Preparing Ourselves For What God Has For Us
Pastor Sam Smucker - March 7, 2021

James 4:7-11 So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.

Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy.

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.

Don’t speak evil against each other, dear brothers and sisters. If you criticize and judge each other, then you are criticizing and judging God’s law. But your job is to obey the law, not to judge whether it applies to you.

Purifying ourselves means to not have divided loyalty between God and the world. We are sold out to God.

Purifying ourselves means to respect each other and not speak against each other regardless of our opinions.

Titus 2:14 He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds.

Purifying ourselves means to believe that Jesus gave His life to free us and to cleanse us

John 15:3 You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you.

Ephesians 5:26 to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word.

1 Peter 1:22 You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart.

Purifying ourselves means we are
cleansed by the Word –
the Word is our cleansing agent

Matthew 5:8 God blesses those whose hearts are pure,
for they will see God.

Pure hearts is to be authentic,
nothing artificial mixed in,
a clear conscience, to see clearly.

Genesis 12:1-9 The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you.

I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others.

I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”

So Abram departed as the LORD had instructed, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.

He took his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all his wealth—his livestock and all the people he had taken into his household at Haran—and headed for the land of Canaan. When they arrived in Canaan,

Abram traveled through the land as far as Shechem. There he set up camp beside the oak of Moreh. At that time, the area was inhabited by Canaanites.

Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your descendants.” And Abram built an altar there and dedicated it to the LORD, who had appeared to him.

After that, Abram traveled south and set up camp in the hill country, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built another altar and dedicated it to the LORD, and he worshiped the LORD.

Then Abram continued traveling south by stages toward the Negev.

Hebrews 11:8-10 It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going.

And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise.

Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.

Genesis 13:14-18 After Lot had gone, the LORD said to Abram, “Look as far as you can see in every direction—north and south, east and west.

I am giving all this land, as far as you can see, to you and your descendants as a permanent possession.

And I will give you so many descendants that, like the dust of the earth, they cannot be counted!

Go and walk through the land in every direction, for I am giving it to you.”

So Abram moved his camp to Hebron and settled near the oak grove belonging to Mamre. There he built another altar to the LORD.

Consecrate = to devote to a purpose with deep dedication

Consecrate ourselves anew to Jesus

Consecrate ourselves to our families

Consecrate ourselves to our church family

Consecrate ourselves to the Word of God

Consecrate ourselves to be filled with The Holy Spirit and led by the whispers of The Holy Spirit.

Consecrate ourselves to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with others.