First Church of God in Harvey
Sunday Morning, March 18th, 2012
Let us pray
Welcome....
This is the day which the Lord hath made; two days before the first day of spring, the first day of the rest of our lives, we will rejoice and be glad in it. Do you have something to praise God for? Then praise him. Are you thankful to be in God’s house one more time? Then thank him. Most of us do not have much money, and so God gave us a good winter in which we could save on our gas bill and that is something worthwhile to praise God for. The psalmist knew how to praise God, and so he was able to say, “O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.” You thought God was late in answering your prayer? You thought God had forgotten you? You were wrong, because some of you here today can say with the songwriter, “Though the night has been long and my trials severe, And heavy my burdens of care; As the mist of the morning they all disappear, When Jesus answers my prayer.” What joy we can have today, to know that our prayers are being answered, “When Jesus answers my prayer…When Jesus answers my prayer;…..O the rapture that thrills, the glory that fills, When Jesus (not the mayor, not the president, not your wife or husband, not your son or daughter) but when Jesus answers my prayer.” Do not forget it, Jesus still answers prayer…elaborate..
Last Sunday we were blessed as we were reminded that as Christians, as followers of Christ we are the salt of the earth. As Christians we are supposed to make a difference in the lives of those around us. If as Christians, if we are not effectively touching lives, if we are not missed when we are away, then it is quite possible we have lost that effectiveness that we should have.
Today our topic will be, “Called to be different,” and our scripture reading will be taken from 2 Corinthians 6: verses 14 through 18. Let’s all stand and read from the screen. Please tell someone, we are different. The word different means, not the same; out of the ordinary, unusual. Just supposed we were all the same? We were all short, or we were all tall. We were all plump, or we were all thin. We were all smart, or we were all dumb. What a miserable world that would be, but God in his wisdom made us all different. Even though we are different, we can all strive to be more and more like Jesus.
Let’s consider the following thoughts, Number One.. Do not associate with evil; Number Two.. Let God ‘s Spirit dwell in you; Number Three..Come out from among them. Don’t you know that as a Christian you are not like the world? Don’t you know that as a Christian you cannot act like the world? Don’t you know that as a Christian you are a peculiar person. Peter writes in 1 Peter 2, and the first portion of verse 9, “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people….” Do you get uspset when someone says that you are strange? Guess what, that word peculiar means, unusual, strange, oddness. We are a peculiar people; we are different, we are not like the world.
Someone ask these questions, “Are you tired of playing games, wearing masks or trying to be someone other than yourself? Wouldn’t you like the freedom to just be accepted for who you are without the pressure to be someone you really don’t know how to be? Would you like to learn to embrace your uniqueness and resist the pull to be like everyone else? Let me say this loud and clear, we are not every body else, we are different. Let’s not try to be like everybody else, we are different. God knew exactly what he was doing when he made you. We are all uniquely made by God, and it is time for us to accept ourselves as different, “and stop being insecure about who we are.” If you and I are going to overcome our insecurities , and be the persons God called us to be, we will have to have the courage to be different. Many of our young people are falling prey to the enemy, because it is so difficult to dare to be different, and so they are doing things they should not be doing in order to be a people pleaser. It is said that, “unhappiness and frustration happen when we reject our uniqueness and try to be like each other.” If you and I are going to be successful, as being completely who we are, then we will have to take the chance on not being like everyone else. Let’s ask ourselves the question, am I trying to please God or am I trying to please people?
In our text for today we have been asked not to associate with evil. The church in Corinth was not one of those easy going church. It was not one of those church that was easy to pastor, it was a difficult church. Strange things were happening in the Corinthian church. In 1 Corinthians Paul deals with “the need of cleansing the church from party divisions, man-worship, and glorifying in worship wisdom.” He deals with the strife over leaders as a mark of im-maturity and carnality. He gives the true view of ministry, that ministers should be regarded as dispensers of truth; co-laborers with God; character builders; stewards, and sufferers for Christ’s sake. He deals with the sanctification of marriage, and all sexual re-la-tionships, and the paramount claims of the spiritual life. He deals with Christian ideals; Christian influence and cleansing of the church from disorder in connection with the Lord’s supper and the proper observance of the same. He deals with the diversity of spiritual gifts, the pre-eminence of love, and the pre-eminence of prophecy over the gift of tongues.
In 2 Corinthians Paul deals largely with his own ministry. “he opens his heart and discloses his motives, his spiritual passion, and his tender love for the church.” Here in our text he talks about the separation from evil associations, “Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers..” this passage quite often is made reference to a believer marrying a non-believer, even though this is true, it goes farther than that. There are many good reasons “that makes it unwise for a Christian to decide to marry an unbeliever.” In fact there might be reasons why a believer should not marry a believer, and this is reflected in the divorce rates among Christians, the separation rates among Christians, some Christians just can’t live together. Just because a person is a Christian, does not mean that person is the one for you….. Paul writes, be not unequally yoked with unbelievers; do not be bound together with unbelievers, do not associate with evil. He then ask the question, ‘for what fellowship hath righteousness with un-righteousness? That word fellowship means, “the condition of being together or of sharing similar interests or experiences, joint participation toward a common goal.”
What fellowship does righteousness have with un-righteousness? What partnership does righteousness have with lawlessness? The answer is none. That child of God, the one who has been redeemed, the one who has been set apart for the service of the master, must not engage In un-righteousness, “whether by himself or in partnership with another who will take him in that disretion and exercise that kind of control over him.” In Romans 6 verse 13 we read, “Neither yield ye your members as instruments of un-righteousness unto sin; but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.”
