I wanted to sing a psalm this morning, but we'll bypass that today and we'll get started on it next Lord's Day. We'll sing a psalm, 48 or one of those. Now we did a sermon on this back at the first of the month, I believe. or maybe the last of the August. But I didn't get to finish and it's very important. Sanctified in Truth. Sanctified in Truth is the title of the message today. John 17. We'll be reading from verse 14 through 19 so we get the gist of that. This is the Lord's high priestly prayer to his father just before he went into Gethsemane and sweat drops of blood and just before he had six trials, three Jewish and three Roman trials. So he went through six trials Before they convicted Him and the Jews cry and crucify Him, crucify Him. And they took Him and nailed Him to the cross, dropped Him in the hole for the Father to pour out His wrath upon Him. But this is His prayer to His Father. And we're just going to read the part on sanctification right now, verse 14 through 19. And when I finish reading through verse 19, Brother Gerald, if you'll ask the Lord's blessings on the meeting today and the Lord's offering. I have given them thy word, and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through Thy truth. Thy Word is truth. As Thou hast sent me into the world, even so send I I lost my place there, excuse me. As Thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Brother Gerald. Father in heaven, Lord, we thank Thee, Lord, that we are able to be here this morning, Lord, in Your house, Lord. to hear Your Word expounded upon and preach, Lord, and sing Psalms and hymns, Lord, and try to honor You, Lord, and praise and praise and worship, Lord. Lord, we just pray, Lord, that the tithes and offerings, Lord, we just pray, Lord, that You would accept them, Lord, and use them in Thy service. Father, we ask, Father, that You would forgive us, Lord, of our trespasses and sins, Lord, that we commit, Lord, We are in a world of woe, Lord. It's a tricky thing, Lord, to live in this world. Father, we just pray, Lord, that You would be patient with us and love us, Lord. Look into our inner being, Lord. Like David said, if you find anything there, I pray, Lord, that You would straighten it up, Lord. Do unto me, Lord, as Thou wilt, Lord. For the most important thing is my Jesus, Lord, Father in Heaven, and just praying, Lord, that one day, Lord, we would be with our Savior and God, Lord. We just pray this, Lord, for all good things pertain to Him, Lord, and we do want good things, Lord. bad Lord. Sometimes a bad Lord is disguised as good Lord. Help us, Lord, to have good judgment, Lord, and to Thy honor and to Thy praise. And Lord, we just pray, Lord, that You would send down the Holy Spirit fully, Lord, upon this meeting today, Lord, preaching the words that we need to hear, Lord, and touch us, Lord, with it throughout our soul, our being, Lord. And help us, Lord, to love one another, Lord. Help us, Lord, to love one another with an unselfish love, Lord. Help us, Lord, for we live in a world of spirits of principalities and so forth, Lord, and they rule, Lord. But You're coming back, Lord, and we just look for that day, Lord, more understanding and put this shed upon all this, Father, that we're in. And just giving big thanks and praise, Lord, and so forth here today, Lord. We thank Thee, Lord, that we've surrendered ourselves to Thee, Lord. And we just pray, Lord, to the other people, Lord, we surrender, Lord. But all things done according to Your will, Lord. We are not too smart, I don't reckon, Lord, but You are. Help us, Lord, we do pray. We pray in the name of Jesus. Amen. Amen. The Lord's high priestly prayer to His Father, very important. Very important when we see what he's saying here and who he's praying for. This is the Lord's Prayer for the personal holiness of all that the Father has given Him. It is the holiness of God that requires His people to have holiness and to be holy. It's because He is holy. And it is a requirement. Leviticus 11, 44 and 45 says, For I am the LORD your God, ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy, for I am holy. Verse 45 says, For I am the Lord that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God, ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy. I'm afraid that there's not a lot of preachers that preach this message anymore in the churches. because it requires God's people to be holy in everything and in every way to be holy not to be like the world is and live in sin and do sin and have it as part of your daily living but to be holy as He is holy His people, He required, you say, well we can't be holy. You better be pursuing holiness. It's a mark of true believers. You don't look like the world, you don't talk like the world, you don't act like the world, you don't do what worldly people do. That's the reason they hate you. It's because you're different than they are. You do not tolerate sin and ungodliness and evil things and evil talkings and evil behavior. Therefore, the world hates you because you don't tolerate that and you tell sinners that they are, if they do not repent of their sins, they are going to hell. By far, most churchgoers today are professors of God and not possessors of God's grace. They worship Him with their mouths, but their heart is far from Him. Oh, they go to church because they're trying to buy their way to heaven by doing good deeds and by going to church and doing what they think that might please God enough that He might forgive them of their sins and have mercy upon them and not send them to hell. But they still live an ungodly life. They have not changed in the inner man. Even don't think this is just an Old Testament thing because the first Peter 1 and 15 says but as he which hath called you is holy Be holy in all manner of conversation And Isaiah 6 and 3 the holy angels were crying out holy Holy! Holy! It's the Lord our God! Now they didn't cry out Omniscient! Omniscient! Omniscient! Even though He is. They didn't cry out Omnipresent three times even though He is. Immutable! They didn't cry that out three times. They cried out, holy, holy, holy is our God. That's His character. That's more important than all the rest put together that He is holy, holy, holy. And He requires His people to do. Psalm 24, 3 and 4. The Psalm is David. Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who shall stand in His holy place? But He that hath clean hands and a pure heart, who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully." That's who will. That's who can come. And in Psalm 51, David cries, creating me a clean heart, oh Lord. Now I know that people will say, well, it's what's in your heart. It's not what you do. Are you kidding me? Are you really that dumb? Are you just trying to fool yourself? Jesus said, from the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. So now you tell me how your heart is. You tell me how your heart is. Pursuing holiness, Matthew 5.8, the Lord said, blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God. Is your heart pure? Is it for God and God alone? When you wake up in the morning, it's the first thing that you think of and the first thing you say is, thank you Lord, I'm here again today. You have spared me through the night! And I'm here to worship you this day. Help me, oh God. I praise you for who you are and what you are and what you have done, what you are doing and what you will do. And begin to pray for the people that we know. church folks that we're brothers and sisters with. And John 17, 17, that's our focus today. We read 14 through 19, but our focus is the prayer for holiness. Sanctify them through thy truth. Thy Word is truth. Sanctify. What does that mean? Holiness. It means to cut. It means to concentrate. It means to set apart, to cleanse, to separate us from uncleanness, evil things, and impurities. Clean up, be holy, for I am holy, saith the Lord. And look, we want to explain this because people will say, oh no, sanctification, we won't be sanctified until we get to heaven. That's not what my Bible says. You may have a different kind than I do. There's three parts to sanctification. And he says here, but I say unto you that whosoever, this is in Matthew, I believe it's, I got it written down here, 5-8. Matthew 5-8. But no, I'm telling you a story. It's not Matthew 5-8. Matthew 5 and 28. But I say unto you that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." You see, the Old Testament and the Pharisees and the Jews didn't look so much at the heart, but it's what they did. And as long as they didn't commit adultery with the woman, they were fine, they thought. But Jesus said, I say unto you, Jesus said, I say unto you that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. It is the heart that needs to be cleansed and changed. I can close this now. Couldn't print it out anyway. Got it written down in my book. The three parts to sanctification is a positional sanctification is the first part we'll look at. A positional sanctification means that you are counted sanctified in the court record in heaven if you were not Righteous! Counted as righteous as the Lord Jesus Christ is and God the Father himself. You could not go into the Holy of Holies, present yourselves before the Father to offer your petitions. It happens immediately. 1 Corinthians 1.30. We're going to turn to these. 1 Corinthians 1.30. That comes somewhere after Romans, going toward the back of the book. But of Him, the Apostle says, but of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. It's already done. It's done immediately upon your regeneration, upon you becoming spiritually alive. We come out of this world into the Kingdom of Christ. We were dead in our trespasses and sins, and we were living in this world that way, but when regeneration comes, we come out of this world, and that's the reason Jesus said in 1717, or in the 17th chapter when he was praying, they are not of this world. They've been regenerated! They've been sanctified positionally! And we're in the Kingdom of God. Turn on over to the 6th chapter of Corinthians. Turn the page there. Verse 11, it says, And such were some of you, but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. when he birthed you and made you alive. And in Hebrews 10.10, flip a few pages over there till you get past James, or right before James, if you know where that is. I keep flipping right past it, 10 and verse 10. by the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. It's a done deal. We're already been sanctified positionally. Now, the next one is present. It's what's happening today, right now. It's sanctification. The second part is your present part of sanctification. It's a progressive sanctification. It's happening day after day. First Corinthians, the first chapter, verse 2. unto the Church of God, which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that are in every place, call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours. Grace be unto you, and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ." He was talking to the saints there, unto the church which is at Corinth, and to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, and called to be saints." 