Bathed …need only wash feet:

           

John 13:10

10 Jesus *said to him, “He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.”

            We talked about this incident earlier. When we come to Jesus and are “bathed” in pure water, we don’t need another bath when we sin. We need only wash our “feet” … that is, be sprinkled with the “water” of forgiveness. We confess our sins, and He cleanses us from all unrighteousness. When we do this on a continuous basis, we stay “pure” before the Lord. This is what He expects from us. This is the maturity that He desires in us. We are to keep “short” accounts and not let them pile up. Just like with financial debts, we get into trouble when we have too many not “paid off”.

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "You have touched the world; so you need to cleanse your feet … for that is the part of you that has come into contact with the world. You were made pure and clean when you came into My Kingdom. You are purified daily through the washing of My Word. As you walk in My holiness, you will stay clean. But your feet will come into contact with the ways of the world; so you need to cleanse yourself daily. You are My special project started from before the beginning of the universe. You are made complete in Me and shall walk in My holiness; for I am holy.”

            75. I have bathed in His water of purification and only need to wash my “feet” when I sin.

            It is our destiny to walk in sanctification. Too many times Christians don’t want to do that. They want to “have it their way”. They don’t want anyone telling them what to do, with the result that they live a miserable life somewhere between God and the world. This is not acceptable. You are being lukewarm and God will spew you out of His mouth. It is not some horrible thing to walk in sanctification. It is a very good thing. We should embrace it and be willing to do whatever the Holy Spirit directs us to do to see it fulfilled in our lives. Walk in your destiny and be like the Lord.

Bodies washed with pure water:

Hebrews 10:22

22 let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

            A sincere heart is one that is empty of deceit. We know we can’t fool God, and we don’t try to fool our fellow man. It is also one that believes what God says is true. We trust completely in Him. He’s never failed us and never will. The reason we can draw near is that our hearts of full of faith; for without faith it is impossible to please Him. Our hearts were sprinkled clean from an evil conscience when we came to Christ. If someone in the Old Testament touched a dead body, he/she had to have his/her body sprinkled with the water of purification. Our old man is dead. If we “touch” him; that is, go back to our old way of life, we need to repent and be sprinkled with the water of purification through repentance. Then we can come boldly into the throne room to receive His grace.

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "You can come before Me, My children. The people in Moses’ day could not come before Me, but you can. You can come with assurance that your prayers will be heard. I will not turn My back to you. I will not turn My face from you. I will turn My attention to your pleas because I have loved you with an everlasting love; and I have longed to have you in My presence. You cannot get away from My love. You cannot find any place that I am not there to receive you unto Myself. I am yours, and you are Mine forever. You can come boldly because you were washed clean by the blood of My Son. He paid the price for you to come boldly into My presence as pure as He is.”

            74. I can draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, because my heart has been sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and my body washed with pure water.

If don’t practice righteousness … not of God:

1 John 3:10

10 By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.

            His makes it pretty clear who is of God and who is of the devil. Do you practice righteousness? Then you’re a child of God. If you don’t, then you’re not. Now this doesn’t mean that you never do anything that is not righteous. It means that as a general rule, you are doing things that are pleasing to God. If generally, you’re not doing things that are according to the Word of God, then you’re not of God. You are a child of the devil.

            It also says the one who does not love his brother is not of God. It’s one thing to say that those who do bad things are not of God, but to say that simply not loving your fellow Christian means you’re not of God … that’s quite another story. You may say that you’re not under the Law, and you would be right. However, we’re under even stricter rules of conduct. We get into trouble for just wanting to do the wrong thing. This love that it talks about is not an emotional kind of love. It’s a love in spite of, not because of like the world has. It doesn’t say that you have to like your brother … but you do have to love him/her.

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "You are of Me, My little children; for you have been born of Me. My children know Me and My voice. They know when I call to them and they rejoice in My delight of them. If you are Mine, then you will behave as I do. You shall follow in My footsteps as you allow Me to control your lives. Wait for Me, and I will show you how to overcome in all instances. You shall not be controlled by anything if you wait on Me. We shall overcome together as you walk in My Spirit.”

            73. I am a child of God and therefore I will practice righteousness and love my brother or sister.

Results:

            Escaped defilements of the world:

2 Peter 2:20

20 For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.

            When we walk in the world, it “stains” us. We cannot help it, unless we constantly allow the Holy Spirit to control our actions. The world is defiled, and everyone who comes into contact with it runs the risk of being defiled also. This defilement is usually deceptive. The person being defiled isn’t even aware of the defilement until it’s too late. That’s because it looks o.k. As we grow in the knowledge of Jesus through His Word, we can escape these defilements. It’s like a vine with many tendrils. We don’t see them, and our feet get entangled in them. We then stumble and fall. Jesus told Peter He only needed to wash his hands and feet. Figuratively, that’s the parts of us that come into contact with the world. When we’re born again, our spirits cannot be influence by the world, but our soul can. Our “hands” and “feet” are what “touch” the things of the world.

            This verse tells us that if we do get entangled in the affairs of the world, the last state will be worse than never having experienced salvation at all.

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "You will not be like the world if you walk in the truth of My Word. You will not be overcome by anything if you stay in My Word. There is peace in no other source. There is truth in no other source. You are complete in My Word and will overcome all obstacles to your growth. You will not succeed unless you walk in the power of My holiness. There is success in no other way than in Me. You are overcomers in Me and shall show many people the way to Me. You will never stumble and fall in Me as long as you allow My Spirit to control your actions. You are complete in Me as long as you allow Me to guide your ways and actions.”

            72. I have escaped the defilements of the world and will never be entangled by them again.

Sanctifies us in the truth of His Word:

John 17:17-20

17 “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.

18 “As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.

19 “For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.

20 “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word;

            How is this sanctification worked out in our lives? Through His Word is how. As we read and follow His Word, our souls come into line with what He says about us … we are sanctified. As long as we follow His Word, we will be safe. That’s because His Word is truth. There is a difference between being true and being truth.

            Sometimes as I am working a problem on the board, I will tell my students that such and such is true, but it’s not correct.  Yes it is true that 2 + 3 = 5, but if you’re supposed to be multiplying 2 and 3, then it’s not correct. A book can have nothing but true statements, and yet leave out a lot of necessary things that are also true. In other words, the statements are necessary in order to get the whole truth. Remember the witness’ oath … do you swear to tell the truth; the whole truth; and nothing but the truth. God’s Word tells us the whole truth. We may not be able to understand all of it at this moment, but it’s there if we will accept it.

            Jesus sanctified Himself that we might be sanctified in truth. He sanctified Himself, but we need help. We need the Holy Spirit working through His Word to enable us to work out our sanctification in our daily lives.

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "You are made whole through My Word. My Word will make you complete as walk in it. It will show you the way to walk as I would have you walk. You are to be perfect, for I am perfect. You are to be holy for I am holy. As you walk in the holiness of My Word, you will become what I have intended for you to be. You will see Me as I am if you walk in My Word. You will become as I am and will bring others unto Me. Show Me that you love Me by walking in My Word. Then you will become as your Father is.”

            71. I have been sanctified by Jesus’ sanctifying Himself. I am being sanctified in my daily life by the Holy Spirit through the Word of His truth.