Posted on by Sami M

Let Go >>> Let’s Go Pt. 19

Letting Go of self

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

1 Thessalonians 5:23

God desires us to let go of self, and be set apart as a people who are living a life of sanctification. There’s process where the Father wants to cultivate a new self set apart for His divine glory, and that process starts in the spirit, then the soul, and finally through the body. We are made with three separate parts spirit, soul, and body. Each of which work together towards complete sanctification. The work of sanctification comes in a very specific order as written by Paul, spirit, soul, and body. The shekinah glory of God desires to over flow from the spirit within us, to the soul, and finally until our body is filled with His glory so we may live from His overflow. We are created to operate out of divine overflow where His glory can shine from our innermost part through the covering of our flesh. God’s peace, His character, brings about that process. The work of sanctification is a gradual and quiet process by which God is cultivating and uprooting every unholy thing in our lives. He wants to take every part of us, deep and shallow to another level, He wants to see His nature come through us. God’s supernatural has to uproot and cultivate every ounce of us so that He is able to grow the supernatural in us. He desires to see our sanctification come to completion. We see that in the first section of this scripture in 1 Thessalonians 5:23 .

First we have peace, which describes God’s character, and also the vehicle by which He sanctifies us. Below I have written out the greek for peace, which is eirene and it’s root word eirō. God’s peace works out our sanctification through quietness and seeking wholeness. A spirit of peace can not be operating within us unless there is wholeness where we are joined together with Him. His nature and character which is defined by this peace is what sanctifies us.

Peace = eierne = one, quietness, rest > eirō = wholeness, join together

Sanctify means to make us holy, regarding us as special, and to set us apart for His purposes. This is where in that still quiet place with God, His peace enters in and starts working in us towards change. Theres a thrilling quiet where He starts to work in our innermost parts. God’s desire is to bring this process of sanctification to completion. In the greek below you will see holotelés means complete and perfect. To fill out the meaning of the word, the root words are hólos which means whole/all parts present/entirely and télos which means end purpose. Our process of sanctification is meant to make us whole, bring our growth to completion, and it is his end purpose for us. We are made in the image of God, and in order to live that out, we are meant to walk out a life of sanctification so that when we reach our end here and come before God we come to completion on the other side of eternity. He desires us to have wholeness and unity with Him. We can see that His peace is what ties together that sanctification process bringing us into a wholeness.

Sanctify = hagiazó = make holy, consecrate > hāgios = regard as special, set apart, sacred

Completely = holotelés = complete, perfect > hólos = whole, all parts present, entirely >télos = end purpose

This is a divine wholeness that can not be reached without the whisper of the Holy Spirit consistently working in our lives, starting with our innermost spirit, then to the soul, and finally outwardly through the body, through our actions. We see this in the order of Pauls list of spirit, soul and body for sanctification. The spirit in each of us is our supernatural part which is what reaches out and speaks to the Holy Spirit and which is first touched by the words and promptings of the Holy Spirit. This is where sanctification first must start working. The spirit as seen below is our rational soul, the eternal portion. It is the breath of God within us which is the same portion of us which is resurrected from the dead when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. God breathes life back into our spirit when we choose to follow Christ. We are then able to house the Holy Spirit and this revives our line of communication with Him. Without the inner resurrection there is no inner communication with the Holy Spirit. In John 4:24 we can see how our spirit is able to connect with God. We can not worship God properly or rightly without our spirit; spirit must speak to Spirit.

Spirit = Pneuma = rational soul, immortal/eternal portion Hebrew = Rûach = breath of God

God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truthfulness.

John 4:24

Our soul is our individual self with all of the emotions and thoughts and actions. Our soul is what speaks God to the world around us. We express Him through our soul. It is that outward expression of Him through us which is where the soul operates. Luke 1:46-47 shows the different functions of the soul and spirit. There’s a difference, soul is magnifying the Lord and the spirit is rejoicing in God. Magnification can’t come without the joy, because your can’t magnify something that doesn’t exist. Her worship came from her spirit first, then expressed outwardly though her soul. The inner joy comes first from the spirit, and then magnified from that quiet inner place through the soul.

