The Sanctification & Transformation Process in Our Lives
In the hands of our loving Father
By Mari Anne Andersen
Director of Freedom House Ministry
October 2026
Dear Freedom House Family & Friends,
On our first school day, September 19, we spent time looking at sanctification and transformation; what they mean and what they would look like in our everyday walk with the Lord. As I continued thinking and praying about this teaching, I began to see a beautiful parallel between the process of sanctification and transformation and the process of making and kneading bread dough. Yep, stick with me. I’m going somewhere with this.
We know that sanctification is the ongoing work of God in a believer’s life. It’s the process God uses to cleanse us and to progressively make us more like Jesus Christ. It involves our daily response of surrender, allowing the Holy Spirit to expose what is not like Christ; putting the old nature to death, renewing our minds, and forming Christ’s character within us.
May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 5:23)
Sanctification is the Holy Spirit daily bringing us to more and more death to self on the cross, so that we can have more and more new life in Him. It is not merely about stopping sinful behaviors. It is about increasingly learning to live from the new life we have received in Christ.
Sanctification is an ongoing work of God in each of our lives. To be sanctified means to be set apart for God, as He transforms us to reflect more of the character and image of Jesus Christ.
Sanctification, then, is not simply changing what I do. It is allowing God to transform who I am and how I live in Him. And from this ongoing work of sanctification comes transformation.
Transformation is the change that takes place because of that sanctifying work. It is the inward renewal that increasingly becomes evident in how we think, believe, respond, love and live. Transformation is not simply changing our outward behavior! It is God changing us from the inside out, so that our lives progressively reflect the image of our Lord and Savior.
Transformation is learning to walk in His power rather than our own. It is the supernatural work of God bringing new life within us. It is not behavior modification. It is not simply learning another technique, formula, or method. It is not merely gaining more head knowledge.
It is heart transformation. We cannot heal or transform ourselves through human effort alone. We need the sanctifying and transforming work of the Holy Spirit.
Psalm 16 speaks of God counseling us. I love this picture because it shows us that God begins to reveal what needs to change. His truth moves from something we simply know intellectually, to something that becomes established deep within us.
These are often our “aha” moments—those moments when the Holy Spirit allows us to recognize something we could not see before. He reveals what needs to be acknowledged, confessed, surrendered, healed, sanctified, and transformed.
As I sat with this, I was pondering and asking the Lord, “How can I make this sanctification & transformation come alive, to have an illustration of some kind?” Then it came to me! This is how I began to understand and explain the process of sanctification and transformation more clearly.
I love to make bread! And now that fall has arrived, there is something especially wonderful about the smell of fresh bread filling the house. Come, and let us make bread together as we journey through the process of sanctification and transformation, being in the hands of our Lord.
Imagine standing in the kitchen preparing to make a loaf of bread. You begin with separate ingredients: flour, water, salt, and yeast. By themselves, they are simply individual ingredients. But the baker already sees something that others cannot yet see—a finished loaf of bread!
That is much like God looking at us. He sees not only where we are today, but also what we are becoming in His hands. The yeast is small and almost hidden. Yet once it is activated, it begins working throughout the entire dough. In this beautiful illustration, the yeast can represent the Holy Spirit working within us. His work is often unseen at first, but He is alive and active, bringing transformation from the inside out.
Then comes the mixing. The flour and water come together, but the consistency isn’t always right. Sometimes the dough is too dry and needs more water. Sometimes it’s too sticky and needs a little more flour. And isn’t that like our spiritual lives? God knows exactly what is needed. There are seasons when He adds something: truth, encouragement, relationships, revelation.
And there are seasons when He removes something: old beliefs, unhealthy patterns, pride, unforgiveness; things we have depended upon instead of Him.
Then comes the kneading. The baker pushes the dough down, folds it over, stretches it, turns it, and presses it again. Push. Fold. Stretch. Turn. Repeat.
If the dough could speak it might say, “Why all this pressure? Why can’t you just leave me alone? It hurts too much! I don’t want to do this!”
But the baker knows something the dough doesn’t know: the pressure has a purpose and has a reason. Kneading develops the structure of the dough so that it can hold what the yeast is producing.
Spiritually, God can use the pressures and stretching places of our lives, not because He delights in our pain, but because He can work through them to develop perseverance, surrender, maturity, and Christlike character.
