But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord shall not precede those who have fallen asleep." For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words." As to the times and epics, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you, for you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. While they are saying, Peace and safety, then destruction will come upon them suddenly like birth pangs upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape." But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you like a thief. For you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness. So then, let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober. For those who sleep do their sleeping at night, and those who get drunk get drunk at night. But since we are of the day, let us be sober. having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we are awake or asleep we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing." But we request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you and have charge over you and the Lord, and give you instruction, and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Live in peace with one another, and we urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the faint-hearted, help the weak, be patient with all men. See that no one repays another with evil for evil. But always seek after that which is good for one another and for all men. Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophetic utterances, but examine everything carefully. Hold fast to that which is good. Abstain from every form of evil. And now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He will also bring it to pass. Brethren, pray for us. Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss. I adjure you by the Lord. to have this letter read to all the brethren. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Let's pray. Lord, as we look at this passage of Scripture today, we ask that you would come by your Spirit, and Lord Jesus, that you would speak to our hearts, and you would change us. You would capture us. You would renew us. You would cleanse us. You would revive us. You would give us hearts that hope and delight in you all over again. Lord, please don't let us float along. Don't let us perish. Don't let us be cold and indifferent to you. Don't let us be easy with sin in our own lives. Lord, have mercy upon us. Save us, Lord. We can't save ourselves. We look to you. Come and speak to us now, Lord Jesus, this your very word. And it's in Christ we pray. Amen. Well, we continue to look at various benedictions that we find in Holy Scripture. And this particular benediction that we're looking at today found at the end of the book of 1 Thessalonians, particularly verses 23 and 24 is our text, but we're going to be making reference to the verses that come before it to show some of the content that was in the Apostle Paul's mind that the Holy Spirit had given, you see in verse 23, the first little word there is now. And so, he's bringing to conclusion a whole string of instructions that he has been laying one upon another, requests, commands, duties, warnings. encouragements that have to do with practical, everyday Christian living. How does God want us to live? Well, there are several things that we see in these verses that we're going to be making reference to, but notice in verse 23, this benediction has to do with the God of peace himself sanctifying his people entirely. every facet of our being coming to be shaped and formed by the great Potter. What is this thing of sanctification? And let's look at a couple of passages of Scripture that give us a little insight about this word sanctify. It's the verb form of the word holy. What does it mean to be made holy, to be sanctified? Because this benediction, this blessing says that God himself, the God of peace himself, is the one who blesses his people by sanctifying us. Well, what does it mean to be made holy? What is holy? And if you'll turn with me, first of all, to Isaiah chapter 6. Isaiah chapter 6. There are two aspects of holy that the Bible describes, and both of these are true of God. We have one aspect of holy that has to do with something that is unique, something that is very different. It's other. You have secular and then you have holy. And whatever is holy is set apart. It's unique. This is true in a very unique way about God himself, that God is holy. He's set apart. He's different from all of the rest of the people in the universe because he's the creator. He doesn't depend on anybody else for anything. Nobody else in the universe is like that. Nobody else is self-existent, but God is, and so he is set apart from all of the rest of creation. He's the creator. And so we see the angels in heaven crying out in verse 3, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of his glory. He is the one who is high and lifted up there in verse 1. The train of his robe filling the temple. And so when God says he's going to make us holy, we are set apart, and we become different from everything else. But for us, it is we're set apart for God. We belong now to God, and when God sanctifies, when he makes us holy, we're no longer common, but we're special. We no longer are just something that doesn't have anything to do with God, but we now are those that are devoted to God, set apart for him. The other aspect of holy that we see in this passage has to do with moral purity, moral purity. And indeed, God is holy. Not only is he different and unique from all of the rest of creation, and we become that in him, set apart for him, but God is pure. He never does anything wrong. He never thinks anything wrong. He never does anything wrong. And Isaiah becomes particularly conscious of his own unholiness as he is standing there in the throne room in verse 5 Then I said, Woe is me, for I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts." God is holy. He makes us holy. Turn with me to 1 Peter chapter 1. We have another passage of Scripture that applies these truths. Look at 1 Peter 1, verse 13. Therefore, gird your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ, as obedient children Do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior, because it is written, You shall be