After praying and laboring over this word for the last several weeks the Lord has finally released me to share it and I do so with the fear of the Lord in obedience to Him. As you read this I implore you to read the scripture passages in this post and not skip over them because they’re imperative to the word the Lord gave me. It’s His Word that stands forever. Let’s pray before we continue,
Father, I pray that as my brothers and sisters read this word, Your truth would illuminate their hearts and minds and You would give them spiritual ears to hear. Take my natural & limited ability to express Your heart and supernaturally confirm Your Kingdom purposes for each of our hearts as You see fit. In Jesus Name, Amen.
The first thing I heard from the Lord a few weeks ago was the word “CONSECRATED” and was immediately drawn to 1 Peter 2:9 which says,
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
This is who we are. God’s Holy people, called out of darkness into His light…to BE the light. The word consecrated means to be dedicated irrevocably to God for a special purpose. Romans 12:2 explains this kind of dedication,
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your true and proper worship”
This verse calls us to present our bodies as living sacrifices to Him, but do we truly understand the full weight of this? To sacrifice our bodies…. This means we’re not our own. We belong to Him. Every thought. Every action. Every desire. EVERYTHING is HIS. This is what it means to be truly consecrated to the Lord. It’s not just a verse we read; it’s a heart condition that compels us to live each day as His.
I asked the Lord what this means for us right now and throughout this year as we follow after Him, to fulfill His Kingdom purposes in 2023. He began to speak to me in a series of dreams that were then confirmed by several people reaching out to me and sharing dreams they had. It was surreal as I opened my email or FB messenger or picked up the phone over these last few weeks to someone else who had a dream the Holy Spirit told them to share; each one confirming what the Lord was saying to me. God is speaking, friends.
During this time God also began to place on me what I can only describe as “spiritual burdens” that caused me to weep. When I first began to weep I didn’t understand why I was feeling such deep grief. Then I heard the Lord say, “These are tears of travail.” I understood then that I was experiencing the grief the Lord felt for our nation, specifically for our children, and for the complacency of many people regarding that. God kept me in this place of travail for almost two weeks as I prayed His heart for the body of Christ. Honestly, I was getting to the point where I felt I wouldn’t be able to bear it much longer that’s how heavy it was, but then as suddenly as it came, it was lifted. I stopped weeping but the ache was still there and I knew the Lord wanted this ache to serve as a reminder that would propel me to action this year. This call to action is not just for me, but for all of God’s people. I believe this awakening is happening in many hearts throughout the body of Christ. God is awakening His people to the call to be the light that breaks through the great darkness in the world. Isaiah 60:2(KJV) says,
For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.
The phrase “gross darkness” makes more sense than ever as we look around today and see the grievous things taking place before our eyes. In this verse, we see the problem but are also given the solution. It says that God’s glory will be seen. How? Upon God’s people. You and I are the answer to the darkness in this world. We’re meant to be the carriers of His glory – His manifest (tangible) power and majesty….IF, we choose to be.
In two of the dreams I had, I saw myself and others going about our day doing what we would normally do. I noticed the lights were off – we were surrounded by darkness – working, almost mindlessly – going through life not really paying attention to the darkness around us. I was reminded immediately of Ephesians 5:8-18 which says,
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth) 10 and find out what pleases the Lord. 11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.12 It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. 13 But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light.
14 This is why it is said: “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. 18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit…
An entire message could be preached on the enormity of truth packed in just these few verses. But the few points the Lord highlighted to me for right now is the call for God’s people to “WAKE UP!!!!!” We can no longer mindlessly go about our business, aware of the darkness, but comfortable enough to live amongst it without the urgency to do anything about it. This is not who we were created to be. We need more than ever to understand the will of the Lord and not be “drunk,” or mindlessly consumed by the pleasures or even the concerns of this world. We need to wake up from the busyness trap that sucks us into living according to a world system we were never meant to be a part of; oblivious to the higher calling of Christ on our lives. We must instead be filled with His Spirit, empowered by God to fulfill His Kingdom purpose here on earth.
