Platform Your Anointing and Assignment Consecration

		Platform Your Anointing and Assignment   YOUR HISTORY WITH GOD AFFECTS THE WORLD!  Prophetic Transitions by Todd Bentley This is a two-part teaching entitled Prophetic Transitions by Todd Bentley. This week in Part 1, Todd reveals a crucial key for successfully going through times of transition. You will come to understand the importance of consecration, staying in the Secret Place, and why your sanctification is vital to the release of God's marvels in the earth. Next week in Part 2, you will learn how your intimacy with God not only affects you, but it also affectsthe nations. Todd explains, by drawing from the life of Moses, how God's presence is released upon our lives, how His glory manifests, and what hinders God's glory from being revealed. Right now, like so many Christians, you are probably smack-dab right in the middle of a change of seasons, spiritually speaking! What was familiar may no longer be in sight, and you might even be feeling a little shaky on your feet. So it's vital not to lose sight of God. The Lord is there for you, always, (Heb. 13:5) and He'll strengthen you and show you the way to go (Ps. 119:105). In fact, if you're in a transition, the good news is you are actually heading somewhere, a certain destination, because transition means: passage from one form, state, style, or place to another! Still, to make sure you don't end up just going around in circles, God wants to place a "spiritual compass" in your hand. That compass is "wired" to point you off in the right direction---straight to the Father's heart---the Secret Place. That special place is where we love on God, get our bearings, grow in our relationship and walk with Him, and get strengthened and filled. Therefore, in this teaching series my goal is to help establish your spiritual footing through times of transition by checking the "compass" and taking you to the Secret Place. To get there we're going to journey together to key places like consecration, the importance of staying in the Secret Place, and the benefits of sanctification. So let's go now to the ancient book of Leviticus, beginning at chapter 8. CONSECRATION Here we see that Aaron and his sons, in their priestly role, were commanded to consecrate themselves for a period of seven days---"For seven days he shall consecrate you. Therefore you shall stay at the door of the tabernacle of meeting day and night for seven days, and keep the charge of the LORD, so that you may not die . . ." (vv. 33a, 35). The meaning of the number seven in Scripture is completion and perfection. There was something important that God wanted to accomplish in the hearts of Aaron and his sons during those seven days of consecration. This serious time was absolutely necessary in order to prepare them completely for their priestly ministry on the eighth day. Eight means new beginnings, and on that set day Aaron had certain holy practices to complete that also involved his two sons. God had promised to appear to them and the people (9:6) afterward, and scripture says that "the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people, and fire came out from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar" (9:23, 24). So, after a time of sacrifice, death, offerings, (Lev. 7) came seven days of consecration to the Lord. Listen. God will bring about His fire, purging, and discipline, or what I call suffering, for seven days---which means until He gets the job done. Until it's complete and perfect, the process will go on. In fact I believe that we can turn a 40-day purpose into 40 years depending on how we respond when the fire begins to fall. Their time of consecration was also like a time of suffering, but with it came the promise of God's glory. There is a profound sweetness found in suffering, it's not suffering without a promise---"and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us" (Rom. 8:17, 18). I keep seeing this glory that is about to be revealed in the church. But if I can't have the glory without suffering, if I can't get to the new beginnings without seven days of consecration, I would much rather embrace the dealings of God now, and judge myself now than be judged later. Just look at what happened to Aaron's two sons. They died after that time of consecration because they brought strange fire before the Lord. Fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them and theydied (Lev.10:1, 2). STAYING IN THE SECRET PLACE With Aaron's two sons now dead, his other two sons were appointed for priestly service to the Lord. Next, Moses told them all, "You shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die, for the anointing oil of the LORD is upon you" (10:7). Remaining in God's presence is of the utmost importance! Why? The answer is because it is the threshold for new beginnings that we might live, and much more. The Bible says that Moses's servant/assistant Joshua, the son of Nun, remained in the tabernacle (Ex. 33:11). It was Joshua who took the children of Israel across the river Jordan into the Promised Land---the place of new beginnings! What qualified Joshua to be ready for the next season? It was this: he did not depart from the tabernacle of the Lord. Listen. Too many men, ministries, leaders are dying, not literally but spiritually, because the anointing oil of the Lord is upon them and they aren't remaining in the doorway of the "tabernacle," the Secret Place. There is a promise of a new anointing that comes with the new beginning, and the new beginning is established for those that come back to the Secret Place and embrace the priestly ministry of worship and the word. THE BENEFITS OF SANCTIFICATION Joshua remained in the tabernacle and he was God's appointed leader for the next season. When the time came for the children of Israel to cross the river Jordan, he told them: "Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you" (Josh. 3:5). Sanctifying ourselves is vital and integral to God's marvels being released. Sanctification means: to make holy; set apart as sacred; consecrate. Many people want the supernatural, the miracles, signs and wonders and we do need them, don't get me wrong. However, such acts really only have eternal weight and glory through a believer's sanctification to God. Think of what Moses had with God. God said to Moses: "Behold, I make a covenant. Before all your people I will do marvels such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation; and all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the LORD. For it is an awesome thing that I will do with you" (Ex. 34:10). Moses was sanctified; his life was set apart for the Lord. And also remember, God made that promise when the Ten Commandments were being written on Mount Sinai---commandments for holy living. God made another promise earlier, a covenant promise, that He was going to give the land that he swore to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Ex. 33:1). He said to Moses, "To your descendants I will give it." Have you ever had God say something to you like, "I will give it?" Do you want to enter into the land? I know I do! How many of you want to enter into a time where God will work marvels in the nations such as we've not seen in all the earth so that Jesus can be glorified and the great harvest can come in? God made me a promise about this for the next season. He said, "I will do marvels such as have not been done in all the earth. In all the people among whom you are, they shall see the work of the Lord. It is an awesome thing that I will do for you." Right now God is raising the standard and He is offering us as individuals an opportunity to consecrate ourselves in the Secret Place as we embrace going lower so we can go higher in Christ Jesus. In this place, as shifts and transitions present themselves, they will not dominate our lives negatively but they will drive us into the safety and wisdom of the heart of God. So get ready for next week because we're going to journey to a few more places along the way to the Secret Place. For those of you who would like to study the subject of the Secret Place further, we'd like to recommend The Secret Place audio CD which has three teachings---The Father's House, Soaking and The Secret Place. Also by listening to the audio message, Prophetic Transitions, you will receive more detailed teaching that time and space does not permit in Parts 1 and 2. PART TWO: CONCLUSION Last week I explained that when we're in a transition we're actually heading somewhere, a certain destination, because transition means: passage from one form, state, style, or place to another. Yet, to ensure that we aren't just going to end up going in circles, we got out our "spiritual compass" because it's "wired" to point us off in the right direction---straight to the Father's heart---the Secret Place. That's the place where we get our bearings and learn to love on God so that we can go through times of transition successfully. In order to get to the Secret Place, last week we journeyed to three key positions: consecration, staying in the Secret Place, and sanctification. Today, I want to continue this teaching by drawing valuable lessons from the life of Moses. So let's begin by going to the Book of Exodus, chapter 33. Also I want to speak prophetically, later in this teaching segment, to some of you who are experiencing a time of transition.     1/9/07    Platform Your Anointing and Assignment Consecration Part2