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Hello, and welcome to the
Middletown Baptist Church podcast,

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where we are proclaiming the
truth to the world.

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My name is Pastor Josh, and I
want to thank you for listening to

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this podcast.

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I hope that this podcast can
be a blessing to you and strengthen

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you in the word of God.

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Now, come along.

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Let's look into the Bible and
see what God has for us here today.

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What we're going to talk about
here today is the understanding of

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how the Corinthian Church.

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Okay, remember, these are the
people that Paul is directly talking

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to here in Second Corinthians.

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They loved themselves and the
world too much.

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If you remember, last week, we
talked about how Paul says, hey,

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you.

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You guys are constrained.

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You guys are held together.

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You guys are tightened in your love.

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You are limited in your love
because of your love for yourself

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and the love for the world.

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You're not able to love the Lord.

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You're not able to love others
because you are tightened together.

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You are, as it says here,
straightened in the King James.

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But constricted is the word we
would use.

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You're constricted in your
love for God and the world because

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of your inappropriate affections.

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And so now he's going to
address one of those inappropriate

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affections, and that is the
love for this world, the love for

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sin, the love for that worldly
influence in our life.

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And so we looked at how the
church in Corinth had misappropriated

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their love.

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Instead of loving God with all
their hearts, as the Bible calls

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us to do, they allowed that
love that was supposed to be for

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God to flow out to other things.

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They were set in their own affections.

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Well, what were these affections?

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Well, the love for themselves.

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And specifically, in the
context of these next few verses,

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a love for the world.

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Because of their love for this
world, their lives were being influenced

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by the world.

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So what you love, what you set
your affections on will influence

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you.

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And so what Paul is going to
talk about here is that the fact

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that these individuals love
the world so much, they were associated

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with the world so much that
the world began to influence them.

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And so they were being
influenced to think, believe, and

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act like the world.

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As Christians, it's important
for us to think biblically.

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It's important for us to
believe in the truths of God, and

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it's important for us to act
upon those truths in our lives as

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focused Christians on the
truth of God.

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But what we see here is that
they started to think about the things

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of this world.

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Their affections were set on
the things of this world.

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They Began to believe in the
things of this world, and your thinking

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and your belief dictates your actions.

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So they had worldly outcomes,
worldly lifestyles.

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And so they were, as the
scripture says, not being transformed

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by the power of God, but they
were being conformed to the image

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of this world.

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God has a lot to say about a
believer's relationship with the

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world.

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The most popular passage of
scripture that we could probably

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go to is the passage that I
started out a sermon with a service

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with this morning.

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Romans, chapter 12.

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Romans, chapter 12, verses 1
and 2.

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Paul says, I beseech you, I
beg you, brethren, by the mercies

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of God.

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This is because of the mercies
of God that ye present your bodies,

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a living sacrifice.

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Present everything to God, not
just Sunday mornings, not just your

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free time.

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He says, present your bodies.

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He's talking about everything.

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Your spiritual side, your
physical side.

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And, you know, there were
people back at this timeframe that

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would have said, and people
today that say that it's not about

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what you do, it's more about
what you believe.

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It's theoretical.

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It's a very spiritual matter,
which, yes, it starts with the spiritual.

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But God does care about what
we do with our bodies.

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He cares about who we
associate with.

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He cares about what we do.

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And so he says here in Romans,
chapter 12, present your bodies,

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a living sacrifice, holy,
acceptable unto God, which is your

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reasonable service.

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That word holy is going to be
a theme here today.

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A lot of times when we say the
word holy, we think about sinlessness.

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And with God, that's what it is.

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God is perfectly holy.

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But in scripture, the Bible
calls us to be holy.

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Now, does God expect us to be sinless?

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Well, that's the expectation.

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But of course, he knows that
we won't be perfectly holy.

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That word holy means to be
separated, to be sanctified, to be

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set aside for a specific use.

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You know, sometimes when we're
at our house and we don't want to

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do dishes, what do we do?

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We do paper plates.

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I don't know if any of you
guys have ever done that in your

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life.

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Maybe you guys are just so.

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So refined that you would
never do that.

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But sometimes we're like, oh,
paper plates and throw it in the

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trash, right?

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But if we had a dignitary
coming over to our house, someone

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really special, we wouldn't
go, all right, let's pull out the

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paper plates.

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We're going to get out the
best that we have.

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We.

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We have things set aside for a
specific use.

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And as a Christian, what we
are called to Be is a people that

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are set aside.

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God calls us to be set aside
for a specific use.

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What is that use?

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To be messengers of the
Gospel, to glorify him.

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And so he says there, be holy,
acceptable unto God, which is your

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reasonable service, and be not
conformed to this world.

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The idea here is being molded
into an image.

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Sometimes, like our kids make
cookies, and you have the little

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cookie cutter presses and you
press something in.

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That's what the idea is.

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The world has this image, this
mold, and they want to jam us into

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that mold and make us look
just like them, just like the ways

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of the world, just like the
enemy, just like that fleshly, sinful

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nature.

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But he says, don't be
conformed to this world, but be transformed.

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That word transformed comes
from a Greek word that's similar

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to our English word,
metamorphosis, a transformation.

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Micah likes animals, and one
of the things that we like to do

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is study them, obviously, together.

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And one thing that a
caterpillar will do is a caterpillar

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will be on the ground, and
eventually that caterpillar climbs

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up on a branch and makes a
chrysalis and over a period of time,

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transforms into a butterfly.

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Right?

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It's that metamorphosis, that change.

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As a Christian, we are called
to be different from what we used

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to be before we were saved.

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We're called to be different
from the world.

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And so what Paul says is, be
different by what?

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By renewing of your mind.

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He says the way that we can
understand what it means to be different,

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the way that we can be renewed
and strengthened, is to think biblically,

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to think clearly, to think
about the things of God, not the

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things of this world that ye
may prove what is that good and acceptable

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and perfect will of God.

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You want to follow the will of
God, renew your mind so that you

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can live that transformed
life, so that you can live separately

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from the world, so that you
can live away from the association

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and the influence and the
impact of the sinful ways of this

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world.

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And so this passage of
Scripture here in Second Corinthians,

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chapter six, deals with that
very issue.

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And so let's look at our text
here this morning.

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Romans, chapter 12 was just a
context passage, but we're going

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to now look at Second
Corinthians, chapter six, and we're

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going to start in verse number 14.

