Consecration involves 3 stages, according to Eph 4:22-24:

1. Putting off the old self
2. Being made new in the attitude of your minds
3. Putting on the new self

Saying No

We have to learn to say no to the old way of life and to the pull of our old sinful nature. (Titus 2:12) This is a daily battle, hence our prayer ‘lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’ (Matt 6:13)

Having New Attitudes

God’s Spirit within us transforms the attitude of our minds (Rom 12:1-2). This second stage involves learning to lean on God for everything and to see things through His eyes, to understand the dual nature of His work in us and our cooperation with Him (see Phil 2:12-13) and to understand also that sanctification is a process (see Heb 10:14). Being made new in the attitude of our minds means that we come to see ourselves, other people and the world as God sees them, accepting His authority and rule over all.

Putting On The New Self

God has given us robes of righteousness and garments of salvation to wear, as well as spiritual armour to put on (Eph 6:10-16).  The third stage, putting on the new self, is where we do more than mentally assent to what we read in the Bible. It’s when we not only hear God, but obey Him. We don’t merely listen to the word, but we do what it says. (James 1:22) Ultimately, the call to consecration means we are putting God first in our lives, before anything else and anyone else, and this is a vital spiritual principle. If we don’t put God first and offer ourselves to Him as living sacrifices (Rom 12:1), we will end up trying to do God’s work in our own strength and will end up flat on our faces. 2 Cor 6:14-15 and 2 Tim 2:20-21 remind us that there has to be a difference between God’s people and the rest of the world. We must offer ourselves daily to God to be used in His service.

Mother Teresa said, ‘holiness consists in accepting and following the will of God. Holiness and obedience are inextricably intertwined. As we obey God, He will purify us, sanctify us and make us holy, for ‘holiness consists simply in doing God’s will, and being just what God wants us to be.’ (Thérèse of Lisieux) Holy people will see God do amazing things and will be involved in those amazing things, for His glory and fame.

This morning’s sermon continued our ‘Battles and Blessings’ series, looking at how Joshua dealt with the challenge of leading God’s people into the Promised Land. Moses was dead and he was given the job of leading the people of Israel (see Josh 1:2=6); now, having spied out Jericho, Joshua encourages the people: ‘Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.’ (Josh 3:5)

The battle for holiness will always precede the blessings of victory. God calls us to consecrate ourselves, to set ourselves apart for Him, for He is a holy God (see Lev 11:44-45, 1 Pet 1:13-16). We need to understand the holiness of God (see Is 6:3, Hab 1:3), for He wants us to be pure and clean, set apart for His service (see also Ex 19:9-13, Heb 12:18-21). God has made a way for sinners to approach His throne through the blood of Jesus Christ (Heb 12:22-24, Heb 10:20) and there is a dual aspect to consecration, for He is both the One who has made us holy and who continues that process of sanctification (Heb 10:14).

Our part in this process of sanctification is given in Eph 4:22-24, where we are told to ‘put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.’ This leads us into great blessings, for the pure in heart will see God (Matt 5:11). We are washed by God’s word (Eph 5:26), cleansed from all unrighteousness and led into a greater relationship with our God when we desire to consecrate ourselves.

We know some of the amazing things that God did through Joshua and the people of Israel, how they crossed that river, how they placed stones there as a memorial to all God had done, how they ultimately captured Jericho and moved in to the Promised Land. God has amazing things in store for us too. But we cannot see the amazing things of God unless we choose to consecrate ourselves, unless we choose to be holy, unless we take seriously the holiness of God and His commands to us to be holy as He is holy. We are made holy through Christ’s perfect sacrifice; we are being made holy by His Spirit living within us.

As we gallop towards the halfway point in the year, there is a lot planned for June!

Next weekend (3/4 June) is the Pentecost weekend, when we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit on the church in power (see Acts 2). We will be joining in a ‘Churches Together’ Pentecost Party at the Salvation Army at 4 p.m. on Saturday 3rd June and will be having our family service on the theme of ‘Pentecost Power’ on Sunday 4th June at 6 p.m. as well as our morning Communion service at 10.30 a.m. that Sunday.

On Saturday 10th June we will be having a cleaning and maintenance day from 10 a.m. Come along to help spruce up the building and get on with those essential jobs!

On Tuesday 20th June we will be hosting a ‘Churches Together’ prayer meeting at 10.30 a.m. Come along to pray for our churches, our local community and our nation.

On Saturday 24th June at 6 p.m. we will have our Annual General Meeting, looking back over the past year and looking forward to all God has in store for us in the year to come.

In addition, we meet every Sunday at 10.30 a.m. (at Cherry Tree Court on 11th June) and at 6 p.m. and have prayer meetings/ Bible studies on Thursdays at 7.30 p.m. Don’t forget to pray also for our coffee morning outreach (Saturday mornings), our youth outreach (Monday evenings) and our Parent & Toddler group (Friday mornings).

