Turn your Bibles with me to 2 Corinthians and the 3rd chapter. 2 Corinthians and the 3rd chapter, if you would stand for the reading of the Word of God. We'll really be discussing the entire chapter, but really only focusing on breaking down and unpacking and putting together and showing you the power of verse 18. And we will call today's message Sanctification 101. Sanctification 101. I'll read just verse 18. 2 Corinthians 3, verse 18. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. Heavenly Father, to the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit, speak words of life into our lives. that we would know the promise, the potential, our responsibility, and change our desires by us focusing on you, Lord Jesus, in your name we pray, amen. You may be seated. All right, so we're in Florida, and it's fall, just about to be fall season. So what does that mean? Football. The ladies are like, oh no, I see the heads rolling and the tongues wagging and the fingers pointing. But it's football, it's football, it's football. And whether it's the University of Florida Gators with their orange and blue, or it's the Florida State Seminoles with their garnet and gold, Or the South Florida Bulls with their green and gold. Or my alma mater, Central Florida, and their black and gold. People would be wearing team colors. And I want to use that to describe something to you. If you were going to a football game and you're at one of the rival schools, if your team is playing, you wear the other colors. But let's just say you now started to go to Florida State, right? And you had transferred from the University of Florida. Well, you really wouldn't be wearing the Florida colors too long. You'd be wearing what everybody else is wearing. That's what you'd be looking at. That's what you see in the bookstore. That's where you see the pendants and the buttons and the bumper stickers and the license plates and all of that. And people would be, you know, making their cheer and doing all of these things. And that's normal and that's good. Here's what I mean to say. What you look at is what you will look like. What you look at is what you will look like. See, there's a principle of worship in the Bible, and it's this. What you behold is what you become. What you are looking at is what you are transformed into. You see it throughout the Bible, and I want to show it to you in this passage. And when you get to college, you take freshman English, comp one, or algebra, or whatever it is, and they call it the class 101, right? 400 classes, senior, 300 class, junior, I mean, typically. So this is called sanctification, growing in grace, being transformed. How does God do it? What are the basics of it? And this passage tells us a framework of all of that. So we call it Sanctification 101. So you might hear some things you haven't heard today. You might be thinking, well, this is a lot of information. But I think it's going to clear up a lot for you, even if you've been at this thing, like me, for more than 40 years. This could really, and should, will help you and it'll encourage you and that's our aim for today. Now, in 2 Corinthians 3, we didn't read the whole chapter, but what the Apostle Paul is doing is contrasting what's called the Old Covenant with the New Covenant. One of these covenants, the Old Covenant, was what God made with Moses for the children of Israel. It included what we know as the Ten Commandments. But you know, it was a lot more than that. There was 613 other commandments that guided all of the life of all the people. It was about everything. The Old Covenant. And it was surrounded by a lot of ritual ceremonies and washings and feasts and sacrifices and all of that. And it was really comprehensive. And it was so glorious that you could see the reflected glory of God himself in the face of Moses. As verse 7 of chapter 3 says, it came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses' face because of its glory. Imagine that. He would talk with God and he came down and they couldn't even look at him. It was too much. Remember Moses saw him one time and saw only his back parts. And so this was glorious. It wasn't a bad thing. It was an incredible thing. He was making a covenant with his people. And verse 13 says Moses had to put a veil over his face. But if you look continuously in this chapter, you'll see him call it all kinds of things that don't sound very flattering. He calls it, in fact, the Old Covenant a ministry of death. All this glory. All these audiovisual elements, all this pomp and circumstance, all this ritual, all these requirements, all these commandments about every facet of life for every child of God that is realized. It was incredible. And yet Paul says, the ministry of death. Now why does he do that? Why does he do that? Because the Old Testament law had no power to sanctify you. No power to set you apart in your heart. It set them apart as a nation, but it didn't change their heart. You see, it was given to expose your helplessness to live up to the standards of God. You look through the Ten Commandments, you look at what they really mean in their greater reality, you can see that in the Sermon on the Mount, and you realize, I don't measure up. Indeed, Romans 3.23 says that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. You see, the law is glorious because it reveals God's