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What God expects from believers – Part 2

By Pastor W. F. Kumuyi
31 July 2016   |   4:27 am
No one can maintain a double identity of a favoured son or minister and an enemy of God at the same time. Irrespective of the profession of faith and activities of religion, belief, practice or gender, anyone who befriends the world...
 Pastor W. F. Kumuyi

Pastor W. F. Kumuyi

No one can maintain a double identity of a favoured son or minister and an enemy of God at the same time. Irrespective of the profession of faith and activities of religion, belief, practice or gender, anyone who befriends the world will drift gradually into it.

Such a person will also suffer a similar fate, especially with two personalities in the Bible, namely, Lot and Demas. Conversion transforms and separates the believer from the contamination, defilement and damnation of the world. The world contaminates and desecrates the believer and his sacrifice and makes it unacceptable to God.

Converted and separated from the world unto the Lord, the believer is required to avoid pitfalls and live righteously. “And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice. And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:30-32). All children of God are called to retain conversion, righteousness and holiness experience.

Paul the apostle’s plea with the “brethren” was for them to consecrate by offering themselves unreservedly to God. The Israelites shed the blood of animals they sacrificed to God for their redemption. Christ cancelled animal sacrifices by offering Himself as the Lamb, who was sacrificed for our redemption. Thus, the only sacrifice we must bring now is to offer ourselves to the Lord as living, holy and acceptable sacrifice.

Christ redeemed us to be fully, wholeheartedly and sacrificially committed to living for and serving Him. “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving” (Colossians 2:6,7).

The church, the bride of Christ, is called and cleansed to be committed and consecrated to Him, as a wife is to her husband. This is not done as a religious activity, but as an all-time and lifetime obligation to Him. God desires that the believer ceases to live for himself, but continually shows his “first love” by cleaving to Him. Consecration is pre-eminent, permanent and perpetual. Christ gave all for our full redemption; He became our Saviour, Lord and Master.

Therefore, the believer’s body, soul, spirit, strength, possessions and gifts belong to Him. Discipleship demands dedication; Calvary claims crucifixion of self-will, worldliness, independence and materialism. And sanctification purges the heart and mind of inbred sins and brings the believer to entire submission to the authority of the Lord. Sanctification is a definite experience of God’s grace through His blood. And all believers must respond by seeking the Lord to be sanctified so as to love and serve the Lord unreservedly.

Consecration is required of both young and adult believers. No believer retires from consecrating to the Lord, as the word “brethren” does not exclude anyone. No section is exempted from entire consecration, because it is the whole church that is being prepared for heaven. It is unscriptural for a believer to limit his consecration and faithfulness only to things that concern the section of the church, where he serves.

Confined or limited consecration and submission does not befit the Lord. It is a mark of ignorance, carnality and backsliding not to submit to the authority of Christ in everything, as if He is no more Lord and King, Who has final authority over our lives. It is certain God will not share His honour and glory with any man, woman, spirit or Satan; neither will Christ share His Bride with the world. He wants us to love Him unreservedly; nothing less is worth His sacrifice and love.

The reason is because, a divided heart is a defiled, desecrated and deficient heart that will hardly say, like Christ, “…the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me” (John 14:30). The consecrated believer is totally and entirely possessed by Christ and is committed to doing all the will of God like David. He unceasingly embraces God’s will, which include salvation, sanctification, evangelism, tithes and offering, rapture, holiness, etc. promptly, accurately, submissively, intelligently and sacrificially. He does not limit, minimise or lower his consecration, as that would lead to carnality.

He knows and pays the price without which consecration would be worthless. He maintains a life of self-denial and cross-bearing, as a true disciple of Christ. God calls every believer to respond to His irretrievable demand, which is, “my son, give me thine heart”. This requires forsaking one’s own way, will, ideas or desires, broadening of commitment and submission and rendering wholehearted service to Him till the end.

Further Reading (King James Version): Romans 12:1,2; 1 Corinthians 6:19,20; Isaiah 43:7,21; 1 Peter 2:9; Romans 12:1,2; 2 Corinthians 6:17; Acts 3:19,26; 15:3,28,29; Galatians 1:3,4; 6:14; James 1:27; 4:4; 2 Timothy 4:10; Ephesians 4: 17-20,30-32; Romans 6:18,22; 1 Peter 1:14-16; Romans 12:1,2; Revelation 4:11; Colossians 2:6,7; 1:13-17; Romans 6:6,11,12; Ephesians 5:25-27; 1 Thessalonians 5:22-24; Hebrews 2:11; 10:10; 13:12-14; Romans 12:1,2; John 14:30; Acts 13:22; 2 Samuel 15:15; 24:24; Matthew 10:37,38; Mark 8:34-38; Revelation 2:4,5, 25,26; Proverbs 23:26.

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