Ep 82 A Life Set Apart - The Lifelong Journey of Real Sanctification (with Set Free Church)

Join us in a deep study with Pastor Nick and Nathan from Set Free Church, as they return to our podcast with a treasure trove of stories that are sure to touch your heart. In their warm company, we traverse the desert of Wonder Valley where Set Free Church has taken root, and we discuss the adventure of their new ranch ministry. Through their eyes, the contrasting landscapes of Needles and 29 Palms come alive, revealing the diverse challenges and blessings they encounter as they spread faith across these communities.

Dive into the profound depths of sanctification, a transformative journey that aligns us, the broken, with our divine destiny. The upcoming chats promise a thoughtful reflection on being set apart—a path tread by Jesus and his disciples, as we uncover in John 17. Furthermore, we explore the beautiful metamorphosis that occurs when one is 'born again,' as the glory of Christ within us transforms our essence in the eyes of God. Our conversation will discuss the symbolism found in the ancient consecration rituals and the powerful relevance it holds for believers today.

This episode places special emphasis on the sacred art of divine listening, urging us to seek the stillness where God's voice should guide us. We unravel the layers of prayer, not as a wishlist to the heavens, but as a submission to His will, a lesson Jesus himself modeled. Tune in as we tease the threads of sanctification that we’ll unravel further in our next episode, continuing this enriching expedition towards a life dedicated to God's purpose. Join Pastor Nick, Nathan, and myself for a discussion that promises nourishment for your soul and a lantern for the path we walk.

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Transcript

Imran: 0:04

Hello and welcome to Real Bible Stories. Join us as we deep dive into the historic, religious, cultural, political and emotional context surrounding the real lives of real people in the Bible and the stories we've all grown to love. Hello and welcome to this episode of Real Bible Stories. I'm your host, emron Ward, and we are joined by my wife Selena, pastor Nick and his brother Nathan.

Nathan: 0:33

Hey, how you guys doing.

Imran: 0:35

All right. So this is Pastor Nick, and Nathan are from Set Free Church and if you listen to the last episode, we introduced them there. But I'm going to give it over to you all and give us a little life update and like who are you? So, just like a little 30 second piece for those that didn't get to listen to last week's episode. We'll start with you, Pastor Nick.

Pastor Nick: 0:55

Pastor Nick. My wife is Nikki Foley and I have three boys.

Imran: 1:00

Did she tell you that you didn't talk about her last week?

Pastor Nick: 1:02

No, but the spirit led me. There you go, because when you say Pastor Nick and Nathan Foley, it just sounds weird.

Imran: 1:11

They're both happily married men, two women.

Pastor Nick: 1:15

But yeah, my wife Nikki Foley and my three boys, thomas, logan and Kaden, 10 years old or 11 years old, eight years old and five years old. So, we got our hands full with our boys, but they're such a joy and they're in baseball now and it's just a beautiful thing to. I've been here for two years and 29 palms and planted this church two years ago in Wonder Valley and we recently opened our ranch a ranch ministry to bring people off the street.

Imran: 1:44

That is the coolest thing literally bringing people off the streets, bringing them about the word and helping detox them and like help them reset their lives. Yeah, like Jesus boot camp, yeah.

Pastor Nick: 1:55

So, they're at boot camp and the funny part is we're only not even a mile. I did the mileage today.

Imran: 2:00

We're just like a mile off the base, a mile off the base, right there.

Pastor Nick: 2:03

So we're like doing Jesus boot camp while you guys are doing boot camp, boot camp here, and so we open our ranch and you know, it's just, it's so exciting and just rejuvenating to be in this community and to get to know all the people. And because I came from needles, california, and it was it's a small town, you know, we had the river and that was the biggest excitement, but there's so many families and people that I've met.

Imran: 2:27

Just think needles was smaller than 20. 21 pounds is big compared to oh yeah.

Pastor Nick: 2:33

Significantly bigger. The only like grand thing about needles is the Colorado River, so it runs through. You know needles but no stores. There's $1 general and then there, everywhere, there was a ride aid but they closed the ride aid and so you literally have to go to all the way to bullhead Arizona for a Walmart. So it's kind of like going to Walmart and Yucca Valley, but there's just, there's a lot more here. There's a lot more here.

Imran: 3:03

And there's a lot Absolutely wild. Yeah, like we're from Miami, so like we're, we're like. Oh man, I didn't even know a town could be as small as 29 pounds. Yeah, you should go to, or be considered a city because it's the city of 20 palms, Like why is this not a township?

Pastor Nick: 3:16

Yeah you should go?

Selena: 3:17

Is it more like Wonder Valley, like where things are so separated?

Pastor Nick: 3:21

No, everything in needles like is really close.

Imran: 3:24

But the overall area is small.

Pastor Nick: 3:27

Yeah, the overall area and just um, it's tiny. It's a tiny city and it was a. It was big back in the rail when the railroad first started. They have a huge like their town jewel is the, um, what's the name of it? It's a, uh, it's a old, like the Harvey or what's it called. I'm not too sure. Santa Fe park and there's there's a Santa Fe park and then there's a big like train depot.

Imran: 3:52

Oh, really Like a locomotive, like history.

