As this is the year of Consecration, it makes sense to ask the question. “What does the word consecrate mean? To help you it also means “holy”.

Different people have different ideas of what it means to be holy or to be consecrated. Some might conjure up an image of someone with a halo dressed in white, smiling warmly and doing good works for the poor, whilst their spare time is spent in prayer. One such image would be that of Mother Teresa. Others see holy men walking barefoot and picture John the Baptist eating locusts and honey while making their home in the deserts. Others will classify pastors and priests as holy men.

So what does the word “consecrate or holy “mean? The words “holy” and “Consecrate” mean to be set apart to a sacred or religious purpose. The bible tells us to be holy as God is holy.  See 1 Peter 1:13-16.The New Testament word for “holy” is hagios, which means to set apart for God so as to be exclusively His. The word translated in the New Testament as “sanctify” or “consecrate” has its root word derived from hagios as well.  In a moral sense, it conveys pure, sinless and upright behaviour.

We also set apart things in our daily living. For example, we set apart ourselves to prepare for our wedding.  The bride starts to make sure she does not gain too much weight in case she does not fit into the wedding gown. Her hair length is also important for the big day. It must not be too short or too long. I remember when we got married, my father insisted that I should have a new bed. When I told him that it was not necessary to spend that money, he compromised and did the next best thing, he bought us a new mattress.  He really understood the idea of setting aside something for a purpose – a new bed for a new couple!  Little did he know that on the night of the honeymoon we would not be using the new bed in our house since we drove off to!. We also set apart money for our children’s education or for our retirement. We set aside time to prepare for our exams and we set aside each Sunday our tithes and offering for the Lord.

When we are consecrated, what does that mean? What does it mean to be set apart for God?

Look at these verses: 2 Timothy 2:

20 In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. 21 If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work. 01

Setting apart is for God’s service and for God’s transformation of your life.

Just like the articles in the house, they are set apart for the master’s use. In my house, I have vessels that I eat from. I have vessels that I put my flowers in, vessels to put my loose change in and I have vessels that I put my toilet brush in. In the same way, what type of vessels are you and what have you been set apart for? What is the purpose of you being set apart (made holy – being consecrated) for God? The bible tells us it is for God’s noble service. I wonder what kind of vessel are you – for noble or ignoble service?

Many people have the wrong understanding that being consecrated means trying to live a morally upright life or to get closer to God. This is not entirely true, for the bible tells us that we are consecrated for the Master’s noble purposes. Being consecrated means our daily living can be for the noble purposes of God and not just becoming holy.

Someone may say that being holy is not for him or her. I am too busy with my life to be available to serve God. Then I would ask that if you are not serving God with the busy-ness of what you are doing, then who are you serving if it is not God? Are you serving yourself? Are you in God’s purpose after all? Maybe you are in the wrong job if it paralyses you from being an effective Christian. You cannot be too busy to be holy. You can be holy even in your busy-ness.

Last year we had the Year of Crossover because it was a season for change. We are prepared to do new things and move out of our comfort zone. We introduced a new culture in the way we work and relate to one another. We acknowledged the gifts and passions that God has given each one of us and we tried to encourage one another to use them effectively in the coming years. But to start with, in this year of Consecration, it will be a year when we get more serious with God and for God to deal with us more seriously in His love. We expect the Spirit of God to move powerfully among us. There will be greater anointing, breakthroughs and stronger sense of calling on your lives. You will be able to hear from God. For this to happen, God cannot use a vessel that is half clean. We must be determined to be clean vessels.

We cannot under emphasise the importance of how the master would not use a clean vessel. Would you use a vessel if it is not clean? I was once staying with a couple and it was my turn to cook dinner.  I was washing the Chinese Wok and I did not rinse it properly before using it to stir fry some vegetables. I left some thick washing liquid unwashed at the top of the wok. During dinner, we started off savouring the food and after a while, my housemates tasted the washing liquid in the vegetables and exclaimed that the vegetables smelt somewhat of washing liquid. In the end, the whole dish had to be thrown away. So if vessels are not cleaned properly, the outcome is zero.

In the same way, in the Church which is the Body of Christ, we do not expect just 20% of the congregation to be made clean for the purposes of God.  We should all be made clean so that we are not left out of the purposes of God. It does not make any sense if I wash just one hand before I eat my food. I should wash both hands. 

