Nobleton Community Church
29084 Sentinel Street PO Box 224
Nobleton, Florida 34661
Rev. Paul V. Lehmann, Pastor
813-389-8683
Nobletoncommunitychurch.org
info@nobletoncommunitychurch.org
OUR VISION IS:
To experience SPIRIT-FILLED WORSHIP AND PRAYER
To be involved in EVANGELISM, DISCIPLINING AND TRAINING PEOPLE
To use our SPIRITUAL GIFTS
To SERVE AND REACH PEOPLE FOR CHRIST, BOTH
“ACROSS THE STREET AND ACROSS THE WORLD”
Nobleton Community Church
June 9, 2024
text I Thessalonians 5:23-24
Pastor Paul Lehmann
Last week we saw that God is the Provider of Sanctification and that
Sanctification is entire, it permeates your entire being.
And that Sanctification is entire, it permeates your entire being.
Hebrews 4:12-13 “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than
any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit,
of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of
the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are
open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.”
Now we want to look at :
3 THE PURPOSE OF SANCTIFICATION
1 Thessalonians 5:23c
“preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ.”
And I hope by now we all understand the reason
Why sanctification is so important.
Ephesians 5:25-27 “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved
the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her,
having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might
present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or
any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.”
It is the desire of Christ that His bride be “in all her glory, having no spot or
wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.”
When Christ returns for His bride
He wants to find you in glory in beauty in holiness.
None of us want to be embarrassed to be found by Him in sin.
1 John 2:28-29 “Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears,
we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His
coming. If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who
practices righteousness is born of Him.”
Imagine the wedding day and Him to come and find you
In sweat pants covered with paint and an old ratty T-shirt.
And God has promised to be the One who makes sure we are ready.
God will not only wash our outside,
But He will also give us attitude lessons to work on our inside.
He is making sure that when the Lord returns we are ready to meet Him.
The Provider, The Picture, The Purpose
4 THE PROMISE OF SANCTIFICATION
1 Thessalonians 5:24
At this point we can clearly see that God is in the sanctifying role
And we even see what that is and why He will do it.
We understand the need and what it is.
But we also know that there is still one glaring obstacle to overcome.
ME
Hasn’t that been the obstacle that kept us from sanctifying ourselves?
Colossians 3:5 “Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as
dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts
to idolatry.”
Romans 6:11-13 “Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive
to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so
that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your
body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to
God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of
righteousness to God.”
Yet, despite knowing that we should “kill off the old man,”
We have found that to be easier said than done.
So even though sanctification is the work of God,
How can we be sure that we won’t mess it all up?
BUT HERE IS THE BEAUTY
Your sanctification will occur.
Not based upon your submission…
Not based upon your obedience…
Not based upon your willingness…
Your sanctification will occur based upon His faithfulness.
“Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.”
The guarantee of sanctification is not a guarantee based upon you,
But is a guarantee based upon God.
God is faithful to finish what He starts.
Philippians 1:6 “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a
good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”
Consider that great passage in Romans.
Romans 8:28-30 “And we know that God causes all things to work together
for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His
purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become
conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn
among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called;
and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He
justified, He also glorified.”
It is not as though God boasts of a 70% graduation rate,
Where 7 out of every 10 people foreknown actually make it to heaven.
No, God bats 1,000.
Because He predestines 100% of those He foreknows.
He then calls 100% of those He predestines.
He then justifies 100% of those He calls.
He then glorifies 100% of those He justifies.
God finishes what He started.
He is faithful like that.
“He also will bring it to pass.”
Psalms 37:5-6 “Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, and He
will do it. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light And your
judgment as the noonday.”
1 Corinthians 1:4-9 “I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of
God which was given you in Christ Jesus, that in everything you were
enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge, even as the testimony
concerning Christ was confirmed in you, so that you are not lacking in any
gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also
confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God
is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord.”
This is why we also love the 23rd Psalm.
Psalms 23 “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie
down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my
soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil,
for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare
a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my
head with oil; My cup overflows. Surely goodness and lovingkindness will
follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.”
And of course we love that Psalm on a variety of levels,
But one of those reasons is because of where it ends.
“I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”
BUT HAVE YOU EVER NOTICED WHY?
It is not because of what you do.
In fact that Psalm only records you doing two things.
It is not because of what you do.
In fact that Psalm only records you doing two things.
- One is dwelling in God’s house.
- The other is dying. “walk through the valley of the shadow of death”
Those are the only things that Psalm says that you will do.
God does the rest. - “He makes me like down”
- “He leads me”
- “He restores my soul”
- “He guides me in the paths of righteousness”
- He is with me
- He comforts me
- He prepares a table before me
- He anoints me
- He follows me with goodness and lovingkindness
The point is that God does it all.
And this is the hope and assurance
We take into the process of sanctification.
DO WE STILL STRIVE?
Absolutely
BUT WE ALSO REJOICE, KNOWING THAT GOD WILL MAKE IT CERTAIN.
1 Thessalonians 5:11 “Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as
you also are doing.”