Consecration in 2022

As this year started, we started to seek God for His heart for this year. As we were praying, we heard God say “2022 shall be a year of rest where my remnant will encounter my supernatural rest, and see my hands work in their lives more than anytime in the past. My people will rest in me and on me and I will be working through them. It will be a year of building the walls of ruined cities and a year of open doors which no one can shut. More importantly, it will be a year of revival and there will be a new move of my Holy Spirit”. 

As we received this word, we asked God, “Lord, is there anything we need to do? We heard him say two words, consecrate yourselves! As we heard this word, we began to declare Lord, we consecrate ourselves unto you, more than anytime in the past, use us more than anytime in the past”. 

We started to study the importance of consecration and decided to write this word in order to get this word out and encourage the body of Christ to pursue consecration like never before. As we started our study, we were shocked at the amount of passages in scripture which talk about consecration. The word “consecration” means “FULL DEVOTION”. It’s a kind of devotion that sets you apart and makes you "sold out" to the Lord. It means being fully set apart sanctified, made sacred. 

Consecration is not only for pastors, elders and leaders. It’s the calling of every believer. Just like we are called to salvation, we are also called to consecration. In fact, those who are consecrated qualify for God to use them mighty.

2 Timothy 2:20-21 NLT

[20] In a wealthy home some utensils are made of gold and silver, and some are made of wood and clay. The expensive utensils are used for special occasions, and the cheap ones are for everyday use. [21] If you keep yourself pure, you will be a special utensil for honorable use. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work. 

Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you.” Joshua 3:5

In the Old Testament, consecration meant absolute separation from certain things. In saying that, one of the most important truth the Holy Spirit highlighted, was that no one is about to consecrate themselves. God is the only one who is able to consecrate us. All we need to do is agree with God’s desire. In John 17:17, Jesus prayed to His father, asking Him to consecrate His followers by the truth. 

John 17:17

Make them holy—consecrated—with the truth; Your word is consecrating truth. In the same way that you gave me a mission in the world, I give them a mission in the world. I’m consecrating myself for their sakes So they’ll be truth-consecrated in their mission. * * *”

Many might ask, what does it mean to be consecrated? Does it mean, that believers are to leave the world or separate themselves from the world?  Not really, in fact, Jesus clarified the way in which believers are to be consecrated. Jesus said, “I’m not asking that you take them out of the world But that you guard them from the Evil One. They are no more defined by the world than I am defined by the world. ‭‭John‬ ‭17:15-19‬ ‭MSG‬‬. In other words, consecration means that we are no longer defined by this world rather we are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds so that we can fully experience God’s perfect will for us (Romans 12:2). 

In the Old Testament, blood was required to be shed in order for someone or something to be consecrated to be used by God. 

“And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.” Hebrews‬ ‭9:22‬. In the New Testament, Jesus became The perfect sacrifice, and His blood alone cleanses us from all sin. According to 1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

In other words, consecration is not about doing certain actions to please God. Rather is recognizing that Christ has united with our spirit and because He is holy and consecrated, we too have become holy and consecrated. “Yet now He has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in His physical body. As a result, He has brought you into His own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before Him without a single fault.” Colossians 1:22. However, this consecration has taken place in our spirits. Our soul (mind, will & emotions) need to be renewed on a daily basis and become aligned with what has happened in our spirits. So consecration is when we remind ourselves daily that we died to this world and that our real lives are hidden in Christ (Colossians 3:3). Consecration is the daily decision to put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within us. To have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires and greed (Colossians 3:5). 

Consecration is like a covenant of marriage. It’s when we understand and are fully convinced that we fully belong to Christ. I love what Prophet Hosea said “I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me In righteousness and justice, In lovingkindness and mercy; I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness, And you shall know the Lord.” Hosea 2:19-20.

‭‭The Apostle Paul, told the Corinthian church “I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him.”

(2 Corinthians 11:2). 

In traditional Middle Eastern culture, brides would pour out expensive perfume over their groom once they are married. By that act, the bride declared that her groom is the one and only in her life. This explains Mary’s act in John 12:1-8, when she poured out expensive perfume made from nard over Jesus’s feet. By that act, she declared that you are the one and only. I am totally set apart and consecrated for you. I will not compromise, rather will declare that you are the only one.

Therefore, total consecration is to understand that we are in covenant with God. We will not compromise, rather we are set apart for God’s purpose and His kingdom.  We have been made completely set apart in our spirits when we received Jesus as our Lord and only savior. It is the process of being transformed into His image by the renewing of our minds and finally its the physical manifestation of this consecration in our physical bodies when we live fully consecrated for purpose that we were called for.