Sunday Morning Sermon Series - Pastor Josiah Shipley (Date: 11/21/2021)

Sanctification as the Christian's Next Step

You may be seated. Would you turn with me to 2 Corinthians chapter 3 please. 2 Corinthians chapter 3. The title of this sermon is, So I'm a Christian, now what? The Bible calls the stage that we are in, sanctification.

What that means is being set apart for service, for God's purpose and not our own. If you're a Christian, would you please raise your hand. Okay, now. If you have been a Christian for less than 3 years or due to maybe not having learned as you should have, you feel that you only have the knowledge of someone who's been saved for less than 3 years, would you please raise your hand.

I wrote this sermon for you guys. For you guys right there. We have a lot of new members at our church. Many of whom did not grow up in church. Many of whom I have to show like on your little handouts where it says 2nd COR 37 I've got to show them what that means.

Like the first number is the chapter and then the verse. And that may sound strange to some of you. But that is what our church is today. And I'm praising God for it. We don't have to fight through some of the religious garbage to get to the heart of the gospel.

But today, we're focused on what is holy living? What do you do after that moment of conversion? After that Holy Spirit has indwelt you? That's what we're going to talk about today. I would tell you, now is a better time than ever to obey the command for the older to teach the younger.

As we have many who have never been disciples. Speaking of which, I helped do the new members class. I've got an idea of how I could help with that. If you would like to help me with that, please see me after service.

But at any rate, 2nd COR 3 verse 18 says this,. And we all, with unveiled faces, are beholding the glory of the Lord. We are being transformed into the same image. From one degree of glory to another.

This comes from the Lord, who is Spirit. Let's pray. God, thank You for all You've given us. Help us to see Your Word today, not the words of anyone else. In Your name we pray, Amen. Sanctification basically means this, that as you go in your Christian life, you are more obedient than you were yesterday.

And the next day, you're more obedient than you were before. And that continues until God takes you home. That's what that word means. To be set apart, holy, not perfect, set apart for God's purposes, and not your own.

That's what sanctification is. You can read the back of your sheet this week to get more study on that, but we're talking about progressive sanctification today. And what progressive sanctification does is exactly what it says here.

It helps you focus on God's purpose and not your own. So this is the now what. This is the now what. Now that you have submitted to God, the now what is here. And what I'd like to do is start by saying that sanctification leads to thanksgiving.

And no, I did not do this because it's Thanksgiving this week. I almost changed it because I didn't want to be cheesy. But look at 2 Corinthians 4 .15. It says this. Excuse me, 4 .15. For it is for your sake so that as grace extends to more and more people, it may increase thanksgiving to the glory of God.

What is grace? Unmerited favor. Anybody else? Grace is what? Getting a gift that you do not deserve. That's grace. It is getting a gift that you don't deserve. When you speak about your salvation, don't start with the word I.

You are saved not because of anything you have done, but only what God has done. That's why grace extending to more people increases in thanksgiving. Are you known for being thankful? If grace should extend to more and more people to increase thanksgiving, the Bible is saying that is one of the signs of someone who is being sanctified.

Let that sink in. One of the signs. The first sign this verse says that you have received that grace, that you are being sanctified, is that you are thankful. Now why might that be? Let's look at the previous passage.

Thanksgiving, Veiled Hearts, and the Truth of God's Word

Chapter 3, verse 7 -18. This is a long passage, so bear with me. Chapter 3, verse 7 -18. And the ones that are highlighted on your paper are the ones you've got to look up yourself. So do a little work yourself.

Chapter 3, verse 7 -18. It says this, Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters of stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze on Moses' face, I'll explain that in a minute, because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory?

For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. Skip down to verse 12. Since we have such a hope, we are very bold. Not like Moses, who had to put a veil over his face so that the Israelites would not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to the end.

But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the Old Covenant, the same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their hearts.

But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit. Try your nature. And where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all with unveiled faces are beholding the glory of the Lord and being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.

This comes from the Lord who is Spirit. Let me explain this to you. Okay? First off, someone got upset the other week. Not actually upset, because they felt like they were the only one who didn't know this.

So, how many books of the Bible did Moses write? Five. Can everyone say five? And one psalm. He wrote Psalm 90. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Now I want you to think about this.

