Joy In Consecration

0:00:00 – (Steve Gray): Hey, are you caught in situations and circumstances and you don’t know what to do? You got to check the next podcast of More Faith, More Life, because I’m going to give you a diagnosis that’ll set you free. 

0:00:11 – (Steve Gray): You were made for more than the status quo. I’m Pastor Steve Gray, and this is the More Faith, More Life podcast. This podcast is for Christians with an ambitious heart who want to be more for their family, do more with their career, and see more of God’s promises. Their life. I’ve spent many years as a worship artist, minister, nonprofit leader, bold truth speaker, and most importantly, father and spouse. When I was in my early 40s, I was craving more. 

0:00:39 – (Steve Gray): More from God and more from life. I’d done everything I was supposed to do. My life was good, but it wasn’t good enough. So I spent the following years diving into the Word of God and searching for the biblical principles that would bring me closer to God and help my purpose and life flourish. That’s what I want to share with you. In every episode, you’ll get practical tools based on real life experiences that you can put into action to redefine your faith and ultimately your life. 

0:01:11 – (Steve Gray): So if you’re ready to do more, subscribe to More Faith, More Life and hear an unfiltered biblical truth every week. It’s time to be and experience more. 

0:01:22 – (Steve Gray): Hello, everyone. Welcome to another More Faith, More Life podcast. Kathy and I, my wife, Kathy and I. And I’m Pastor Steve and this is Kathy. We’re so glad you could be with us today. And we just love to talk about different things on a little different slant. You know, Kathy, sometimes. Well, I’ll just mention I have the new book, Mighty Like Gideon. And why should they read that book? Well, why should I write one? 

0:01:45 – (Steve Gray): Because I realize why do I want to write another book if I’m writing what everybody else is saying? So sometimes you go in the bookstore, particularly a Christian bookstore, and you want to pick up a book and they’re the first ones you see are all the famous bestsellers and all that kind of stuff. But they’re all saying about the same thing. And it’s all still about our feelings and building us up and making us. 

0:02:05 – (Steve Gray): But there’s no meat to it that says, tell me what to do that I can change, I can effectively do with circumstances that I am in. And Gideon was in. And the people of Israel were in a terrible circumstance. And the Mighty Like Gideon is, what did they need to do and how did they do it to defeat the Midianites? And so one of the chapters in there, Kathy is we need a true diagnosis. And this is the problem we’re getting. If you go to the doctor and he gives you a false diagnosis, no matter what medicine you take, what he tells you to do, it’s not going to work. 

0:02:41 – (Steve Gray): And so right now, people go to church and they’re listening and they want help, but they’re getting a. They’re not getting a true diagnosis because we’re busy as pastors and leaders wanting to be popular, wanting to keep our status, keep our people, keep the finances, keep. You know, I mean, there’s no doubt about it that pastors are very much aware of keeping people happy. And of course, the Bible says we’re not here to speak to people, we’re here to speak to please God. 

0:03:09 – (Steve Gray): But it doesn’t matter. It still hangs over. And you know, they did a survey and found out that people in the middle ministry are the most insecure people of all occupations. Now, that was a professional company. Whether we agree with it or not, that’s what they thought. And so what’s happening is we’re not getting a, we’re not getting the diagnosis first, and yet we’re taking the medicine that’s not making us better. 

0:03:30 – (Steve Gray): Like you need to just build up your self-esteem. What you need is to be more loved. You need to surround your people or your husband’s not meeting your needs. People need to meet or husband, you know, the problem is your wife’s not meeting your needs. See, these are all wrong diagnosis, right? I would never go there. You’ll never hear me talk like that, ever. You never have and you never will because I’m involved. I’m not here for my needs. 

0:03:56 – (Steve Gray): I’m here for really the Lord’s. Pleasing the Lord and then that spills over into other people’s needs. But today we brought a scripture. Let’s read a scripture. Romans 13:11 is the one we picked for today. You want to read it? 

0:04:09 – (Kathy Gray): It’s a nice paraphrase we have right here that time for us to declare, this is the time for God’s people to wake up, speak up, and live consecrated lives. And consecrated life is one that’s set apart. Set apart lives only and to do God things and Bible things. So time to wake up, speak up, and then live it. 

