Progressive Consecration: From First Love to Final Glory

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." - Romans 12:1-2

In the sanctuary of ancient Israel, a divine pattern unfolded - a pattern that speaks powerfully to our present hour. Three distinct offerings ascended before the Lord: the humble turtledove, the costly sheep, and the precious bullock. Each carried its own significance, each demanded its own price, yet all were acceptable to God when offered with a perfect heart. As we stand at the threshold of God's end-time purposes, this pattern reveals not merely historical ritual but God's progressive work in preparing a people for His ultimate glory.

"God meets us at our current offering, but He continually calls us higher, from humble doves to precious bullocks, each sacrifice marking a deeper level of surrender and consecration."

Consider first the mercy of our Lord in accepting the turtledove - the smallest, least costly offering. This initial level of consecration mirrors that first love experience when, touched by God's grace, we respond with wholehearted but general commitment. Like the Ephesian church before losing its first love, we say with genuine fervor, "Lord, I give You my life!" We may not fully comprehend what this entails, but God, in His tender mercy, receives this sincere, if unrefined, offering. Here we learn our first lesson in consecration: God meets us where we are to take us where He desires us to be.

Yet in this urgent hour, when darkness increases upon the earth while God's glory rises upon His people, this initial consecration, precious though it is, cannot suffice. As with the children of Israel, He calls us forward to the offering of the sheep - more costly, more specific, more demanding. This second level requires careful inspection. Just as the sheep was examined for four days before sacrifice, so must we carefully consider the cost and implications of deeper consecration. "For which of you," asks our Lord, "intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost?"

Here, general commitment gives way to specific surrender:

• The head must be separated - our thoughts, mind, and intellectual pride laid upon the altar. In an age of information overflow and mindless entertainment, God requires the consecration of our mental life.
• The fat must be removed - our natural strength, abilities, and self-sufficiency surrendered. Many believers excel in natural gifting yet lack spiritual power because this area remains un-offered.
• The inwards must be exposed - our affections, relationships, and deepest attachments submitted to divine ordering. Family, career, ambitions - all must find their proper place beneath His lordship.
• The legs must be yielded - our walk, will, and daily conduct brought under His authority. Our future plans, life direction, and daily decisions must flow from this consecration.

This process cannot be rushed. Each area requires its own season of inspection, its own moment of crisis, its own maintained consecration. Like the holiness movements of the early 1900s, we may find ourselves spending extended periods before God as He deals with specific areas. The Salvation Army, the Church of the Nazarenes, the early Mennonites - they understood this. They experienced deep encounters with God's sanctifying fire because they paid the price in consecration.

Yet even here, in what might seem the pinnacle of surrender, God may call us higher still - to the offering of the bullock. This highest level of sacrifice, this deepest measure of consecration, comes with its own unique cost and its own unique reward. Areas previously unknown or unrecognized come into view. Aspects of life we thought surrendered reveal deeper layers requiring consecration. The Spirit searches everything, even the deep things of God - and the deep things of our hearts.

"The measure of our surrender determines the measure of His manifestation through us."

This progressive pattern holds particular significance for us today. As we approach the culmination of God's purposes, Isaiah's prophecy unfolds: darkness covers the earth, and gross darkness the people. Yet simultaneously, God's glory rises upon His consecrated ones. The connection is clear - the manifestation of glory follows the path of consecration. The measure of our surrender determines the measure of His manifestation through us.

Dear fellow pilgrim on this path of consecration, where do you stand today? Perhaps you're offering your turtledove - that initial, wholehearted but general commitment. Take heart! This is precious in God's sight, the essential first step in a glorious journey. Or perhaps you're in the process of the sheep offering, carefully examining specific areas God is highlighting. Remember, this inspection is not meant to discourage but to ensure the offering is without blemish, truly acceptable to the Lord.

Or perhaps you're hearing the call to the bullock offering, sensing God's invitation to depths of surrender you've not yet known. Whatever your station, know this: God's call to consecration is always an invitation to glory. Though the cost increases with each level, so too does the spiritual authority and divine enabling. "The way up is the way down" - through surrender comes resurrection power.

We cannot separate personal consecration from corporate implications. As members of Christ's body, our individual surrender - or lack thereof - affects the whole. The end-time harvest requires a fully consecrated church moving in unprecedented authority. Time grows short. The urgency increases. Yet the pattern remains: deep consecration precedes great manifestation.

Let us pray:

Sovereign Lord, we thank You for progressively leading us into deeper consecration. Grant us wisdom to recognize the level You require of us now, courage to count the cost, and strength to maintain our commitments. Whether we bring a turtledove, a sheep, or a bullock, may our offerings be without blemish, acceptable in Your sight. In these crucial hours, let no area remain unoffered, no part of our lives unsubmitted to Your lordship. Lead us progressively deeper into Your purposes, until we fulfill all You have ordained for us in these last days. Prepare us, Lord, as vessels fit for the Master's use in the great harvest before us. In Jesus' name, Amen.

"But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness." - Malachi 3:2-3

Based on Neville Johnson's message, "The Burnt Offering."