Separate - Spiritually
Scripture Reading - 2 Corinthians 6:16-18 KJV
16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
Previously we discussed being “separated” in general to make the point that when someone is born-again God “separated” them from the Kingdom of Darkness into His Kingdom of Light. That general “separation” should affect anything we do, say and think. Today, we will look a little closer at being “separated spiritually”. When we (ihlcc) are thinking about “spiritual separation” in this instance we are specifically reminding all Christians that they have a different heart, in fact a new heart. This “separation” is not just a concept or deep belief, it is rather a new heart of God and a life heart for God. This new heart received by each Believer is the Holy Heart of God. Yes, some could call this new spirit a holy spirit in each believer, while others would call it a God breathed spirit and traditionalist would simply refer to it as a born-again spirit. This means that the old man died in sin while the new spirit man was brought to life when the Saint of God accepted Jesus Christ into their heart. Yes, being called a Saint has one meaning of being a sanctified one or we could say a “spiritually separated” one. The reason this is so important is because having this new heart of God will change your behavior for the good. Yes, being “separated” in spirit first will then influence your attitude secondly which will positively change your actions thirdly. Being “separated” by God and specifically being “separated” for God’s Glory demands holy and righteous fruit unto God, your Creator. Thus, we (ihlcc) would say it is impossible to be born-again by God and still have no change in negative behavior in the midst of God. We know God is omnipresent so the true child of God always knows that whatever they are doing and/or thinking is in the presence of God. Yes, when God “separated” His very own children unto Himself He also took account of each one of His holy children so that He could start to feed them, train them, protect them, watch them and comfort them. Therefore God’s “separation” was with divine purpose because ultimately it is God Almighty who has a spiritual call for your life but you must remember to “separate” yourself unto God by spending sufficient time with Him. Spending daily time with God’s Word in praise and thanksgiving unto Him will sensitize your heart to accurately hear from God. We must remind the members in the Body of Christ that they are called to be “separate” because we see far too many Christians, think, speak and act like those of this world’s system. They pretty much do as they have always done when it comes to practicing an ordinary lifestyle, void of personal praise and prayer. Yes, there is some heart conviction at first but when people ignore that initial witness (soft desire, unction, yearning to know more about God) they become dull to that prompting of instruction. Some people have ignored that prompting from the Holy Spirit and their own godly spirit so long that it doesn’t bother them at all to do their own will over God’s Will. Yes, God’s Will is His Word but too many Believers think that going to church and reading just a little of their Holy Bible once a week is more than enough to satisfy God. The problem is God is already satisfied with the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on that Cross as the proper payment for all man’s sins but God’s “satisfaction” concerning the obedience of each of His Beloved Children is entirely a different matter. The Lord Jesus as the Head of Church has an assignment for everyone but we must fellowship with Jesus enough to grow up in Him to hear and understand this calling. Whatever the calling of God might be for your life you must “separate” yourself unto Him to know it, because you will never truly know the call of God upon your life until you know The Caller, Jesus Christ and your Heavenly Father God. Yes, this “spiritual separation” is not for religious obligation or spiritual duty but it is rather your intimate fellowship with God required for your proper growth and development. Knowing how the good Lord thinks, speaks and acts would be critical for modeling Him in this earth. It is for that reason we all must imitate God’s Heart in character, thought, motivation (compassion) and deed (action). Yes, The Hand of the Lord (the Holy Spirit of God) is upon us when we are following His direction but this same Lord is against all those who choose to rebel and dishonor Him. When we mention those who rebel we are speaking of those who openly say they will go in a direction apart from God. When we mention those who dishonor God we are speaking of those (a vast majority) who never will publically say they are not doing God’s Will they just know in their heart that they are not making a dedicatedly (committed) effort to do all that God has put on their heart. Many people will say out loud that they want to do God’s Will but when His Specific Will is shown to them by God or a servant of God in a small and simple measure they disregard the initial instruction. They ignore the request all together or shift the blame to some kind of comforting excuse. Of course this comforts their own mind but not God’s Heart because whenever God asks us to do something specific it is definitely for your own good and this good deed will also typically bless someone else. This is what “spiritual separation” is all about because if all believers completely separated themselves unto God whole-heartedly we would be a mighty army upon this earth and the Lord’s Kingdom would grow and expand so prosperously that it would hasten His (Jesus) Soon Coming Return. So please understand, dear faith friend, that you are “Separated Spiritually” unto the glory and goodness of God but you must stand apart (separate) from those of the world to let your Light of Love shine bright. Remember, a city set upon hill cannot be hidden and a light that is set on high shall not be over looked. Jesus Christ is “separated spiritually” from all ungodliness and so are we, therefore our desire for good over evil must be obvious. We must feed on God’s Love and His Word to prosper against the world system and all those of the kingdom of darkness. For we are the salt of the earth but if we lose our saltiness (desire to be different) we are good for nothing (no food) but rather only to tread under feet (keeping ice off the sidewalk). We are called to influence people by getting into their heart (removing darkness through His Light) we are not called to be under the influence of man’s feet. Therefore only you, dear saint of God, can make the right decision to be “spiritually separate” by not touching all unclean things and coming out from among those who practice unclean ways. For God has surely “separated you spiritually” but the choice is yours to live in this “Holy Separation” unto God, we can only hope and pray that you do so in the Awesome Name of Jesus. Amen!