BIBLICAL EXAMPLES OF A CONSECRATED LIFE!

Today, we are going to be talking about the biblical examples of a consecrated life.

What is consecration? Consecration is the presenting of our hearts, presenting of our plans, presenting of our wills, presenting of our future hopes, presenting of our possessions, presenting of our talents and abilities to fulfill His will.

You have no private or personal will anymore. The consecrated person says in all instances, “Lord, not my will, but Yours be done.”

Some Christians claim to be consecrated to God, but they are not. How do I know? I know because they give excuses for not doing what the Lord requires them to do for Him. God takes note of such. They select what they can obey. There are some humble tasks like washing the toilet that they will not do, because of pride in their lives. They feel it is too degrading (humiliating) for them.

Here is the truth: if you are seeking after your own glory, satisfaction, that’s not consecration. When you are really consecrated to the Lord, you do not have any authority on who you are, what you have, even your own life.

You see when we have the attitude of, “I cannot do that, I will not do that, I will not spend my life that way, I will not go in that direction. That is not consecration!

Examples of consecration abound in the Scriptures. Though there are many examples in the Bible, we are going to look at two of them today:

1. Jesus is our perfect example of what true consecration really is.

In Matthew 26:38-39 Jesus said unto them, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with Me. 39 And He went a little further, and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, O My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.”

“not as I will, but as thou wilt.” This is the language of total surrender to the will of the Father.

In John 17:19 Jesus prayed saying, “And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.”

That means for their sakes I devote (consecrate) Myself, I set Myself apart……. For the sake of those who believe in Him and those that will yet believe, Jesus set Himself apart.

There were a lot of things the people wanted Him to do which He didn’t. If He had accepted to do them, then you and I wouldn’t have been saved.

For instance, Peter didn’t want Jesus to go to the Cross. Again, they wanted to forcefully make Him King so that He will be giving them bread and butter. But Jesus said no! For their sake I sanctify Myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.

Jesus said, “Therefore, doth My Father love Me, because I lay down My life, that I might take it again. 18 No man taketh it from Me, but I (willingly) lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of My Father” (Jn. 10:17-18).

This is consecration! This is the will of God. So, for the salvation of the whole world, I willingly lay down My life.

In consecration, you willingly offer yourself to God. You obey the instruction of the Lord that says, “My son, give me your heart. Give me your life. Let those your plans come under My authority. Do not assert authority over your life anymore. Whatever your possessions are, give them to the Lord as a sacrifice well pleasing to the Lord.”

Hebrews 10:5-7 says, “Wherefore when He cometh into the world, He saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared Me: 6 In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. 7 Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.”

You see, a person that has truly consecrated himself to the Lord is no long seeking to please himself. He is seeking to please the Lord alone.

In John 8:28-29 Jesus said unto them, “When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father hath taught Me, I speak these things. 29 And He that sent Me is with Me: the Father hath not left Me alone; for I do always those things that please Him.”

Can you see the extent of consecration? Jesus said, “I do nothing of Myself.” I say nothing of Myself. I plan nothing of Myself. As My Father desires (wills), so I do.”

So, here Jesus has given us a perfect example to follow. And the example He gave us is, “Father, not My will but Yours be done.”

2. Ruth is another example of a genuine consecration. Now look more closely at verse 14 and notice the consecration of Orpah. Orpah could not pull through because her consecration was fake. Such is the condition of many people in the church today. Such are people so close to the Pastor that you believe they are going to make it in the Rapture with you.

They tell you, “Pastor, you’ve been teaching us so well, we love you, we have nothing against you, you are a genuine servant of God, but we cannot continue the race, the prize is too high for us, we are going.” They will even weep and kiss you good-bye.

And you the Pastor will ask him, “Where are you going? Don’t you remember the commitments you made to the Lord? Don’t you remember that you are consecrated to the Lord? Don’t you remember that we are going together in the Rapture? Don’t you remember what you said years ago that life or death, you’ll follow the Lord?

And she will say, “I remember Pastor, but the prize is too great for me now. I want a change. I can’t do without perming now. I can’t do without bleaching now. I can’t do without lipsticks now. I can’t do without jewelry now. These things are more important to me now than Heaven. My mates have all gotten married. I need to upgrade to look like the people of the world, so that a husband can come for me. Sorry, I cannot continue to live my life like this. I have to go. Time is running out.” And they eventually leave and you, the Pastor, is left alone.

And then we ask you, “What are you going to do now? Those who brought you to this church have left. The people that were in the choir with you have left, the people that you were going to evangelism together have left. What are you going to do now?

The challenge came to Ruth.  And Naomi said to Ruth, “Behold, your sister in law is gone back to her people, and to her gods: return thou like thy sister in law.”

But you don’t go back anyhow. If you are going back, you are going back to your people, to their traditions, and to their gods. You are going back to their idols. You are going back to their worldliness. You are going back to your vomit.

And then Naomi said to Ruth, “Ruth, don’t you feel lonely now? Are you going to stay alone like that for the rest of your life? For how long are you going to remain like this.”

Remember, Naomi did not say to Ruth, “Ruth, please don’t go. What will remain of the congregation in House of Glory if you go? Alright, we will put you in the choir, you’ll become an usher. What are they promising you over there? Do they want to ordain you an elder over there? We will ordain you Pastor here. Do they want to ordain you a Bishop over there? We will ordain you the Overseer here. Are they going to give you greater salary there? We will triple whatever they have promised to give you there.

No! Naomi said to Ruth, “I am going back home to the people of God, to the land of my nativity. And one day I am going to see the Lord for myself. I am willing to go alone. I am not looking for company. Ruth go back to your people, I will go alone. The journey may appear to be long. It may even be that there are beasts and lions on the way, and I am only an old woman Ruth. But I will go alone. 

Ruth, if you want to go back to your people and to their gods, please do so. I cannot promise you greater salary. I cannot promise you a husband. I cannot promise you that we are going to change the standard of the Word of God in this church. Here, we are contending for the faith that was once delivered unto us (Jude v. 3). And we are not going to change. If you want to stay, you are staying on the basis that you know that this is the way of the Cross which is the only way to Heaven. You are bidding farewell to the way of the world, to walk in it no more. I can assure you that the Lord is waiting for you at the other end of the road.

Naomi said to Ruth, “You can go back to your people like your sister-in-law, Orpah, if you want to. Let us see consecration now: Then Ruth said to Naomi, “Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: (Only Ruth could demonstrate her genuine and total consecration) thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: 17 Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me. 18 When she saw that she was steadfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her” (Ruth 1:16-17).

Orpah also demonstrated her fake or fair-weather consecration.

Notice that Ruth did not have any conditions attached to her consecration. There are many Christians today that have conditions attached to their consecration. Such people say, “Well, I will be with God’s chosen people if I’ll get a husband from amongst them, if they pay my school fees, if they will help me get a job in the campus, etc.

Rather, Ruth said, “Let’s leave those other things in the hands of God.” When you are truly consecrated unto the Lord, you’ll leave every other care that you have in the hands of the Almighty God.

Your consecration should be like that of Ruth. She said, “Your people shall be my people. Your God shall be my God. Where you go, I will go. Where you are buried, I will be buried. I will never separate myself from God’s people.”

“Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; 26 Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward” (Heb. 11:25-26).

That’s consecration: Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin. Oh yes! When you identify with God’s chosen people, the unbelievers out there will call you names, they will ridicule you, they will ostracize you, they will even persecute you.

Watch out for the next edition of Good News from the Pulpit!

• Your friend: I. I. Madubunyi (Senior Pastor)                                   June 16^th, 2019!