He Has You

When Jesus Christ came to this earth, it was to bring the gift of salvation for anyone who was willing to receive it. There is nothing anyone needs to do in order to be given salvation but to only make the choice to receive it.

You’re not made perfect from within but from above. “For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified” (Hebrews 10:14 NKJV).

The Holy Spirit came to this earth to help change those believers who are saved by Christ so that they will be sanctified into all that God wants them to be. There is nothing anyone must do to be sanctified but to only make the choice to receive it.

Stop saying that as long as you are in this flesh, you will sin. That is a defeatist attitude, and you are telling God what He cannot do in you. “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:23 NKJV).

Jesus Christ can save you, and the Holy Spirit can sanctify you. Salvation happens in a moment, whereas sanctification will happen throughout your lifetime. Both only require your choice to receive them. Your willingness to yield is the only work you can do.

Salvation is the gift from Jesus, and sanctification is the gift from the Holy Spirit. “…But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:11 NKJV).

Being sanctified is being changed from who you were in the natural to who the Holy Spirit can help you to be in the spiritual. You can barely change yourself even a little, but the Spirit of God can radically change you, if only you would let Him.

Sanctification of a saint is the process whereby the natural is overcome by the spiritual. The evidence of a sanctified life is the absence of things that were in your life before. “But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work” (2 Timothy 2:20-21 NKJV).

Being sanctified is not only about removing sinful thoughts and actions from your life. It also removes bad attitudes and selfish ambitions. It is more than removing only the bad things, but also the good things that hinder your walk with God.

Sanctification is not losing things but being set free from them. “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality” (1 Thessalonians 4:3 NKJV).

There are more Christians with salvation than there are Christians being sanctified by the Holy Spirit. They may be saved, but they have not been changed very much from who they were before. Carnal Christians still live in their flesh.

We cannot sanctify ourselves but only be sanctified by Him. “I am the LORD who sanctifies you.” (Leviticus 20:8 NKJV).

Just as religious leaders in the days of Christ rejected Jesus, so it is today that many religious leaders reject the Holy Spirit. They may teach about Him and even speculate on all that He might do, but they don’t know Him nor yield to Him.

It’s the doctrines of natural men that reject the supernatural moves of God. “They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!” (2 Timothy 3:5 NLT).

To be sanctified by the Holy Spirit, you must be filled with the Holy Spirit. You must be yielding to Him in all that you think, say, and do. You can only be led by the Holy Spirit when you’re willing to follow Him. Following means yielding.

You will be as sanctified as you will let God sanctify you. “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:23 NKJV).

It doesn’t matter how far you have fallen, but are you allowing the Holy Spirit to get you to where you need to go? Sanctification has more to do with spiritual direction than spiritual destinations. You have to be going the right way to get to the right place.

Sanctification is the process whereby the right to your life is surrendered over to Christ, parcel by parcel. The process is only complete when there remains no ground in your life upon which you can stand and say, “mine”. “Or do you not know that…you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NKJV).

As you are being sanctified, you will have failures along the way. I don’t say this to give you the free pass to fall when you want, but to give you the confidence to get back up when you do fall. Let the cost of your failures pay the tuition for your spiritual growth.

Every failure is an opportunity to learn. “The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the LORD holds them by the hand” (Psalm 37:23-24 NLT).

God didn’t send the Holy Spirit for our entertainment or to prop us up in our ministries. No, sir, no ma’am, He sent the Holy Spirit to guide us, to teach us, to sanctify us, to change us. The way you know that the Holy Spirit is working in you is that you’re changing.

Salvation comes just as you are, and then sanctification will begin to change you. “He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:4-6 NLT).

If you’re not filled with the Holy Spirit, then ask God to fill you. Jesus taught us that all we have to do is ask God, and He will most certainly do it. And until you’re overflowing with the Spirit onto those around you, keep asking for more.

Ask God to help you do those things He knew you could never do on your own. Jesus taught us, “If you then, evil as you are, know how to give good gifts [gifts that are to their advantage] to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask and continue to ask Him!” (Luke 11:13 AMPC).

Once you’re filled with the Holy Spirit, then ask Him to sanctify you. And do not be surprised when sometimes He must hurt you to sanctify you into all that He wants you to be. Suffering is a useful tool in the hands of the Spirit of God.

If you want to change your life, let Him. “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10 RSV).

Do not be discouraged or bitter when God allows you to suffer. Just as the washing machine must roll and tumble clothes so that they will be made clean, so God, through His Holy Spirit, will need to regenerate you into something new.

Pray that your suffering accomplishes His will for your life. “After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace [who imparts His blessing and favor], who called you to His own eternal glory in Christ, will Himself complete, confirm, strengthen, and establish you [making you what you ought to be]” (1 Peter 5:10 AMP).

Blessings to you always,

Paul Balius