Set Apart for Something More

All right, Porch. How are we doing? Are we doing okay tonight? Amazing. Hey, it's so great to be here with you. Thanks for making the time to join us here. Those of you who are in the room, it's always a pleasure to spend a little bit of time with you, but all of you who are tuning in online, thanks for giving us your evening as well.

We're so grateful to be a part of a generation where God is doing something really significant. That's kind of what we've been journeying through as we've been looking at this series. Before I get ahead of myself, let me give a special shout-out not just to those of you tuning online but also Porch.Live Greater Lafayette, Fresno, and Scottsdale. God is doing a great thing here. He is doing a great thing in so many different places, and we're just glad to be a part of it.

Hey, let me lead off with this. The topic we're working through tonight is of considerable importance, and because that's the case, I don't necessarily want us to rush all the way through it. I sat down and considered, "Man, what can I cut from this thing?" and I had others do the same alongside of me, and we said, "No, there's not much here that we feel like we can discard." We believe God wants to speak to you from the passage we're going to study, and it might take a little bit of time, but sometimes things deserve an extended opportunity for the Lord to work.

Before I get there, let me open up with a story. You might be sitting there thinking to yourself, "Kylen, did you get a little sun this weekend?" The answer would be "Yes." I did get some sun this weekend, but not by way of how most people would. I wasn't sitting by the pool. I wasn't sipping something nice. I wasn't working on my tan. You see, this white boy burns much faster than you might think. I was actually outside working on a construction project that I have taken upon myself. I am trying to build a covered pergola for my back patio, which has been awesome.

I enjoy working with my hands. It has been great for me to dust off some of the old skills I developed on the old family farm in East Texas, and it has been cool to work through some problems I've encountered as I've been trying to bring my vision into reality. It's always fun to measure twice and cut once and realize, "Man, I should have measured three times," then try to figure out what the alternative solution is.

There's something really rewarding in looking at what you're building by way of the sweat of your brow. I have enjoyed this process, and by way of me doing it on my own, I am saving a lot of money, which is just a small addition to why this matters. It has not financially cost me nearly what it would if I had contracted it out and had someone come do it instead, but (and there's a big but here) it has cost me nonetheless.

What do I mean by that? You see, this is not just your run-of-the-mill, average Saturday afternoon chore where you roll up your sleeves and give it the good college try for a few hours. That's not what we're talking about here. This is a major construction project the likes of which has led me to become a Home Depot Pro member, one where I'm not just building something that is constructed but am also running electric. I'm trying to prepare something the likes of which we will enjoy not just for a little while but for a long while.

Because that's the case, it has cost me far more than I ever expected when I initially agreed to this. It has cost me in the realm of long weekends where I could be doing other things but, instead, I'm doing this. It has cost me hours outside of the gym. It has cost me one Memorial Day trip to the lake, and if I'm not careful, it's going to cost me something that's happening on July 4 too. I have to work quickly, because this project is costing me at a level I did not expect.

So then, why do I keep doing it? Because there's not much return on value for a half-finished patio cover when it comes to property value. I need to make sure I get it done. In addition to that, what I'm learning is there are some things worth a considerable cost. I'm realizing the hope of what will be…hosting friends over and sitting out on our back patio as the sun goes down and enjoying dinner… That's something I'm really looking forward to.

Or getting it done in time for the fall so I can watch college football with other friends and we can enjoy the cool of the evening and America's favorite pastime. I'm looking forward to it. Or the dream of hanging up my son's baby swing on the I-beam that goes over the front of it is exciting. These are things that help me to look at all that it has required of me, how much cost I'm actually incurring, and say, "This project is worth it anyway. The vision of what I have one day is well worth the value of what I'm losing right now."

Why do I tell you all that? Because in the Christian life, there are seasons of time, chapters that you will live, where you voluntarily endorse some considerable cost for a very considerable purpose. Just like no one was forcing me to build this patio (I could have hired it out), you, too, will want to build something in your life, but it will cost you. It will require you to opt into inconvenience, it will force you to give up some measure of comfort, and it's ultimately going to put you in a position where you self-select out of what you could have in order to have what you want to have.

So, what is it that you might build? You're going to build a consecrated life, which is a life of uncommon devotion to God. That's what consecration is. It's not a word we use very frequently today, something you probably haven't read aside from the Scriptures themselves, yet there is something worth building into your life, which is called consecration, and it is defined as an uncommon devotion to God.