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Paul is going to teach the
Corinthian church what it means to

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be separate, to be different.

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He says, be ye not unequally
yoked together with unbelievers.

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Now, you might have heard that
phrase before, and we're going to

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get into the depths of that
phrase here this morning.

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But he says, don't be yoked up
with unbelievers.

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The yoke would have been
something that would have been used

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for putting on two different
animals and associating them together.

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He says, don't join up with unbelievers.

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For what fellowship hath
righteousness with unrighteousness?

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And what communion hath light
with darkness?

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And what concord hath Christ
with Belial?

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Or what part hath he that
believeth with an infidel or an unbeliever?

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In what agreement hath the
temple of God with idols?

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And for ye are the temple of
the living God, as God hath said,

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I will dwell in them and walk
in them, and I will be their God,

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and they shall be my people,
wherefore come out from among them

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and be separate, saith the
Lord, and touch not the unclean thing,

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and I will receive you and
will be a father unto you, and ye

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shall be my sons and
daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

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The name of the sermon this
morning, the title is out of this

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World.

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Let's go ahead and pray.

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And then we're going to jump
right into our main thoughts here

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this morning.

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Lord, I pray that you be with
us as we look into your word.

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I pray that we can understand
what your teaching is here when it

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comes to this idea of being
separated from the world would help

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us to understand the
importance of living the transformed

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life as a believer, to live
differently, to live separate, to

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live sanctified.

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Lord, help us to understand
that you have called us to be different,

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that you have called us to be
a testimony, that you've called us

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to live pure and holy lives so
that folks can see that life and

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so that folks can understand
the goodness of salvation.

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To know the goodness of
walking with a God who loves them.

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And so, Lord, I pray that you
help us, challenge us, encourage

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us in this walk.

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Lord, I pray that there's
anyone here today that does not know

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you as Savior, that today can
be the day in which we can understand

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positionally that we can be
different, that there's hope in Jesus.

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So, Lord, we thank you and we
love you.

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In Jesus name we pray.

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Amen.

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I want you to see point number
one here this morning.

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God calls us to not have
association with the world.

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Number one is the association
God is concerned with who we are

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associating with.

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Verse 14.

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Be ye not unequally yoked
together with unbelievers.

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Paul speaks of the association
of believers and unbelievers.

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And he uses an analogy.

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He uses the analogy of being
unequally yoked.

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Paul is speaking to the overly
broad affections of the Corinthian

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Christians.

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Who are you loving?

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Who are you associating with?

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What are you associating with?

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You know, so many times in our
life we are challenged with this

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and we think, well, what am I
supposed to be?

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A person who goes and lives in
a monastery and never addresses people?

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No, that's not what he's
talking about here.

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He's not talking about being
in the world.

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In another passage of
Scripture in First Corinthians, Paul

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says, you can't separate
yourself from the world completely.

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You got to be there.

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You got to be in the world.

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But maybe this is a phrase
that you've heard before.

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You're in the world, but
you're not of the world.

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Right?

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And so as a Christian, we
gotta go to work.

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We.

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We gotta go to the grocery store.

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We gotta see people that are
not believers.

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That's understood.

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He's not talking about that.

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He's not talking about us
moving to an island and creating

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a Christian utopia and only
having Christians there.

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That's not what he's talking about.

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He's talking about being
associated with unbelievers.

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00:11:05,665 --> 00:11:09,483
And he says a believer should
not be linked to an unbeliever when

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00:11:09,499 --> 00:11:11,055
it comes to association.

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00:11:12,235 --> 00:11:16,083
You know, in this case, he's
talking about Christians who join

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00:11:16,139 --> 00:11:18,055
themselves with unbelievers.

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00:11:19,715 --> 00:11:22,971
And this is difficult because
for many of us, we might say, what

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00:11:23,003 --> 00:11:24,971
does that specifically mean?

247
00:11:25,123 --> 00:11:26,899
Does that mean that I can't
talk to an unbeliever?

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00:11:26,947 --> 00:11:28,467
That's not what he's talking
about here.

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00:11:28,611 --> 00:11:32,855
It's the joining of two things
that should not go together.

250
00:11:34,675 --> 00:11:37,863
It's the celebration of the
things of this world.

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00:11:38,019 --> 00:11:41,039
It's associating with an
unbeliever and hoping that that unbeliever

252
00:11:41,087 --> 00:11:42,515
will act like a believer.

253
00:11:42,935 --> 00:11:44,735
And the Bible says that should
not be so.

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00:11:44,775 --> 00:11:48,223
Now, in many cases, in most
cases, we see this preached when

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00:11:48,239 --> 00:11:51,831
it comes to the institution of
marriage, in which it does apply,

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00:11:52,023 --> 00:11:54,799
by the way, I believe that God
is warning us, as Christians, do

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00:11:54,807 --> 00:11:57,047
not have unbelievers marrying believers.

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00:11:57,191 --> 00:12:00,743
Believers should not be
associating in the closest biblical

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00:12:00,799 --> 00:12:01,551
relationship in marriage.

260
00:12:01,583 --> 00:12:01,823
Right?

261
00:12:01,879 --> 00:12:03,135
What does the Bible say about marriage?

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00:12:03,175 --> 00:12:07,125
The Bible says when we're
married, it's one flesh husband,

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00:12:07,205 --> 00:12:08,585
wife become one.

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00:12:08,925 --> 00:12:13,821
Bible says an unsaved person
and a saved person should not be

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00:12:13,853 --> 00:12:14,405
associated.

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00:12:14,485 --> 00:12:17,877
Therefore, we can take by way
of context, being unequally yoked

267
00:12:17,901 --> 00:12:21,013
would be that one unsaved
person is marrying a saved person.

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00:12:21,069 --> 00:12:22,205
And we warn against that.

269
00:12:22,245 --> 00:12:23,437
We caution against that.

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00:12:23,541 --> 00:12:25,197
Jesus says, don't do that.

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00:12:25,381 --> 00:12:27,973
But what we also have to
understand as Christians is that

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00:12:27,989 --> 00:12:29,389
that means so much more.

273
00:12:29,477 --> 00:12:31,479
It means so much more than
just marriage.

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00:12:31,597 --> 00:12:34,323
Because a lot of times we
might think, well, I'm married to

275
00:12:34,339 --> 00:12:37,075
a believer, so I don't have to
worry about Second Corinthians, chapter

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00:12:37,115 --> 00:12:37,315
six.

