Text: John 17:15-19
Memory verse:
”Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.“
‭‭John‬ ‭17‬:‭17‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

One non-negotiable condition for gaining access into God’s storehouse of power is sanctification.
1 Pet 2:14-15 contains the main points of our discussion today. It says, ”So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy.“ ‭‭(1 Pet‬ ‭1‬:‭14‬-‭15‬ ‭NLT‬‬).
First, God is holy. To be holy is to be set apart and to be separate from any profane thing. It is to be pure and perfect (Matt 5:48).
Second, God is holy, and he chose us and made us holy. What a privilege! Being holy, God wouldn’t have been able to relate with us if we were still in our sin (Deut 7:6).
Third, in the past, we lived in disobedience to God, satisfying the desires of our flesh and our minds. We didn’t know anything better then (Eph 2:2-3)
Fourth, God’s expectation of us now is to maintain our privileged position by continuing to live holy if He has to continue to relate with us (1 Peter 1:15-16). This is called sanctification. It is a process of being made holy. It is not a one-time event but a daily process.
Sanctification is a deep desire to please God at all cost as a lifestyle. This is the opposite of the former life, which was lived to please the flesh and the mind. Sanctification is a hunger and a thirst for righteousness (Matt 5:6). It is daily yielding one’s life for the Holy Spirit to transform into the likeness of Christ.
In conclusion, we have discussed two levels of sanctification. First is that which takes place at salvation. It is called positional sanctification. The second is that which continues, as we become more and more like Christ, growing in grace. It’s progressive sanctification. We have a responsibility here. Through the help of the Holy Spirit, we abstain from sinful habits, deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and make no provision for the works of the flesh.
Friends, the highway of sanctification is the highway of power. Don’t stop at salvation. Salvation makes you a child of God, but sanctification will make you a son of God. Remember that no one will put the government in the hands of a child. Receive grace to daily live in sanctification, in Jesus’ name.

Prayer points
1. Father, empower me daily by the Holy Spirit to live a sanctified life in Jesus’ name.
2. Father, sanctify me daily by Your word, in Jesus’ name.

Today’s declarations
1. God doesn’t entrust His power into the hands of an immatured person, lest he squander or misuse it.
2. I hunger and thirst every day to please God and not my flesh and my mind.