Learning to Follow
For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. (Romans 8:14 )
One of the goodies of heaven given to every believer that sets us apart for success in every aspect from the very start is the leadership of the Holy Spirit. In fact, the verse above goes further to state that being led by the Spirit is a trait of the sons of God. In essence, to be led by the Spirit means the Spirit goes ahead of you and you follow. In our world today, when we hear of following someone, Twitter immediately comes to mind. However, the best natural illustration is that of a shepherd who goes in front of his sheep and leads them to wherever he wants.
God has given us the Spirit to lead us to the destiny He has designed for us. Learning to follow the leading of the Spirit is not an optional skill. Neither is it reserved for ministers. It is your birthright as a child of God but also a critical skill to grow in if we will have to live a victorious Christian life. There is so much going on around us now, from within the church to the world, that we dare not attempt to depend on our reasoning or strength.
The Wisdom that created the universe is here to lead us. We should learn to follow Him, whether it is at home, work, school, church, business meeting, streets or church service.
Followers inside will be victorious leaders outside in every aspect of life.
MEDITATE
Ponder on the words of the verse above. The Spirit leads. We follow.
Are you conscious of the leading of the Holy Spirit? Ever intentionally waited for His direction on an issue?
PRAY
Ask the Lord to make you a follower of the Spirit today.
Do you have some specific tasks to be accomplished today? Why not start putting God’s word into practice by learning to sense and heed the leadership of the Spirit.
Recommended Read: Led of the Spirit
Must Read!: What is a Daily Devotional?
Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the Lord your God. And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am the Lord which sanctify you. (Leviticus 20:7–8, KJV)
As the Great I AM that I AM, God revealed Himself as the Lord who sanctifies His people in the Old Covenant—Jehovah Mekaddishkem. But this was only a shadow of something greater that was coming in the New Testament.
Jehovah Mekaddishkem is the English transliteration of the Hebrew words for “I am the Lord which sanctify you” ( “mekaddish” = sanctify, “kem” = you). Divine names and titles in the Old Testament often reveal an aspect of God in relation to His people.
There are three keywords that underlie the meaning of sanctification: “wash,” “consecrate,” and “separate.” Sanctification essentially means to make something holy. Sinlessness is a core aspect of holiness, but there is more to holiness than sinlessness. It is the very nature of God. However, when used in reference to us humans, it means to be cleaned from sin, set apart for God, and consecrated to Him.
In the passage above, God tells the people first to sanctify themselves and then reveals He is the One who sanctifies them. Thus, He gives us the two sides of sanctification—the God side and the human side. There’s something God does and something His people do for their sanctification.
This truth was only a shadow in the Old Testament. It is in Christ that we see God fully revealed as Jehovah Mekaddishkem to His people through the sanctifying work on the cross. In speaking to the Corinthians, Paul revealed,
“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.” (1 Corinthians 6:11, KJV)
This is Jehovah Mekaddishkem fulfilled in Christ: We were washed and sanctified. Note that these are in past tense, describing something God has already done. The day you received Christ, you received the bath of your life, a heavenly bath by the Spirit of God that removed every stain of sin through the precious blood of Christ. And as you continue to live on earth, the Spirit continues to sanctify you daily.
Following the sanctifying work He has already done in us, He commands us,
“For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:” (1 Thessalonians 4:3, KJV)
Now that you are clean, washed, and sanctified, He tells us to put that sanctification to work outwardly. Paul explicit states it is what God wants—His will. He gives us a very specific example of sanctification here: abstain from sexual immorality. Few things defile us, like sexual impurity. But sanctification certainly includes more than abstaining from fornication or adultery. As above, it includes living a consecrated and separated life to God daily in the way we talk, act, think, feel, and handle our bodies.
He is Jehovah Mekaddishkem, the God who has Sanctified you in Christ and continues to sanctify you every day.
Meditate
Is our sanctification completed, ongoing, or both?
Apply the Word
This is the crucial part of this devotional. Until you receive the truth that God has already sanctified you by His Spirit, you will not be empowered to be sanctified practically. Put God’s sanctification power to work in your life daily by faith in the finished work of Christ.
Pray
Ask the Lord to help you in your daily walk of sanctification.
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