Living a life of Consecration Sermon
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Consecrate yourself • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 1:01:30
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· 29 viewsIn a world filled with distractions and competing priorities, it can be challenging to maintain a steadfast commitment to one's Christian faith. Living a life of consecration is necessary for those who want to develop a deep connection with God and experience spiritual growth. Learn more in the message Living a life of Consecration.
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Preamble
I welcome each of you hear today.
great to have so many join us online. remember you are part our the KWay Family too
Thanks to those who have been praying for Roxanne with the passing of Gord,
thank-you for those who were able to attend his memory service this last week
I know he’s celebrating in heaven.
15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.
please continue to hold Gords family up in prayer.
Just an update the KWEN is now 7000 chrisitian leaders around the globe
We will be starting the Kingdom Pathway this week with the KWEN to introduce the world to the discipleship pathway we created back in 2018-19
This is a fulfillment of the prophesy God gave me early in 2019. That He would use this in Churches around the globe
many of them are joining us online.
Intro
Today I want to remind you of a very important story that took place thousands of years ago.
God moved the people of Israel to Egypt to survive a drought
they remained in Egypt for 430 years Ex 12:40
Then God raised up Moses to lead His people out of Egypt in into the promised land
problem is there was a wilderness they would have to cross to get there.
You may recall the people of Israel rejectected God plans
you see when they arrived at the promised land 10 of the 12 spies spoke fear into their lives
27 Thus they told him, and said, “We went in to the land where you sent us; and it certainly does flow with milk and honey, and this is its fruit.
28 “Nevertheless, the people who live in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large; and moreover, we saw the descendants of Anak there.
31 But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are too strong for us.”
32 So they gave out to the sons of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone, in spying it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants; and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great size.
Only 2 spoke the true will of God, while the others followed human understanding
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight.
Caleb and Joshua
30 Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we will surely overcome it.”
but what did the people do
they listened to the the fear delivered by the 10 spies and rejected God’s plan
1 Then all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night.
2 All the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron; and the whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness!
3 “Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become plunder; would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?”
4 So they said to one another, “Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt.”
How many times have you been there?
Where you feel God leading you to do something.
then all of a sudden the fears rushes in.
What if this happens
What if that happens
Did God really tell you to do that?
Fear, the enemies greatest weapon.
Thats why the Bible tells us over 100 times to “Do Not Fear”
but let’s continue with our story.
35 ‘I, the Lord, have spoken, surely this I will do to all this evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. In this wilderness they shall be destroyed, and there they will die.’ ”
God decres not one of these people will enter the promised land only Caleb and Jacob because they were faithful in their call
The children would enter
but notice Moses is excluded as well....more on that later
God was willing to wipeout an entire generation, because of their rebellion
and begin fresh with the next generation.
The people smartened up and said ok we will go up and fight
but it was too late God already decided.
they again rebelled against God and went up to fight the amorites,
but since God was not with them, they lost, and lost badly
They then went back into the desert and wandered around until every adult except Caleb and Joshua died
40 years they wandered the desert
Even Moses, the greatest leader perished in the wilderness
The people began to complain again because they had no water
legitimate need, illegitimate response
11 Then Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came forth abundantly, and the congregation and their beasts drank.
Just like he did before when the people complained because of lack of water
but this time Moses was in the wrong
God specifically told Moses to Speak to the Rock…Not to strike it this time
8 “Take the rod; and you and your brother Aaron assemble the congregation and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it may yield its water. You shall thus bring forth water for them out of the rock and let the congregation and their beasts drink.”
You see Moses was operating out of experience rather than obedience.
He did what worked before, ignoring God’s command
God wanted Moses to obey....not just to do what had worked in the past!
As a result Moses was not allowed to enter in the promised land
Israel needed a new leader to take the place of Moses
Some very big shoes/sandals to fill
God chose Joshua.
Joshua who was one of the 2 spies who gave a good report
Joshua who was Moses assistant throughout the wilderness
Joshua would lead the people of Israel into the promised land
So this brings me to what I want to focus on today.