Pastor Nick: 3:54

Yeah, there's history there and it was a hotel and they, they was popping back in the railroad days and when all that was happening and uh, I but that's like their crown jewel. They have it all remodeled now and but you can't even really go in there to use it as a train station.

Selena: 4:10

So it's like all just empty.

Pastor Nick: 4:12

But, um, yeah, they have a uh and I think what it what it should be called now is maybe weadles.

Imran: 4:19

What, what, yeah, weed is full of weeds. It's just every corner. The tumbleweed is just, it's just living.

Pastor Nick: 4:25

Well, marijuana, yeah, yeah.

Selena: 4:28

Weedles.

Pastor Nick: 4:29

Yeah, every corner is is uh uh, grow like a wea-chow.

Imran: 4:33

Wow, how far we've grown in the spirit that my first thought wasn't marijuana. Yeah, Tumbleweeds.

Pastor Nick: 4:39

But, yeah there is some tumbleweeds, but it's just overran by, like. I mean, it's everywhere the weeds, the shops, the selling of it, and so when I got to 29, I was like gosh, thank God Cause. Literally when you're on the 40 freeway and you get into needles, that's all you smell.

Imran: 4:54

Yeah, is the marijuana.

Pastor Nick: 4:56

That's just cause. There's just storage facilities and storage facilities. This full of growing marijuana everywhere.

Imran: 5:03

That's crazy.

Nathan: 5:04

Yeah.

Pastor Nick: 5:05

And they got little like ice cream shop marijuana. Ice cream shop marijuana, oh my gosh, uh like uh dessert shops and it's like everything's marijuana there and it's like it's booming out there.

Imran: 5:16

I'm glad you're out here and I'm glad that you've got the ranch built out out here in this community.

Selena: 5:20

Yeah, I'm so glad.

Imran: 5:21

And I'm glad you brought your family out here too, yeah.

Selena: 5:23

It's been so great doing my ministry with you guys. It's been a huge blessing having you all.

Pastor Nick: 5:27

Yeah, it's, and Saturday man just was beautiful.

Imran: 5:30

Yeah, if you're in the 29 palms area, come out, come check out set free, come check out a palms church, cause we and you, if you ride a motorcycle like we, we do some motorcycle rides. The next one, um, we'll probably try and do something like late April timeframe. Um, I haven't told pastor Nikki at that, but that's a, that's a plan to go out to the salt and see and do something out there. So we'll. We'll figure the date though, and you'll see that popping around on set free and uh, and not palms churches stuff, and if you're in the global community, I hope, and if you're riding a motorcycle, I hope you're listening to real Bible stories while you're riding down the highway, all right.

Imran: 6:01

Give you a chance to focus and actually, uh, be attentive as you ride, you know, be in the spirit while you're riding, so I don't want you to take all the spotlight, though.

Nathan: 6:09

Like Nathan, tell us a little bit about your family life and your backstory a little bit. Yeah, um, my name is Nathan Foley. I'm the middle brother, um, nick Foley is my older brother and my pastor, and then I have my little brother now, but I'm happily married to a shout out to my wife, danielle, um, who's six months pregnant, and we have a boy, lincoln, on his way, um, and a little six year old, braden, um, yeah, and my family is just really grown, you know, just grown in the Lord and just seeing how far my wife's come, and just it's fantastic Just be able to be out here and serve and just get a whole new outlook on what God wants to do, not just in my inner family, but then the family of God. It's really fantastic. So I'm really, I'm thrilled about that.

Imran: 6:51

I think that this is actually going to be such an awesome episode because, um, because this week we're going to be talking about sanctification and I didn't really introduce the full of our Bible stories in the beginning.

Imran: 7:01

So I'll say now, like we're going to do deep theological study into the Bible, much deeper than you normally get on like a Sunday sermon. So I'm sure you're noticing right now that the episode's like an hour or hour and a half or so because we're going to go deeper and more nuanced than we really do on like a normal Sunday morning and that's kind of the joy of this study. But talking about sanctification this week, I think is going to be awesome, just because I think the juxtaposition of where we came from in our worldly life and where we are now in our spiritual life is what really shows like the power of God in our life and really like carries, our witness, and we're going to actually talk about what it means to be a witness in next week's episode with Pastor Ryan. So this is all going to tie together. But I think that juxtaposition is so huge and the fact that, like you all have come from like a backstory, that is like absolutely wild and absolutely incredible.

Imran: 7:53

And to see that you've come to be the leaders of a church out here and that you're now rescuing people out of the about some of the craziest things that life can throw at us is just going to be incredible. So I'm totally ready and excited to jump into this discussion here yes. Yeah, so how do you want to get it started?

Nathan: 8:11

Let's pray. Yeah, you want to pray? Yeah, sure, good, good Lord, we just we thank you. We thank you for just giving us opportunity to dive into your word and to know more about you. Seek the scriptures and find you throughout the whole scripture from the Old Testament, the foreshadowing of you. You're coming and also your second coming. We thank you. I thank you for my brother and sister right here who have invited us in their home, lord. Thank you so much, lord. We're just forever grateful for who you are in our lives. Lord, we just love you in Jesus name. Amen, amen, amen.

Imran: 8:51

So, Selene, I didn't ask you Do you want to give any updates before we jump into the episode?

