Staying in Truth

Are you still sanctified?

I’m not advocating that we live with our fingers on our spiritual pulse wondering if we’ve fallen from grace, but if we’re not walking in truth then we’ve stepped into error. Jesus said His Word is truth, and it’s His truth that sanctifies us (see John 17:17). There is no greater truth than God’s Word; His Word has the capacity to cleanse, heal, deliver, and empower our lives to make a transformational difference in our communities. Stepping outside of His Word opens us to deception. The capacity of His Word is rendered ineffective when we step outside His truth. Consequently, the possibilities of healing and deliverance—of being sanctified—are hindered when we don’t remain in the truth. John stated it this way: “If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:6-7). We stay in the truth by walking in the Light; by remaining in intimacy with Jesus and in agreement with His Word.

A few weeks ago I read a post from Pastor Corey Jones, pastor of Crossroads Tabernacle in Fort Worth, Texas. Very few people have touched my life as Corey has, and his passion for Jesus and his desire for prayer still continue to spur me toward greater encounters with Jesus. His Facebook post was about remaining in the truth; about being sanctified by truth. I want you to read his post, and then we’ll end with a prayer that addresses what he disclosed. Corey writes:

I needed to be sanctified again. Jesus said, “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17). In 2014, for about 6 months, I had to be put on a medication to deal with the painful effects of stress on my body. Literally, the acid in my stomach was burning my vocal chords, making it difficult to talk without pain and especially hard to preach. During that time I took a break from ministry, an emergency sabbatical of sorts. One day, alone with the Lord, I heard Jesus say to me that my ailment wasn't physical, that it was a spiritual problem. Jesus revealed to me that the real cause of my infirmity was that I wasn't being sanctified by the Truth. I wanted to protest to God that I had been sanctified in 11th grade and that I was ordained, but my throat hurt so bad I just sat quietly and listened to Jesus.

Jesus revealed to me that I was actually being sanctified, which means to be set apart, by things that weren't the truth, that I had put my faith or trust in just about everything going on around me, especially the painful and difficult things in my life, marriage, family and ministry. Jesus was right. Unwittingly, I had put more faith in my circumstances than in the truth of the Word. As I took inventory of things in my life, I found that I had actually pulled the truth of God's Word down to the level of my experience, rather than expecting my circumstances to be raised up to the level of God's truth! When we do that we have to either change the Bible to fit our present experience or expect our present experience to conform to the truth that is in Jesus.

So, after this revelation from Jesus, I repented and reset my focus and faith on the truth and was sanctified again by what God says. After a few days of being sanctified by the truth, I sensed Jesus whisper to me that I didn't need the medication anymore. To God be the glory, I have been free from this affliction, and the need for medication, since that day! If something in your life contradicts the promise of God's Word, choose to be sanctified by the truth. Shift your focus off the present contradictory experiences and circumstances and raise your gaze onto Jesus, and be set apart exclusively by the truth; God's Word is truth!

Well said, Corey. Are there circumstances in your life that contradict God’s Word? Will you trust His Word over those circumstances? Will you remain in the truth? Our prayer is that you will repent for any misalignment to His Word, and choose to step into the light of His truth.

Let’s Pray

Jesus, I choose to denounce lies. I come out of any agreement with whatever isn’t in agreement with your Word. Sanctify me by the truth, Jesus, and enable me to remain in fellowship with you. By the power of your Spirit, I will stay in the Light; we will walk in agreement with each other. I pray in Jesus’ name, amen.