You can read about this for yourself. When Moses went on that mountain in Exodus 33 to get the law, the Ten Commandments as it were. Do you remember that? Inscribed on little tablets of stone. Went up there to get the Ten Commandments.

When he came down from that mountain, the Bible says that his face was shining so brightly that it terrified the Israelites. So they put a cloth over his face so it wouldn't shine so brightly. What the Bible says here is that there is a veil over every one of our hearts and only Christ can remove it.

You see, there are folks here in this passage and in the world now that have books of the Bible memorized, but a veil still lies over their heart. Because salvation is not a head issue, it's a heart issue.

You don't have to be a certain level of intellect to be saved. You have to be humble to be saved. And only through Christ's church, not through anything else, not through religion, not through a different path, only through Christ is that veil removed.

Here is why Thanksgiving should increase the more sanctified you become. Because if you read this passage, they didn't even know they were blind until the veil was removed. They didn't even know their need to have that removed until it was.

They didn't know what they couldn't see until that veil was removed. I was witnessing to a guy at work who, it's funny as it progresses and you remove excuses, he started saying, well, you know, if Christianity is what you need to be moral, that's great.

And then I said, yeah, but what if it's just true? Then it doesn't really matter what it does for me. And he goes, well, you're right. We kept going on and on until eventually he said this. He said, well, just to be honest with you, I'm not ready to give up how I'm living to turn to Christ.

That is one of the best lies Satan has ever used. That you will be unhappy if you start to obey God. But the truth of the matter is, the joy of the Lord is our strength. What I told him is this, that you're eating imitation beef, hamburger helper, and I have a T-bone steak right here and you can't even see it because the veil is over your heart.

Grace, sanctification, should make you all the more thankful because you didn't even know that veil was over your heart until it was removed. And more than that, let us be known as a people of gratitude and thankfulness so the world will know through that thankfulness of serving each other that we are really of His disciples.

Sanctification in the Truth, Through the Word, and in Community

Look again, not just does sanctification lead to thankfulness, but is it accomplished only in the truth? Jesus said in John 17 and 17, sanctify them, set them apart, make them different, right? Sanctify them in the truth.

Your Word is the truth. Sanctify them in the truth. Your Word is truth. Pastor Jeff said last week, speaking of the truth, that there is just one truth and it comes from God. Sanctify them in the truth.

Guys, I don't know about you, and I am not making fun of anyone in here, I have never heard God audibly speak. Maybe you have, and good for you. He speaks to me through His Word. Remember that He can hold people accountable for something that was written to a different group of people in a different language a thousand years earlier and then look at them and say in Matthew 22, have you not read what God said to you?

That's the Bible. That is God speaking to you now so that Jesus can say, sanctify them in the truth. Your Word is the truth. If you want to progress in your walk with Christ, it comes from the truth which is His Word.

Not from a feeling. Not from a church. From His Word. And that Word tells us that this is how it's done. As iron sharpens iron. So one man sharpens another. Hayden sharpened my knife for me last week.

When he used that knife sharpener, he applied resistance on both sides. See, if you just have something flimsy and you try to sharpen a knife, it won't work. It takes friction. It takes resistance. Sometimes it's uncomfortable, church.

But as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. That's how sanctification happens. In the truth of His Word. And His Word says that it happens with each other. But more than that, truth doesn't have to be propped up.

It doesn't have to be added to or taken away from. And it can stand up to scrutiny. I've said this before on Wednesday nights, and I don't mean this in any type of arrogant way. If someone brought in a lie detector test and said it right there, I could walk down these steps, hook it up to my little finger, and they could ask me, do you believe the Bible is God's Word?

And I would say yes. And the little thing wouldn't even quiver. Do you believe it's inerrant and infallible? And there's no contradictions in it. I would say yes, and it would not quiver. I have not always been that confident, even as a Christian.

How did I get to that point? The sanctifying process of letting the Holy Spirit change me from the inside out. And here's how that happens. You ready? By being willing to ask questions and then find the answer to it.

By not being afraid of questioning, because the truth can stand up to scrutiny. But then doing the work necessary to find the answer to that. And then I'm all the more confident. And then I'm all the more confident.

And then I'm all the more confident. That's how it comes from. Faith comes... Where do you get faith? Do you want to believe more? Faith comes by hearing the Word of God. That's where faith comes from.

