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I want to welcome you to day four of our look through John chapter 17, this
prayer of Jesus. Today we're going to look at verses 17 to 19, another way that
you and I can be an answer to this prayer of Jesus. A couple of days ago we
looked at the fact that we're an answer to Jesus's prayer when we're giving God
glory in our lives.

Yesterday we're an answer to Jesus's prayer when we're living in security. Today
we're an answer to Jesus's prayer when we're growing in maturity, when we're
growing to become more like Jesus Christ in daily life, more like him in
attitude, more like him in action, more like him in the truth that we're living
out in our lives. Listen to how Jesus prays for our growth in John 17, 17 to 19.

"Sanctify them," he prays, "sanctify them by the truth. " Your word is truth. As
you sent me into the world, I've sent them into the world.

For them I sanctify myself that they too may be truly sanctified. " That word
sanctified is used an awful lot in those two verses and your sanctification is
all about your growth. These are verses that are all about growing in maturity.

What does it mean? Sanctification means to be separated or set apart for a
specific purpose, to be put to an intended use. Specifically those two words set
apart.

In the Old Testament it was most often the places and the objects of worship
that were set apart for God's honor, for God's use. The holy garments, the holy
altar, the holy land, the word sanctified and the word holy are closely tied
together in their meaning. So the idea of being set apart to be holy, to be used
by God.

In the Old Testament it was most often the places, the objects of worship. In
the New Testament it is God's people who are set apart for God's honor, for
God's use. Second Timothy 2, 21 says, "If a man cleanses himself from the
ladder, from the sins in our lives, he will be an instrument for noble purposes,
made holy, useful to the master, and prepared to do any good work.

" This word sanctification, a lot of people misunderstand this word. It's a
great theological word but it's often misunderstood. It's not some religious
termite tent that somehow put over your life where God's holiness is somehow
injected in and all the evil is washed away and from that moment on you are a
perfect person, sanctified, sanctimonious, and perfect.

That's not what's being talked about here. Sanctification is a gift that God
gives you in your salvation and it's also a process that God works out in your
daily life. And the definition of sanctification is all about being used for
God's intended purpose, prepared for God's intended purpose.

Not shut off from the world but used for God's purpose. A car is used for the
purpose that it's intended for when it drives down the road. A taco is used for
the purpose that it's intended for when you eat the taco.

And you and I as believers in Christ, we are being used for God's intended
purpose when we're bringing God glory in this world, when we're being
sanctified, when we're growing to be more and more like Jesus Christ in
character and attitude and action in daily life. And God's process of
sanctification in our lives is to grow us in order to show his glory. There's
three important words to remember when it comes to what it means to have a
relationship with God.

Theological words, justification, glorification, and sanctification.
Justification happened the moment you were saved. It means you're declared not
guilty.

Your sins are entirely declared not guilty. You still sin sometimes as a
believer. You ask God to grow you to not sin but the moment you were saved you
were declared not guilty.

Prepared for heaven. Glorification will happen when you get to heaven. When we
see him we will be like him.

Sanctification, here's the interesting thing about sanctification. It is what is
happening in your life right now. That makes it a subject we're very interested
in.

And sanctification is not what you are, it's also what you do. Jesus models that
for us. He says I want you to sanctify them as you sent me into the world.

I'm sending them into the world. It's what you are that results in what you do
that's an example of Jesus Christ in this world. This word sanctification, we've
sort of walked all around it.

Let's focus in on it now. How is he going to sanctify us? How does Jesus make
our lives useful and purposeful?

This is important information. It's more than just I'd like this to happen
information. This is how it can happen.

How does he do it? He does it. Jesus says it specifically.

He does it through his word. John 17 17. Sanctify them by the truth.

Your word is truth. Reminds me of that old D. L.

Moody quote. This book, the Bible, will either keep you from sin or sin will
keep you from this book. The Bible sanctifies you.

It keeps you from sin. It helps you to begin to live the life that God has given
you to live. To say Lord help me to grow.

Mature me. Help me to become more like Jesus. Help me to grow spiritually.

Grow in faith. To pray any of those prayers without making a life commitment to
reading and studying and listening to God's word. It's like praying for your
flowers to grow without ever watering them.

God has told us this is how you grow. It's through my word and my word is truth.
Sanctification occurs when we learn and love and live God's word.

With our mind we learn it. We see the facts of it and what it means. With our
heart we love it.

And the more you read God's word the more you fall in love with it passionately.
And with the will we decide to live it. It takes all three of those for a
balanced experience of sanctification.