The emphasis as we talk about that definition is really in the word uncommon, because although there are seasons of consecration riddled throughout the Scriptures, there are very few seasons of consecration riddled throughout our lives. It is a normality when you open the pages of this book but is an abnormality when you consider the pages of your story. The reason for that is really understandable. Consecration is hard. It's hard. It's not just hard to learn about. That's actually not as difficult, but it is a very hard thing to live. It's a hard thing to apply.

You see, we live in a society that is saturated by and are part of a generation that is infatuated with comfort. Whether it's skipping anything longer than a six-second advertisement on your favorite YouTube video or making sure your groceries are only available at curbside so you never actually have to walk inside the store or raging against Apple because "How dare they only release one episode every single week! I want all of the episodes right now," we have become incredibly comfortable in our culture.

Listen. I'm not self-righteous about this. I'm not a hater to this reality. I love the fact that I can Prime anything I need to my door at this moment, yet we live in a comfort culture that is selling our generation on the idea that stress is bad, that anything less than good must be toxic, and if you're struggling you should stop. That's what our culture is telling us, and that's just not true. In fact, it's actually false.

The Scriptures would tell us anything worth having is going to require something of you, and that which is most worthy of having, which is God himself, that which we would love to lay our hands upon, is worthy of giving up as much as we can in order to grab hold of him. You see, the life you want is not the life the world is promising. It's not a life of comfort and ease.

That life that's brimming with potential, that's boasting really great promise, that's packed with all the kind of passion you want to characterize your story, the life Jesus has come to give you, yet the life that so often we settle so much less for… That life comes by way of consecration, not by way of comfort.

So, tonight, I want to talk to you about this idea of consecration. I want to help you understand how you actually live into this kind of reality where you can experience the sort of life that so many of us want. In order to do it, we're going to look at what the apostle Paul says in his letter to Timothy. So, if you have a Bible, you can turn with me to 2 Timothy, chapter 2.

While you're doing that, we've been in a series called Revive where we're studying the principles of personal renewal. The reason we've been looking at personal renewal is because we're firm believers that you do not find revival by seeking revival; you find revival by seeking renewal. As we've been saying as sort of a tagline to this series, which has been adopted from smarter revivalists than myself (I would not even dub myself as such), we believe widespread revival begins with inner renewal.

And we're seeing it. This is happening not just in our nation; it's happening all around the globe. You can look back at past weeks and see all of the statistics we've rolled out. What we understand is there is a genuine surge of spirituality where God is doing something significant in the lives of people just like yourself, but what's fascinating about it is he's not just calling people back to the faith and reigniting their love for Jesus. It goes further than just that.

What we're seeing is, individually, people are returning to the church. They're committing to study the Scriptures. They're getting baptized, which may not feel important to you, but it's very important, because it articulates the idea that inner renewal leads to revival. What we're seeing is that people are being moved by God, and not in the public places through a massive event or some sort of emotional upheaval. That's not where he's moving most. Where he's moving most is in the secret places, the places of your heart.

Now, as I say that, I know you're like, "Well, Kylen, isn't this a massive event? Aren't we a part of a giant spectacle? Won't we likely experience some sort of emotional upheaval?" You might, but here's the thing I want you to know. Though God might begin the process of renewal here, that process does not end here. It must go with you. It has to leave these doors, and it must engage with you in the regular, day-to-day rhythms of your life.

You see, God is moving in a way that we should want. I've said this, and I'm saying it to you again tonight. I am unapologetic in my desire for more of God here at The Porch. God has done a good thing for the last 20 years, yet I believe the best things are even still ahead of us, that every day with God can be better than the last day with God.

I want him for myself. I want him for you. I want him for this room. I want him for our city. I want him for our generation. But the way you get more of God is you give more of yourself. That's the idea behind consecration. It's not just giving up aspects of your life; it is giving up the entirety of your life to God.

I like the way Adrian Rogers puts it. He says, "Consecration is not giving God anything; it is taking your hands off of that which already belongs to him." That can feel really intimidating to consider. That's a bold claim. Yet, as we consider the claim of consecration, Paul is going to walk us through a series of steps we can take so it becomes true in our lives, so we can let go of some of the things in this life that we might grab hold of more of God for our lives.