Selena: 8:55

No, I think I'm just ready.

Imran: 8:57

All right, let's get after it.

Nathan: 8:59

All right, cool, yeah. So John 17,. We'll be in John 17. We'll read Jesus's prayer and we'll kind of see what Jesus. We're not going to stay too much in John 17. Because we want to just see what Jesus was trying to say through John 17. Okay, yeah.

Pastor Nick: 9:16

So, yeah, there's a big. This is his time, you know, of getting ready to go to the cross, and I think that's that should be highlighted here too. You know, coming into to Easter and resurrection and that's getting closer upon us, and this is one of the prayers he was praying before he knew that he was going, as he knew he was going to the cross before that time.

Pastor Nick: 9:37

These are his prayers for his people, for his believers, for the believers, for the disciples, for the unbeliever you know what I mean. And he just he's pouring his heart out in this prayer. But we're not going to spend too much time in the prayer. Like my brother said, it's mostly the ending scriptures of it, and but I have a problem. I have a problem with reading just a couple of scriptures in a story. You know what I mean I have to, we have to kind of.

Imran: 10:01

We love it more. So you get the context. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, absolutely, that's where you want to read.

Selena: 10:06

Yeah, okay so we're reading from John 17, verses one through 19. After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed Father, the hour has come. Glorify your son, that your son may glorify you, for you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now, this is eternal life. That they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. And now, father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours, you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you, for I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you and they believed that you sent me.

Selena: 11:11

I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. All I have is yours and all you have is mine, and glory has come to me through them. I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in this world, and I am coming to you, holy Father. Protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe, but that name you gave me. None has been lost, except the one doomed to destruction so that scripture would be fulfilled.

Selena: 11:54

I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy with them. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world, but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them, I sanctify myself. That they too may be truly sanctified.

Imran: 12:42

Amen I love that I have never read that prayer all the way through. I have heard that the phrase sanctify them in the truth. Your word is truth. We have these tokens, scriptures that we hang on to, but do we really understand the full context behind them? I think that is usually just right.

Pastor Nick: 13:01

And some of the things you know to highlight here is Thank you, selina. By the way, jesus and a lot of times that he was going to pray, it would say Jesus' withdrawal withdrew to speak to the Father. So a lot of those times we didn't know what his prayers were. But this one is big because it is one of Jesus' recorded prayers and it was important enough for someone to be around him at this time to be able to pin it. And there is so much that we can get stuck just in this prayer forever. But our topic is sanctification.

Nathan: 13:39

I want to point a few things out on this. That sanctification, as Jesus was talking about in this prayer, it is not for the world. The sanctification process is not for the world. It wasn't meant for the world. It was meant for those who, like last week we talked about being born again. So whoever is born again is now positionally sanctified, which we will talk about in a process of being sanctified.

Nathan: 14:03

And this prayer is as you read through it and you have those two topics on mind my position in heaven and where I am going down here, who I am learning, who I am down here in Christ, you can read that that is what Jesus was praying over them. They are not of the world. Keep them from the evil one. This prayer is not for the world. His speech is for them to be sanctified by the word. The word is truth and that is the whole word.

Pastor Nick: 14:34

And I love what really caught my eyes, because last week we were going into John 3.16, for God so loved the world that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. And then you see Jesus right here explain what eternal life is. What is eternal life? To know him and to be known by him and to be in fellowship, and that constant walking with the son through the father.

Imran: 15:02

The prayer is really an explanation of what it means to be saved. Last week you talked about what it means to be born again, and it's like what does it look like to be in a born again state? Now you've been physically and metaphysically born again. So now what? What does that look like? Now it's time to crawl and start walking and get sanctified and then you're going to know God and be known by God. You know gonna have his spirit in you, like we talked about last week. There's so much there.

Nathan: 15:31

Yeah, because we talked about born again. Nicodemus came, you know, and we talked about the born again. But what happens during that? What happens, you know, we, there's like an instant thing that happens as we wholeheartedly confess Christ, you know, as the true God, the one, only true God. There's something that happens, supernatural, immediately, and our position is secure, you know, and that's the word that is referred to, is consecrate to, as the priests would consecrate to themselves.

Nathan: 16:05

So we'll go to Exodus and we'll learn about the process there and dig into it, because as we read in I think it's second Corinthians 10 or no, first Corinthians 10, it says all the scripture was to foretell of Jesus. All of it. None of it was. It was a point behind all of it. So even the priests, aaron and his sons, when they were being consecrated, it was to foreshadow the events to come. You know.

Pastor Nick: 16:32

Yeah, and so some versions, the versions we were studying and looking at. This is an NIV, I have an ESV and I'm pretty sure my English standard version. Jesus says in verse 19, for them I consecrate myself. So we know there that obviously the word consecrate can translate to sanctify. Yeah.

Nathan: 16:55

So yeah, and the consecration. The word consecration means to fill up or to fill the hand. The word sanctification means to set apart or make holy, but it's the same, it's the same word, the same meaning in depth. When you go further along and when he's saying I'm going to consecrate myself, you know, I'm going to sanctify myself, you know as that offering, you know. So we'll get into the first, we'll get into the position, our position and what that looks like.

Selena: 17:27

So if you.

