Rescued 2 – am being saved – sanctification

I always used to wonder why the halt and the blind and the lame, emotionally speaking, were drawn to me like flies to a paper. You know who I mean, those deeply, deeply wounded by life, who act out of of that woundednes, and who are or have been stuck in that acting out. I knew that part of it was that they somehow knew that if they came to me, they would not be judged, but the bigger thing I think, is that I have come to realize that I am one of you!

And it is here, that we begin to see depth of the the love, mercy and compassion of the Lord. In particular, because the struggle to escape addictive tendencies can be intense, we need to know that we will be forgiven seventy times seven and beyond (Matthew 18:22). And to know that it is not of works (Ephesians 2:9) is liberating. But it is work to get free, hard work, often very hard work! And it’s not just about getting free of our addictions, it’s about dealing with the things that causes us to take up the addictions in the first place. This is the real work of sanctification, in other words it’s not just about getting rid of our bad habits! And it is here that in some strange way those of us who have been deeply, deeply wounded, have an advantage.

And the advantage is this, the deeper the hole we and others have dug for us, the greater the potential we have to enter into fullness of the abundant life that He has promised (John 10:10). We catch a glimpse of this for example in the spectacular testimonies of those who have come out of the occult and other destructive lifestyles. But again, none of this is automatic. Salvation is free, but sanctification, the hard work of dealing with the issues that we all have, will cost us everything. More to come on sanctification.

Father, though I have far from arrived, I thank You that You have brought me out of the way of operating where I was getting my self-worth from what I was doing for You. Thank You too that You brought me out on denial that my obsessive thinking was an addiction. Thank You that I can now testify that as I continue in Your word, I progressively know the truth, and the truth progressively sets me free. And I give You all the honour, glory and praise this morning in Jesus Name Amen