Yeah, the word blameless is used in both the Old and New Testament, and it means one against whom a charge cannot be made. And it has, Blameless has to do largely with things against people versus other people.

So the handle that we're using is we're saying this is their position, and this is why the Apostle Paul, he doesn't just sprinkle out a bunch of perfect tense words. As a matter of fact, even going through the book of Acts, Dr. Luke doesn't sprinkle out a bunch of perfect tense words. So when they're used, they're chosen specifically for a special purpose and reason. They're not just sort of accidentally or casually thrown out there.

Yes? Along with that comment, could you say that in 1 John, that he's dealing with both the position and the condition? Yes. When he's talking, and what is it, 1-9 and 1-7? Yeah, John is dealing with condition and position, and he goes back and forth, and people understanding that is critical. And it's important for us to understand it here. Here he's writing to a church, he's going to go chapters and chapters and chapters and chapters. And when he gets to chapter 12, he's not done.

Chapters and chapters and chapters and chapters are really, really, really big problems. Big enough that people are dying. I mean, really big. Big enough that some of them, if they're not believing in the resurrection, are not able to convey the gospel, even though they're saved. They've lost belief in that one thing, and now they've got a problem. They can't present the gospel as it is. So these guys have big problems, He's telling them, you guys are already in your position completely sanctified. Done deal. That's not an issue. Then he's going to talk about all their issues. But he starts with telling them what their position is.

And really Paul doesn't every time do that, but he often does it. Here's the book of Ephesians. He's going to go from the first chapter on into the middle of chapter 4, telling them who they are in Christ and who Christ is in them. And then in the middle of chapter 4, he's going to say, OK, now let's talk about your stealing and lying problem. So he's not saying that their problems are not an issue.

They are. But he says, you guys first need to understand who you are. But in chapter 1 of 1 Corinthians, he's going to say, by God's doing, you are in Christ Jesus. you who have moral problems, you who have spiritual problems, you who have belief problems, right? You have problems out there in society and problems within the church and you've got problems on your problems, right? But you're sanctified in your position.

Here's 1 Corinthians 6.11. where he talks about them, and he says to them at 611, towards the bottom of page 1, such were some of you, and he had just given them a list of ten things that were common problems among them. Ten things that were common problems. And by the way, in that context he uses both the male role and female role in homosexuality. Such were some of you. Big problems. Common problems.

Such were some of you, but you were washed, you were sanctified, and you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Spirit of our God. By the way, what's justified mean? Declared righteous. Okay, is that an adequate definition? It's an adequate, simple definition. Yeah, it is what it means literally, but it is an inadequate definition by itself. So even that, we would have to look at it. And justified includes being redeemed and being forgiven.

Ephesians 1.7, Colossians 1.14, and Romans 3.24-26.

How is it that he can say that about the whole church instead of individuals? I always thought that was kind of interesting that he comes in there and does his thing. And then once the whole church becomes saved, right? How does that work? That's a very good question. When you're saying that, are you thinking that he doesn't know everybody? No. How can you say this about the church? For the entire church. And here's a for instance.

1 Corinthians chapter 15 verses 3 and 4 gives the fundamentals of the gospel to be believed. You believed that Christ, the Son of God, died for your sins, was buried and rose again. He says, and so you believed and so you were saved. And he could say that about them, even knowing that later on in the chapter some of them were kind of falling off in the belief in the resurrection. You at one time believed it and so you were saved.

Temporarily? Provisionally? Saved as long as you do X, Y, and Z? No, just saved. Just saved, that's it. So you believed and were saved, even though you guys have a long list of moral problems, you guys have a long list of spiritual problems, and some of you are even falling off on the resurrection, which you once believed and now are deciding you're not so sure. But you said you're still saved.

So is that similar to when they say that the head of the household is saved and all their household? This would be like in Acts chapter 16 with the Philippian jailer. And so what he's saying is believe, and the same believe, and you'll be saved applies to the rest of your household. So they have to believe. His belief doesn't suddenly make the rest of them saved, but the offer of the gospel to be believed applies to all of them.

So here, but what you see is you are washed, you are sanctified, you are justified, which includes being redeemed and forgiven, right? Declared righteous, yes, but that's the quick definition, it's not the complete definition. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the spirit of our God.

So what happened, does this mean that none of them have any ongoing problem with any of the things that he's described? No. It does not mean that they don't have an ongoing problem. This all applies to their position. This applies to their position. You were washed positionally, you were sanctified positionally, you were justified positionally, based on having been redeemed and forgiven, and so that applies to their position. It does not mean that they don't have any more problems at all.

