John 17:17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.
Here is the fourth thing that Jesus prays for as he prepares to leave Earth. Jesus desires that the Father would sanctify those whom the Father had given him.
In this context, Jesus is asking the Father to do something that the Father has every intention of doing. Therefore, Jesus is praying perfectly in the Father’s will.
There are several interesting implications to the word sanctification in meaning. Let’s take a look.
The first idea for us to ponder is that when something is sanctified, it is set aside from ordinary usury for a specific and ritual purpose. In other words, something that is ordinary is made to be extraordinary.
Jesus is praying that these ordinary men would be upgraded to extraordinary men who would carry the mission of Jesus Christ further on until their time of usefulness is over.
Gold has no value in the ground, yet the one who finds the gold is a happy person. That gold can be shaped into a ring that holds a diamond that emphasizes a vow of marriage. The gold is set apart from a place in the ground to an upgraded purpose.
When you receive Jesus as your Savior, you are automatically set apart to a higher purpose. There should be no question about that at all. The degree to which you are used by the Lord is the question to ponder. He is the one who fashions the gold, not you. He is the Jeweler, the Word of God is the gem, and you are the fixture in which the Word sits.
You are truly set apart for his purposes, taken from the ground and raised up as a spectacle of his changing power.
Ephesians 2:4-7 (ESV): But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Do you hear it? Set apart for God’s glory, it’s right there. You are truly God’s arm candy! LOL!
How set apart are you? The difference between you and gold in the ground is gold offers no resistance to the Jeweler. You and I resist the Jeweler all the time. We have a challenging time clearly seeing what the Jeweler is making.
Coming from the ground, we have a tough time existing in the dirt for so long and believing that anything of value can be made from us. Worms, rotting things, bugs, and decaying rock – we can quickly draw our identity from our earthen surroundings.
Sanctify them!
Wow, that is a miraculous statement made by Jesus.
Raise them up into a higher purpose. Show them their value. Wow again! He did that when the God of the universe died on the cross; he absolutely showed us our value.
The gold that Jesus holds in his hands (you) is alive. That gold (you) is so precious to him that he would rather die than be without you. Your belief in him opens the door for Jesus to sanctify you into your eternal purpose. The Jeweler starts fashioning now…let him.
Job 23:10 (NLT): But he knows where I am going. And when he tests me, I will come out as pure as gold.
Father, we are astounded by your mercy. We are of no value until, through Jesus, you give us eternal value. So please keep your hands upon us and continue to shape us for your glory. Let the Word shine and sparkle in us. The truth of Jesus Christ is what we want to see shine forth so that others can know the great gift that you have given to each of us.
You may question your value. It is possible to have a knowledge of God without giving yourself into his hands of the Jeweler to be shaped. Once the Jeweler does his work, your questioning will go away. You will feel his valuing of you at work in your life. Right here, right now, ask Jesus to take your life into his hands and work on you. He will. He is so gentle, kind, and merciful. Go ahead – you can tell him about all the dirt, but that isn’t what he is focused on; He sees your value. Ask him to start his work today. Remember, the gold can’t change itself – that’s the Jeweler’s job.
Blessings,
Pastor D