righteousness. Paul isn't saying the law is bad. He's saying we're bad. And the law itself can't impart the spiritual life you need to be right with God. And so you can't become holy by keeping the law. See, people try to make themselves better by trying harder. We're going to blow that up today. But I'm going to show you a better way because we think, well it's still, it looks like it's still trying hard. What is the answer to that? We're going to talk about that. Anybody excited about that? I hope so. This is Sanctification 101, but it's something you take every year, right? It's not like mechanics and materials. You take it one time, and you're glad you're done with it, right? It's here we are. You can't become holy by keeping the law. Why? Because you can't keep it perfectly. As James 2.10 says, whoever keeps the whole law, but fails at one point, is guilty of it all. So the law can't make you holy. And what's more, the law actually provokes a rebellion that's in you. In Romans 7, Paul said, knowing the command, you shall not covet, made him covet all the more. You know how it is. Thou shalt not. And what does our heart say? God bless, I shall. That's what happens. You know, you talk about it, you talk about it, you talk about it. I was in my, oh boy, here we go. Margie was gone seeing her parents. I had lunch to myself. I ate the grapes. I ate the apples. I ate the fish leftovers. And then I decided to have one of those little teeny candy bars that we had leftover from the kids. But I was looking for them because I wanted the crackles, not the dark anymore. And so there was more in the cupboard. And I opened the cupboard, and behold, peanut butter. And so the knowledge of the peanut butter led me to get not one, not two, but three of those little candy bars and wrap them in the biggest spoon I could possibly find, dunked as far as it could possibly go, stacked as high as it could possibly go with peanut butter. Peanut butter and chocolate are two great tastes that taste great together. But the knowledge of that sin made me sin all the more. Had I not seen it, I was prepared. I thought I was doing good. I'll cheat at dinner because I ate the fish. I did good. You know, I saw my doctor. He said, everything is good except you're heavy again. And you know, your blood sugar. I'll give you this more pills, but you know, hey bud, I know you know how to lose weight. You've done it twice. You want another heart attack, etc, etc. But I chose sin. Because it was there. Paul says, I wouldn't have even known what covenant is until I saw it. Thou shalt not covet. And I thought about it. I contemplated it. And I did it all the more. See, Paul is contrasting the old and new covenants. He's saying, the old covenant is glorious. It reveals the righteousness of God. But it can't save you. And that's what he's saying in 2 Corinthians 3. This is how to get it done. But we see this. We still think it's law. But when you're weighed against the law, you know it's your judge, and you realize you call yourself a Christian, but you fall short of God's standard. But that's what makes Jesus so important. Amen? He fulfilled the law for you, and God credits the righteousness of Jesus to you as a free gift of grace, which you receive by faith. As Romans 8, 1, and 2 says, There's therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus for the law of the Spirit. of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. He's talking about those same categories. And Romans 10, verse 4 says that Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. You see, the old covenant law brought people face to face with their sin. And it kept a veil between them and the glory of God. But the new covenant, the veil is removed. I'm going to explain all of this to you. Are you with me? Are you ready? See, the truth of the New Covenant isn't... See, people look at the Old Testament and think, oh, I've got to find this and I found this secret thing about this blood moon and this and that and the other thing. Stop all that. That's what he's trying to say. He's trying to say the New Covenant isn't full of types and shadows and symbols and it isn't like some mystery you have to interpret. The glory of the New Covenant is on full display in the person and work of Jesus Christ. The way of salvation is absolutely clear. And here's the point he's making in verse 18. So is the way of sanctification. In other words, growing to be more like Jesus. You think, what is sanctification? What a big word. Becoming more like Jesus. That's God's point. Paul says the new covenant, we read about it here in Romans 8, 1 and 2, is the ministry of the Spirit. And it has more glory than the old covenant. And this isn't the only place in the New Testament that talks about this. The book of Hebrews is about that. The superiority of Christ. The superiority of the New Covenant. The promise of freedom from condemnation of the law. That's the New Covenant. Redemption is applied to you through the regeneration and indwelling of the Holy Spirit. And your sins are forgiven. You're enabled to repent and trust in Jesus. And you're given a new heart that delights in God's commands. Uh oh! That statement didn't resonate with me. We're going to talk about that. How can you make yourself want to? Well, I want to want to, but I don't really want to. How do you make yourself want to? By being