Nathan: 17:28

We'll read out of Exodus, exodus 28,. The first we'll go to Exodus 28,. 40 through 43.

Imran: 17:35

28, 40 through 43? Yes, is that what you said? Yes, okay, are you sure? Just three.

Nathan: 17:43

Well, we can read the let me see Hmm.

Imran: 17:45

Well, actually, I guess, explain what's going on.

Nathan: 17:47

It's just going on in this chapter.

Imran: 17:49

What are we walking into? Give me some of the content.

Nathan: 17:51

So right here there, abraham's making a close, he's making all. He's getting the priest Aaron and his son Moses, or Abraham Abraham, oh, I mean Moses, sorry about.

Imran: 18:05

Moses, thanks, pastor.

Nathan: 18:06

Yeah, and I also want to point something out real quick too. Last week on the podcast I said Simon, peter, but it was Simon and Andrew. So I want to make that clear for anybody who's listening. You know Simon and Andrew, the brothers, the fishermen. I said Simon and Peter, but I want to make that clear.

Pastor Nick: 18:20

Got you, Simon and Peter are the same guy, just in case. Yeah, simon Peter, simon Peter is the same guy yeah.

Nathan: 18:27

So Moses, moses is preparing to get his brother, Aaron and his sons ready for the priesthood, for it being to their clothing, from everything from clothing to offerings and everything I got to be able to enter into tabernacle, the tabernacle, okay. So I just wanted to point out a few things that are going to line up with our position in heaven, got it?

Imran: 18:49

Okay, so you want me to start with verse 40 there.

Nathan: 18:51

Yeah, you can start at 39.

Imran: 18:53

39. 39?. Yeah, you shall weave the coat in checker work of fine linen and you shall make a turban of fine linen and you shall make a sash embroidered with needlework For Aaron's sons. You shall make the coats and sashes and caps. You shall make them for glory and beauty and you shall put them on Aaron, your brother, and on his sons with him, and shall anoint them and ordain them and consecrate them that they may serve me as priests. You shall make for them linen undergarments to cover their naked flesh. They shall reach from the hips to the thighs and they shall be on Aaron and on his sons and they, when they go into the tent of meeting or when they come near the altar to minister in the holy place, lest they bear guilt and die. They shall be a statue forever, or statute forever for him and for his offspring after him.

Nathan: 19:46

Amen, amen. So there's going to be a few different things we take out of this portion of text and the next portion of text we read. So, in talking about our position in heaven, when we get said when we're born again, god always has a purpose when he's having someone write something down.

Imran: 20:07

Okay.

Nathan: 20:09

So most men would say for beauty and glory. You know, in this text, if we read in this text, it said for glory and beauty. It was, it was written backwards, most people would think that the beauty comes before the glory.

Imran: 20:23

Yeah, you receive the glory because of the beauty. Yes, that's an effect.

Pastor Nick: 20:27

That's man's outlook, that's the world's outlook, that's how it should. Even to the accustomed back then, that's how it should have been written. Okay, so that's why beauty, the glory comes, because but God obviously had it turned around for a reason here, for a purpose. I like it.

Nathan: 20:45

Yeah, so the glory of, when the glory of Christ sits on us, that's what makes us beautiful to God. Yeah, you know, that's the with my wife, the. Her loyalty to the Lord and her devotion to the Lord is what is truly attractive.

Imran: 21:03

Yeah.

Nathan: 21:04

Her beauty is fantastic, her physical beauty, but her beauty that is the Lord. Her glory in the Lord is what makes her beautiful.

Pastor Nick: 21:11

Yeah. You know, and that's the same thing that she's going to want to listen to this podcast more than once.

Imran: 21:16

Yeah, she's actually going to refer back to it when you say something slick later.

Nathan: 21:20

Yeah, I know Like you said, and it's the truth, and I think it's the truth with everybody you can. When someone is really in Christ, and then they have, they've given themselves to Christ, you can see the glory of Christ on them. Yeah, and it's just, it's beautiful, it's really beautiful, and it's rich, it's like wealth.

Imran: 21:37

It literally looks like, yeah, like wealth and beauty, and something that cannot be bought or earned. And it's just to further your point as well is that, like physical beauty wanes, it's not something that can be relied on, all right, but that that spiritual honesty, that devotion, is that what draws people to to us, and it's not us manifesting that. That's the spirit with them. Yeah, and the heritage is last 40, 50, 60 years. It's like cause.

Nathan: 22:05

They are devoted to Christ, yes, you know, yeah, and as I get older, I'm going to get more inkling, you know.

Nathan: 22:12

But as I get older, the rich, like you said, the riches of Christ, will just continue to make. Yes, and it won't. It won't fade, yeah, this, the body is fading away, but the glory of Christ is not, you know. And so there's a there's a point in that that we, that, no matter what the Christ's glory in us is, what makes us beautiful, it's what draws us to God. As God looks down, he doesn't see our glory, he sees Christ's glory, and that makes us beautiful to him.

Imran: 22:42

Yeah, you know, it's also interesting too, cause you know Christ is drawn to himself All right. So him placing his spirit in us draws him to us.

Selena: 22:50

Yes.

