Consecration

     "I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.  I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one (out of the power of evil).  They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.  Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.  As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.  For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth."  John 17:14-19
  
        Both the words consecrate (or sanctify) in the Old Testament (Qadash) and sanctify in the New Testament (hagiazo) mean 'to place in a relation to God answering to His holiness'.  Neither word means merely “to set apart", but “to set apart for God”. 

       As you read through the Old Testament, God is forever telling His people to come out from among, to separate themselves, for the purpose of not being pulled into their evil practices.

       What if we all asked God:
What would You call me to separate myself from in this life that I am living? 
How would You have me make a strong stand for those in my sphere of influence (for instance, my kids, friends, small group, Bible study group, those I mentor, etc.) to be consecrated unto You and Your purposes for their lives?

Where would He say that I am of the world and not just in it?

Where would He say that I see sin and look upon it and my heart does not break like my Father’s heart breaks? 

If the instruction was given today to "...put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations which are being committed in its midst" Ezekiel 9:4, would I get a mark?

Where are my thoughts or actions contrary to the Word of God and my heart does not grieve?

“Search me, O God, and know my heart;

                        Try me and know my anxious thoughts, 

And see if there be any hurtful way in me 

And lead me in the everlasting way.” .....

Psalm 139:23,24

....to be set apart for You answering to Your holiness. 

Set a Guard, O Lord, Over My Mouth

 “Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth;

   Keep watch over the door of my lips.

       Do not incline my heart to any evil thing,....” 

Psalm 141:3,4b             

          

              What a difference it is to ask the Lord to keep watch over the door of our lips, rather than to just be determined within ourselves to set a guard over our mouth.  How many times have we resolved, in our own strength, and failed to live by Ephesian 4:29, “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear”?  

                Imagine if we truly invited our Lord to set a guard and to personally keep watch over the door of our lips and then truly believed that He answered that invitation. 

What would we then be convicted of and not be so comfortable with? 

What do we indulge our flesh with that we could not so easily do if we invited the conviction of the Holy Spirit… to guard and keep watch over what comes out of our lips AND what goes in? 

“Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”                                                                                        1 Corinthians 10:31 
             all to the glory of God

“Do not incline my heart to any evil thing”                   

all…and…any   

         Lord, we ask that You set a guard and keep watch and fill us with the real knowledge of Your will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that we will walk in a manner worthy of You, to please you in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God, strengthened with all power, according to Your glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to You, Who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light,Col. 1:19-12 giving glory to You in all that we do. 

Move Forward

“Oh Lord, You are my God;

I will exalt You, I will give thanks to Your name;

For You have worked wonders,

Plans formed long ago, with perfect faithfulness.” _{Isaiah 25:1}

Plans formed long ago, with My perfect faithfulness.

I AM.

May My name be exalted above all things of earth and heaven.

I AM God – alone.

And I will not give My glory to another.

Worked wonders………….plans formed long ago…………with perfect faithfulness.

Bow the knee to Me and to Me alone.

Do not bow (in weeping and fear) to the circumstances surrounding you.

Do not bow (in discouragement and fear) to the people around you.

Do not bow to fear.

I have not given you a spirit of fear, but of power and love and sound judgment.

Work out what has been entrusted unto you.

And do not bend the knee to any other.

Do not bend.

Do not let your hands fall limp.

Put your hand to the plow and

Move forward.

Face set, 
With a listening ear to hear My voice guiding you

On a mission of love, power, discipline

To give out to those around you.

To do good as you have opportunity.

I have chosen you to stand before Me, to minister to Me, and to be My minister.

Do not be negligent now.  _{2 Chron. 29:11}

You are My witness and My servant whom I have chosen,

 so that you may know and believe Me and understand that I am He.

   Before Me there was no God formed, and there will be none after Me.

 I, even I, am the Lord, and there is no savior besides Me.

 It is I who have declared and saved and proclaimed,

so you are My witness, and I am God. 

