I would like to invite you to open to John 17. John the 17^th chapter is one of the chapters of the Bible that Ellen White has encouraged us to make a special study of. This chapter is a prayer that Jesus made or gave, offered to His father in heaven just before He went into the garden of Gethsemane. In this prayer, Jesus prayed not only for the eleven men who were around Him, but He prayed for you, as you can see in verse 20 and 21. This is a prayer that Jesus offered for unity. He asked His father that all of His followers might be one, that they might have harmony and unity. The devil is determined that this prayer should never be answered. Ellen White has told us that if we would study this prayer in John 17, we would understand what to do to have unity. So this is a chapter that we should make a special study of.

I thought, I will go through this chapter and I will find out what is the secret of unity. Well, I found at least eight major subjects in this chapter, several of them you could never cover in one sermon. Theres a lot in here. But I want to look at just one of the principles that is in this chapter that is vital to unity--the unity of Christs followers. And if we dont have this we will never have unity.

You notice in verse 11, Jesus starts praying for His followers that they may be one. You see that, in the last part of verse 11. So that is a major theme of the entire prayer, not just the last part. And notice what He says in verses 14-19. He says, "I have given them [my disciples] your word and the world has hated them because they are not of the world just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You should take them out of the world but that You should keep them from the evil; they are not of the world just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through Your truth, Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world I also have sent them into the world." Notice the unity that Christs followers are going to have is not a unity with everything and everybody; its not unity with the world. But they will among themselves have unity, and they will have this unity as they are kept from the evil in this world. You see that in verse 15. And they are to be sanctified or made holy. Thats in verse 17, and that is to happen through the truth.

We see from an examination of these verses that sanctification or holiness is a vital part of unity, and that we can never have true Christian unity without sanctification or holiness. Thats part of it. And if we do not become a sanctified people, a holy people, we can never have unity.

Sanctification or holiness is a big subject. Some of you perhaps have the book Sanctification or Living Holiness, by D.T. Bordeaux, which was a book written by one of our pioneer Adventist preachers back in about the 1850s. Right now, if the Lord blesses us, we hope to have a magazine ready within about ten days that will have an article in it from a sermon by Elder Bob Tref on the subject of sanctification or holiness. When you get a copy of that you will want to read it. If you were at campmeeting you heard that sermon on sanctification or holiness: the fabric of society. And it is through holiness or sanctification that we are brought into unity with each other and oneness.

You see, Jesus is holy, and if we are going to be one with Him and one with each other, we must be holy too. Lets read just a few texts on that in the Bible and then well read a few texts on what holiness is-- how it is defined. Ill read you a few comments that Ellen White makes about it also. Look in 2 Cor. 6. It shows here how you cannot have unity among Gods people unless you have holiness at the same time. Well read from 2 Cor. 6:14 and 7:1. "Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? (15) And what accord has Christ with Ball? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? (16) And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said, 'I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God and they shall be my people. (17) Therefore 'Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you. (18) 'I will be a father to you and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty. (7:1) Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and the spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God."

So if we are going to have unity, we must have holiness; we must be sanctified. That takes place through the truth. And we must be separate from the evil that is in this world. Lets read a few more texts on that in the New Testament. Look in your Bible in 1 Peter 2. We should read first of all 1 Peter 1:15, 16. It says, "But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, 'Be holy, for I am holy." And in 1 Peter 2:11 it says, "Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul."

So we are to be holy because God is holy. This is one of the most fundamental characteristics of God, that He is holy. Now if somebody were to say to you, "Well what is that like? I havent seen God, so what is that like?" Turn back in your Bible to Romans 7:12. "Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good." The law is a description, a written description of what God is like. And so it is holy. The holiness of Gods character is described in His law. So a holy person would be a person whose life is in harmony with that law. Now Jesus is a living example. He came to this world in the flesh. As a human being He was still God at the same time. And in His life we see a living example of what holiness is like. Jesus said to the Jews of his time, "Which of you convinces me of sin?" He lived according to His Fathers commandments. He lived a holy life, so the life of Jesus is the example of a holy life.

