Daniel and his companions were absolutely consecrated to God even from their youth, and they separated themselves unto God from an age that followed Satan (see Dan. 1:4-8; 5:12, 22; 6:10). For this reason, God could use them as those who voluntarily consecrated themselves to Him for His move, for Him to turn the age and return the people of Israel from captivity back to the land of Canaan.
Today God is looking for some, those who are voluntarily consecrated to Him, some that He may use to change this age. No matter how young or how old we are, we can stand up against the tide of this age as an anti-testimony, just as Antipas did in the church in Pergamos.
If today we consecrate ourselves to the Lord willingly, staying away from any kind of death, natural affection, worldly pleasure, and rebellion, we will be greatly used by God.
“The world has yet to see what God will do with a man fully consecrated to Him!” (Henry Varley, a butcher, in the 1860’s, spoke this and D. L. Moody recorded it and mused on it).
Lord, make us those who meet Your need today, the Nazarites! Gain hundreds and thousands of willingly consecrated ones. Lord, even in the day of Your warfare, may You be satisfied and watered as You drink from the river of the young one’s consecration all over the earth today. We are here for You, dear Lord. We live for You and for Your purpose. We give ourselves to You for Your ultimate move on earth!
Refusing what the World Has to Offer
Daniel and his companions were offered all the good food and wine from the king’s table, but they chose not to defile themselves with the king’s choice provision and the wine that the king drank (Dan. 1:8).
Daniel and his companions were true Nazarites, those who refuse to enjoy the pleasures of the world (food and drink) and refuse any kind of death (the food and drink were first offered to the idols).
Everything that the world has to offer us today is demonic, involved with the worship of the idols. Music, movies, YouTube, Facebook, entertainment, parties, sightseeing, dating, the food and drink, etc – everything the world offers today for our enjoyment is involved with idols, and they eventually will become an idol to us.
Daniel had the choicest food and drink offered to him, but he refused it – even if other young people his age would eat it, he refused it! Even when an opportunity arises and we are offered worldly entertainment and enjoyment, we need to refuse it because we love God and are voluntarily consecrated to Him.
Even though everyone else pursues these things and runs after them, seeking to have more of it, we set ourselves aside for God and separate ourselves unto Him. We forsake the opportunity to enjoy the worldly pleasures because we are here for God and His interest!
Being the Anti-Testimony Today
In the church in Pergamos in Rev. 2:13 we see that there was a faithful witness, Antipas, who stood for the Lord as an anti-testimony – against all that the worldly church had to offer.
Pergamos signifies the church married to the world – and in such a church the Lord gained Antipas (whose name means, against all) who stood against all the worldly things creeping in the church and was eventually martyred.
We need to be those standing against any worldliness in Christianity and be the anti-witnesses bearing an anti-testimony, a testimony that is against anything that deviates from the testimony of Jesus!
The Lord needs to gain some that stand for Him against the decline of the church and who are an anti-testimony to the worldliness in Christianity today!
God Needs the Voluntary Consecrated Ones in This Age
All those who are used by God to turn the age must be Nazarites—voluntarily consecrated ones who are sanctified absolutely and ultimately to God.
In every age God needs some people who set themselves aside for Him, some who see His need and His desire and join themselves to Him through His word for Him to do what He desires to do. Today God needs to gain many twenty first century Nazarites, the voluntary consecrated ones in this age.
We need to tell the Lord, Lord, by the Holy Spirit in us we want to be those who are fully consecrated to You!
The Nazarites are those separated unto God from any natural affection, any worldly and earthly pleasures, any rebellion, and any form of death (see Num. 6:1-8).
Instead of having natural affection they live by, walk by, and minister the Spirit of life. Instead of enjoying the worldly pleasures, they enjoy God as their pleasure. Instead of being rebellious, they ask God to head them up and be the King, the Head, and the preeminent One. Instead of touching death or spreading death, they are filled with life, they are swallowed up by life, and they are saturated with anti-death!
We want to be the Nazarites of today, those who enjoy the divine life, take Christ as their Head, enjoy God as their satisfaction, and live by the spirit.
Even in these times of warfare toward the end of this age, we want to offer ourselves willingly to the Lord by getting into the womb of the dawn every morning and being the dew to satisfy and water the fighting Christ (Psa. 110:3).
We want to forget the things which are behind and stretch forward to the Christ before, to gain Him, obtain Him, and lay hold of Him today in a fresh way (Luke 9:62; Phil. 3:13-14).
And toward others, we want to minister the processed and consummated Triune God which we have enjoyed – we bless them with the Divine Trinity as our enjoyment day by day (see Num. 6:22-27).