The reason we're looking at his letter to Timothy is he is writing this as sort of his swan song. You see, 2 Timothy is Paul's last letter ever written. He's sort of on his deathbed, and he is penning this moment to his protégé. He's wanting to communicate to him a variety of important things, but dead center of the letter is this call to consecration.

He's looking at Timothy and saying, "Hey, you, a young adult, someone in your mid- to late-30s, who's running a really big organization and facing a lot of people problems within your midst…" Sound like anybody you know? "There are a few things you need to focus on that ultimately lead you from the life you have to the kind of life God wants."

So he leads off, and he says (2 Timothy 2:20), "Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable." Paul tells him that in God's house, there are two different types of vessels. There are honorable vessels and there are dishonorable vessels.

What does he mean by that? Well, it's interesting. There's not a clear consensus when it comes to the interpretation of what Paul specifically means. There's a wide debate, but most scholars land in one of two places when it comes to this subject. They either believe Paul is speaking about true and false believers, that in the church, not only in Ephesus but in rooms like our own or in the church you attend, there are going to be people who ardently follow after Jesus, and then there are going to be people who do not follow after Jesus at all. That's one interpretation.

The other interpretation is that Paul is speaking about two different statuses of believer. Don't think varsity versus JV, that there's one group of believer that's better than another. That's not what he's saying. What you should instead think is that there is one group of believers who are more committed than the other. It's like full-time employees versus part-time employees.

Whatever your interpretation is, the result is still the same. Paul is telling us the goal of your life is to be a vessel of honorable use. Why is that? Because the kind of vessel you are directly correlates with the kind of purpose you have. In my house, the most honorable vessel we own is the fine china from our wedding. You know, that thing people spend an exorbitant amount of money on that you never actually seem to use.

That's the finest piece of dishware we have. It's the most honorable vessel we use, and we only use it for our most distinguished house guests. So honorable is this vessel that we never put it in the dishwasher. No, no, no. How dare we consider such a thing. We always hand-wash every single plate. We hand-dry every single plate, and if it doesn't go back in the cabinet, it probably goes back in the box. This is the most honorable vessel we have.

If you were to walk into my home and I chose, instead, to serve you with paper plates, that would communicate something different about the level of importance in our evening. What it would say is that this vessel is not nearly as honorable as the last; therefore, this moment must not be as honorable as the last. You see, the kind of vessel correlates to the kind of purpose. Now, could I use paper plates for our most distinguished dinners? Yes, I can, but I don't want to.

That's what Paul is getting at. Paul is articulating our first point: although God can use any kind of person, he wants to use a consecrated kind of person. It's true. He can use anybody he wants, and he does it all throughout his Scriptures. He uses the prostitute Rahab, he chooses a rebellious prophet in Jonah, he grabs a real swindler in Jacob, and he grabs a murderous religious man in Saul, and he uses them all for his purposes.

He can use anybody he wants, but God wants to use people who want to be used by him. That's what 2 Chronicles 16:9 says. "For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him." That verse is certainly written at a very specific moment in Israel's history, yet the principle still remains true today. God is searching for a people he can give strong support to.

What is the criteria for that people? The criteria for that people is not impressiveness; it's blamelessness, which is encouraging to me. We live in a culture of megachurch pastors and Christian influencers, yet what we're encouraged by is that our spiritual inferiority by way of we don't look as cool or we don't sound as cool or we're not quite as articulate as they are or not as greatly gifted as they are…

All of that inferiority is pushed aside and done away with, because God is not worried about anointing the particularly gifted. He uses them, for sure, but he is particularly specific about anointing the blameless. That's what he cares about. He wants to use blameless people. What does that even mean? Blamelessness is the avoidance of the appearance of evil. That's what it is. Which can feel like an impossible target to hit.

"Kylen, I'm not blameless, even when I do my best. Even when I wake up in the morning and I have the best of intent for my day, I still stumble and fall. I do things I know I'm not supposed to do." God knows that. God isn't looking at you and saying, "Hey, I'm looking for a perfect people." No, he is looking for a blameless people, a people that persist in their desire for spiritual improvement. That's what he wants: a people that are avoiding even the appearance of evil.

That's why he says we must cleanse ourselves in verse 21. He says, "Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use…" Has anybody in here ever mistakenly loaded a clean dishwasher full of dirty dishes? Like, you decide, "You know, I think this is all dirty," so you grab a bunch of dirty dishes from the sink and put them in, only to learn, "No, that was clean?" Has that ever happened to you? That has happened to me.