277
00:12:37,355 --> 00:12:39,531
That's not the full scope of it.

278
00:12:39,643 --> 00:12:40,851
That's one element of it.

279
00:12:40,883 --> 00:12:44,627
But Paul means so much more
here than only marrying an unbeliever.

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00:12:44,691 --> 00:12:48,099
It really applies to the
environment where we let the world

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00:12:48,187 --> 00:12:49,763
influence our thinking.

282
00:12:49,939 --> 00:12:52,675
Because if we let the world
influence our thinking, what happens?

283
00:12:52,755 --> 00:12:56,179
Well, then it changes what we
begin to believe, and then it changes

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00:12:56,227 --> 00:12:57,095
how we act.

285
00:12:57,195 --> 00:13:00,343
And so if we want to protect
ourselves from acting like the world,

286
00:13:00,439 --> 00:13:03,463
we need to go back about
thinking like the world and say,

287
00:13:03,479 --> 00:13:03,895
you know what?

288
00:13:03,935 --> 00:13:07,031
I'm allowing these
associations, these partnerships

289
00:13:07,143 --> 00:13:10,407
to infiltrate my mind and
allow myself to think about the things

290
00:13:10,431 --> 00:13:12,567
of this world and not think biblically.

291
00:13:12,671 --> 00:13:15,991
And when we're being conformed
to this world and we're not being

292
00:13:16,063 --> 00:13:19,911
transformed by the renewing of
our mind, we join together with unbelievers

293
00:13:19,983 --> 00:13:21,423
in an ungodly way.

294
00:13:21,519 --> 00:13:23,247
And I've heard it said many
times, well, you know what?

295
00:13:23,271 --> 00:13:25,111
I'm going to influence this unbeliever.

296
00:13:25,223 --> 00:13:28,823
The truth is, is that
scripture tells us that when we associate

297
00:13:28,919 --> 00:13:33,711
with an unbeliever, when we
associate with the things of this

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00:13:33,743 --> 00:13:37,391
world, when we associate with
this way of thinking, eventually

299
00:13:37,463 --> 00:13:40,235
that will bleed into what we
do in our own lives.

300
00:13:40,695 --> 00:13:44,287
And so what we can see here is
that God warns us over and over again

301
00:13:44,391 --> 00:13:47,395
about the dangers of joining
in with this world.

302
00:13:47,775 --> 00:13:50,335
I want you to see another
passage of scripture in James, chapter

303
00:13:50,375 --> 00:13:50,955
four.

304
00:13:51,685 --> 00:13:56,093
If you don't think that God is
serious about this, I want you to

305
00:13:56,109 --> 00:13:59,973
see a couple passages of
scripture where he deals with this

306
00:14:00,029 --> 00:14:03,117
understanding of being too
friendly, too loving with the things

307
00:14:03,141 --> 00:14:04,065
of this world.

308
00:14:04,525 --> 00:14:06,685
Now, I've said world a lot today.

309
00:14:06,725 --> 00:14:07,781
What am I meaning by the world?

310
00:14:07,813 --> 00:14:10,021
I'm not talking about the
physical world out there.

311
00:14:10,053 --> 00:14:13,101
I'm talking about the ways of
the world, the systems of the world.

312
00:14:13,173 --> 00:14:15,717
Ultimately, it's the enemy
system, right?

313
00:14:15,781 --> 00:14:19,337
You have Satan who attacks
Christians, but Satan has set in

314
00:14:19,361 --> 00:14:21,361
motion a way of the world.

315
00:14:21,553 --> 00:14:23,345
And so we're talking about
sinful ways.

316
00:14:23,425 --> 00:14:25,585
The ways of the world is like,
hey, get what you can.

317
00:14:25,665 --> 00:14:28,865
It's all about fleshly feeling
good about yourself.

318
00:14:29,025 --> 00:14:30,537
It's all about lifting
yourself up.

319
00:14:30,561 --> 00:14:32,129
It's all about stepping on
another person.

320
00:14:32,177 --> 00:14:34,169
It's all about putting
yourself first.

321
00:14:34,257 --> 00:14:36,473
From the very beginning, in
the garden, what was the original

322
00:14:36,529 --> 00:14:36,913
lie?

323
00:14:37,009 --> 00:14:37,913
Put yourself first.

324
00:14:37,969 --> 00:14:38,609
Be God.

325
00:14:38,697 --> 00:14:39,785
You're your own God.

326
00:14:39,865 --> 00:14:40,857
Put yourself up.

327
00:14:40,961 --> 00:14:41,705
Humanism.

328
00:14:41,825 --> 00:14:43,777
And that's what the ways of
the world is.

329
00:14:43,881 --> 00:14:44,505
It's humanism.

330
00:14:44,545 --> 00:14:45,793
The way of the world is humanism.

331
00:14:45,849 --> 00:14:50,603
So what, what we can see here
in James, chapter four, we see God

332
00:14:50,779 --> 00:14:53,483
telling us a very important
thing here in this passage.

333
00:14:53,579 --> 00:14:59,291
He says, ye adulterers and
adulteresses, know ye not that friendship

334
00:14:59,363 --> 00:15:02,347
of the world is enmity with God.

335
00:15:02,451 --> 00:15:04,987
Meaning, if you're friends
with this world, you're enemies of

336
00:15:05,011 --> 00:15:05,655
God.

337
00:15:06,595 --> 00:15:11,667
If you love this world, if you
cling to this world, you're not clinging

338
00:15:11,691 --> 00:15:12,455
to God.

339
00:15:13,115 --> 00:15:17,459
Whosoever, therefore, will be
a friend of the world is the enemy

340
00:15:17,507 --> 00:15:18,019
of God.

341
00:15:18,067 --> 00:15:20,611
I don't know how much more
clear he can be.

342
00:15:20,803 --> 00:15:23,515
The more we love the world,
the less we love the Lord.

343
00:15:23,635 --> 00:15:25,795
And the more we attach
ourselves to the things of this world,

344
00:15:25,835 --> 00:15:29,203
the more we lose grip on what
God wants for us.

345
00:15:29,299 --> 00:15:32,427
Go back to What Romans,
chapter 12, verse 2 says, you want

346
00:15:32,451 --> 00:15:36,615
to follow that good, perfect
will of God in your life.

