How the Spirit Leads Us - Part 3 — Zac Poonen

Complete Sanctification in Spirit, Soul, and Body

Forward in full speed. So God is the one who sanctifies and it says here that he wants to sanctify us completely. 1 Thessalonians 5 .23. Completely means totally. Every part of our being and then he tells us what totally means.

Spirit, soul and body without blame the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. In our past life we have done many things wrong that deserve blame in our spirit, soul and body. But God wants to do a work in us that from now on our spirit, soul and body will be without blame.

You know we don't have to be afraid of that. It's like saying, supposing a doctor says listen I'm going to examine you and treat you so you'll be healthy in your eyes and healthy in your ears and healthy in your stomach and healthy in your heart and healthy in your nerves and healthy in your liver and healthy in your kidney and your hands and legs will be strong.

Are you going to be scared of that? No. Hey, and he said I'm not even going to charge you for it. I said that's wonderful. I wouldn't be afraid of that. I said hey, tell me what to do. I really want to be healthy.

Is there a single person sitting here who doesn't want to be entirely healthy? Or do you want to be healthy only 90 I don't think there's any human being unless he's mad or something who wants to be healthy just 90%.

Christ's Question: Do You Want to Get Well?

Are you happy with 99 health? Are you afraid of 100 health? There was a question that Jesus asked the man who was lying for 38 years at the pool of Bethesda. It's a very funny question. You know what he asked him?

You read in John 5. Do you want to get well? Imagine a man 38 years paralyzed. Is there a need for such a question? There is. Because when he gets healthy, he can't beg anymore. A lot of people who make a lot of money with their infirmity, with their leprosy, will go around and if they get healed, they won't get so much money.

Certainly spiritually it's true. But the Lord asks you, you may have been enslaved to something just like that man at Bethesda for 38 years. The Lord asks you, do you really want to get healthy? If you're not interested.

If he had said no Lord, actually, I sort of got used to this way of life. He'd have said fine. And he'd have walked off. That's what often happens. The Lord says, that's fine. You stay where you are. But you could have risen much higher many years ago.

Sanctification as Separation from Evil

He wants to sanctify you entirely. I love this verse. He wants to make, separate me from everything evil in my body, my soul and my spirit. And as a by-product, not the main product, as a by-product, you'll be healthy in your body too.

To me, health in the body is not the main product of Christianity. It's a by-product. You know, it's like these big factories that make cars and some of the other stuff, they make something called by-products.

They don't establish the factory to make that. But with all the leftover stuff after making cars, they make something else. So it's like that. Even your body can be healthy. But it says here that further in verse 24, the one who has called you is faithful and he will do it.

The New Covenant Changes the Inside First

Again, the emphasis is on he will do it. So these are, let's see the two main differences between the old covenant and the new covenant. One, the old covenant was all external. The new covenant is primarily internal, cleaning the inside of the cup that leads to the outside being clean.

That's why I say, even if you make a person dress in a holy way, but you haven't changed, say a woman was dressed immodestly. Even if you say, well, you got to dress modestly when you come to church. Okay, you've done it.

You haven't changed her heart. I want to change her heart where she realizes that to dress immodestly is not becoming for a daughter of God. Then you've really accomplished something. But if you just, I mean, if people have children in our home, we got to force them because they're under law.

They don't know what's good for them. But we hope that those girls will grow up to recognize that as a daughter of God, I must dress modestly. Some will never realize what to do. We can't do anything.

Even Jesus did not succeed in changing everybody. Now we won't succeed in changing everybody, but we concentrate on the inside. I say the inside doesn't go. The inside is not blameless. The outside being blameless is just not worth anything.

From Self-Effort to God's Faithful Work

So that's the first thing. And the second thing is that in the difference between old covenant and new covenant is the old covenant. You got to do it yourself. In the new covenant, God says, I'll do it.

Hebrews 8 and the Promises of the New Covenant

God will sanctify you. God will bring it to pass. Let me show you again, Hebrews chapter 8. Hebrews 8 is the New Testament equivalent of Exodus 20. And those of you who have heard me before, you know that.

Exodus 20 is the Ten Commandments. Ten of them. Hebrews 8 are the three distinctives of the new covenant. They're not commandments. The three features of the new covenant, the old covenant, Ten Commandments, and the Ten Commandments were basically every one of them was thou shalt or thou shalt not.

Every one of them. You must do this or you must not do this. All ten were like that. You must not commit adultery. You must honor your father and mother. You must not murder. You must keep the Sabbath.

And you must not take the name the Lord your God in vain, etc. In the new covenant, notice this difference, which I just told you. It's not you must, not you must. Notice in first covenant, he says in verse seven was faulty.

So that's why he needed a second. And the new covenant is described in verses 10 to 12. And it is, I will, I will, notice that, I will, not they should not, verse 11, but they shall not. You know the difference between you should not and you will not.

I mean, if you're a sensible person, and I say, you'll never go licking the floor with the tongue, with your tongue, right? Right or wrong? I don't have to say to you, you should not, maybe to a baby, you got to say you should not lick the floor with your tongue.

For grown up people sitting here, I don't say you should not lick the floor with your tongue. I say, you will not lick the floor with your tongue. You know the difference? Because you don't want to do it.

The baby doesn't have that distinction. You go and lick anything. Then you have to tell a baby you should not. So a baby is a picture of somebody who's under the law. But here it says, it doesn't say you should not, you will not.

And you will know me. All will know me. And you know the difference between saying you should know me, and you will know me? A lot of difference. And then it says again, I will, I will. So all those verses, I hope you see this distinction in all three verses, that the Lord is saying, I will do this and you automatically will do what you want, what I want you to do.

I wish you could see this. I want to say to you, that's why the word faith comes so often in the New Testament. Faith means,.