SANCTIFIED BY THE WORD
By Bishop Mike Okonkwo
Sunday 4th December 2022
“Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth”. John 17:17(KJV)
These are unusual times and everyone is saying, can’t you see that things are not working and there are no answers. The world is in a cup of trembling and many are wondering, what’s going on. No one has the answer. All the postulation, calculations, and predictions are falling flat. But I come to present to you something that can never fail: the infallible, errorless, impregnable, authoritative word of God. Get addicted to this word and you will never regret it. This is the hour to connect to the word of God; and you will see the word become flesh, manifest in your life. The Scripture says the entrance of the word giveth light and it giveth understanding to the simple (Psalm 119:30).
In John 17:15, Jesus in his prayer for the church in John 17:15 said, “Lord I pray not that thou should take them out of the world”. In other words, Jesus is saying I know the world is filled with evil; the world is filled with challenges and difficulties, pressures here and there. But I’m not praying that you take them out of the world but that thou should keep them from evil. I declare that God will keep you from every evil and evil will bow before you, the wicked will bow at your gate in the name of Jesus. No plague or calamity will come near your dwelling.
Beloved, even though we are in the world, even as Christ is not of the world, because we and Jesus have become one. When He said, “sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is truth”. He is saying, set them apart amid pandemic, set them apart amid the challenge. Sanctifying them means to set them apart or make them uncommon. The word of God makes you uncommon. When others are saying there’s a casting down, you will say there’s a lifting up. When others are saying there’s no hope, you’ll say that the hope of Christ maketh us not ashamed. When the others are saying that they are sick, you’ll be saying you’re healed. When others are saying they’ve failed, you will say no, I’m successful.
Further Reading: John 15:3; 17:1-26
Daily Bible Reading: Morning- Ezekiel 47-48; Evening- 1 John 3