Now, by the time the last epistles of the New Testament were written--those would be epistles such as Hebrews, James, 1 and 2 Peter and 1, 2 and 3 John--the Christian church had lost their first love and was losing the peculiar holy experience that the early Christian church had had in the time when all the apostles were alive. And so in the last epistles of the New Testament you will find many warnings given to Christians who were not living holy lives anymore and what they need to do to change their life. For instance, in the book of Hebrews the 5^th chapter, you see the apostle giving these people a rebuke because they do not have the spiritual experience that they should have for the time they have been Christians. You will see that in the last part of Hebrews 5. Notice what he says in Hebrews 12:14, "Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord." And then look over to the book of James. In James 4 it says, "(1) Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? (2) You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. (3) You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. (4) Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. (5) Or do you think the Scripture says in vain, 'The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously? (6) But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: 'God resists the proud, but he gives grace to the humble. (7) Therefore submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you. You see, Jesus in His prayer in John 17, mentioned the fact that His followers were not of the world and He prayed that they would be kept from the evil and that they would be made holy. And Paul says in 2 Cor. 6, dont be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. Separate yourself from everything that is evil, and if you do that the Lord says I will receive you unto Myself. You will be My sons and daughters. And here you have people in the church that want to be friends with the world. And the apostle says, dont you know if youre going to be a friend of the world, youre an enemy of God; you cant have both. You cant be a friend of that which is evil and a friend of God.

Look in 1 John 2:15-17. "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the father is not in him. (16)For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world. (17)And the world is passing away, and the lust of it. But he who does the will of God abides forever." The apostle John says the same thing. You cant be part of the world and part of the Lord. Its impossible. We have to separate from the world and the practices, the spirit and the evil of the world if we are going to be Gods children.

Id like to read to you a few statements that Ellen White made about this. First of all there is a statement that is in Loma Linda Messages , 103. Let us separate from the contaminating influences of the world, and hold communion with the Saviour. Let us bring ourselves, in thought, word and deed, into conformity with the will of Christ." So, are there contaminating influences in this world? Yes. And if we go and just put ourselves in that environment, will God work a miracle to keep us from becoming contaminated? No, he wont. There are contaminating influences in this world. And if we associate with the world on a social basis and become involved in these contaminating influences we will be effected by it. I guess there has never been a time ever since the beginning of the world when there were more contaminating influences in the world than today. And if I expose my mind to those contaminating influences, I will be effected, I will be defiled and will partake of the evil of the world and will not experience the sanctification that God wants me to have. And then will Gods people, if theyre doing that, will they come into unity and harmony? No. That is one of the major things that blocks unity and harmony. Its worldliness.

Lets think this through a little bit. Were living in an age of telecommunications. Now telecommunications can be a great blessing. You can preach the gospel on television. You can preach sermons and record them on tapes and videos. But there are many tapes and videos and television programs that are very contaminating in their influences. Is that not the case? And if I watch things that are impure-lets just remember that if youre going to be holy, holiness is defined by the Ten Commandments, by the life of Christ. The first commandment says you shall have no other Gods before Me. Are there a lot of videos and television programs that you could watch where you see people who by their life are worshipping the things of this world? Is that true? Yes. Thats the first commandment. The third commandment says you shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. Are there a lot of programs today, a lot of videos, a lot of magazines where you see Gods name taken in vain, or hear it? Yes. The sixth commandment says you shall not kill. Is there a lot of killing going on in these television programs and video programs and magazines and books that people read? Well, how about the seventh commandment that says thou shalt not commit adultery. Is there a lot of sexual immorality on these videos and television programs and magazines? Is there? Well then how about the eighth commandment that says thou shalt not steal. Is there a lot of robberies and thievery going on that people are watching? Yes. And how about the ninth commandment that says you shall not bear false witness. Is there a lot of lying going on? It says in 2 Cor. 3:18: "But we as in open face beholding the glory of the Lord are changed from glory to glory." If you are beholding and seeing the glory of God by the study of His word and the meditation of sacred themes, that will have an effect on your mind. But if youre watching and thinking about things where Gods law is broken, whats going to happen to your character? Are you going to be a holy person? No, youre not. It is a law of the mind that by beholding we become changed; what you listen to effects your mind, what you watch effects your mind.

