Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.” (Joshua 3:5 NIV)
The story is told about a man who bought a small flock of sheep and a few goats. He put the animals in a fenced lot with plenty of grass and water in the middle of a farmland he had acquired earlier. One morning, he found out that the animals had broken through the fence and were grazing beyond it but sill on his property. The man repaired the breach in the fence and got all the animals back inside. The next day, the same thing happened. They had broken the fence again and were grazing outside the perimeters. So the man decided to enlarge the fence to include the area where they were grazing, concluding that the animals would be happy now with the wider space.
He returned the following day to discover that they had broken and were outside the fence again. Obviously they were not satisfied with the increased perimeter he gave them by expanding the fenced area. So he herded then back in and enlarged the fence again to cover the new area they were grazing at. " They will be satisfied now" he thought to himself. However, as you may have guessed already, the fence was broken again. So he did the same thing. He repaired the fence and increased the perimeters. This trend continued on and on until one day the man decided to do away with the fence all together in order to give the animals a free range to roam to their satisfaction. He felt since they were accustomed to the farmland now, they would not roam beyond it.
Truly, the animals did not roam away but a few days later, he went in the morning to check the animals only to find them all dead with all their inner entrails spewed over the field and their throats spilt open. Apparently a pack of wild dogs had come in the night and killed them all. The man wept in regret. If only he had kept the fence, they would have been preserved. The moral of this story is that fences are not just to keep things in but also to keep certain things out.
Our text speaks of consecration. To sanctify or consecrate means to make holy or to set apart - to separate unto something. Whatever is consecrated is deliberately and willfully turned over to a particular use. For example, you might have a separate set of cutleries and plates for special uses such as the thanksgiving dinner, clothes for special occasions or a room in your house for a particular designated purpose. Those things are consecrated. To be consecrated is to live a separated life- a choice-driven life with certain boundaries, restrictions or fences, focused on God's purpose for you.
As a New Testament believer, you have been consecrated to God's use ( 1 Peter 2:9). You are holy in spirit and are to be holy in every facet of your life not by your strength but by recognizing God's boundaries in his word and relying on his abundant grace to live them out ( I Thess 5:23-24. Sanctification is a prerequisite for amazing. He has qualified you for it by setting you apart. Now your part is to stay within his holy boundaries, living a holy life and walking in obedience to his word and will for your life. Holiness is staying within God's designated parameters. It not only keeps you enjoying within God's blessed perimeters, it also keeps the enemy at bay from your life. As our story illustrates, such a life allows you to live at your best and also keeps certain things out of your life that could otherwise destroy you.
Decision of the Day
I am separated unto Christ and his purpose. Now I will stay within his perimeters in the way I live.
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