Imran: 22:51

You know, there's nothing about us on our own that would want him to come anywhere near us. No, but he set up this before time. Even was set into motion this process that he could put himself in us so that we were drawn to him and he was drawn to us yes.

Pastor Nick: 23:04

It's fantastic, oh, mind blowing, cause that's exactly what we've. We've really been talking about all, all around in our church and being born again, and now that we you know, I'm big on on telling our church that you know you're, we know about the Ark of the Covenant and the Old Testament, but now we're literally the Ark of the Covenant.

Imran: 23:25

Yeah.

Pastor Nick: 23:26

You know, God's literally living in us through his spirit and it's, it's what makes us, makes us who we are in Christ, but Christ is in us, and so it's like we were talking earlier, like it's hard. You're telling me if someone touches me, they're going to die instantly. It depends, yeah, it depends.

Selena: 23:42

I know you're trained.

Imran: 23:45

Oh, I appreciate that I was thinking about the fact that I'm a Marine. Yeah, I know you're trained, so it probably could work out.

Pastor Nick: 23:50

But um, and, and, so it's like man, it's just a high honor and it's just, it's so beautiful. How, how, god's his plan was Jesus from the beginning, and, and, and, and in the Old Testament, these things just pro they portrayed Jesus and and seeing that and learning, that is just it's. It's so beautiful, yeah, so beautiful to me.

Nathan: 24:11

Yeah, and my, my self glory makes me so unattractive. You know, the things that I do in myself are seen as really unattractive. My pride and arrogance and ego, those things are unattractive. But when we're truly doing things in the Lord and walking in the Lord and walking in our position, knowing that Christ is indwelling in us, now it's just, it is, it's full, it is, it is, it is ongoing, it's lasting. So I'm this, this portion of text. As we talked about the clothes, as we talked about, um them being clothed and glory and beauty, um it will. It will go on to our last point in this too, yeah. So we read now uh, 29, 19 through 21. I know it's short, little verses real quick.

Pastor Nick: 25:00

So, with positional sanctification and having our seat, having our place in heaven by our, our confession of faith and our, our belief in our heart, um, you know these, these priests, Aaron, just to do a quick recap on the on the glory and the and the beauty these priests.

Pastor Nick: 25:17

That's how God made them and set them aside for service and made them right and gave them. Their position as priests is clothed them with glory and beauty. And so, as our position and I don't know how much more you're going to touch on it, but God, just kind of as our position we are clothed with Jesus. Now we're closed with his righteousness and his glory and beauty. So yeah.

Pastor Nick: 25:41

That's what we're seeing there as far as our position, their position as priests is what they were closed in and our position in heaven is what we're closed in. Yes, exactly 29.

Nathan: 25:54

29, what. Yeah, 19 through 21.

Imran: 25:57

Got it All right 20. 10.

Pastor Nick: 26:46

This is really exciting. Yeah, this is really intense and the great toe is the big toe, yeah.

Imran: 26:52

Great toe. I would have had questions if you knew. Wait a second Maybe.

Nathan: 26:59

Yeah, first reading over this, you would be kind of oh like huh, Wait a second.

Selena: 27:05

They're doing some weird stuff right there, Specifically their right feet.

Imran: 27:08

Yeah.

Nathan: 27:09

Yeah, and let's start by this that we're a royal priesthood. Now that Christ has been crucified, resurrected, we are his priests, each one of us, each one of us, but it doesn't just go for the pastors or the evangelists. We are his royal priesthood. And revelations 1, 4 through 6, john to the seven churches that are in Asia. Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and for the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priest to his God and father. To him be the glory and dominion forever and ever. He has made us a priesthood. So as we read this portion of text, we can't be like oh, that was just for Aaron and his sons. Aaron and his sons were a specific family, a priest family. Now that we have been in, that was one of the 12 tribes right.

Nathan: 28:19

Yes.

Imran: 28:20

He was one of the sons.

Selena: 28:21

Yes.

Imran: 28:22

And his whole line was set aside to be the priest, the priest, yeah.

Nathan: 28:27

So we can't ever think that, oh well, that was just for them. No, now that we're in grafting in Christ, this is for all of us.

Imran: 28:34

Yeah.

Nathan: 28:35

This is for all of us, as soon as we accept it. So even the Gentiles.

Pastor Nick: 28:41

Yeah, yeah.

Imran: 28:43

Even the Gentiles grafted in.

Nathan: 28:45

So let's, I guess, we'll start by the right portion Right here, right thumb, right toe. What does that mean? The right portion is considered the strong portion.

Pastor Nick: 28:58

The right hand, dominant the right hand dominant.

Nathan: 29:00

As we refer back to scripture, I know that Jesus Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. It's the dominant side, you know, as we look, and it's. Joseph brought his sons to be blessed by his father, okay, and he had the older son come sit at his right hand so that he can get the stronger blessing. So the right hand is considered the stronger blessing. So when they're dabbing this blood on the right ear, the right thumb and the right toe, it's considered that their job as the priest now is going to be done with all their strength. That's the meaning.

Imran: 29:39

This is your purpose. This is your purpose now. This is your dominant purpose. Yeah.

Nathan: 29:43

Your consecration purpose is that you're making a commitment in God. You're sanctified in God, so your strength is in him now. So everything you do is going to be in his strength and with the dominance of him, with his dominion, you know. So that is the purpose of the right ear, right thumb, right toe.