But in their position, what he wrote was true. Okay, so let's take a look here. I'm going to look at page 2. There's 1 Thessalonians 5, 23 and 24. And this is expanded and explained, so that puts a little bit more meaning into it than just what you'll find, for example, in the American Standard.

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely, and may the spirit and the soul and the body of you be holy whole, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, may you be kept. Faithful is the one who calls you, and he also will do it. So does it depend upon him or me? Him. That's what he's saying here. Now, why is he praying here that may the God of peace sanctify you entirely? Why is he praying that here? Doesn't he believe it's already been done? Does Paul believe that the believers have been sanctified, positionally. Done deal. Right? Does Paul also believe that there is a process of being sanctified? So why praise? If I'm already in my position sanctified, what is there to concern myself with? Why do I even have to praise such a thing?

Well, when he says entirely, that means in their position and condition. In other words, he is praying their position into their condition and looking forward to that future time when God's going to make our position and our condition the same. When we go to be with the Lord and see Him face to face, will we be struggling with trusting the Lord? Here's a group of believers, they're kind of in the corner of heaven, and they're really struggling. And one guy is really struggling with anger, and another guy is really wrestling with overeating, and another guy is really wrestling with drinking too much.

Is that going to happen? No. Not happening. Why? What's that? We're there and so what he's praying for is he's praying for this process to go to completion, which it will, right? But along the way, right? And so that's really what's at issue, is our condition. Right? Yes?

Would that kind of apply to us, that we continue to pray and to learn what we're sanctified or we're saved, but that doesn't mean, that's not where it stops. Okay. That we continue to pray and continue to learn and continue to get more knowledge, and help ourselves.

Peter is a prime example. He was an apostle. Jesus prayed for him. He was dealing with this probably throughout his entire life. It was a conditional thing for Peter, and yet he gave that great sermon, and God brought three or five thousand people. So let's think about this, and it certainly applies to Peter. Am I, as a believer, going to mess up my position? Am I going to blow it so bad that the Lord is going to come to me and say, Vern, you know, you just really messed up royal here.

You just really blew it. And I'm sorry, your eternity is completely messed over now. We're not sure what to do with you. Well, I'm going to re-sit in your position. Yeah, you just lost half of it. All those unfathomable riches in Christ, we just scratched off half of them.

Is that going to happen? No. So, that's not happening. Let's look at the other end of it. Am I going to walk into heaven and continue to wrestle with things that I struggle with here? Yeah, so let me ask this question. Does what happens from the time we believed when we gained our position that we can't mess up, to the time when we walk through heaven's gates and see the Lord face to face, does that matter? Yes. It does. Why? Why does it matter? We're here for a purpose. To let the Holy Spirit do God's work through us.

You think about it, why doesn't God just say, okay, you're a believer now, I'm taking you home. And you look down and there's somebody died and you say, oh, he must have become a believer. Yeah, you really don't want to believe in Christ or you'll be out of here, right? No, that's not the way it works, is it? So what's the deal? Why is it that between our position, which all comes about the moment we believe, and going home to be with the Lord, whether that happens one way or the other, I hope it's today, bringing us all home, but why is it that it matters in between?

I think if we grow in the Lord, now I can't back this up with scripture, but I tend to believe that it has something to do with our effectiveness or our abilities to do things for Him in heaven. Yeah, so let's think this through. Why doesn't God just say, okay, you believe, that's it, that's great, I'm bringing you home right now. Why doesn't God just do that?

Because there's a lot more people that are influenced by us. So one thing, He's not done with what He has in mind for us here. His purpose for us is to be conformed to His will. Yes, that's what he's aiming for. So one of the things we've been looking at here for several months is these processes do matter. That's why he doesn't just say, okay, you believe, you're coming home. These processes do matter.

Let's say, here we are learning about these processes and we learned about what being conformed is, what being transformed is, what growing and maturing are, we started looking at being sanctified. And let's ask this question, if we didn't have our position, would any of those even be possible? No. So what's happening is, Our condition, moment by moment, and the processes happening over time are all based on our having a position. What happens if we don't understand our position? It takes longer to grow. Yeah, what happens is growing and being sanctified. And knowing Him more. Yes, and so what's going on here is God has very intentional processes in place.

Everything in all these processes are all based on our position. Our condition and these processes are all entirely dependent upon our position. And none of it would make any sense. if we didn't have the position that we have in Christ. Which is why here at Holy Hills we talk about those things, right? Because knowing and understanding those things is how these processes can take place. Understanding even this, that I'm already completely sanctified in my position. I'm spending the rest of my life here growing into what God's already done.

You know what's puzzling to me is I know somebody who is what was saved at, I don't know, an early age and it's like their growth has stopped. They look at Christ as fire insurance. Their growth has either stopped or regressed, and they are not growing. That to me is just, why does God allow that? Hold on to that thought because it's very important. Stan?

