Closer to God’s Call Steps for Your Journey faith, simply because He died for us on the cross and in so doing defeated sin for us. (I John 2:5) Obey Choose to stop sinning and obey God and His commands! The world would say that in our humanness, this is impossible. With the Holy Spirit convicting us of sin, He is with us and we can say no to sin. (John 8:11) Enter the Struggle Listen carefully to the voice of the Holy Spirit. He will show you the sinful actions evident in your life, things like pride, envy, jealousy or selfishness. This is where you struggle within. You want to belong to Christ and yet continue to walk your own way. As He shows you your sins, admit them, repent of them and seek His Holy Spirit to wash your soul clean from self–centeredness. (John 14:26) Go Deeper with the Holy Spirit While the Holy Spirit is with you in salvation, you can go further and be sanctified when you invite Him to have complete control of your life, including the future. You dedicate yourself totally to Him. The decision is made and you are His. The fight is over, you belong to God! (John 14:17) Know God’s Will for You Believe that He has cleansed your selfish spirit, sanctified you and filled you with His Spirit. Faith leads to an assurance that you can’t deny. He has sanctified you and cleansed you from 16 The War Cry | JUNE 2013 “Friends, we can live above the evil in this world. We can be free from daily sin. We can be set apart and sanctified holy unto the Lord…” sus Christ. We go to Him immediately when He convicts us and we ask forgiveness. (I John 2:1) Do we sin daily? Not inevitably! We can be free of daily sin! Amen! Are we perfect? No! We are still human. Only when we reach heaven will we have perfected minds and bodies. We will still be prone to error, but the key is what we do with that error. The Holy Spirit will guide us to apologize with all sincerity and to correct mistakes with courage—the courage of the Holy Spirit. After reviewing these steps, you might still wonder, “Is it really possible for me to obtain this treasure?” Friends, we can live above the evil in this world. We can be free from daily sin. We can be set apart and sanctified holy unto the Lord… Here is an encouraging reply from William Booth, Founder of The Salvation Army, whose answer appears in his book Purity of Heart (available at www.shop.salvationarmy.org): “First, you cannot doubt God’s ability to make and keep you free from sin… then, my comrades, if God is able to make and keep you pure, you cannot question His willingness to do it. “Oh, will you not go down now before God and give yourselves fully over into the hands of your precious Savior? He is waiting to sanctify you. Cast overboard all that hinders. It is God that purifies the heart.” Major Anita Caldwell is Regional Director of Women’s Ministry in Tbilisi, Georgia, in the Army’s Eastern European Territory. unrighteousness and inward selfishness. You know that this is His will for you. (I Thess. 4:3, 5:23) Let Others Know By God’s power, we tell others of God’s forgiveness and change in our life! Each time we state this fact, we confirm that we are forgiven. When we tell others what the Holy Spirit is doing in our lives and how He has changed us and is changing us, our faith becomes stronger. Be bold. Let people know that you are seeking to listen to and obey the Holy Spirit daily. (Luke 8:39, Acts 1:8) Listen Being sanctified—or set apart— for God is a first step in a lifetime of being molded into Christlikeness. Each day, as we read God’s Word and pray. we can listen to the Holy Spirit and obey Him. He will continue to convict us if we take a step toward any temptation, including the temptation to sin outwardly (lie, steal, cheat) and the temptation to sin inwardly (by being prideful, envious, jealous, selfish). (John 16:13) Embrace Joy Satan would have us believe that the holy life is an impossibly difficult, sad, mournful life. Never! Enjoy this life of freedom from guilt and selfishness! Enjoy the dance of holy living! Ask Again and Again Can we sin again? Yes! But when we sin, we have an advocate, a person who speaks up for us, Je-