Pardoned & Sanctified

 

Psalm 32:1

A psalm of David, Maschil. Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sins are covered.

Maschil: an instructive, didactic poem (didactic: intended to teach moral instruction)

Transgression: breach of trust, rebellion

Forgiven: to lift, carry, take away

Sin: *from the ATS Bible Dictionary* Any thought, word, desire, action, or omission of action, contrary to the law of God, or defective when compared with it.  Contrary to the nature, worship, love, and service to God. Ungodliness, iniquity/unrighteousness. In Genesis it is referred to as "the flesh". 

Covered: to cover over as to not be seen again, to clothe

    When we believe that Jesus Christ is Lord, our sins are forgiven, for the blood of God's perfect Lamb, which was shed on the cross, covers our sinful nature--through the power of God's Holy Spirit--and clothes our souls with the righteous nature of Christ Jesus. 

    Romans 13:14 But put on The Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh. 

    Galatians 3:27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 

    Romans 6:4 We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead to the glory of The Father, we, too, may walk in newness of life. 

    Which brings us to being sanctified. In his letter to the believers' church in Rome, Paul was giving his references, his qualifications, for being the one who would bring the gospel message to the Gentiles--the non-Jews--ethnicities unrelated to the Hebrew culture.

Romans 15:16 ..to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by The Holy Spirit. 

Sanctified: made holy, consecrated, set apart, dedicated, hallowed, to separate

    It is the work of The Holy Spirit in us to make us holy. It is our job to listen to Him and obey The Voice of God when He speaks to us. And God does speak to us. In His written Word and in the nudgings of His Spirit within us. In prophetic tongues through His people God reveals Himself. The Holy Spirit will lead us and guide us in God's Word on a daily basis, when we read what the prophets and the apostles have written thousands of years past. We just need to believe that God's Word is True and Faithful. 

THE OLD RUGGED CROSS - Alan Jackson 

WORD OF GOD SPEAK - MercyMe

    

  

Statements of Faith - Washed In The Blood

 

1 Corinthians 6:11

And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified, in The Name of The Lord Jesus Christ and by The Spirit of our God. 

Hebrews 9:13-14

For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that their bodies are clean,  how much more will the blood of Christ, who through The eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, purify our consciences from works of death, so that we may serve the living God!

THE REPENTANT HEART

Psalm 51:1-3

For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. When Nathan the prophet came to him after his adultery with Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your loving devotion; according to Your great compassion, blot out my transgressions.

Wash me clean of my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.

    The commandments of God revealed the impossibleness of being saved through the law and that a Savior from God was needed to bring us into a right relationship with God. This Savior from God came to this earth and showed us the Way back into God's grace and mercy. His Name is Jesus Christ and He is God's only begotten Son (John 3:16). 

    God took His Word and wrapped it in the fragility of flesh (John 1:14) and through the power of His Holy Spirit, God placed His Word in Mary's womb (Luke 1:35). His Name, Jesus, means "He shall save His people" (Matthew 1:21, Luke 1:31). 

    Not, however, through the conquering Kingship God's people were expecting. God's plan of salvation was to send His perfect Lamb to be the atoning sacrifice which would be the "once and for all" salvation of God's people. No longer would animal sacrifices be necessary. For when God's Lamb died, the veils to the holy of holies was ripped open wide and now all had access to God through Christ; but only through Christ Jesus. For "There is no other Name under heaven by which men must be saved." (Acts 4:12). 

    My sins have been washed in the blood of The Lamb of God and I am forgiven! Come to the cross and see The Lamb of God which takes away the sins of the world! 

ARE YOU WASHED IN THE BLOOD? 

NO OTHER NAME BUT JESUS  

AT THE CROSS  

God Forgives, Forgets

 

Isaiah 43:25

I, yes I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake and remembers your sins no more.

FORGIVEN

WHEN WE REPENT and TURN TO HIM Isaiah 1:18 "Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are as red as crimson, they will become like wool." Psalm 25:7 Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my rebellious acts; remember me according to Your loving devotion, because of Your goodness, O LORD. Romans 10:8-10 But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: that if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him out from the dead, you will be saved. For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved.