Pastor Nick: 30:02

And if the disciples want to know who was going to be sitting in Israel.

Imran: 30:04

Yeah, I'm pretty sure the sons of thunder.

Nathan: 30:07

So the thunder ones, I know James and John, right, yeah.

Imran: 30:11

And I think it was their mother that asked yeah, yeah, like which? One of my sons will be sitting at your right hand. It's like what, Lady, please?

Nathan: 30:21

So, nick, do you want to remember the first?

Pastor Nick: 30:22

born. You want to talk about that. Yeah, when you get into the blood on the ear, the thumb and the great toe. I wanted to. He just finished reading Revelation and it talked about the first born and I want to go. I want to go to Exodus 13. Are you are? Are you still there?

Imran: 30:45

No, I was in Exodus, like 20 something. Okay, I will pull it up. I got it here. Oh yeah, thank you.

Pastor Nick: 30:51

Thank you, selena, exodus 13. Yes, so yeah, go ahead and read from one. Just read verse one and two.

Selena: 31:00

All right. The Lord said to Moses concentrate to me every first born male, the first offspring of every, every womb among the Israelites belongs to me, whether human or animal. So it was there.

Pastor Nick: 31:15

It was there custom. You know that the first born of their children and the first born of any kind of animal that was born, was consecrated to God for holy service. They were giving that son, saying this one is for you, god, this one is going to. Did that mean they killed them?

Imran: 31:34

No, no no, what does it mean? So first service first service.

Nathan: 31:39

Now the animal. Yes, there would be the best animal, the top one, but it would be the sons or anything, just like the older son, like we were just talking about. The older son was at his right hand. It was the blessing the offspring would be passed on to that, Just like you preach when you came and talked about your time in the school. It was. The blessing was stolen, yeah, yes, from the son that was supposed to get it, the oldest.

Imran: 32:01

Absolutely.

Nathan: 32:02

You know, just like nowadays, like we have an error, you mean that will get the inheritance.

Pastor Nick: 32:06

I mean. So that was you have a way. It's like me. I'm the, I'm the first born and I'm the pastor of the church and I get all the blessings.

Nathan: 32:14

Oh my God, I'm just kidding, he also gets sacrificed. Yeah, I have to sacrifice. I have to sacrifice.

Imran: 32:21

Yeah, so I love that.

Nathan: 32:22

Yeah, Christ was consecrated Pastor. You want to talk about that?

Pastor Nick: 32:27

Yeah, so as as John, we read in revelations that the first born, he was the first born among the dead. That Christ, literally, and in John 1719, the consecration of Christ sanctifying himself, sanctifying himself, consecrating himself. What we're getting here is that Christ sacrificed his self for our position. Yeah, yes, and that's what he's. His prayer, his prayer at this time is you know, when we look deeper into it, he's literally saying I'm going to this cross, I'm giving my life up so that they can be sanctified.

Imran: 33:04

Yeah.

Pastor Nick: 33:05

I'm consecrating myself. I'm the first born and I'm going to the cross to sanctify myself with joy, the joy set before him that he was in. And so there was so much, there's so much in the Old Testament. That really just leads up to this point, because I don't know how far I should touch into this. But Jesus consecrated his self for us. He was the first born of the dead and he died on the cross for us. That's him consecrating himself for us, sacrificing himself for us.

Imran: 33:37

I think that that's huge too, cause I can my translation here. I think I'm reading one of the ESV study Bible things. They specifically define that word sanctify is set apart. Yeah, because like God is, and Jesus is very specifically saying that I am set apart and you have set these ones apart and keep them safe, don't take them out of the world, but protect them while they're in the world, because they are set apart for something greater.

Imran: 34:06

And to that constant Crate word, because in Sanctify Constantine would be the same. It's basically in Exodus. They're saying that the priests are set apart and we're going to go through this process to demonstrate how they're set apart, so anyone that sees them will know that they're set apart.

Imran: 34:20

You're going to wear these checkered clothes, which is probably pretty strange, and they're probably pretty beautiful, but, at the same time, pretty strange that you would wear a checkered clothes and it's going to have blood, blood sprayed on it. So anyone that sees you are not even not just going to be impressed by your beauty, but they're going to look closer, see this blood and be like, oh, these guys are different.

Pastor Nick: 34:38

Yeah, and oil.

Pastor Nick: 34:39

They have blood in the oil and it's such a picture of Jesus's blood and the Holy Spirit and what really sanctifies us and what really sets us apart nowadays. You know, and when we look deep into the Old Testament scriptures, you know of how they were consecrated, how they were set apart for God. You know it was, it was their position before God. It was being consecrated. Was there what our position is with God today? Was their position with God before? What made them right, what God did to consecrate and set people apart?

Pastor Nick: 35:15

You know, and it's just, it's beautiful to think now that Jesus is the, the ultimate one that consecrated Hisself for us now. And so these things, these stories, this stuff that we learn in the Old Testament, it just, it's just so real what Jesus did for us and it makes it so much, makes so much more sense. And there's a lot of, there's a lot of different spots in the Old Testament where it talks about being consecrated. There's also I'm sure you've heard the story of I know that you guys did a podcast on the parting of the Red Sea.

