TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT!
"Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to he a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, 'The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously'?" - James 4:4-5
If you're still not able to recognise the difference between those of the kingdom and the world, then your faith is on the wrong foundation. There was a system of the world that the Lord called you and I away from - if you don't know the difference then you are just wrong!
It is possible you have announced yourself as a practicing Christain, it is possible everyone know the time you go to church and how you love the Lord, but if there are no clear demarcations of your principles and way of life from the world, then you may be making yourself an enemy of God.
Do not mistake friendship for conversion as this is one of the lies the devil has made us believe, do not think in your heart that loving them and being friends will bring them to Christ, friendship has never been a substitute for conversion. You cannot in yourself have the capacity to bring salvation to a person. There is a power of conversion beyond the witness.
'Love not the world', is still a valid truth of the Scriptures today, the love a Christain possesses is first of all of benefit to the Christain as a nature of Christ, the world only loves you for a compromise and not really genuine love, for how can he, who doesn't know God express love correctly?
The Spirit in us yearns jealousy and still does today. If you are given away to the god of money and compromised in your values because intellect is greater than faith to you... Then you have made your self an enemy of God.
SEPARATION NOT DEPARTURE
"And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said..." - 2Cor 6:15-16
"Therefore 'come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.'" - 2Cor 6:17
We can't go on pretending as if we don't know that there are two different worlds on earth, we can't keep on acting as if we don't know that light has nothing to do with darkness. He called us out of darkness, why do we still want to dwell with the people there?
If you don't want to come out from among the people of the world, you'll soon be lost again with them, you can't be drowning and expect to save someone, one person has to be in a better situation. Our faith does not permit the same dwelling place with the unbeliever.
We are in the world but not of the world as we know, but the statement is no longer true. We want the world, we seek relevance in the world-system where Satan holds sway.
Anything that makes us compromise the faith to achieve, can never be for His glory. Any quest that makes us play down our convictions can never be for His glory - so don't keep saying you want to do it for His glory. There are things you cannot compete with the devil over. He runs this world.
"I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one." - John 17:15
The Lord wants to keep you from the evil one, why don't you take precautions yourself, the Lord wants to deliver us from that which can harm us..why are you still being found amongst them.
"Why do you seek the living among the dead?" was the question the angel asked. And that question is relevant for us today - we cannot be seeking him who as become alive in Christ amongst those that are dead in sin. Let the dead bury the dead, there is nothing the world offers that Christ cannot offer better.
You are the salt of the earth and not the soup, if you don't give the taste of righteousness then you may have no business being in the world. If you don't give light to darkness then you are part of the darkness.
You are not here for an association but for impact.
WRONG ALLIANCE
"Nor shall you make marriages with them, you shall not give your daughter to their son, nor take their daughter for your son. For they will turn your sons away from following Me, to serve other gods; so the anger of the LORD will be aroused against you to destroy you suddenly." - Deut 7:3-4
You are not a converter and stop playing assistant Holy Spirit, if you think marriage can convert an unbeliever - you have it all wrong. It is even possible that such a person will stand and it is you that will fall. If a person does not give his or her life to Christ voluntarily, marriage will not help the salvation process.
How did the church get to the point of agreeing to gay marriage? It is because we have allowed ourselves to be so close. How did we come to a point that we now value cultural values more than spiritual doctrines. We are not called unto uncleanliness. We must not touch that which is unclean. Our children bring corrupt people into our homes as friends and yet we do not question the sensibility.
Sometimes, the unbeliever will become the thorn on the fertile ground of our hearts, sometimes they may be the ones choking up the spiritual depth we should have. They may have crept into our emotions and we may have become lost within the crowd.
"Do not be deceived: 'Evil company corrupts good habits.'" - 1Cor 15:33
Solomon who was said to be wisest did not have enough wisdom to shield those foreign women from severing his ties with God. They turned Solomon's heart away from the Lord and it went from good to bad.
It could be also that you know the damage an alliance can cause between you and God, but the material things or lustful desires you tend to benefit makes you turn a blind eye to this error. The Lord is a jealous God and can't allow you share his loyalty with the world.
Let us not be deceived to say that the people of the world are more trustworthy, there are yet people of the kingdom who can be trusted and whose faith have not been compromised.
BLESSED IS THIS MAN
"Blessed is the nan who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful" - Psalm 1:1
There is a blessing of right association, a person who recognises this truth, will be at a better position to receive blessings from the Lord. The Lord treasures the loyalty of His people and rewards it also.
We have become brides of Christ and if anyone goes to show affection to the world, the Lord calls such a one an adulterer or adulteress. Paul said he was jealous for his converts with a godly jealousy, the Lord would not have your divided loyalty.
There is direction in the sheepfold where Christ is the Great Shepherd. If we are not in the fold we are definitely out in the cold. If you are not in the fold, no one will lead you to green pastures and your soul will not be restored.
"For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother." - Matt 12:50
You cant find another family else where, those believers no matter how backward they seem are your brothers. In that congregation of saints lies your company. To search somewhere else is to stray from the sheepfold.
The world does not have the capacity to correct your errors, it is the brethren in the church that God will use. In the multitude of counsel, there is safety...the world cannot counsel you. I am your brother, you are my brethren and no matter my flaws you better start praying for me because, you can't divorce family.
CONCLUSION: The Lord is not comfortable with all these association and fellowship with the system of the world. We are here to make impact and the strength of our impact is in our unity as brethren. It is in this the Lord delights.
God bless you and I love you.