I’ve given you the backdrop, now lets pick it up
1 Then Joshua rose early in the morning; and he and all the sons of Israel set out from Shittim and came to the Jordan, and they lodged there before they crossed.
2 At the end of three days the officers went through the midst of the camp;
3 and they commanded the people, saying, “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God with the Levitical priests carrying it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it.
4 “However, there shall be between you and it a distance of about 2,000 cubits by measure. Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you shall go, for you have not passed this way before.”
5 Then Joshua said to the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.”
5 Then Joshua said to the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.”
This is the word God gave me for today.
“Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.”
I believe this is the season we are entering into.
A season of fulfilled promises.
Just like the people of Israel were entering into their promised land after their parents rejected it out of fear
we too are about to enter into the promises of God
For a while I have been proclaiming we had to get ready for the greatest move of Holy Spirit upon the earth
I believe we are entering that season
But we must prepare each one of us!
One of the earmarks God gave me as to the beginning of this season was we would see
the silencing of voices that did not fear Him and the amplification of small voices that honored Him
over the last few months I have been seeing that happen all over.
seemingly people who have no qualifications are having their voices amplified to millions
and the so called experts have lost their audiences
I feel I’m part of that group
with over 15k followers on facebook
I now can reach many people around the globe with God messages
So what are we to do?
As God told Joshua to relay to God’s people
I believe He’s telling us the same thing today
5 Then Joshua said to the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.”
Body
What does it mean to consecrate yourself?
Websters says
to devote to a purpose with or as if with deep solemnity or dedication
The Apostle Paul says in Romans
1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
Let’s break it down
1. Dedicate your heart to God
1. Dedicate your heart to God
To consecrate yourself to God is to answer His call to spiritual consecration.
44 ‘For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. And you shall not make yourselves unclean with any of the swarming things that swarm on the earth.
It means that you have a deep inner longing to live holy and want to be changed into the image of Jesus.
18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.
To dedicate your heart to God is to make a conscious, willing decision to surrender your soul, mind, heart, and body to God.
This decision must be one of free will,
mindful of the cost , and flowing from a deep affection for God.
No one will be able to keep such a resolution by striving alone.
Such a person will certainly give up, once it becomes hard or difficult along the way.
You alone can make the decision to consecrate yourself to God.
No one can force you into it.
or even persude you to do it
Its your call, your decision
Don’t look to the things of the world to satisfy you, but look to God to meet your every need
2. Reflect on your motives
2. Reflect on your motives
Ask yourself Why are you doing this?
Is it because Pastor Shawn told you too.
that’s not the right answer
Since consecration is a personal choice,
it is important to reflect on and search out the true motive of your heart.
Is this desire truly from within, or is it possible that you are giving in to outward pressures?
Do you feel to do this because others are doing it?
Or because it is expected from you?
Or because you want to show God how much you love Him?
Don’t worry ....God knows your heart.
Do not allow yourself to be troubled whether you appear to have the right motives.
View your commitment to Christ as a priority,
not a secondary option or passive experience.
As said before, your love, desire and longing after the Lord must move your heart into such action.
A heart ready for consecration is discerned by the love and desire it feels for God,
in response to the love God has for such a person.
3. Repent
3. Repent
Once you have reflected on your motives for consecrating yourself to the Lord,
it is time to pray through each one of those things the Holy Spirit reveals to you.
Give thanks for each right motive in your heart.
Give thanks for the grace to consecrate yourself,
for the privilege to lay down your life.
Then, also spend time in thorough repentance for everything that may hinder you in your consecration to God.
Little passions, desires, and longings you haven’t yet let go of.
Acknowledge every little thing, leave no stone unturned.
The freedom repentance brings to a sincere soul is beyond description.
It sets you free and loosens you from every hold of the enemy on you.
