1035. The Foundation of Christian Sanctification pt. 2

Welcome to The Daily Platform from Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina. The school was founded in 1927 by the evangelist Dr. Bob Jones Senior's intent was to make a school where the focus would be on Christ.

So he established daily chapel services today. That tradition continues with fervent biblical preaching from the University Chapel platform today on The Daily Platform will hear a sermon preached at the Bob Jones University Bible conference. This is a time when classes were dismissed and students concentrate on hearing the word preached from several visiting pastors and evangelists throughout the week. Today's sermon is from the 2021 Bible conference where the theme was. Sanctify them as well learn through this short study. Sanctification means to be set apart under God. It's an attitude of treating or regarding something as holy. Today's sermon is the final sermon in this short series preached by Dr. Sam Horn will be continuing the sermon from yesterday teaching us the foundation of Christian sanctification. Sam's reading from Romans 12 12 and also from Ephesians 4 where Paul is exhorting us to look at our lives and make sure that we are being spiritually helpful to others. Seltzer pauses this is what I'm exhorting you to do. I'm exhorting you to look at your life and I'm exhorting you to discern what you're doing in your life and it needs to be like this, it needs to be spiritually beneficial and helpful to others.

It needs to be morally right and spiritually proper in the sight of God needs to be fully compliant needs to be fully in line with whatever God has said in his word and God is giving you two things to help you do this is given you a new mind that regenerated my this is what we're talking about just a few moments ago, our natural mind when we were born in our sins couldn't conform or or or grasp or embrace what Paul is talking about. I mean this is how he describes what we were like in our mind as unbelievers.

He said now this I say testify in the Lord. Ephesians 417 that you must no longer walk as Gentiles in the futility of their minds.

They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardness of their heart. They have big become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, they are greedy to practice every kind of impurity. This is this is the mind and that I had before we came to the gospel effect in Romans chapter 8 verse seven through nine pauses the mind that was set to the fleshly unsaved mind not only didn't want to please God couldn't and then all of a sudden Ephesians chapter 4, you as a new man got a regenerated mind and then with that. Mine came divine enablement grace.

Grace is more than just favor that God has for us unmerited favor.

It's more than God's riches at Christ's expense, just a wonderful definition as that might be that isn't the only side of grace. Grace is actually an element that comes from the spirit of God.

So Paul is saying to you, there is this penetrating appeal and the appeal is that you would go right to this piercing objective that you would in your life discern and do the will of God and others. 1/3 thing the text and that is that there is a personal requirement.

Whatever discerning and doing God's will and tales. Paul states that you are to do it with something that you bring to God and what you do is to introduce this idea to you that he's been talking about for 11 chapters in and is the idea that when you were washed from your sins when you were taken out of the kingdom of darkness and you are translated your transferred into the kingdom of his son. You came in as a son, but you also came in into other ways you came in as a ruling King you are going to rule in that kingdom and that's all the New Testament it's all in Revelation Revelation 4 and five.

So here you are today and if you are in this kingdom. You are just a son or daughter of God.

You actually have been given the status in that kingdom, and your status is that of King you are a royal King. But there's another way that you came into that kingdom came in as the sun came in as a king but you came in as a priest and Peter to talk about it this way, you are a royal priesthood, and you and I sit here at 2:10 Wednesday afternoon and that doesn't really compute but if you lived in Peter's day. That would've been an absolutely stunning statement. There was one nation of all the nations of the art nothing about go back in your Old Testament think about Egypt and Syria and Babylon and all of the nations and there was one nation that God selected out of all those nations to rule over those nations and that was his nation, the King of Kings himself was to be the king of that nation and every one of the people in that nation that belong to that king were in themselves kings and they were supposed to rule over all the nations, but that's not all they were. They were also priests. They had a mission with all of those other nations Old Testament Israelite was supposed to be part of the kingdom that was going to rule all of the other kingdoms, and that was good. I mediate between the kingdom of God. They were priests. Now all the sudden light bulbs looking at me and that's why God hated idolatry. That's why was the deal for the neglect of those titles.

