Consecration - 1

Activity: Sunday Sermon

Anchor Scriptures: Judges 13: 1-16, 2 Tim. 2: 20-21

Scripture References: Heb. 12:2, Col.3:2, Rom. 12:1-2, 2 Cor. 6:14-18, Phil. 1:27; 2:5

Introduction
Everything on earth and in heaven were made by God for different purposes. Even things made or created by man were so made for different purposes, too. It therefore follows that everything on earth and in heaven made by God and man, essentially, all things are made by God (John 3:27), are set apart for the purposes for which they were ere made.

However, while many creations stand, being set apart for their purposes, most things made don't. It is my prayer that the grace to remain set apart for and even be used of God for our creation purposes shall rest and abide with us all, in Jesus Christ Mighty Name. Amen.

Message
From creation story, God, in His infinite mercies had set man, out of all His creations, aside for Himself. He thus made man the head and the comptroller-general of everything He created. Even after man failed Him, He still went ahead to get us a propitiation in person of His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ.

What is consecration?
Consecration simply means being set apart for a special purpose. One of our anchor scriptures, Judges 13:1-16, shows us how a man was consecrated unto God even before he was conceived of his mother; he was to accomplish a special purpose for God, his Creator. There are many other examples in the Scriptures.

Consecrated things and or persons are regarded as holy things and or persons, and are therefore not expected to be or be used like any other (ordinary) things. Being consecrated is a calling unto HIGHER LIFE AND HIGHER LIVING. That is why we were admonished by God to be holy (Lev. 19:2). We are called a special people, the royal priesthood (1 Pet. 2:9)

Our second anchor scripture today, 2 Tim. 2:20-21 explains this more succinctly. Hear it:  We humans in the sight of Go "But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour." We humans are like vessels in the house of a rich man (of course, our God is the richest, giving men out of His possessions). Being vessels, we are made of different materials and are therefore, marked for different purposes.

Brethren, one beautiful thing I admire so much about this God is that He doesn't force men to serve Him (Gen. 6:3). He has given all, the right to freely choose for ourselves, that which we want. That is why the verse 21 of that Scripture says: "If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work." Did you notice that the whole verse is a conditional statement? That simply indicates that God would not force any man to do anything; not even to serve Him, despite the fact that He gave man all things, even including his breath.

While in the Old Testament times, God Himself did choose whom to set apart for His services, the Nazzarites, today, God has given man the onerous responsibility of setting ourselves apart for Him. That is what verse 21 of that 2 Timothy is saying, that: a man must make up his own mind either to serve God with his body or not. Another fascinating thing about that verse of the Bible is that even the vessels hitherto made of Gold or silver, which to every intent and purpose, is supposed to be for a special purpose, "unto honour", could in fact, end up being used for "dishonour" purposes. Why? It could be so because such a vessel refused to "purge himself from these." Conversely, a vessel made of wood or earth, which was never intended for any good or special purpose but which hath "purged himself from these", could end up being used for special purposes.

One important factor that man is often oblivious of is that God has many alternatives. Let's journey together into the Scriptures a little. Originally, Saul was made of wood or earth, but he received God's mercy and was counted worthy for a special purpose. However, he fumbled! Then, God picked David who was a man of war all his life. His hands were full of blood. So, he couldn't qualify for the purpose of building a house for God. Rather, his son, Solomon, a vessel of gold or silver, was chosen. When Solomon messed up, God took ten out of the twelve tribes away from the house of David and gave them to another vessel of wood or earth, Jehu. On and on like that.

Like I said earlier, a call to consecration is a calling unto a higher life and living. Anyone that is consecrated or that is expected to be consecrated is not expected to live like every other person or persons around them. They are not to imitate anyone or become a copycat of everyone or anyone around them. Their focus should be heavenwards (Col. 3:2, 1 Cor. 11:1, Eph. 5:1). Such people don't live carelessly in the world because they know they are Christ's Soldiers and are ready to please their Commander at all times (2 Tim. 2: 3-5). Such people separate themselves from  ". . . every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset . . . ," and are ready, albeit at all times, to  "run with patience the race that is set before (them) us." (Heb. 12:1)

The case of Samson was a big tragedy. Samson's consecration was first of it's kind in the Bible. God had great expectations from him. He was commissioned right from the womb to destroy God's (Israel's) enemies. If you didn't know, Samson's anointing was kind of similar to that of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. The only difference was just in their birth and the fact that he was not to die for the people. Samson's calling was a similitude of Christ's, but Samson got blown away with the enemies he was sent to destroy just because he got carried away by his unbridled passions for beautiful women.

Ephraim was yet another example of an unworthy vessel of wood, but which received mercy and got converted into a golden vessel, but later turned a monumental waste. The book of Genesis 48:8-20 shares with us how the right of Joseph's first born, Manasseh, was given to his younger brother, Ephraim. But what did Ephraim do with it at the end? Ephraim's generation became  drunkards and insulted God (Isaiah 28:1-4) for God hath warned that  ". . . wine is not for kings" (Prov. 31:4-6).

But how about Ruth, the lady from the accursed nation of Moab, which God hath vowed that none from there shall enter into the congregation of the Lord's people because they were bastards (Gen. 19:30-38, Deut. 23:2-3)? Essentially by her genealogy, she was a vessel of wood to God. However, she consecrated herself by "purging 'himself' from these things" and got converted into a golden vessel used for the most special purpose in this world for through her generations came into the world, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Brethren, the real problem with Christianity today was summarily dealt with by our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, in the Gospel according to Saint Matthew 6:24, saying, "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." But today's Christians' permutation is on how they would effectively hug Jesus Christ and kiss Satan at the same time. Jesus Christ Himself says it is impossible! I pray God will help us in Jesus Christ's Mighty Name. Amen.

Conclusion
In times past, consecration unto God was more by subtle compulsion by God by way of instructions. Today, God expects every man to "purge himself from these" in order to be useful as a vessel unto honour.

Lukewarmness embedded in satanic hypocrisy is not acceptable unto God. If anyone was going to be useful as a vessel unto honour, such must make up his or her mind to duly follow God with all their hearts. A divided heart has no place before God. John 4:24 says we must serve God "in spirit and in truth."

Finally, the choice is yours, but one thing that is clear is that one's present or birth state does not matter to God, but what one becomes later. You may have been an unbeliever all your life, it doesn't matter. I was a terrible unbeliever myself. I drank sin as water and wore it everywhere like my clothes. I thought, speak and did sin every second of my life, but here I am today, preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I am saved and all my past deeds no longer exist. That could be your testimony, too. I pray so for you in Jesus Christ Mighty Name. Amen.

Till we meet again at His feet to learn from Him, please, keep keeping on in Him!

God bless you, and happy Sunday.