What do you do in that moment? You don't carefully inspect every single item and look at all of the utensils to see which ones are dirty. You don't do that. Why? Because the danger of putting that dishonorable fork in your mouth is one you cannot bear. So you rerun the whole load. It's not worth the risk. That's what we must do when it comes to our personal contamination. We must likewise cleanse ourselves in so fervent a way.

So, how do we do that? Well, Paul talks to us about a couple of different things we can do over the course of his letters that I'm going to try to synthesize here in this moment. We talked about this a lot last week, so you can go reference the sermon from just a week ago, but here, right now, I want to tell you four things you can do to help you cleanse yourself. Here's what they are. You need to assess the who, the what, the when, and the where of your defilement. We'll go through them one by one.

You need to assess the who. We need to consider what kind of contaminating company we are keeping. Who is it we're spending time around, that we're frequenting the presence of, who does not actually uplift our souls but drags us into unnecessary sin? Where are we making rationalizations for the relationships in our lives because "Well, they're my friends" or "That's my Community Group," when in reality, all it's doing is desensitizing us to the things God cares about? Where is that happening in your story?

Let me just say, this does not mean we should distance ourselves from sinners. No, we draw near to sinners. We ourselves are sinners. Those who don't know God, we come close to them too. Jesus loved being around sinners. He broke bread with them. He sat at table with them, yet here's what you need to know: every time he did, his motivation was not pleasure; it was purpose. He had a purpose in being around contaminating company.

What's interesting is as you read Paul's letters, you realize he's actually not quite as concerned about your relationships with the defiled in the world; he's more concerned about your relationships with the defiled in the church. That's where he's more concerned. It says in 1 Corinthians 5:

"I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people—not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people."

That feels like a strong statement, yet it does not diminish the truth. So, where in your life are you rationalizing relationships with other Christians because they're your friends, they're your community, they're your lifelong, your besties, yet it is toxic to your soul? It could be that group of friends who never go out and get drunk. "That would ruin our witness." Yet they don't have a problem getting together in the safety of their home and having a few one too many.

It could be that buddy of yours who loves to praise God, yet from the same mouth he speaks profanity and makes vulgar jokes at the expense of other people. It could be that you have a group of friends who love to get together, and they know, "Hey, the church is a unity of diversity…we're not supposed to look all the same…yet it would really mess up the social dynamic if we invited that person."

You see, these are the types of relationships we need to investigate because they contaminate. That's what Paul is telling you. You have to assess the who. Who is it who is potentially defiling you? If you want to get more of God, then you might have to give them up.

The what of our defilement is we need to consider what activity in our lives is making us unclean. This does not just amount to sex, drugs, and drunkenness; it goes so much further. We need to consider what we consume. Like, how good is it for your heart to watch The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives? How good is it for your soul to read A Court of Thorns and Roses every night before you go to sleep? What's it doing to your spirit to listen to people like Tate McRae and Chappell Roan?

This may feel very extreme. Look at me. This might feel extreme. Consecration is extreme. If you're content settling for a life that is less than the one Christ has come to give you, have your way, yet if you want more, if you want to seize the kind of life that is available to you, then all of these things are worthy of giving away. That's the what.

The third is the when. We need to know when we're defiling ourselves. This one is really important, because most of your sin works like clockwork. If you consider the things you do in your life that you regret at the end of the day, they typically pop up at very rhythmic times. It happens every evening after 11:00 p.m. when you should already be asleep. It's every Saturday when you're at the pool with your friends. It occurs at the end of every month when reports are due and you're stressed out of your mind. It's happy hour on Mondays after a long workday.

Romans 13:13-14 says, "Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires." You see, one of the best things we could do tonight is cleanse our calendars, to consider "Where is it that I'm being led astray in my defilement that I can take time back for?"

Last is the where, the where of your defilement. We need to take inventory of where we go that we always leave with more regret than when we arrived. Is it the gym? Is it brunch every weekend with the girls or with the guys? Is it being over at your girlfriend's house with the lights down low and the door shut behind? Maybe every time you go home to see your family, you revert right back into the same patterns you've worked so hard to get away from. Where are you so very frequently defiled?