From the Word of God. You see in chapter 4, same book, 2 Corinthians 4, verses 1 and 2. Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. Did you catch that, church? Having this ministry by the mercy of God, we don't lose heart.

But we have renounced disgraceful and underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God's Word, but by the open statement of the truth, we commend ourselves to everyone's conscience and the sight of God.

Do you realize how rarely the truth is said out loud in our culture today? If you are under the age of 35, please raise your hand. Look around. Keep them up. There's the demographic of your church. Do you understand?

Because I don't think some of you do. But listen to me. For many of the people in this room, this is the only place in their life where they will hear the truth said out loud. Sometimes, if you ever talk to people, which maybe you should in here, Brother Jeff said a couple weeks ago that the child inside a mother's womb is a human life, valuable to God.

And that God created man, male and female. And some of you probably thought, well, yeah, thanks for the insight, Pastor. We can all tell that. And then if you look around, sometimes when he says stuff like that, jaws drop.

I don't think we all understand, so let me make it clear. There are many in this room that no TV program that they watch, no school they go to, no professor, no teacher, no family member would ever say those true things out loud.

Even though they're evidently true to everyone in this room. For some people in this room, as they're nodding their head, yes, this is the only place, not this, but this is the only place they hear that said out loud.

Do you understand that? That the sermon Brother Jeff preached last week, 50 years ago, would have been a waste of breath because everyone would have already understood that. It would have been a waste of breath.

We don't tamper with God's Word, but by an open statement of the truth. And in some of your locations, you will be the only one saying it out loud. At least at first. But isn't it amazing, with consistency, I can tell you how many people that have joined this church this year repeat the same thing to me.

It seems like people genuinely love each other, and people are not afraid to say the truth out loud. Ask yourself, are you afraid to say the truth out loud? In your workplace? At school? By open statement of the truth.

You are sanctified by the truth. And not in some arrogant, barbaric, just to argue with people. No. In love, by an open statement of the truth. Ephesians 4 .19 says, we speak the truth in love. Guess what that means?

If you're not speaking the truth, you're not speaking love. You may make someone feel good, they may appreciate what you have to say, but if you're not telling them the truth, you are not showing them love.

By open statement of the truth, we proclaim it to everybody. Sometimes you'll be the only one. Let this be a place, a safe haven, a bulwark, that in years to come, the truth will always be said out loud here.

Always. And then we take that truth, and we don't change it, we don't prop it up, we don't make it look better, but we simply proclaim it. The truth doesn't need your help. It just has to be proclaimed.

The truth can stand up to scrutiny. It just has to be shouted from the rooftops. You don't have to add to it or take away from it. Just proclaim what is already true. And don't forget, there is always a remnant.

No matter how dark the world seems to be, there are those who the Holy Spirit is working on their hearts that will seek truth and seek to hear it. But how will they hear without a preacher? Proclaim the truth out loud.

And let this be a place where people have brothers and sisters who will say it with them. By open statement of the truth, we don't tamper with God's Word. We don't make it sound better. By open statement of the truth, we proclaim that which is true.

And let the chips fall where they may. You know, it's amazing. The Bible says the truth will set you free. When I was witnessing to that guy at work, he told me, Josiah, I've just never heard anyone say it just like that.

I mean, you make it sound so simple. Guys, the Gospel doesn't have to be veiled. It doesn't have to be added to. It just has to be proclaimed. And you'll be surprised, those who the Holy Spirit has already been knocking on their hearts, you don't have to prop it up.

Sanctification should make us thankful. Sanctification is only done in the truth. And sanctification is a continual transformation. I see it in the lives of many of our people in this room. I see it. And I'm grateful for it.

I'm grateful for people like Artie and Parker and Justin and Matt who laid that flooring the past couple days and other people who pulled it up. I think it's going to last a long time. I saw Artie and Justin rolling around on it and it didn't shift.

And if they did that, I think we're going to be okay. I'm thankful for Char prepping the mission trip for next July. Do you know right now we have 55 people signed up for that trip? That is almost a third of the members of this church.

I'm thankful for Evan and Hannah leading the SOG program. There's an example of sanctification right there. I got to tell you, the other day I was scrolling on my phone. This has nothing to do with this, but I just thought of this.

And President Biden showed up on my phone and Ava, my three-year-old, looked at me and goes, Hey, it's Mr. Evan. Biggest insult you've ever received, isn't it? Whenever I ask Ava when we pray, what are you thankful for?