This is even the case with interpersonal relationships. Ive been doing some study on this recently. It is very interesting. Did you know that every single person that you have as a friend or an acquaintance, one you talk to and have any communication with, every single one has an effect on your thinking or the character? Thats scary to think about. Now, God can protect you if you are in a situation and you cant do anything about it. Did God protect Daniel when he was in Babylon so he did not get contaminated? Did God protect Joseph when he was in Egypt so that he did not get contaminated? Yes. But God cant protect you if youre jumping off the temple--that is if youre presumptuous. If you deliberately go into the way of temptation--by the way, for those of us that are parents, does that indicate that we should be concerned about who our children play with and who they associate with? Should we have any concern about that? Yes we should. Thats one of the great reasons for Christian schools, for church schools. Children who associate with each other have an effect on each others character. We are social beings and as we visit with others and talk with them we are influenced by them.

Now Im going to read you some very strong statements that Ellen White has to say about this subject. But they dont sound nearly so strong when you see the spiritual principle behind it. Every person that I associate with has an affect on my character. Now here is a testimony that Ellen White wrote to the Battle Creek church. Special Testimony to the Battle Creek Church, 4:" The spirit manifested by many at Battle Creek is, Let us not make earnest, thorough work; such a great ado is uncalled for." The previous sentence says, "What, then, is required of the church at Battle Creek? Humiliation, confession, and true, genuine repentance before God." And so there were some people in the Battle Creek church and they said to the Lords messenger, well, I dont think its that big of a deal. I dont think such a big ado is called for. You say we need to repent, we need to humble ourselves. But I dont think its that bad. Well, this is what she replies. She says, I tell you, God calls for repentance and confession from his people; and those who have taken an active part in bringing the church into her present position, will never come to the light only by humble confession and a sincere repentance before God, and working to bring them to the light. " Notice, the Battle Creek church had backslidden. The Battle Creek church had come into a backslidden condition. Shes going to say more about it in just a moment.

And she says you people think we could just go on. We all go to church on the same day, were all Seventh-day Adventists, we all believe the same doctrine, theres no need to make such a big ado, Ellen White, as youre doing. And she said, oh no, thats not the case. You will never come into the light unless you have repentance and confession. She says, the wall of separation that the Lord Himself has established between the world and the things He has chosen out of the world and sanctified unto Himself has been broken down by those who profess godliness and occupy the position of teachers of the people. Is there to be a wall of separation between certain things? Yes there is. She says theres a wall of separation, and who put that wall of separation there? God did. And its a wall of separation between the things of this world and the things, she says, that the Lord has chosen out of the world. And some people have tried to break that wall down. By the way, its not saying here that all of the things on the other side of the wall are bad. It doesnt say that. But there is to be a separation between that which is holy and that which is not holy. Its not to be all mixed up.

She says, "They have not, in precept and practice, acknowledged this position, but rather by their practice annihilated the difference between the holy and the profane. But the separation exists, notwithstanding so many have in practice made it void, and seem determined to maintain concord between Christ and Ball. 'The Lord hath set apart him that is godly for Himself; and this consecration to God and separation from the world, the Lord always loves, and will always require of His people; for it is plainly declared and positively enjoined in the Old and New Testaments. Many who think they can impress the world by agreeing with it make a terrible mistake as far as their own salvation is concerned and the salvation of unbelievers. It is not conformity to the customs and practices of the world that will enlighten them and make them feel their great need of saving grace; but it is to come out from the world and be separate, stand apart and above it, and in character represent Christ and give the impression to the world of a holy, separate life." Now that is an interesting statement.