0:04:32 – (Steve Gray): And the thing about a consecrated life, setting ourselves apart, first of all, people don’t do it much and they don’t know what to. They don’t know. But see, there’s part of the diagnosis. You need to live a consecrated life. Well, all of a sudden they’re thinking, morality, legalism, and that’s not it at all. Setting yourself apart for somebody, isn’t that what marriage is? I’m going to set myself apart from you rather than. 

0:04:55 – (Steve Gray): Than all the other girls that used to like me. Oh, Grandpa had to throw that in. But anyway. No, but you set yourself apart for somebody else, and it’s not a drag. It’s not a burden. It’s not. It’s supposed to be a happy. That’s why everybody looks so happy. You know, everybody looks so happy at the wedding, except those that go, hmm, I’ve seen too many of these before that don’t work out. But it’s supposed to be a happy occasion where I’m declaring, setting myself apart for God. 

0:05:25 – (Steve Gray): And wasn’t when they were going to enter into the promised Land, that God spoke and said, consecrate yourselves today, today, so tomorrow I can do great things among you. There’s a diagnosis there it is. Consecrate. It’ll bring great things. See, there you go. And even if you don’t understand what consecration is, study it, find it, think through it, pray about it. Make that your goal. Don’t just say, I don’t get it. 

0:05:52 – (Steve Gray): If you pray and study and look up a few things and ask God to give you wisdom, you say, okay, I think I have found a few things in my life where I can set myself apart better for God. 

0:06:05 – (Kathy Gray): Right? 

0:06:05 – (Steve Gray): That’s it. Just find a few things. 

0:06:08 – (Kathy Gray): And it’s not a list of I shall not do this, I shall not do that. But it brings a new freedom, doesn’t it? Because when you’re saying, I’m living for you, Lord, and therefore that frees him up to take better care of me, to fill me with joy and to guide my step, and to make my life a lot better. So it’s so important. 

0:06:29 – (Steve Gray): And most of it’s just good things, small things, but good things. And like you said, it’s not. Or I said, it’s not legalism or morality or do this or do that. Because I found out that sometimes it’s more. This is important. It’s more consecration. It’s more of an attitude than an action. 

0:06:47 – (Kathy Gray): Yeah, right. 

0:06:49 – (Steve Gray): See, we need to get the attitude, I’m here for him, he’s not here for me. God’s not here for me. God is not twiddling his thumbs or wringing his hands, concerned that my feelings are going to get hurt or that I’m not or I’m going to be discouraged. See, just throw that away. And I’m here for him. How can I set my mind, my attitude, so that the idea of maybe this is worth sacrificing for. Maybe it’s worth. 

0:07:20 – (Steve Gray): Maybe it’s worth even giving money, even if it, like, we won’t have. Okay, well, we won’t have as much to spend on ourselves. Okay, but you know what? That’s not a good attitude. Maybe you won’t, maybe you will. But we want to get you to the more blessing great things. But, you know, it’s good for us to sacrifice. It’s good to say, I’m going to sacrifice for this relationship. I’m going to give in to you. 

0:07:41 – (Steve Gray): Or I’m just going to try to explain to you better. Maybe I didn’t see things straight. Maybe it’s my fault, you know, and, you know, it’s just. It’s an attitude of, I am here to serve the Lord. I’m not here to be served. I’m not here to have. You’re not here to serve me. And I guess you could say, I’m not here to serve you. But when we put those two attitudes together, now we can consecrate ourselves to the Lord and to the great things. So that’s a great word. 

0:08:08 – (Steve Gray): It’s too big for just one time together. But please get that diagnosis that is going to make learn what it is. Set apart. It’s also leans into the word holiness, which is also set apart. Which God said, be holy because I’m holy. Oh, gosh, that’s just so overwhelming. And you know what? Here’s what people hear. They think, well, I have to now enter into the realm of perfection. But God the Father did say, be perfect. 

0:08:33 – (Kathy Gray): Yeah. 

0:08:33 – (Steve Gray): So, you know, it’s there. I like it. People say, nobody’s perfect. Well, God is. And I think you could be a lot more if you wanted to be. But anyway, that’s off the subject. But consecration, that’s a diagnosis. You will get well. 

0:08:47 – (Kathy Gray): You will get well. And you know what? You will have a fun life. Life will be a lot better and freer when you’re living like that for the Lord, there’s a freedom. There’s not a, you know, oh, now I can’t have any fun anymore. I think that’s what a lot of people think. 

0:09:02 – (Steve Gray): I’m freer than I’ve ever been in my life. 

