A certain dog had always boasted of his ability as a runner. Then one day a rabbit that he was chasing got away. This brought a lot of ridicule from the other dogs because of his previous boasting. His explanation: “You must remember that the rabbit was running for his life, while I was only running for my dinner.” ¹ What are you running for in your Christian life? Paul said he was running for a prize and he ran in such a way as to obtain it. (1 Cor. 9:24). Commitment, consecration, and dedication are all words which should mark our race in God.

[Tweet “If man is a three part being, then your consecration to God must be in three parts.”]

Consecration to God Includes the Whole Man

• Man is a three part being

1 Thessalonians 5:23 (ESV)
23 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

• If man is a three part being, then your consecration to Him must be in three parts.

It includes your spirit

• What is spirit consecration?
• It’s determining to be led by or walk by the Holy Spirit in your spirit.
• It’s determining to obey the promptings and the urgings of the Spirit of God within.

Romans 8:14 (KJV)
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

It includes your soul

• What is soul consecration?
• It’s a commitment to do something about controlling your mind.
• The scripture states that we are to set our minds on things above.

Colossians 3:1–3 (ESV)
1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.

It includes your Boby

• What is body consecration?

Romans 12:1–2 (ESV)
1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

• So can you see these principles evident in the lives of these missionaries that John G. Lake spoke about in our last post ‘Why God Desires You to Live A Committed Life‘?
• You can definitely see them giving their bodies to God.
• And what about the 12 apostles?
• Nine of the 12 Apostles were martyred that we know of.
  • Bartholomew was beaten with rods and beheaded.
  • James, son of Alphaeus was beaten, stoned, and clubbed to death.
  • Thomas was killed with a spear.
  • James the son of Zebedee was executed by sword.
  • Phillip was scourged and crucified.
  • Simon was crucified.
  • Matthew was killed with a spear.
  • Peter was crucified upside down under Nero’s persecution.
  • Jude (brother of James) was crucified.
• These last three you should especially take note of in the area of commitment because Matthew, Peter, and Jude were all New Testament contributors.
• When you are reading the Gospel of Matthew, understand what you are reading.
• You are reading the words of a man that laid his life down for what he wrote.
• With Peter and Jude, it is the same.
• You are reading the writings of someone who put it all on the line.

WALKING AS A DEAD MAN

• Understand you do not have to be physically martyred to prove to God that you are totally committed to Him.
• The people who gave their lives for Jesus made up their minds long before they were executed.
• They made their consecration to God long before they were imprisoned beaten or crucified.
• They didn’t make their commitments when they were caught.
• All of us have to arrive at this particular point.
• We must answer the question…
  • “Am I willing to die for what I believe?”
• This is the essence of consecration.
• Jesus displayed this level of commitment in the Garden.

Luke 22:41–45 (ESV)
41 And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, 42 saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” 43 And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. 44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. 45 And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow,

• Jesus made His consecration before He was ever captured by the Romans.
• How different this consecration of Jesus was then the disciple’s consecration.

Matthew 26:35–41 (ESV)
35 Peter said to him, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!” And all the disciples said the same. 36 Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” 37 And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” 39 And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” 40 And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour?
41 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

• Do you see the difference between Jesus commitment and the disciples?
• It was time to pray.
• These same disciples, who were ready to die for Jesus, were not ready to live and pray for one hour.
• These ‘consecrated sacrifice making disciples’, who said they were willing to die for Him, received one directive from Jesus, one mind you, remain here and watch with me.
• This is a perfect picture of human nature.
• Overcoming lethargy takes tenacity and severe determination.
• You won’t come to a point of facing martyrdom and then have a spirit of sacrifice come upon you.
  • No, you live a sacrificed life every day.
  • You deny yourself every day.
  • You make choices between praying and not praying every day.
  • You make the call to yield to the Spirit and not yielding every day.
• If you ever happen to face this situation, it will no big deal for you to sacrifice a little more since you’ve been doing it all along.
• What do you think the percentage of Christians would be if we split them into two camps, those who would pray and those that would sleep?

Consecrate All the Way Through Life

• We can learn something else about Jesus consecration from Matthew 26:39.
• Jesus was at the end of His ministry when He prayed this prayer of consecration.
• Lazarus had already been raised from the dead at this point.
  • What a grand time that was.
• Blind Bartimaeus had already gotten a job because he had a new pair of eyes.
  • How glorious that was.
• The woman with the issue of blood no longer had an issue.
  • Marvelous.
• The Transfiguration had already taken place.
  • Awesome.
• Jesus was at the end of His life consecrating Himself to the will of God.
• What does that say to you?
• It should mean the following.
  • You have to be consecrated to God and tell Him so the whole way through.
  • It takes the same consecration at the end of your life, in your old age that it does when you were young in life.
  • It takes the same commitment at 70 as it did when you were 20.
• Why is it that way?
• Why do you have to constantly pray a prayer of consecration your whole life through?
  • There will always be something in the various stages of your life that will try to carve out space and try to take God’s place.
  • You constantly have to tell God and show God that He is first by putting these things in their place.
• Sometimes it’s family that is in the wrong place.
• We see the example of Abraham and Isaac.
• We hear Jesus own words on this.

Matthew 10:37 (AMP)
37 He who loves [and takes more pleasure in] father or mother more than [in] Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves [and takes more pleasure in] son or daughter more than [in] Me is not worthy of Me;

• This consecration prayer is a prayer you pray your whole life long.
• When was the last time you prayed it?
• When was the last time you told God you would do anything for Him even if it meant leaving family behind?
• That means a sense of consecration.
• A sense of sacrifice ought to be uppermost in our thinking all the time.
• You can literally have a martyrs ‘crown of life’ mentality while you’re living.
• Death, after all, is a part of true life.

John 12:23–26 (ESV)
23 And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25 Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
26 If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.

Luke 9:23 (ESV)
23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

• A cross-less religion is a careless one.
• It is the ultimate paradox.
  • You will never truly enjoy life until you are truly dead to life.

Matthew 10:39 (AMP)
39 Whoever finds his [lower] life will lose it [the higher life], and whoever loses his [lower] life on My account will find it [the higher life].

Call to Action:

Praying prayers along this line, prayers of consecration unto God should be part of your prayer arsenal. Tell the Lord that you will do whatever He asks of you to do. Tell Him you are willing to go wherever He wants you to go. Even though God is ‘all-knowing’, you still have to vocalize those words from your heart.

Question: What areas of your life, have you set aside exclusively for God? Would you consider sharing that? Please leave a comment in the comments section below.