Our church is called to a special stewardship or guardianship of God’s assignments in London and for this nation and we have to walk in this destiny. This is part of our promised land.

We are the vessels of honour that God wants to use. We are the ambassadors that carry the good news when we cross over. This year the church has drafted a series of sermons on the Consecrated life. We have consecrated relationships, consecrated worldview, consecrated gender, consecrated service, consecrated mission, consecrated finances, consecrated work, consecrated gender and consecrated citizen. You notice that every aspect of our lives should really be set apart for God. God should have access to every compartment in our lives for if Jesus is not Lord of all, He is not Lord at all. As someone said, The Lord does not want the first place in my life, He wants all of my life.  In our consecration, since we call Him Lord, can He be the Lord of every part of your life?

The verse for this year is Joshua 3: 5 “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.”

We all long to see God move and have mighty revivals. But for God to do amazing things and wonders, God requires His people to consecrate themselves.

The question we want to ask today as we read from Joshua 5 is how can we consecrate ourselves and become a vessel for noble purposes? How can we WALK THE TALK of consecration this year?

Let’s read today’s scripture portion Joshua 5:10-6:2 to find out how the Israelites consecrate themselves before and after crossing over the river Jordan into the Promised Land. 

1. PREPARING OUR HEARTS

First, consecration involves preparation. This winter has been exceptionally severe and prolonged so much so that the country is running out of grit and many people were not able to go to work and schools were shut as the public services in some areas ground to a halt. The country was not prepared and the country suffered in terms of lost days of productivity.  If you want to do well in your exam, you also need to prepare well in advance.  If you want to cook a delicious meal, you need to prepare the food by giving it time to marinate.  If God is to visit us in a big way, we need to prepare ourselves. So preparation is vital. How do we prepare our hearts?

2. SEARCH INSIDE        

We are a people of the new covenant. Our hearts are very precious to God as God’s eyes look to and fro to strengthen those hearts fully committed to Him. 2 Chro 16:9

The wisest king, Solomon, advised us in Proverbs 4:23 - above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.

After the circumcision of all the males, the Israelites were able to take part in the Passover. Before the Passover occurs, the dwelling places must be searched for leaven (leaven is anything when added to dough will cause fermentation) and if it is found it has to be thrown away or burnt. The Jews still observe this to this day. Yeast or leaven represents sin, you can see why yeast is chosen to illustrate the effects of sin. A little yeast is enough to cause a big lump of dough to rise. If you are used to making bread, you will understand what I am saying. In the same way, just one sin is enough to bring a devastating effect on us as individuals as well as to us as a corporate body of Christ. Paul applies the same concept to moral corruption, warning that “a little leaven leavens the whole lump” and Paul asked us to clean out the old leaven, that is, the remains in our former lives, and to live the Christian life with the “unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Cor 5:6–8).

The Israelites need to look inside their home to burn the leaven before the Passover. In the same way for us, we need to search out any leaven in our hearts. Why is searching our hearts important?

Our motivations, our behaviour and actions are a result of the nature of our hearts. The sign of the Abrahamic covenant is physical circumcision for the Israelites but for us who are people of the new convenant,  we are called to circumcise our hearts which means we offer our whole hearts to God to cut away fleshly desires. Romans 2:29 Circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code.

So when we search inside, what are we looking for?

Jesus said in Matthew 15:19-20 that It’s from the heart that we vomit up evil arguments, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, lies, and cursing. For many of us, it may not be murder, but it can be unholy anger, unforgiveness, greed, pride, envy, lust and sexual immorality. That’s what pollutes. We cannot possibly search out everything from the heart and so we have to ask the Holy Spirit like the psalmist did in Ps 139 23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: 24 And see if there be any wicked? way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Last Sunday, a sister shared with me after the service that during the worship she had  a vision of an onion being peeled  of layer by layer. It symbolised each layer of our  hearts that is being peeled.  Peeling an onion causes tears, signifying pain. The Israelites too were subject to physical pain as they were circumcised as part of the children of the Abrahamic covenant. Their pain lasted a few days. In this year of consecration, are you prepared to suffer some pain as some of our fleshly and carnal desires are dealt with by the Lord? This pain may be a pain of loss – we are so used to having this sin in our lives that it becomes part of us, becomes our personality – we can find it a bit difficulty to do away with it.  But we must or it will hinder the best which God really wants for our lives.  For example, gluttony ; you may feel deprived and you feel hungry but this is good for you. Or God peels away your pride and makes you feel humbled and vulnerable for the first time.