Once we taste the joyous fruit of repentance,
it becomes a compelling desire of every consecrated soul to live as such in God’s presence,
and everything hindering such freedom becomes a burden to quickly rid oneself of.
4. Separate yourself from the evils of the world
4. Separate yourself from the evils of the world
John writes in
16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.
Consecration is not only on a spiritual level.
It also involves the consecration of the soul and the body.
Our physical bodies will always be drawn to the ways of the world.
Consecrating yourself means to give priority to spiritual things over physical things.
It will require intentionally avoiding things that may hinder you from connecting with God or take away from your time with Him.
That does not mean we only have to separate ourselves from what is evil.
There are plenty of things in the physical world that are good.
On a basic level, e.g. food and water are good, because it provides the human body with the nourishment it needs to survive.
There is nothing wrong with enjoying a meal.
But, when food becomes a problem, it is wise to separate yourself from that which separates you from God.
In a fallen world, even good things can be appropriated and used for ill purposes.
Eating too much, or eating too little, or eating the wrong foods.
Food is just one example.
Other examples can be exercise, or gardening, or even ministry.
Everything that becomes your main focus apart from God, is worthwhile inspecting and evaluating with renewed attention.
Therefore, rejecting the evils of the world
does not mean that you have to reject the good things of the world.
It only means that you have to reject the part where worldly/earthly things become imbalanced in terms of their importance to you.
It also means that worldly things must become significantly
less important than spiritual things in your life.
On a practical level, this means you will have to separate yourself from things the world promotes,
when the Holy Spirit convinces/convicts you that those things are wicked.
Simultaneously, it also means to make a decision to only follow God’s will for your life.
Even when it seems that His will is conflicting with priorities the world may dictate to you even when these worldly priorities it sounds reasonable.
This is especially true when it comes to the way we look at our finances, romantic love, how we spend our time, friendships etc.
5. Draw closer to God
5. Draw closer to God
When consecrating our lives to God, it is not enough to merely reject the wicked things and ways of the world.
That in itself, has little power to transform us.
Transformation of the human spirit and soul comes from drinking from the ‘source of life’.
But how do we do that?
Just like watching the wrong movies, going to night clubs, drinking, smoking and fellowship with the wrong friends can be called ‘drinking from the world’,
we need to drink from God who is our source of spiritual life.
Our bodies and souls naturally long after the world.
Deep within though, our spirit longs for God.
At first, it may seem labour-some to busy oneself with spiritual things.
But there is a law of attraction working in us through the Holy Spirit.
26 In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;
The more time and dedication you give to the things of the spirit,
the more the spirit within you will thirst after walking in the ways of God.
The easier it will become to continually turn to God.
How do I do this practically?
How do I do this practically?
Prayer is certainly the most important discipline.
Studying the Bible, join a Bible study
praying in the spirit
soaking
Fasting
Fellowship with believers you want to be like
worship
are some other valuable disciplines to put into place.
All of these require time.
Any activity that encourages you to keep God as the central focus of your life, falls into this category.
Stay committed
Stay committed
Consecration is not a single, once-off decision.
It becomes a way of living.
Once you decide to consecrate yourself, you must be prepared to continue pursuing God for the rest of your life.
In a way, our consecration will never be “complete.” We never “arrive” or achieve perfect righteousness,
perfection or holiness.
He asks of us to make the commitment of consecration and then to actively pursue it for the rest of our lives.
We will certainly stumble as we walk the path, even fall.
16 For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again,
But the wicked stumble in time of calamity.
Closing
Closing
1 O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly;
My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You,
In a dry and weary land where there is no water.
2 Thus I have seen You in the sanctuary,
To see Your power and Your glory.
3 Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,
My lips will praise You.
4 So I will bless You as long as I live;
I will lift up my hands in Your name.
5 My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness,
And my mouth offers praises with joyful lips.
6 When I remember You on my bed,
I meditate on You in the night watches,
7 For You have been my help,
And in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy.
8 My soul clings to You;
Your right hand upholds me.
Let’s prayer