“For this is the will of God, your sanctification...” (1 Thessalonians 4:3 ESV)
Sanctification is not a question of whether God is willing to sanctify me-- is it my will? Am I willing to let God do in me everything that has been made possibe through the atonement of the Cross of Christ? Am I willing to let Jesus become sanctification to me, and to let His life be exhibited in my human flesh. (see 1 Corinthians 1:30). Beware of saying, "Oh, I am longing to be sanctified." No, you are not. Recognize your need, but stop longing and make it a matter of action. Receive Jesus Christ to become sanctification for you by absolute, unquestioning faith, and the great miracle of the atonement of Jesus will become real in you. (from Oswald Chambers, "My Utmost for His Highest")
Is it your will to have God's highest for you? How do you acquire God's highest? By believing that it is God that will change you to reflect his character. And what is the character of God? Read Philippians 4:8. Paul commands us to think (put our mind on) things that are true, seious (dignified), righteous (just), pure (chaste, holy), lovely (agreeable to others), commendable (worthy of praise). When we put our mind in command of our body these characteristics go on display because there is an interconnection between mind, soul, heart and body. Look at Jesus response to the lawyer on the two commands most important to God found in Matthew 22:37 and particularly Mark 12:30 and Luke 12:27. This is how we love God and this is how we are sanctified or set apart for God.
Pray: “Dear Heavenly Father, move us to action, by an act of our will, to put into practice the character of God made possible for us as a result of the atonement.”