Date: November 17, 1935, afternoonPlace: ChuenchowScripture Reading: Rom. 12:1; 6:13; 2 Cor. 5:14-15
God saves us for the purpose of living for the Lord. God has not saved us merely for the purpose of separating us from the world. He has saved us for the purpose of separating us from ourselves. In the end, we will be sanctified, that is, fully separated unto the Lord (cf. John 17:14-19). A Christian who has not overcome is not a happy Christian. He lives in defeat constantly and has conflict in his heart continually. This conflict and defeat occur because he has not consecrated himself in an absolute way to the Lord.
The consecration that is spoken of in the Bible is an absolute consecration. If our consecration is not absolute, at the most we can be second-class Christians. There are two things that a Christian should do before he can overcome. The first is to let go, and the second is to believe. There are also two things that he should do after he overcomes. The first is to make confession for his sins, and the second is to consecrate.
We have already spoken of letting go, believing, and confessing. Today we will consider the matter of consecration. We possess many things which we are not willing to consecrate, such as our money, family, time, and career. We are unable to consecrate because we have not yet overcome. We can consecrate only when we stand on the ground of victory. Those who have not experienced victory cannot consecrate themselves. When we take the Lord as our victory, it is very easy for us to consecrate ourselves. If we have not taken the Lord as our victory and then say that we cannot consecrate ourselves, I will say, "Amen, that is right. You can never consecrate yourself by yourself." Romans 6:13 says that consecration comes after the experience of dying and resurrecting with the Lord. We can consecrate ourselves to God only after we are "alive from the dead." Many people think that they are living a consecrated life. Actually, they have not even touched the entrance to such a life. Unless we first experience the victory of Christ, we cannot consecrate ourselves.
Romans 12:1 says, "I exhort you therefore, brothers, through the compassions of God." The word "compassions" is plural in number; it refers to the multifarious grace mentioned in Romans 1 through 8. According to the sequence of teaching in the book of Romans, chapter twelve should immediately follow chapter eight. Hence, the compassions mentioned in chapter twelve refer to the things covered in chapters one through eight. The Son of God has died for our sins. He has died for us and saved us from the punishment of sin. He is now living for us and delivering us from the power of sin. God has shown all of these compassions toward us. Paul was not commanding us but exhorting us to present our bodies. In the first eight chapters, we are told that we were sinners and that the Son of God shed His blood to redeem us from sin. Chapters three and four speak of the blood, chapter five speaks of forgiveness, and chapters six through eight speak of the cross crucifying our old man and releasing us from sin. The Lord died for us once, and He is now living for us. Once we believe in the Lord's death and resurrection, we become the Lord's. Many people are willing to be delivered from hell, but unfortunately they are not willing to be separated from the world. They are willing to be delivered from sin, but they are not willing to be sanctified and separated absolutely to the Lord.
God has saved us, and we have believed in this saving fact. There was once a Christian girl from Abyssinia, Africa, who was sold as a slave. At the beginning of the auction, three men were bidding fiercely for her. All three were evil, and the girl knew that she would suffer greatly no matter whose hand she fell into. She was weeping and full of sorrow. Finally, a fourth man came and made the highest bid. As soon as he bought her, he sent for a blacksmith to break her chains, and said to the girl, "You are free." Then he turned around and walked away. At first the girl did not understand. Later she came to her senses and shouted, "He has bought me! He has bought me. From this day forward until the day I die, I will follow him." This story is happening to us today. The Lord's love has constrained us, and we must tell Him that we will follow Him from now on.
A brother was once riding on a train and was invited to participate in a card game. He told those who invited him, "Sorry friends, I have not brought my hands along with me today." The others looked at him in surprise. He went on, "My two hands are the Lord's. The hands that once sinned and played card games are now crucified with the Lord." He saw that since he had consecrated himself to the Lord, his hands were the Lord's and no longer his own.
Once while waiting for a bus ride, I saw a book of a questionable nature in a shop, and I was tempted to look at it, but the Lord forbade me and I dared not open the book. My eyes have been consecrated to the Lord; they are no longer mine.