FORGOTTEN

Hebrews 8:12

"For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more."

Psalm 103:12

As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.Isaiah 44:22

I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, your transgressions, and, as a cloud, your sins: return to Me; for I have redeemed you.

A Crucified Life - - Proclaims The Word of Faith

 

   

Romans 10:8,9

But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the Word of Faith we are proclaiming: that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 2784

Proclaim: to herald publicly with conviction

From the Greek word 'kérussó' (pronounced kay-roos'-so): refers to preaching the Gospel as the authoritative (binding) word of God, bringing eternal accountability to all who hear it.

    Did you get that? ALL who hear the Word of God preached are ACCOUNTABLE for the Word they have heard. Convicting power right there. When I hear the Word of Faith preached, I am accountable for what I am hearing. When I preach the Word of Faith, anyone hearing me, even if you are reading the Word I bring, is accountable for what they are hearing. (If you're like me, you tend to speak the words as you read them, even if it's just a whisper or your hear the Word in your thoughts).

    We need to listen to the Spirit of God when He brings convicting power into our hearing. When the Word of God says to do a certain thing and we don't do it, that's sin. When the Word of God says not to do a certain thing and we do it, that's sin, too. 

    In this verse we read and understand that believing on the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ is the key to salvation through the atoning work of Christ on the cross. 

ETERNAL ACCOUNTABILITY

    Having believed that Christ died on the cross to save us from the eternal damnation (hell) that was our destiny as the result of sin in our lives, now, if we have believed that Jesus is Lord, then our eternal destination has changed and we are on the road to eternal life (heaven). Forgiven [Crowder].

    For now, in this life, we walk in the valley of the shadow of death (Psalm 23:4), for death no longer threatens us. We live our lives within the bold love of God, telling everyone we can that Jesus is Lord, testifying of how He changes our lives and how He can change their lives. Look What The Lord Has Done (Lindell Cooley [Revival In Brownsville].

THE ONE GOSPEL

    John 3:16-18

16) "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
 17) "For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

18) “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."

    I believe. In 1996 I gave my heart to Jesus: I became a born again believer. I was attending a wonderful little Methodist church near our home out in the county. Our children and I walked the quarter-mile every Sunday to attend church, with me pushing the twins in their stroller. 

    One Sunday, almost 28 years ago, I made the public announcement that I had chosen to listen to God above all else. My heart changed and then my attitudes changed. And then, my whole life was turned upside down. The husband I had at that time didn't want to be married to me any more, so the size of my family changed. We were broken. But I was Alive in Christ and my brokenness was just the beginning. My heart had to broken so that God could fill me up with Himself and mend my broken places. 

    And I came here to this sprawling city. Living in the city is completely different from living in the country. But God is everywhere and I had decided to follow His leading. Here is where He led me and here I stand, testifying of God's faithfulness in my life. 

    That decision led me to a wonderful little church where I was discipled with love to become a Sunday School teacher, a Youth Leader and a faith-based songwriter. I attended that church for five years, 1997-2002.

    From there I was launched by the Spirit into the church I currently attend. Here I became the Singles Leader for a brief time (2 years) and then began to study for the ministry to become a preacher. One heart/life/soul changing decision led to many open doors for me. 

    When we choose to take a stand, and not back down, for the life-changing, heart-cleansing, gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ, then we need to be prepared for the outcome of our stance. We need to be prepared to be come against from all directions. We need the Word of Faith that has been planted in us by our hearing of it and believing it to Grow in us, that Christ would be visible to others by our words and our actions. We need to Speak Jesus.

    Do you believe? Let me hear you testify. 

     

    

Heart & Soul - - Alive With Christ

 

Ephesians 2:4, 5

But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our trespasses. It is by grace you have been saved!

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 4806

Alive: to make alive together with

From the Greek word 'suzóopoieó' (pronounced ood-zo-op-oy-eh'-o): I make alive together with; new moral life is referred to; reanimate conjointly with, quicken together with.

