mayfield church of christ

Prepare Yourselves - Consecration

Posted by Pastor Mark on 1 February 2009 | 0 Comments

Tags: Consecrate, Prepare, Joshua 3

I'm convinced....that the more you go away from Australia......the more you REALLY understand that there is just NO place like Australia. We just spent 3 weeks in America......nice place....but wouldn't want to live there......

We lived for 12 days....with a family in San Diago......The dad was a retired US Marine officer....and he drove a bright red Hummer...so that was good.....BUT he was big on President Bush.....big on the war in Afganistan....and big on his JOB now....which is all about PROFILING......his mission is to train marines to be able to identify the specific behaviours of terrorists just by watching them by remote cameras....and then going in to take them out....and he is absolutely committed and passionate about this MISSION he has been given....and he speaks often about his mission.....to wipe out the bad guys....SO it was an interesting cultural exchange of different values and ideas and beliefs.....BUT during our time with them....we saw some beautiful aspects of the states.....the Joshua Tree national monument....which is a huge national park out in the desert......we stayed at Palm Springs......BUT I am so glad to be home......

One of the things that troubles me most about America....is that GOD is so OBVIOUS in their culture....and yet He is so OBSCURE.....Most families are associated with church......they speak of God....and yet there is so little evidence of God in their lives....apart from Sunday church.....it's like God is as much a part of their culture as the flag....but with about as much significance......and I know that might be a generalization....but after three trips to the states.....THAT'S the thing that strikes me everytime.....

And so...after all that.... I've come home......determined that I want to make God evident and OBVIOUS in everything I do as an individual....and in ALL that we do as a church.....

See I believe that God has given this church a mission....And just like our host and his mission....I'm PASSIONATE about that mission......BUT sometimes that mission can be a little hard to identify.....it's NOT just a matter of just hearing what God wants....and then going and doing it.

And I also think....that if we seriously want to be a part of God's mission.... Then we should expect.....that WE are going to change...... because God's mission is all about changing people, from the inside out.....and it's hard to be a part of that mission...if you're not experiencing that change yourself......

Over the last 12 months.....I've talked a lot about the kind of church that I believe God wants us to be.....and I guess what sums that up....is that I believe that what God calls the church as a whole to be....is  a church that CARES about what's happening to His people around us.....it means that the things that affect the lives of people half way around the world ....has an  impact on our lives...... it affects US as well ....and so we WANT to DO something to help CHANGE those circumstances.....to support them...and help them ....and that's an amazing aspect of this church here in Mayfield......it's part of our identity and its part of what we are called to be as the church of Jesus Christ....we don't just TALK about it and SAY it's part of what we do....we actually DO it.....

And it's also about recognising that those problems and the issues aren't just overseas......they are here too.....right outside our doors.....in our own neighborhoods ....and God calls us to be COMMITTED....to DEDICATE ourselves to the task of HAVING an IMPACT on the lives of the people we come in contact with.....

And so that means.....that as a church.....we have made some commitments....We have made a commitment to grow deeper in our relationship with our God....so that we are GROWING and experiencing that change as we get to know our God deeper.....It involves commitment to put ourselves OUT there...to make ourselves AVAILABLE to DO something.....to take seriously the needs of the people in our neighborhoods.....and the needs of people half way around the world..... And that commitment means that sometimes.....we're not always certain of what the next hurdle will be or how we will overcome it......the path is NOT always clear......often all we get is a GLIMPSE of where we are going...but that's all we need.....if we are DEDICATED to the task.....

And I found our reading this morning....as I read it this week....to be REALLY encouraging..... because from that reading....we recognize that we're not the FIRST people to be on a MISSION from God.....without being able to see how it's all going to pan out.....that all God requires....is for US to be dedicated to the task.....

Our passage from Joshua...... goes back all the way to the very formation of the nation of Israel......and here are a group of people who have had a promise that they've been waiting to see happen for hundreds of years....... God has promised them a LAND..... and their ancestors passed on this promise from generation to generation...... They built alters....wherever they went.....as a reminder of the promise that had been made to them by God...even though they didn't have a CLUE how it was going to come about......They went through slavery in Egypt.....They were taken out of slavery and then spent 40 years wandering around the desert...... And then now...at this point....right at this passage..... they are on the very edge of the land that God has promised....they can see it...... It's there....It's right across the river.....but the river is in flood.... and there are no bridges....there are no boats...... There's no way to CROSS this river ......and yet they are at the edge and God is saying to them...."This is your land.....and  I am going to take you into it."

And so Joshua says to the people on that day.

"When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests, who are Levites, carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before. But keep a distance of about a thousand yards between you and the ark; do not go near it."

And I want you to hear this next section....... "Joshua told the people, "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you."

These people are right on the edge of the land that has been promised to them....so close..... They are ready to FINALLY get the promise that they have been carrying around and waiting for...all this time.....and Joshua tells them to....."Consecrate themselves."

What does it MEAN to concsecrate themselves...... Consecrate means to dedicate something or somebody to a specific purpose.....so what Joshua is saying to them......is to DEDICATE yourselves to the task....prepare yourselves.....purify yourselves....make yourselves READY....because tomorrow.....God is going to do amazing things through you and around you.

You know....one of the greatest delights I have had in the last few months.....is to watch the CHANGE that has taken place in Becky and Luke leading up to and after Holly was born.....