0:09:03 – (Kathy Gray): It’s not fun anymore. But it’s. It’s much more fun, isn’t it? 

0:09:07 – (Steve Gray): Yeah. And much more fun. It’s so much fun I can even make myself laugh without talking to Anybody. I’ll just think of something funny and start laughing. 

0:09:14 – (Kathy Gray): Yeah. And I can always tell. I know you, I know you can. 

0:09:17 – (Steve Gray): Tell when I’m making myself. 

0:09:18 – (Kathy Gray): Yeah, I, when you got something funny and you know, and sometimes I’ll even say, what are you thinking about? 

0:09:24 – (Steve Gray): Yep. And so the scripture says that people don’t realize. It says, time for God’s people to wake up. Yes, If I were to say anything, it is. We have been lulled to sleep. I did another guest podcast. We’ve been lulled to sleep into secular Christianity. And secular means worldly, and worldly means me. Right? And it’s. And it’s me and all about me. And then we get it. Then if we’re not careful, we get into the. What’s called the works of the flesh, which is really just me. Stuff like I, I, I, I have a right to be angry. I have a right to be unforgiving. I have a right to be. 

0:09:58 – (Steve Gray): Have my way. I have a right to be respected. You know, I have a right. I have a right. I have a right. Remember what I told you other day? Yeah. Take this right. You have the right to remain silent, too. And I hope you’ll exercise that right. 

0:10:11 – (Kathy Gray): Men, Men never use it on your wife. 

0:10:14 – (Steve Gray): I had, but it didn’t work. 

0:10:15 – (Kathy Gray): I had this funny one sometime. 

0:10:17 – (Steve Gray): It’s funny, but God does say, be slow to speak. 

0:10:20 – (Kathy Gray): Be slow to speak. 

0:10:21 – (Steve Gray): So we have a right to remain silent. And yeah, that’s so good. Really slow to speak. But nobody exercises that right. I have a right to speak up. I have a right to be heard. I have a right to give my opinion. And all it is is making you sick. And you got to wake up. That is secular Christianity. Because when you really get into it with walking with Jesus, the joy is, I am here to give up my rights. 

0:10:42 – (Steve Gray): Yeah, you have a right to be respected. You do. But I’m talking to Jesus. Really. You have a right to be respected. But I want to give you that right. You don’t have to demand it. If you demand the right, it’s not a right. If you demand to be honored, it’s dishonorable. 

0:10:58 – (Kathy Gray): No, that is. 

0:10:59 – (Steve Gray): But God has a right to be respected. He has a right to be served. He has a right to have the position in my life above. And I have a right to, to give to him that I will be below. And that’s all right with me. I want to be below. I want you to be above. Well, these are all things that we need to wake up to. But we’re Lulled to sleep in our religion because we’re here. God is here to serve me, make me feel good, and the church is here to make me feel better about myself. 

0:11:29 – (Steve Gray): When the kingdom of God is to make you change. Well, to change you, to make you want to change, not to make you want to be reinforced. And that’s what we’re lulled to sleep in reinforcement of who we are, rather than realizing that God has the power to make us different and we don’t have to be the way we are, whether it’s good or bad. You got a great personality or not such a great personality. Whatever it is, whatever, whatever. 

0:11:54 – (Steve Gray): And so when two people get married or they have a relationship or they go to church or whatever the goal is, I am here to move forward and to be changed and altered and remade, because it’s going to happen anyway as you get older. But you can let circumstances change you, or you can let the spirit of God change you and circumstances change you. They do, yeah. Situations can come and wham. And all of a sudden, I feel different. I’m angry. I deserve. Oh, there it goes. 

0:12:21 – (Steve Gray): Or you can let the spirit of the Lord change you. And that’s what I do. I don’t let the circumstances or the situations tell me what to do. You’ve heard me say, I don’t let money tell me what to do. I tell money what to do. I own the money. The money. But money. Money is a master. And Jesus said, you know, you can’t serve two masters, God and money. That means money is a master. I got to be careful because it wants to master me and control me. 

0:12:46 – (Steve Gray): So. But I don’t let it. I just don’t let it. And the other is, wake up. Speak up. Yeah, I like the word speak up. But I don’t like it either because that’s. That’s back again to people abusing that. Well, I have a right to say whatever I want, wherever I want, whatever I want about whoever I want. 

0:13:03 – (Kathy Gray): No, and that’s. 