We're talking about the here and now, but also Paul talks about the angels observing all this stuff that's going on as well. So this is all part of the greater picture, the fact that they don't know and they are learning about the love and the grace of God. And that's pretty phenomenal. I would imagine they were all really shocked when Christ went to the cross and died and said, wow. We can have this idea that angels all know everything. Not necessarily.

Ephesians 3.10 says that the angels are learning. God says, look at my church saints. That's how you're going to learn more about me. Isn't that amazing? Here they are with the Lord, and the Lord says, you're going to learn about me by looking at these people. So you're angel college. Right? Yes. He looks at the work. that the Holy Spirit is doing in and through us and that's what teaches them. They're not looking for us. And we cannot teach them as people, I don't think. It's the Holy Spirit. David, did you have a question? Did you have a question or a comment? By now you've forgotten it, right? Too many hands up at once. So let's go back to your question, Jim.

Why does God allow this? Here are the believers in Corinth. They've got oodles and oodles of problems. But Paul almost doesn't have enough papyrus, doesn't have enough ink to deal with all their problems. And what we have is actually 2nd Corinthians and 4th Corinthians. The first one and the third one we don't have, but we have reference to them. So we have two of those books. These people have piles and oodles and gobs and loads and loads of problems. Chapter 3 says you guys are fleshless.

Primarily, they also didn't know who to follow, whether it was Paul, or Apollo, or... I mean, even on their earthly condition. So how would they know who to follow spiritually if they don't get it conditioned? Yeah, you guys, some follow this, and some follow that, and I follow this guy, and I follow that one, and yeah. Let's look also at Hebrews. That is the most encompassing accusation in the whole. running into is these intense warnings. So these people have some really big problems and they're not the only ones. How about the Galatians? You've fallen from grace, right? Who has bewitched you?

So some really intense warnings. Why does God allow that? Why doesn't God just say, well, you guys are really messing up. I'm just going to wipe you guys out and, you know, we'll let somebody else pull this off because you guys obviously aren't doing it. Yeah. Yeah. So, so then let's ask another question.

Does God always let everyone Just keep on going as they're messing up. Now, sometimes He will even take an eternally saved believer home. Even take an eternally saved believer home. Paul wrote in the first chapter, you guys are sanctified, perfect tense. Completed past action, ongoing results on to the future. For some of you are dying. So things can get really, really, really bad. Ever know a Christian who just really falls off? It seems like they keep falling off, right? But you know, one time they were saved. Ever see that?

Why doesn't God just take them all home? Why doesn't He just say, well, you guys, you all need to be on a growth path, or I'm just going to take you out. Why doesn't God just do that? Why does he allow believers to get as far off track as they do at times? Or I could even say commonly. Why does God allow that?

I'm waiting for you. What? You want me to answer the question? So think about this. Here's the Corinthians. I mean, God has taken some of them home. We know that from chapter 11, right? Has He taken home all of them that have problems? No. Of course, He decides these things, but one of the things we find in 1 Corinthians chapter 5, here is the guy who is sleeping with his mother-in-law, and everybody at court thinks it's pretty cool.

They're real tolerant of that. In 2nd Corinthians, he says, it's time you accept this guy back into the fold. One reason is simply because he is giving opportunity for people to respond. If it were up to me, If someone were to say, okay Vern, I'm giving you for the next 10 years, I'm giving you the opportunity to decide who from Holly Hills goes home right away, and who gets to stick around. I might make an entirely different decision.

But God knows, for example, what's going to be that person's future path. Yes. And that's similar to simian. Here's here's simian. Right. Which we say simian. Wasn't it Simeon with his mother-in-law? I think it was her. I thought it was. But anyway, one of the tribe was, and he wasn't taken out. He continued to, his tribe continued to... Oh, you're talking about the tribal situation, yeah.

And that becomes a different issue, but within the body of Christ, among those who are Christians, You know, you have situations where, boy, if any of us were given the decision, we might just take somebody out a whole lot sooner and just say, hey, you know, you're done here. And yet the Lord allows them, and someone else will go home early, and you say, well, why'd the Lord do that? Keith Green, the Christian musician, pardon?

Early is our opinion. And when the person is so worthless, they should just go on. That's our opinion and perspective. We don't know who is going to be impacted by what. We don't know who is going to get turned around at some point. The Lord continues to provide some people opportunities. So we have this process of being sanctified. In our position, it's all done. Even the guy who's going around blowing it.

In our position, it's all done. And when we walk through heaven's gates, we're not going to be dealing with it. And by the way, once we walk through heaven's gates, what will have mattered in the past? Nothing. Nothing will happen so far as our being eternally saved.

