You are welcome to the August edition of El Shaddai Heritage! This month we shall be considering Consecration!
DEFINITION
Consecration means to make holy, to dedicate to a higher purpose. Literally, consecration means “association with the sacred”, person, places or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different groups. The word originated from the Latin stem CONSECRATE, which means dedicated, devoted, and sacred.
To consecrate oneself is to answer God’s call to spiritual consecration. That means making a conscious, willing decision to dedicate your soul, mind, heart, and body (your totality) to the Almighty.
As children of the Most High, we’re called to be holy, to dedicate ourselves to a higher purpose which is the service of our Maker Jehovah Elohim. That means we need to make a conscious, willing decision to dedicate our soul, mind, heart, and body to the Most High.
PURPOSE OF CONSECRATION:
The month of August has been declared as “Accumulating Unlimited Greatness Under a Saving Truth”. But man has lost his greatness /his originality since the time of Adam falls. Genesis 1:37-38 ‘So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created him male and female created He them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, be fruitful and multiply and replenished the earth and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the air and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. Unfortunately, this inherited Internal greatness from God to man was however lost when Adam sinned, thus exchanging his greatness with sorrow and labour.
Genesis 3:17 -19: And unto Adam he said, because there has hearkened unto the voice of thy wife and has eaten of the three of which are commanded not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread till thou return until the ground; for out of it wasn’t thou taken for dust thou art, and until dust shalt though return.”.
So, Adam lost his originality, he lost his greatness and no longer have that cordial relationship with God. For man to resume his originality, his greatness, the eternal greatness, under God one has to resume the righteousness of God by accepting Saving Truth. The Saving Truth is the word of Elohim that one knows and lives as a lifestyle. Consecrating oneself is therefore inevitable in order to resume one’s eternal greatness and have better relationship his Maker which was lost at the garden of Eden. For God to communicate His holiness to us that would enable us to participate in it, we must consecrate ourselves. We are made in his own image and likeness and needs to be transformed into that likeness to enjoy it’s greatness.
HOW DO WE CONSECRATE OURSELVES?
Galatians 2:20: I am crucified with the Messiah: nevertheless, I live; yet not I, but the Messiah liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of YHVH, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
For consecration to take place in our lives we need to be crucified with the Messiah, let the Messiah lives in us and carry out those things that seems impossible with man be made manifest through Him.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20: What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, which is in you, which ye have of YHVH, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore, glorify YHVH in your body, and in your spirit, which are His.
The saying that “cleanliness is next to godliness” cannot be ignored. Places of worships, be it shrine, temple, church, are always kept clean and ceremonially arranged. Now, as His temple, physical and spiritual cleanliness is expected.
2 Timothy 2:20-21 says: But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.
So, we have been given the choice to either be vessel unto honor or unto dishonored. Either we consecrate ourselves for the master’s use or will be discarded.
Also, Romans 12:1-5 says: I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of YHVH, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto YHVH, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of YHVH. For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as YHVH hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: So, we, being many, are one body in the Messiah, and every one member one of another.
WAY FORWARD:
2 Corinthians 6:17: Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith YHVH, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.
Romans 12:2: And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of YHVH.
We’re new creatures, Christ now lives in us, therefore we should separate ourselves and not be confirmed the world; overcoming the desires of the flesh by renewing our minds, changing the way we think to create better Life for ourselves and a life that honour God.
1 Peter 2:9: says: ” But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light”.
Our lifestyles must be that that pleases the Almighty and bringing honor to Him.
Exodus 19:10: And YHVH said unto Moses, go unto the people, and sanctify them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes.
Exodus 13:12: That thou shalt set apart unto YHVH all that openeth the matrix, and every firstling that cometh of a beast which thou hast; the males shall be YHVH’s.
The above verses are revealing to us how we’re supposed to be appearing before our Maker with decency, physically and spiritually clean. We’re mandated to set apart our first offsprings, including that of our animal’s possession (the males). Note that males are the heads of the families, and if the head is sound the family will be sound.
It is worthy to note that some widows do consecrate themselves through a vow of perpetual chastity as a sign of the kingdom of God, consecrated their state of life in order to devote themselves to prayer and the service of the church. They discipline their bodies and minds not giving room to things like gossip, unforgiven spirit, disobedient, fashion, money, lying spirit, etc rather, committed to the things of Righteous Jehovah Yahweh (YHVH).
CONCLUSION:
Proverbs 16:7: When a man’s ways please YHVH, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.
For one’s life to please the Almighty, he/she must consecrate himself/herself, becoming a vessel unto honor for the master’s use. And in a time like this, where in this nation Nigeria and worldwide, the need for peace and security cannot be overemphasized. We need to resume our originality through the Messiah, for in Him, we find our significance, security, and acceptance. Praise our Maker, Jehovah Yahweh! Rauch HaKodesh!
The grace to live a righteous and holy life be upon us all in the name of our Redeemer Yeshiva HaMashaic! Amen! 🙏🏾
Verses quotations are from the Revised New King James Version (R KJV).
Written by Pharm Hauwa I Bature.