0:13:04 – (Steve Gray): And that’s not a consecrated. 

0:13:05 – (Kathy Gray): That’s not what that means. 

0:13:06 – (Steve Gray): That’s not consecrated. 

0:13:07 – (Kathy Gray): No. 

0:13:07 – (Steve Gray): A consecrated person would never do that. And I want us to get back. People need help. People make mistakes. I had people talk to me about revival. Do we need revival today? And you know, revival doesn’t make you perfect. Revival makes you different, and you become pliable to where you can maybe become more perfect or more consecrated. And people got to remember that. So they expect somebody. You know, our church is experiencing revival. Well, I guess you’re all Perfect now and then they look at. But you’re not all perfect. So it must not be revival or you’re not, you’re sure disappointing me. So we need people to speak up. Yeah, you know what? This is my opinion. We need them to speak up exactly what we’re saying. 

0:13:47 – (Steve Gray): We don’t need them to speak up and be a gossiper and a busybody and bring on themselves to have a ministry to, to correct everybody and expose everybody and to ruin, you know, okay, some of that’s legitimate. There’s, there’s, there was corruption in Jesus day. You know, people think that I, the, the, the Bible talks about the things that are hidden will be bring. Bought to light and all that, and being exposed and exhibited and brought to light and hidden things will be revealed. 

0:14:18 – (Steve Gray): And I heard a guy preaching on that like we’re in the season where ministries are being exposed and revealed and darkness. And we’re in this season. And God’s what God. And I thought, what are you talking about? God’s always been revealing the things of darkness. God always reveals the hidden things in ourselves. To ourselves, to ourselves. Or in our relationships too. Sometimes my might see something new, you might see something in me. But generally that’s what he does. It’s not, it hasn’t started. 

0:14:48 – (Steve Gray): It’s just right now people are noticing it because with the Internet and all the things like that, people are talking about stuff that I would have no, no idea. Somebody on the west coast, east coast, what they’re going through now, I just go to whatever and there it’s all being talked about, right? So they think that’s the season. So you know what? Men and women have always struggled. Good people with good intentions make mistakes. 

0:15:14 – (Steve Gray): People who did not follow and listen to God turn out to get themselves into trouble. There are fake people, there are fake Christians, there’s fake people faking that they’re Christians that are actually hurting people. You know, it’s everywhere. This is nothing new. So therefore, as I’ve often told you, when I hear and see this and hear that, I go, okay, that’s nothing new. But it’s not me. What can I do better? 

0:15:41 – (Steve Gray): And I look at my life right now and I think, I don’t know. I don’t know of anything I could do differently. No matter if the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, if the waters roar and foam as the scriptures say, or people rise, people fall. Okay, I feel bad for people. I sympathize, I empathize, pray for people. But it doesn’t change my Behavior. And if it, if there, if there’s something wrong, then I, I should change my behavior. If I see it in somebody else and say, you know what, I, I see it in them and maybe I see a little bit of myself. 

0:16:18 – (Steve Gray): So that could change me. But right now, if, if a war would break out, the economy would crash, you know, prices go up, prices fall. Whatever happens, I can’t think of anything I would do differently than what I’m doing right now. And I think that’s the safety thing. We should be doing all that we. So we need to wake up, we need to speak up. But speak up for the things of God. Speak up. If people are, if things fake or corrupt or whatever, well, speak up. What will make us well? 

0:16:48 – (Kathy Gray): Exactly. 

0:16:49 – (Steve Gray): What will make them well? 

0:16:51 – (Kathy Gray): Speak up. Healing and restoration. 

0:16:54 – (Steve Gray): And maybe they won’t listen. But that’s not your job to make people listen. It’s your job to speak it. Speak the truth. 

0:17:00 – (Kathy Gray): And you know who I think we should speak up to the most? Ourselves. 

0:17:04 – (Steve Gray): Yeah. Yeah. 

0:17:05 – (Kathy Gray): If we don’t speak up to ourselves first, do we have a right to be speaking up and revealing about everyone else if we don’t speak to ourselves? 

0:17:16 – (Steve Gray): Yes. And I’m going to admit it’s a hard, hard place to be. When you’ve been at a church or a ministry and something, there’s a shake up of something, you put your trust and that, okay, it is not going to be easy. So consecrating ourselves to the Lord and not to anything else and realizing, yes, the earth may shake, mountains may collapse, the seas may tumble and flood, you know, but I am here for the Lord and I’m just steady as I go. 