THE PENITENT'S CRY 

Psalm 51:1-2

Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your loving devotion; according to Your great compassion, blot out my transgressions.  Wash me clean of my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

Psalm 32:5

Then I acknowledged my sin to You and did not hide my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD," and You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah

1 John 1:9

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

ALIVE IN CHRIST

Colossians 2:12-14

And having been buried with Him in baptism, you were raised with Him through your faith in the power of God, who raised Him from the dead. When you were dead in your trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our trespasses, having canceled the debt ascribed to us in the decrees that stood against us. He took it away, nailing it to the cross!

John 11:25

Jesus said unto her, "I am The Resurrection and The Life, he that believes in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live."

FORGIVEN

    Our souls are eternal. When these bodies the Lord God has placed our souls in fail and die, the soul leaves for its destination. If the soul has believed that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior, then that soul leaves for the eternal presence of God in heaven. If the soul who has chosen to not believe dies in its unbelieving state, then that soul leaves for the eternal damnation (eternal separation from God) in hell. 

     Nothing that we can do, in and of ourselves, can save us from the eternal punishment due us for the sins we have committed against God by disobeying and disbelieving His Holy Word. Having been born with a sinful nature, we are all unclean.

    Isaiah 64:6 "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away." We need the righteousness of a Savior, of The Christ, to cover us.

    Isaiah 53:6

All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

    We need to seek out the Lord, repent of our unrighteous ways and be forgiven by a Merciful God.

    Isaiah 55:7

Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. 

    Paul referred to himself as a wretch (Romans 7:24). David revealed himself to be a sinner (2 Samuel 12:13). How do we refer to ourselves when confessing to God that we are sinners? We must approach God with humble hearts, not proud or prideful (pride-filled) hearts. God hears the sinner's prayer when the sinner is truly repentant. 

    To be Alive in Christ is to be forgiven and live a forgiven lifestyle. Now that we have been washed in the blood of the God's Lamb, and the sins we repented of are washed away, we learn how to live holy and righteous lives: lives that don't include deliberately sinning. 

    We are not forgiven so we can keep on sinning. This is a false teaching. The born again believer chooses not to sin, knowing that sin is what kept us separated from God. Now that we have recognized God for Who He Is, and that His Word Is Faithful and True, we do not want to do the things we used to do before we became to Christ.

BLESSED

    1 John 3:9

Anyone born of God refuses to practice sin, because God’s seed abides in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.

    To be Alive With Christ is to live in Christ as He lives in us. We are the born again: the poor in spirit, the meek, the ones who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, the persecuted for His Name's sake, the reviled (Matthew 5:3-11). For as He was treated in this world, His people are also treated. 

SUFFERERS FOR CHRIST

    Matthew 16:24

Then Jesus told His disciples, "If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me."

    1 Peter 4:1

Therefore, since Christ suffered in His body, arm yourselves with the same resolve, because anyone who has suffered in his body is done with sin.

    1 Peter 2:21-23

For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth." When they heaped abuse on Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats, but entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly. 

ALIVE WITH CHRIST

    Remember, this Christian life is not an easy life, but it is a worthwhile life. Our goal is to live with God forever. Salvation is the first step to getting there. This holiness lifestyle is all the other steps. For our journeys are of indefinite length, as our days are numbered by God (Psalm 39:4; 90:12). Whether we live a long life or a short life, it is not length of life that is rewarded: it is how we lived the life we were given.

    We did not get saved just so we could "live the good life" here and now. Salvation is a gift from God (John 3:16; Ephesians 2:8). Sanctification is the work of The Holy Spirit .

    Now we are Alive With Christ. What a miracle that we have become part of the body of Christ. Look to the cross! See the body of Christ. It is not beautiful. If we are honest with ourselves, no one wants to look on Him, for He is hard to behold. Isaiah 53. 

    Romans 6:22  

Therefore, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God. 

    Without the sin-bearing Savior on the cross, there could be no resurrection of the dead to a new life in Christ! Look, now, and see Him there: dying for you, for me. Once and for all Jesus took the sins of the whole world upon Himself. Hebrews 9:12 "Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption for us."