347
00:15:37,035 --> 00:15:41,097
Cling after him, go after him,
search after him, love him.

348
00:15:41,201 --> 00:15:43,897
If you want to know the ways
of the world and be conformed to

349
00:15:43,921 --> 00:15:46,209
this world, love that, go
after that.

350
00:15:46,337 --> 00:15:48,857
Over and over again, we're
told that we should not love the

351
00:15:48,881 --> 00:15:49,065
world.

352
00:15:49,105 --> 00:15:50,645
First John, chapter two.

353
00:15:51,225 --> 00:15:54,445
First John, chapter two,
verses 15 through 17.

354
00:15:54,905 --> 00:15:58,113
First John, chapter two is
talking all about Jesus being the

355
00:15:58,129 --> 00:16:01,457
propitiation of our sins and
how we should love him and how we

356
00:16:01,481 --> 00:16:05,115
should walk in his truth and
how we should obey Him.

357
00:16:05,195 --> 00:16:11,135
And then he goes on to say in
verse number 15, Love not the world,

358
00:16:12,115 --> 00:16:14,339
neither the things that are in
the world.

359
00:16:14,467 --> 00:16:18,587
So lest you think that, hey, I
don't love the world, he says, don't

360
00:16:18,611 --> 00:16:19,099
love the world.

361
00:16:19,147 --> 00:16:22,775
Or the things that are in the
world, that the products of the world.

362
00:16:23,275 --> 00:16:26,267
Now, I've heard a lot of
sermons where pastors get up and

363
00:16:26,291 --> 00:16:29,027
start picking and choosing
what they don't like and telling

364
00:16:29,051 --> 00:16:30,115
you that you shouldn't like
that either.

365
00:16:30,155 --> 00:16:30,533
Okay?

366
00:16:30,619 --> 00:16:31,681
That's not my job here today.

367
00:16:31,713 --> 00:16:34,665
My job is not to get up here
and give you your biblical preferences

368
00:16:34,705 --> 00:16:35,937
and convictions.

369
00:16:36,001 --> 00:16:39,017
All I'm saying is that when
things are very clearly from the

370
00:16:39,041 --> 00:16:40,993
world, we should not love those.

371
00:16:41,129 --> 00:16:42,885
We should not chase after those.

372
00:16:43,225 --> 00:16:46,273
He says here, love not the
world, neither the things that are

373
00:16:46,289 --> 00:16:47,033
in the world.

374
00:16:47,129 --> 00:16:49,009
If any man love the world.

375
00:16:49,177 --> 00:16:50,593
Okay, this is not Pastor Josh.

376
00:16:50,649 --> 00:16:51,009
This is.

377
00:16:51,057 --> 00:16:51,841
This is scripture.

378
00:16:51,913 --> 00:16:53,105
If any man love the world.

379
00:16:53,145 --> 00:16:57,495
The love of the Father is not
in him, for all that is in the world.

380
00:16:57,625 --> 00:16:58,843
And here, here's what he says.

381
00:16:58,899 --> 00:16:59,283
This is.

382
00:16:59,339 --> 00:17:01,355
If you could summarize the
world, this is it.

383
00:17:01,395 --> 00:17:01,867
Okay.

384
00:17:01,971 --> 00:17:02,235
So.

385
00:17:02,275 --> 00:17:02,451
So.

386
00:17:02,483 --> 00:17:05,579
So if you were thinking, well,
I don't know if what I love is, is

387
00:17:05,627 --> 00:17:07,323
worldly, well, here it is.

388
00:17:07,419 --> 00:17:10,059
He gives you the definition of
what it means to love the world.

389
00:17:10,107 --> 00:17:15,235
He says, for all that is in
the world, the lust of the flesh.

390
00:17:15,355 --> 00:17:19,115
So, so what your flesh wants
feel good, right?

391
00:17:19,235 --> 00:17:20,299
What feels good?

392
00:17:20,427 --> 00:17:24,261
The lust of the eyes, what
looks good, what's going to bring

393
00:17:24,293 --> 00:17:27,825
you pleasure, what's going to
bring you success.

394
00:17:28,365 --> 00:17:31,385
And the pride of life.

395
00:17:31,885 --> 00:17:36,065
Lust of the flesh, lust of the
eyes, pride of life.

396
00:17:36,405 --> 00:17:40,493
Those things it says is not of
the Father, but of this world, but

397
00:17:40,509 --> 00:17:41,541
is of this world.

398
00:17:41,693 --> 00:17:43,893
And then he gives us the
reason why we shouldn't love the

399
00:17:43,909 --> 00:17:44,181
world.

400
00:17:44,253 --> 00:17:46,485
And the world passeth away in
the lust thereof.

401
00:17:46,565 --> 00:17:49,101
But he that doeth the will of
God abideth forever.

402
00:17:49,213 --> 00:17:50,469
The things of this world are empty.

403
00:17:50,517 --> 00:17:51,861
The things of this world are temporary.

404
00:17:51,893 --> 00:17:53,781
The things of this world are
going to vanish.

405
00:17:53,853 --> 00:17:56,541
What he says is the only thing
that is going to last is our relationship

406
00:17:56,573 --> 00:17:57,021
with the Lord.

407
00:17:57,053 --> 00:17:58,185
So love him.

408
00:17:58,565 --> 00:18:01,981
And so Paul means so much more
than just a believer.

409
00:18:02,013 --> 00:18:05,141
And marrying an unbeliever,
that is one of the greatest examples

410
00:18:05,253 --> 00:18:06,581
of being unequally yoked.

411
00:18:06,653 --> 00:18:09,437
But we can be unequally yoked
in many different ways in our life,

412
00:18:09,541 --> 00:18:12,493
whether it be in personal
relationships outside of marriage,

413
00:18:12,669 --> 00:18:16,019
whether it be through, maybe
even some cases, business relationships.

414
00:18:16,117 --> 00:18:18,807
Maybe, maybe it just could be
my affections of what I entertain

415
00:18:18,871 --> 00:18:23,447
myself with, what, what we've,
what we stream into our households

416
00:18:23,511 --> 00:18:24,047
do matter.

417
00:18:24,111 --> 00:18:26,751
Folks, I'm going to tell you
this morning, it matters what we

418
00:18:26,783 --> 00:18:28,315
take in through entertainment.

419
00:18:28,695 --> 00:18:30,887
A lot of times you're going to
be taught, hey, you know what?