She says, for staff meeting. If you've never been to a staff meeting here, there's no hidden... Say again? It is open to any member of this church. You walk in. It's on Mondays at 11 in that fellowship hall down there.

Nothing's hidden. This is everyone's church. She's thankful because her friends are there. Nadine, who I just got her to quit bullying about six months ago. She's just so easy to bully. She's so little except her belly.

She can't see her feet. So, you know, Jameson, right? I've got her to quit bullying these kids finally. She's thankful for staff meeting because she feels that it really is her family. She gets excited to go to staff meeting because her family is there.

At some churches, it's almost as if you can't get in there without a photo ID and a passport. You don't even need that to vote anymore. Sorry. Said true things out loud again. Sanctification leads to thankfulness.

It only comes from truth. And that truth, when it's shared with each other, makes us feel more united, doesn't it? Like you're not alone, doesn't it? Makes you feel not alone. But it is a continual transformation.

It's ongoing. Let me help some of you guys who always ask, and I have a plan to help with this, me and Pastor John, who always ask, Josiah, I want to obey God more, but I don't know how to study the Bible.

I don't know how to read it. No one's ever shown me. I have an idea of how to fix that. We'll talk about that later. And what I always say is don't try to super spiritualize it. Don't try to read 10 chapters in a day.

Read a sentence and understand that sentence before you move on. When we talk about progressive sanctification, it's real simple. Look for the I-N-G words. That's how I taught myself. The I-N-G. If an I-N-G is at the end of the word, that means what?

It's happening right now. And it's still ongoing. It's not done. When I look at 1 Corinthians 3 .18, and you are as well. Your eyes are on your Bible. 1 Corinthians 3 .18 it says, we are being transformed.

Is that done yet? Paul's writing to a church, and he says we are being transformed. Notice he says we are. The Apostle Paul is including himself in that. We are being transformed. How does that happen?

In the truth for sure. But this degree of glory happens by being more obedient than you were yesterday. And helping someone else to be more obedient than they were yesterday. Turn over to 2 Corinthians 7 .1.

Since we have these promises, beloved... So he's talking to Christians. You see that? We have these promises. Let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing... You see that little I-N-G there?

Bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God. Since we have these promises... Not wishful thinking. Promises. Beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and of spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.

When I was witnessing to that guy, he would not say the words, there is no God, and I asked him why. And he said, even though I would classify myself as someone who doubts, I can't say there is no... He couldn't even say the sentence, but he said, I can't say that because I am afraid of His wrath.

I'll tell you what, even though it's a little immature, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. That's not a lost cause. Bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God. See, the Bible speaks of you having been saved before the foundation of the world.

Chosen by God. It speaks of you being saved and that you are bringing that holiness to completion. And it speaks of a final salvation that will happen when He calls us home. That is sanctification. The stage you are in right now is what we're talking about.

It is a progressive act, a continuation of transforming, of being more holy than you were yesterday. Some of us may have been saved for 30 years and can't see that pattern. Today is the day of repentance.

Do not look at, well, I failed yesterday. Look at tomorrow, I will be more obedient than I was today. And make a plan now on how to make that happen. How can I be more obedient to God and His Word than I was today?

And it will not happen on your own. It takes that iron sharpening iron. It takes that accountability. Because on our own, we will all stumble. I want you to compare sanctification with conforming to this world.

And maybe be able to gauge where we're at, each of us individually. Go back one chapter, the very end of chapter 6, starting in verse 16. It's still 2 Corinthians, the very end of chapter 6, starting in verse 16.

And we're almost done. What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God. Remember, we felled with the Israelites. Do you remember? They built the tabernacle. The really fancy tent, right?

Made of gold in the wilderness. Maybe some of us don't know after they left Egypt. And God spoke with them there. And then Jesus comes. And the Bible says that Jesus tabernacled among us. In other words, God dwelt in Jesus as we just read.

The fullness of God dwelt in Jesus here for 30-something years. And then it says the Holy Spirit indwells believers and that we are the tabernacle of God. You see, God has never left. The triune God has always been present on this planet.

He has never left. Here, we, not this, we are the temple, the tabernacle of God. God lives in believers through His Holy Spirit. And listen to what it says. For we are the temple of the living God as God said.

