A Crucified Life - - Is Received By The Lord

 

2 Corinthians 6:17

"Therefore come out from among them and be separate," says the Lord. "Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you."

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 873

Separate: set apart

From the Greek word 'aphorizó' (pronounced af-or-id'-zo): separate from a boundary (a previous condition/situation).

    Being saved and filled with the Spirit isn't enough to remain untouched by the world. We have to make that hard and sometimes difficult decision to set ourselves apart from the unrighteousness that is in our churches. Our testimony should stand out so much that they who practice wicked living are drawn to us so they can have what we have: a strong relationship with Jesus Christ and a faith-filled lifestyle in the Holy Spirit.

    We are commanded by our Lord and Savior to "come out from among" the unclean. Our lives are to be living witnesses of Christ in us. We are to reflect His image and shine His Light and His Love into the sinful world around us. This includes our family members who are not walking with Christ. 

    As it was when Jesus began His ministry, so it is with us. His own town at first rejected Him. The city of Nazareth recognized Him only as a homeboy, not as the Savior they so desperately needed. They tried to kill Him. Luke 4:16-30. 

    We need to step up and make a firm decision to live for God in Christ. Though we are becoming holy people we are not 'holier than thou people' nor are we 'better than you' people. We are sinners who have been changed into saints because of our faith in Christ. The people around us need to see the change in us. Be amazed. Wonder. This change needs to be so self-evident that it makes people hungry for the Word we have in us. 

    Though many will come against us, we can't let that have a negative effect on our relationship with Christ. We are a set apart and being sanctified people. Our actions need to reflect our relationship. We will set ourselves apart. 

    I used to drink. But when I got filled with the Holy Spirit, I couldn't stand the smell of alcohol: it made me sick, physically sick and nauseous. I still can't stand it. I am filled with new wine. 

    When we make that decision and stand by it, the Lord receives into Himself and unto Himself. We are grafted into the Tree (Romans 11:24). He prayed in the garden for this to be so: John 17:22,23 "I have given them the glory You gave Me, so that they may be one as We are one—I in them and You in Me—that they may be perfectly united, so that the world may know that You sent Me and have loved them just as You have loved Me."

    Stop playing with sin in your church and your life and kick it out the door! There is no room for the works of Satan in the House of God. Knowing that our hearts are the dwellingplace of God when we believe, this doesn't leave room for discussion now, does it? 

    No longer should the born again Holy Spirit filled believer want to have anything to do with that which they have been delivered from. But when they do, they will be worse off than they were before. Peter refers to it as a 'dog returns to its own vomit'. 2 Peter 2:21-22. Proverbs 26:11. 

    I urge you. Come out from the wickedness around you. Set yourselves apart and follow Jesus Christ. Be filled with the Holy Spirit of God. Seek His face. Worship in His Presence. Rejoice in your victory! and glorify God with your lives. 

    A crucified life turns its back on worldly living and lives only to please God and serve Him. Let us do so.

RECEIVED BY CHRIST

Just To Be With You - Paul Baloche

Seekers of Your Heart - Sandy Patti, Larnelle Harris, Steve Green

New Wine - Hillsong Worship

Hungry - Kathryn Scott

In The Garden - Jim Reeves

Just A Closer Walk With Thee - Randy Travis

Better Than Life - Phil Wickham

I Know Whom I Have Believed

    

Separated

 

2 CORINTHIANS 6:17

"Therefore come out from among them and be separate," says the Lord. "Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you."

Separate: to set boundaries, to set or place apart

Matthew 25:31-35, 41

When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His glorious throne.

All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.

He will place the sheep on His right and the goats on His left.

Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.'

Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.'

Revelation 18:4

"Then I heard another voice from heaven say: "Come out of her, My people, so that you will not share in her sins or contract any of her plagues." 

If we don't separate ourselves now, the LORD God will separate folks later. A conscious decision has to be made to commit one's self to a life lived according to God's will and God's purpose for us. 

It is not that we 'cannot' do what we used to do before we got saved, it's that we choose not to do what used to do. Nor do we want to do or be what we got saved from. We want to live a separated life unto God.

 Sin separates a person from God. Sin is unholiness. Sin is unrighteousness. Sin is disobedience to God's Word. To die in sin is to be forever, eternally, separated from God. There is no changing one's mind after death. And a person cannot be prayed into heaven by another after death. The decision to follow Christ must be made this side of heaven, this side of eternity, this side of breath.

Today is your day of salvation. Today is the day you give your heart to God. Today is the day you surrender your bodies as living sacrifices to God. Today is your day to believe that JESUS CHRIST IS LORD. Today is your day to be filled with God's Holy Spirit and begin to live a life changed because today is the day you get saved.