SANCTIFICATION

.....Spiritual development comes through 8 specific callings, a sanctification process. Our "WITNESS" increases as we fully obey each calling, producing a character transformation. My purpose today is to help you become the most effective "Translator" of Spiritual Truth, establishing 8 Christian Virtues. To make you a star witness for God through Christ, an Ambassador, representing Him and His Kingdom with a vital message, able, and available at all times to share it.

Faith - Romans 10:9
.....Repentance of SALVATION: Give the Lord Jesus Christ His rightful place at the center of your life.

Virtue - 1 Peter 2:9
.....Separation from Darkness: Discern and turn from evil in all its forms.

Knowledge - Romans 12:2
.....Dedication to the Light: Commit yourself to the light of Scripture.

Self-control - Matthew 6:19
.....Investment in Service: Become involved in lasting achievement.

Endurance - 1 Peter 4:12
.....Endurance in Suffering: Expect to be misunderstood.

Godliness - Romans 8:29
.....Humility in Responses: Respond as God would to those who wrong you.

Brotherly Kindness - 2 Corinthians 1:4
.....Alertness in Sharing: Be alert to others who have been hurt.

Love - Colossians 1:29
.....Reproduction of Maturity: Guide others through the same steps God has taken you.

.....To the degree we respond to each of the 8 callings, we increase the scope of our "Life Message" and thereby experience the Will of God for our lives. The first step is to receive Eternal Life through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, (John 3:3).

.....One of the greatest causes of diminishing the potential of our "Life Message" is the failure to turn from all the thoughts, words, and actions, which we know greive the Spirit of God. Either we separate ourselves from our sins, or sins of separate us from fellowship of God. We're not only to separate ourselves from those things which cause us to stumble, but also from practices which cause our "Weaker Brothers" to be offended.

.....Dedication is the maturing action of giving to God what really belongs to Him already. We are then free to set our affections on things above rather than on things of this earth. You see, it's not enough just to turn from that which is evil, we must also turn to that which is good.

.....We must also add to our knowledge, temperance and self-control, which keeps a hold of selfish passions and desires in check. Self-control is the basis of fruitful Christian service. With self-control we do not serve ourselves, but are morally free to serve one another in love. Service involves laying up treasures in heaven, and building spiritual maturity in the lives of those around us. Men keep looking for better methods, and God keeps looking for better men.

.....Suffering is essential in order to experience the final 3 callings, (1 Peter 4:12). Suffering will usually come from people you would least expect. It is designed to open new sections of Scripture to us, and is God's way of freeing us from that which hinders us from, "Setting Our Affections on the Things Above." Suffering is most painful when we are partly at fault.

.....When we humble ourselves through the suffering that God allows, He gives us more grace, both to respond to our offenders and to see new and rich insights in His Word. Humility is the basis of Godliness, always bringing about deeper understanding. Godliness involves worth-ship or reverence paid to worth, whether in God or man. Also, a Godly response to those who offend us helps us recognize that God has used them to put us through the "Fire of Purification, Removing the Dross", that will be for our ultimate benefit if we respond to it, and to them, in the right way.

.....The bottom line is that when these Christian virtues, or callings are established in our lives, it will cause us to be fruitful in the very Knowledge of God. The life that comes from the Knowledge of God can produce only good in our response to others. To fail to grow in Christ results in stunting our spiritual development and inability to perceive the blessings received upon our initial salvation, and in doing so, our identification with Christ Jesus is forgotten or ignored. This results in a lapse of our old sins. God's Will is for each of us to know who we really are in Christ, and to share that understanding with others, thus making disciples, reproducing Christ in others, bringing Glory to Him.