420
00:18:30,911 --> 00:18:32,639
Just do whatever you want to
do because that's fun.

421
00:18:32,687 --> 00:18:34,599
And then go to church and you
just cleanse your mind.

422
00:18:34,687 --> 00:18:34,975
That's.

423
00:18:35,015 --> 00:18:36,431
That's not the case.

424
00:18:36,583 --> 00:18:40,103
The world has a system of
propaganda that is trying to get

425
00:18:40,119 --> 00:18:42,833
into your minds and get you to
think a certain way, whether you

426
00:18:42,849 --> 00:18:43,457
know it or not.

427
00:18:43,521 --> 00:18:45,025
That makes it good propaganda.

428
00:18:45,145 --> 00:18:47,085
You don't know that it's
coming to you.

429
00:18:47,625 --> 00:18:48,505
It's not overt.

430
00:18:48,545 --> 00:18:49,593
It's not in your face.

431
00:18:49,689 --> 00:18:54,777
It's under the guise of, hey,
this is just fun.

432
00:18:54,961 --> 00:18:58,441
The problem is that can come
in and plague our minds, plague our

433
00:18:58,513 --> 00:18:58,905
families.

434
00:18:58,985 --> 00:19:01,585
And the Bible says that's
being unequally yoked with the world.

435
00:19:01,665 --> 00:19:02,785
Would you Bring in.

436
00:19:02,905 --> 00:19:03,857
I'm just going to.

437
00:19:04,001 --> 00:19:06,937
I already knew this morning
I'm going to step on toes and I love

438
00:19:06,961 --> 00:19:07,145
you.

439
00:19:07,185 --> 00:19:08,001
So just understand that.

440
00:19:08,033 --> 00:19:09,627
Because I'm preaching to
myself this morning.

441
00:19:09,761 --> 00:19:16,447
Would I bring in some worldly
person who had a filthy mouth who

442
00:19:16,591 --> 00:19:19,967
celebrated immorality and say,
hey, come on to my house and just

443
00:19:19,991 --> 00:19:22,155
live out your life in front of
my family?

444
00:19:22,655 --> 00:19:23,795
I hope not.

445
00:19:24,135 --> 00:19:25,879
Hope you'd say, get out of my house.

446
00:19:26,047 --> 00:19:27,315
This is our sanctuary.

447
00:19:27,775 --> 00:19:28,799
This is our comfort.

448
00:19:28,847 --> 00:19:30,847
This is our peace in Jesus Christ.

449
00:19:31,031 --> 00:19:33,967
But what happens sometimes is
we're not willing to enter through

450
00:19:33,991 --> 00:19:36,487
our front door, but we're
allowing them to come in through

451
00:19:36,511 --> 00:19:37,391
our televisions.

452
00:19:37,423 --> 00:19:39,583
We're allowing them to come in
through what we take in our cell

453
00:19:39,599 --> 00:19:40,201
phones.

454
00:19:40,343 --> 00:19:45,037
Folks, I'm the first guy to
tell you that in and of itself, the

455
00:19:45,061 --> 00:19:46,237
iPhone isn't a bad thing, right?

456
00:19:46,261 --> 00:19:47,837
You can do a lot of great
things with it.

457
00:19:47,941 --> 00:19:50,277
But just as much as you can do
a lot of great things with this thing,

458
00:19:50,301 --> 00:19:53,437
you can do a lot of bad things
that are destructive to yourself,

459
00:19:53,581 --> 00:19:55,645
to your minds, to your families.

460
00:19:55,725 --> 00:19:57,805
And I'm going to tell you,
being unequally yoked with the world

461
00:19:57,845 --> 00:20:00,781
would be, hey, I'm taking in
content from the world, and that

462
00:20:00,813 --> 00:20:02,885
is where I'm feeding my hunger.

463
00:20:03,005 --> 00:20:04,853
That is where I'm feeding my pleasure.

464
00:20:04,989 --> 00:20:07,141
I'm going to tell you folks,
there's danger with that.

465
00:20:07,293 --> 00:20:08,077
There's danger with that.

466
00:20:08,101 --> 00:20:11,253
It's a slippery slope because
the more that I take in from the

467
00:20:11,269 --> 00:20:14,301
world and the more I set my
affections on the things of this

468
00:20:14,333 --> 00:20:18,061
world, the more that's going
to affect what I believe, and it's

469
00:20:18,093 --> 00:20:19,117
going to affect what I believe.

470
00:20:19,181 --> 00:20:22,197
It's actually going to then
affect what I do because I'm going

471
00:20:22,221 --> 00:20:24,265
to live the way that I believe.

472
00:20:25,325 --> 00:20:27,589
You know, if I'm going to ask
you what you believe, you can tell

473
00:20:27,597 --> 00:20:28,865
me whatever you want.

474
00:20:29,205 --> 00:20:31,021
You can tell me whatever you want.

475
00:20:31,093 --> 00:20:33,037
But what you believe is how
you act.

476
00:20:33,101 --> 00:20:33,349
Really.

477
00:20:33,397 --> 00:20:35,825
That's, at the end of the day,
what's all about what you believe.

478
00:20:36,185 --> 00:20:39,169
So if you believe that this is
something that's good, eventually

479
00:20:39,217 --> 00:20:41,121
that's something that's going
to bleed into your life.

480
00:20:41,273 --> 00:20:43,725
We cannot compartmentalize
these things.

481
00:20:44,305 --> 00:20:47,625
And so what we can see here in
this case is that Jesus says, don't

482
00:20:47,665 --> 00:20:49,497
be yoked with this world.

483
00:20:49,601 --> 00:20:51,009
Where should we be yoked?

484
00:20:51,177 --> 00:20:56,863
Well, Matthew chapter 11 tells
us where our yoke should be.

485
00:20:56,944 --> 00:21:01,385
Matthew, chapter 11 tells us
that our yoke should not be with

486
00:21:01,425 --> 00:21:06,397
this world, but it should be
with Jesus Christ yoke.

487
00:21:06,421 --> 00:21:08,749
Up with him a lot of times.

488
00:21:08,797 --> 00:21:12,665
I was always taught growing
up, just stop doing bad things.

489
00:21:12,965 --> 00:21:14,185
Turn off the TV.

490
00:21:14,965 --> 00:21:18,605
Maybe you've seen this guy on
YouTube, he got an ax out and he

491
00:21:18,645 --> 00:21:20,077
smashed the TV on stage.