That's why was such a big deal for them to embrace the ways of the nations all the stuff and so to help that kingdom.

Understand what it meant to be a kingdom of priests, God took one of their tribes and he made that tribe, a tribe, priests, and he put that tribe right in the middle of that nation, raising the picture here all the kings of the world. There's one kingdom. It's a kingdom of priests, ruling priests, and in order for them to know what it look like God took one of the 12 tribes and made that tribe.

The tribe priests and that's what's behind this description, you are a priest and every priest had to bring a sacrifice to God. And so there is something God wants you to bring that's the idea of present there is that sacrificial language there is something that God wants you to present and in whatever it is that he wants you to present is to be a certain kind of sacrifice is a certain kind of presentation. So here's here's what it is. It is a living presentation in the Old Testament.

If you brought your sacrifice to the altar.

By the time you were done it was no longer living pauses whatever you're bringing when you get done is still going to be living is a living sacrifice, and in whatever you're bringing his calling is to be set aside is to be devoted completely to the use of the one to whom it is being offered, and that it has been acceptable.

It can't be morally or spiritually defiled, which is why in Old Testament times, in ancient Israel. If you are journeying from way up the top of the country down to the temple and you needed offer sacrifice. The temple had shepherds and they would raise ritually pure sheet because you don't want to bring your sheep from way up at the top of the country and take a chance that it would would be injured or or would somehow be defiled would come in contact with something that would make it ritually appear so you would, and you would bring money that was cleansed and then you would buy a ritually purified sheet and those shepherds would raise those sheep and feels just outside of Jerusalem in a little town called Bethlehem. And when no sheep were born, they would be wrapped in ritually purified pieces of cloth swaddling cloth and all of a sudden angels come to shepherds who are doing that and they say God's Lamb has come to make peace and you have been made increased in that order. And now you bring something that is morally pure. It is, it is been made righteous declared righteous.

But now, when you bring that it can't be corrupted by all of the things that are corrupting the filing. That's what Paul saying on that's why it's such a strong exhortation fronted, I beseech you to discern to do the will of God in order to do that you were going to have to daily come as a priest to God with a sacrifice that you presented and what it is that you are presenting is your body, I beseech you therefore, brethren, that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice. This is the instrument that you possess that God is created by which you will do the will of God that you have concerned that's the instrument, not by the way, if you go back around six used to show up and present this same body to a very different master for very different ends and very different purposes used to show up every day and present this body to sin and and and by the time you are done with that body for that day. It had spent its day doing deeds of unrighteousness, but when you came out of that kingdom and you were translated and transformed and transplanted into this new kingdom and you became a priest. You are now bringing that same body but your brain into a very different master for a very different purpose you are bringing your body that used to be what you used for sinning and now you are praying your body righteous and when you get done with your body at the end of the day you have spent it doing with your body. Things that please the Lord. That's was going on here in Romans chapter 12 now in order for that to happen. The fourth thing that Paul talks about here is the means there is a very prescribed means that has to happen if I got a renewed mind and I have now divine enablement and now I'm beginning to understand that as a a ruling priest in in God's kingdom. I need to bring my body every day to God as a living sacrifice that is totally dedicated exclusively for his use and I need to spend the day doing with my body. Things that are acceptable to God than how in the world am I going to do that in impulses where there's two things that have to happen you have to remove your heart from the influences of the fallen culture around you labors to do not be conformed.

Stop being pressured.

That's the idea is the idea of something coming along on the outside that just sort of the way down on you and assorted shapes you into what ever it is, we think, what happens to a car and you take that car and you put it in a big metal press and that press begins just climbs down on that car, and Paul says now you gotta stop putting yourself in in a place where you are allowing the culture of the world around you. This this fallen world, this, this kingdom of darkness to just shape you externally, so that by the end of the day you have spent your day using your body to do things that are completely contrary to the will of God for your life.

You know when you think about the world.

It has a value system.