When the Lord lifted that burden from me, I felt lighter for a few days, and then suddenly I began to weep again. I said, “Lord, what is this? I thought you lifted that burden from me.” He said, “These are tears of repentance. I’m calling my people to repent.” I was stunned by the deep grief and remorse I was feeling. If you’re someone who is walking with the Lord, and you’re not committing what people would consider any “big sins” against God, the call to repentance may come as a shock. But this in and of itself is a sign of our calloused hearts. We think because we’re not committing any “major sins” we’re ok, but there is duplicity in our hearts. Ouch! Don’t shoot the messenger, please! God is calling us to deal with the duplicity of our hearts. These are some strong words I know, but they are the Lord’s and not mine, and believe me, I had to face this personally as I wept and began to cry out my own prayers of repentance. I didn’t even know what to pray except that I knew God was requiring more of my heart –NO…. ALL of my heart. There were bits of my heart that had been stolen away by the cares of this world and God requires my heart to belong solely to Him. He requires this of your heart as well, friend.
The sin of idolatry is rarely discussed these days, but it still exists. Idolatry is anything that takes our attention from God. Anything that steals our worship. We worship what we put our time and attention to. There are many things that have stolen our attention and worship from the Lord. Repentance requires baring our hearts before God and acknowledging how we’ve fallen short. That’s what sin is. Falling short. There are actually no “big sins” or “little sins.” Praise God, we’re redeemed by the blood of the lamb and there’s no condemnation in Christ! But God IS calling us higher in this season. He’s calling us to repent and give back the pieces of our hearts that have become consumed by the love and cares of this world. The areas where our attention has been given to the pursuit of things like comfort, pleasing man, outward appearance, material gain, and other idols this world entices us with. We’re called to be a holy people, set apart and not living as one of this world, but as citizens of heaven here on a mission from God.
Repentance is not the dirty word it’s been made out to be in the modern church, but rather a vital part of our walk with God that has been glossed over or ignored completely in much of the body of Christ today. Repentance is turning from that which has taken our hearts from the Lord and turning fully back to Him. James talks about this kind of repentance in James 4:4-10. For some, these next verses will be difficult to read because their hearts are so hardened, but I pray that you read the Lord’s words as I did with fear and reverence for a holy God and allow Him to speak to your heart about personal repentance.
You adulterous people,[a] don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us[b]? 6 But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”[c]
7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
That’s deep. Most of us try to avoid negative feelings, but friends, the Bible says “Godly sorrow is necessary because it brings about a repentance that leads to salvation…(2 Corinthians 7:10)” Repentance is not about being forgiven because we’ve already been forgiven – it’s about realigning our hearts with God. Repentance is not for God, it’s for us. It’s acknowledging where we’ve veered off course so we can get back on the straight and narrow path with Him.
As I was finished with my own time of repentance that day, I felt compelled to intercede for the body of Christ and after a couple of hours, God lifted this burden and my weeping stopped and I was suddenly filled with great joy. I just had to praise the Lord! I turned on some praise music and I found myself dancing and jumping for joy in my home as I praised Him. I’ve experienced joyful moments of praise in the past, but nothing like the great joy I felt that day. True repentance will bring great joy. In Psalm 51:12, David talks about the joy of his salvation being restored after he repented. When we repent and our hearts are realigned with God’s heart, we experience the joy of our salvation – the joy of a people saved and set apart for God’s purposes. God wants to restore this joy to His people.
Through all of this the Lord kept flashing the word CONSECRATED before my eyes and I realized what I had been experiencing through these dreams and burdens was the consecrated life God was calling His people to.
- God is awakening His people to the desperate condition of the world and our purpose in it as a holy set apart people destined and empowered to release His Glory.
- God is bringing His people to a place of brokenness and repentance to purify our hearts and position us for the great glory He wants to release through us.
All of this is in preparation for the great things He’s about to do!
Throughout the Bible, we read about consecration but I want to share the two passages that the Holy Spirit had me focus on as He downloaded this word to me. In Exodus 19:10-11 God’s people, delivered out of darkness (Egypt) are now being called into their holy purpose. A covenant with Him. We too are called out of darkness for a holy purpose.
10 And the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes 11 and be ready by the third day, because on that day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.