holy, for I am holy. And if you address His Father, the One who impartially judges according to each man's work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay upon earth. knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ." And so we are to be a people who are like God in verse 16. You shall be holy for I am holy. We are to be conformed more to the image of our great God. Over in the book of Isaiah, this whole matter of being made holy is described in terms of a potter and clay. And I want us to look at just a few passages in Isaiah that I hope will help us have a better understanding of what this term sanctification or to sanctify or to be made holy really is all about. Here in Isaiah chapter 29 and we'll start reading in verse 13. Then the Lord said, Because this people draw near with their words and honor me with their lip service, but they remove their hearts far from me, and their reverence for me consists of tradition learned by rote, therefore, behold, I will once again deal marvelously with this people, wondrously marvelous, and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish. and the discernment of their discerning men shall be concealed. Woe to those who deeply hide their plans from the Lord, and whose deeds are done in a dark place. And they say, Who sees us, or who knows us?" Now here's the condition of God's people. Verse 13, they're still gathering for worship, but what is it? It's empty, it's vain. They draw near with their words, but where's their heart? their hearts far from the Lord. So holiness doesn't just deal with outward actions. It does. But it also deals with the heart and whether we are loving God from the heart and devoted to Him. You can be very religious and still be headed for the pits of hell. And so God says that He was going to expose these hypocritical worshippers. In verse 15, here were people who were doing deeds in a dark place. And you remember the passage that we read in Thessalonians chapter 5 about how God's people are children of light, and we shouldn't be doing the deeds of darkness. We shouldn't be sinning. Well, look at verse 16. You turn things around. shall the potter be considered as equal with the clay, that what is made should say to its maker, he did not make me, or what is formed say to him who formed it, he has no understanding." So if we would be sanctified, if we would profit from this passage of Scripture, we need to understand who we are. Who is it that is being sanctified? Clay. And who is the potter? Almighty God. And so God made us, and he has the right to tell us who we are, what's right, what's wrong, how we ought to view life, and how we ought to live. All right, let's go over to Isaiah chapter 45. And here's another passage that I think will be helpful for us to understand, have a little better handle on what we're talking about when God says he'll bless his people by sanctifying us completely. Isaiah 45, and in verse 8, "...Drip down, O heavens, from above, and let the clouds pour down righteousness. Let the earth open up, and salvation bear fruit, and righteousness spring up with it. I, the Lord, have created it. Woe to the one who quarrels with his Maker." an earthenware vessel among the vessels of earth, will the clay say to the potter, What are you doing? or the thing you are making say, He has no hands. Woe to him who says to a father, What are you beginning? or to a woman, To what are you giving birth? Thus says the Lord, the Holy One of Israel and His Maker." Ask me about the things to come concerning my sons, and you shall commit to me the work of my hands. It is I who made the earth and created man upon it. I stretched out the heavens with my hands, and I ordained all their hosts. I have aroused him in righteousness, and I will make all his ways smooth. He will build my city and will let my exiles go free without any payment or reward. says the Lord of Hosts. And he's talking about Cyrus, who was a pagan king, and he says, here's what Cyrus is going to do. And so sanctification involves people coming to understand who their Creator is and delighting to serve and love and obey and do the bidding and the will of the Creator, of the potter. Turn with me lastly to Isaiah 64. Isaiah 64. So you see, even unconverted people end up doing the will of God. They don't understand what they're doing, like Cyrus didn't. They have no heart that loves God. But a person who is sanctified understands that God is the Creator and the Sovereign over history. And we have a heart that loves him, and we want to follow him, and we want to do what he says in his holy word. Look at Isaiah 64, verse 1, O that thou wouldst rend the heavens, and come down, that the mountains might quake at thy presence. As fire kindles the brushwood, as fire causes water to boil, to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence. When thou didst awesome things which we did not expect, thou didst come down, the mountains quaked at thy presence. For from of old they have not heard nor perceived by ear, neither has the eye seen a God besides thee, who acts in behalf of the one who waits for him." Thou dost meet him who rejoices in doing righteousness, who remembers thee in thy ways. Behold, thou wast angry, for we sinned. We continued in them a long time, and shall we be saved? For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment, and all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away." And there is no one who calls on thy name, who arouses himself to take hold of thee. For thou hast hidden thy face from us, and hast delivered us into the power of our iniquities." Now notice the pronouns here, us, we. And we have here in verse 6 and 7 Isaiah including himself in saying all of us are what? We are like those who have become like a filthy garment. All of us wither like a leaf. Our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. Thou hast delivered us into the power of our iniquities. And so, sanctification has to do with God's people being delivered from the power of sin. You see, justification delivers us from the guilt of sin. Sanctification delivers us from the power of sin. And so in verse 8, But now, O LORD, thou art our Father. We're the clay, thou our potter, and all of us are the work of thy hand. And so sanctification