Is there an impact on our eternity? We have crowns and rewards which will have an eternal impact, and from what we see in particularly the heavenly scenes in Revelation, those appear to be a capacity to glorify the Lord for eternity. So all of us will glorify the Lord for eternity with all of our capacity, but not all of us will have the same capacity. So what we learn here on earth and what we grow and know about our Lord Jesus Christ will influence our effectiveness to glorify him there in heaven?

Well, it will influence our effectiveness here Here's Paul, we talked about, he writes to these believers, and you guys were washed, and you did this and this and this and this and this, and such were some of you. You were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified. And then he goes on to tell them, you're not your own, you're bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body. Now, right? Yes? So doesn't that have to do with the continuing person? Yes. Because that's the other thing. In who I am in Christ, there is nothing to be fixed. In who I am in Christ, there is no deficiency. In who He is in me, there is no deficiency. The new man is therefore all of who we are in Christ. All. Yes, Marlon.

Our focus was on our growth to the end product of increasing our eternal capacity. Would that be another way of having a goal that is more driven? Yeah, so we're getting towards the end, but you bring up a very important question. focused on rewards. So why are we told about them? Why are we told about them? Because we have five crowns identified in the New Testament, and several rewards, and I get the sense from reading the New Testament that those may not be all. So why tell us about them if those things are not to be our focus? Like Paul said, he ran the race and he's finishing great. It's a motivational thing. So let's look at this.

As we look at 2 Corinthians 3.18, I am transformed as I behold the Lord through his word. Am I transformed as I behold my crown through his word? No. And so what happens, here's the amazing thing.

You want crowns and rewards? Don't look at them. It's fine for you to know about them, but that's not what we behold. If we have the selfish motivation, I'm going to go after that crown, or going to go after that reward, is that rewardable? No. So one of the crowns is a rapture lover's crown. It is a crown for looking for his coming. If I look for the crown instead of His coming, do I get the crown? No. So that's the amazing thing about crowns and rewards. If you look to those, you won't get them. Isn't that amazing? If we look to crowns and rewards and that's our end deal, you won't get any.

Yes. Well, the new nature is basically based on facts, right? Yeah, it's primarily founded on facts. Facts are spiritually revealed in God's Word. So, if you're looking at rewards, and if you're in the sin nature, you would do it for your own personal benefit and pride. But, if you look at it in the new nature, it's a statement of fact. It's a statement of fact, and actually I would put it this way, in the sin nature is happy to have distortions and half-truths and diversions and distractions.

Sin nature is good at that. As a matter of fact, let's put it this way, is the Holy Spirit going to be drawing you towards the rewards as primary? No. is, are we going to be transformed as we behold the crown? No. So, we're told about them, why? To keep our eyes on the Lord, not to go after the crowns and rewards. And that's an important distinction. The crowns and rewards are an incentive, but they're an incentive to look to Christ, not the crowns and rewards.

One way I can put it real simply, you know, in high school I ran track events that I probably couldn't even run now, but anyway, in high school I ran track events, right? And so what was I doing? I would run those events and then I'd get an award if I did well in the event. What if I just ran for the award? I mean, get out there and I'm running towards the award. Yeah, I'm not even going to complete the race because I just ran over to the judges table and picked up my award, right? And the judges are going to say, sorry, you don't get this, right?

If you don't finish the race. Yes, you've got to finish the race. And so one of the things that they would do, one of the things they would do in biblical times, and Paul makes the focus, is they would have a marker at the finish line, and the runners would keep their eye on that marker. And that's what the Apostle Paul's talking about.

We don't get rewards by seeking rewards directly. We run the race that God has set before us, which comes by beholding Christ, and not by saying, man, I'm going to get five crowns, and isn't that cool? And you don't have five crowns, I've got five crowns, isn't that great? And I'd be better than you. And God's going to say, you don't get any burn.

We don't get any crowns or rewards by aiming for crowns and rewards. Not happening. But we are sanctified, not as we put efforts into, okay, I'm going to get sanctified. How am I doing? Well, not so good, right? It is not by looking at the process, it is not by seeking the crowns and rewards that we get anything that we'll get anywhere. It's looking to the Lord all the way along. Oh, and by the way, you get this crown and this reward because you looked at Him.

Let's pray we got people, you know, stacking up in the lobby here. Thank you, Lord, for what you've laid out. Thank you for this wonderful thing we get to explore the process that you have of being sanctified knowing that in our position it's already a done deal. What comfort that is in knowing that we have everything that is needed for the sanctification process to accomplish everything that you ever desired for us. And in that we behold not the process, but you. And we put our trust and confidence in you. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.