And then something surprising happens. The baker stops working the dough. He covers it and sets it apart. Nothing seems to be happening. There is no kneading. No shaping. No movement. The dough simply rests.
But while it is resting, something powerful is happening inside. This is a beautiful picture of sanctification: there are times when God sets us apart and invites us simply to remain in His presence. Under the warmth of the Son, Jesus Christ and the rays of His love, the Holy Spirit continues His hidden work within us.
What looks like inactivity may actually be a season of tremendous inner transformation. Slowly, the dough begins to rise. What was once small begins to expand. But even then, the process isn’t finished. The baker comes back and punches the dough down! (Again!)
At first that seems almost cruel. “I finally rose! I finally grew! Why are you pushing me down again?”
Yet the baker isn’t destroying the dough. The baker is preparing it for its final shape. The excess gas is released. The dough is gathered again. It is folded, shaped, and formed according to the baker’s purpose!
There are moments in our walk with God when we may feel that way. We thought we had arrived. We thought the work was finished. Then God reveals another layer of our heart that needs surrender, healing, repentance, or transformation.
But He isn’t throwing away what He has already accomplished. He is reshaping what He has already transformed.
And finally, the baker places the dough into the vessel prepared for it. What began as loose flour, water, salt, and yeast has become something completely different. That is transformation!
We are the dough. The Holy Spirit is at work within us. Jesus is the warmth and life in which we rise. And the Father is the Master Baker who knows when to mix, when to knead, when to let us rest, when to press us down, and when to reshape us. And through every stage, we are in the Loving Hands of our Father.
The pressure is not proof that the Baker has abandoned the dough; it may be evidence that His Hands are still forming it.
This is the ongoing work of sanctification and transformation; the lifelong journey of God working in us and through us. So, my friends, when we feel the stretching, the pressing, or kneading, we can remember: “We are still in the Hands of our Loving Baker.” Sanctification is the process; transformation is the fruit. And just as freshly baked bread releases its fragrance and fills the room with its delightful aroma, a transformed life carries the sweet fragrance of Christ.
My Prayer
Heavenly Father, search my heart and test me; know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting. Give me the grace to cooperate with Your truth, Your transforming work within me. May I die to my fallen nature, surrendering those things that are not of You, and help me to be made alive by Your Holy Spirit. Father, let me arise in that place YOU have purposed for me on this side of eternity. Continue your work of sanctification and transformation in me. Make me more and more into the image of Christ, my Lord and Savior. Amen
Updates In Freedom House
New Beginnings Await YOU! Freedom House Ministry is pioneering something new, and we invite you to join us on this groundbreaking adventure in Sanctification & Transformation Training 201!
You no longer have to register for all 8 training days. Come for one day, two days, five days or complete the entire journey. Choose the teaching days that speak to where you are in your own journey of sanctification and transformation.
- Training: 8:30 – 5:30 PM
- Doors open: 8:15 AM
- Location: Facility Corp
- 25W560 Geneva Road, Carol Stream
- Cost: $125 per full training day
- Optional Curriculum Workbook/Manual: $50
Our brand-new Sanctification & Transformation Training 201 curriculum is designed to take biblical truth beyond simply learning about transformation to experiencing it personally.
You can register at the door or go to our website: freedomhouseministry.com or call: 216-260-6450
Each Training Day Includes:
Two teachings with Q & A, Transformation Labs, Prophetic Ministry, Live Prayer Counseling, Debriefing, Continental Breakfast, Lunch.
Two Transformation Labs each day: Here we invite our Good Shepherd to lead and guide us as we experience a hands-on portion of the training through live prayer ministry, Spirit-led prayer counseling, and prophetic ministry. This is where students have an opportunity to experience the principles being taught in a safe environment. Moving from head to heart in the “Green Pastures” where we can learn, heal, and encounter God as we are transformed.
With My Heart of Love and Gratitude,
Mari Anne Andersen
Director, Freedom House Ministry
You can donate today:
OR:
Send a check made out to “Freedom House Ministry” to Freedom House Ministry, c/o The Andersens, 652 THUNDERBIRD TRL, CAROL STREAM IL 60188-9262
With My Heart of
With My Heart of Love and Gratitude,
Mari Anne Andersen
Director, Freedom House Ministry