Consecrated

2 Chronicles 29:5 “and said to them, “Hear me, Levites! Now consecrate yourselves, and consecrate the house of the LORD, the God of your fathers, and carry out the filth from the Holy Place.”

To consecrate something is to declare it sacred. When something is considered sacred it is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of God.

People can make anything sacred, what must be considered is if something is worthy of such honor. Wiccans declare the earth as sacred and yet they forget who made it. They worship the creation rather than the Creator. People will deem things like water, man-made objects, rituals, people past, and people present as sacred before God.

The question is less about what people consider sacred and more of whether God deems something deserving of such honor.

A stone monument in Mecca is considered sacred in Islam, while mosques and churches have held this dubious distinction as well.

If a place or object is set apart by people, what must be considered is who do they attribute holiness to?

Deuteronomy 12:3 “Tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, burn up their Asherah poles, cut down the idols of their gods, and wipe out their names from every place.”

How does the Lord view these objects that are deemed sacred but are not?

He commanded the people of Israel to destroy them!

Why would an object be such an offense to God?

The false rituals and misdirected things that people deem as sacred are objects of worship toward false gods, they are deserving of no such accolade.

Acts of Worship

If we keep in mind that consecration is to declare sacred, then sacredness must be connected to the holiness of God.

Leviticus 20:26 “You are to be holy to Me because I, the LORD, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be My own.”

As the people of God, the church has been set apart for a purpose. God’s people are to live as a continual act of worship before the Lord. When followers of Christ recognize the holiness of God’s character they should have greater motivation for the ways in which they live. Every decision that is made, each word spoken, each thought that enters the mind, take on a different relevance when they are practiced out of a heart of worship.

It is this manner of practicing holiness that makes the work of the Holy Spirit so imperative in the lives of believers.

Leviticus 20:24 “But I have told you that you will inherit their land, since I will give it to you as an inheritance–a land flowing with milk and honey. I am the LORD your God, who has set you apart from the peoples.”

The growth of a man or woman of God is developed through the consistent and loving correction of the Spirit of God. God’s people have a responsibility to be obedient to this correction. Each measure of growth is a continual step towards freedom in Christ and away from the subjection of a world of false ideology.

*To worship the Lord is to recognize His goodness, His majesty, and His love.

Consecrate your Possessions

When we offer up to the Lord our lives, we give to Him…..Everything.

Why?—Because they were not ours in the first place. What we have, our possessions, our families, our positions, they have all been given to us. When we offer them back to the Lord, we consecrate them in worship for His glory and acknowledge the Lord as the giver of all good things.

The act of relegating everything to God places His people in a position of strength. By considering nothing as a personal possession, His people have no fear of losing it. They place their lives in His care and He has proven that He is trustworthy.

Exodus 13:1 “Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Consecrate to Me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and beast; it is Mine.”

The act of giving back to the Lord the first of all we receive is the principle of the Tithe. This act of worship is a recognition of God’s provision and a testimony of His abundant grace.

Have we really consecrated our lives to the Lord?

The first part of the day can be one in which we turn on the news and immediately grow in anxiety over the chaos that surrounds us, or we can spend time in prayer and in the Word of God—bringing peace.

Consecration can entail any aspect of life. Any part of who we are can be given in an act of worship.

*Time * Resources * Career * How we show love * The people we serve *Our goals and ambitions *Our future

You may desire a wife or husband or your ambition is to have children, each of these can be consecrated unto the Lord. When we take a right perspective in regards to the things or people we desire, we place them in alignment with God’s purpose and not our own. Fear dissipates. Hope persists.

There was a woman named Hannah who long ago couldn’t have children so she prayed…

1 Samuel 1:10-11 “And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the Lord and wept in anguish. Then she made a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head.”

Hannah consecrated a future son unto the Lord and the Lord blessed her for it.

1 Samuel 1:20 “So it came to pass in the process of time that Hannah conceived and bore a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, “Because I have asked for him from the Lord.”

I’m not saying the Lord always acts in this way, but He has proven Himself faithful when His people honor Him first in everything they do, in all that they are, and in all they hope for…God blesses His people.

The promises of God are found through relationship with Him. The person that consecrates their life to the Lord shows this pattern in all they do.

Consecrate your Heart

Are you holding onto something or someone that God has asked you to give to Him?

2 Chronicles 29:31 “Then Hezekiah said, “Now that you have consecrated yourselves to the LORD, come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings to the house of the LORD.” So the assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and all whose hearts were willing brought burnt offerings.”

In reality…God wants you. He wants your heart first, then come and bring Him your sacrifices. The gifts we bring Him become acts of worship when our hearts are His.

The greatest act we can do is to give the Lord our hearts…these are what’s most valuable to Him.