hard on yourself? Right? By willpower? No. So maybe we're going to learn something today, amen? Or maybe we need to be reminded of something? I needed to be reminded. As you continue to turn to Jesus, these realities become more real in your daily experience. Now all that was just lead up to verse 18. So here we are at verse 18. And what verse 18 is saying is that you get to look at the glory of God and the person of Christ face to face with a completely unveiled face. There is no mystery. There's only substance. And as you do that, you become more and more like Jesus. It's not like Moses just got a glimpse of his glory. You get to stare. I could have called this message staring at Jesus again and again. And that glory gradually transforms you. That's how sanctification works, and that's the only way sanctification works. Now, let's look at this verse again. Let me read it. And I want you to think about this as I say it. The text is descriptive of those who are in the New Covenant. And Paul says that every Christian Every Christian. Someone say, that's me. Look at someone and say, that's you. That's you. Is currently in the process of transformation. Sanctification. Of becoming more like Jesus in your practice. Look what it says. And we all, with unveiled faith, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. But let me say something to you. This text isn't just descriptive. It is prescriptive. See, it's not just descriptive presenting you with a reality. It's prescriptive presenting you with a possibility. In this verse you have a promise, but you also have a responsibility. And the truths of this text are foundational to any pursuit of holiness in your life. Here you see a framework of God's plan for your growth. I could have called this God's plan for your growth. And what do you see in this text? You see seven things. Oh boy, seven things. But I bullet pointed them. Put them in your outline there. Looking at this text, you see the reality of sanctification, the possibility of sanctification, the means of sanctification, the nature of sanctification, very important, the purpose, the process. and the agent of sanctification. First, then, is the reality of sanctification. The reality of sanctification. Aren't our little slides neat? Oh, yes. The text says, and we all are being transformed. Now here's the thing about sanctification. There's two facets. There's positional sanctification and there's practical sanctification. We're all concerned about practical sanctification. Am I doing better? Am I doing worse? Have I gotten over this habit? Have I not gotten over this habit? How am I going to get over this habit? How am I going to find these sins and root them out? I want to be more like Jesus. But before you get to practical sanctification, you must understand positional sanctification. Again, it's both positional and practical. What's positional sanctification? It's where God sets you apart for himself and regards you holy because of your union with Christ. 1 Corinthians 1.30 says, You are in Christ Jesus, who has become to us wisdom from God, righteousness, and sanctification and redemption. That's why Paul refers to all believers as saints. Who here trusts Jesus Christ for their salvation? Raise your hand. You know what I call you? Rico? A saint. A saint. A saint. That's what God calls you. He calls you a saint. You say, well, I don't really act like a saint. That's the practical sanctification that we're going to get to, and this verse tells you what to do. Amen? That's going to be your own individual relationship with God, but there are certain things that you must do that he will work through, and this text tells you that. But the reality of sanctification is that The Bible doesn't call you a saint because you always act like one. Amen. The Bible calls you a saint because that's your legal position before God. You've been set apart. If you're a Christian, you've already been sanctified. That's your position. You've been set apart for God. It has already happened. But notice that the text also says, are being transformed. This is something that's still happening. But amen to that too. That's practical sanctification, where you're becoming more and more like Jesus, more and more conformed to the image of Christ. And you know what? Let me tell you something. It isn't some take-it-or-leave-it proposition. Let me talk to people today who really don't care about holiness. Because you know what? It is a promise we are all being transformed. But it's also a responsibility to keep looking at Jesus. Those who aren't being transformed at all aren't who they think they are. You're not in the New Covenant if you don't even care about holiness because a saving faith leads to a living faith, period. The New Testament is replete with that. It has nothing but that. Hebrews 12, 14 says it this way. It warns you to strive for peace with everyone and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. Now this isn't about perfection, this is about purpose. I've said this phrase for years and years and it's up on your screen right there. If your destination is heaven, your destiny is holiness. The destination is the place you arrive at. The destiny is the journey you travel on the way there. What's the reality of sanctification? That you're already a saint. But if you have been set apart by Him, you will