Three views that shape our identity:

1. Our own nature: what we believe about ourselves
2. Other people: what they believe about us
3. God: the only truly unbiased opinion we will ever know

If we are lucky, we start life with people cooing and comforting, telling us we are loved, precious, beautiful and valued. But all too often, these opinions are biased and we encounter others that say the opposite: that we are unloved, scorned, useless, ugly, unimportant and insignificant. Michael W. Smith sings of these feelings in the song ‘Never Been Unloved‘, a song which makes use of the prefix -un to describe our attitudes and behaviour: ‘I have been unfaithful…unworthy… unrighteous…unreachable…unteachable…unwilling… undesirable…unwise… undone by what I’m unsure of…unbroken …unmended …uneasy…  unapproachable… unemotional… unexceptional…undecided… unqualified…unfair… unfit for blessings from above.’

The confusion between the different opinions of others causes internal division and uncertainty. Whom do we believe? Such directly contraditctory opinions can’t all be true.

Then there is our own opinon: how we see ourselves. This is hugely influenced by our formative years, but even the most loved child can be shaped not only by what others say but by their own personality and inner thoughts. Some have critical, negative views of themselves, leading to further layers of insecurity and doubt.

Ultimately, the only objective opinion about ourselves comes from God. He gives us value and worth, unconditional love, security and significance. He is not sentimental in His appraisal of us, so we can trust His judgmenjts. He will also not be swayed in His opinion, as we are, by behaviour. His love and acceptance are not dependent on our niceness, cuteness, attractiveness or goodness. They spring from His own united, faithful character, not from our likeability. (Deut 9:6)

Our identity is ultimately decided and determined by God, which gives us stability and strength. Others may, like Samuel, only see the outward appearance and judge the book according to the cover (think of Simon Cowell’s initial reaction to seeing Susan Boyle, compared to how he reacted when she actually sang for him!) Our own view of our identity may seem like a fragmented kaleidoscope picture, liable to change depending on how we feel or whose voice is whispering most loudly into our ears.

But God’s view will not change. To Him, we are precious (Is 43:4), loved (Jer 31:3, John 3:16), valued (Matt 10:31), accepted (Eph 1:6) and changed (2 Cor 3:18, 2 Cor 5:17). That puts backbone into our weakness and strength into our step.

In music, there is a connection between major keys (which tend to sound brighter and more cheerful) and minor keys (which tend to sound more melancholy.) This connection is described as ‘relative’; thus, A minor is the relative minor of C major and E minor the relative minor of G major, for example.

A minor key differs from a major key in certain notes only. The third note is lowered (flattened) by a semitone, with the sixth and seventh notes also altered slightly (depending on whether a harmonic or melodic minor version of the scale is played.) Examples of minor keys in pop songs include The Moody Blues’ ‘Nights in White Satin’ or Michael Jackson’s ‘Billie Jean’; church songs include ‘Father God, I Wonder’ and ‘Take Me Past The Outer Courts.’

Life can often seem sad and melancholy, and the psalms of lament reflect the tragedy, helplessness and sorrow we feel at times. I’m sure minor keys are used to reflect those sentiments. Only when we fully reach perfection in glory will the minor key be forgotten (‘Endless Hallelujah’, Matt Redman). In this life, it is a valuable tool for expressing ambiguity, sadness, complexity and indecision.

It’s worth noting, however, that the connections to major keys is never far away. Often, it is just a semitone, a half-step, which can change the whole ‘feel’ of a piece of music. So too in life, weeping may remain for a night, but joy comes in the morning (Ps 126:5-6). God is able to turn our wailing into dancing, to remove the sackcloth and clothe us with joy (Ps 30:11), to bring us back from the depths of despair and restore to us the joy of our salvation. (Ps 51:12)

I love the way composers can alternate major and minor keys within classical music to paint a richly textured musical piece. In the same way, life contains both highs and lows, joys and sorrows. It can be difficult to walk through the valley, which feel cold, dark places, but God’s promise is that He walks beside us as a man of suffering who is familiar with pain (Is 53:5), a great high priest who is not unable to feel sympathy for our weaknesses. (Heb 4:15) We may not understand or even like the minor key, but God promises a triumphant ending, a resolution of troubles and the permanence of His presence. In a symphony, the final movement is usually in a major key. Now, we wait for that final movement of God’s triumph and victory.

Stephen asked us to consider how we see God tonight. For those who are not Christians, their view of God may well be tainted by their view of what they perceive to be irrelevant church doctrine or even by their view of individual Christians who may be perceived as hypocrites, responsible for wars of religion throughout the centuries. For Christians, our view of God may also be limited, especially if we try to limit Him in any way (perhaps only considering Him when we are in church  – after all, He has promised to meet with us when we gather in His name, but doesn’t live in houses built by human hands!)

It’s true that God can be found in church and that He is found in Scripture, but we need more than a physical vision of God (who is, after all, invisible – see 1 Jn 4:19.) We need true depth and perspective to see Him as Three-in-One, instead of separating Him into roles (Father, Son and Spirit). Jn 16:1-33 gives us insight into the interpersonal nature of God and how there is intrinsic unity in the Godhead. Our vision of God must encompass who He is in His fulness and His unity if we are to see God more clearly.