CONSECRATION

Present Your Bodies as a Living Sacrifice

For quite some time, the month of June has been recognized as our Month of Consecration. Our Founding Senior Pastor, Bishop Victor T. Curry understood and acknowledged the significance of consecration in the life of a believer. Although June is the time that has been designated for consecration as a corporate body of believers, you are encouraged to make a personal commitment to consecrate yourself, where time is solely dedicated to God throughout your spiritual journey.

So what then, is consecration?

One of my favorite passages of scripture concerning consecration is Romans 12:1-2…”I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Simply stated, consecration means to give ourselves completely over to the Lord. No longer will we take our thoughts, our plans, and our ways of doing things, and shove them into the face of God for him to fit or force them into his will. Rather, it is asking God what his plans are for every aspect of our lives, according to his perfect will and then applying it.

Presenting ourselves to the Lord as a living sacrifice is the least that we can do. God gives us a choice. We can choose to make our own decisions and hope that things work out the way we want them to. Or, we can choose to walk in the way of the Lord. How, you may be asking can this be accomplished? I admonish you to stop, seek and surrender!

First, we must Stop.

The Word of God declares in Proverbs 3:5-6 that we should, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” Once we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we must stop depending on ourselves for anything. God wants us to lean and depend solely on him. The Lord tells us through the prophet Jeremiah to, “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.” (Jeremiah 33:3). Stop trying to figure out what we should be doing and let’s seek God’s plan and instructions for us.

Next, we must Seek.

As Christians, and moreover, as disciples of Christ, it becomes our responsibility to learn about this faith that we profess. The Bible reminds us in Hebrews 11:6, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” This is precisely the purpose of our existence. It is to seek God; to search for him so that we can know what pleases him and in turn, God will share with us the blueprint he has constructed for our lives. The Lord says to us in Jeremiah 29:13, “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.” The necessary tools for seeking God are the Word of God and prayer. We must be vigilant in our time of study as we pursue the very being of our God. We must also pray about what we have learned so that God can reveal himself to us. He will provide his guidance and direction for our lives.

Finally, we must Surrender.

As we continue along life’s journey, we eventually get to the place when we recognize the need of a deeper intimacy with God. As we surrender unto him, we begin to relinquish our sin nature, as God replaces it with the nature that resembles Christ; one of discipline, faith, and obedience. Romans 6:13 (NLT) reminds us, “Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God.” When we position ourselves in a posture of surrender, we are adhering to the command set forth in Romans 12, “…that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”

Now is the opportune time for us to get into position.

And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the Lord will do wonders among you. (Joshua 3:5)

As you take part in this time of consecration, be encouraged, remain faithful, and expect something from God!

Elder Sabrina Adams