Sanctification II Expanded Edition (Matthew 5:1-12)

If you committed to doing an action yesterday to improve your ability to seek and love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, did you follow through?

If you committed to doing an action yesterday to love your neighbor as yourself, did you follow through?

Write down how you have experienced God's love and goodness in your life. Be specific.

Read Matthew 5:1-12:

One day as he saw the crowds gathering, Jesus went up on the mountainside and sat down. His disciples gathered around him, and he began to teach them.

"God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth.
God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied.
God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.
God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God.
God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way."

Select 'Successful' when you are finished.

Read the following from Oswald Chambers:

"The teaching of the Sermon on the Mount produces despair in the natural man - the very thing Jesus means it to do. As long as we have a self-righteous, conceited notion that we can carry out Our Lord's teaching, God will allow us to go on until we break our ignorance over some obstacle, then we are willing to come to Him as paupers and receive from Him. "Blessed are the paupers in spirit," that is the first principle in the Kingdom of God. The bedrock in Jesus Christ's kingdom is poverty, not possession; not decisions for Jesus Christ, but a sense of ABSOLUTE FUTILITY - I cannot begin to do it. Then Jesus says - Blessed are you. That is the entrance, and it does take us a long while to believe we are poor! The knowledge of our own poverty brings us to the moral frontier where Jesus Christ works."

Are you ready to take the necessary steps to position yourself as a 'pauper in spirit' to enter the frontier of the Kingdom of God where Jesus works?

Steps 7-13 are statements we received while in intercessory prayer. While we all hear in part, our goal is to take what we received from The Lord, as best we could discern it, and use the structure of this Trail to convert the statements we heard into a tool for sanctification and discipleship.

For Steps 7-13, read the statement, consider the action and example and then prayerfully respond. When you are finished, select the 'Successful' response and proceed to the next Step.

Statement: 'Come to me expectant and empty of your own needs and desires. This is the inner position of humility which proclaims "not my way Lord, but your way and your timing."'

Action: Come before The Lord, who is capable of all things, expectant to see Him bring 'life to the full' to you and those around you. Empty yourself of what you want and when you want it. Surrender your outcomes to Him. Humble yourself before The Lord, for you can do no good thing without Him. Insist that you see Him work according to His ways and His timing, not your own.

Example: "Lord, Jesus, I come before you knowing that only you can do all good things! You are the Creator of this moment and everything in it. I come fully expectant of what you are capable of doing this day. Lord, I empty myself of all my needs and desires. I don't want this day to bring me what I want, but what you want. Further, I don't want your will to be done according to my way and my timing, but your way and your timing...no matter what that looks like, Lord! Thank you, Lord, for all my unanswered prayers!"

Now it's your turn to respond to His statement.

Statement: 'Empty yourself of all expectations that are based on your lack of faith & belief--for they are many.'

Action: Go through each promise The Lord has given you. Pull yourself up by the bootstraps and state those promises with as much faith and belief as you are capable of producing...then give it even more than that!

Example: "Lord, through your word and your prophetic utterances, you have given me these promises. As best as I can discern, you have promised me... (state each promise). I proclaim each of these promises back to you; I do so completely empty of my usual lack of faith and belief in you, your word and your power to fulfill these promises."

Now it's your turn to respond to His statement.

Statement: 'Give me that which is not yours to possess-your attitude of doubt and unforgiveness.'

Action: First, go through each promises again. This time see them as having been fulfilled. Do this until all doubt is erased from your mind. Secondly, having established the reality of the promises, think back on the people who have hurt or betrayed you. Picture each person, then, from this place of having received your promises, forgive them.

Example: In the Bible, Joseph, having received his promises, forgives his brothers: 'Please forgive your brothers for the great wrong they did to you--for their sin in treating you so cruelly.' So we, the servants of the God of your father, beg you to forgive our sin." When Joseph received the message, he broke down and wept.' (Genesis 50:17)

Now it's your turn to respond to His statement.

Statement: 'Give me your brokenness that is not yours to possess, but mine to turn into deliverance for my good and yours.'

Action: Identify your negative core belief(s) and bring the word of God against it. Continue with this until you sense that you have given over your brokenness (your beliefs that are not true) to God. Now He will turn your brokenness into deliverance for His good and yours.

Example: "Lord, I give you my broken belief that you will fail me and abandon me for your word states 'that you will never fail me nor will you abandon me...' (Hebrews 13:5-6).

Now it's your turn to respond to His statement.

Statement: 'Give me your small dreams that do not fit with Christ who lives within you.'

Action: Identify the dreams you have that are not consistent with your identity, purposes or mission in God's Kingdom. Give these 'small dreams' over to God.

Example: "Lord, I give you my small dream of being prospered, in exchange for the big dream of prospering others. I give you my small dream of overcoming the false idols of my day, for the big dream of conquering and destroying them! I give you all my small dreams which lead only to fear, for the big dream of being able to love, heal and restore others."

Now it's your turn to respond to His statement.

Statement: 'Give me your money and resources, for they come from me and must return to their source.'