be growing in Him. You will be growing in Him. You're saying, but I'm not doing it so well. This text will answer as to why some are and some aren't. Do you want to know? I want to know! I do know, this text tells me, in my own life. You don't have to look at other people, you can look at your own life. Again, the reality of sanctification. If your destination is heaven, your destiny is holiness. And that leads us to our next point, which is the possibility of sanctification. It says, with unveiled face. We are being transformed. There isn't something blocking you. You can do it. All believers in Christ have an unveiled face. What is this talking about? It means the glory you experience in Christ is not the fading glory of the old covenant with Moses, and his face had to be hidden by a veil. 2 Corinthians 4.3 says the gospel is veiled to those who aren't saved. But 2 Corinthians 4.6 says that through the gospel of Jesus Christ, you're given the spiritual ability to see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Now, I know I have to explain those things because we say, behold the glory of the Lord, and we think, are we having a mystical vision or something like that? No, this isn't a physical radiance that makes your skin shine like it did Moses. This is something much better. This is the glory of the truth. Jesus Christ said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. The Apostle John in John 1.14 says, we've seen His glory. Glory is of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. What's the possibility? You have every possibility because your face, you are not blind to the truth. Your eyes have been opened. Your heart has been changed. You can see the glory of Jesus Christ in the Scriptures. You can learn of Him. You can worship Him. And as you do, you are changed. The possibility is endless. Now, through the Incarnation, they saw His grace. They saw His truth. They saw the glory of God, not like Moses saw it. They saw Him fully, in the bodily person of Jesus Christ. You say, well, I can't do that now. That's true. But Paul says you can behold His glory as in a mirror. Seeing Jesus in the Scriptures is like looking in the mirror, which most of your versions say that. ESV doesn't. But most of the versions say, as looking in a mirror, beholding Him in a mirror. In other words, when you're a Christian, There is no veil when the scripture is read. Nothing is standing in your way of looking to Jesus and growing to be more like him. You'll notice. It doesn't say, and if you study exactly right and you have the exact right teachers and all this, it doesn't say that. It doesn't say it's a matter of intellect. I'm not as smart as JD. Maybe you are and you just don't know it. Maybe it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. It doesn't say anything like that. There's no qualifications put on this at all. It's just if you can look and the veil's not there, all you have to do is go and look. Don't worry about how everybody else can do this, that, and the other thing. It doesn't matter. You're doing the looking. They can be off doing whatever they want to. You're the one that's going to grow, period. The possibility of sanctification is nothing is in your way. Imagine that if you were a salesman and there's no other salesman out there. You're the first salesman ever for this product that no one else has ever had and everybody wants. Woo! That's what this is. It's guaranteed. It will happen. You look at him, you will grow. Hello? Period. Period. It isn't a matter of intellect or education or financial position or social status or personal power. Those things keep you from looking at him a lot of times. You can understand the scriptures. Yes, you need to be taught. You gotta be taught. You should be taught. And you'll need to study, to contemplate, and meditate. Everybody's meditating on something. I'm gonna tell you that right now. You always got some kind of song in your head, right boys? You know what I'm saying? Something's going on. It's always that way. You guys, when you leave here, you're thinking, man, my stomach is going, I want to eat some steak. And I'd like some cake. And now that you mention that peanut butter and thing, I'm gonna go find it. Marge is gonna throw it away. I better get there first. Whatever. We do that. We all have stuff going on in our head. Everybody does. You came here going, I just don't want to really be here today. Or, man, I'm on fire today. My husband's getting baptized, you know. Wow, my daughter's being into the church, being brought into the church. You know, hey, I'm going to go there and talk to people about a mission opportunity. There's lots of things going on. You always got something in your mind. You've got to contemplate and meditate, and then you will see the glory of Jesus Christ in the scriptures. And as you do, you grow. And the more you do, the more you grow. The less you do, the less you grow. But you can reflect the glory of Jesus. It is an endless possibility. That's the reality of sanctification, the possibility of sanctification. And that points you to what everybody wants to know about. The means of sanctification. The means of sanctification. It says, beholding the glory of the Lord are being transformed. Who's being transformed? All of us. Right? What's the possibility? With unveiled face. It's endless. What's the