Six Principles – Seed of Ideas by John MacArthur Jr.
 
We are continuing our discussion from our last devotional thought.
 
Since God’s will is not lost, it is not something to be found. Rather, it is something to be experienced.
How, then, do we “find” (experience) God’s will?
 
We are looking at SIX PRINCIPLES to experiencing God’s will. 
 
The first two principles are: You Must Be SAVED; You Must Be  SPIRIT-FILLED
Today, we look at the third principle:
 
3. You Must Be Living a  S A N C T I F I E D Life
 
1 Thessalonians 4:3-7 
3 It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; 4 that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, 5 not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God;  7 For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. 
 
The words translated “Sanctified” and “Holy” are the same word in the Greek. So, what does sanctified or holy mean?  The things in the temple were called holy. The altar, the candelabras and other things were to be used only for God’s purposes.  Thus, they were separated out for God’s use only.
 
When we speak of the need for us to be holy, we are really saying that we need to separate our lives out to be used solely for God’s purposes.   So, I define holy as “wholly the Lord’s” (completely the Lord’s).
 
Living holy is far more than living sexually pure. It is setting apart every part of our lives to live for Jesus. This is not magical; it is miraculous.   Living holy requires our effort.
 
Hebrews 12:14 
Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.
 
God will never tell us to do something that He has not empowered us to do.
 
We are responsible for our own holiness.
 
2 Timothy 2:20–21 (NIV84)
In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. 21 If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work. 
 
Notice that it is our responsibility to clean our “house.”  In doing so, we become set apart and prepared to do whatever the Lord requires of us.
 
We cannot know God’s will if we are not separated out to do His will.
 
The question is:  Do you want God to use you in spite of you or because of you?