Soul = Psychē – vital breath of life, personhood, unique individual

And Mary said, My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.

Luke 1:46-47

Body = Somā = physical body

Our physical body is the last part which is changed and set apart. Our physical actions are always determined by our innermost self. God reaches us first in our spirit when we become alive in Him, reborn spiritually when we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior from that day on. God’s move in our life is in the innermost quiet, peaceful place, where His Holy Spirit resides. It is a gentle whisper coming in, ushering in His presence. His peace brings us into wholeness, because peace requires wholeness. As divine wholeness is cultivated in the quiet dark place, new creation is made (Gen 1:2). This is where our soul is changed, so it magnifies Him. His shekinah glory begins to saturate the spirit, soul, and body as we conform to the quiet & silent sanctification process within. It is in the inner stillness we can be made new. Sanctification is easily missed if we never settle in our spirit to commune with God. What we do outwardly should reflect the innermost part of us. We are set apart by God as His inheritance (Eph 1:18), which He has made for Himself through the work of His son, cultivating His people through the sanctification of spirit, soul and body of each believer.

…having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints…

Ephesians 1:18

Sanctification is gradual, so that each piece of us is thoroughly cultivated, so that in this process, others may see God’s glory and desire to know Him more. In this way, rather than living soulish lives where we are living from and for our own emotion and direction, we live from His peace, wisdom, and guidance. We look towards our eternal destination where our sanctification comes to completion. Here we are finally made whole. Letting go of our soulish, emotional, and unfiltered thought lives and outward version of ourselves takes great humbling and active work before the Lord. He does not offer up any of the sanctification process with a free pass on effort and commitment on our part. God desires to co-labor with us in the process of change in our spirit, soul, and body. The Father will convict our hearts, transform our thoughts, and call us to action when we are willing to submit our heart and flesh to His will. He can change the most wretched of us to a vision of His glory and holiness when we choose to labor with Him in the mess. We have a loving Father who lays out the plans to let go of our emotionally driven patterns of thought and action. The only thing the Father requires in our sanctification journey, is our passion for Him, His heart, and commitment to submitting to His ways and not our own. When we step into the fulness of who He’s calling us to be, that’s where we see lasting change happen in our deepest parts, marching us to higher places mentally, physically, and emotionally. Having the mind of Christ should be an active, daily journey, for each of us. There we have the greatest impact and allow the shekinah glory of God through us. The Holy Spirit finally finds himself no longer quenched but a tangible, burning fire, working through us.

We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil. Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

1 Thessalonians 5:12-24
Posted on by Sami M

Let Go >>> Let’s Go Pt. 7

Letting Go of Your Glory

The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge. Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.” The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.’ Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?” Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.

John 8:48-59

Our days are so consumed by the world we live in, each day living for its own glory. We see the idols of our lives pinned up as the things we strive for glory in, whether it be our jobs, knowledge, families, sports teams, celebrities, relationships, or social status; you name it, we are good at making idols everywhere we go, living for our own glory and comfort. We become easily blinded and distracted by the shiny things of life and tend to cling to those before seeking the glory and truth of God. Life can easily be caught up in the ideals of the world, but Jesus calls us straight outta that. Jesus makes this clear and plain to us in the section of John 8, that we will dissect and explore from above.

When we look at the Pharisees speaking to Jesus in John 8:48-59, we see that they are still so caught up in their own knowledge and glory, they can’t perceive that, Jesus, the Son of God is standing right in front of them. Their hearts and minds currently belong to the Enemy. They are blinded by their ideals, knowledge, glory, and personal righteousness. They are blinded by the Enemy, the king of this world. They can’t see past themselves or their way of thinking to realize Jesus is for real, and came to save them too. What they think, their beliefs, are held more important than what Jesus has been doing since He began His ministry. They are so dead set on belittling Jesus that they call Him a Samaritan with a demon, which beyond just saying He has a demon. Being called a Samaritan, was a derogatory term at the time. The insult similar to saying someone wasn’t of pure blood, so basically they said He’s a tainted Jew, less than. He was considered less than them, the Pharisees; as if somehow belittling Jesus would make Him small. Jesus comes right back saying He is of the Father, living for His glory, and here to redeem all people of their sin, self righteousness, and personal glory. He tells them word for word that they can choose eternal life by accepting Him, because by accepting Him, they put their faith in God. Yet the Pharisees continue to dishonor Him, after He rebukes them. They try to throw the bible at Jesus, by saying Abraham is greater than him and so are the other prophets because of all they have said and done. They believe these people are the truth and they are greater than Jesus. They have held these amazing men of God as idols of the faith! The Pharisees haven’t been looking at God, only the men who have carried the words of Truth. They have held up these Godly men of the old testament as greater than God, because they speak of God. They have been operating out of their own righteousness and glory believing they know best because of what they have learned. The Pharisees weren’t interested in someone coming in and stealing their thunder. They were not looking for a relational God, but rather to be right and know whats best of others under the guise that it all comes from God.

