Consecrated by the Spirit (Luke 4:18-19) The Holy Spirit in the Life of Jesus and Ours

Introduction Led by the Spirit of God Miniseries: The Holy Spirit in the life of Jesus and in Ours

Holy Spirit conceived Jesus – we are conceived by God Holy Spirit called Jesus – we are called by God Holy Spirit consecrated Jesus Temptation Ministry

Why the consecrated life (set apart for God’s use)? Same reason why you must not be part of the rat-race.

The winner of the rat-race is still a rat.

The consecrated life instructs you which door in life to walk through and which doors in life to walk pass.

1. The Holy Spirit in the consecration of Jesus Seen in the temptation of Jesus

Luke 4 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.

1. The Holy Spirit in the consecration of Jesus Seen in the proclamation of Jesus

Luke 4 16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

Luke 4 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,     because he has anointed me     to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners     and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

1. The Holy Spirit in the consecration of Jesus Seen in the confrontation of Jesus

Luke 4 38 Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon Luke 4 38 Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. 39 So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them.

Luke 4 40 At sunset, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them. 41 Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Messiah.

“Rebuke” need not be literal. Like “Jesus speaks peace to my heart.” Confrontation a necessary part of our life After confrontation, decision

Decision  de-cision. -cision as in circumcision, incision, excision. to cut De- as in detach, derail, to remove Decision ultimately requires you to cut off all other options

Because you are one, you can only be do one thing at a time Because you are one, you can only be do one thing at a time. Other options must be cut off. Consecration is the life that says I will devote it to God’s use – however he sees fit.

2. The Consecration of Nazirites One example of consecration is seen in the Nazirite in the OT

Numbers 6 The Lord said to Moses,2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘If a man or woman wants to make a special vow, a vow of dedication to the Lord as a Nazirite, 

Numbers 6 3 they must abstain from wine and other fermented drink and must not drink vinegar made from wine or other fermented drink. They must not drink grape juice or eat grapes or raisins. 

Numbers 6  4 As long as they remain under their Nazirite vow, they must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, not even the seeds or skins.

Voluntary (unlike priesthood) Open to men and women (unlike priesthood) Usually for a fixed duration, but can be for life No consume anything from grapes (possibly abstain from all alcohol)

Not cut hair till the end of the vow Not contact dead bodies If vow is broken, start over Vow concluded by the shaving of the head and sacrifice at temple

Examples: Samson, Samuel, John the Baptist

The case of Samuel 1 Samuel 1 11 And she made a vow, saying, “Lord Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.”

At the disposal of someone else in authority Most were not prominent. It is a vow to humble service Samuel the exception because of Eli’s failure

Why we don’t do literal Nazirite vows We do something similar, but not duplicate Nazirite vows. E.g. we make decisions how long to serve the Lord Testimony: until 40 years old. At 50 asked the Lord to show me and he returned me to ministry.

But we can learn from the Nazirite consecration Anyone can serve: man or woman. You choose to consecrate. It can be of a fixed duration Abstinence of grapes – a discipline and a reminder

But we can learn from the Nazirite consecration Uncut hair. Uncomfortable and also a visible declaration. Detachment from and priority over family (no contact with the dead) Not isolation of a monk or a nun

Consecration today Not imitate the Nazirite vow, but follow the principles We don’t do it today Temple and sacrifices are gone Not promoted in the NT, even when vaguely described (Acts 21) Not practiced by Jesus who consume wine

3. The consecration of Moses Hebrews 11 24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 

3. The consecration of Moses Hebrews 11 26 He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. 

Note that Pharaoh's daughter could have been Hatshepsut who ruled Egypt as a female Pharaoh

Thutmosis I (Queen Ahmose)  daughter Hatshepsut. Thutmosis I (secondary wife)  son Thutmosis II

Thutmosis II (married Hatshepsut, half sister)  Thutmosis III Thutmosis II died while Thutmosis III was infant Hatshepsut became co-regent (like empress dowager) Moses the adopted son

Hatshepsut died – Moses sent to Midian Thutmosis III died (new Pharaoh Amenhotep II) – Moses returned to Egypt

Note on the name of Moses Thut-mosis Ah-mose

The enormity of what Moses left behind. He could have simply laid low. Moses made a de-cision to obey the God of this fathers. Moses had at his disposal: Money; Power; Sex

Moses consecrated his life to God Today who knows the different Pharaohs?

What about you? What do you value most? If you cannot articulate it the world will articulate it for you. Here @theWell we have a clear articulation of our core values: B A R E

Is there a decision you must make to make sense of your life purpose, a consecration? Set aside an ability to serve the Lord Set aside a time to serve the Lord

Consecration means starting with the first decision  follow Jesus / be his disciple