Pastor Nick: 35:49

And then with Pastor David. Yeah, and, and there was a another time where they parted the Jordan and the Jordan. The waters went up and around them so that they could cross and it's right before Moses, Joshua and Moses couldn't enter the Promised Land, but Joshua and he took the people into the Promised Land and so that in there in Joshua three five, it's another spot where the people were consecrated with the Ark in the Jordan and they crossed the Jordan, going into the Promised Land. I'm going to, I'm going to flip to Joshua real quick. Okay, Joshua three.

Pastor Nick: 36:26

I've got it here, you got it so three verse one to verse eight one through eight, easy day.

Imran: 36:36

Joshua three, verse one to eight. Then Joshua rose early in the morning and they set out to shateem and they came to the Jordan, he and all the people of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over. At the end of three days, the officers went through the camp and commanded the people as soon as you see the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, your God, being carried by the Levitical priests, and you shall set out from your place and follow it. Yet there shall be a distance between you and it, about 2000 cubits in length. Do not come near it, in order that you may know the way that you shall go, for you have not passed this way before.

Imran: 37:17

Then Joshua said to the people consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you. And Joshua said to the priests take up the Ark of the Covenant and pass on before the people. So they took up the Ark of the Covenant and went before the people. The Lord said to Joshua today I will begin to exalt you in the site of all Israel. That they may know that as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. And as for you, command the priests who bear the Ark of the Covenant. When you come to the brink of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.

Pastor Nick: 37:55

So that's when they crossed the Promised Land and the Jordan was. They were able to rock right across the Jordan, and it's just. It's another example of God setting people aside, consecrating them. The Ark of the Covenant was there, and so Joshua was telling the people to consecrate themselves, to be put aside for the work of the Lord. God was the one putting them aside for the work of the Lord.

Imran: 38:25

That's such an interesting concept in that context, though, because now it's not someone saying, someone declaring that you're set apart. Joshua was telling them hey, set yourself apart. You know, like now, make the decision, do the work yourself to get ready for this next action.

Nathan: 38:42

Exactly, and that's the big thing here is that I love how it ties. It just ties in perfectly. Because what's our next step after we're born again? We make an oath a declaration.

Nathan: 38:55

You know, and that's what these Aaron and his sons did Before they went into the tabernacle, as they were getting consecrated. No, they sacrificed this ram. The blood was put onto the ear and the ear would be. I'm gonna, the ear is for them. It was what they heard. It was all about what they were hearing. They had to intentionally be listening to God. These priests had to be intentionally listening to God. They had to be filled with God's words. They had to be filled with God's words in order to do his work.

Imran: 39:25

You know? So that was the. You should be listening to God, you should be executing things with the power, with the dominant hand, and you should be stepping in that faith and in the direction.

Nathan: 39:35

Yeah, and that's exactly that's exactly the this annoying thing that was on them. The right ear was to, so they would be inquiring in the Lord. They'd be listening to the Lord for the people.

Imran: 39:47

I think that that's also interesting too, because people would be like, oh my gosh, that's, that's so. It's so raw and so regal that they they had to do something like put blood on their ears. That's so intense, but it's also very intentional about it. It means very specific things it's like something we do.

Imran: 40:05

I don't know if every church does it, but something that pumps does when we ordain a minister or a pastor. Is pastor goes out to the Home Depot and he buys the biggest chain he can find, the thickest, heaviest chain he can find, and he will lay it on the shoulders of the person that we're ordaining, because he and then he describes that I'm placing this chain on you so that one you know you're chained to Christ and also that you understand the weight of that commitment I want you to physically feel the weight of that commitment and and it's like, okay, well, that's a kind of a modern version of this same declaration that's being made here, you know, because you're being presented before the congregation with this heavy chain holding you down and being set apart.

Nathan: 40:49

Yeah, you're being consecrated, you're being set apart. Yeah, you're being sanctified through Christ, you know, and God, but it's a, it is something that we do outwardly. You know, we show what we're doing, we're telling God, you know, I, I, everything I do now is for you, and that's where we've fallen away from.

Nathan: 41:09

You know it's like, oh, I didn't get saved and now my life's not for me. You know, my life's not for me anymore. My life is due to to do the will of the Father, whatever that is, you know. So I have to make sure that whatever is coming in my ears and whatever I am is a first time acquiring of the Lord. I'm listening to what he wants me to do. I'm, I'm constantly filling myself with his words through different pastors, through church, through Bible study, through different things, that I'm not letting anything that's not of God come into my life you know and I'm being filled.

Imran: 41:43

It's that you're being and you're not just. It's like we talked earlier about dying to yourself daily that that concept of dying to yourself daily it means you're not pursuing whatever comes to your mind, but you're actually being very intentional about what you pursue. Yeah, you know, just because I want this thing and because I want this person, or because I want this, this, whatever it is that's causing you to fall into sin yeah instead of allowing it to continue to fall into sin.

Imran: 42:07

You're like no, no, no, today I'm going to rely on the Spirit and I'm going to be very intentional about my decision. And so, instead of this, I'm going to pursue the Spirit, I'm going to pursue prayer, I'm going to pursue study, I'm going to pursue my wife or whatever it is, because now, instead of just doing whatever, you understand that you're set apart, you represent something different, and so you need to pursue sorry, you need to Be intentional.

