2018 Easter Retreat Fasting & Prayers DAY 1 (Fri March 23rd ) | SANCTIFICATION

by | Mar 22, 2018 | Easter Retreat 2018, Fasting & Prayers |

Preparing Yourself — Getting ready for a divine encounter

 

PRAYER FOCUS — Repentance and Cleansing

Scriptures for Meditation — Joshua 3:1-5; Psalm 66:18

 

Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you.”Jos 3:5

 
Sanctification means to consecrate or to set ourselves apart, to be wholly usable for God.
 

From the passage of scripture that we read above, we see how important this is to God, as He readies the children of Israel to cross into the Promised Land — His instruction to them through Joshua, was to demand for them to sanctify themselves, so that they may be positioned to experience the amazing things that He was about to do in their lives.

That is the same instruction that God is giving us today, as we prepare to have a divine encounter with Him at our Retreat gathering.

Practically, sanctification demands that we have to confront and deal with the sins in our lives, and to become clean vessels for Him to use. However, the meaning of this command goes even deeper —

It also means to compose our minds and hearts to hear from God, and position ourselves to obey Him and surrender to His will.

 

How Do We Do This?

Spotlit By The Word

 
The word of God is the light that exposes the darkness that is in us. So many times, we concern ourselves with, and are bothered by the darkness that is about and around us, that we forget that God is more concerned about dealing with the darkness that is within us!
 
The call of consecration is the challenge to allow the word of God to spotlight our lives and expose whatever darkness may be lurking within us.

 

Filtered By His Spirit

 
When we have been spotlit by the word, we then need to subject our lives to be taken through the filter of the Holy Spirit, to remove whatever impurities the word has highlighted in us — It could be an attitude to reconsider; anger, lust, ingratitude, unforgiveness, a mindset to change, a promise to keep, a sin to forsake and repent of, or an instruction you have disobeyed — something in us or about us that displeases God.
 
We need humility and the grace of God to accept and address these areas that the Holy Spirit will reveal to us, that are not pleasing to God; confess and repent of these things, and ask for the help of the Holy Spirit to live in victory over them.
 

Moulded By His Will

 
This is what I like to call “Dejunking Our Lives”.
 

This means to clear our lives of clutter, and make room for God to fill us up with His Spirit and to mould us by His Will. That is the ultimate aim of our sanctification!

As Hezekiah said to the priests and Levites (2 Chronicles 29:5) —
 

“Hear me, Levites! Now sanctify yourselves, sanctify the house of the LORD God of your fathers, and carry out the rubbish from the holy place.”

 

Selah,

Pastor Wale Ola
 

Further Reading and Meditation — 1Cor 3:16; 2 Chronicles Chapter 29

We’ll be praying corporately every night over the 7 days of fasting.
Please join us online for prayers from tonight between 7.30pm and 8.00pm (UK Time)

 
 

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