To be Dedicated is to be set apart for God’s use, His honour and glory. In the Old Testament, before anything or anyone was used in the service of God, they had to be dedicated first to God. That means, separated from all that defiles, the unclean, and committed to God’s use. The challenge we have today is that many want to serve God, but they don’t want to be dedicated to Him. They don’t want to commit to faithful service, to righteous living etc. They want to serve Him according to their own terms, not according to His. Regardless of whether it pleases or displeases God, they want to be allowed to follow their own fancies. The concept that anything is acceptable to God is false. God has a standard, and He does reject things that are nit acceptable to Him. The church and people may have accepted our half-hearted dedication, yet God might have rejected it.
Utensils were dedicated for God’s service in the temple
Num 7:1 When Moses finished setting up the tabernacle, he anointed and consecrated it and all its furnishings. He also anointed and consecrated the altar and all its utensils. (Check also 1 Kings 7:51)
People were dedicated to God for His Service
1 Sam 1:27,28 I prayed for this boy, and since the LORD has granted me what I asked of Him, 28)I now dedicate the boy to the LORD. For as long as he lives, he is dedicated to the LORD.”
Ex 29:44 “So I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar and will consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve me as priests.
Today we have all been called into the priesthood as believers, our dedication is therefore required to render acceptable services unto God
1 Peter 2:9 But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.
When utensils and people were dedicated to God, they were never used for common purposes. It was required that dedicated utensils to be kept sacred and separate from others, and for dedicated people to live by God’s standard; to live in devotion to His word and in obedience to his command.
THREE ASPECTS OF OUR DEDICATION
1. DEDICATION OF OUR BODIES TO GOD: Honour God with your body
1 Cor 6:12-14 Some of you say, “We can do anything we want to.” But I tell you that not everything is good for us. So I refuse to let anything have power over me. 13 You also say, “Food is meant for our bodies, and our bodies are meant for food.” But I tell you that God will destroy them both. We are not supposed to do indecent things with our bodies. We are to use them for the Lord who is in charge of our bodies. (CEV)
Rom 12:1 Therefore I urge you, brothers, on account of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship
1 Cor 6:19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;
2. DEDICATION OF OUR HEARTS TO GOD:
1 Sam 16:7 People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”.
Joel 2:13 Rend your heart and not your garments.
Matt 15:18,19 But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. 19For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.
3. WE CAN DEDICATE OUR SERVICES TO GOD
Dedication towards the Kingdom of God is a very important characteristic of every faithful Christian. We are not saved by acts, however every believer that understand the greatness of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross of Calvary have a grateful attitude, will build a relationship with God and His church and knows that the reward comes from God, not from people as we see in 1 Cor 15:58: Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.
Col 3:23,24 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24)since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
2 Tim 2:21 Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.
Jesus Christ is our greater example of dedication, because he had a mission to accomplish, and many people tried to stop him:
1. The devil offered him easier pathways (without the cross and without pain)
in Matthew 4:9: ““All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
2. Peter tried to persuade Jesus to avoid the cross, it’s suffering and death.
Mathew 16:21, 22 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”
3. The multitude mocked, challenged and tempted Jesus to show his power by avoiding the suffering of the cross to prove his sonship
Mathew 27:40 and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross if you are the Son of God!
The truth of what God is doing in each of us leads directly to our need to dedicate what we are doing to God. To be dedicated is to decide that the things we do will be done to the glory and honour of God. When we recognize that God is working toward this glorious restoration in each of us, it becomes much easier to dedicate every circumstance of life to Him.
Prayer points:
1. Lets thank God for the strength to be dedicated to his work. Psalm 29:11 “The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace.
2. Let’s pray to be dedicated to work of the kingdom by love, not by obligation. Mathew 22:36-37 – The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength
3. Pray for understanding that dedication will cost me something (The best of my finances, my time – 2 Samuel 24:24: But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.”
4. Pray for us keep our faithfulness and dedication towards his kingdom until the end – Mathew 25:23 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things
5. May the Name of Jesus be glorified by my dedication: Mathew 5:16 in the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