is coming to know and to seek after and beg that God would be the potter who would form and fashion us as clay into what he wants us to be. That's what sanctification is. And it is that work of God doing that. And you see, sanctification is different from justification. Justification is a legal act. It takes place outside of mankind. Justification is something that takes place in the courtroom of heaven where a judge makes a legal declaration about us. And the tool that God uses to justify us is faith, faith in Jesus Christ. And when you believe in Jesus Christ, when I believe in Jesus Christ, the moment you believed in Jesus, God justified you. He declared us not guilty. He declared us righteous because of what Jesus has done. That's justification. That's this legal act that God does. It happens that quick. And we now have a new standing with the judge of all the earth. But sanctification, it begins when God makes us his own, but it's something that doesn't take place outside of us, but it takes place inside of us. And God changes us and makes us more and more and more like he is. So, let's look at just a few things about this thing of sanctification. We've seen what it is a little bit. We've looked at some passages in Isaiah to help us appreciate and understand what sanctification is. And you can picture a potter working on a lump of clay. And so that's what I am. That's what you are. We're lumps of clay. And we say when God is sanctifying us, Lord, you sanctify me. And we are giving ourselves to him and participating with him in this glorious process of sanctification. Now, let's look at several passages to help us. Back to 1 Thessalonians, chapter 5, verse 23. Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely. Sanctification is something that God does in us. And with us, turn with me to Romans chapter 6. Romans chapter 6. And we want to look at the motive and the power for sanctification. All right? So God, it's something God does, but it's something that we also participate in. All right? Romans chapter 6, and we'll have to go up now and look at a couple of verses in chapter 5 to get the context. Look at verse 20. For the law came in that the transgression might increase, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more. That is, sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. So here's the way it works. If you're a big sinner, I've got good news for you. God's grace is greater than our sin. It doesn't matter what you've been. You can be as vile as you can imagine, and that was John Newton's testimony. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. And that's what we all are. The only thing is the world recognizes wretches in some of us more readily than in others. But if you could see yourself as God sees you, you would understand how wretched we are. If I could see myself as God sees me, I would be repulsed by me. The gospel is, no matter how wretched we are in sin, and we are, God's grace is greater than our sin. And if you believe in Jesus Christ, he justifies you. All right? That takes care of the guilt of sin. But now look at chapter 6, verse 1. What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace might increase? And so he anticipates perversion of the gospel. And here's the perversion. If God shows his grace to be greater where there's great sin, I'll just help God out and I'll just sin all the more so that I'll give God an opportunity to show his grace to be greater. That's the objection that the Apostle Paul anticipates. The gospel is so It is so great, it is so free that some people might pervert that free grace of God and say, well, that means I can just do anything I want to and God will forgive me. I can just sin up a bunch and God will forgive me. What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace might increase? God forbid. May it never be. How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into his death?" And so in Romans chapter 6, he begins to explain how that not only do we have justification in Jesus Christ, but God is also sanctifying us. Look over in verse 22. But now, having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit resulting in sanctification or holiness. Some of your translations have holiness. Some have sanctification. But that's the same word that we have over here in 1 Thessalonians 5. and the outcome eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." So this passage is a passage that is teaching us here in Romans 6 about what? Look at verse 22. Sanctification. And how does sanctification work? As we understand what God has made us in Christ Jesus, something happens to us. Verse 4, Therefore we have been buried with him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, how are we united to Christ? Whatever happened to Jesus happened to us. He is our substitute. He lived a sinless life for us. That's credited to us. He died on a cross. If you're a Christian, you've died on a cross. Jesus died on your behalf. That's what he's saying. If we've become united with him in the likeness of his death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of his resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with him that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin. Have you ever heard somebody say, I just can't help it? You know, I have Irish blood in me, or I have, I mean, I've heard it all. I mean, wherever people are from, they can trace their heritage back, you know. I've got Polish blood in me. I've got Swedish blood. I've got, you know, Dutch blood. And that's why I get angry. I just can't help it. That's just the way I am. You ever heard somebody say that? Well, this passage says that because of the work of Jesus Christ not only justifying you, but sanctifying you, God frees Christians from the power of sin. so that we should no longer be slaves to sin. Verse 7, for he who has died is freed from sin. Martin Luther described it this way. He said that after he became a Christian, every once in a while Satan would come to visit at his home, and he would bring a platter, and on this platter he would have all of Martin Luther's choice besetting sin. You know, have you ever been to a restaurant, fancy restaurant, and at the end of the meal, sometimes, you know, they'll bring out this