means of it? Beholding the glory of the Lord. That's how you're transformed. You see, growing as a Christian isn't about finding the right formula. It isn't through some strict adherence to a legal standard of obedience. Practical sanctification is not a matter of extreme effort where you just have to try hard to be good. Everybody thinks that. Everybody practically works it out that way, don't they? Now let me say something to you. You can go pretty far on willpower. I'm not against willpower. You can go pretty far on willpower. But you can be doing good as far as some external thing. I'm tithing. I play in the band. I do this. I do all that. You know, everything's good. And yet your heart desires not still be changed. You ever done that? I lost 40 pounds once, I lost 60 pounds another time, but I still didn't really want to eat the fish. I wanted to eat the chocolate and the peanut butter. What's gotta change is my heart. Or my heart's gonna stop, but you know. You can go pretty far in willpower, but your desire's not be changed. And you know what happens when that happens? You know what happens when people do that? And they, it's like someone that has just tried super hard, super hard, super hard, and they've lost weight, they start telling other people how to lose weight. Right? Because they really want the Misery Loves Company. I mean, it's just the truth. And someone that gets over that sin, you know, they've had a pornography habit for 50 years, and they get over it and everything like that. Now they want to write a book, say this, that, and the other thing, and they're just miserable and ate up inside. They're just making themselves do it. Now fences make good neighbors, and you've got to prevent certain things, and get rid of that TV if you have to, and put down that bottle, whatever you need to do. But let me tell you something, that doesn't change your heart. The law cannot save! Don't nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes by the law, Christ died for nothing! Galatians 2.21. What happens? You're doing real good, you know. All the guys at the shelter think, man, that guy's got it together. All the people in the church think, man, he's got it together. But inside, you're miserable. And you know what happens to people like that? You fall back. Or you become a Pharisee that no one wants to be around. And it won't be because you're so holy, it's because you're so hateful and hurtful. You won't be humbly grateful, you'll be grumbly hateful. Yeah, I've been there. But that isn't the way of sanctification. Anybody listening? You see, the nature of sanctification is inside out, not outside in. Jesus said you clean the inside of the cup, not the outside. What conforms you to the image of Christ? Here's the whole sermon, one sentence, ready? What conforms you to the image of Christ is seeing Him and receiving Him as He's revealed to you in the Scriptures. It is not willpower, it is word power. That's the nature of the means of sanctification. It isn't willpower, it is word power. Hebrews 12, 1 and 2 says you lay aside the weight, you can lay aside the weight of your sin and run the race with endurance. How? By looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of your faith. I think I said this at the beginning, let me say it again. What you look at affects what you look like. What you look at affects what you look like. You know what your mama told you. You hang around those people. Right? Bad company corrupts good morals, good company solidifies morals. What you look at affects what you look like. You wanna look like Jesus? Then you gotta look at him. To look like Jesus, you've got to look at Him. Then you can act like Him from your heart. People want to act like Him without really looking at Him. But I don't understand what that means, Pastor. We're getting there. You see, let me describe the peanut butter and chocolate thing again. See, the devil tries to get you to focus on your own struggle with sin rather than focusing on Christ, the one who has the power to deliver you. The devil tries to get you to focus on beating that sin rather than looking at Jesus. And so you beat that sin, you think you're doing great, and you are not doing great. You're just being a Pharisee. You're just working under the law. See, that way, when you feel successful in a battle, you develop pride. And when you don't do so well, you feel despair. Does that describe anybody? It describes everybody. Stop lying. Either way, the devil wins and you lose. There is no victory in meditating on sin. There's great victory in meditating on Christ. Stop focusing on your failures and focus on your faith, the object of your faith, not yourself but your Savior. You know, Jesus, you've got to let Jesus be the hero of your story if you want a happy ending. Right? We try to be a hero and we want to be in a zero. You've got to let Jesus be the hero of your story or you're not going to have a happy ending. You're going to feel great, you're going to be one, and wonder why no one wants to hang around you. Or you're not going to do so good and wonder why no one wants to hang around you. The devil wins either way. Stop focusing on sin. Focus on the Savior. And you do this, you do this, you do this. Yes, there's all of this, you know, you'll drop this, put on this, but it's always put on before it's put