You can't just memorize verses without any intention to do them. You can't just
quote verses to others without it making any impact on your life. You can't just
blindly follow without recognizing you're following someone.

It's not a rule book. It's a relationship with God. Sanctification occurs as we
learn and love and live God's word.

Jesus says I'm sanctifying them by the truth. By the word. But he also says
sanctification happens another way.

He says I'm sanctifying them by the word. But he also prays I sanctify them by
sanctifying myself. For them I sanctify myself.

He says in verse 19 that they too may be truly sanctified. How could that
happen? How could Jesus sanctify himself?

He's already perfect. So how could he grow in sanctification? Well remember the
word sanctified means set apart.

And Jesus set himself apart on the cross. He who is perfectly holy lived his
life for God's intended purpose. And he set himself apart on the cross by giving
his life for us.

On the cross Jesus both glorifies himself and sanctifies himself. And in so
doing he looks forward to glorifying us and sanctifying us. I don't want you to
miss something.

Jesus says I sanctify myself. I don't want you to miss the truth in these
verses. That sanctification is not just some selfish pursuit.

I'm sanctified so that I personally can grow and feel closer to God. I'm
sanctified so that I personally can feel somehow more holy, more Christian, and
maybe even look a little bit better Christian than the people around me. No,
Jesus says I sanctify myself for their sake so that they may be truly
sanctified.

Sanctification isn't just for your sake. Oh it has an impact on your life.
Sanctification in the depth of what it really means is for the sake of others.

Jesus sanctifies himself for our sake. He wants to sanctify you for the sake of
others. He wants to sanctify you for the sake of the world.

As you sent me into the world, he prays right in the middle of this, I send them
into the world. So don't miss this. We are set apart to be sent.

We are saved and sanctified to sacrifice and serve. This truth, this doctrine of
sanctification, it sets the foundation of our growth as Christians. One of the
missing ingredients sometimes in our spiritual growth I found with many people
is an understanding of this truth, this doctrine.

Without understanding this truth of the fact that God is sanctifying you, you
can easily find yourself following in to either the trap of legalism or license.
Legalism is trying to grow in Christ based on your own effort and license is
presuming that you're going to grow in God's grace no matter how you live. Jesus
says I am living.

In fact, I've sanctified myself so that they might be sanctified. The truth of
the matter is there are hundreds of things that you should and will do to grow
spiritually. Things like prayer and reading the Bible and being a part of a
church.

God commands that we do all these things, but they all rest on the foundation of
faith of what God is doing in our lives. And to grow as a Christian, you have to
learn to constantly see yourself by faith. You're not growing because you're
keeping a list of rules that God has given you.

You're growing because you're following him. You're living a life of faith. And
you see yourself the way that God sees you.

Someone who's being sanctified. You see, sanctification is not the process of me
trying really hard to become something that I am not. The moment you became a
believer in Jesus Christ, he made you holy.

He sanctified you in one sense and the rest of your life, sanctification is the
process of beginning to live out what you already are. But God has made you to
be in Jesus Christ. At the moment of salvation, God changed your spiritual DNA.

And if Satan is lying to you and say, "Oh, you could never do that. You could
never be that. You could never be useful to the master.

" That verse we looked at at the beginning of this today. Satan's lying because
the moment you became a believer, you became a new creation in God. And Jesus
Christ is sanctifying you day by day through his word and through his sacrifice
for you on the cross.

Let's take a moment right now today to recognize in prayer. We talked earlier
this week about recognizing the truth in prayer. Let's recognize in prayer the
truth about who you are in Christ.

As you pray today, just say, "Lord Jesus, thank you that you made me holy. You
died on the cross to give me the gift of your holiness. I'm not holy in myself,
but you made me holy.

Thank you. And Jesus, thank you also that you're making me holy. That you're
teaching me to become what you've made me to be, dying for me on the cross, and
making me a new creation.

Help me to live out the truth of who you're making me to be today. Lord Jesus,
thank you for setting yourself apart on the cross for my salvation. I can't tell
you how grateful I am.

And Lord Jesus, thank you for setting me apart to be useful to the master. As
God sent you into the world, you're sending me into the world. I don't know what
that means, but I pray you'd help me to see what that means today.

Some way that I could touch someone else's life for your sake. And Lord, I thank
you for the sanctifying truth of your word. Even this prayer we're looking
through this week.

That your word can change my heart. Help me to see things with a new
perspective. Give me a new hope.

Give me a new motivation to live the life you've given me. Thank you, Jesus. In
your name.

Amen.