The Four Things the Word Saint Actually Means

Sermon outline

The eyes of our understanding are opened when we live as saints, which means being set apart, consecrated, ordained and purposed, independent as individuals but wholly dependent on God.

1. A specific instruction at a specific time

   Philip was not an apostle but one of the seven chosen to serve tables, full of the Holy Spirit and moving in miracles. The Spirit told him to join the chariot of the Ethiopian treasurer, who was reading Isaiah, and he obeyed, explained the scriptures and baptised him. Keep your eyes and ears open, because God's instructions come at a moment.

   “There was a specific instruction at a specific time.”

   • Acts 8:26-39

2. The eyes of your understanding enlightened

   Read with natural eyes, Ephesians 1:18 makes no sense: a calling and a hope you cannot see, riches you assume are money, an inheritance you do not understand. In a legal sense an inheritance comes when someone dies, but in Scripture it is an irrevocable gift, and God did not need to die for it: His investment was Christ. From the start we do not know, but through the word, the Holy Spirit and time intentionally spent with Him the light comes on, and that understanding can never be stolen by the devil.

   “God doesn't die in order for you to get the inheritance, but His investment was Christ Jesus.”

   • Ephesians 1:18

3. A saint is set apart

   The Hebrew word for holy means set apart, dedicated to the Lord for a specific mission. God set Jeremiah apart before he was born. It is easy to be lukewarm and to come to God only when we need something, which makes the relationship transactional, and God is not transactional. Sin kept at the front of the mind leaves us alienated in guilt or distraction when we come before Him. Setting yourself apart establishes a new normal.

   “God is not transactional.”

   • Jeremiah 1:5

4. A saint is consecrated

   Setting apart is the decision; consecration is the intentional pursuit of it, stepping out of the ordinary cycle of work, weekend, party and sporting event into something greater. It looks like waking early for prayer and pulling out a scripture at lunchtime instead of scrolling TikTok. In modern terms it is a deliberate choice to live fully devoted to God, reflecting His character and sharing His love.

   “God expects you to walk by faith, but that faith is not luck.”

5. A saint is ordained

   To be ordained is to be divinely appointed by a higher authority for a specific purpose, already clothed with the power to carry it out. Our desperation for God should come from love and seeking His face, not desperation for things. Favour and open doors replace the natural scheming of knowing someone who knows someone. David did not send the king a telegram advertising his music; he was doing his ordinary job, and his father did not even call him in when Samuel came. He could not name what he carried, but he sought the Lord, and that communion brought favour that overrode his culture and position.

   “David didn't put himself in the kingdom. God put him there.”

   • 1 Samuel 16:1-13

6. A saint is purposed

   A purposed saint lives for God, not for himself, asking what God has called him to do. Then no one can stop you: even as public enemy number one at work, God will still give the promotion and make your enemies be at peace with you. As long as there are people there will be problems, but many are the afflictions of the righteous and the Lord delivers out of them all. Wisdom, knowledge, understanding, discernment and favour follow a life lived for His purposes and cannot be accessed while living in sin.

   “We are independent as individuals, but we are dependent on God.”

   • Proverbs 16:7
   • Psalm 34:19

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