off. Put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh. Right? Put on the armor. Right? Put it on. So why does one believer grow faster and deeper than another? Because of their focus on Jesus. This doesn't mean it easy. Christianity is not easy. It takes a lot of effort. But grace is not opposed to merit. I mean, as opposed to merit, it's not opposed to effort. You see, that effort is not simply about doing good deeds in outward conformity. It's about inner transformation. It's not about going to church every time the doors are open. But the more you see in Jesus, the more you're going to want to be in. Oh, yes. Yes. The more, the less excuses you're making, the more reasons you find it. Because if there was a pill, and it said, I could take this pill, and then I could eat those three candy bars wrapped around all that peanut butter, I would find every reason in the world to get that. You're much larger than me, and I would find some way to put you down to get my pill. We all do that. And the devil, the world, the flesh, the devil tries to put every obstacle up in front of you to get you to keep from looking at Jesus. But when you know Jesus does what he does, and you really believe it, and you keep seeing him do it, you're gonna do everything to get through that barrier. That's what the truth is. Hanging out with God's people, looking in God's word, hearing it preached, fellowshipping, things like that. Let me tell you, that's where Jesus is. That's where Jesus is, that's where the scriptures come alive in community. Boy, I'm a preacher, and I had to go there, didn't I? But it's truth. I was telling somebody today. You know, I've been sober for many, many years. And I've got to tell you, there's a reason, because I'm doing what I'm doing. I got to do this. I'm glad to do this. Thank you, Jesus. See, it's about inner transformation. That only happens as you look to Christ by faith, as revealed in the pages of Scripture. You read, you study, you meditate on the Bible. You focus on applying the truth of the Gospel to all of your life. You live by God's wisdom. You spend time with Christ. You have fellowship with Christ. You pray, you diligently attend to the means of grace like prayer and the Lord's Supper. You go to church and hear the Word preached. You worship and serve among God's people. Yes! That's how your heart is changed to reflect God's glory. Jesus changes your life from the inside out. So we've seen the reality, right? The possibility. The means. Now let's look at the nature of sanctification. It says, are being transformed. Now this is important. You see, practical sanctification means you're changing. Christians believe that people change. If you think, well they'll just never change, you don't have any hope for yourself or for the world. Jesus is the ultimate change agent. Jesus has changed you and is changing you. Amen? But this change isn't just cleaning you up on the outside. The Greek word for transformation here is where we get our English word metamorphosis. And we think metamorphosis, we think of, you know, the chrysalis and we think the butterfly and all that stuff. But let me tell you something. The Greek word describes more than an outward transformation. It's talking about an inner transformation, an inward change in your character. The nature of sanctification is that it's inside-out, not outside-in. You don't get better by behaving better, you get better by believing better. This interchange is what makes the outside truly conform to Christ as an act of worship. Oh, sounds like something, doesn't it? Like Romans 12, 1 and 2. As a matter of fact, Romans 12, 2 describes it this way when it says, instead of being conformed to the pattern of this world, you're transformed by the renewal of your mind. into the character of Christ. You see? You see Him. You think about His perfections. You think about how He's different than you and how He saved you, but how He's changing you into His image. That one day you will be fully changed into His image. That He's promised you to change you more and more into His image as you worship and see Him. So you read Him as worship. You think of it as that. Say, Lord Jesus, I want to see you. Open the eyes of my heart, Lord. Open the eyes of my heart. I want to just know information about you. I want to brag to other people about you. No. I want to see you. Sirs, we would see Jesus. And as you do that, you're changed. You say, but I already kind of do that. And you're already kind of changed. We're going to talk about that some more. But that's the nature of sanctification. Transformed in the nature of Christ. That's the purpose of sanctification. What does it say in the text? You're transformed into the same image as the Lord. Here it is simply, God wants to make you like Jesus. What's the purpose of sanctification? To make you like Jesus. That's what He wants to do. That's the purpose of sanctification. What's this all about? To make you like Jesus. That's His purpose. Romans 8, 29 says that God predestined us Christians to be conformed to the image of His Son. And it will happen. Philippians 1, 6 says, I am sure of this. I like that. So many things we can't be sure about these days. People say, has God said this? Paul said, I'm sure of this. That He that began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. You see, the total transformation of your