platter with all these desserts, and they'll say, now, here's a sample of what we have to offer you this evening. And they'll just put that in. Oh, man, you're going, oh, there's cheesecake and chocolate pie. How do you pick? Martin Luther would describe, Satan would come with all of his choice sins on this platter, and he'd knock at the door. He'd say, I would speak with Master Luther. Luther would come to the door and say, what do you want? He said, I want to see Martin Luther. And then he'd hold this platter out and he says, see what I've got for you, big boy. And you know what Martin Luther would say? He would say, I'm sorry. Martin Luther doesn't live here anymore. He's dead. That's what Romans 6 is describing. That in Jesus Christ, God delivers us from the power of sin. And this benediction that we have over in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 is a glorious benediction because it describes for us that God himself, the God of peace, the God who has secured peace, through his Son, he himself is at work sanctifying us. The great potter is taking us as a lump of clay and he's molding and making us so that we are more and more fit vessels for the King of glory to live in and to be with and to use. That's what sanctification is all about. Notice in verse 7, "...for he who has died is freed from sin." Now, if we have died with Christ, we believe that we should also live with him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again. Death no longer is master over him. For the death that he died, he died to sin. Once for all, but the life that he lives, he lives to God. Even so, consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. And so, what sanctification? Sanctification involves us, in verse 11, reckoning, considering. And that's a math term. That's adding up the figures. Reckon yourselves. Do some math. Christ died. He has joined us to himself. He's been raised from the dead. And you no longer have to be a slave to sin. And so verse 12, Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should 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. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law, but under grace." We are no longer under the condemnation of God's law. We're no longer those headed for the pits of hell. We now have a new force that has captured us and that motivates us and makes us what we are, and that is the grace of God. And that's what sanctification is, the process of us coming to understand and live in light of what we are now. We are sons and daughters of royalty. And God says, now learn to live that way. I love the illustration. When I was in seminary, I was reading the Philadelphia paper one day, Monday or a Tuesday, in the library, and I saw this page, Homeless Man Has Struggle. And I thought, well, okay. It was a whole page. And so I started reading it. It was about a man who lived in Chicago who was a homeless man. I mean, we used to call them bums. And so, here was this man who just was living on the streets of Chicago. He lived in a cardboard box over a grate where a big heat duct. I mean, that's where this man's home was. And he had an uncle or a distant relative who was a multi-multi-millionaire and left him millions and millions of dollars. And so, as soon as the will was put into effect, this man became a millionaire. But he didn't know it, and he was living like a bum on the streets of Chicago. And so, the account went through talking about how this black limousine pulled up one day, and they're asking for this guy by name. Well, he assumed that it could not be good. that, you know, there was a particular family that wanted him for some reason. And he was scared to death. And so he went into hiding. And the team of lawyers who were executing this will, they had a real hard time convincing him that he really, really, really was a multimillionaire now and that they weren't going to bump him off. But finally the day came when he came out of hiding, quit eating out of trash cans, and he, the rest of the article was about what an incredible adjustment it was for this man to go from being a bum on the streets of Chicago to now being a man who had incredible wealth. I mean, he could not only eat at any restaurant he wanted, he could buy any restaurant he wanted. And it was kind of a mind-bender for this guy to go from being a pauper to being a man of great means. Well, that's what Romans 6 is describing. Spiritually, we used to be spiritual bums. We were living against God and God has come and drawn us unto himself and made us his own little children. And now God says, you need to learn to live in light of what I have made you now. You need to learn more and more to hate your sin and to love the Lord Jesus Christ. And that is the blessing that we see here in 1 Thessalonians 5, that God himself is sanctifying us. Well, let's look at a few things just in closing in this passage. At the end of chapter 4, we have the great judgment day and the resurrection that are put forth. And God says that we ought to live in light of that. That ought to change the way we view now. We ought to live in light of God's great work that is going to come at the end of history. That not only are our souls going to be with Jesus, but someday Jesus is going to raise our bodies up. And so God says, it's worth it to say no to sin right now. It's worth it to suffer for Jesus' sake right now, to do battle with sin. You know, it's not easy to live the Christian life. It's glorious and it's good, but it's not easy. It's a battle. And God says that you need to live in light of the fact that someday Jesus is coming. Look at chapter 5. That day is going to come like a thief. People who aren't prepared, who aren't living for the Lord Jesus Christ, what will come upon them in verse 3? Destruction will come upon them. Verse 4, But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you like a thief. For you are all sons of light. and sons of day, we are not of night nor of darkness. So then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober. For those who sleep, do their sleeping at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love and as a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. Turn with me to the book of James. James chapter 4, verse 