CONSECRATION PART III

  1. A talk with the new believers on consecration
    1. Redemption is a great event in the universe, whereas consecration is a great thing for a Christian. Redemption recovers God’s lost authority in man, while consecration returns God’s lost authority and position in man back to God. Hence, we can say that redemption and consecration are two sides of the same thing. No one can be proper Christian without consecrating himself to the Lord.
    2. The basis of consecration is redemption. First there is redemption, and then there is consecration. When we see redemption, we offer up our consecration (I Cor. 6:19-20; II Cor. 5:14-15). If men do not see redemption, he can not consecrate himself.
    3. Redemption recovers God’s lost right. On man’s side redemption means the forgiveness of sins, while on God’s side it means God gains something back. Since redemption means the recovery of man back to God, the matter of consecration immediately follows. Consecration is man’s acknowledgment of God’s right in him.
  2. The solid consecration - handing over oneself to the church
    1. Consecration is not simply for us to hand ourselves over to the Lord, but for us to hand ourselves over to the church. Surely when a person consecrates himself, he hands himself over to the Lord. But no one knows when this kind of consecration has changed or has been retracted. Only the consecration that is done under the authority of the church is solid, and only this kind of consecration will last.
    2. A consecration that is being handed over to the church is fully typified in the way things are offered in the Old Testament. Anything that is to be offered to the Lord is being brought to the temple. The temple, where all the offerings for the Lord are being brought typifies the church. 
  3. The thorough consecration - involving money and occupations
    1. A consecration that does not result in handling oneself over to the church is not solid, and a consecration that does not touch one’s money and his occupation is not thorough.
    2. Satan is God’s adversary. Because he can not deal with God directly, he deals with all things that issue from God’s creation; he tries to damage God’s work. Satan tries to gain all things, but he can not gain every item of all things. It is too troublesome to gain all things. "All things" include the cows, the goats, wood, stone, and so forth. Hence, Satan reduces all things into one kind of thing. This one thing is money. There is nothing in this world that can not be bought with money. If a person has money he has all things. Through the invention Today, Satan can withstand God through mammon and can usurp man’s worship through mammon, because it is the only thing that can unify all things.
    3. After a man is saved, if he has not dealt with his money in a clear way, he is not yet fully saved. Covetousness (love of money and aspiring after money) is not only a root of all evils (I Tim. 6:10); it is even the same as idolatry. Riches are an idol. From the scientist to the most superstitious people, everyone worships mammon. Mammon is the most common object of worship.
    4. Unless God’s people are delivered from the power of mammon, they will not have a proper testimony and can not be proper Christians. If a man tries to hold on both sides, he will not be able to serve the Lord well. No man can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other. You can not serve God and mammon (Matt. 6:24). We need to be delivered from mammon to serve God.
    5. Right after the children of Israel got saved and redeemed by God they plundered the riches of Egypt, and offered all that they have gained to take care of God’s need and for the building of God’s temple. Today in same principle we should make a gain of the world’s riches by our labor in a righteous way to make more money and use it for God’s interest and for the building up of the Body of Christ, the church. The money you offered for God’s economy will become your blessing in this age and in the coming age.
  4. The use of the material riches offered to the Lord
    1. For the need of the church - to meet the different expenses in the churches.
    2. For the advancement of the gospel - all believers need to have a fellowship (contribution, participation) in the furtherance of the gospel (Phil. 1:5). We must earn much money not for us to live a luxurious life but for God’s economy.
    3. Supplying the Lord’s servant - Phil. 4:15-16 shows to us how the Philippians supplied the need of Apostle Paul. For the spreading of the gospel from place to place others have to drop their profession, job, and business; while others have to earn money to supply those who go out to serve the Lord full time. 3 John 8 says, "We therefore ought to support such ones that we may become fellow workers in the truth." In this way all believers become full timers in different functions: others are on-the-job full-timers earning money for God’s economy, while others are job dropping full-timers going out for the advancement of the gospel.
    4. Supplying the needy saints - we should supply the needy saints and we should remember the poor (Rom. 12:13; Gal. 2:10). 
  5. Three kinds of offering:
    1. General offering - offered for general use
    2. Particular offering - offered for a definite use (e.g. for the purchase of the gospel car or for the need of the training).
    3. Personal offering - a special offering for those who serve the Lord full time and a help for those who are in need.