Consecration

What it is and what it is not.

The subject of consecration is discussed in the bible in terms of things that are to be done,
but little is spoken about how it is to be accomplished.

What we are going to study is how consecration is achieved and what can be done that it
can be maintained.

We don’t know what is going to happen today, tomorrow or next week. We may be faced
with situations that require the utmost attention of God; situation where only God can
intervene. Consecration is not a thing we should do once a week or once a year, but
something we do as part of our daily lives. We cannot expect God to respond quickly to
our earnest cries for help when we have lived our lives in a manner that satisfies the flesh.
It is foolishness to think that we can pull God out of a box when we need him, get what
we need then put him back.

Being consecrated places us in a position such that we can approach God without
hesitation.

Webster’s: 1. The act or ceremony of separating from a common to a sacred use, or of

devoting and dedicating a person or thing to the service and worship of God, by certain
rites or solemnities. Consecration does not make a person or thing really holy, but
declares it to be sacred, that is, devoted to God or to divine service; as the consecration of
the priests among the Israelites; the consecration of the vessels used in the temple; the
consecration of a bishop.

Consecrate: qadash - A verb meaning to be set apart, to be holy, to show oneself holy, to
be treated as holy, to consecrate, to treat as holy, to dedicate, to be made holy, to declare
holy or consecrated, to behave, to act holy, to dedicate oneself.

The word appears 14 times in the old testament and not in the new.

Consecrated: This word is derived from 3 Hebrew words: male et yad Absalom and
literally means “full of strength). This word appears 15 times.

Each time the words appear, they are associated with someone who is selected and
chosen to perform a specific temple function or fulfill a chosen position.

It also appears twice in the NT, and is teleioo, which means complete and mature, made
perfect by reaching a goal.

The question then becomes, how are we to go from consecration to consecrated? We

enter a period of consecration for a purpose, a time of preparation. Let’s examine the
word together and determine how we are to consecrate ourselves. If we intend to
prepare ourselves to walk into the throne room of God, then there must be adequate
preparation or consecration.

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Esther 4:13-17 5:1 KJVR

Ester prepared herself to address the king in multiple steps.

1) Fasting
2) Put on the royal garments
3) Entered the throne room

These steps were essential to be accomplished if she wished to obtain audience.

Examining the steps:

Fasting:

Purpose and intent of fasting.

Isaiah 58:6 KJVR Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of
wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that
ye break every yoke?

Fasting is a time of purification, a time of dropping off weights, a time of spiritual

and physical cleansing. It is crucially important that we ensure that we are
reaching a stage of purification during our fasting period. Not enough just to
abstain from food, but must pursue the purpose behind fasting.

Exodus 29:4-5 KJVR And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of
the tabernacle of the congregation, and shalt wash them with water. (5) And
thou shalt take the garments, and put upon Aaron the coat, and the robe of the
ephod, and the ephod, and the breastplate, and gird him with the curious girdle
of the ephod:

There is little spoken about how long the purification cleansing was to take. Each
person must decide within themselves, between them and God what the
requirements of the cleansing are.

Philippians 2:12-13 KJVR Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not

as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own
salvation with fear and trembling. (13) For it is God which worketh in you both
to will and to do of his good pleasure.

We are to analyze our own selves and determine where we have allowed things
into our lives that do not belong.

Ezra 10:1-3 KJVR Now when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed,
weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there assembled unto
him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children: for
the people wept very sore. (2) And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons
of Elam, answered and said unto Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and

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have taken strange wives of the people of the land: yet now there is hope in Israel
concerning this thing. (3) Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to
put away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the counsel of
my lord, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be
done according to the law.

They made a covenant to put away the women they had taken that were “strange”. We all
have taken things into our lives that in some way pollute us. We must carefully examine
ourselves to identify those items that cause the pollution and remove them. It may not be
easy, but compare that to putting away a wife. It must be done.

Romans 12:1-2 KJVR 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. (2) 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.