Notice, He's quoting Scripture and says, as God said, I will make My dwelling place among them. It's on the night people. You see your Holy Spirit there? And I will walk among them. And I will be their God and they will be My people.

Therefore, come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch not the unclean thing, then I will welcome you. I'll be a father to you. You will be sons and daughters to Me, says the Lord God the Almighty.

The mark of sanctification is a separation, not in physical location from the world, I don't mean going and living out in the woods, but a separation of obedience, of attitude, of action, to the point that, and I'm not at all saying you shouldn't open your mouth and witness, but to the point that Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount that your light should be shining so brightly in how you live, that others can simply see your good works.

Before you've even opened your mouth, they should be able to see your good works and glorify your Father which is in Heaven. I have a question. If you never opened your mouth, would folks know that you're a believer?

If you never opened your mouth, would folks know that you're a believer? If the answer is no, then forget shame. Today is the day of repentance. Be more obedient today than you were yesterday. And let that light shine even brighter.

The Last Days, False Religion, and a Race of Endurance

Let's compare that to what God says things will be like in the last days. 2 Timothy 3. 2 Timothy 3. We're almost done. 2 Timothy 3. Now, I want you to think of two things. First off, notice where we're at here.

But secondly, ask yourself, does any of this define you? 2 Timothy 3. 1 -5 says this,. But understand this, that in the last days, there will be times of difficulty for people will be lovers of self. I could find 20 Christians with that Facebook post right now.

A sign of the end times is that people will be lovers of self. Lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to parents. What's that next one say? Ungrateful. Unholy. Heartless. Unappeasable.

Slanderous. Without self-control. Brutal. Not loving good. Treacherous. Reckless. Swollen with conceit. Lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. And this last one should scare everyone in this room.

Because he's not talking about the atheist. He's not talking about the Muslim. He's not talking about the Jew. Read it. Having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. In the last days, God doesn't say there will be an increase in atheism.

In the last days, there will be an increase in liberalism. In the last days, there will be an appearance of godliness, but those who deny His power. Avoid such people. Having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.

Satan is clever. He does not waste most of his energy trying to get people to believe there's no God as people are too observant to believe that foolishness and nonsense. Most of the world is too intelligent to believe that fairy tale that there is no God and that we all evolved by chance with no origins.

Most of the world is not going to fall for that one. Satan uses a different tool called religion. False religion is far more dangerous to the kingdom of God than COVID, than Muslims, than anything else.

A prominent daughter of two very prominent politicians who have been in power in this country for two generations said this,. Not only do I believe it is immoral to oppose abortion, I believe it is unchristian to oppose abortion.

Let that sink in. Having a form of godliness, but denying its power. It will be covered in really good sounding words. Tolerance. Love. Even biblical words. Justice. Peace. Kindness. Things that are good things.

But then you find that what is meant behind them is simply whitewashed tombs with dead man's bones inside. Having a form of godliness, but denying its power. Let this be a place not only where the truth is spoken, but it's lived out in such a way that others can see those good works and glorify the Father in heaven.

Running the Race with Endurance and Fixing Our Eyes on Jesus

Last point, so whoever is doing the music can come up. Last point, and I wrote this one on your paper for you. Hebrews chapter 12. Hebrews chapter 12 calls this sanctification a race. Not a sprint, but a marathon.

Calls it a race, and it says this, What does it take to run that race? Hebrews 12 verse 1 and 2, Let us lay aside every weight and sin that clings so closely, and let us run with endurance. Not a one day race.

Let us run with endurance. The race that is set before us, keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. I would point out just briefly, notice it says lay aside every weight and sin.

And I've pointed this out before. Do you notice there are some things not classified as sin that we should still lay aside because it's not helping us run the race? You see that? In other words, if you're one of those people that when you decide whether or not you're going to do something, all you ever say is, is there anything wrong with?

Instead of asking what is right with it, you're who I'm talking to. Let us lay aside every weight and sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance. The race that is set before us. The race is already set.

So is the finish line, by the way. It is already set before us. How do we do that? By keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. And not some silly vision, not some silly saying, Jesus in His Word is how that happens.

Let today be the day that you progress in that sanctification by being more holy, more obedient than you were yesterday and helping someone else come to that. Today, let it be the day of repentance. Let today be the day of salvation.

And the day where maybe for the first time you help someone else come to that conclusion.