492
00:21:20,141 --> 00:21:20,745
Right?

493
00:21:21,325 --> 00:21:26,213
Folks, we all know that we can
try to stop doing things, but that's

494
00:21:26,229 --> 00:21:29,629
not what the Bible says is the
complete model of living a godly

495
00:21:29,677 --> 00:21:30,625
holy life.

496
00:21:30,805 --> 00:21:33,681
You can cut out a bunch of bad
stuff in your life, but ultimately

497
00:21:33,713 --> 00:21:35,689
that bad stuff is just gonna
come back in different forms.

498
00:21:35,777 --> 00:21:38,217
And so there's a replacement
for the bad.

499
00:21:38,321 --> 00:21:42,273
Matthew, chapter 11, verse 28.

500
00:21:42,329 --> 00:21:47,369
Jesus says, Come unto me, all
ye that labor and are heavy laden,

501
00:21:47,417 --> 00:21:49,245
and I will give you rest.

502
00:21:49,585 --> 00:21:51,765
Take my yoke.

503
00:21:52,265 --> 00:21:54,393
So we don't yoke up with the
world, what do we do?

504
00:21:54,409 --> 00:21:55,903
We yoke up with Christ.

505
00:21:56,089 --> 00:22:00,147
Take my yoke upon you and
learn of me.

506
00:22:00,211 --> 00:22:03,627
So it's that Christ like
attitude, it's that humility, it's

507
00:22:03,651 --> 00:22:06,459
that sacrifice, it's that
grace, it's that mercy.

508
00:22:06,547 --> 00:22:08,051
He says, take up my yoke.

509
00:22:08,123 --> 00:22:10,395
Let me tell you, when you yoke
up with Jesus Christ, it's not lust

510
00:22:10,435 --> 00:22:13,915
of the eyes, it's not lust of
the flesh, it's not pride of life,

511
00:22:13,955 --> 00:22:15,491
it's the complete opposite.

512
00:22:15,683 --> 00:22:19,323
He says, for I am meek and
lowly, completely different.

513
00:22:19,379 --> 00:22:20,827
For I am meek and lowly in heart.

514
00:22:20,851 --> 00:22:23,369
And ye shall find rest unto
your souls.

515
00:22:23,457 --> 00:22:26,801
For my yoke is easy and my
burden is light.

516
00:22:26,953 --> 00:22:29,801
Jesus says, come, you know,
you know what's a real big burden

517
00:22:29,873 --> 00:22:32,137
is being yoked up with this
world and trying to keep up with

518
00:22:32,161 --> 00:22:33,041
all that.

519
00:22:33,233 --> 00:22:34,921
Because ultimately it all
falls on us.

520
00:22:34,953 --> 00:22:36,209
And it all falls on our strength.

521
00:22:36,257 --> 00:22:38,889
And we are flawed human beings
that will fall.

522
00:22:38,937 --> 00:22:41,441
But what we see here is that
Jesus says, yoke up with me instead

523
00:22:41,473 --> 00:22:42,325
of the world.

524
00:22:42,985 --> 00:22:46,649
And so we see that there's
this idea of association.

525
00:22:46,817 --> 00:22:50,165
And that association comes to
point number two, influence.

526
00:22:51,325 --> 00:22:53,661
We're going to go back to
second Corinthians, chapter six.

527
00:22:53,733 --> 00:22:54,741
So go back there with me.

528
00:22:54,813 --> 00:22:56,725
We'll spend some time in 2
Corinthians, chapter 6.

529
00:22:56,765 --> 00:23:03,549
Now, Paul says, be careful of
your associations, because your associations

530
00:23:03,677 --> 00:23:05,185
will influence you.

531
00:23:06,085 --> 00:23:09,893
They will influence the way
that you act, the way that you think,

532
00:23:10,069 --> 00:23:11,437
the way that you believe.

533
00:23:11,621 --> 00:23:15,563
Be not unequally yoked
together with unbelievers.

534
00:23:15,709 --> 00:23:18,663
For what fellowship we see
that word fellowship?

535
00:23:18,799 --> 00:23:22,647
For what fellowship hath
righteousness with unrighteousness?

536
00:23:22,831 --> 00:23:23,871
These are true questions.

537
00:23:23,903 --> 00:23:25,515
He wants you to think about this.

538
00:23:26,175 --> 00:23:29,247
What association does
righteousness have with unrighteousness?

539
00:23:29,351 --> 00:23:33,235
And what communion hath light
with darkness?

540
00:23:34,335 --> 00:23:36,247
These are all thoughts that we
have to think about.

541
00:23:36,351 --> 00:23:39,515
Cause sometimes when we frame
it this way, it makes more sense

542
00:23:40,175 --> 00:23:42,457
when we frame it for what it
really is.

543
00:23:42,591 --> 00:23:45,469
Dark and light, righteousness, unrighteousness.

544
00:23:45,597 --> 00:23:47,301
So many times we try to blur
the lines.

545
00:23:47,333 --> 00:23:50,501
And that's what the world
tries to do, blur the lines, make

546
00:23:50,533 --> 00:23:51,813
definitions unclear.

547
00:23:51,949 --> 00:23:54,317
God is not the author of confusion.

548
00:23:54,501 --> 00:23:56,541
God is clear in how he deals
with things.

549
00:23:56,693 --> 00:24:00,013
But what we see here in this
case is that sometimes we can allow

550
00:24:00,069 --> 00:24:03,157
the influence to come into our
lives when we blur the lines.

551
00:24:03,181 --> 00:24:05,765
And so what Paul is doing here
is he's saying, look, it's really

552
00:24:05,805 --> 00:24:08,595
this fellowship with
righteousness or unrighteousness,

553
00:24:08,685 --> 00:24:13,543
fellowship with darkness or
light, communion.

554
00:24:13,639 --> 00:24:16,111
He's talking about that walk
that we have.

555
00:24:16,263 --> 00:24:19,591
And so this passage here
speaks especially to the issue of

556
00:24:19,663 --> 00:24:20,455
influence.

557
00:24:20,615 --> 00:24:24,115
Paul is not suggesting that
Christians should never associate

558
00:24:24,535 --> 00:24:26,271
with unbelievers, because
there's a.

559
00:24:26,303 --> 00:24:27,943
There's a point to associate
with unbelievers.