3. SEARCH OUTSIDE

We not only need to search inside our hearts but to search outside our lives. Are we dependent on things on the outside that prop us up and that form idols in our lives? Anything external to us that is more important than God by definition is an idol. Anything can be an idol.

Don’t be like the elders in the book of Ezekiel who have idols in their hearts and yet went to the prophet Ezekiel to inquire of the Lord. The Lord rebuked these elders in Eze 14:3:“Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces. Should I let them inquire of me at all?

If we surround our hearts with idols then God will not talk to you even if you seek Him.

Let us look outside. Can it be unholy and wrong friendship that pulls you away from Jesus? We may put our hope and set up idols in our careers from which we build our hopes and securities in? We can get over obsessive with what is legit and good like exercise and healthy eating. Or do we feed ourselves with an unholy diet of entertainment of TV and DVD and especially the young on computer games and social networking over the internet? Our children can become idols if we put them first before God? Anything that takes the place of God becomes an idol. Anything that can hinder us in our spiritual growth has to be dealt with. Of course, we don’t cast away our children but we need wisdom as parents as to how to be good stewards of  God’s gifts to us. We are to love them and bring them up but not idolize them. God wants to be God is because of the covenant He had made with us and He cannot fulfill His greatest act of love for you if He cannot have all of you.

4. TAKE TIME TO BE HOLY

Joshua was learning to wait on God. He was not in a gung-ho mode nor in a hurry to attack Jericho. He was taking his time to survey Jericho. Joshua learnt that God too is never in a rush or hurry. After all, God has promised Joshua that He will be with him. Jesus was never described as a person in a hurry as He sticks to the timing of the Father above. Preparation of the heart takes time and while the males are recuperating from the circumcision and preparing for the Passover, they would have had time to think and reflect over what has transpired. We could imagine their excitement in recollecting how dry the Jordan river was and to see a big heap of water upstream. And how different the taste of the burnt corn was compared to the manna they have been eating all these years. 

To prepare our hearts, we should take time to contemplate what God hasdone for us. We live in a very rushed society with phones buzzing and emails interrupting our lives that we do not learn to set aside a block of time to remember God. So in this year of consecration, would you be able to observe a Sabbath rest weekly and take time to be “holy”? Will you set aside even a retreat where you can reflect over your life or with your family as to how you have spent your life this year and how you are going to spend your life this year? For the first time in my life, my wife and I went for a 4 day retreat at a Christian centre near Hastings and found that we could really have a wonderful holiday with God and be able to hear from Him more clearly. I highly recommend you to go on a Christian retreat. And not only go for a weekly or an annual rest, but to resolve to do your devotions – prayer and bible reading and study-  not hurriedly but to take your time. Do it as not out of a sense of duty but out of an expectancy that you will learn something. There are practical steps. If you are a morning person then you need to sleep early and then set time. If you are nocturnal then you can set aside time in the night to do your devotional study and prayer.

GOD WILL SHOW UP TO DO AMAZING THINGS

When Joshua and the nation of people were consecrated, God showed up. Without holiness (separation) no one can see the Lord.  But if we as vessels are prepared and clean, then the owner will use it. If your heart is clean and when we seek God, God will show up. Jerermiah 1213 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Do you want God to show up? God shows up in the case of Joshua:

Joshua must be surveying Jericho at a distance. How would the Israelites be able to scale those double walls reaching 30 feet in height that are impregnable surrounding Jericho? The Israelites did not have battering rams or siege works.  When he was scratching his head and wondering what to do, he looked up and saw a man standing with a drawn sword. Joshua went up to him and asked this stranger in verse 13, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”

The stranger replied,

1 4“Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.”

