“And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you” (Joshua 3:5).
The command was to sanctify yourselves — make holy or purify. Sanctification is distinguished from justification and regeneration. Being sanctified denotes the carrying forward of that work of grace in the soul to completeness. Justification signifies the judicial relationship of the sinner to God. Regeneration changed our old nature into a new nature by the agency of the Holy Spirit.
When we are sanctified, this denotes the carrying forward of that work of grace in the soul to its completeness. One may be justified and regenerated and not be sanctified for one is never more justified. Regeneration is the new birth.
Sanctification is our spiritual attitude and character after we are saved. We know that one is saved by faith, but there is more to it than escaping Hell.
In our text, God has brought His people thus far. Their estate has changed greatly. As they prepared to advance to continue to grow, they were told to “sanctify yourselves.” He never means for us to sit and quit. A new believer is, as the old children’s song says, “I’m in the Lord’s army.” Once our shackles of sin have been removed, we are freed to go forth in service.
Notice the personal application of God’s service. As we stand on the threshold of the time when we observe the Savior’s birth, we must ask ourselves who has been forgiven. Are we ready to grow more like Jesus every day? Are we being sanctified daily?
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10).
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (Rom. 12:1).
Merry Christmas!
From Our Missionaries
Misión Creciendo en Cristo (Growing in Christ), North Little Rock: Juan Carlos Posadas writes, “Hello everyone! It is a pleasure to share with you again what God is doing with His work in North Little Rock. This week, the Wednesday and Sunday discipleship groups continued preparing their specials for the Christmas meeting.
The Wednesday groups will be singing Christmas carols, and the Sunday group is preparing a dramatization. New actors, actresses, screenwriters, choreographers, singers, etc. have emerged. In short, we are having fun and adding times of communion in the service of the Lord.
“On Saturday, starting at 10 a.m., a group of 16 volunteers from the church met to install the borders of the security surface, the weed blocker and the rubber mulch on the playground. It was a day of arduous physical effort, but, at the end of the day, seeing the finished work was gratifying.
“José Carlos turned 20 on Sunday, Dec. 10. On Friday, we visited him as a surprise to have an almost 20th birthday lunch. We prayed with him, hugged him and told him how much we love him, and what a great blessing he is to our family and community. We had some good family time.
“On Sunday, he surprised us at home. We were not expecting it since it was his exam season. We went out to dinner with him and other friends from church. One of them, Yesmer, was also celebrating his birthday. We thank God for our beloved son, Jose Carlos and Yesmer’s lives. Thank you for praying for my family and ministry. I appreciate your support.”
Faith Chapel, Flippin: Johnny Shew writes, “We had a great week at Faith Chapel, with a good number, even though several were out for various reasons. That seems like the norm lately, but it’s usually not the same people. As I have said before though, if we’re all there at the same time, we wouldn’t fit; but that won’t be the case when we get in our new building.
“I was blessed to be able to visit the North Arkansas Association’s quarterly meeting, give them a report and bring the message on Saturday. It was, indeed, a blessing. I sure love all those folks. Jerry Clements was unable to be there due to recovering from knee surgery, and I sure missed him. Please join me in prayer for him.
“Not much happened on the building last week. We are now waiting for the drywall contractor to do his part. He is extremely busy, but he told us that in the beginning, so we can wait for him. He is a godly man, and we know he is the one God has sent us, and God’s timing is always perfect. It gives us time to work on little details that need attention.
“We thank you for your support and prayers; they mean so much to us! We thank God for you always in ours.”
Faith Journey, Benton: Bryan Clay writes, “We have started collecting gifts for a few people in our community who have needs during this Christmas season. The feeling of being able to help provide a gift for someone in need is such a special thing. God asks that we love and serve others so they may see His love through us. So, if you get an opportunity to bless someone this Christmas, please do!
“I am looking forward to speaking at one of our local schools for a Fellowship of Christian Athletes meeting this week. They asked that I share my testimony with this group of students. Please pray that God will provide the words to say that may reach the heart of one of these students so that they may come to know Him and begin a personal relationship with Christ. Have a blessed week!”
Misión Gracia Soberana (Sovereign Grace), NWA: Roberto Marcelletti writes, “We are very grateful to God for the week after our anniversary. We have been told by several families of the transformations God is making in their homes, specifically women who have been challenged by the Lord to put aside the struggle of roles in the home and take the place of suitable help and giving their husband the place of leadership.
I know there is a lot of work to be done, but how wonderful to hear that the sisters have realized this and, with the Lord’s help, correct it.
“Sunday, we continued our expository series on the book of John. The theme was ‘It Is Necessary to Be Born Again’ from John 3:1-14.”
Epic Life, Pea Ridge: Jake McCandless writes, “We had an encouraging week. Even though sickness and holiday events kept several away from our Connection Groups, we had several encouraging moments. Amanda befriended a family at school through some unique circumstances last fall and had the chance to share about the church plant.
Then in May, we had back-to-back divine appointments that connected our families. This continued throughout the year. Finally, after a year, they reached out to attend our monthly Collective Gathering Sunday. Unfortunately, an illness kept them from attending, but it goes to show God is at work.
“On Saturday, the sisters gathered in the temple to make the last preparations for our Christmas service and dinner. We will have the participation of our children and a choir, and we are all very excited. This is our first Christmas activity as a church.
“This week, we also saw an incredible breakthrough in our Bible study as participants seemed to be able to use Scripture to interpret Scripture. In that same Bible study, I was able to have a salvation discussion. I look forward to sharing about that profession of faith soon.
“To top the week off, we had a guest join us for our monthly gathering unexpectantly, and she loved it.”
El Faro #2 Hispanic Mission, Cabot/Jacksonville: Michael Hight writes, “We were able to make several new contacts in a new area of Cabot this week. They have given me permission to come back and visit with them some more.
“We are going to be very busy this week. We have a dinner for the missionaries on Thursday, and Sunday afternoon we have an outreach planned in a trailer park that is mostly Hispanic.
“Sunday was a blessing as I got to preach for Guilmar in Alexander. God is blessing this church in so many ways. Please keep us all in your prayers!”