Today we need such a realization. We need to know that the Lord has purchased us and that we belong to Him. This feeling is indeed sweet and wonderful. Some may criticize us for being too narrow or stubborn, but while their mouths criticize us, their hearts admire us. Such Christians are the happiest people. Nothing can give us greater joy than consecrating ourselves absolutely to the Lord, for we are consecrating ourselves to the Lord who loves us most dearly.
The first thing to do after overcoming is to consecrate. What is consecration? It is putting yourself and all that you have on the altar. Specifically, we should consecrate four things to the Lord. The first is people, that is, all the people who are related to us. If a man loves many people, the Lord will have no place in his heart. If you have consecrated yourself to the Lord, no one in this world will occupy your heart any longer, and no person can seize your heart away from Him. God saves you in order to gain full control of you. However, many tears are holding you back, many human affections are enticing you to turn, and many broken hearts are calling you to return. You have to say to the Lord, "Whom do I have in heaven but You?/And besides You there is nothing I desire on earth" (Psa. 73:25). Such a consecration is not for the future, but for today; it is something that we can do today. Today we can cut off all human affections and human relationships and give the Lord the preeminent place.
The second thing we should consecrate is our career. We do not need to consecrate ourselves to be preachers. Many preachers today are not consecrated. Rather, we need to consecrate ourselves to do God's will, to seek after His will, and to find out what His will is for us. A brother, as a high school student, was always the first in his class. He was determined to be the first in his final examination and would not settle for less. He devoted all his time and energy to his study, and his love for the Lord was diminished. Later, he had a breakthrough in the matter of overcoming and realized that it was wrong for him to have such an ambition. He prayed to the Lord, "If it is Your will, I am willing to even come last in the class." This student was a genuine brother in the Lord. In the end he overcame. He experienced the overcoming life in his academic pursuit. Brothers, if you have any aspirations in your business or career that you cannot let go and if there is anything that you insist on having, you have to consecrate yourself. You have to consecrate your career, aspirations, and ambitions totally to the Lord so that you can do God's will.
The third item we have to consecrate is things. It is easier for a rich man to forsake the Lord than for a poor man to forsake the Lord because the heart of a rich man is with his money. Nothing in this world belongs to us; everything belongs to the Lord. Therefore, we have to consecrate everything to the Lord and put everything we have on the altar (1 Chron. 29:12-16). Many people squander their money. This is not pleasing to God, of course, but some save up their money in a way that does not please the Lord either. For example, a sister would not spend even a dollar in fifty years. Squandering has no place before the Lord, just as thrift has no place before the Lord either. All of our saving and spending will be judged by the Lord at the judgment seat of Christ. Whatever the Lord wants us to spend our money on, we should spend it accordingly. Offering in the New Testament is different from that in the Old Testament. The principle in the Old Testament is tithing, offering one-tenth. But the principle in the New Testament is offering up ten-tenths; it is offering up all that we have into the hand of the Lord. God will not allow us to go hungry. We may worry about how we are going to support our living, but God wants us to first offer up everything to Him and then draw our needs from Him. The first day we take home our wages, we should say to the Lord, "All of this money is Yours. I offer it all up to You." After we have received our wages, we should first offer them up to the Lord and then use them according to His dispensing. When we receive our wages, it is wrong to first spend the money on what we need and then give the rest to God. Brother Witness Lee lives in a big family. He and his two brothers hand over all the money they earn each month to their mother, and then she dispenses it according to each one's need. This should be how it is between God and us. We should not offer to God what is left from our own spending. Rather, we should offer up everything to God and then allow Him to supply us with what we need.
There is no need to dispose of all the possessions we own from the past. If God wants us to offer up everything, we should offer up everything. We may sell all our possessions and deposit everything in the bank, wait for God's future leading, and then offer it all up for the Lord's use. If we offer in this way, the bank which keeps our money will be blessed. It will not be foreclosed because God will guard His own deposit. In this world, five percent interest is considered to be high, but the Bible says that when we offer to the Lord, we will receive a hundredfold in this world (Matt. 19:29)! This is ten thousand percent interest! What a bargain! Brothers and sisters, God will not shortchange us. In the past we have passed up many God-given opportunities. In the matter of material offering, I have much experience. I have experienced many blessings that were brought in through offerings. A sister once offered the entire one hundred twenty dollars that she earned in a month to the Lord. When treasures are in our hand, they are either squandered or kept. But if we offer up everything to the Lord, we will not dare to spend loosely. After we consecrate our money to the Lord, everything will become the Lord's, and He will keep it or use it as He sees fit.