Even from eternity I am He, and there is none who can deliver out of My hand;

I act and who can reverse it?_{Isaiah 43:10-13}

I make a way….._{Isaiah 43:16}

In the World but Not of It

                     "I have given and delivered to them Your Word (message); and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world - do not belong to the world - [just] as I am not of the world.  I do not ask that You will take them out of the world, but that You will keep and protect them from the evil [one].  They are not of the world (worldly, belonging to the world), [just] as I am not of the world.  Sanctify them- purify, consecrate, separate them for Yourself, make them holy - by the Truth.  Your Word is Truth."  John 17:14-17 Amplified

        We are to be IN the world but not OF it.  We need Godly walls/boundaries to know the difference between being in the world and impacting it, and crossing that boundary and being of the world and it impacting us- our thought life, actions, attitudes, ideas, and standards.  

       If we are in the world and its influence, and ‘eating of its delicacies’, more than in the Word and its washing, we are bound to be pulled into its practices and thought patterns without even being aware of it.  

“Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth;

       Keep watch over the door of my lips.

Do not incline my heart to any evil thing,
To practice deeds of wickedness
with men who do iniquity
And do not let me eat of their delicacies.” 

Psalm 141:3,4

        As a result of not setting up boundaries, are we, as the body of Christ, tainted by the world?  Have you made a covenant with your eyes, to guard you as to what you watch, (Job 31:1) and asked God to put a guard over your mouth, to keep watch over the door of your lips?  

Be cleansed by the Word of Truth.

Do Not Be Ashamed to Proclaim Him

“For whoever is ashamed of Me and My word in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels."  Mark 8:38

 “Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, …….For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able ….”. 2 Timothy 1:8,9,12 (read 1:8-14)

 If we are not willing to suffer criticism or an awkward moment or conflict as we share the hope that is within us, then we are honestly probably NOT willing to suffer for the gospel as His Word directs us (if we won’t even risk much less).   Have we given into Satan’s lies that we should not offend anyone?  Have we bought into the enemy’s lies of political correctness and what is inappropriate?- lies designed to cut off life and immortality for others around us who need to know Him- who need life!  He IS the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Him.John 14:6

              Oh Lord, we do not want to live this way. We repent of this sin of holding life inside of us and refusing to offer it to those You place in our paths.  We lay this fear at the cross to die, and we  take up Your Spirit, of power and love and discipline.  We shod our feet with the gospel of peace and take up the shield of faith to extinguish all those flaming arrows of the evil one, and we buckle on your truth, take up our sword (Your powerful Word), and pray for those souls You would have us reach.  Make us mighty warriors- make us unafraid- to give life to those in great need- it is You that they LONG for.  

Change us, O Lord, and we will be changed.  Only You can.
(see also Excel Still More: Woe to Me?)

"Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendant of David, according to my gospel, for which I suffer hardship even to imprisonment as a criminal; but the word of God is not imprisoned.  For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory." 2 Timothy 2:8-10

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes…”Romans 1:16

Oh give us Your eternal perspective Lord…                               

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19,20 (He makes the difference.  See also: Excel Still More: I Will Be With You)

May Paul be our example: "Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men.  For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God."  Acts 20:26,27

"...to open eyes that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me."  Acts 26:18

"We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ.  For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me."  Col. 1:28,29

       May we be bold and ask God to show us who He would have us unashamedly share with even this day. 

"..what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.  These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete.  This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all."  1 John 1:3-6

My Light WILL Dispel Darkness

 I am God, and there is no other.  So bow to Me alone. 

      Are you bowing to what the world says is right, or what My Word says?  Are you taking your cues from the world, or My Spirit?  Keep your eyes "fixed" on Me -that you will not be swayed by the propaganda1 of this world's system (led by the enemy himself, even posing as an angel of light 2 Cor. 11:14).  Beware and be shrewd (Matt. 10:16) and know truth like the back of your hand -have it always before you -that you may be more familiar with My truth than you are with the deceitfulness of this world.  Stop being led astray by this world system, which is in the enemy's hand1 John 5:19 .  Open your eyes and behold the ways of your God.