I can tell you more than once, I dont even know how many times, a person has approached me who has members, maybe oftentimes its their own spouse, their husband or their wife, who is not a Christian. And they say, What shall I do? My spouse is making all kinds of threats against me, and if I could just compromise on this, or this, or this, then I could have peace in my family. Ive watched that over and over again. And I can tell you this, it never works. It never makes a Christian out of the worldling; it makes a worldling out of the Christian. And if you have somebody that you love and you want to save them, it is more important for you than for anybody else in the world that you dont make the least compromise with evil. Let me tell you, it is surprising to me how much the world knows, how much the ungodly know, about what a Christian ought to be like. It is amazing! People that dont ever study the Bible, if they see a Christian that in any way makes an exaggeration or an understatement or tells an off color joke or goes to some place in this world where a Christian wouldn'tt go, immediately they pick it up. People that never study the Bible and pray, and theyre totally out in the world. They hear some Christian listening to music thats worldly music, they recognize it right away. And things like that destroy our influence among our own loved ones and relatives who are not Christians. If we compromise at all with the spirit of the world, we will lose our influence with our loved ones who are not Christians and lessen our chances of saving their soul. She says here the way to do it, the way to make somebody in the world feel their great need of saving grace, is to do what? Come out of the world and be separate and let them see a Christlike holy life.

In Martin Luthers time many of Gods children were conformed to this world. They were under a mass of rubbish of false doctrines. The Bible says were not to be conformed to this world. You can read that in Romans 12:1, 2. And so God sent a man into the world by the name of Martin Luther to correct this situation. And the effect of Martin Luthers work was to separate Gods true people from this mass of rubbish and false doctrine that existed in Christendom. Notice what Ellen White says about this. This is from Signs of the Times, 7-19-1883. Shes talking about Martin Luther. She says, "It was his work to build in the temple of the Lord. There were living stones buried from sight amid the papal rubbish of false doctrines, forms, and ceremonies, and he must search them out, and lay them on the true foundation. The followers of Christ were not then united as a peculiar and holy people separate from the world. They were mingled with the sons of Ball, and must be separated by the power of divine truth." What is it that separates Gods true children from the world? Its the truth, the divine truth. What did Jesus say? Sanctify them through the truth; your word is the truth.

The truth is the thing that separates Gods children from the world and makes them separate. And the great dividing wall, or symbol, that separates Gods children from the world in the last days, is the Sabbath. Ellen White saw in vision that the Sabbath would be the dividing line that would separate Gods people from all the rest that would profess His name. Let me read that to you. This is from a vision that Ellen White had in 1847, or was printed in 1847. This is found in Early Writings, 33. She says, "I saw that the holy Sabbath is, and will be, the separating wall between the true Israel of God and unbelievers; and that the Sabbath is the great question to unite the hearts of Gods dear, waiting saints." So what is it? Remember, sanctification will bring us into unity. If were not sanctified and holy we will have division, anarchy and we wont have unity and conformed to this world. They were under a mass of rubbish of false doctrines. The Bible says were not to be conformed to this world. You can read that in Romans 12:1, 2. And so God sent a man into the world by the name of Martin Luther to correct this situation. And the effect of Martin s work was to separate Gods true people from this mass of rubbish and false doctrine that existed in Christendom. Notice what Ellen White says about this. This is from Signs of the Times, 7-19-1883. Shes talking about Martin Luther. She says, "It was his work to build in the temple of the Lord. There were living stones buried from sight amid the papal rubbish of false doctrines, forms, and ceremonies, and he must search them out, and lay them on the true foundation. The followers of Christ were not then united as a peculiar and holy people separate from the world. They were mingled with the sons of Ball, and must be separated by the power of divine truth." What is it that separates Gods true children from the world? Its the truth, the divine truth. What did Jesus say? Sanctify them through the truth; your word is the truth.

The truth is the thing that separates Gods children from the world and makes them separate. And the great dividing wall, or symbol, that separates Gods children from the world in the last days, is the Sabbath. Ellen White saw in vision that the Sabbath would be the dividing line that would separate Gods people from all the rest that would profess His name. Let me read that to you. This is from a vision that Ellen White had in 1847, or was printed in 1847. This is found in Early Writings, 33. She says, "I saw that the holy Sabbath is, and will be, the separating wall between the true Israel of God and unbelievers; and that the Sabbath is the great question to unite the hearts of Gods dear, waiting saints." So what is it? Remember, sanctification will bring us into unity. If were not sanctified and holy we will have division, anarchy and we wont have unity and there will be no way to get it except the way the antichrist devised and thats to make a law and tell everybody what to do, and then you have an outward unity. The Sabbath will unite Gods people. Have you thought that through? If we really keep the Sabbath, that will unite Gods people. The fourth commandment says, "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." Let me ask you this question. Can you keep the Sabbath holy if you are not holy? Now there is a depth in this subject we havent scratched yet at all. But it is something for you to study and investigate. The prophet says that if we really keep the Sabbath it will unite us; we will have unity. That involves holiness. Holiness means wholeness for God, complete dedication to God, choosing to follow and obey Him.

