Consecrating Ourselves – Joshua 3:5
Then Joshua said to the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.”
To see the lost saved, the sick healed, and the depressed encouraged through our faithful ministry on the Lord’s behalf is the devout prayer of those of us who desire to serve Him in spirit and in truth. We yearn to have our hearts inextricably entwined with the heart of Christ, so we will become holy vessels, usable and valuable, worthy to pour out our lives for our Lord. Yet, while our desire for God to use us to lead loved ones and friends to the healing fount and our churches into revival may run deep, have we allowed God to prepare us for ministry? Have we dedicated ourselves to Him, shunning unholy things, consecrating ourselves, so we may serve Him in purity?
If we desire to rejoice with the angels over God’s amazing works, which our eyes will see and our hearts believe, we must follow the Lord’s instructions to those called by His name. We must set ourselves apart, becoming holy, as He is holy, for He is the Lord our God.[1] If we will obey Him, He will sanctify us, making us more like Christ with each new day, enabling us to perform the good works He asks us to do. However, if we refuse to obey His statutes, choosing rather to sojourn with unrighteousness, He will cut us off.[2]
Though God chose us before He laid the world’s foundation and reconciled us to Himself through Christ’s redemptive death on the cross to present us holy and spotless before Him, beyond reproach, we must, by His grace and empowered by His Holy Spirit, consecrate ourselves.[3] The Lord called us, received us, and redeemed us, but we must resolve to remain steadfast in faith and to keep our feet on the holy path He has laid out before us. We, in the name of Jesus, must purge our living temples of all that is unclean,[4] for we cannot expect to participate in works of faith if our hearts are not right with God.[5]
Do you want to ascend to the
heavens and look down from spiritual heights at the miraculous work of the
Lord? Do you want to reap ten, twenty, a
hundredfold, for eternity? You can, but
you must refuse to participate in the impure, unjust, and unholy, and you must walk
humbly with your God. Consecrate
yourself through the power of the Holy Spirit, and you will witness the
incomprehensible glory of God as He performs awesome wonders in your life and
lives of those around you.[6]
Shivering I stood alone
Until the light of glory shone
To soothe my mind, to free my heart
To set me from that day apart
To walk no more as one beguiled
Having thus been reconciled
By the Father’s only Son
By the one true holy One
Who lifted high my downcast head
And gently, oh, so gently, said
“Put on these robes of righteousness
And wear this crown of holiness”
A flood of hope, rivers of peace
Allowed my burdened soul’s release
For Jesus Christ, the Truth, the Way
Set me apart that very day
[1] Leviticus 20:7
[2] Leviticus 20:6, 8
[3] Ephesians 1:4, Colossians 1:22-23
[4] 2 Chronicles 29:16
[5] Acts 8:21
[6] 1 Chronicles 15:12