1 Thessalonians 4 and 3. This is present sanctification, day by day, here little and there little, line upon line, precept upon precept. What did I say? 1 Thessalonians 4 and 3. For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that you should abstain from fornication." You see, that's not a done deal. That's a progressive thing. It's happening day by day, little here and little there. You're pursuing holiness. So you're growing in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ you're growing in holiness, you're growing in sanctification, and that's what he's saying there in verse 3, "...for this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that you should abstain from fornication, that every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor, to be holy as he is holy." You've heard people say that they are, and Baptists are bad about this, Methodists are worse, that they are a such thing as a lifelong carnal Christian. There is no such creature. A lifelong carnal Christian. No change. Never changed from the time he joined the church and was baptized. No change. still lives the way he always did, has no good works, does not seek holiness, does not try to become holy, still cursing and carrying on acting a fool just like the world does. But believers do not do that. True believers Do not live a carnal life, a worldly life. We are changed. We've been regenerated by God. I don't have time to get into the people who fall, the people who wander, the people who go off into sin, don't know how long they might stay there, that might be satisfied or might be regenerated I don't have time to go into that today. I don't know how long. Neither do they. How do you know you're a Christian if you're not being sanctified day by day? If you're not growing in grace? If you're not growing in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus? If you're not being sanctified by the truth, thy word is truth! How do you know? How do you know if you're saved? Do you know there's a million church-going people that's in hell today that went to church all their lives, never were converted? Just because you made a profession of faith don't mean you're saved. Just because you were baptized or ducked in water does not mean you were saved. You must be born from above by the Spirit of the Living God and that change comes over you. Now, the future. It's the perfected sanctification. 1 Thessalonians 3, 13 says, "...to the end, He may establish your hearts, unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints." You see, we'll never be perfect. As long as we have the old nature still in us, we're going to fight it every day. We're going to pursue holiness. We're going to study the Word because we're sanctified by Thy truth. Thy Word is truth. We're going to be sanctified. We're going to seek and pursue holiness every day. But we'll never be perfect until that day. Until that day. in 3.13, "...to the end He may establish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints." That's a future thing. The final confirmation, 1 Thessalonians 5 and 23, I'm going to read 22 and 23. I just love 22. I've been taught it all my life and I've been able to quote it all my life. My grandmother told me when I started preaching, now son, the Bible says to abstain from the appearance of evil. Don't even do anything that appears, even though it may not be evil, it appears like Going to visit people. If the husband is not at home, don't you go in the house. It's the appearance of evil. And that is wrong. That is a sin if you commit the appearance of evil. Abstain from the appearance of evil. That means don't do it. and the very God of peace sanctify you wholly. I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and faithful is he that calleth you who also will do it." That's the day that we will be pure, holy, completely. Romans chapter 12 Romans chapter 12, verse 1, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. and be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. For I say through the grace given unto me to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith." Skip down to verse 10. Don't have time to read all this. I won't get through. Be kindly affection one to another with brotherly love in honor preferring one another. Not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord, rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing instant in prayer. Pray without ceasing, he says. You know it's hard to live in sin if you're praying without ceasing. It's hard to commit sin if you're praying without ceasing. "...distributing the necessity of the saints given to hospitality. Bless them that persecute you. Bless and curse not. Rejoice with them that do rejoice and weep with them that weep. Be of the same mind, one towards another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits." Now let's turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 7. 2 Corinthians chapter 7. Verse 1, Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Let me read that one more time. I'm not sure you heard it. Having, therefore, these promises, all the promises that God has promised to believers when the Lord Jesus returns and while we're here on this earth. Having, therefore, these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh, from all evil things, from all worldly things. Cleanse yourselves from them, He says. and Spirit, the filthiness of the flesh and Spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." Perfecting holiness in the fear of God. In the fear of God. You know, people, I've heard this preached all my life, where it says, oh, it doesn't really mean fear. It doesn't really mean fear. He's talking about... He's not talking about to be afraid of God. Don't fear Him. Really? Really? We