Separated
Scripture Reading - Romans 1:1 KJV
Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,
It has been a long time since we (ihlcc) have heard a sermon or even the very mention of “separation” concerning the Body of Christ and Christians individually. Therefore we thought it good to remind the Body of Christ who we are and whom called us out of darkness into His Glorious Light of Love. The Born-Again Believer in Christ Jesus has made a conscious decision to come to the Lord Jesus Christ. This coming to God involves a confession of Jesus Lordship over your lifestyle and your very life (your very being down to the core, hence a new heart). Yes, this confession of Lordship demands complete submission to God concerning the words of Jesus and the works of Jesus. Yes, when we are at our best we are Jesus people simply because we speak God’s Word after Him and we love people as God loves us. The surrender of your will is good when you make the decision to follow Christ but just that decision alone is insufficient. What we mean by that is the born-again believer must make a decision to follow Jesus not just once but daily because our flesh must be crucified continuously. Remember 1 Corinthians 15:31 KJV which states, “I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.” The “I” that was speaking in that verse is the Apostle Paul so if he is dying daily so must we die daily if we truly wish to follow Jesus while living upon this earth. We have seen many people who confess to be Christians today but they pursue life like a mere common man (unbelievers). We will explain, by asking the simple question, “How often do you see real godly representative in the media?” Oh, of course many people claim to be Christians but claiming to be a Christian is a lot easier than actually acting like Christ Jesus. Remember, the Lord always thought of helping others first and that thought alone is different than many people today. Jesus didn’t speak evil of others and yet how many people both saint and sinner do you hear speaking something negative about someone else. Jesus always spoke the truth even when it was unpopular but rarely today do we find the man, woman, elder or child who is willing to risk a friendship or popularity by speaking the truth to another. Look at our actors in popular movies and those in politics who claim to be believers but lack the obvious fruit of the spirit, like love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance (self-restraint or self-control) as mentioned in Galatians 5:22,23. Oh, how good it is to hear from the people who claim to be bonafide believers when they are looking to say soft positive words about another when the media personnel is looking for something negative to be said. Please don’t get us wrong we know there is always a remnant of God’s Choose People who are doing the word of God to the best of their abilities. However, following God completely brings us to today’s lesson of “separating” yourself unto God. When you are “separated” from something you are indeed “separated” more importantly unto something and someone. First know that you are “separated” unto God the Father and His precious Son Jesus Christ. This is paramount for the Believer and it should be the reason you wake up every morning. When the Saint of God is “separated” unto God this means continuous fellowship with God Himself in the Presence of Jesus, at least for a set time during each day. We know many people who are genuine Children of God that take for granted their allotted time on earth to be with God. We have noticed that numerous Believers don’t even know that they should have a dedicated time spent with God every day. This is shown by their attitude when claiming that they are so busy that they can’t dedicate a specific amount of time to God every day. They think that spending daily time with God is optional and spending time with God every day is quite the extreme. Now what five year old son or daughter would have the nerve to tell their very own mother or father, “I don’t really think I need to talk to you today but eventually when I feel l do need to talk with you I will, so don’t worry about me I am good!” I know dear faith friend this sounds ridiculous but either we (as a general body of children of God) think we are OK (I am good) as long as God is somewhere in our life or we are just not wanting to “separate” ourselves unto God. The second “separation” we must discuss is “separating” from certain things. We could articulate the point of that statement concerning things by mentioning removing ourselves from certain unprofitable people, places and things. Yes, we said certain people because just because a person claims to be a Christian it doesn’t mean that they are completely delivered from gossip and always act like Christ. Yes, in that same thought certain places invite rude behavior and bad language and ungodly fellowship. We shall go on to say that even certain things bring temptation by themselves. Just for discussion we could mention going to bars as an example. The bar people might be looking for a natural high and serving alcohol against the Holy Word of God so why would a Child of God delight in going there? If the desire to live like the world is still inside of a believer that same believer must replace those evil inclinations with God’s Spirit of Love and Holiness. The Word of God has enough power within Him to keep the Child of God from all sin if, and only if, the Child of God has the Word of God hidden in their heart. Yes, a new appetite for holiness is doable when we are hungry doers of God’s Word, not hears only.-James 1:22-25 “Separating” from carnal Christians who bad mouth the church leaders is the right thing to do under typically circumstances (most cases). Yes, we would say all circumstance but we do understand that if a godly saint had to work for such a person (an evil speaker) it would not be easy or even possible to quickly “separate” depending upon the situation. We know there are times when you need to “separate” from a family member simply because they are pulling you away from godliness instead of encouraging your fellowship (closeness) with God. This might sound strict but let the truth be known, “Only people who really love God are spiritually equipped to love other people as God!” Hence birds of the same feather will (must or shall) flock together. For how can you sufficiently (efficiently) love another until you have effectively (dependently) received His Love for you? We (ihlcc) don’t believe that being a fully mature Christian is the easy life but it is rather the right life and the blessed life. So please, dear faith friend, embrace your “separation” from evil for the goodness of being with God. Yes, also “separate” from people, places and things that feed your carnal nature because those are the weights that bring us down to our old carnal nature of flesh and carnality. Remember you are special and chosen in God’s Sight so rise up in your God given potential through godly “separation” to bring new revelation and causing regeneration in Christ Jesus your Lord. You are who you follow and you will act according to what you see in front of your eyes on a routine basis. The key is, “Are you looking at Jesus and God or worldliness and mere (the carnal) man?” The Lord has already “separated” you unto His Glory and Goodness, therefore we believe you have infused that empowerment into your very being, spirit, soul and body unto the goodness and glory of God in Jesus Precious Name. Amen!