      Do you claim Him as your own and yet live in opposition to all He has set forth as truth?

You can either live for Me or against Me.  There is no neutral ground.  PRAY- for strength.

     We need to be built up in FAITH for these days ahead.  Faith in a big God, but also faith in TRUTH- that His truth will prevail.  His truth is true regardless of who chooses to believe it or not.  We cannot go forward believing lies.  We cannot just believe 'peace, peace' with God where there is no peace(Jer. 6:14,8:11). There is no pretending.  We cannot 'think' that we're okay and be okay.  We must obey, to be okay.

      His heart is clearly spoken and revealed.  Where can we flee from His Spirit?  Nowhere.  So the only good choice is to embrace truth, even if we are persecuted for it (2 Tim. 3:12), even if it flies in the face of today's view of tolerance and love.  How is it loving to condone sin that God must judge?  (The enemy has duped us by making biblical issues seem like political issues, in order to attempt to gag our mouths).  Take back the ground given over.  Shout, 'Enough!' and watch the walls fall down, only to BE rebuilt on firm foundation (the truth of My word spoken). Who will shout!?  Who will go? 

Say yes to the Lord and take your place
-to loosen the chains of those harassed by the enemy,
-to open eyes to SEE the FIGHT- to see the war in the heavenlies,
-to acknowledge that we are at war,
-and to fight for victory.

Take courage.  

John 16:33 "These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace.  In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world." 

     The victory is yours, but you must fight for it.  It will not come as you 'rest on your laurels' (to be satisfied with one's past success and to consider further effort unnecessary).  Fight in word and deed and in prayer and fasting.  Loosen the chains and loosen My people to speak forth My word in power and truth.  

     My word is true, and My light WILL dispel darkness!  Darkness CANNOT withstand My light.

       So go light up the world with My love and My power: Christ exalted, high and lifted up, with praise going before you.  You will slay them with your presence as you go forth in My anointing.  Darkness cannot hide, and darkness cannot withstand!  It is just the 'natural quality' of light. 

 So be a light unto the world and SHINE for My glory and fame.  Don't hide it. 

 Shout it from the rooftops.

1 definition of propaganda-information, ideas, or rumors deliberately spread widely to help or harm a person, group, movement, institution, nation,etc.

Letting Go of Control- Part 3

       You do not realize the seriousness of the opportunity you give the enemy(Eph. 4:27)   as you indulge your own desires and the lust of the flesh. You have given him a 'place' to torment you and keep you stuck; it’s another place that you try to control- it is not submitted to Me.  

          It does not affect My love for you, but it does affect our relationship. Perfect love casts out all fear(1 John 4:18); let Me love you perfectly.  Do not grieve My Holy Spirit. (Eph. 4:30)  Do not keep Me from all that I want to do in your life.  You are essentially choosing 'this' over My blessings, the many gifts that I want to give you.   Will you believe?  You choose to not hear so that you won’t have to decide if it’s real or not and can go right on your way and relax and wait and dream of how you want Me to use you.  

Stop dreaming, and be used.   Let Me have My way and make you a 'fit' vessel. 

      "My yoke is easy" (comfortable or pleasant) "and My burden is light." (Matt. 11:29)  You are by default choosing the harder way.  "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me." (Matthew 16:24)  Try Me out and see the consequences of obedience.  Know Me and serve Me with a whole heart and a willing mind; for I search all hearts, and understand every intent of the the thought.  If you seek Me, I will let you find Me.(1 Chronicles 28:9)  Had I "told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it?  How much more then, when" I say............(from 2 Kings 5:13)...  

In listening to the Lord, what instruction will you choose today to radically obey? 

     Wash and be clean- let go of your control and idols- don't forfeit the miracle. 
"Little children, guard yourselves from idols."  1 John 5:21