I'm sure Becky won't mind me saying....that up till recent times....it's ALWAYS been about Becky.....BUT it's been magical to watch the CHANGE....as she has prepared herself.....and examined herself....and then after Holly was born how she has DEDICATED herself to the task of caring for that little girl....It's like a single minded focus.....an all consuming task....which is greater that ANYTHING else.....

And Luke also went through a similar transformation.....but for him it was very practical......There was this room.....that was always a junk room......And it's like he walked into that room....and recognized that it was no longer a junk room...it was no longer an office....THIS was going to be a nursery and HE had to make this room SPECIAL.....ready for someone SPECIAL....and he suddenly discovered skills he didn't know he had...and tools he didn't know I had.......and from that came cupboards....and change tables....and fancy drapes......and a room that is SPECIAL......that is DEDICATED....that is CONSECRATED.........that is set apart for somebody special.....

And SEE.....We are called to be consecrated to God...to be set apart for somebody special....What an amazing concept....... That God wants us to be ready for him.

Now when Joshua told the people of Israel to consecrate themselves.....it involved some ritual things..... it involved a ritual washing of themselves, a ritual washing of their clothes. They lived in a culture where water was scarce, so they didn't bathe every day....so bathing and washing your clothes was a pretty big deal......and it was a symbolic moment of starting in a new direction.....in a new stage of life......

BUT they had to prepare at a DEEPER level as well as the physical...... They had to put their attention on God...... They had to make HIM their focus...... They had to pay attention..... They had to be available..... They had to be ready.....because God was coming to DO something.

And you know.....I absolutely believe.....that WE are at a major moment in the life of our church here at Mayfield...... It's like we are on the bank of the river and ready to cross over.....God has been incredibly faithful in the past...... It's just amazing when you look back at the history of this church.....at the things that have taken place....at the lives that have been touched..... People have been helped.....people have GROWN.....People are actually LIVING the life God has called us to live..... SO we keep moving forward.....and God is still as big as ever..... and the job is not finished yet......BUT there is still that promise...and so we need to continue to CONSECRATE ourselves....to PREPARE ourselves...to DEDICATE ourselves to what lies ahead.....

So as we MOVE into this year....at what I sense is an important time for us as a church.....I want to just think about what it means to consecrate ourselves.

The first aspect of this idea of consecration....I think has to do with purification.....like the ritual washing of the Israelites..... There are things in our lives that need work....and in some cases that need to go...... There are attitudes.....and ambitions...and distractions that have to go..... God wants us to be pure inside.... and that's NOT going to happen in a hurry...... There is going to be a struggle involved.....but If we never choose to COMMIT to that struggle....then things are NEVER going to change......we've got to commit to WANT to bring about change in our INNER life....to have relationships brought under control....to get habits broken....to begin to purify our thoughts and desires .....

But we also have to consecrate our time......I HATE that I get so busy at times.....because I think that OFTEN we use our busyness as an excuse for things that we don't do in our spiritual life....... So often I am too busy to read my Bible....... I am too busy to pray...... I am too busy to be available for this thing...or that.....and I begin to feel BAD about  this burden that God is putting in my life..... God I am TOO busy.

We've got to design some margin in to our lives.....some room for God to move...and that's HARD......but it's all a part of consecrating ourselves to what lies ahead.....

I think we also need to Consecrate our finances...... Debt is such a huge issue for us all. We've got to get to the point where we earn more than we spend or spend less than we earn.....so we have some elbow room..... We have the extra...... We have the grace back in to our lives that we then can THEN use for God when he places things in front of us......

We've got to consecrate our gifts. God has given us gifts and abilities.....and these abilities are useful in our personal lives....they're useful in our work lives..... but those gifts are given by God because He wants to use those gifts in you to accomplish HIS work......in the church....down the street.....over in Manila...BUT are we making them available to Him?

See......all of these things require some sort of a response from us....and that response is going to involve our WILL. God creates a foundation.....and that foundation is set in place with each of us as individuals....and with us as a church.......but we have to CHOOSE to get engaged in it or not.....

I want to finish this morning.....with a verse from 2^nd Timothy that talks about this sort of choice 2 Timothy 2:20-21...and it says this:

"In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work."

There are all kinds of things that clutter up life......just like they clutter up our house......just like that junk room that has been collecting things for years....and then comes that day that because of the birth of that new baby.....we go in to that room and we start getting rid of the things that aren't important......We get rid of the things that are standing in the way of something that's SO much more important.......And WE need to do that with our lives. We need to get RID of the clutter..... Clean out the garbage........ and Consecrate ourselves.....DEDICATE ourselves to what lies ahead......

This is a good point in the year to do that......because I believe that God is going to be working on us ALL this year.

"Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you." God is going to do amazing things among us. I believe it......and it's NOT because we are worthy....not because we are clever or because we are great......but because it's TIME.

We are living in that time when God is going to do something AMAZING among us. And our lives are going to be changed as we connect with God in this.

BUT we have a responsibility......to CONSECRATE ourselves....to be prepared...to be available....to be ready when it happens....to be in the right place... facing in the right direction with our eyes and hearts open.....READY to respond....ready to follow, ready for something amazing.... Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you. Let's get ready.

Let's pray. God, as we head into this new year.....I  pray that we will be aware of our own consecration...of our own dedication to you....and that you will be showing us day by day, step by step, what needs to happen in our lives. For we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.