What does it mean to be consecrated?
On this day, are you willing to consecrate your life to God? To consecrate means to dedicate, or set something apart, for a noble purpose.
My wife, Lara, consecrates my stuff all the time. She says, "Jon, these are your play clothes, these are your office clothes, and those are your church clothes." "These are your creek shoes, these are your lawn mowing shoes, and those are your NASCAR shoes that are for walking on hot pavement and not looking like a hillbilly."
Lara even consecrates rooms in our house. "This is my bathroom and that is your bathroom. All of these closets are my closets, and that little hanger is for your clothes. And that big, spacious garage is for my car. You can put your tools in the corner."
Men, the secret to a great marriage is letting your wife consecrate whatever she so chooses, however she so chooses! Resistance is futile.
We consecrate ordinary things all the time. But God wants us to consecrate our lives to him.
Romans 6:13 (NIV) says,
"Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God..."
Romans 12:1-2 (NIV) says, "Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God- this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is- his good, pleasing and perfect will."
How can we transform anything while simultaneously conforming to the world?
This is the problem with always wanting to be cool and relevant. Sometimes the more relevant we are, the less relevant we are. There is tremendous pressure around us every day to conform to the world. There is political pressure, legal pressure, and financial pressure. Pressure comes from family, communities, peers, media and pop culture, and our schools and universities. Say the wrong thing or act in the wrong way, and the heat is on!
But despite this pressure, God doesn't want us to be conformed. He wants us to be different, distinct, transformed, consecrated, and set apart. And he wants this to be done in his way, not our way.
So what might that look like? If you have your Bible, turn to
Exodus 19. Even though Israel departed from Egypt, they never fully left Egypt behind. They were carrying elements of their old lives into their new lives. Certain beliefs. Attitudes. Idols. Behaviors. Practices. Habits. Abuses. Sins.
It took a day for the Israelites to cross the Red Sea. It would take forty years in the wilderness for God to work their old lives out of them. And even then, many refused.
So what would if look like for them to be consecrated? What would it look like for us? Well, let's begin with some obvious things. Let's make a list.
To be consecrated means seeing God's hand.
In Exodus 19:4-6 (NIV) the LORD says to Israel, "You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation."
Before God asks us to consecrate our lives to his service, he reminds us of what he has done for us. We see this over in Exodus 20:2 (NIV). Before God speaks the ten commandments he reminds Moses, "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery."
The panoramic view of God's salvation history from beginning to end, is breathtaking. It's humbling to realize how God has saved us with his outstretched arm. There is no greater motivating power than seeing God's mercy and grace and getting caught up in the story of God. This is why Paul says in
Romans 12:1 (NIV),
"...in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices."
To be consecrated means belonging to God.
Notice the language in
Exodus 19:4-6 (NIV).
"...you will be my treasured possession..." We don't possess God. He possesses us. Some translations say special. Some say treasured possession. When you treasure something, you refuse to let it go or be taken away. To be consecrated is to realize that we belong to God. We are his. This is your life, but this is also God's life. In the New Testament Paul says the same thing in
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NIV).
"You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body."
To be consecrated means being oriented God-ward.
This is why the Israelites wandered in the wilderness. They had lost their bearings, their compass. In
Exodus 19:6 (NIV) the LORD says,
"...you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." This language speaks to the very core of our identity- how we see ourselves. Do we assume the identity the world gives us? Or do we see ourselves as God sees us? In Egypt, the Israelites saw themselves as slaves. But God told Pharaoh, "No, Israel is my firstborn son." You know, we spend our whole lives acting like slaves instead of acting like the sons and daughters of the living God that we truly are. We're a kingdom of priests. We're a holy nation. We're a people who belong to God.
To be consecrated means we are to respect God.
In
Exodus 19:7-25 (NIV) instructions were given as to how the Israelites were to approach or not approach God's presence. There's instructions given, commandments taught, clear boundaries drawn, and consequences assigned. Before approaching God, their garments were to be washed, they were to avoid sexual immorality, and they were not to look directly at the Lord's presence. There are warnings about what would happen if they looked directly at the Lord. They would die!
One thing that is clear is that we don't get to dictate the terms of our relationship with God. God does. The first four commandments show what it is to respect God.
Exodus 20:3-11 (NIV) says,
"You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant of maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy."
To be consecrated means that you respect people.
The last six commandments flesh out what it looks like to respect people.
Exodus 20:12-17 (NIV) says,
"Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."
Exodus 21-23 expounds even further on these six commandments. The Israelites were to treat one another in a way that was altogether different than they were treated in Egypt. In
Exodus 23:9 (NIV) God says,
"Do not oppress an alien; you yourselves know how it feels to be aliens, because you were aliens in Egypt." Slaves were to have a pathway to freedom. Families were to be kept together. Strangers and foreigners were never to be held in contempt, but shown extreme hospitality and love.
Integrity was paramount. Those who lied, breached a trust, defrauded, stole, seduced a virgin, exploited widows or orphans, charged interest on loans, committed arson (intentionally or accidentally), took bribes, used dishonest scales, abused, raped, kidnapped, or murdered were to make full restitution to their victims, and in some cases be sentenced to death.
Animals were not to be overworked to the point of exhaustion and death. Animals were never to be valued over human life. This reminds me of story of Abe Lincoln letting a young man live who killed a horse, and who had been sentenced to death. Lincoln asked what good it would do to kill a young man who would be able to make restitution if he were allowed to live. Where do you suppose he got that principle?
If you think
Exodus 21-23 is tough, read Jesus' sermon in
Matthew 5-7. He goes even further in applying these principles to our thoughts and inner motives.
To be consecrated means that we are counting the cost.
In their worship, the Israelites were commanded to build altars, offer burnt offerings, and sacrifice their firstborn, all as a reminder of the high cost of God's redemption. In Exodus 24:8 (NIV) we're told how, "Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, 'This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.' " And Exodus 24:11 (NIV) says, "...God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites..."
The cost of redemption is that God spared the son of Adam (Cain), the son of Abraham (Isaac), the son of Moses, and the sons of Israel. But God did not spare his one and only Son. In view of God's mercy, what should our response to God be?
Why should I be baptized?
Next Sunday is Decision Sunday. Many of you have been on the fence a very long time. You might be asking yourself this morning, "Why should I be baptized?"
Baptism is an act of consecration. When you are baptized you reenact the most extraordinary miracle in all salvation history-- that Christ died, was buried, and rose.
In baptism, you show that you belong to God. You show that you are not your own, and that you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
When you are baptized, your life is no longer oriented around the flesh, but instead is oriented toward God. You repent from acts that lead to death. You confess that Jesus is LORD.
Through baptism, you are pledging to live with a clear conscience before God, obeying his commands. You are being joined together with God, to serve as priests and grow in holiness.
Finally, by being baptized, you are acknowledging the high cost that God was willing to pay to bring us all from death to life.