05.08. The Unsanctified
8. THE UNSANCTIFIED To be saved and sanctified means far more than two trips to the altar. The sanctification of a believer is a definite work, a great Blood-bought experience of grace. It is a dying out to self and a complete consecration to God on man’s part. It is a cleansing of the heart and the filling with the Holy Ghost on God’s part.
Demonstration
We do not belittle demonstration; the joy which comes with the blessing or the stirring of the emotions is often manifested when the Spirit comes. We glory in the shouting of the saints.
However, these are only manifestations that may or may not appear. They come and go. This grace is deeper than that. The real evidence is an experience that cleanses the heart from all sin, that works in the hard places and keeps one sweet in the testing time. In dealing with a believer seeking to be sanctified, a worker should be careful always to give him something tangible to which he can pin his faith, some promise on which to stand when emotions have subsided and feelings are gone.
Promises We have always found the following promises very helpful in leading believers into this deeper work of grace.
"If ye then, being evil [human], know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?" (Matthew 7:11.) "This is the will of God, even your sanctification ..." (1 Thessalonians 4:3).
"And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly ..." (1 Thessalonians 5:23).
"Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate" (Hebrews 13:12).
"If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin" (1 John 1:7).
We read in Acts 15:9 that God purifies the heart by faith.
Jesus said, "... the altar ... sanctifieth the gift" (Matthew 23:19).
"... Whatsoever toucheth the altar shall be holy" (Exodus 29:37).
"Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls" (Matthew 11:29).
Illustration
It was Sunday morning during a campaign I was conducting in a large church in the far West. The altar was lined with seekers, among them a fine looking man near fifty. I inquired of the pastor about him and was told he was a good man, lived clean, and had been seeking to be sanctified for years but somehow could not seem to grasp it.
Kneeling by him I said, "Brother, what do you want God to do for you?"
He answered, "I want Him to sanctify me."
I asked him, "Are you sure you are saved?"
He replied by saying: "Yes, I have no doubts there. I know my sins are forgiven and I have been seeking for a long time to be sanctified, but I just can’t seem to get anywhere."
I continued: "Have you consecrated your all to God, your past, your present, your future? -- all you have and all you ever expect to have?" He responded, "Yes, everything is on the altar."
I said: "Do you understand that when we speak of the altar in a spiritual sense we do not mean the place where we kneel to pray but that Jesus Christ is the Christian’s Altar?"
He replied, "Yes, I know that."
I asked, "Then have you turned everything over to Christ?"
Again he replied, "Yes, everything."
I inquired, "Can you say with the poet, "Here I give my all to Thee, Friends and time and earthly store, Soul and body Thine to be, Wholly thine forevermore?"
He responded, "Yes, that is my desire and my prayer."
I encouraged him by saying: "If this be true, then you are on believing ground. You must believe God, take Him at His word. The Bible says, ’The altar sanctifies the gift.’
"If the altar sanctifieth the gift," I said, "and you are the gift and Jesus is the Altar, and the altar sanctifies the gift, what does Jesus (the Altar) do for you right now?"
He sprang to his feet, his face shining, and said, "He sanctifies me now, and I have sought the blessing for sixteen years and never saw it until this morning." For several years we kept track of this man and he lived as though he had the blessing. This man is only one of many we have seen sanctified and satisfied after dealing with them in this way.
Walking in the Light
I knelt one night beside a man who for a long time had been seeking to be sanctified. He had ceased to weep and struggle and was kneeling with a look on his face that depicted he was deep in thought. After questioning him on his need and the completeness of his consecration, I opened my Testament and had him read that wonderful verse, 1 John 1:7 : "If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." When he had read it, I asked: "Why is the person he is talking about cleansed from all sin? Is it because he works hard, gives his money to God, feels good, or is it because he is walking in the light?"
He replied, "Because he is walking in the light."
I asked him, "Are you walking in all the light you have?"
He answered, "Yes, I am."
I said, "If God should give you new light, no matter what it is, are you willing to walk in it?"
He quickly answered, "I sure will."
I said, "To be sanctified means to be cleansed from all sin. Is that what you want God to do for you?"
He responded, "Yes, that is what I want."
I said, "If the Blood cleanses the man who walks in the light, and you are walking in the light, what does the Blood do for you right now?"
He lifted his face to mine and with a new light and a new hope in his eyes he said, "The Blood cleanses me and God sanctifies me now." The Promise Is True The promise won’t save, Though the promise is true;
’Tis the Blood we get under That cleanses us through.
It cleanses me now, Hallelujah to God!
I’m out on His promise;
I’m under the Blood.All on the Altar
Some called him a chronic seeker because in almost every meeting, if the minister gave an invitation, he would come seeking to be sanctified. He was a good man, lived clean, believed in holiness, but seemed unable to grasp the truth for himself.
Kneeling by his side at the altar in a camp meeting, I said, "Brother Will, do you believe God has the power to cleanse your soul from all sin and sanctify you wholly?"
He answered, "Brother Aycock, I know He does."
I continued: "The Bible teaches that when we come to Him we must believe that ’he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.’ Do you believe God is willing to sanctify you?"
He replied, "Sure I do. I would not be here if I didn’t."
I said: "Brother Will, to be sanctified, we must consecrate our all to God. We must put everything upon Jesus Christ, the Christian’s Altar. Are you willing to do that?"
He responded, "I have already done that; I am not holding anything back."
"Right now," I said, "you are all on the altar?"
"Yes, right now," he replied.
I led him on by saying, "Brother Will, God speaking through His servant Moses, in Exodus 29:37, of the sacredness of the ancient altar, which was typical of Jesus Christ, your Altar and mine, said, ’Whatsoever toucheth the altar shall be holy.’
"You say you are all on the altar. God says, ’Whatsoever toucheth the altar shall be holy.’
He did not say it may be or can be but it ’shall be holy.’"
I further stated, "If you are all on the altar, you must be touching it; and if whatsoever toucheth the altar shall be holy and you are on it, what must be your condition now?" At that moment the light broke in upon his soul. He stopped seeking and began praising God for His cleansing, sanctifying power.
Let Them See
Never tell people they are saved, reclaimed, or sanctified. Lead them as near the light as you can, quote to them the promises of God, then wait and pray for the light to dawn upon them. If their faith fails to take hold, start over again. This will require more faith and patience on your part, more prayer and more promises from the Word. Often the worker must go over the same pathmany, many times before the seeker is gripped by the truth. However, it pays; for when he does see the truth, he has a foundation on which to stand.
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