560
00:24:27,999 --> 00:24:29,279
Like the gospel.

561
00:24:29,447 --> 00:24:30,755
Be salt and light.

562
00:24:31,055 --> 00:24:32,847
We should reach out to those
that are around us.

563
00:24:32,871 --> 00:24:34,223
We should influence those that
are around us.

564
00:24:34,239 --> 00:24:36,711
So instead of us being
influenced by the world, we should

565
00:24:36,743 --> 00:24:38,715
influence the world for the
cause of the gospel.

566
00:24:39,655 --> 00:24:41,023
And so there's a difference there.

567
00:24:41,079 --> 00:24:43,235
It's in the world, but not of
the world.

568
00:24:43,735 --> 00:24:46,359
And he makes it very clear in
First Corinthians, chapter 5.

569
00:24:46,447 --> 00:24:47,711
We don't have the time to go there.

570
00:24:47,783 --> 00:24:49,959
But Paul says, you can't just
leave this world.

571
00:24:50,047 --> 00:24:52,807
You got to be around other
people that are unbelievers, but

572
00:24:52,831 --> 00:24:55,063
it's how you associate with them.

573
00:24:55,199 --> 00:24:58,551
And so the principle is that
we are to be in the world, but not

574
00:24:58,583 --> 00:24:59,555
of the world.

575
00:25:00,255 --> 00:25:01,007
It's like this.

576
00:25:01,071 --> 00:25:03,395
I heard a commentator say it
this way.

577
00:25:03,805 --> 00:25:07,733
Like a ship should be in the
water, but the water shouldn't be

578
00:25:07,749 --> 00:25:08,533
in the ship.

579
00:25:08,669 --> 00:25:09,349
Right?

580
00:25:09,517 --> 00:25:09,845
Right.

581
00:25:09,885 --> 00:25:12,837
So when we're in a boat, we
expect there's water outside.

582
00:25:12,901 --> 00:25:14,085
We're in that water.

583
00:25:14,245 --> 00:25:17,237
But when that water starts
coming in, hopefully that water starts

584
00:25:17,261 --> 00:25:18,581
coming into the boat, into the ship.

585
00:25:18,613 --> 00:25:19,429
There's a big problem.

586
00:25:19,517 --> 00:25:20,261
That's the problem.

587
00:25:20,333 --> 00:25:26,333
It's the influence of that
outside into our own family, our

588
00:25:26,389 --> 00:25:28,425
own life, our own hearts.

589
00:25:29,135 --> 00:25:30,835
And so we're there.

590
00:25:31,775 --> 00:25:36,175
But the problem is, if the
world is influencing us, it's clear

591
00:25:36,215 --> 00:25:38,279
that we are unequally yoked
together with unbelievers.

592
00:25:38,327 --> 00:25:39,287
So where's the test?

593
00:25:39,391 --> 00:25:40,455
The test is this.

594
00:25:40,575 --> 00:25:44,775
Is my life mirroring Christ
and Christ likeness?

595
00:25:44,895 --> 00:25:46,831
Or is my life looking more and
more like the world?

596
00:25:46,863 --> 00:25:50,303
If you could take me and put
me up to a person who has no faith.

597
00:25:50,399 --> 00:25:53,271
And if my life looks the same
as his, except I go to church on

598
00:25:53,303 --> 00:25:57,609
Sunday mornings and I give to
the church.

599
00:25:57,777 --> 00:25:58,977
There's a big issue there.

600
00:25:59,081 --> 00:25:59,585
Right?

601
00:25:59,705 --> 00:26:00,417
Let's think about that.

602
00:26:00,441 --> 00:26:02,329
You know reality shows, right?

603
00:26:02,377 --> 00:26:04,217
They have reality shows and
they follow people around.

604
00:26:04,321 --> 00:26:05,217
Some of you might like those.

605
00:26:05,241 --> 00:26:06,041
Some of you might like.

606
00:26:06,113 --> 00:26:06,633
You ever seen that?

607
00:26:06,649 --> 00:26:07,725
Undercover Boss?

608
00:26:08,065 --> 00:26:09,449
That's interesting, right?

609
00:26:09,537 --> 00:26:12,353
Those guys come in and these
guys are yelling at them, and like,

610
00:26:12,369 --> 00:26:14,537
you know, I'm the CEO of the
company, and they end up firing them,

611
00:26:14,561 --> 00:26:16,889
and they give a million
dollars to this guy who was nice.

612
00:26:16,937 --> 00:26:17,401
It's all.

613
00:26:17,473 --> 00:26:19,353
I don't know how much of it
scripted or not, probably most of

614
00:26:19,369 --> 00:26:21,669
it's scripted, but either way,
it's entertaining, right?

615
00:26:21,857 --> 00:26:23,845
Speaking of that, we got to be
careful about our entertainment,

616
00:26:23,885 --> 00:26:25,373
but I think that's okay to
watch sometimes.

617
00:26:25,429 --> 00:26:27,185
So the idea would be this.

618
00:26:28,005 --> 00:26:34,101
If we followed around, you
know, Middletown Baptist Joe here,

619
00:26:34,133 --> 00:26:36,453
okay, he's going out into the
world and he's gonna.

620
00:26:36,509 --> 00:26:37,157
We're gonna follow him.

621
00:26:37,181 --> 00:26:39,557
And then we go follow an
atheist guy who doesn't believe in

622
00:26:39,581 --> 00:26:40,277
Jesus Christ.

623
00:26:40,381 --> 00:26:42,069
And we follow him everywhere
he goes.

624
00:26:42,197 --> 00:26:44,645
And if we didn't show what he
did on Sunday morning, and we didn't

625
00:26:44,685 --> 00:26:48,743
show what he did when he had
his ministry that Saturday, but now

626
00:26:48,759 --> 00:26:52,127
we just show what he does in
his life all those other times, and

627
00:26:52,151 --> 00:26:54,615
the life of the unsaved person
and the life of the saved person

628
00:26:54,655 --> 00:26:55,855
looks exactly the same.

629
00:26:55,935 --> 00:26:58,439
There's a big issue there,
because what's happened is we know

630
00:26:58,447 --> 00:27:00,247
that an atheist is not going
to live like Christ.

631
00:27:00,351 --> 00:27:02,735
We know that that unsaved
person is going to live the way that

632
00:27:02,775 --> 00:27:03,911
unsaved people do.