This verse identifies the requirements for acceptance by God – not being conformed.
This, as read from the Message

Romans 12:1-2 MSG So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your
everyday, ordinary life--your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-
around life--and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for
you is the best thing you can do for him. (2) Don't become so well-adjusted to
your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention
on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants
from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always
dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you,
develops well-formed maturity in you.

To God, when dealing with things of the world, he regards them as wives and concubines.
Relationship with anything other than him is bad and considered adulterous.

Hosea 1:1-2 KJVR The word of the LORD that came unto Hosea, the son of Beeri,
in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the
days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel. (2) The beginning of the word
of the LORD by Hosea. And the LORD said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of
whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great
whoredom, departing from the LORD.

1 Corinthians 6:13-17 KJVR Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God
shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the
Lord; and the Lord for the body. (14) And God hath both raised up the Lord, and
will also raise up us by his own power. (15) Know ye not that your bodies are the
members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the
members of a harlot? God forbid. (16) What? know ye not that he which is

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joined to a harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh. (17) But he
that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.

If you are coupled with the things of the world, then you are of the world. If you are of
the world, then being consecrated is not possible.

James 3:11-14 KJVR Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water
and bitter? (12) Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine,
figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh. (13) Who is a wise man
and endued with knowledge among you? let him show out of a good conversation
his works with meekness of wisdom. (14) But if ye have bitter envying and strife
in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.

Romans 8:5-8 KJVR For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the
flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. (6) For to be
carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. (7)
Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of
God, neither indeed can be. (8) So then they that are in the flesh cannot please
God.

If we truly desire to be consecrated, then it is essential that be look at our own selves and
determines what manner of person we are. If we find in our lives those things that are not
pleasing to God, then we must remove them. Examining our selves is sometimes not an
easy task – fasting is the way that God determined that we should identify them.

Isaiah 58:7 KJVR Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring
the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou
cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?

Once we have identified those things that are not acceptable to God, then we are ready to
move to the next phase.

What is the next phase? Our attire.

We may be invited to dine with him even encouraged, but we are not allowed to present
ourselves in any manner that we should choose.

Matthew 22:11-14 KJVR And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw
there a man which had not on a wedding garment: (12) And he saith unto him,
Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was
speechless. (13) Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and
take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and
gnashing of teeth. (14) For many are called, but few are chosen.

Zephaniah 1:7-8 KJVR Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord GOD: for the
day of the LORD is at hand: for the LORD hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid
his guests. (8) And it shall come to pass in the day of the LORD's sacrifice, that I

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will punish the princes, and the king's children, and all such as are clothed with
strange apparel.

It is important that we understand that the apparel that we are to where is provided for us,
it is not something that we can decide to put on. Many decide what they should wear
instead of letting God do the dressing.

Ezekiel 16:8-16 MSG "'I came by again and saw you, saw that you were ready for
love and a lover. I took care of you, dressed you and protected you. I promised
you my love and entered the covenant of marriage with you. I, GOD, the Master,
gave my word. You became mine. (9) I gave you a good bath, washing off all that
old blood, and anointed you with aromatic oils. (10) I dressed you in a colorful
gown and put leather sandals on your feet. I gave you linen blouses and a
fashionable wardrobe of expensive clothing. (11) I adorned you with jewelry: I
placed bracelets on your wrists, fitted you out with a necklace, (12) emerald
rings, sapphire earrings, and a diamond tiara. (13) You were provided with
everything precious and beautiful: with exquisite clothes and elegant food,
garnished with honey and oil. You were absolutely stunning. You were a queen!
(14) You became world-famous, a legendary beauty brought to perfection by my
adornments. Decree of GOD, the Master. (15) "'But your beauty went to your
head and you became a common whore, grabbing anyone coming down the street
and taking him into your bed. (16) You took your fine dresses and made "tents"
of them, using them as brothels in which you practiced your trade. This kind of
thing should never happen, never.

God provides the clothing that he has picked out for us, beautiful in his sight. We,
through our association with the world, soil the clothing and trade it for others. It is
important, then, that we return to the garment that he has selected for us. If we don’t
know what that garment is, we are to prepare ourselves to be a bride and he will select the
garment.

