Sanctification

[WhyBaltimore]

Sanctification seems almost inevitable regardless of what my worldly body actually wants to do. I spent a few days last week relapsing into old unhealthy habits and was living very materialistically and not giving myself to studying God's word. I think a lot of it stemmed from feelings of pride and thinking that I could partake in some of the worldly distractions around me, like there was something that I was missing out on. After just a few days of living like this I felt lower than I ever had in the past. I was left with no choice but to sanctify myself from this way of living since I felt so low. It was hard to even pray sometimes because I felt like such a hypocrite. I just thought I would post this because I believe the only thing which brought me out of this was having a repentant heart throughout the whole ordeal. I kept praying for more repentance and I believe it was given to me. I just wanted to say that this teaching on repentance being Godly sorrow has been absolutely monumental in how I tackle my life. I had repentance even before I learned about it's true meaning but to have it clearly explained has really allowed me to make sense of what I knew to be true vs what I was being told in bible study. Thanks

[Pilgrim Mike]

Stay in God's word and separate yourself from the wicked. You'll be persecuted in some way if you haven't been already but just remember to never be ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. I strongly encourage you to purchase some sound biblical tracts, or make your own, and at least give them out. More so than that going out into your communities and street preaching will more than likely reach more people. Don't worry ( at all ) about results. Just remember that God's word says that I planted Appollos watered but Christ gave the increase. Sorry if I made a mistake in this post.

[TheChickenWhisperer]

I just wanted to say that this teaching on repentance being Godly sorrow has been absolutely monumental in how I tackle my life.

That is exactly the type of thing I was thinking about this week! I had two different times I became pretentious in my speech this week and it made me weep.  To add to it, I was studying Romans Chapter 11:

17 And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;
18 Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.
19 Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in.
20 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:
21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.
22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.
23 And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again.
24 For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be graffed into their own olive tree?

I know it sounds like a different context, but this is how I was thinking about it: the dead branches are people like myself that have sin and foolishness in their lives. When we have been given repentance, God can graft us back in again! Only God can bring the dead branches back to life again.

I am glad to hear you had repentance Luke. It is scary just how easy it is to fall back into the sin of the world sometimes. For me, that temptation is worldly music.  How much better I am when I listen to gentle hymns that truly praise Jesus Christ for all He has done! I don't know what your personal temptation is Luke, and I don't have to know.  I am just glad you were given that sorrow and can now overcome it.

[someguy85]

I know it's been mentioned a few times (and numerous times in the audio teachings) but as is said in 1 Corinthians 5:6

"Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?"

While there's no doubt that this is overtly talking about bad doctrine corrupting an entire system, this can also relate to virtually anything sinful in our lives, be it habits, doctrine, attitudes...anything. As some of us who have history with addiction know, it only takes one time with the wrong thing to kick start years of misery, so we don't just have to go through a physical detox, but in a lot of cases a spiritual one too.

Cleaning out these things can be tricky too. Basically any avenue that you would have normally had to access said thing, you have to either cut it out of your life or make it so difficult to access that it is easier to say no to something than yes, and all of this while praying that God might either purge the desire for whatever it was from you, or show you how to go about getting it out of your life too.

Something interesting I find too is that when you are tempted by it, take a step back for a moment and think, what is it actually offering you in the long term? Will it make your life any better? And what could it possibly offer you that can not be found in our Lord Jesus Christ?

It's hard to say what will or won't work for you, but also think about this, in Romans {8:28}:

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to [his] purpose."

The misery you've been through in the darkest times, and fighting to break free of it now, none of this experience is wasted, there's a high probability that God will want to use your experiences to help someone else either directly or indirectly.