I don't know where it is, but here's what I would say (and this is strong): you should stop going. As I say that, here's what I know. Excuses just start popping off. "But, Kylen, a guy has to work out." Or you think, "I can't help the fact that work sends me on a trip. I don't want to do what I do in that hotel room, but it's my job, man." Or maybe you think, "No, no, no. That intramural league… I have to be there. I'm the best on the team. If I'm not there, then they're never going to win."

I don't know what it is, but rather than reaching for so many excuses, what if you reached for solutions instead? What if you considered "What do I need to do so that I do not do what I need to do?" Does that make sense? You have to let go of that which has gripped so very fast of you, the sin which so easily entangles. You have to get rid of it so you can get as much of God as possible. This is the way of consecration. God wants to use you as you should be, not just as you are. That's the first step.

The second step is in verse 21 as well. It says, "Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work." Based on what Paul is saying here, this is really important. He's not just saying that there are honorable vessels; he's also saying there are honorable uses, which tells us something important: consecration is uncomfortable, but it's always purposeful.

According to Paul, the goal isn't just to become an honorable vessel but to fulfill an honorable use. I don't know what that does for you, but that exhilarates me. That gets me excited, because I don't just want to be someone who is polished up; I want to be someone who is purposed for. I want to have a purpose in my life, driven to do something that is great, that's worthy, that makes an impact.

Listen to me. God is the one who gives those things. There is no cause like the cause of Christ. There is no kingdom worth building than his kingdom itself. So, if you're looking for a purpose to live into, God has not just come to polish you; he has come to purpose you, and it's a purpose the likes of which you could not dare dream to find anywhere else.

Several years ago, I was visiting with a lady in our church. She was telling me about her son who was serving in the special forces. He had just come home, spent a little time with her, and was returning back to active duty, into deployment. As she was telling me about everything he did, it included things the likes of which many men would wish were true in their own lives. He was jumping from planes, shooting targets 2,000 yards off, and engaging in guerilla warfare. He was learning how to stabilize disrupted regions.

As she was telling me all of this, I had to ask her, "Does that not make you afraid when you consider all the danger he faces?" I'll never forget her response. She looked at me and said, "God made my son to be a warrior, so somehow, because that is his purpose, he is safer on the front lines of some foreign fight than he would ever be sitting on my couch at home."

She knew something important. The safest place for you is within your purpose. That's what Paul is trying to tell us here. God's purpose is not just to cleanse you; it's to use you. Now, he wants to use you not just in the small ways you expect but, likely, in the big ways you might forget. I don't know about you, but more than likely, God wants to use your life by way of your hand to bring the least likely into saving faith.

He wants to empower your voice to be the one that speaks gospel identity and security into those family members you have been praying for for so long. Don't you want God to use you to be the one to bring his manifest presence into your workspace or around your house or amongst your neighbors because you just pray ardently that he would show up?

Don't you want God to lean into your life and give more power to you, not for your own glorification, not for your own reputation, but so he can get glory, they can get good, and you can get gladness? Don't you want that? Listen. That is what God wants. He wants to give you greatly, not for you in and of yourself but for himself and for others as well. That's the heart of God. He wants to use you for a great purpose.

You see, consecration is not just about purging yourself of impurity; it is about preparing yourself for destiny. So, how do you do that? Well, Paul gives you a threefold way. He says you must set yourself apart as holy, you become useful to the master, and you are ready for every good work. You're set apart as holy. The word here in Greek is the same word as to be sanctified. The idea of sanctification is it's the lifelong process of becoming like Jesus.

Consecration is not just about setting aside your sin and looking less like the world; it is about setting apart yourself and looking more like Christ. Consecration is the other side of repentance. They are one and the same, on the same coin, yet repentance says, "Hey, turn away from these things" and consecration says, "Turn toward these things. Set yourself apart. Move yourself toward greater holiness. Become like Christ."

I love the quote of C.S. Lewis on this idea. He says, "The more we let God take us over, the more truly ourselves we become—because he made us. He invented us. He invented all the different people that you and I were intended to be… It is when I turn to Christ, when I give up myself to his personality, that I first begin to have a real personality of my own." Whatever you set yourself apart to will determine what you become.

So, let me ask you…What are you setting yourself apart to? It's interesting. Consecration to God is so very hard for most of us, yet we all consecrate ourselves to something every single day. Some of you have consecrated yourself so devotedly to your job to the point that you're working 70-, 80-, or 90-hour weeks. Why? Because you want to become partner. Because you want to make seven figures a year. Because you want to be on Forbes 30 Under 30.