It has a way of thinking and as a thinking pattern. It has a value system. It has certain responses to to life and to people in impulses.

Now you've got to intentionally remove yourself from that pressure is not talking about isolating yourself John 17 Jesus made that very clear. I'm not asking you to take them out. Of that context.

Paul is saying don't let that context affect the way you think. Don't let that context, what shape what you value and don't let that context, be what determines your responses to light and circumstance remove your heart from the shaping influences of the world around an enemy. All of us up in the right not to be weird but sometimes it's it's even as simple as the commercials but you watch on TV and by the time you get done watching that 32nd clip, you are absolutely convinced in your soul that the will of God for you at that moment is a line flavored Doritos and if you don't have it. Not that I know this by experience, but you know I do know of a person who has done this if you don't have it in your pantry. You are so convinced that it is the will of God for your life that you will get dressed, get in your car. You know, getting dressed might might be debatable, but you get in your car and you go down to target and just by the spirit of God walk into the land of plenty and you make your way to this chip aisle and you buy chips and you know what you morning thinking about that before you saw the commercial register and then you saw 32nd visual and the next thing you know you're doing all of that and that's really dumb but think about that for a minute that is how the world works and it's all pervasive. So what's the antidote to that well Paulson. Here you have to transform your life by the constant renewing of something you have to transform your life by the constant renewing of your thinking is the idea behind mine. The psalmist and someone 19 said, let the thoughts works on 19 rather let the thoughts of my heart. Let the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my mind, the thinking patterns you are going to have to stop thinking the way that you think and in order for that to happen.

You are going to have to go soon where that has transformative power and the only thing that can take you from where you are to where God wants you to be which is looking like the image of his son is to go to the word. That's the whole point is 318. When God's is when you peer when you log into God's word and you see the glory that is in Christ that were that locking changes you so false is this what is in the tank unit discern to do the will of God with your body. You have to take your heart out of that world that is shaping it and you're gonna have to renew your thinking by coming to the word of God that can make you look like Jesus brings us to the very final thing and will close and that is this know when we think about this.

This is immense. What will give us the kind of motivation to do this is usually what will what will motivate you, what will motivate me every day to come to God with our body and say to God, whatever you have to do today for your glory. I want you to use my body to do it and I don't care what it costs. I don't care where you take this body unclear what you do with it. But today I want you to use this body for your glory of God. I don't just want to use it for your glory. I want you to stop it from doing things that don't glorify you. That's a pretty scary thing to pray and there's only one thing that is big enough to motivate you to do that impulses in this way whatever this is is your reasonable worship, like when you get it. It's like you.there's there's nothing else I want to do with my body it's it's it's the natural outflow of recognizing this, and it is the mercies plural God is the Mets mercies of God you were dead in your trespasses and sins.

You are under the full un-mitigated wrath of God. And I know you and I don't like this term but you weren't just a sinner. You were a criminal, you were a cosmic criminal you are under the sentence.

The righteous sentence of death you will revel in your rebellion you fully engaged in wicked thinking and unrighteous doing and even when you knew about God righteous decrees you chose to do them and you celebrated those who were doing them and that was true of every one, but in an amazing spectacular display righteous mercy God changed everything he for gave us justifies established and unbreakable peace with us. He removed us from the realm of sin and death. He placed us in the realm of Gracie Rick. She released us from our old master. He did a whole of this and then on top of that we have this immense future ahead of us. He is using everything for our good and for his glory and nothing will separate us from the love of God.

Nothing impulses know when you grasp that is what you want to do God, thank you you and it is my body is like reading about the Grand Canyon know for years I grew up. I grew up in South Texas in the highest thing in South Texas is the overpass where I grew up on Highway 85, the deepest thing is you know the irrigation ditch so I would read about the Grand Canyon or I'd see some documentary on the Grand Canyon like okay that that's cool. And one day I was traveling with a group of guys from Bob's University. We were going out west and we went to the Grand Canyon nominee been to the Grand Canyon.

