Of course you know that no such formula exists. Sanctification is a growing process which will continue throughout our earthly lives.
I think I wrote previously of something the Lord said to me directly and personally:
Yield without reservation
Obey without hesitation
Trust without agitation
I put this together with (Romans 12:12) Rejoice in hope, be steadfast in suffering and be constant in prayer – and (Colossians 3:16) Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly.
This is not a formula - - it is a lifestyle.
For the past few days I’ve been thinking about the unapproachable light (1 Timothy 6:16). If I dared to approach with any hope of self-righteousness, I would shrivel up like a drop of water on a hot stove – be totally consumed. That light is the blinding, killing, burning of God’s holiness. We know the danger because God told Moses (Exodus 33:20) no man can see My face and live.
Consider this line from one of my favourite hymns:
“How beautiful Thy Mercy Seat in depth of burning light”
In the awful depths of God’s burning holiness we have a Mercy Seat – a Propitiation – a Mediator.
If I approach God Who dwells in that dangerous light, not having my own righteousness (Philippians 3:9) but clothed in the righteousness of Christ – when God looks at me He sees Jesus. Then His burning light of holiness cannot harm me but embraces me and fills me with longing to be holy because (1 Peter 1:16) He is holy. But - - how to be holy - - how to live that victorious christian life?? We would like to become (PHIL.3:12) complete, perfect, mature at once but that’s not going to happen.
As believers we have been sealed (Ephesians 1:13) by the Spirit with the royal insignia – the magnificent seal of the Triune God – marking us as the possession of God. Also we are indwelt (1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19) by the Holy Spirit. He is a Person and when He enters it is in His total Person. What does it mean (Ephesians 5:18) to continually be filled with the Spirit? We’ve all heard the example of a house with many rooms – some open to the spirit and some locked against Him. That does nothing for me – I just can’t picture myself as a house full of rooms. I see myself as a person who has been given (1 John 5:11) eternal life – plus everything I need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3-4) and have become a partaker of the Divine nature. I am (2 Corinthians 5:17) not a patched up, improved old self but a totally new creation. That sounds like perfect equipment for a perfect life. But – there is something else.
I know that we were created in God’s image. Because of the Fall. That image was defaced but not erased. God works in us to restore that image and it will be completed and perfect when we see Jesus. For now “Christ in me” (Colossians 1:27) is my only hope of reflecting God’s glory/moral character.
However, recently the Holy Spirit has shown me a deeper insight into being created in God’s image. It impacted me deeply and brought holy fear such as I’ve never experienced before. Think about this - - God can do whatever He chooses, anywhere and at any time. God made a choice and said - - Let Us make man in Our image. With that choice, God opened Himself up to horrendous heartbreak which demanded the agony of Gethsemane and the torture and shame of Calvary. Dig deep with me. What is the most God-like attribute that every human possesses? God can do whatever He chooses - - - SO CAN I ! ! ! Free will – power of choice. Come with me to (Luke 6, Mark 3) watch in amazement as Jesus selects 12 disciples to be with Him, to go and preach and to have power to heal the sick and cast out demons. He calls them apostles and – oh no! – can it be? Yes – one of them is Judas Iscariot, the traitor – who was also created in God’s image. I wrote a previous meditation on the magnificence and the terror of free will but I’ve never seen it so deeply before. I am fearfully aware of the importance – significance – responsibility – consequences of even the smallest choice. God will never force me to obey Him - - He wants a relationship, not a robot.
We can even see this worked out in the heavenly realm. God created beautiful Lucifer and millions of holy angels. By one irrevocable choice, Lucifer became satan and by one irrevocable choice one full third of the angels switched their allegiance to satan and became demons. Was the population of heaven in stunned shock that day?
Now I’ll get back to “be being filled” with the Holy Spirit. I can co-operate by choosing (Colossians 3:5) to set my thoughts and affections on things above and (Romans 12:2) choosing to be transformed by the renewing of my mind. As my relationship with the Lord deepens, the Holy Spirit points out to me things within me of which often I was not aware - - wads of obstinance – undetected pockets of pride – unrealized strands of selfishness. If I choose to acknowledge, confess, repent – if I choose to sacrifice the natural so God can replace it with the supernatural – if I choose to crucify the flesh and choose (Galatians 5:25) to live and walk in the Spirit, He has increasing control. It’s not that we get more of Him but that He gets more control of us and our fellowship and joy in the Lord continues to deepen.
Let us never cheapen grace by obliterating holiness and misunder-standing, the meaning of the Cross. The Cross does not mean that I can receive forgiveness of sin and then go on my merry way to choose whatever pleases me. NO - - with multiplied emphasis! The Cross speaks of death – death to everything wrong in me. The Resurrection speaks of new life – the life of Jesus being lived in and through me by the Holy Spirit. He only and always has the POWER - - but I only and always have the CHOICE.
I long to – and trusting the Holy Spirit to enable me to understand more deeply the tremendous cost and the immeasurable scope of the Atonement.
Broken and spilled out
Just for love of me, JESUS,
God’s dearest treasure
Lavished on me.
Oh God, with love, wonder, gratitude and worship, I come before Your throne to ask:
- that (John 3:30) Jesus must increase and I must decrease
- for the will of God, nothing more, nothing less, nothing else at any cost - - that my will be lost in Thine
- that I myself will be lost in wonder, love and praise.