So many of you have consecrated yourself to perfection to the point that you clear your inbox every single day, and we hate you for it. You mark off every single thing on your to-do list unlike most of us. You type, and you retype, and you retype that caption again and again and again because you can't get it perfect enough. Why do you do that? Because you do not want to become a failure. You want to become approvable.

So many of you are consecrated with your bodies to the point that you count every calorie. You never miss a class. How dare you think about missing your anabolic window. You get some work done. Why? Because you have a vision of what you want to look like, who you physically want to become. You are consecrating yourself to something, and that something is determining what you are becoming. If you're setting yourself apart to anything other than Christ, you are settling for less. The more of God you give, the more of God you get, and there's nothing like God.

You become useful to the master of the house. That's the second thing he says. What does it mean to be useful? It does not mean just to be available; it means to be helpful. I am not useful to my wife if I am standing in the kitchen waiting for her to call me over. I'm just a waste of space. I am helpful to my wife whenever I start scrubbing dishes and cooking dinner and putting away groceries. That's when I become useful.

So many of us are available for the work of God, but we're not helpful to the work of God. We're fully present, hoping he calls, and we're missing the fact that he has already called. I love this. Adam (Adam and Eve)… That brother was waiting for a suitable partner, yet he didn't just sit around available to the work of God. He was helpful to it. He named every single animal in the animal kingdom. That guy was working. He was helpful to the things of God, and in due time, God gave that brother what he wanted and what so many of you want as well.

Why don't you move toward being helpful, for in your helpfulness, God will use you to be useful also. Friends, listen to me. Here's how you can tell if you're being useful. If you left the church tomorrow, would we feel your absence? Would we actually know? I remember facing this question several years ago and realizing the answer was "No." I wasn't serving. I wasn't plugged in. I wasn't leading in any kind of capacity. I was just attending. I was just consuming, and had I left that day, no one would have been the wiser.

Friends, this is important. No Christian is better than another, but some Christians are more useful than others. Why don't you be useful? Get involved. Serve someplace. Get your membership in process. Join the church. Choose to plug into what God is doing here. Start being helpful, because that's what makes you useful for God.

The third thing he says is "Be ready for every work." The Greek here literally means to make ready. Not just that you're willing, but you're already made ready. The idea of this is what we studied about the Revolutionary War when we were in grade school about the minutemen. Do you remember those guys, that small group, the elite fighting force that would pop up and spring into action at a moment's notice? That's what it means to be ready to work. It's to be a minuteman to the glory of God and the good of Christ. That's what you're called to do.

Frequently, when this word for make ready or to prepare is used in the Scripture, it's used in advance of something big. Just to give you a rundown… "Prepare the way of the Lord." "Prepare the Passover meal." Jesus' burial was prepared. He was prepared before his burial. You prepared a place for the ark of the covenant to reside. The left and righthand seats beside Jesus in glory must be prepared by the Father.

New Jerusalem, the city of God, was prepared by God himself. The Promised Land was one which was prepared for the people to inherit. The bride of Christ is prepared, adorned for her husband. God prepares all throughout the Scripture for really great things, and he has prepared for you as well.

Ephesians 2:10 says, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." God has already prepared. The question is…Are you preparing yourself? Do you have to be coaxed or urged or persuaded into action or are you ready for it?

When you sit down with your boss and they start talking about spiritual things, are you ready to share the gospel with them? "Oh, no, Kylen. That would be too much." Listen. That's what consecration looks like. It's saying, "I'm willing not just to do what's acceptable; I'm willing to do whatever it takes to give God glory and lean into his purposes for my life, for it is there where I feel totally out of control that I might see God move in a way I normally do not."

Some of you need to consider "Man, am I ready to give up that paycheck to pay someone's rent because they can't make it this month?" I don't know what it is. Consider the craziest thing in your mind, and the question is…Are you prepared to do that? Because God wants to make you ready for every good work.

Our third and final step is in verse 22. "So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart." Paul reiterates here what he has been saying this entire time. He says, "Hey, there are some things you need to set aside in your sin. There are some ways that you need to set yourself apart to God." Here, in this moment, he tells you the heart behind it all. It's because you just want more of God. That's it. That's the heart he's communicating here.

