A
New Consecration for a New Season in God
Consecrate
yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you (Joshua 3:5)
“It’s time!” are the two words I recently
heard from the Lord that have had an incredible impact on me. These two words
have released in me a sense of faith and expectancy beyond anything I have
known, probably in years. It released a sense in me that things I have prayed
about and put off in the future are now here. I am not to cry out for revival
and awakening as I have in the past, but I am to walk, act and speak in the
realization that God’s time to act mightily on our behalf is here. Then, just
recently, God showed us what I believe is the next step in moving more fully into
this new season into which He has brought us.
God’s Call to a New Consecration
It was during our Tuesday night stream
and I spoke in passing about Elizabeth Eliott and how her husband, Jim, was
murdered along with four other young missionaries by the Auca Indians of South
America, whom they were trying to reach for Christ. Elizabeth and some of the
other wives later returned to this same tribe and led to Christ the very men who
had murdered their husbands. As I told this I began to weep and I had this
clear realization that God was calling “us” to a new level of consecration. At
the same time the words of Joshua, as he was about to lead Israel into the
Promised Land, were brought with force to my mind. And Joshua said to the people, consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the
LORD will do wonders among you (Joshua 3:5). A new consecration is
necessary if we are to fully enter the new season to which God has brought us.
Definition
Consecration is the giving over of a
thing or person completely to God. A friend recently pointed out that there is
an element of “destruction” in many of the Old Testament passages about
consecration. Idols must be destroyed; and consecration may involve the destruction of
things in our lives that are not pleasing to God. Consecration may look
differently in your life and mine; but as we give ourselves unreservedly to God
He will take, and maybe destroy, the thing that is distracting us and keeping
us from fully loving and obeying Him.
An Experience from My Past
I recall as a young man, and new
believer, having to lay my musical abilities and aspirations on the altar and
give them completely to God. As a young person I loved to play and sing
country-rock music in parties, bars, and other unsavory settings. When I gave
my life to Christ, I put it all away for a time, but then I began to slip back
into playing the old songs when I would stop by the homes of old friends and
they would want to get out the instruments and jam. But even as I would play,
there was a struggle going on inside for I knew this was the one area that had
the power to pull me away from the Lord. It was an idol that had to be destroyed!
Then one day I received an invitation
to do a gig that was very appealing and attractive to my flesh and ego. I
decided I would accept in spite of the struggle that was going on inside of me.
The night after receiving the invitation I went to church and experienced the hand
of the Lord upon me in a powerful way, calling me to give myself and my music completely and
singularly to Him. At the end of the sermon, I went to the front of that small
church and knelt before the Lord. I laid everything on the altar, giving myself
completely to Him! I said, “Lord, if you will help me, from this moment forward
I will only play songs that bring glory and honor to you.”
That was my consecration and something
astonishing happened on the inside of me. There came an incredible joy that
seemed to consume me for the next several days. I recall driving alone in my
car and shouting at the top of my voice because I could not contain the
happiness and joy that was bursting forth from my heart. The power of that
temptation was broken and from then on it was easy to say, “No.” I have been
completely free ever since. But the interesting thing is, even though I have no
passion or desire for secular music, if I were to find myself in a situation where
it would be appropriate to play a wholesome non-Christian song, I am free to do
so.
Consecration Brought a Miracle into Our Family
Many of you have heard the story of the
miraculous healing of my brother, Pete, when three doctors said he would not
live more than ten minutes after he was run over by a farm tractor at the age
of seven. It was a new and fresh consecration by my father that led to the
miracle. When our Dad heard those devastating words from the doctors, the only
thing on his mind was that for five years he had ignored the clear call of God
to preach the Gospel. He had told no one of this call, for it seemed impossible
since he only had a fourth grade education and a family to care for.
But as they wheeled Pete away he
stepped into a bathroom and made his consecration to God. Outwardly, it looked
simple, but for Daddy it was a very serious and heart-felt act. He raised his
right hand and said, “Lord, I’m ready!” At that moment the power of God fell
and Pete was instantly and miraculously healed. One of the doctors returned a
while later and said, “Mr. Hyatt, there has been a Higher Power here tonight!”
Conclusion
Just before the children of Israel
were to cross the Jordan and begin possessing their God-given inheritance,
Joshua said to them, Consecrate
yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you. (Joshua 3:5).
I believe consecration is a necessary prerequisite for fully possessing our
God-given inheritance, and entering the new season to which He has brought us.
It’s time!
I urge you to go ahead now and offer
yourself to God, no strings attached. Consecrate yourself to Him. Put yourself
on the altar and tell God that you and all you have belong to Him. Be assured
that He loves you more than you can imagine; and as you give yourself to Him,
He will bless you in ways you never thought possible.
To view the message I recently presented on consecration (mentioned above), click this link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yGGgd6WJlE&feature=youtu.be