Action: Imagine that you are giving The Lord all your money and possessions. Imagine you have just surrendered everything you have to Him. Now see Him as the sole source of all your money and resources. He is your constant provider; the sole source of everything you have. He is sending you His abundant provision. Your money and resources are His and He is sharing His provision with you for His purposes and pleasure.

Example: "Lord, I give you all my money and all my resources. They belong to you and to you alone. Nothing I own or have (no amount of money or possessions) can separate me from the awareness that you are the constant source of my provision and resources. Lord, thank you for providing me with every resource I could possibly need to do your good pleasure and fulfill my Kingdom purposes in Christ, Jesus. Thank you for your abundance."

Now it's your turn to respond to His statement.

Statement: 'Give me your hearts, for the one that is your heart--your loving Savior--who gave all for the right to ask you to give all you have to He who is deserving. It's got to go to someone, let it go to He who is worthy.'

Action: Connect to Him; imagine that He is with you. Can you see Him? Give yourself to Him fully. Come to Him expectant. Give the way and the timing of everything you desire over to Him. Give Him your lack of faith and belief. Give Him all your doubts and unforgiveness; your brokenness and small dreams. Give Him all your money and resources.

Example: 'Lord, I give myself to you fully. I give all that I am and all that I have. I come before you expectant, having surrendered my needs and my desires. I give you all my unbelief and lack of faith in your promises. I give you all my doubt and any unforgiveness I am still holding onto. I give you all my negative beliefs for you to transform into deliverance. I give you my small dreams that are not consistent with the life and identity you have placed within me. I give you all my possessions, money and resources for they come from you and must return to you. In love, I give you all that I am."

Now it's your turn to respond to His statement.

Pray this prayer: "Lord, show me what sanctification means for me."

Write down any revelation you receive.

Go to 'DOCUMENTS' to read Oswald Chambers on the process of sanctification.

It is important to read this each time you do this Navitent.

Select 'Successful' when you are finished.

What are you still holding onto that you now need to let go of?

Action: Oswald states: "Am I willing to reduce myself simply to "me," determinedly to strip myself of all my friends think of me, of all I think of myself, and to hand that simple naked self over to God?" Now take this time to strip yourself of anything that you are not willing to let go of.

Example: "Lord, I am still holding onto the desire to gain acceptance, approval and love from other people. I am having difficulty letting go of this desire. I am also holding onto my desire for security, comfort and freedom that comes from the world, not from you, Lord."

Now it's your turn to answer the question.

Is there anything you would like to confess and/or repent of?

Action: Bring those things which you are having difficulty stripping yourself of into repentance before The Lord.

Example: 'Lord, I confess that I am still seeking the acceptance, approval and love of other people more than I am seeking your acceptance, approval and love. Lord, Jesus, I repent of this. I repent of my unbelief in your boundless and unfailing acceptance, approval and love for me. Have mercy on me, Lord."

What is one action you can commit to doing today that will improve your ability to seek and love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and strength?

Action: Chose one simple action to improve your ability to love the Lord with all your heart, soul and mind. Don't overthink this.

Example: "Lord, today I will stop three times and proclaim your boundless and unfailing acceptance, approval and love for me. I will do this with absolute conviction!"

Now it's your turn to answer the question.

What is one action you can commit to doing today to love your neighbor as yourself?

Action: Ask the Holy Spirit if there is someone in your world that He would like you to do something for. Also, if The Lord has given you a mission, take this time to ask Him how you can intercede for it.

Example: Today I will tell Joe that God has brought him to my mind. I will send him a Mustard Seed Trail and then follow up with him. Now, Lord, show me how to intercede for the mission you have given me: 'Pray, my son, for the coming of my Kingdom in this very device. Pray that no force of man or evil will be allowed to touch or influence this work in any way, shape or form. Pray that my will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Pray that you see my mighty hand of mercy and justice extend itself this day of days. Pray this, my son, in the name of your Lord and Master and I will honor it. This is my will. This is my way.'

Now it's your turn to answer the question.

Oswald Chambers defines sanctification as: "...being made one with Jesus. Sanctification is not something Jesus Christ puts into me: it is Himself in me" (1 Corinthians 1:30). He states:

'Sanctification means the impartation of the Holy qualities of Jesus Christ. It is His patience, His love, His holiness, His faith, His purity, His godliness, that is manifested in and through every sanctified soul. Sanctification is not drawing from Jesus the power to be holy; it is drawing from Jesus the holiness that was manifested in Him, and He manifests it in me. Sanctification is an impartation, not an imitation. Imitation is on a different line. In Jesus Christ is the perfection of everything, and the mystery of sanctification is that all the perfections of Jesus are at my disposal, and slowly and surely I begin to live a life of ineffable order and sanity and holiness: "Kept by the power of God."

How aware of God's patience, love, holiness, faith and purity are you at this moment?

How effective was this Trail in positioning you as a 'pauper in spirit'?

(Optional) What does is look like to hear the 'stern demands' Jesus places on us as His disciples (and to receive the glory and honor that only He can offer)?

For a modern day look, go 'VIDEO' above and watch the short scene from the movie 'Twelve O'Clock High'.