THE CONSECRATION OF SANCTIFICATION For this is he that was - TopicsExpress

THE CONSECRATION OF SANCTIFICATION For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. (Matthew 3:3) A voice of one calling in the wilderness: / “Prepare the way for the Lord. (Isaiah 40:3) In the preparation is the way of the Lord revealed in our lives. In this season of Advent we are anticipating the coming of a King. The surprise in the form of the King who entered via a baby into a small nation, by way of a small town into a small cave laying in a small manger. Brenda and I have been blessed to stand in one of the caves on the hillside in Bethlehem where we overlooked the Shepherds Field. Of course this Advent was merely the first step of the journey of salvation to the point of the cross, where he allowed Himself to be beaten, bruised, mocked, tortured into a bloody mess in our place. He entered planet earth to demonstrate the will of God on earth as it is in heaven and to offer a sacrifice being the sacrifice. As the poster on my old dorm wall declared, He hung up for our hang ups. When John the Baptist (John the Dipper) was preparing the way of the Lord he called people to repentance and be dipped into the Jordan River Many came and were dipped in the Jordan, but some tried to come and be dipped without the proper preparation. John directed them to bring forth fruit in keeping with your repentance... (Matthew 3:8) God was about to do something BIG in the peoples lives, but for that to take place, they had to do something to get ready. God has plans for us. The plans of welfare and not calamity, plans to give us a future and a hope and restoration of fortunes. (Jeremiah 29:11) Suffice it to say, for Him to listen and be found by the people and be released (who were in captivity at the time), they were to do something before hand. Read Jeremiah 29:10-14 for full details) They were to: 1. Call upon Him 2. Come to Him 3. Pray to Him 4. Seek Him 5. Search for Him with all your heart As the children of Israel were coming into their promised land after 40 years of wandering they were called to be strong and very courageous (Joshua 1:6, 1:7, 1:9, 1:18) for they were going to have every opportunity to be weak and discouraged as they went in to posses what was promised. There would giants in the land and opposition to prevent them from having the promise fulfilled. Prior to the crossing (before the event) Joshua instructed the people to PREPARE three days in advance. Pass through the midst of the camp and command the people, saying, PREPARE PROVISIONS for yourselves, for WITHIN THREE DAYS you are to cross this Jordan, to go in to POSSESS THE LAND which the Lord you God is giving you, POSSESS IT. (Joshua 1:11) Also, PRIOR to the crossing they were instructed to keep the book of the Law in their mouths and MEDITATE/RUMINATE (get prepared mentally) on the Word of God/Law, for THEN you will have PROSPERITY and GOOD SUCCESS. (Joshua 1:8) Again, the prosperity and good success came after the meditation on the Word. The pattern is that God will do something in our lives but it is precipitated by action on our part. Again, as the Children of Israel were GOING TO cross over, the people were told that they were GOING TO experience WONDERS AMONG THEM. But before the WONDERS took place, they had to do something. Then Joshua said to the people, Consecrate yourselves, for TOMORROW the Lord WILL DO WONDERS among you. (Joshua 3:5) CONSECRATE: qâdash (kaw-dash)=A primitive root; to be (causatively make, pronounce or observe as) clean (ceremonially or morally): - appoint, bid, consecrate, dedicate, defile, hallow, (be, keep) holy (-er, place), keep, prepare, proclaim, purify, sanctify (-ied one, self), X wholly. The CONSECRATION precedes the WONDERS. Some versions (including the King James Version) uses the word SANCTIFY in place of CONCECRATION but the idea of SANCTIFICATION is a God thang while CONSECRATION is an ACTION ON OUR PART, especially in the context of crossing over. We get ready for the wonders. That is the nature of this season of anticipation of Advent. Sometimes we just lump them both (consecration and sanctification) into the same bowl, however they are different in that WE consecrates and HE sanctifies for His purposes. Even in the consecration we have to YIELD to the POTTER. Humble yourself (Consecration) / He will exalt (Sanctification). Our work is the humble part. His work is the exalting part. If we insist on doing His work, He has no choice but to do ours. Also, when a tree falls in the forest, those who have ears to hear -- do. (Wayne Berry) When we say we have this thing called FAITH, we are told that our believing, trusting, in, clinging to, and relying on the Lord must have CORRESPONDING ACTIONS/WORKS prior to seeing what we are believing for, or otherwise it is dead. So, in this season of anticipation of Advent, it is a good time to CONSECRATE OURSELVES so we can experience THE WONDERS OF TOMORROW. FINAL THOUGHTS...FINALLY One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. DELIGHT YOURSELF.‛ânag (aw-nag)=A primitive root; to be soft or pliable, that is, (figuratively) effeminate or luxurious: - delicate (-ness), (have) delight (self), sport self. Before the desires comes, there must be delighting on our part. That is the yielding of our will to His, to become soft and pliable (consecrating our will to His). This is a good season to PREPARE YE THE WAY OF THE LORD. Merry CHRIST-mas and HAPPY HOLY-days to one and all. Love and Anticipatory Kisses Rodney Consecrated (Getting Ready) and Sanctified (Set Apart for Purpose) Boyd https://youtube/watch?v=WLjqzmqE_y4