A Channel Deep — E.A. Johnston

Moody's Challenge to Consecration and Concentration

On one of his visits to England, D .L. Moody met a man whom God used to have a tremendous influence on his life. The man was Henry Varley, a Christian businessman. This man told Moody, Moody, the world has yet to see what God will do with a man fully consecrated to Him.

And Moody walked away, muttering under his breath, by God's grace, I will be that man. D .L. Moody couldn't get those words out of his mind, he said. As I crossed the wide Atlantic, the boards of the deck were engraved with them, and when I reached Chicago, the very paving stones seemed marked with them.

Later in life, Moody was preaching, and he said to his audience, you may forget all the rest of my sermon, but just remember these two words, consecrate and concentrate. First, consecrate your life to God, and then concentrate your life upon some one thing.

It will cut a channel so deep, your influence will be felt. I look on this world as a wrecked vessel. God has given me a lifeboat, and said to me, Moody, save all you can. And I went and filled that boat, it's been my life's work.

Consecrating the Body as a Living Sacrifice

Well in my message today, friends, I want to focus on those two words of Moody's, consecrate and concentrate. Let's look at the first word, consecrate. In Romans 12 .1, we read, Besiege you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Our service to God should reflect the character of God, and He is holy. We get a sense of this from Isaiah 57 .15, which declares, For thus saith the High and Lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy, I dwell in the high and holy place.

I will stop there, friends. Consecrate means devotion to the Lord, so we are admonished by the Apostle Paul to present our bodies as a living sacrifice on the altar for God's use in a life of holiness.

Keeping the Flesh on the Altar

The Israelite priests would often use flesh hooks to pull meat that was roasted out of a cauldron for sacrifice and offering, and they also used a flesh hook to hold the beast to the altar before killing it.

Likewise, our sinful flesh wants to crawl away and shrink from holiness, and it'd be helpful to have some flesh hooks for ourselves to keep us on the altar of sacrifice for God. That's where the cross comes in, as the entire Christian life is lived via the cross, in a life of self-denial, in a life of holy consecration to God.

The Crucified Life and Union with Christ

We get a glimpse of the crucified life from Galatians 2 .20. I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

We don't hear much today, friends, about the Christ life for the self-life, but if we are to follow a crucified Christ, we must live crucified lives. A life of consecration is vital to experiencing the reality of God in our daily living.

For when we get saved, self is dethroned, and another enthroned there, the Lord Jesus Christ. Moody knew the power of a life of consecration to God. Moody knew he had to be a clean and clear channel for God to flow through with his living water as a means of blessings to others.

Concentrating Ministry for Greater Effectiveness

The other word Moody used was the word concentrate. Here is where many of us miss the boat in regard to service. I did this myself for years. We often try to do too many things at once for God, and like a shotgun, we're scattered all over the place, and our effectiveness for God is diminished.

Focusing Ministry on Revival

If we were to focus all our energies for God on one thing, we would have more influence. When I shifted my ministry to a revival-based ministry, my focus was centralized on historical revival and promoting revival in our day.

God has honored that in remarkable ways. Moody said to consecrate and concentrate. I believe if we follow his advice, we won't go wrong, and it could be said of us as well. The world has yet to see what God can do with a man fully consecrated to him.

Let us pray.