MINISTERING: PRINCESS OJO ONOGWU
DATE: 10TH JULY 2023
TOPIC: CONSECRATION (HOLINESS)
ANCHOR SCRIPTURE: EXODUS 13:1-16
Let us pray!
Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for the gift of Your son Christ Jesus and all these brothers and sisters You have blessed me with,
I ask that the light of Your word shines upon every one of them, that they may see You and experience the power of Your resurrection!
Yes and Amen! 🙏
Today we will be talking about CONSECRATION AKA HOLINESS.
What is Holiness?
This means separation, it means to set apart, it means to keep aside something either for use or for someone. This is the same as consecration. It can also mean focusing on something without distractions,
I would be using these two words interchangeably.
As Christians, our definition of Holiness should mean being set apart for God, his kingdom and the gospel of Jesus Christ.
What is the gospel?
It is simple!
That Jesus Christ who is the son of God, came to the earth to die for our sins,
He was born of a virgin, He died, resurrected on the third day, and whosoever believes in Him, their sins will eternally be forgiven, they would be reconciled with the Father (their creator) and they would have eternal life.
Before Christ Jesus ascended into the heavens, He promised us a comforter, one who will lead us into all truths, bear witness to us as Sons of God, one who will help us to pray with deep groaning to the Father, and also be our seal unto salvation.
(John 16:13, Romans 8:14, Romans 8:26, Ephesians 1:13-14)
But one thing the Holy Spirit is also here to do is to keep us HOLY.
He is the Holy Spirit therefore anyone who receives him has been set apart or separated unto God.
The Holy Spirit is God living in us, God’s presence in a man, and that in itself is separation,
You are separated into the kingdom of His dear son (Colossians 1:13).
Since the Holy Spirit is our seal unto redemption, He is the one that sets us aside till the second coming of Christ Jesus (those still on earth) or raptures us and also keeps us from falling!
Jude 1:24-25 tells us this…
Jude 24-25 (NLT)
A Prayer of Praise
²⁴Now all glory to God, who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into his glorious presence without a single fault. ²⁵All glory to him who alone is God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord. All glory, majesty, power, and authority are his before all time, and in the present, and beyond all time! Amen.
Dear brethren, it is worthy of note that, the Holy Spirit is sufficient to keep us from all forms of sin (falling).
He is the one that sets us apart (consecrate).
And He is the one that redeems us.
These are His ministry.
However, there is a part we can play to consecrate ourselves or keep ourselves Holy.
As Christians, we need to find time to set ourselves aside from all the noise in our environment, from the media, from people we love and know, and also gadgets or material things we love, etc.
And spend quality time with God.
It is important for our spiritual wellness, without that, many of us can not be in touch with the supernatural…
You will lack power, expression of the Holy Spirit, and even knowledge of the gospel or what it stands for.
The noise in this world is too much, and it’s easy to get distracted. However, setting yourself apart can give you a balanced life.
The Holy Spirit requires it.
There is a sweet fellowship calling on someone here today,
I know it is you reading this today.
It’s time to drop all the cares of the world and spend time with the Holy Spirit.
Ways to Consecrate Ourselves
1. Fasting:
This could be from food or material things that take your attention or things you love.
2. Praying in the Spirit:
This is a type of prayer you can decide to make during the period of time you set aside.
3. Giving Of Alms:
You can decide to give beyond your regular giving and keep to it for the period of time you are consecrated.
4. Songs and psalms:
We had our 24-hour hymns and psalms here last month and it was awesome spending much time in His presence, lots of testimonies came afterward, Ephesians 5:19.
5. Meditation and solemnity.
Things that MUST be done during consecration
1. You must spend time with the word of God.
There is no way in the world, you want to be separated unto God and not read the scriptures, the Bible contains the word of God, your body contains the Spirit of God, and the word and the Spirit are a great power. If you do not read the word, how do you know His mind? Or how else do you spend time with Him?
2. You must pray.
Prayer is communication with God, you can’t be consecrated and stay silent. There are many ways of prayer and silent meditation is one but of course, there must be communication. What is He telling you? What are you saying to Him? What is the result of your discussion?
3. You must do this with the whole of your heart for it is written in Jeremiah 29:13
Jeremiah 29:13 (NLT)
¹³If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.
Exodus 13: 1-16
Exodus 13:1-16 (NLT)
Dedication of the Firstborn
13 Then the Lord said to Moses, ²“Dedicate to me every firstborn among the Israelites. The first offspring to be born, of both humans and animals, belongs to me.”
³So Moses said to the people, “This is a day to remember forever—the day you left Egypt, the place of your slavery. Today the Lord has brought you out by the power of his mighty hand. (Remember, eat no food containing yeast.) ⁴On this day in early spring, in the month of Abib, you have been set free. ⁵You must celebrate this event in this month each year after the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites. (He swore to your ancestors that he would give you this land—a land flowing with milk and honey.) ⁶For seven days the bread you eat must be made without yeast. Then on the seventh day, celebrate a feast to the Lord. ⁷Eat bread without yeast during those seven days. In fact, there must be no yeast bread or any yeast at all found within the borders of your land during this time.
⁸“On the seventh day you must explain to your children, ‘I am celebrating what the Lord did for me when I left Egypt.’ ⁹This annual festival will be a visible sign to you, like a mark branded on your hand or your forehead. Let it remind you always to recite this teaching of the Lord: ‘With a strong hand, the Lord rescued you from Egypt.’ ¹⁰So observe the decree of this festival at the appointed time each year.
¹¹“This is what you must do when the Lord fulfills the promise he swore to you and to your ancestors. When he gives you the land where the Canaanites now live, ¹²you must present all firstborn sons and firstborn male animals to the Lord, for they belong to him. ¹³A firstborn donkey may be bought back from the Lord by presenting a lamb or young goat in its place. But if you do not buy it back, you must break its neck. However, you must buy back every firstborn son.
¹⁴“And in the future, your children will ask you, ‘What does all this mean?’ Then you will tell them, ‘With the power of his mighty hand, the Lord brought us out of Egypt, the place of our slavery. ¹⁵Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, so the Lord killed all the firstborn males throughout the land of Egypt, both people and animals. That is why I now sacrifice all the firstborn males to the Lord—except that the firstborn sons are always bought back.’ ¹⁶This ceremony will be like a mark branded on your hand or your forehead. It is a reminder that the power of the Lord’s mighty hand brought us out of Egypt.”
Looking at our anchor scripture Moses instructed the people to be consecrated and keep themselves Holy on the Passover month just so they remember how they were brought out of Egypt by a mighty power.
So it is important we dedicate time to separate ourselves in worship to our God.
This is where I will have to stop today,
If time permits, we’ll do a part 2 or even part 3 discussing Exodus 13.
But for now, I hope this teaching spurs you into consecration, it is an important part of our lives as Christians.
Let us pray!
Heavenly Father, we thank you for always being here! Thank you, Lord, in Jesus’ name we have prayed!