The people were told to consecrate themselves in preparation for what God would do just as we are today. In the Old Testament, God’s people were called to perform outward rituals like washing their clothes or even circumcision which represented spiritual things that are now accomplished through the blood of Jesus Christ. When we accept Christ, we’re cleansed and made new spiritually. We even get a new heart – His heart. This doesn’t mean, however, that we walk this out perfectly or don’t veer off course at times. Repentance is one of the things that keeps us in a place of humility and realigns our hearts with God’s heart. During times of consecration, God also called His people to abstain or fast things that drew their hearts and attention away from Him. God regularly called His people to walk away from idolatry – things that stole their worship from Him. While God never leaves us or forsakes us, there can be things in our lives that grieve Him and hinder Him from fully moving in and through us. There are things in this life that captivate us when He wants us to be fully captivated by Him. God is a gentleman and He doesn’t force us to love or worship Him. We have the free will to do so or not. God is calling us to consecrate our lives to Him, whether it’s a first-time commitment or a return to the commitment we once made. Those who worship the Lord with their entire lives as living sacrifices will see the glory of the Lord like never before in this next season. I want more of His glory, how about you? The real question, however, is whether we are willing to do what it takes to have more of His glory. Will we consecrate our lives to Him and be that living sacrifice? Will we repent for the areas of our heart that have not fully been His, and give Him EVERYTHING?
The next verses the Holy Spirit highlighted to me are found in Joshua 3. The people of God were called to possess this land, and yet there were many barriers in the way. Friends, there’s territory you and I as God’s people are called to possess, and yes there are barriers in the way. They may look BIG and intimidating and satan is certainly not giving up without a fight, but know this, his fight is fruitless when up against the consecrated people of God, filled with His glory. Joshua 3:57 says
5 Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.6 Joshua said to the priests, “Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on ahead of the people.” So they took it up and went ahead of them.7 And the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses.
Once again, we see the people being told to consecrate themselves in preparation for what God would do. If we continue to read through the next several chapters, we see how God used consecrated, human vessels to manifest His glory and make His name known throughout the land. God showed His power and might as they walked through the Jordan river on dry ground, and later God continued to do great exploits, causing the walls of Jericho to come tumbling down as they marched around it. Friends, the glory of the Lord will knock down every barrier that stands in the way of His Kingdom purposes, but He’s looking for you and me to be those consecrated vessels He can release His glory through. 2 Timothy 2:20-21 says,
But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. 21 Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, [a]sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.
You and I are called to be these vessels of honor for the Master’s use. This call to be consecrated to Him is a call to come higher with Him than we ever have before. It’s going to require laying aside things that have stolen our time, attention, worship; our very hearts from Him. Those that answer the call will experience the grace to do this. We will hate what He hates and love what He loves. The things of this world will lose the hold they once had on us. They will be seen as the meaningless distractions from our high calling in Christ that they truly are. Like the Apostle Paul, we will declare,
Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14. I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 3:13-14
I’ve spoken to many people who are already experiencing this dissatisfaction and distaste for the things of this world. Things that held their attention, that were valued by them, and that they pursued no longer mean anything. God alone has their hearts. This is what God is looking for from each one of us. As we consecrate our lives unto the Lord, His anointing upon our lives will increase. The anointing is for Kingdom purposes – For His glory alone. It’s not about personal platforms or exalting ministry names. It’s about the only Name, the Name above all Names being glorified so that all would know JESUS CHRIST IS LORD! Yes, promotion will come to those who answer this call. Influence will increase for those who answer this call. But it will all be for the purpose of the end-time harvest and the glory of God.
I believe there are specific details for the mission God has for each person in the body of Christ to fulfill, but this call to a consecrated life is where each of us must begin. Even now you too may feel a burden from the Lord, sensing God is calling you higher. Pray it through and begin to ask Him what He requires from you. Take time for personal repentance, humbling yourself before the Lord so that you become that prepared vessel ready for His use. You may ask, “What difference can I make? What influence do I have?” You have everything you need because Jesus lives inside of you. You have influence right where you’re at. You have gifts that God has given you. Be faithful where you’re at and with what you have. Use your gifts for the Kingdom. Turn from the pull of this world and worship God each day by pursuing Him alone. Those that are faithful with little, will be entrusted with much. God will open up the doors you’re called to walk through. Consecrate your life to God and get ready for His glory. Amen.