character will happen when you finally see Jesus in the flesh. When he returns, 1 John 3, 2 says it this way, We know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. That person you think isn't so great and all that, but they're claiming the name of Jesus Christ, their character's just gonna be just like Jesus one day. Thank you, Jesus. So will mine, so will yours. You will be just like Jesus! That's the plan! And God never, ever fails. But until that day, your transformation isn't some one-time experience. It's an ongoing experience. And that brings us to the process of sanctification. Look what it says in the text there. Isn't this good? We're covering it. You can see all the phrases right there in the text. The process of sanctification is that you're transformed from one degree of glory to another. Your growth in grace is progressive. You say, I thought I was doing so great. I'm doing so much better than other people. Stop looking at other people. Look at Jesus. As soon as you look at other people, you are what is called self-righteous. But when you start saying, man, all these little sins, I never get away with anything. Thank you, Jesus. He's bringing up more things to you to get rid of. Just look at Him some more. He'll burn it away. Oh, I get so many. Do I have to give a bunch of examples? I'm sure we could think of them. It starts when you're first converted. And it continues for the rest of your life. And here it is. Here's the truth about your present level of sanctification. You reflect what you reflect upon. You will reflect what you reflect upon. Let me say it this way. If you keep playing sad songs, you're going to be happy. No. You keep playing sad songs, what happens? You get sad. You play pumped up songs, you get pumped up. You play country songs, you turn into a bumpkin. Oh, I didn't do that. Right? You reflect what you reflect upon. Right? And the more you focus on Jesus, the more you'll be like him. Can anybody dispute that? The more you focus on Jesus, the more you'll be like him. Of course, the less you think about Jesus, the less you'll be like him. You're in a lifelong process of change. God saved you to be more like Jesus. We covered that. And God's the one who's doing the work. But you're responsible for keeping your eyes on Jesus. Philippians 2, 12 and 13 is so beautiful. It captures this whole essence, that dual dynamic, when it says this, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Sounds like you're responsible. For it is God who works in you, both to will and to do of His good pleasure. Both to will and to do as good pleasure. God's the one that gives you the will. I just don't want to, so, you know, God must not make me will and so I can just send whoever I want to. No, no, no, no. You're responsible to keep looking at Jesus until He changes your will and He will. That's not willpower. That's word power, baby. You see, I want to only drink water. Right? I want to come to church every week. I want to pray. I want to give the missions. I want this church where at the end everybody's in heaven and I say, all Christendom accounted for, sir! That's what I want! It ain't gonna happen if I ain't looking at Jesus. If I don't look at Jesus, he's the one that's gonna tell me who's there and who's not and that doesn't matter. Look at Jesus Christ. The lifelong process. Yes, finally, it is God, the Holy Spirit, who is the agent of sanctification. It's just this comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. You're not transforming yourself. That's where we make the mistake. It's the work of God in your soul. You'll be fully transformed when Jesus returns. But until that time, while God is at work, you're responsible to work with him. Ephesians 4.30 says, don't grieve the Spirit of God by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. You say, let me, let me, you see it up there? If you're a Christian, you are the house of God. Together we make a house for God. We call the church the house of God, but it's the people in the church, individually, they are the house of God. You are the tabernacle. He dwells within you. But let me ask you a question. How good of a host are you? What kind of music are you letting him hear? What kind of entertainment is he looking at? What kind of reading material are you providing? Is the Holy Spirit grieved to be there? Are you crowding him out, compartmentalizing? Okay, Holy Spirit, you can come out today, it's Sunday. Or you can come out here, it's Sunday morning, but not Sunday night. Are you crowding him out, or is he filling up the place? Is he filled with the Spirit, filled by the Spirit? Come on. You have the power to change a lot on the outside. And you can do some godly things, but you don't have the power to change your heart's desires and motives and affections so that you really want the things that God wants. You don't have that power. Only the Holy Spirit can do that. Don't make a mistake to be lazy. See, there's a lot of professing Christians who look good on the outside, may feel good on the inside, but deep down in their heart there's a lack of desire and ungodly affections and wrong motives because they don't really want what God wants. They don't behold the Lord. Now, to behold the Lord is more than just reading about Him in the Bible. You hearing me on this? Because it might sound like that's all I'm saying