When you have people that are holy, they will have unity. The reason that there is not perfect unity is because there is not perfect holiness in Adventism today. Ellen White says that the 144,000 will be perfectly united. How will that happen? It is because they will all be holy people. Thats how. So, what must we do if we want to have unity? We must search and understand what holiness is, and become a holy people, and as we become a holy people we will have unity.

This is Testimonies, vol. 1, 240: "Christ demands all. If He required less His sacrifice was too dear, too great to make to bring us up to such a level. Our holy faith cries out Separation. We should not be conformed to the world, or to dead, heartless professors. 'Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind. This is a self-denying way." She says we are not to be conformed to the world, or to dead, heartless professors. Remember, what will happen if we associate together socially? If I am spiritually alive, but I voluntarily associate with those that are spiritually dead, what is going to happen to me? My spirituality is going to be weakened, and I am going to become confused. I have mentioned this before, but it is so true that I am going to mention it again. This is a true story. It happened to a friend of mine. He was living in the Keene, Texas area when this took place. He was a Christian, Seventh-day Adventist, and he decided that he wanted to go to Southwestern Adventist College, and take some Bible classes. That sounds like something good to do, doesnt it? The trouble of it is, there were some people teaching those Bible classes, who were telling people that we are going to sin until Jesus comes. A whole variety of heresies were being taught in some of these classes. And so another very good friend of mine told this young man, Dont do it! If you go to those Bible classes and put yourself under the influence of those teachers, it is going to affect your mind and you are going to get mixed up. That young man said, Oh, no, I wont get mixed up. I know the truth. And let me tell you friends, he did know the truth. He had attended Steps to Life revival meetings in the Cleburne area, and he had heard all the different preachers that come to our camp meetings to preach. He had been reading magazines like Our Firm Foundation. He had been coming to a Bible study group. He was straight theologically. He knew the truth, and he knew it so well that he thought he wouldn'tt get mixed up. So he went and he took these Bible classes. And do you know what happened within three of four months? If you went and talked to that man he was all confused. I have thought about that many times.

I have heard of Seventh-day Adventists that say, Well, we are going to go do missionary work. And the way we are going to do it, is that we are going to go to some other churches on Sunday and listen to their preaching, and then we are going to be sociable. I want to tell you that is extremely dangerous. You are puffing yourself under the influence of someone, and that is presumptuous, and God is not going to work a miracle to keep you from becoming confused.

Lets bring it a little closer home. If I go into a church, whether its an Adventist church or any other church, and I detect that what is being taught is not according to the Bible, and if I just stay there and listen to it, what is going to happen to me? I am going to become confused. Because I have voluntarily put myself under that influence, even though I knew it wasn'tt right, I decided to stay on and listen to it.

If you listen to something long enough you will believe it. Hitler knew that. Adolf Hitler knew that if you got on the radio and told the population a lie enough times, they would believe it. The Communists understood that. When I was in highschool, one of the most interesting experiences was when one of our teachers got a tape from a man in the U.S. army. He explained on this tape the science of brainwashing, and how the Communists brain-washed our prisoners of war in the Korean War. One of the things they used to do is put on tape recorders and play something over and over again. The same thing for sixteen hours a day. After a while, those soldiers believed it. There were a few that didn'tt.

The militaries made a very detailed study about why some were able to resist that and other people were brainwashed and all confused. Do you know the principle common denominator among the people that did not get brainwashed was this: Every single time they heard something they did not believe, they resisted it. Every single time. You asked them a question and they kept resisting it. If you were passive, your mind was changed and you did not even know it.