So like, okay, let's go to bed it was like a 4 Hour Dr. out of the way so there I go to the Grand Canyon and we get out when we get up and we start walking up and it's unlike what's the big deal about this spring and then you get to the South rim and you looked in your jaw's how many beaver listed there on South so you know exactly… Your jaw drops when you look over and there's this guy and he's grousing about the paint chip on the rail you doing what he didn't even look up is likely that Devon painted this in months. I mean this is crazy. This is a national and he's missing the whole thing. You know what I think happens to a lot of us. We get so frustrated by whatever we think is wrong with the railing that we lose the immensity of the Grand Canyon.

I want to close with this illustration and that I want to pray.

What if God came to you today you heard this message you said you got him all in God is my body.

I'm good wherever, whatever, however, the guts is the okay will here's here's I got an assignment for you it's it's good to be about maybe a year-long assignment to build tough but you know there's a there's a family that has completely rejected the gospel. They they not only do they rejected there there hostile to it and and I intend to reach them and the means that I'm getting used to open their eyes and draw them to the gospel as you how awesome the grave, going to do that whole family and they does is only available about the assignment this time is is that this family right now is the downtown Greenville and there in the cancer ward because there is a nine-year-old already, son, and a 13-year-old daughter and a a 35-year-old wife and the husband has cancer and I'm to be tied up front he's not on ignition in the sovereignty.

This is part of my plan and reach them.

He's not make it's it's stage IV is metastasized is that chemotherapy and that family desperately needs to hear the gospel desperately need to understand the gospel in the desperately need somebody to come alongside them administer the gospel with them.

That means I'm in a used to draw them into the kingdom and the whole family and your like man's grace student options. You know I got every Tuesday afternoon free. I go up there and you know, I know down and I can I can find Dr. Benson eking some resources I can read. I kind over the nursing target outcome and I'm in.

I like all in and and so God, you know, let me just we just work my schedule a bit. Nuggets visiting hours and got an accident or put you in that same cancer ward, not as a visitor that does I'm to put you in the bed next to that person and here's what happened next week. Kamal the dining hall. I want to let you know a Protestant hurtle, but your ear and have this pain incredibly difficult and your to go to the ER and there can immediately send you for radiology and and you're gonna get the news.

I want you to hear it I'm to be with you all the way through this. You get the news that you have stage IV pancreatic cancer and you can go through the same treatments and you're going to go through the same radiology that the person in that bed is going through and I'm just gonna tell you upfront you're going to have the same and what's gonna happen to his body is also been happen to your body. But when it's all said and done that whole family because they watched you and they saw you and they heard you is going to embrace the gospel number. Make a promise to you. This is God promised you I will be with you. I will never leave you nor forsake you. I will be with you every moment, and when it comes time for you to walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will be there.

My rod and my staff will go before you. I will feed your soul.

I will prepare a table in the desert place, and was all said and done, you will dwell in the house of my father forever. And oh by the way, that body that was so ravaged. I'm a take care of it when everybody sees you the next time there to go wow that was awesome.

Now let me ask you question. Are you willing to embrace that assignment.

If that is what God has for you. And there's only one thing in this universe big enough and strong enough to motivate the kind of response.

And since God yes anything anywhere and it is the mercies that you have received from God. By the way their fresh every morning Lord we desire as Christians to be sanctified in the whole point of Christian sanctification is that we would discern and do your will with our bodies that we would bring our bodies every day is a living sacrifice that that we would devote our bodies completely to your use that we would never do anything with our bodies that would defile them or that would render them in acceptable or unacceptable that they would always be morally cleansed and were thankful Lord that when we do sin, we can come and repent and Lord, you are faithful and just to cleanse us to forgive us for Annie's. So Lord I pray that you would help us to receive this truth and do it in our lives will pray these things in Jesus name, amen. You been listening to the conclusion of the sermon by Dr. Sam Horn from the 2021 Bible conference series on sanctification.

Thanks for listening and join us again next week is will hear more soul stirring sermons from the Bob Jones University Chapel platform