Consecration

Joshua 3:5-7

Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service, usually religious. The word consecration literally means “association with the sacred“; in other words, becoming acquainted and yoked with that which is holy. In that understanding, consecration then is a necessary step to grow or mature in our righteousness. You cannot allow yourself to be fully grown until you are consecrated.

Consecration has certain implications; it implies that one is ready to be elevated or promoted. Every time you avail yourself for consecration, it means you are permitting yourself to ascend into a new level. You have implicitly accepted to undergo the process, tests, and procedures to advance. It follows that you are willing to be defined by the position you are stepping into. Consecration means you are ready to change and be changed.

Consecration requires being defined or judged by your new status. It prepares you to be judged at a different level. When you agree to step into consecration, into elevation, you are sacrificing your own liberties to experience new opportunities.

Failure to consecrate yourself will keep you from walking with the Lord. Consecration also allows spiritual growth. As a baby develops and grows; so also do we grow spiritually by way of consecration. Consecration is important if you desire for God to work in you. It maximizes the benefits of salvation. It allows you to walk in the fullness of God.

Leviticus 11:44 introduces us to the first notion of Consecration. The text reads, “I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy because I am holy. Do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves along the ground.” Consecration requires a personal decision; it calls for an intentional act. In Leviticus 19:2, again demonstrates that the responsibility to act is with the people. While God plays a role in consecration, absent effort, a deliberate decision on our part, consecration cannot take its course. The scripture continues by admonishing the Israelites to be holy; consecration and holiness work in tandem. To be consecrated is to be holy. Consecration is repentance not regret and demands a change in lifestyle; a willingness to be holy.

Joshua 3:5-7 states, “Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.” Joshua said to the priests, “Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on ahead of the people.” So they took it up and went ahead of them. And the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses.”

From the scripture, we glean the understanding that consecration is always unto a purpose. God always has a purpose when He requires of us to be consecrated. Consecration breeds expectation; “…for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things.” Consecration demands preparation. You cannot consecrate without preparation. Consecration precedes manifestation. Every time you consecrate yourself, it means something is about to show up. Consecration makes you ready for a visitation (Joshua 3:5). Consecration is a necessary step for elevation; in order to be above and transcend levels, set yourself apart. Lastly, consecration establishes leadership. (Joshua 3:7)

While some people are born into positions, leadership is learned and not innate. Joshua’s willingness to serve, his ability to be taught by God, his loyalty to Moses accorded him the position of a leader after Moses’s death. To ascend into the position he held, Joshua underwent the process. Nothing bypasses process in God. The call for consecration demands that we accept the process.

Consecration positions a leader for dominion.

Priests in this time were Levites; set apart by their service. Assuming the position of a Priest is not merely wearing a collar and holding a title; rather a priest is one who leads others and intercedes for others. Priests were consecrated to carry the presence of God and to lift the people before God. Priests, precede the people for the presence to be assured and purpose to be accomplished. Becoming priests means greater service and responsibility.

Consecration, like deliverance, is a continual affair. Deliverance is not an event, rather a continuous process. (Luke 11:24-26)

You must be willing and deliberately decide to be set apart. Consecration comes with the purity of the heart. (Psalm 51:10-13) Like David, have a desperate cry for consecration. Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice for God. Do not conform, consecrate; only then, can you say “thy will be done”.

Until you allow yourself to be consecrated, you cannot do the will of God. Through consecration, God sanctifies and uses you for His glory. Consecration then is fruitfulness of righteousness unto sanctification and for the human benefit. (Romans 6)

Be consecrated so you may walk in the fullness of God.