Set Apart for Revival
Stand Alone • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 4 viewsThis message is the kickoff to our revival services and challenges us to be set apart for Christ as we seek Him to revive us and fan the flames of our hearts for Him!
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Revival…What are we seeking to be revived?
A purpose for our life?
A mission outside of ourselves?
A heart and life that is focused on what truly matters?
Regardless of where we are in our Journey with Jesus, the ultimate goal of revival is for the Holy Spirit to fan the flames of our heart for Jesus…to seek Him and ask Him to give us a passion for what He has a passion for!
Revival doesn’t come by accident. We have to be intentional.
We must seek a life that is consecrated unto the Lord.
10 the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments 11 and be ready for the third day. For on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.
What is Consecration?
What is Consecration?
It is our journey of unconditional surrender to God!
Exodus 32:29 “29 And Moses said, “Today you have been ordained for the service of the Lord, each one at the cost of his son and of his brother, so that he might bestow a blessing upon you this day.””
In this passage, there is an intentional dividing line: Who is with the Lord…and who is not?
1 Chronicles 29:1a “1 And David the king said to all the assembly…” , 1 Chronicles 29:5b “Who then will offer willingly, consecrating himself today to the Lord?”
Consecration is being set apart for the Lord. It is centered in our hearts and revealed in our loyalty to Him.
Consecration produces a closer, more obedient relationship with God.
Consecration develops over our lifetime through 5 voluntary stages:
5 Voluntary Stages of Consecration:
5 Voluntary Stages of Consecration:
STAGE 1: SALVATION
STAGE 1: SALVATION
Salvation is the starting point for a life of consecration.
3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Salvation includes a change of ownership.
19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
Salvation launches a lifelong quest to become fully set apart as Christ’s own possession.
11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.
Examine your own heart this morning.
Have you experienced a genuine, biblical salvation? It is a gift that is freely extended to you by God through Jesus, but receiving it will cost you a lifelong journey where you trade your old, self-centered life for a new, Christ-centered life.
Genuine, biblical salvation is not simply praying a prayer to get fire insurance…it is a lifelong commitment to Christ that stems from a conviction of ones own brokenness and sinfulness and expressed in letting go of oneself in order to embrace Jesus!
STAGE 2: SELF
STAGE 2: SELF
A New Self begins at salvation when the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within you.
13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
As we grow into the New Self, it creates a struggle between our flesh (old self) and the Holy Spirit (bringer of the New Self).
1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
It can often be a struggle as we transition from “living in the flesh” to “walking in the Spirit”.
14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
1 But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, 3 for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?
The New Self walks by the Spirit by growing in and abiding in a good relationship with Jesus.
5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
If you are in Christ, you have certainly passed Stage 1. As you grow in that salvation you will have to work it out with awe and reverence; or as it puts it in Philippians 2:12–13 “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”
In stage 2 don’t fall into the trap of trying to “do better” and “stop sinning” in your own strength or by your own will power.
The goal here is to grow and mature in the Spirit so that you walk by the Spirit and seek that which is holy.
Beating yourself up to try and modify your behavior is not the same as embracing and walking in the Spirit.
Trying to fix yourself is putting the cart before the horse.
Learn to embrace the Spirit and let your self be drawn to the things of God…the changes in action will come once the changes in thought transform who you are into the New Self.
Once we start to focus on the holy instead of the unholy, then we will begin to see the New Self emerge. That’s when we begin to move into stage 3…
STAGE 3: SACRIFICE
STAGE 3: SACRIFICE
Sacrifice is the greatest turning point of Consecration!
Sacrifice is the Christian’s response to the love and mercy of God.
1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
Sacrifice is the voluntary setting apart of one’s entire life to God.
33 And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
Sacrifice is the logical response to God’s mercies and is accepted by God!
Once our hearts are set on the pursuit of holiness because God is holy, then we are ready to make Spirit-driven sacrifices!
Too often we try to put sacrifice before a love for all things holy, but a love for God and His holiness must always come first.
It is for the sake of holiness that we willingly and lovingly make sacrifices to the God who is truly worthy of all!
It is also during this stage that we seek out and embrace accountability from fellow brothers and sisters.
Part of sacrifice is not being afraid to be vulnerable with other mature believers whom we’ve come to trust, because we have already made ourselves vulnerable before God and His love is shown through them!
As we grow deeping in our love for Jesus and pursing His holiness and righteousness, we enter into stage 4…
STAGE 4: SERVANT
STAGE 4: SERVANT
Being a servant of Jesus looks strange to the outside world. It should almost look like we hate everything in comparison to how much we love Jesus.
25 Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. 28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’
Being a servant even looks like we hate our own life in comparison to how much we love Jesus.
34 And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. 36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?
Being a servant means counting the cost of discipleship and putting all personal ties to possessions on the line for the sake of following Christ.
33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
27 Then Peter said in reply, “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” 28 Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.
Being a servant means all places, positions, and priorities are established by Christ.
19 And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” 20 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”
2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off. 4 So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus.
5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
23 Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, 24 but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
17 As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. 18 They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, 19 thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.
Being in the servant stage moves us from what do have to for Jesus, to what do we get to do for Jesus!
Being a servant shifts our priorities and obligations to Him so that He becomes our drive and motivation and when this sinks into our lives it moves us into the final stage that looks similar but has one major shift…
STAGE 5: SLAVE
STAGE 5: SLAVE
We have a negative context of slavery…and rightfully so. Most of our exposure to slavery is from a stand point that is forced, but in biblical times, there was another type of slavery…a willful slavery that is birthed out of love not force.
In the slave stage Jesus not only becomes our motivation and drive as we serve Him, but He becomes our joy, delight, and only reason worth living!
A Slave purposefully lives and embraces Christ as the Master in all things.
22 For he who was called in the Lord as a bondservant is a freedman of the Lord. Likewise he who was free when called is a bondservant of Christ. 23 You were bought with a price; do not become bondservants of men.
A slave follows Jesus and chooses to serve others with a mindset of complete self-abandonment.
22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.
7 “Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table’? 8 Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’? 9 Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? 10 So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’ ”
A slave lives free from all dependence except from Christ and experiences everything He promised.
19 For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them.
3 No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him.
14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.
A Slave denies Himself so completely he “loses his life” to seek and serve Christ.
23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ
10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,
A Slave doesn’t live for this age, but for the eternal age that is to come.
24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25 Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?
13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.
A Slave to Christ finds his delight and joy exclusively in Christ. But He also finds a rich depth of experiencing the greatness of who God is and rejoices in being a Child of God!
A Slave finds the fullness of his identity in Jesus and belonging to Him. This makes all the difference!
CLOSING
CLOSING
WHAT STAGE DO YOU FIND YOURSELF IN?
WHAT STAGE DO YOU WANT TO BE IN?
REVIVAL IS A TIME WE ASK GOD TO HELP US SEE WHERE WE ARE AND REVIVE IN US A PASSION TO MOVE FORWARD IN OUR JOURNEY UNTIL WE ARE ABLE TO LET GO OF ALL THAT WE ARE IN OREDER TO EMBRACE ALL OF WHO HE IS!
ARE YOU SET APART FOR REVIVAL?