You do all of these things. You do what feels so extreme, so unnecessary even, because you just want more of God. Listen to me. That is what God wants too. God is looking for a people that are looking for him. Are you looking for him? "Yeah, man. I show up at church on Sunday. Yeah, man, I come to group once a week and go around and confess my sin. Yeah, man, I pay my monthly Christian membership fees. I make sure I get my quiet time in at least a couple times a week."

That's not looking for him. Looking for God is one that's not trying to balance spiritual burnout but is willing to burn for God instead, willing to lean all the way forward into what he wants to give you, which is life the likes of which you will find nowhere else. What's the cost? Everything! It costs you everything. You take up your cross, you die to yourself, and yet what do you find in return? Everything!

You find Jesus, the one who leads you not just into life today but life forever. He gives you what no one else can. And not only does he give you everything you want; he is incomparable next to any other alternative. He is matchless in his beauty. He is transcendent beyond comprehension. There is no one like him. So, yes, we can say, "You're everything, Jesus," but your heart, if you were to see him more clearly, would say, "I want you to be everything too." Are you looking for him?

Consecration is a work that begins at an individual level, but imagine what God would do if hundreds of us were filled with this holy ambition to uncommonly devote ourselves to him. What would he do? What do you think God would do? I genuinely believe he would move in this room in ways we have never seen. He would move in our city in ways we've never seen. He would move in our generation in ways we've never seen. Not so people look back and say, "Man! It started in Dallas." No, so people know it started with him. That would be the result.

God gives more of himself wherever we give more of ourselves. The reason we know that, that nothing should be off limits, that nothing is out of bounds, that nothing is ever too much, is because Jesus looked at you and said, "Nothing is off limits. Nothing is too much. Nothing is out of bounds. I will go as far as I can to get to them."

You know, when I started building that patio cover, all of the thoughts of what would be…hosting friends over and watching football and pushing my son in his swing… All of those things were deeply motivating for me. They were a good reason to absorb the considerable cost in order to pursue a considerable purpose, but those things are not the only reason I still do it today. In fact, they might not be the biggest reason I do it today.

The biggest reason I continue to pour myself out at great cost to myself to build the structure is because my dad is helping me build it. You see, when my father caught wind of what I was doing, how much it was costing, how hard I was working, he jumped into it with me. Yes, I was giving so much, but by way of the time we get together, I have gotten far more in return.

That's the promise of consecration: as you pour out, God pours in. He pours in in a way that exceeds whatever it is you give. He wants to give more of himself to you. The reason we know that is because he gave everything for you. When there was no one capable of living the perfect life, Jesus wanted to live the perfect life in your place and did everything you could not so you could have everything he wants to give.

But not just that. He endured all the discomfort of your sin because he was driven by a purpose the likes of which heaven rejoices in, one where sinners come home, the lost are found, and the dead are saved. When none of us were looking for him, he came looking for you, not just in life, not just in death, but looking for you in resurrection, that he might give the resurrected life to any who would place their faith in him.

When we were not pursuing him, he was pursuing us. When we were not willing to sacrifice for his sake, he was willing to sacrifice for ours. When we were not willing to devote all of our lives, he was willing to devote all of his love. Why? So that he might have you forever. Porch, do you want to be consecrated? You get more of God if you do. Is that uncomfortable? For sure. Is it worthwhile? Absolutely. Let me pray for you.

God, thanks for tonight. Thanks for my friends here and their patience as we work through this this evening. God, I know this topic is hard and heavy. I felt that even as I was prepping it. It's one that can feel like, "Man, you're asking a lot of me," but really, God, what we need believe is you are offering so much to us instead. The exchange rate here is crazy. It's one where we give up not just the bad, but also some good. Why? So we can get God.

So, Lord, I pray you would help us to understand you're not asking too much. Instead, you're giving too much. You're giving too much to an unworthy people. You're giving yourself, for you have already given yourself in your Son. I pray, Lord, if there are any here who do not know you, they might know you tonight, they might see you, Jesus, place their faith in you as Lord, and follow you forever. It's that easy.

For others, God, I pray, work here now, Holy Spirit. Do the work of illumination…bring things to mind; the work of conviction…prick our hearts; but ultimately, the work of transformation where you lead us not just to be better but to be more like you. We love you. It's in your name we pray, amen.