Mark 2:19-22 KJVR And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the
bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? as long as they have the
bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. (20) But the days will come, when the
bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.
(21) No man also seweth a piece of new cloth on an old garment: else the new
piece that filled it up taketh away from the old, and the rent is made worse. (22)
And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst the
bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: but new wine must
be put into new bottles.

Through our fasting, we are removing old bottles and old garments and preparing
ourselves for new garments.

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It is God who chooses the garment and it is God who can maintain the garment clean.
We can get to a point of consecration that we begin to readily recognize spots on the
garment from the flesh.

Jude 1:20-24 KJVR But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy
faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, (21) Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking
for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. (22) And of some have
compassion, making a difference: (23) And others save with fear, pulling them
out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. (24) Now unto him
that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the
presence of his glory with exceeding joy,

Through fasting and diligent search of our hearts and our lives for those things which can
separate us from him, we have been clothed by Him.

He has selected the garment that best fits our life; he has anointed us with his oil (Holy
Spirit) and has declared us pure enough to wear the garments.

How important is it that we have on the proper garments? Recall the one thrown out.

Look again at Ester.

Esther 5:1-3 KJVR Now it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on her
royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king's house, over against the
king's house: and the king sat upon his royal throne in the royal house, over
against the gate of the house. (2) And it was so, when the king saw Esther the
queen standing in the court, that she obtained favor in his sight: and the king
held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. So Esther drew near,
and touched the top of the scepter. (3) Then said the king unto her, What wilt
thou, queen Esther? and what is thy request? it shall be even given thee to the
half of the kingdom.

She had purified herself and made herself ready to be presented. She had put on the
correct apparel. When she entered the throne room, she was accepted.

We, when properly adorned by the spirit, have authority to enter boldly into the throne
room.

Attempting to enter the throne room without being prepared, is a man who cannot see
what manner of man he is.

James 1:21-25 KJVR Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of
naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save
your souls. (22) But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving
your own selves. (23) For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like
unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: (24) For he beholdeth himself,
and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. (25)

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But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he
being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in
his deed.

Also, a person who hears what the requirements are and then passes on has not
sought God for the knowledge. That person is double minded, knowing in one
hand what the requirements are, and in the other deciding now to do them. This
person will be torn between two worlds.

James 1:5-8 KJVR If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to
all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. (6) But let him
ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea
driven with the wind and tossed. (7) For let not that man think that he shall
receive any thing of the Lord. (8) A double minded man is unstable in all his
ways.

If we understand that our consecration occurs once we have been fitted with our
garment, then we can enter into the throne room and experience his presence.

Hebrews 4:13-16 KJVR Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his
sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we
have to do. (14) Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into
the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. (15) For we
have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities;
but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. (16) Let us therefore
come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace
to help in time of need.

To be consecrated is not a simple thing, nor does it occur through a passing of time. It is
a diligent effort on our part to ensure that we are purified, properly clothed and ready to
enter into the throne room.

If we put forth the diligent effort, then we shall receive from him.

Hebrews 11:6 KJVR 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.

If we truly believe that he is, then we should have enough fear and respect to ensure that
we are properly consecrated before approaching him. Can we approach him without
being consecrated?

The passage has been opened.

The question that we have to ask is this – if we approach him without being consecrated,
will he hear our pleas?

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Romans 13:1-2 KJVR Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there
is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. (2) Whosoever
therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist
shall receive to themselves damnation.

To be properly attired brings many things.

Romans 15:13 KJVR Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in
believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.

1 Corinthians 4:20 MSG God's Way is not a matter of mere talk; it's an
empowered life.

It is the path of true enlightenment

Ephesians 1:17-19 KJVR That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of
glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of
him: (18) The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know
what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance
in the saints, (19) And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward
who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,

Philippians 3:8-9 MSG Yes, all the things I once thought were so important are
gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my
Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant--
dog dung. I've dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ (9) and
be embraced by him. I didn't want some petty, inferior brand of righteousness
that comes from keeping a list of rules when I could get the robust kind that
comes from trusting Christ--God's righteousness.