What communion hath light with darkness? and the answer is none. It is a fact, light and darkness does not mix. The two cannot go together; when light comes in, darkness has to go. As children of God, “we must not involve ourselves in a re-la-tionship that will darken our light.” Paul writes in Ephesians 5 verses 11 & 12, “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.” Those secret sins………….. As Christians we are called to be different, and we cannot associate with evil. In 1 Thessalonians 5 verse 22 we Read ‘abstain from all appearance of evil,” “shun ever form of evil,”
What concord, what agreement, what harmony hath Christ with Belial or the Evil One? What harmony exist between Christ and Belial? and the answer is none. Christ and the devil are opposed to each other; there is no harmony between them, and as Christians we should do the same. There should be nothing harmonious between us and the devil. There should be no getting along with us and the devil. There should not be I will just maintain the peace with the devil. The devil is not the Christian’s friend, and we should not be buddy, buddy with him….elaboaret
What part hath he that believeth with an infidel. What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? There is nothing. Spiritually speaking the believer and the unbeliever “they have different everythings. Their purpose is different. Their goal is different. Their hope is different. Their standard is different. Where they are going is different. If the believer and the unbeliever have the same things in common, something quite likely is wrong. We are called upon not to associate with evil
We are also called upon to let God’s Spirit dwell in us. Let’s ask ourselves this question, is God’s Spirit dwelling in me? What agreement does the temple of God have with idols? The answer is none. As Christians, we are the temple of the living God, indwelt by the Spirit of God. Can you believe it, that as a child of God, the Spirit of God dwells in you? And because of this, you and I are called to be different. In St. John 14 verse 17 we read, “Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him; but he dwelleth with you, and shall be In you. “ In 1 Corinthians 3 verse 16 we read, “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? As a Christian don’t you understand that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you.? Don’t you understand that as a Christian that God’s Spirit has his home in you? Don’t you understand that as a Christian you and I are called to be different.
The Spirit of God dwelling in us will make us walk right. The Spirit of God dwelling in us will make us talk right. The Spirit of God dwelling in us will make us act right. Sometimes we might forget who is our rightful owner. Sometimes we might forget who is in charge of our lives. Sometimes we might forget what is going on when that person gets on our last nerve. You are not crazy. Somebody is getting on your last nerve. Let’s be real, life is not always easy going, sometimes along the way there are problems, sometime there are hardships, and we have to remind ourselves as to who we are. I don’t know about you, but I can speak for myself. Life is not always easy, and I have to remind myself that I am a child of God. I have to remind myself that a holy life will tell the gospel story, and that I am a child of God. When the devil comes and try to bring discouragement along the way, I have to remind myself that I am a child of God. When the devil comes and try to whisper sweet nothing in my ears, I have to remind myself that I am saved from sin and ever band is riven and that I am a child of God. When those whom I care about might not see things the way I do, I have to remind myself that through the tests of life I have peace from heaven, and that I am a child of God. I want to tell somebody here today, if you are God’s child you are called to be different. If you are God’s child you cannot be like the world. If you are God’s child your light must shine into a darkened world.
We are called not to associate with evil. We are called to let God’s Spirit dwell in us. Finally, if we are called to be different we must come out from among them. There is a saying which says, birds of a feather flock together. There is another saying, if you can’t beat them, join them. We are living in this sinful world, but we should not be a part of the sinful practices of this world. It seems to me that the saints are bringing the sinful practices of the world into the church. How can we be different if we are living just like the world. We are supposed to love the sinner, but we cannot go along with the sinful lifestyle in the church. If anyone is living in a sinful lifestyle, in order to be part of God’s church you must be saved; you must be born again, you must turn away from sin and serve the Lord. The church is not an hideway for sinners. (repeat) The house of God is the place where you can come as a sinner, hear the Word of God, repent of your sins, and become a part of the family of God. When you become a part of the family of God, you separate yourself from a life of sin, you now have a new master whose name is Jesus, and you are called to be different. When you become a part of the family of God, you now have a new walk, you now have a new talk because a change has taken place and now you are different.
It is time for God’s church to stand up for the truth of God’s Word. It is time for God’s people to separate themselves from the things which are sinful and ungodly. It is time for God’s people to stand up for the truth and the right. It is time for God’s people to let a dying world knows where we stand, and come out from among them. In Ephesians 5 verse 11 we read, “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.” In 2 Thessalonians 3 verse 6 we read, “Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which ye received of us.”
Let’s stop watching what others are doing, and let’s live for the Lord. Let’s stop trying to do what others are doing, and let’s live for the Lord. Let’s not involve ourselves with relationships that will darken our light. Let’s not be engaged with unrighteous deeds, but do that which is righteous and pleasing to God. Let’s be the best we can for the Lord. God is looking for a church that is holy, he is looking for a church that is without spot or wrinkle. God is looking for a church that is without blemish. God is looking for a church of those who are washed in the blood of the lamb. Here are a few questions to think about as we close. Are you walking daily by the Savior’s side? Are you washed in the blood of the lamb? Do you rest each moment in the Crucified? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? When the Bridegroom cometh will your robes be white? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Will your soul be ready for the mansions bright, And be washed in the blood of the Lamb? Today is your day to be different. Today is your day to seek the Lord.
Let us stand
Call to discipleship
Closing song/prayer