Fourth, we have to consecrate ourselves. Not only should we consecrate people, careers, and things, but we also have to consecrate ourselves. Some think that after one has overcome he does not need to practice obedience anymore. Actually, our overcoming only makes us more able to obey the Lord. Formerly we did not have the strength to obey the Lord. Now that the Lord has accomplished everything for us, we can spontaneously hand over our will and everything to the Lord and allow the Lord to strengthen us with the overcoming life for obedience. This is something that we have to do in a definite way. There must be a definite date to our consecration, in the same way that there is a definite date to a girl's marriage. A girl cannot say, "I think I was married on a certain date." In the same way, we cannot say, "I think I consecrated myself on a certain date." This is something that we need to do before the Lord in a definite way. We should be very clear about this date and never forget it. I consecrated myself to the Lord on February 13, 1922. We can announce our date to others. We can tell those who brought us to the Lord or those who have given us spiritual help. We can even put out an announcement and declare to men as well as to Satan: "I am married to the Lord." Paul said that he had betrothed the Corinthian believers as chaste virgins to the Lord (2 Cor. 11:2).
Deuteronomy 26:16-19 says that if we obey the Lord's word, the Lord will make us keep all His commandments and make us a holy people to Jehovah our God. Obedience to the Lord's word is our duty as Christians, while making us a holy people to Jehovah is God's duty. If we take care of our part, God will do His part.
If consecration is so intimately linked to overcoming, what then is the overcoming life? Is it merely a victory over all the evil things? No! If it were, there would be many people in this world who would not need the overcoming life. They have many natural virtues. They do not lose their temper and do not do many evil things. Are these people victorious? No! Victory does not mean just overcoming evil deeds. Victory means that we no longer live for ourselves but that we live for the Lord while we live on earth every day. We must have the realization that the Lord has purchased us, that we belong to Him, and that we have been married to Him. Those who live in this atmosphere will breathe the heavenly air of holiness.
Victory is not a practice of negating things. It is not just a passive deliverance from sin. Victory is an active consecration to the Lord and a fellowship with Him while living on this earth. Unless one reaches this stage, he is not overcoming. A Christian first overcomes and then consecrates. If we have broken through in the matter of overcoming, all we have to do today is to consecrate ourselves.
Romans 6:16 says, "Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves as slaves for obedience, his slaves you are whom you obey, whether of sin unto death or of obedience unto righteousness?" We consecrate to the Lord to be His slaves. When many people hear about consecration and being slaves unto God, they are afraid. They think that after they consecrate themselves, God will give them a hard time. However, only those who do not know God think in this way.
A certain mother did not understand the meaning of obedience and consecration. Someone explained this to her by way of an illustration: "Suppose you have a son who was very stubborn and disobedient. Later, he repented and told you that from then on he would obey you, that he would take your word, and that he would do whatever you wanted him to do. As a mother would you think of difficult things for him to do throughout the whole night so that you could give him a hard time the next day?" The mother said, "Of course not. I would just turn around and love him more." In fact, she would think of how she could make him new clothes or buy him candy. This is a mother's heart. This is also our God's heart.
When we consecrate ourselves to God, He will order everything and make it work together for us. Is He not satisfied and pleased with our obedience? Why should He be scheming to deal with us or to give us a hard time? God's heart towards us is nothing but goodness and kindness. It is true that He does not do everything according to our way, but we have to believe that His heart towards us is good and kind. Although a Christian may suffer tribulations in this world, he can still rejoice in his heart. We can have joy in the midst of our tears because we know that everything that comes upon us has been measured by the Lord's hand. We have to believe that the Father's intention is always good. The more we consecrate ourselves, the more the Lord will love us. Before we consecrate to the Lord, we are just one among many Christians. But after we consecrate ourselves to the Lord, we become totally different persons. We are special in His eyes, and He can have the full freedom to work on us according to His good will.
May every one of us place everything on the altar — the people who are related to us, our careers, our possessions, and even ourselves — sanctifying all these things to the Lord. May we understand that the goal of His salvation is for us to no longer live unto ourselves but to the Lord who died and has been raised for us (2 Cor. 5:14-15).