© Akinsuroju Femi
If you're still not able to recognise the difference between those of the kingdom and the world, then your faith is on the wrong foundation. There was a system of the world that the Lord called you and I away from - if you don't know the difference then you are just wrong!
It is possible you have announced yourself as a practicing Christain, it is possible everyone know the time you go to church and how you love the Lord, but if there are no clear demarcations of your principles and way of life from the world, then you may be making yourself an enemy of God.
Do not mistake friendship for conversion as this is one of the lies the devil has made us believe, do not think in your heart that loving them and being friends will bring them to Christ, friendship has never been a substitute for conversion. You cannot in yourself have the capacity to bring salvation to a person. There is a power of conversion beyond the witness.
'Love not the world', is still a valid truth of the Scriptures today, the love a Christain possesses is first of all of benefit to the Christain as a nature of Christ, the world only loves you for a compromise and not really genuine love, for how can he, who doesn't know God express love correctly?
The Spirit in us yearns jealousy and still does today. If you are given away to the god of money and compromised in your values because intellect is greater than faith to you... Then you have made your self an enemy of God.
SEPARATION NOT DEPARTURE
"And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said..." - 2Cor 6:15-16
"Therefore 'come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.'" - 2Cor 6:17
We can't go on pretending as if we don't know that there are two different worlds on earth, we can't keep on acting as if we don't know that light has nothing to do with darkness. He called us out of darkness, why do we still want to dwell with the people there?
If you don't want to come out from among the people of the world, you'll soon be lost again with them, you can't be drowning and expect to save someone, one person has to be in a better situation. Our faith does not permit the same dwelling place with the unbeliever.
We are in the world but not of the world as we know, but the statement is no longer true. We want the world, we seek relevance in the world-system where Satan holds sway.
Anything that makes us compromise the faith to achieve, can never be for His glory. Any quest that makes us play down our convictions can never be for His glory - so don't keep saying you want to do it for His glory. There are things you cannot compete with the devil over. He runs this world.
"I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one." - John 17:15
The Lord wants to keep you from the evil one, why don't you take precautions yourself, the Lord wants to deliver us from that which can harm us..why are you still being found amongst them.
"Why do you seek the living among the dead?" was the question the angel asked. And that question is relevant for us today - we cannot be seeking him who as become alive in Christ amongst those that are dead in sin. Let the dead bury the dead, there is nothing the world offers that Christ cannot offer better.
You are the salt of the earth and not the soup, if you don't give the taste of righteousness then you may have no business being in the world. If you don't give light to darkness then you are part of the darkness.
You are not here for an association but for impact.
WRONG ALLIANCE
"Nor shall you make marriages with them, you shall not give your daughter to their son, nor take their daughter for your son. For they will turn your sons away from following Me, to serve other gods; so the anger of the LORD will be aroused against you to destroy you suddenly." - Deut 7:3-4
You are not a converter and stop playing assistant Holy Spirit, if you think marriage can convert an unbeliever - you have it all wrong. It is even possible that such a person will stand and it is you that will fall. If a person does not give his or her life to Christ voluntarily, marriage will not help the salvation process.
How did the church get to the point of agreeing to gay marriage? It is because we have allowed ourselves to be so close. How did we come to a point that we now value cultural values more than spiritual doctrines. We are not called unto uncleanliness. We must not touch that which is unclean. Our children bring corrupt people into our homes as friends and yet we do not question the sensibility.
Sometimes, the unbeliever will become the thorn on the fertile ground of our hearts, sometimes they may be the ones choking up the spiritual depth we should have. They may have crept into our emotions and we may have become lost within the crowd.
"Do not be deceived: 'Evil company corrupts good habits.'" - 1Cor 15:33
Solomon who was said to be wisest did not have enough wisdom to shield those foreign women from severing his ties with God. They turned Solomon's heart away from the Lord and it went from good to bad.
It could be also that you know the damage an alliance can cause between you and God, but the material things or lustful desires you tend to benefit makes you turn a blind eye to this error. The Lord is a jealous God and can't allow you share his loyalty with the world.
Let us not be deceived to say that the people of the world are more trustworthy, there are yet people of the kingdom who can be trusted and whose faith have not been compromised.
BLESSED IS THIS MAN
"Blessed is the nan who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful" - Psalm 1:1
There is a blessing of right association, a person who recognises this truth, will be at a better position to receive blessings from the Lord. The Lord treasures the loyalty of His people and rewards it also.
We have become brides of Christ and if anyone goes to show affection to the world, the Lord calls such a one an adulterer or adulteress. Paul said he was jealous for his converts with a godly jealousy, the Lord would not have your divided loyalty.
There is direction in the sheepfold where Christ is the Great Shepherd. If we are not in the fold we are definitely out in the cold. If you are not in the fold, no one will lead you to green pastures and your soul will not be restored.
"For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother." - Matt 12:50
You cant find another family else where, those believers no matter how backward they seem are your brothers. In that congregation of saints lies your company. To search somewhere else is to stray from the sheepfold.
The world does not have the capacity to correct your errors, it is the brethren in the church that God will use. In the multitude of counsel, there is safety...the world cannot counsel you. I am your brother, you are my brethren and no matter my flaws you better start praying for me because, you can't divorce family.
CONCLUSION: The Lord is not comfortable with all these association and fellowship with the system of the world. We are here to make impact and the strength of our impact is in our unity as brethren. It is in this the Lord delights.
God bless you and I love you.
© Akinsuroju Femi
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