Title: Let’s Begin the Work of Consecration
The founding pastor said that when it comes to the New Year, the most important thing is cleaning and organizing. Because we need to start a new day, a new year, and we can’t start anew if the mess from last year remains.
So, you need to shake off all the dust in the house and clean it properly. He told us that we should check the Bible to see if there were any tears, repair it with tape or purchase a new Bible, and check that the sermon notes are in order.
It’s not too late to clean up now if you have been too busy to clean up or tidy up, I pray in the name of the Lord that you will do it today, and that you will have a new and bright start to the year, and that you will be blessed with reaching all your desired havens.
It is said this year is the year of the blue dragon. In the world, the dragon is a symbol of great power, and a symbol of great success because it ascends from earth to heaven, but in the Bible, the dragon symbolizes the devil and the Satan (Rev 12:9; Rev 20:2).
That’s why the founding pastor really disliked the idea of hanging pictures of dragons in the houses of church members. And he would change all the dragon decorations on the awards given out by the church to grapes. He would even change the names of the pastors who had dragons in their names.
This is not some superstitious concept that having a picture of a dragon in your home will bring good luck or not, but that if you are a believer, you must hate Satan and the devil be prepared to fight them until the end. Believers should not exchange items or gifts containing dragons among us. Also, I would like to ask that you do not hang or place items containing dragons in your home.
In the Bible, what happened when the New Year came? Today’s text (2 Chro 29:17) records that King Hezekiah began cleaning and consecrating the temple on the first day of the first month. Originally, he was going to clean it for 8 days, but there was too must dirt. So, he cleaned for 16 days.
Hezekiah did not carry out this consecrating movement because he wanted to be praised and be lifted by anyone. But he began the work of consecration because he clearly believed that God’s blessing would come upon those who do cleaning.
The Bible records that when the consecration movement was carried out, God’s blessing of prosperity came upon them wherever they went (2 Kings 18:7). I pray in the name of the Lord that our believers will also begin the consecration movements and that wherever you go, you will be blessed by God accompanying you and guiding you through.
What did Hezekiah clean?
The idols were cleaned. (2 Kings 18:3-4).
What is an idol?
- Eating, drinking, and dancing without doing church work (1 Corinthians 10:7)
- Greed is idolatry (Colossians 3:5)
Colossians 3:5 records that covetousness is idolatry. We should ask for the grace of God to live according to God’s word and according to God’s natural order, but if we are occupied with greed, then we will only focus on what we want to have. Thus, we will not mind breaking God’s natural order. This is greed and idolatry.
- Not yearning for grace
James 4:5-6 says that we must be jealous of receiving the
grace to receive the Holy Spirit.
King David confessed that he felt uncomfortable to see himself living in a nice palace made of cedar wood, whereas the Ark of the Covenant stays in a tent. So, he prepared to build a temple. It was David who confessed and promised God that he would build the house of God first. Isn’t this a volunteer spirit?
Look at King Hezekiah. He started cleaning the temple because he couldn’t just leave the dirty and damaged temple alone.
When we have this kind of yearning heart, willing hear and, diligent heart, we can surely do the work of consecration (Rom 12:11; 2 Chro 29:11). God tells us that we shouldn’t be lazy when it comes to doing His work.
In conclusion, you should not be of two minds.
Holiness (Hebrew) Kadash means chastity, purity, purification. In other words, you must be pure and chaste. It means we must not be double-minded.
When the Israelites walked through the wilderness, they started from Mount Hor and went around the land of Edom. So, the Israelites complained. So, God sent fiery serpents to bite the grumbled people. Then, the Israelites asked Moses to pray to God to save them, and God said that if they put a bronze serpent on a standard and lifted it up, all who saw it could live (Num 21:5-9).
This is not about the bronze serpent itself, but about understanding the life-saving work of Jesus Christ symbolized by the bronze serpent and believing in Jesus. However, to make long story short, the Israelites turned the bronze serpent into an idol and began to worship it. So, Hezekiah broke the bronze serpent into powder. ‘Neshtan’ means to shatter and to break into powder (2 Kings 18:4).
So, what is double mind here? They are of two minds: they serve God, but at the same time, they serve the bronze serpent as well.
Dear all, God used a bronze serpent. However, the bronze serpent is not an object of worship. Jesus, who is symbolized by the bronze serpent, is the object of worship. So, the work of consecration here is chastity and chastity is organizing our faith well.
In celebration of CNY and beginning of new year, I pray in the name of the Lord that you will carry out a movement to clean and consecrate the temple like Hezekiah, and that you will always be blessed whether you go out or come in.
The Lord's Covenant Church Malaysia 