CONSECRATION PREPARATION

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

The Lord said to Moses, "I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear Me speaking with you and will always put their trust in you."

Then Moses told the Lord what the people had said.

And the Lord said to Moses, "Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes 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. Put limits for the people around the mountain and tell them, 'Be careful that you do not go up the mountain or touch the foot of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. He shall surely be stoned or shot with arrows; not a hand is to be laid on him. Whether man or animal, he shall not be permitted to live.' Only when the ram's horn sounds a long blast may they go up to the mountain."

After Moses had gone down the mountain to the people, he consecrated them, and they washed their clothes. Then he said to the people, "Prepare yourselves for the third day. Abstain from sexual relations."

Exodus 19:9-15

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In yesterday’s message from the opening verses of Exodus, chapter 19, we found God speaking to Moses from Mount Sinai and giving him a message to share with the Israelite people. You’ll recall that the Lord reminded them that He expected obedience in regard to Him and His commands. In response to this, God’s people proclaimed:

"We will do everything the Lord has said." v.8

It’s important to note that this served as a pre-cursor to God delivering His most renowned directives to the people of Israel, guidance that would come to be called The Ten Commandments, but before He could do that He needed Israel to be spiritually prepared to receive. Look again at our verse for today as we continue our study of this chapter:

The Lord said to Moses, "I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear Me speaking with you and will always put their trust in you."

Then Moses told the Lord what the people had said.

And the Lord said to Moses, "Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes 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. Put limits for the people around the mountain and tell them, 'Be careful that you do not go up the mountain or touch the foot of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. He shall surely be stoned or shot with arrows; not a hand is to be laid on him. Whether man or animal, he shall not be permitted to live.' Only when the ram's horn sounds a long blast may they go up to the mountain."

After Moses had gone down the mountain to the people, he consecrated them, and they washed their clothes. Then he said to the people, "Prepare yourselves for the third day. Abstain from sexual relations." Vv.9-15

Here, we find the Lord giving additional instructions to Moses, instructions regarding holy preparation.

"Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes 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."

Consecration simply means becoming holy, setting oneself apart from the world with a dedication toward God. It’s an action that requires not only commitment but preparation and in the case of Israel, this was to last three days as they washed their clothes and abstained from any “sexual relations”.

From this sanctification calling, there are three important points to glean from this scripture passage:

First, God expects our best.

In the case of the people of Israel, they were to "wash their clothes and be ready by the third day", the day that the Lord would arrive.

While God required that the Israelites be in clean clothes, He also was looking inside them, requiring that they had clean hearts and minds as well. For we see that He calls His people to "abstain from sexual relations" so that they would be completely focused and devoted on Him and not one another. He expected their passion and affection to be directed toward Him and Him alone at this time.

The Lord still calls us to this today, desiring more than anything that we have a greater passion for Him than one another or anything else in the world.

Secondly, God expects our focus.

Focus typically requires adjustment, especially if you want to get a picture that is crystal clear. Think about using a microscope or a pair of binoculars and you’ll get the right imagery here.

From a spiritual perspective, God wants us to receive His message crystal clear and in order to do that, we need to adjust ourselves, eliminating any distractions that might cause us to not understand what He is saying. In regard to the Israelite people, God mandated that they spend three days getting focused on Him. For us, it’s more like a daily expectation for us to dedicate time, the time He has blessed us with, toward Him and His Word.  

Finally, God expects us to be consecrated, to be holy as He is holy. He says so Himself in the Book of Leviticus:

"For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy". 11:44

The world would compete with the Lord for our attention. There is no doubt about that and too often, we choose the world and its ways. This is where sin will lead us but we don’t have to give into that. For the truth of the matter is that we have a choice and when we choose to place our belief in Jesus, our choice is to be to live as Jesus did, to be Christ-like as Christians. When we do this, when we consciously and willingly pass on the world’s offerings, trading them in for what we find in Jesus, then something amazing happens.

We are in the world but we aren’t of it because we have decided to set ourselves apart from it just as our Savior did.

That’s what we gain by consecration preparation and the treasures we gain are of Heaven and priceless.

At Mount Sinai, the Israelites were in the presence of absolute holiness and not even allowed to set foot on the mountain where God was residing. He was in complete control and authority, dictating all terms.

For us, we too enter His holy presence each and every day but unlike Israel, we are allowed to freely come and enter into our Lord’s presence. Jesus made this possible as He drew His final breath and while bearing our sins on Calvary’s cross. There was no longer any separation between God and those who placed their hope in His Son, symbolized by the temple curtain, separating the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies, tearing in two.

Indeed, there are no disqualifiers, no reasons why God will reject us when come consecrated and justified by the precious blood of Jesus. Through Him, we are no longer unworthy to be in God’s presence but now counted as children of God and co-heirs to the Kingdom with Christ (Romans 8:14-17).

Friends, in Jesus, the Lamb who came to take away our sin (John 1:29), we find our way to proper consecration preparation. For He was perfectly holy and always seeking to honor His Father, surrendering and submitting His will for His Father’s. Through His shed blood we are washed clean, our sin stained selves now white as snow.

Of in other words, we are made clean and consecrated before God.

Jesus gave His all for His Father and in turn for us. His loyalty and love were laser-focused self sacrificially and selflessly. As Christians, we are to follow His example each and every day we’re blessed with on this side of Heaven. For when we commit ourselves to this, we will be as our Lord calls us to be, holy as He is.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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