Lord Jesus, make us men who turn the age. We give ourselves to You willingly today to enjoy only You and be filled only with You. Strengthen us in our consecration and separation, Lord. We want to separate ourselves unto You from anything of death, natural affection, worldly pleasures, and rebellion. Make us the anti-testimony against the worldly church today, standing against any mixture with the world. Lord, we are here for You and for Your interest.
References and Further Reading
- Sharing inspired from brother Ed Marks’ speaking in this message and portions in, Men Who Turn the Age (ch. 1), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on Crystallization-Study of Daniel and Zechariah, week 2 (entitled, A Pattern of a Person Used by God to Turn the Age).
- More sharing on Being a Nazarite:
# Consecration: giving ourselves over to the Lord (21stcenturynzarites.com);
# The Young People are a Dispensational Instrument (stefanmisaras.com);
# Podcasts and fellowship about Turning the Age (ageturners.com). - Hymns on this topic:
# Raise up some to meet Your need, some Nazarites, / Voluntary consecrated ones, / Who through Your word are joined to Your desire; / Your living testimony on the earth.
# Consecrated is Thy temple, / Purged from every stain and sin; / May Thy flame of glory now be / Manifested from within.
# Take my life, and let it be / Consecrated, Lord, to Thee; / Take my moments and my days, / Let them flow in ceaseless praise.
About aGodMan
O Lord Jesus make us those!
Although Daniel and his three friends were still very young, they stood up to be an anti-testimony. This anti-testimony is a separation. As soon as they stood up, there was clearly a separation from the world….When we read Daniel 1, we must grasp the meaning of this picture. These men did not follow the tide of Babylon at all. They were the separated ones. They could not eat what others could eat. They could not drink what others could drink. They could not do what others could do. They were clearly different from others in everything. (Men Who Turn the Age, pp. 12-14, 19)
Daniel 1:8 “But Daniel SET HIS HEART…”
A little spiritual pursuit or a little godly living before God is not enough to be used by the Lord to turn the age. All those who are used by God to turn the age must be Nazarites, those who VOLUNTARILY CONSECRATE themselves, those who are sanctified absolutely and ultimately to God from any natural affection, any worldly and earthly pleasures, any rebellion, and any form of death. Voluntary consecration means when everyone else on earth seeks after the world and enjoys the world, I SEPARATE myself from it. This separation is a voluntary consecration. Although Daniel and his companions were young, they STOOD UP as an ANTI-TESTIMONY. This anti-testimony is a separation. This anti-testimony is a testimony against anything that deviated from the testimony of Jesus. They forsook the opportunity to enjoy the worldly riches. They expressed God because they submitted themselves to His authority, acknowledged God’s authority, and they had God as their King.
Amen Lord, make us the Nazarites who are voluntarily consecrated to you. Lord, we open to You to dispense Yourself as the real Nazarite into us. Work Yourself into us so that we can be the same as You are to meet Your need and turn this age.
At Daniel’s time, the dominion and glory of God on earth were completely gone. God's people were under the rule of the Gentile king in the land of idols, eating food sacrificed to demons. Apparently God was defeated in His interests on earth, but actually, He preserved His worship and testimony through the 4 young overcomers. God’s elect were defeated, but the four young descendants of God’s elect were victorious. Their victory was God’s victory. At the risk of his life Daniel boldly rejected the king’s choice provision and wine, and stood against the age that followed Satan. In the land of captivity, Daniel’s heart was on the holy land, the holy city and the holy temple. His heart matched God’s heart. Eventually it was through the overcomers like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, that God was able to turn the age and bring a remnant back to the land of Canaan.
All those who are used by the Lord to turn the age must be Nazarites, who are sanctified, separated, absolutely to God… Sanctifcation involves outward change in position, as well as transformation in disposition by Christ as the Life giving Spirit saturating all the inward parts of our being with God’s nature of holiness…bringing Christ and His riches… as a result we will be transformed into His image, making us suitable for the building up of the Body of Christ…After presenting our body, our mind needs to be renewed…As we enjoy Christ, and His word, an inward metabolic transformation takes place, making us precious material for building….And we need to pursue with companions…those who call on the Lord out of the pure heart…Hallelujah!
Amen. Lord I’m but a thorn bush. My whole being I consecrate to you for the accomplishing of your hearts desire. Praise you for your rich provision for your children, incarnation, perfect human living, shedding of your precious blood your crucification, death burial resurrection and ascension. Especially praise you for becoming the sevenfold intensified life giving spirit, to be our life and all. Lord I take you as my burnt offering, you we’re reduced to ashes for the accomplishment of your eternal economy. I want to turn the age, to bring in your eternal abode. I take you as the reality of all the offerings and offer you to the father, that you may have your way