EXPERIENCING GOD’S MANIFOLD WONDERS

‘And Joshua said unto the people, sanctify yourselves for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.’ – Joshua 3:5 (Webster).

God is ever-willing to do wonders in and through us. He is always ready to showcase Himself through us before the world, principalities and powers. Interestingly, it seems creation eagerly awaits the manifestation of God’s wonders through our lives. Apostle Paul, in his letter to the Romans wrote, ‘For all creation, gazing eagerly as if with outstretched neck, is waiting and longing to see the manifestation of the sons of God.’ Romans 8:19 Weymouth New Testament

God’s standards, however, do not change concerning the criteria that qualifies us for His promises. For us to experience His wonders, we must sanctify ourselves. ‘Joshua said unto the people, sanctify yourselves for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you’ (Joshua 3:5 Webster Bible).

To sanctify means to set yourself apart for what God wants to do in you and through you. Sanctification brings us to a place of dedicated devotion to God alone. It implies a total separation from those things that will not allow the work of God to have a free course. It definitely means parting with the filthy things God hates. Proverbs 6:16-19 says, ‘There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.’

Sanctification could also mean separating from things that are supposedly ‘good’ but not good for the purpose of God for our lives. Many seemingly good things drag us down and turn us to ‘average’ people. Someone remarked that ‘average is the worst of the best and the best of the worst’ but that is not God’s will for us. The difference between the ordinary and extraordinary is sanctification.

If God is to do wonders through us, we must sanctify ourselves from certain things.

1. Things that DISTRACT us from God
2. Things that bring DISGRACE to our lives.
3. Things that put us in DEBT
4. Anything that can give us DISEASE
5. Anything that DRAINS OUR ENERGY
6. Anything that causes DELAY in our work
7. Anything that can DAMAGE our reputation
8. Anything that causes DEATH
9. Whatever that will make you DRUNK
10. Anything that will DRAW you back from God.

You must ask yourself, “what must I sanctify yourself from?” If you are not getting the results you desire, God may be telling you ‘sanctify yourself.’ Sanctification separates the average from the excellent; the good from the great; the ordinary from the extra-ordinary. It makes all the difference in life. And when you sanctify yourself, you will experience the manifold wonders of God!