12) For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and
his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them
that do evil.
13) And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers
of that which is good?
14) But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy
are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;
15) But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be
ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the
hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
|
O |
n last Sunday, we spoke of
"holiness," a word of like meaning as "sanctification," but
with a slightly different connotation. However, the very same Greek word is
used for both "holy" and "sanctified." The word that is
used, "hegion," means "to be set
apart; separated from secular use."
One might question how it is possible
to "set God apart: in one's "heart." First of all, it is
necessary to understand what is meant by "heart." It is not, as is
conventionally accepted, the organ which pumps blood. Rather, the Greek word
"cardia," speaks of the mind.
Therefore, a "cardiac care" unit should refer to a place where one
goes to "get his head examined." Often, we fail to take our cues to
understanding from scripture, which, when examined contexturally,
makes itself quite clear. For example, the scripture: "For out the
abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh" could
not possibly be referring to that which pumps blood.
It is not possible, as some think, to
be counted as sanctified without us having sanctified actions. The only way for
this to happen is for our thinking to become sanctified. Despite the fact that
the mind is so "unruly," it is possible to keep it under control when
one's motivation is the Spirit of God.
Many of our "problems" with
the Lord are the result of us "disagreeing" with what He allows. We
are concerned with our lives going "right"—according to our
definition. What we often will not accept is that things are going "right"
when they are going according to God's plan. It is only when one takes things
personally that he then has an opinion concerning how things are going in his
life.
As saints of God, we have no choice but
to understand that God has "set us apart" from the rest of the World.
As has often been said before, this is not about us, but rather, the
glorification of God. We are not separated to make our lives hard or us look "strange." All that the Lord does, He does
in our best interest and that we and He might get maximum benefit from this
walk of salvation.
Causing us frequent problems in our
salvation are the feelings of abandonment that too often clutter the lives of
the people of God. Generally, this happens when we are focused upon a
particular outcome for our situations—which is selfish. All we really need to
be concerned about is being righteous. As long as we are, everything will be
fine.
We cannot present ourselves as being on
the Lord's side one instant, then take the position of the Evil One when
tested. You see, it is he who seeks vengeance on others when his position is
threatened. This is not the action of one who has sanctified the Lord.
Without a doubt the only way to
"make it" today, is to keep one's attention off oneself. This is
because to make it, one must be able, at all times, to praise God. And anything
focused on any other than the Lord takes our attention off praising Him.
Living saved, praising God and obeying
Him is all that He really asks of us. Too often, we try to get our blessings
for free. Though they don't cost us per say we are required to praise before we
see them.
As saints, when we have sent prayer and
praise to God, we must then accept that we have received that for which
we have asked—and the joy that goes with it. So, you see, we need not wait to
"see" the blessing before we praise God for it.
It is our right to accept all for which
Jesus died. To be successful, we must "unclutter"
our minds undoubtedly, this can seem difficult to do because of the fact that
the devil likes to keep our "issues" confused. He wants us to believe
that these are problems we simply must handle and situations with which we must
be concerned. Well, though something may look and feel life trouble, we can
have the understanding that it is a blessing of God, sent to mold, make and
perfect us.
The time has come for us to recognize
where we really are in the Lord. Where we are is in the position of sons—who
are taken care of, sheltered, fed and protected. It is not necessary for us to
have problems with anything—for all is working to the glory of God!
"Sanctify(ing)
the Lord in our heart (mind)" is not possible unless we change the way we
think. Unless we change the way we think, we cannot change our situation.
No one gets beyond how and
what he thinks. If one believes he is a failure, he is. If one believes he
must conduct himself as a sinner, he will. By the same token, one determined
in his mind to be righteous, holy and an overcomer
before God will be just that—a saint of God.