Pastor Nick: 42:29

Yeah, you know about every day thing like you have, it's an every moment yeah, yeah, and I think it's important to, to look at, to live filled. Why? Because the mouth is, it gets in the way a lot. Oh man by what it says and I think it's important to highlight that he, his blood, the, the Rams blood on the ear. You know you hear that saying.

Pastor Nick: 42:52

You know you got God, give you two ears and only one mouth, you know and it's like, I think a lot of the times we have a problem with what we say and we have a problem listening more to God than we do with telling God what we need or what we want, and so it's like he didn't consecrate your like, yeah, your mouth doesn't have to do with this consecration, you know it's. You need to listen, you need to listen. For me it was.

Pastor Nick: 43:17

It was very important for these priests to to be able to hear from God, you know to to be able to To intentionally sit down and listen, and it's so hard, it's so hard these days to to get a quiet time, to get, and that's why it's so important For people listening to this podcast and and finding a quiet place, man to, where you can hear the word spoken, and you could. You could read the word and then listen. You know, and because there's so much noise coming from the mouths of all kinds of things around us, you know and I just thought it was very it was very cool to just point that out right now that it it's it's about the ears and and if you're listening to God, you'll know what to do. You don't have to talk about what you're going to do listen for God, and then next comes.

Nathan: 44:00

Yeah well. And then Romans 10, 14 says how, then, shall they call on him when they are not believed? And how shall they believe in him who have whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? We must hear the word and properly discern the word. It is through many things that this happens, you know yeah your podcast.

Nathan: 44:21

You know, for many people it is that that's something that is Really going up nowadays as podcasts, or whether it be just talking to someone on the street. We have to. We have to hear the word first, intentionally. Seek out hearing the word in order to tell the word. Absolutely, you know.

Imran: 44:36

I am something that came to mind when you were talking about listening, thinking back to the my little Bible study that I did on on prayer and how Jesus prayed like priest. Jesus didn't pray and Jesus didn't tell us to pray, for all is like. Well, I want, I want, I want, I want, and and we use the, our fire, our father prayer as that guiding principle. Like, when you pray, you should pray of these things. And I was just looking at it.

Imran: 45:00

And Jesus, when he's praying here, his, the high priestly prayer, he's praying in the same way, like, like that, our father, who art in heaven, he's. He opens up this prayer by saying that, saying, father, the hours come, glorify your son, that the son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh to give eternal life to all whom you have given Um, and in this eternal life, that they know that you are the one and only true God, right, and that he and that I am Jesus, who you have sent um. And then he talks about that, not my will, but yours, be done when he says I have manifested your name to the people whom, the, whom you gave out to the world, yours they were and you gave them to me and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given them or you have given me is from you and it's um. It's that because, like Jesus always is referencing back to the father not my will, but yours be done, not my will, but yours be done.

Imran: 45:52

And don't leave me in a temptation, like up and in the prayer I see the same thing, like set them apart. You know, don't leave them into temptation. Don't leave me into temptation. Yes, you know, keep me safe from the evil one. He literally says that. You know, sanctify them and the truth of your word, as you sent me into the world, so I've sent them into the world. It's like it's he's asking for the same things he talks about very succinctly in the our father prayer when he's giving his sermon, but it's like Jesus is literally showing us that I actually pray this way, guys.

Nathan: 46:19

Yeah, you know.

Imran: 46:19

It's not just an example for you like this is how you pray.

Pastor Nick: 46:22

This is how you pray and and if you look deeply into this, he's praying to die. Yeah, he's praying about himself going to the cross to die?

Imran: 46:29

Yeah, but he's not trying to say oh, please don't make it hurt too Much. You know, I will give up myself.

Pastor Nick: 46:35

For them. Yeah, you know what a better prayer for for Christians I give up my life for, for the hope of someone else getting saved. I'm not gonna worry because God's got me. My position is is is accounted for. Yeah, now it's time for me to die to myself and and surrender Willingly so that someone else could hear the gospel.

Selena: 46:55

Yeah, so that I could be a witness to someone else.

Pastor Nick: 46:59

You know, and and that's why you know sometimes, when, when I have these things, and I'm not saying you shouldn't Pray for these things that you want, and but God knows what you want, he knows what you need, you know, and there's scripture to back that up too, you know, and so I feel like the intimacy of, of Sanctification and the hearing what God's prayers are, hearing what Jesus's prayers are, it should, at some point, we should start praying like that.

Imran: 47:26

Yeah.

Pastor Nick: 47:26

I should start praying like, hey, you're the alpha, the Omega and you know what I'm supposed to be doing, and so I'm just here to be your servant.

Imran: 47:37

Yeah, his prayers. His prayers, not saying, you know, thank you for the food, thank you for all these things.

Imran: 47:41

I want this. I want that. He's saying show me your will so I can do your will. So this was just part one. We're going to Dive in even deeper next week with part two, so we didn't want to overwhelm you with too much information right now, but it is so awesome what we're going to go into next week, so I hope that you stick around and come back and join us in this discussion on sanctification with set free church. All right. So we love you, we're praying for you and we hope you continue this journey with us and we will see you next week.