    I am Alive in Christ, I am Alive with Christ. If it were not for my recognition of Christ Jesus as my Savior and the Lord of my life, I would not be alive at all, but I would be dead in my trespasses, in my sins. I have a Savior and His Name is Jesus Christ. Come near to the heart of God. Come, be alive with us. 

REPENTANT, FORGIVEN, CHANGED  

Dead Man (Carry Me) - Jars of Clay

Ocean Floor - Audio Adrenaline

God Be Merciful to Me - Jars of Clay

Lay It All Down - Will Reagan

Come As You Are - Crowder

I'm Not Alright - Sanctus Real

The Hard Way - DC Talk

Nothing But The Blood - Jars of Clay

Forgiven - Crowder 

Redeemed - Big Daddy Weave

Less Like Me - Zach Williams 

Walking Free - Micah Tyler

Simple - Various Artists

Simple Truth - Ryan Ellis

Guard Your Heart - - A Clean Heart

 

Psalm 17:3

You have tried my heart; You have visited me in the night. You have tested me and found no evil; I have resolved not to sin with my mouth.

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 974

Tried: examine, test, prove

From the Hebrew word 'bachan' (pronounced baw-khan'). 

    In the night watches, The LORD tries His people. He tests our hearts to see if we are ready to do His will, to serve Him, to work for Him.

    How does He visit His people? In prayer. We must be awake to pray with our LORD. We must be conscious and meet Him on a heart to heart level. For the LORD looks on the heart, not the mind or the face (1 Samuel 16:7; Luke 16:15). (Psalm 42:8). In meditation on His Word (Psalm 77:6). The LORD searches our hearts (Proverbs 20:27; Jeremiah 17:10; 1 Chronicles 28:9; Acts 1:24). 

A CLEAN HEART IS CREATED BY GOD

    Psalm 51:10

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

    Psalm 32:1

Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered!

    Matthew 6:12

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

A CLEAN HEART IS A FORGIVEN HEART

    Isaiah 1:18

“Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are as red as crimson, they will become like wool."

    Isaiah 42:35

"I, yes I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake and remembers your sins no more."

A CLEAN HEART IS A MALLEABLE HEART

    Ezekiel 36:26

"A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh."

    John 3:5

"Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit."

A CLEAN HEART IS A PURE HEART

    Matthew 5:8

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God."

    When God cleans our hearts, it is not merely that our slates are wiped clean, but that we may be useful vessels for God. When we let Him, God decides how best we may serve Him. 

    We have several vases atop our hutch. We do not use most of them and one of these days some of them will become garden decorations. But for now, they are in a waiting period. Like some of us: we offer ourselves to God, then wonder why we aren't doing some great deed for Him. 

    While we think we are just sitting on the shelf, God is testing us, proving our hearts to be His. The Spirit searches all things (1 Corinthians 2:10). If our hearts truly belong to God, then God knows that we are His people. And He wants us to be ready. Even if our readiness includes sitting on a shelf. 

    The LORD hears our cries (Psalm 61:1; Psalm 130:1-4). 

Psalm 27:7

"Know that the LORD has set apart the godly for Himself; the LORD hears when I call to Him."

O LORD, make us clean. We repent of the wickedness of our hearts, of our transgressions against Your Word, of the sins we have committed. You say to me, when I have awakened, 'Wash you, make you clean before you begin your work'. And every morning I wash my face and make me clean. 

But You, O LORD, desire a clean heart and a renewed spirit. These things only You can do, LORD, but I must ask You to do so. For I know You want to be asked, that You are not a controlling God, but a loving God, Who wants only what is right for us. You have given us free will, the conscious ability to choose right from wrong, to make decisions for ourselves.

Forgive me, LORD, for I do so want to be found in Your good graces. So, try my heart: test me, prove me; examine me according to Your Word, Your Will and Your Way. Remove anything not good in me and replace it with the better thing You have for me. 

You are the God of my life and I want no other.

In Jesus' Name, I pray,

Amen.

O COME TO THE ALTAR 

COME AS YOU ARE

CREATE IN ME A CLEAN HEART 

SANCTUARY

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