can go and read Leviticus 10, 1 through 13. Don't forget that. Write it in your Bible, write it on your hand, write it somewhere, so when you get home you can read Leviticus 10, 1 through 13. It's about Ahab, I mean, about Adab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron. And it was time to worship. It was time to worship God. And they took their fire and put it in their cistern and they put incense in it and they were offering these incense unto God before all the people. It's time to worship. And fire came out of the altar. and consume them, kill them. Didn't burn them to a crisp, didn't burn them up. But it killed them. Didn't even burn their clothes up, but it killed them. On the spot. Immediately! Why? because they offered the incense with strange fire and God had commanded them use the fire that came down out of heaven and started the altar there where they offered the burnt sacrifices and never let that fire go out. But you get out and you offer and they did not. They got their own fire, strange fire. Where they got it from I don't know and don't care. All I know is God didn't command them to do that. Did he not command them to do it? He did not say, don't use this fire, but he did command them, use this fire. And they did not. And God struck them dead. I mean two priests that were highly respected amongst the Jews. They were the sons of Aaron, the two oldest sons of Aaron. And he struck them dead. Not only did he strike them dead, he told Moses to tell Aaron, don't you mourn, don't you weep, don't you rend your clothes. This is holy day. You have been anointed with the all of the Lord. You have priestly duties to do. And I have commanded whoever comes near to me will recognize me as holy and keep my commandments. Nadab and Abihu did not. Nadab and Abihu did not keep his commandments and he struck them dead. And not only did he strike them dead, he wouldn't let his kinfolks or nobody else mourn and rend their clothes and act a fool because these were two people who were coming near unto God and they did not recognize Him and proclaim Him to be holy and keep His commandments. And he told the two younger sons, might have been nephews, To come get up your brother, and I believe it was nephews of his, come get him and take him outside the camp. Don't want that filth in here around us. Take it outside the camp. And Moses was trying to tell Aaron, Aaron, I know you're hurting, and I know it was a sudden thing. But you remember what God told you, Aaron? You remember what God said? Any man that will approach me will recognize and proclaim me as holy. And not only will he do that, he will make sure all the people understand I am holy. and they will glorify Me." So you see, if we don't do what we're supposed to do, God's going to get His glory. Even if He has to do it through killing you. So you think you ought to fear Him when you come to His house to worship Him, and that you ought to worship Him the way He said do it. And then that He hadn't already killed a whole bunch of us, shows His great mercy. Let me read one more scripture to you and I'll close, then get through. 2 Timothy 1.9 Verse 8 says, "...Be not therefore ashamed of the testimony of the Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God, who hath saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before the world began." Pursue holiness, the Bible says in Hebrews 12 and 14. Pursue holiness without which no man shall see the Lord. You think you saved? You think you're going to heaven? You think you're going to heaven? Are you pursuing holiness without which no man shall see the Lord? No woman. No unsanctified believers. God is more concerned with your holiness than with your giftedness. I don't care if you can sing, if you can pray, if you can preach. He's concerned with your holiness. Be holy. for he is holy. Adam and Eve were made alive. They were holy. God will have a holy people. Why do you think he's been doing all this for all these thousands of years? chose a people, taught them how to worship Him, what to do, what not to do, and as they came along, they learned more, and they learned more, and behold, the Lord Jesus Himself came, the Son of God, took on flesh and blood, and He taught His disciples for three and a half years. The Holy Ghost fell on them on the day of Pentecost. And He told them, go ye into all the world and preach the gospel. Baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost and teaching them to do whatsoever I have commanded you. And Jesus said, if you love Me, keep My commandments. You think you're going to heaven? You think you're going to heaven? It's about us. You can go read in John 17 verses 2, verses 6, verses 9, verses 8, verses 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14, and it's about us being holy and sanctified. That's what he said. Sanctify them, Lord. He wasn't offering up a petition He was equal with God, His Father, and He says, sanctify them, Lord, with Thy truth. Thy Word is truth. Believers will be sanctified by this Word of God, by reading it, studying it, obeying it, keeping the Law, keeping the Law of God, the Ten Commandments, and everything that Christ commanded us to do, we do. we'd be wholly sanctified, set apart, different than the world. So much so that they can recognize it and ask questions about it. What happened to you? Why are you different? Let it be so with all of us here at Zion, please the Lord bless us, so that we may grow and that people will come here and want to know what's happened to you people. You're different. You're not like you used to be. Brother Pappy, would you ask the Lord's blessings on us and we'll be dismissed.