NOT OUR AGENDA BUT GOD’S

What a strange answer? But then it was not. So often we say, God, you must be on my side rather than to ask ourselves this question. Am I on God’s side? Sometimes we have a certain way that we want God to do. I want revival this way or please bless our ministries this way and that way. Many times because of God’s gracious dealings with us, He would do it as we pray but wouldn’t it be better if we follow God’s way.  Sometimes, God does not go into this type of bargaining mode with us. Rather, our lives have to fit in God’s ways. Our work has to fit God’s Kingdom principles.      When the person said he was the commander of God’s army, Joshua straightaway recognised that this person represented God. I believe that this man is the pre-incarnate Christ.   Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence.. Joshua realised that it is not so much whether God is on his agenda or on his enemies’ agenda but whether Joshua himself is on God’s agenda. It should be, “Not my agenda but God’s agenda be done”.

 So he asked in v14, “What message does my Lord?a? have for his servant?” 02

TAKE OFF YOUR SANDALS

Instead of a straightforward answer to tell him the formula of capturing Jericho,

15 The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.

The commander of the army of the Lord made an unusual demand. “Take off your sandals Joshua for you are standing on holy ground. “ This was very similar to the experience of Moses had when God appeared in the burning bush and called out to him, Moses. This must be an encouragement to Joshua that God had not abandoned him and there was a continuity in the plan of God.  The sandals represent the human social status and contact with the polluted ground. But God is not interested in our social classes and He wants us to be aware that none of the pollution from the earth shall be brought into His presence. To a consecrated life, the response in the encounter of God is reverent worship and putting away our fleshly glories and plans. In our encounter with God, He wants us to worship Him supremely. Our posture in the consecrated life is that of worship and humility.   Someone said, the smaller we are, the more room God has. Joshua had to learn to surrender to God before he could conquer. And he was a leader who learnt obedience first.

In this case, even though the land of Canaan was unclean, because of God’s Presence this local area was now made clean. Where you are standing is holy. After all, the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof. The Presence of God can make an unclean place clean.  A burning lamp can light up a darkened place. The world is in enmity with God but God’s presence is there to redeem and reconcile. We are consecrated so that we too can bring about reconciliation between those who are not holy to become holy.

Do you not know that you who are consecrated carry the Presence of God and so places can be redeemed for God? Wherever you are placed, that is Holy Ground - a place set aside for God. Wherever we are we should consecrate the place holy unto the Lord.

GOD SHOWS AMAZING THINGS

Like Joshua facing the impregnable Jericho, I wonder how many of us have a Jericho situation that is impossible to deal with.

What are your Jerichoes today? Are they the addictions you face – smoking,  gambling, drinking, pornography, internet gaming, difficult bosses and neighbours from hell? Are they the financial Jerichoes? Is your Jericho a family member who is giving you heartache? Your relationship with your boyfriend or girlfriend? Jerichos of fear? Any obstacle to the promised land to prevent us from being more Christlike or becoming more fruitful is a Jericho? If you were to first acknowledge God and worship Him and ask Him “What message does my Lord? have for his servant?”

You will receive the answer.                   

The walls will come down in ways which you cannot explain.

And when you are consecrated, each one of you can hear from God

In the last days, as Peter proclaimed on the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit birthed the early church, Acts 2:17 “ ‘In the last days, God says,

"I will pour out my Spirit on all people.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy,

your young men will see visions,

your old men will dream dreams."

CONCLUSION

To conclude, we are called to be holy because God is holy. There is no exception given but every Christian is called, young or old, busy or not busy, backsliding or going on strong with the Lord. We are people of the New Covenant. Like the Israelites, Crossing over is only a prelude to the Conquest of the promised land. But before that, God said we need to be consecrated. Consecrate before conquest. Circumcision is to do with offering our whole hearts to God to be circumcised. Passover is to search out any leaven in our camp (hidden sins in our lives). Look outside too for idols that can crowd our hearts – whatever props you put up for your ultimate happiness and security. The fact is, if you consecrate yourselves, God will show you wonders and amazing things and show you how Jerichos can be defeated. You need only to worship and work on God’s agenda rather than yours. Make sure you are on the side of God.

a Or lord

01The Holy Bible : New International Version, electronic ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996, c1984), 2 Ti 2:20-21

02 The Holy Bible : New International Version, electronic ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996, c1984), Jos 5:14.

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