The Guide of God

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. —Romans 8:14

As you begin to read and study the Word, you will start to discover God’s will and the truth for your life. The truth will teach you how to operate in your finances, health, relationships, work, ministry, and life itself. But as you continue in the truth, you will find that you start to run into situations and decisions that are not clearly specified in the Word. What house do I buy? What job do I take? Whom do I marry? For these types of decisions, God gave you the Spirit of God, or the Spirit of Truth. He was sent to you to lead you and guide you into all truth, not only the truth in the written Word, but the truth in every decision you make. The Word declares that we were born anew as children of God, but we were unstable, tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine (Ephesians 4:14). By obeying the truth, or the written Word, you will become separated to God’s will and ways so you can then be led by His Spirit in other decisions outside the Word. You must learn to obey the written Word first! Failure to do so will cause you to be led by the wrong voice in other decisions. Let the Word of God sanctify and purify your soul by your decision to hear and obey the Word. Start by praying, loving, tithing, forgiving—then yield to God’s Spirit in every other area of your life.

Pastor Tom Kehres

The Process of Purification

Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth . . . —1 Peter 1:22

There is a renewing or a purification of your soul (your mind, will, and emotions), which is a process that will continue for your whole life on the earth. It is a process of bringing your soul in line with God’s will and God’s ways. When you were born again, your spirit was made righteous and holy, but your soul was not changed. Now your soul, through the Word of Truth, will be sanctified or separated to God’s Word and separated or sanctified from the world. Many times your soul will not want to do what the Word or the Truth says to do. It does not want to bless those who curse you. It does not want to pray for those who despise you. It does not want to get up and pray in tongues at 5 a.m. Your soul has been conditioned and trained to the things and ways of the world, and now it will fight to hold on to these untruths. But you are no longer a living soul; you are a life-giving spirit! Your spirit should now take the lead in your life. Sanctification will now only take place in the correct order: spirit—soul—then body. As you make a decision of your will to obey the truth in spite of your feelings and emotions, you will come into sanctification. Let the Word be Lord in your life, not your soul.

Pastor Tom Kehres

The Instrument of Freedom

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. —John 8:32

If you are living bound, it is simply because you do not know the truth. You are still separated to a lie or falsehood in your knowing. But here the Word of God declares that if you will come to know the truth, it will set you free. There is deliverance in the truth of the Word of God. By hearing the truth and obeying the truth, faith will come into your heart, and you will be sanctified and free. The Word says that if you confess Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart He is raised from the dead, you shall be saved (see Romans 10:9). You may know this truth, talk about this truth, tell others about this truth, and teach this truth, but until you do the truth, you will remain unsaved! The Bible says to tithe and you will live in the blessing. You may know to tithe, talk about tithing, and even want to tithe, but until you actually obey the truth and tithe, you remain outside of God’s blessing. The Word says to forgive, to bless, to pray, to pray in the Spirit, to love—but until you obey any of these truths, you will not be sanctified, or set apart, from the world’s way of doing things. As you obey the truth, you will be separated to the truth, and the truth will make you free! Allow the truth to set you free today.

Pastor Tom Kehres

The Sanctifying Force

Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. —John 17:17

Just before Jesus went to the cross, He prayed that the Father would sanctify the coming Church, that the body of Christ would be separated, or set apart, from the world to the truth. Wrong doctrine and wrong believing will keep you in bondage to the things of this world and separated from the ways of God. Wrong believing will keep you from being sanctified to the Word of God and will keep you divided—spirit, soul, and body. Your spirit is born again, made in the image of God, and it has God’s nature. But an unsanctified soul will cause your mind, will, and emotions to war against your spirit. It is known as a state of being double-minded, or being of two opinions. Only the Word of God is powerful enough to separate your old thinking to the truth. When you know and believe the truth, you will become single-minded, and you will live free. How do you know how sanctified you are? Just ask yourself, how free are you? If you are bound mentally, it is because you do not know the truth; if you are bound physically, you do not know the truth. Jesus prayed that you would be sanctified because He desired that you would live free!

Pastor Tom Kehres