is just read the Bible. I'm not. What do I mean by that? Lots of people love lots of Bible, but they don't actually see Jesus. Like the Jews who knew the Old Testament, but they didn't see how it pointed to Jesus as the Messiah. That's the point he was making in chapter 3. He says, whenever it's read to this day, a veil is over their face. But in Christ, the veil is removed. They weren't looking for Jesus, they were looking for something else. And a lot of people are too. Just tell me what to do. I want to see the Bible like a magic book, like an owner's manual, like this, that, and the other thing, and not as the love letter that it really is. People can know a lot about Jesus and not know Jesus. To be sanctified in practice means that you want to see Jesus in such a way that he changes you to be more like him. You know, if Bruce Lee was here and he was alive, and you were all into martial arts, you'd be like, come on, Bruce, please help me out, man. How do you do that one finger punch or push up? How do you do that, you know, one inch punch? How do you do this? How do you move so fast? What do you got to do this? I want to be kung fu fighting. Yeah, you know, all that. I can't get through a sermon without doing a 70s reference. I don't know how that is. But that's the thing. You'd be all about talking to him. You'd be all about seeing him. You'd be hanging out with him. He would say, do this, that, and the other thing. And you would want to look at him in such a way that it changes how you did your martial art. This is the way you need to look at Jesus. You're not just trying to get information. You're not just trying to get inspiration. You're trying to get transformation. Let me say that again. Not just information, not just inspiration, but transformation. Jesus, I want to be more like you. You have to see the glory of God. But now when we speak about, I'm almost done here, when we speak about beholding the glory of God, we're not talking about saying the Holy Spirit gives you some mystical experience or ecstatic vision. It's not like you close your eyes and go, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, and then you see some picture in your mind. That's not what we're saying at all. No, what the Holy Spirit does is to help you see the beauty and perfection of Christ in the Bible. and it captures your heart's affections, and it changes your will so that you delight in God's will. I love to want to do what God wants. That's what heaven is going to be. Jesus will be there, and you can do whatever you want to do, but it'll be exactly what God wants you to do. That's real freedom. That's what real freedom is. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. It's freedom by the Spirit, not by the law, not by beating yourself up, but by trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ and saying, Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief. I'm going to look at you, and I ain't letting go until you bless me. Yes, you see it all throughout the Bible. Do you read the Bible with an eye to God? With a desire to see how holy, and just, and lovely, and perfect, and good He is? If you look in there trying to find He's this mean, and He's this, that, and the other thing, you're going to see it. If you say, I want to see you, Jesus, as the perfect person you are, you'll see it. Let me say it this way. Do you meditate on the Word of God as an act of worship? Do you meditate on the Word of God as an act of worship? You see, sanctification problems are worship problems, which are misunderstanding God problems. The more you understand of God's intrinsic glory, the sum, the substance of all His perfections, the more you ascribe to Him in glory. Let me say it this way. A low view of God leads to a low worship and low living. A high view of God leads to high worship and high and holy living. In other words, the deeper your understanding of God, the deeper your worship will be, and the holier your life will be. Let me say that and get this into your heart. The deeper your understanding of God, the deeper your worship will be, and the holier your life will be. You can't expect to work your way into heaven. This is what Paul in the New Testament says all over the place. Being a good person isn't enough. The only way to be declared righteous in God's eyes is to trust in the person and work of Jesus Christ. That's how you get saved. I said it before, Galatians 2.21, I do not nullify the grace of God. For if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose. But talking about the grace of God, and you've received the grace of God, and you are saved. Now the only way to grow in God's grace is to keep your eyes on Jesus. That's Sanctification 101. Heavenly Father, I thank you for this text. I thank you for the life of Jesus Christ, the sinless life, and this record that we have from the apostles who saw him, who touched him, who knew his glory. And now we know his glory by you, the Holy Spirit, into this word and the way that we approach it, Lord, and the worship that we give it, Lord. And you change our lives, and we're so thankful. And we ask, Lord, knowing that we are positionally sanctified, That You would help us to keep our eyes on You. Lord, that we would see our problems in the light of Jesus, instead of seeing Jesus in the light of our problems. This we pray in His name. Amen.