We are living in a generation that has been made very passive, much more passive than the generation when I grew up. And this generation is being brainwashed. If you dont believe, that read Freedoms Ring, and the information Bob Tref has found about what is happening to our generation. Peoples minds are being changed, and they dont even know it. This has become a science. People study how to change others minds without them even knowing about it.

If I associate with people that are mixed up about theology or something else, do you know what is going to happen to me? Unless I resist, every time I hear something that is not so, in just a little while I will be confused. Ellen White says that we should not be conformed to the world or to dead, heartless professors. Here is another statement from the Review and Herald, June 10, 1852: "We must keep separate from the world, if we would have the love of God abide with us. As soon as we begin to be conformed to this world, just so soon Gods Spirit begins to depart from us. But if we keep humble, live holy, harmless and separate from sinners, we shall see of the salvation of God. Let us strive to be Christians (Christlike) in every sense of the word, and let our dress, conversation and actions preach that Christ is formed within, the hope of glory, and that we are looking for that blessed hope and glorious appearing of Jesus. Let us show to those around us, that this world is not our home, that we are pilgrims and strangers here."

If I begin to become conformed to this world, what happens? The Holy Spirit begins to leave me. You see, the unity that Jesus prayed for was based on sanctification, based on being separate from the world. Read John 17:14-19. He said they are to be kept from the evil; separate from the evil. You cannot have unity among Christians until we decide that we are going to be separate from the world, and that we are going to be a holy people and live a holy life. And if we dont decide that we can never have unity. We will just keep having division and anarchy, and all kinds of strife and trouble. Well, Ellen White wrote about this a lot. Here is another statement from The General Conference Bulletin, April 23, 1901: "Will we accept the privilege of becoming co-laborers with Jesus Christ, cooperating with Him in building a pure and holy character, separating from us all that will make us impure and unclean in His sight?

Friends, anything that would make me unclean or impure in the sight of God I must keep myself separate from. Revelation 21:27 says that nothing will enter the holy city that is defiled, common or unclean. Again Testimonies, vol. 1, 404: "It cannot be harmless for servants of the heavenly King to engage in the pleasures and amusements which Satans servants engage in, even though they often repeat that such amusements are harmless. God has revealed sacred and holy truths to separate His people from the ungodly and purify them unto Himself. Seventh-day Adventists should live out their faith." And by the way, its when you are separate from the ungodly and the things of this world that God can use you as an influence over the ungodly.

Who had greater influence in Sodom, was it Lot or was it Abraham? And Abraham lived a separate, godly life. He would not have anything to do with what they were doing. Lot went down there and mingled with them and lost his whole family.

We are living in a time when the devil is trying to figure out anyway he can with that which is sacred, with that which is common or worldly. And there is a battle going on over this issue in Adventism today. Friend, it is a battle that you must fight as an individual. If you are going to be with the Lord when He comes, you must fight this battle and keep the sacred separate apart from the profane in your life.

In closing I want to read from the 1888 Materials, 1038: "The crisis is just before us. The fierce conflict of mind with mind, of principle with principle, of truth with error, which is fast approaching, and which has already begun, calls for constant vigilance. This world is the great field where the last battle is to be fought. Now every man who is on the Lords side will come up to the battle of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty, and the walls of antichrist shall fall before the Captain of the Lords host. Then let not the chosen of God be found in opposition to the messengers and messages He sends." What is this battle? Who is antichrist? Antichrist claims to be a follower of Christ. The antichrist power claims to be Christian, but it has mingled that which is holy with that which is defiled. It has tried to mix good and evil together. And those that are on the Lords side must separate themselves from all that is common, become sanctified. In fact, do you know that one of the meanings of the word sanctification in the Bible is something that is set apart? It is something that is set apart for a holy life.

When Jesus comes, do you want to be one of those that is sanctified, one of those of that is godly, one of those that is holy? Without holiness we cannot see the Lord? Do you think we need to pray and encourage each other in living a holy life? We need to press together and encourage each other to live a holy life. Holy living is beautiful and it is happy. Many people are happy, Ellen White says, because they are unholy. When you are holy then you have the opportunity to be truly happy. We need to help each other to live a holy life and to separate from all ungodliness and iniquity and that will bring us into unity and harmony.