1. What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? You lust and do not have, so you commit murder. And you are envious and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." And so there it is, sanctification. is putting to death, as Romans 6 says, what remains of sin in your life. Death is not pretty. Death is painful. And so, this thing of sanctification, it's not like every morning you get up and you take a holy pill. You know, you get up and you take a holy pill and you drink your water. There you go. But it is learning. It is doing battle. It is struggling with sins. If you're struggling with lying, it's saying, Lord, you're a God of truth, and I don't want to live against you, and it hurts me that I've told this thing that was not true. If you have impure thoughts, you're saying, Lord, help me to be faithful to you. I belong to you. My body belongs to you. I shouldn't be thinking about having illicit God has given his word to tell us what's right and what's wrong. Look on down in 1 Thessalonians, chapter 5, verse 11. Therefore, encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing. Sanctification. We're to help each other in sanctification. God uses one another. to help us grow up in Christ. Verse 12, the chief tool that God uses to sanctify us, guess what it is? The Word of God. Are you reading the Bible? Do you read Scripture every day? Are you reading the Bible as a family? How important is it to gather with God's people to hear the Word of God proclaimed? Well, verse 14, we urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the faint-hearted, help the weak, be patient with all men. When was the last time that somebody either talked to you about concern about how you were doing spiritually or you talked to somebody else about a concern about how they were doing spiritually? We just don't do things like that, do we? I mean, nice people just don't talk about things like that in this culture. That's obscene in this culture, to talk to somebody about how they're doing with Jesus. And I'm talking about professing Christians now. But right here, what does God do to sanctify His people? He uses one another. And let me tell you, if you say, well, Henry, that's just uncomfortable for me. You know, I've got good news for you. Wednesday morning and Wednesday night, God's people gather together, and I realize some of you, your work schedule won't allow it, but if you want an opportunity to do some one-anothering, to pray for one another, encourage one another, admonish one another, that is a glorious opportunity to do so. See that no one repays another evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all men." When somebody does you wrong, what does God say we ought to do? We ought to go on the offense. And what do you do? If your enemy is thirsty, you give him water to drink. If he's hungry, you give him food to eat. And that's what he's talking about. That's what sanctification looks like. Fun, isn't it? When somebody does you wrong and you do good to them in return. Rejoice always. What does sanctification look like? It's growing to understand who God is and that he's at work in this fallen world. Pray without ceasing. God calls us to be a praying people. In everything give thanks, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. No matter what our circumstances are, God is at work. Do not quench the Spirit. The Holy Spirit speaks through this book, right here. You want to know what the Spirit is saying? Right here. Here's His voice. Do not despise prophetic utterances. God has spoken. And Genesis to Revelation, this is the Word of the Spirit. Examine everything carefully. Look at everything. Examine it. Put it under the microscope of God's Word. Is that right? Is it wrong? Hold fast to that which is good. Abstain from every form of evil. We are to be putting to death sin. Are you different? today as compared to five years ago? Are you different? Are you closer to God? Are you more like God? That's what this chapter is talking about, and that's what God is at work doing in his little children. Now, may the God of peace, the God who gave his Son to be our Redeemer, sanctify you entirely. Not just on Sunday morning when you come, but all through the week, in your heart, in your home, what you listen to, your goals, the way you enjoy your recreation, everything brought to belong to Jesus, to be conscious of serving Him, loving Him, enjoying Him, our families in the workplace, our church family, and so God himself is sanctifying us, every part of our being. That which can't even be separated, your spirit, your soul, your body, be preserved complete without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. That is what God is at work doing in his children, and so I pray that you will give yourself anew to this Savior. And you'll say, Lord Jesus, I'm the clay, you're the potter. It's not the other way around. And Lord Jesus, I want you to change me and to take your word and to put the spotlight on sin in my life, affections that are out of place, goals that aren't right, whatever it is, because, Lord, You have promised that you're going to sanctify me, and I want to be a quick learner. You know what happens to people who are slow learners in God's schoolroom of sanctification? We don't have time to look at it this morning, but read Hebrews chapter 12. If you are a slow learner, you have to go to remedial school. And you know what remedial school is? It's the school of experience. That's remedial school. It's not the best place to learn. The best place to learn is the Lord Jesus Christ speaking to us through His Word. But God's going to sanctify you. If you belong to Jesus, He will sanctify you one way or another. Sometimes I feel like I'm the fellow described over in Psalm 73 where he said, when I was thinking thus, I was like a mule before thee. You know how you get a mule's attention? Sometimes you have to kind of jostle him a little bit on the head with something heavy. Conk. And I've been that way, but I pray that God will give us soft, teachable hearts, and we'll say, Lord Jesus, you're the potter, I'm the clay. Lord, I want you to teach me. That's the blessing of God. Faithful is he who calls you. He will also bring it to pass. He's going to sanctify you. What a blessing.