0:17:48 – (Steve Gray): I’ll do whatever I can to help. I certainly don’t want to hurt. Right. So finding that spot, finding that spot is hard because some people are get in difficult situations or their other. Like me, I’m a leader and people will want to hear my opinion on somebody or something or whatever. And I’m thinking to myself, well, that person has not asked my opinion. You have. You’re wanting to know what I think, but you knowing what I think is not going to help. 

0:18:20 – (Kathy Gray): No. 

0:18:20 – (Steve Gray): So I always tell people, talk to the people who can do something about it, change the course or can help the situation. Those people, that’s okay. But to talk to other people who have no power, they have no authority, they’ve never met somebody, you know, whatever, come on, you got better things to do than that. 

0:18:39 – (Kathy Gray): That’s right. 

0:18:39 – (Steve Gray): You got to wake up yourself, speak up and consecrate yourself because on the other side of consecration is what great things. 

0:18:47 – (Kathy Gray): Great things. 

0:18:48 – (Steve Gray): And you’ll get over your emptiness and you’ll get over your unforgiveness and you’ll get over the stirring in your soul. You’ll get over that feeling that you’re not as valuable or not appreciated or not loved or whatever. You get over that because we’re putting, we’re putting all this stirring into us, into somebody else. And, and you know, that’s a challenge for some people when you grow up living for yourself. 

0:19:12 – (Kathy Gray): Yeah. 

0:19:13 – (Steve Gray): And now God says, I want you to live for me. Now we say everything right? You know, you know, we say we’re going to live for the Lord and you know, I’m going to serve you all the days of my life and I’m going to be this way that. But the actual practical side of it is we’re lulled to sleep. Like I said in secular Christianity. And also, you know, I call it the commercialized Jesus. That’s the one everybody knows. 

0:19:37 – (Steve Gray): That’s the one when reporters talk to somebody on the street or whatever about what’s going on in crime or government or whatever. And that’s the person that tells you what Jesus thinks about it. Well, Jesus would never do this. Well, Jesus would never be against those. Well, Jesus would never. And, but that’s a commercialized. These are people that have no idea. They may not attend church, but he’s commercialized to. People think this is the Jesus and it’s usually they only know a little bit about him. 

0:20:03 – (Steve Gray): God is love, God is mercy, and God tolerates everything. And that’s. They don’t know. Oh boy, that you know, you ask 99% of the pastors, who is Jesus? Not one of them will say, or who’s God? Not one of them will say, God is a warrior. But Moses did. Moses who started the law said God is a warrior. Yahweh is his name. Now that’s not all he is. This is a complicated God. Many sided, many sided. And when you’re going to consecrate yourself, you’re going to find he’s many-sided God that fits everything. 

0:20:36 – (Steve Gray): He fits every situation, every circumstance. And so to be at peace in a world like today is hard because people want to stir us up, they want to confuse us, they want to make us mad. They want us to join the cause for them or a cause that’s not God, you know. And so man, it is very strong. It is very strong, very strong. But to be at peace and to say, you Know what? God is my refuge. You’ve heard me say it many times. God is my strength. 

0:21:04 – (Steve Gray): A very present help in times of trouble. Are there times of trouble? Yes. But he is a very, very present help and to serve him and to make him first and seek the kingdom of God. First will keep us safe, keep us blessed. And I don’t want to get into the fray. I don’t want to get into this pool of stirring waters that’s pulling people down. And it just does. It pulls us down. So there’s a lot of trouble and things are happening, but folks, it’s nothing new. 

0:21:35 – (Steve Gray): It’s nothing new. It’s always been there. It was there in Jesus’ day. He had to deal with it. He dealt with it correctly. It will always be there because people will be people. The devil’s the devil, evil is in the world till Jesus returns. So I just got to learn how to operate in it so it doesn’t take me down and I can still be the light of the world while darkness is being revealed and wanting to be in power. 

0:22:00 – (Steve Gray): But I don’t let it power me. Beautiful, right? So I think that. I hope that’s a help today, that this is what we need to do. We’ll say it again. Wake up, speak up and consecrate yourself today. Right? Live consecrated lives because you got great things. If you get it, it’s a cure. There are three things. Wake up, speak up, consecrate. It’s a cure to what ails you. And it’ll put you forward in life where you can really get more faith, more life out of this life. Till next time, bye.