Years ago, as a teenager, after making some money I could call mine, I entered a boutique to pick some wares. I had fantasised about getting the wares for weeks. As I tried picking the ones I really loved, I heard the gentle whisper of the Holy Spirit; “That’s not for you.” The Holy Spirit kept restraining me until He pointed the ones I could buy to me. That day, I learnt a major lesson on consecration.
Friend, your destiny requires some level of consecration. I tell people that purity is not just about making heaven. It is about fulfilling destiny (1 Thessalonians 4:3-4). When I hear someone say things like, “Is it a sin? Will I go to hell? Will God be angry with me, etc.?” I know this person has not yet understood God’s requirements for their destiny.
I learnt earlier in my walk with the Lord that, even though God loves you forever, He will not choose you forever. Many are called, but few are chosen (Matthew 22:14). To be called for a specific assignment in life is one thing, but to be in a state where you can fulfil that assignment is another (2 Peter 1:10). Part of the devil’s strategy is to render you unfit for your destiny.
Consecration is about being in a state of heart and act that causes you to walk with God unto all pleasing and to fulfil His purpose for your life (Colossians 1:10). The truth is, the weight of your destiny is what would determine the demand of consecration (Judges 13:12-14). For some, talking too much is a sin against their consecration.
Perhaps there might seem not to be anything wrong in eating the king’s meat. Possibly, Daniel’s three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abdnego, ate the same meal. But why did Daniel purposed in his heart not to eat it (Daniel 1:8)? Why would he call eating that meal a defilement? These are matters around consecration. That what others considered okay is not okay for you.
Consecration would help you to know that just because something is technically legal does not mean that it is spiritually appropriate (1 Corinthians 6:12 MSG). It may not take you to hell, but it would take you through hell as you would miss out of God’s very best. This is why the journey of consecration is personal. It is living your life based on the dictates of heaven, not based on what is in vogue (Romans 12:1-2). Consecration would make you travel a lonely path with God. But that path would surely bring glory and distinction.
‘Demola Awoyele
Lead Pastor,
Destiny Impact Church
Akure, Nigeria