I constantly seek God for ways to access more of His glory. I ask Him for keys that will unlock it and make it available to us in greater measure. Recently, during a time of prayer, He began to reveal one of those keys to me. He began to speak to me about "consecration." As I waited before Him, He brought to my mind a sermon I heard over fifteen years ago.

It was preached by a man who was a missionary in Tanzania and it was taken from Acts 9:16 where the Lord said of Saul, "I will make clear to him how much he will be afflicted and must endure and suffer for My name's sake."

I'll be honest with you. When that missionary first started speaking, I wasn't sure I wanted to hear his sermon. Back then, I was used to hearing sermons about being blessed all the time. I didn't want to hear anything about suffering. But he caught my attention because he began by telling us that just a few days before, he and his wife had put their three little daughters on the bus so that they could go to another country and go to school.

There were no schools for them in Tanzania. My heart was drawn to this missionary as he wept about the fact that he wouldn't see his little girls for many months. So I listened intently as he talked about consecration. He talked about serving Jesus at any cost, putting Him first and obeying Him no matter what. At the end of his sermon, he said, "How many of you here tonight would die for Jesus? If you would, please stand." Everyone in the auditorium stood. Then he said, "How many of you will live for Him?"

In recent days, I've thought about that question a lot. I've realized that before we can have the fullness of the glory of God, we as Christians will have to ask ourselves that question. We'll have to do some soul searching about it.

To some of us, it may seem like a peculiar question. After all, we've heard so many sermons on blessing and prosperity that we might think, "Who wouldn't live for Jesus? It's wonderful! It's fun!" But that's only partially true. Blessings and prosperity do belong to us as citizens of the kingdom of God. And it is wonderful to follow Jesus and live in that kingdom. But it is not always fun.

Sometimes it is difficult and painful to our flesh. Sometimes it involves suffering

It's Different These Days
Now when I talk about suffering, I'm not talking about things like poverty and sickness. Jesus redeemed us from those things and we do not need to suffer them.

The suffering I'm talking about is the suffering that sometimes comes to our flesh as we serve the Lord. I'm talking about giving up natural pleasures and desires so we can obey Jesus as Lord of our lives. I'm talking about the kind of suffering that missionary endured when he kissed his little girls good-bye, knowing he wouldn't see them for months, so that he could stay on the mission field and do what God had called him to do.

Someone might say, "Well, I don't know if that's really necessary. I believe we can be Christians without making those kinds of sacrifices." That depends on what we mean by being a Christian. If being a Christian just means wearing a label, reading our Bible, going to church and singing the right songs...then that doesn't require much sacrifice. But if being a Christian means following Jesus, then we'll have to be like Him, and He gave up His whole life to establish the kingdom of God.

The Principles of the Kingdom
Now when you establish any kind of organization or kingdom, there are certain principles on which that kingdom is founded. Take the United States of America, for instance. It was founded on the principle that all men were created equal and have been endowed by God with the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Our forefathers not only agreed on that principle, they pledged their lives, their fortunes and their honor to defend that principle. And many paid a dear price to stand by it.

In the same way, the kingdom of God is founded on certain principles. Jesus taught those principles in what we call "the sermon on the mount." In that sermon He said:

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are they which hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
(Matt. 5:3-12)

If you'll carefully examine each of the statements Jesus made there, you'll see they all call for a life of consecration. They call for us to lay down our own interests, deny ourselves and our own personal desires and selfish tendencies, and do what God wants us to do.

Not for Wimps
Jesus laid down this principle and He walked it out. He didn't just preach it, He lived it to the uttermost by giving His life for the world. Remember what He did at the last supper, just before He was crucified? He took the cup and said, "This is My blood of the new covenant, which is being poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins" (Matt. 26:28).

Then He gave that same cup to His disciples and they drank it, making the same pledge. If you'll read about the disciples, you'll see they kept that pledge too. They all suffered for the kingdom of God. Some were crucified. Some were killed by the spear or sword. Some were tortured. We need to think about that. We need to realize the price that was paid by those who went before us. Those men weren't wimps.

Their Christianity had strong character to it! Sometimes we wonder today why we don't have the same kind of power those early disciples had. One of the reasons is because we haven't had that kind of character, that kind of commitment...that kind of consecration!

If we'll truly repent of our selfishness and begin to ask God to move within us and upon us, He'll do a consecrating work in our heart. If we'll begin to cry out for the same intensity of spirit that was resident in those early Christians, He will give it to us. He will restore to us the fire of God and the commitment that so marked their lives.

He will make us more than superficial people, wearing the label of "a Christian." He will transform us into true followers of Jesus. When that happens we'll see the glory and power of God flowing in our lives like mighty rivers. We'll see a great harvest of souls because people will at last be able to look at us and really see Jesus.

Then the vision that has captivated my heart for so many years will at last become a reality. And the knowledge of the glory of the Lord will cover the earth like the waters cover the sea. Oh God, change us now!

Copyright © Mac Hammond Ministries
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