Jesus rebukes them again, saying He is not living for His glory, because that holds no eternal value or weight. He says His glory comes from the Father, not from Him, and calls the Pharisees out on not knowing God. He says that His Father is the God they keep speaking of, yet they do not know Him, because if they did, they would know who Jesus is. Jesus goes as far to say that if He renounced God, and said that He was not of God, sent by Him, that He would be a liar. That is the kind of liar the Pharisees are, their actions are as bad a if Jesus denied the heavenly Father and renounced His faith. Jesus basically picks up His spiritual sword and wields it at their souls, by showing how far they have fallen by making this point. Jesus goes on to further point to His deity by stating that He knows Abraham rejoices at His coming and fulfillment of prophesy as the Son of God, and nothing less. The Pharisees have dug themselves a deep hole, and continue to attempt to make less of Christ. They accuse Him of not being old enough to have ever lived when Abraham did or having any possibility of knowing him. Jesus maintains His composure and patience rebuking them one final time. He states that He is the great I AM, the one who came before all people and stands at the beginning of time before the world was formed. So surely He knows Abraham and all that he is and what he believed. To the Pharisees this was the final straw, they couldn’t believe that Jesus would claim to be I AM, God of the universe. The Pharisees were so blinded by the world, that no matter what Jesus said, they couldn’t recognize the Truth. So instead they became angry and tried to stone Him.

Jesus leaves the scene avoiding being stoned to death by the angry group. Jesus LEFT THEM, He up and peaced out. This is HUGE, Jesus after rebuking them three times, and revealing Truth to them finally walks away knowing they were too blind. The Pharisees had given themselves over to the kingdom of the world, Satan’s kingdom. They were no longer children of God, and had already accepted the world Satan had put in front of them. Jesus could perform a miracle and just change their minds, but that isn’t Him, we are free to choose Him if we want Him and His kingdom.

We have to choose Christ daily by picking up our crosses and walking the road of Cavalry just like He did. Otherwise we risk becoming like the Pharisees, who are more interested in the comforts of the world, their doctrine based religion, personal righteousness, and general glory of self. Satan’s job is to distract us with the desires of our heart which can be fulfilled in the here and now. He knows we want it easy, simple, satisfying, and self glorifying and Satan will sneak in and distract us with just about anything that strikes our fancy. BUT if we make Christ the greatest desire of our heart, pick up our cross, walk with Him daily, take the hard path less traveled, then we glorify our heavenly Father. We bring glory to His kingdom and inherit His eternal riches as God’s sons and daughters. We are co-heirs with Christ, but first we must lay down our idols, comfort, glory, righteousness, pride, desires, and anything that does not align with the heart of Christ. God desires to commune with each of us for eternity, but we have to choose Him and His desires for our lives daily. We must come under His reign and shine in His glory so others have an opportunity to see the beauty of His kingdom. We must become self forgetful, and realize that God has the greatest plans for us, which ultimately glorify Him, and allow for more people to see Him for who He is. Our God, the steadfast, loving, trustworthy, good, eternal Father that He is. We must look upward and forward daily for direction and realize that the only life worth living is the one that let’s go of our glory, which dies in the grave. Instead we must grasp onto the glory of God, which He desires to shine through us, which is eternal.

For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.

2 Corinthians 1:20-22