633
00:27:04,023 --> 00:27:07,631
But then if the saved person
doesn't live like a saved person,

634
00:27:07,743 --> 00:27:09,135
he's influenced by the world.

635
00:27:09,215 --> 00:27:12,391
And so there's that
understanding that that influence

636
00:27:12,463 --> 00:27:12,839
matters.

637
00:27:12,887 --> 00:27:13,799
And so that's the test.

638
00:27:13,847 --> 00:27:15,451
The test is, who am I living like?

639
00:27:15,483 --> 00:27:17,975
Whose yoke is driving me forward?

640
00:27:18,835 --> 00:27:22,051
And so we have this
understanding of influence in your

641
00:27:22,083 --> 00:27:22,275
life.

642
00:27:22,315 --> 00:27:23,811
Who is influencing you?

643
00:27:23,923 --> 00:27:25,455
What are you taking in?

644
00:27:26,075 --> 00:27:28,935
What content are you taking in
on your daily walk?

645
00:27:29,795 --> 00:27:31,064
John 15.

646
00:27:31,243 --> 00:27:34,735
John 15, verse 19.

647
00:27:38,755 --> 00:27:39,895
We see this.

648
00:27:40,485 --> 00:27:43,501
I believe, as you know, I
don't like proof texting.

649
00:27:43,533 --> 00:27:44,373
Proof texting is.

650
00:27:44,429 --> 00:27:46,985
I'm going to come up with one
verse to try to prove a thought.

651
00:27:47,285 --> 00:27:50,693
But if you were to say, okay,
where do you get that phrase in the

652
00:27:50,709 --> 00:27:53,461
world, but not of the world, I
think this would be a great passage

653
00:27:53,493 --> 00:27:55,613
of scripture to take somebody in.

654
00:27:55,629 --> 00:27:57,733
John 15, you got to know
context, right?

655
00:27:57,789 --> 00:28:00,981
What has Jesus been doing he's
been teaching his disciples what

656
00:28:01,013 --> 00:28:04,985
it means to abide in him, to
live in Him.

657
00:28:05,495 --> 00:28:08,155
You know, he says, you are not
the vine.

658
00:28:08,655 --> 00:28:11,119
Okay, I am the vine, you are
the branches.

659
00:28:11,167 --> 00:28:12,583
You can't live without me.

660
00:28:12,719 --> 00:28:13,999
You're nothing without me.

661
00:28:14,087 --> 00:28:19,543
And then in John 15, verse 19,
he says, if ye were of the world,

662
00:28:19,599 --> 00:28:21,355
the world would love his own.

663
00:28:22,375 --> 00:28:25,195
But because ye are not of the world.

664
00:28:25,815 --> 00:28:26,895
So there's a good phrase.

665
00:28:26,935 --> 00:28:30,431
You're not of the world
because you're not of the world.

666
00:28:30,623 --> 00:28:34,943
But I have chosen you out of
the world, therefore the world hateth

667
00:28:34,999 --> 00:28:35,623
you.

668
00:28:35,799 --> 00:28:38,615
Remember the word that I said
unto you.

669
00:28:38,655 --> 00:28:40,399
The servant is not greater
than his Lord.

670
00:28:40,447 --> 00:28:44,215
If they have persecuted me,
they will also persecute you.

671
00:28:44,295 --> 00:28:45,435
If they have kept.

672
00:28:45,735 --> 00:28:49,795
If they have kept my saying,
they will keep yours also.

673
00:28:50,175 --> 00:28:51,023
What does Jesus say?

674
00:28:51,039 --> 00:28:52,159
He says, you're not of this world.

675
00:28:52,207 --> 00:28:53,639
You should be away from this world.

676
00:28:53,727 --> 00:28:56,791
You should not be associated,
and you should not allow it to influence

677
00:28:56,823 --> 00:28:57,207
you.

678
00:28:57,311 --> 00:28:59,777
Another passage of Scripture
that talks about this is in John

679
00:28:59,841 --> 00:29:00,347
17.

680
00:29:00,459 --> 00:29:02,497
John 17, he reads.

681
00:29:02,641 --> 00:29:02,961
He's.

682
00:29:02,993 --> 00:29:03,225
He's.

683
00:29:03,265 --> 00:29:03,801
He's praying.

684
00:29:03,833 --> 00:29:03,977
Here.

685
00:29:04,001 --> 00:29:04,977
In this case, Jesus is.

686
00:29:05,001 --> 00:29:06,873
This is his high priestly prayer.

687
00:29:07,009 --> 00:29:10,681
In John 17, verse 16, he says,
they are not of the world, talking

688
00:29:10,713 --> 00:29:14,905
to His Father about us,
talking to His Father about those

689
00:29:14,945 --> 00:29:15,969
that follow Him.

690
00:29:16,057 --> 00:29:20,345
And he says, they are not of
this world, even as I am not of this

691
00:29:20,385 --> 00:29:20,801
world.

692
00:29:20,913 --> 00:29:23,553
Sanctify them through thy truth.

693
00:29:23,609 --> 00:29:24,561
Thy word is truth.

694
00:29:24,593 --> 00:29:27,269
Are you starting to see that
there is a theme here?

695
00:29:27,377 --> 00:29:31,405
The theme is, if we want to
live separate from the world, we

696
00:29:31,445 --> 00:29:34,905
must be grounded in the truth
of the word.

697
00:29:35,685 --> 00:29:38,269
Can't go off of our feelings now.

698
00:29:38,317 --> 00:29:40,749
Feelings do matter, and we
don't discredit feelings.

699
00:29:40,837 --> 00:29:42,269
But what we do say is this.

700
00:29:42,357 --> 00:29:44,813
Jesus says, hey, they're not
of this world.

701
00:29:44,869 --> 00:29:48,477
Believers, Christians,
followers of me are not of this world,

702
00:29:48,541 --> 00:29:50,317
even as I am not of this world.

703
00:29:50,421 --> 00:29:53,615
So therefore, sanctify them
through thy truth.

704
00:29:53,765 --> 00:29:55,615
Thy word is truth.

705
00:29:56,155 --> 00:29:59,275
And so the Bible tells us over
and over again the importance of

706
00:29:59,315 --> 00:30:03,787
grounding ourselves in the
word of God so that when things come

707
00:30:03,851 --> 00:30:09,459
at us, we can decide and
discern according to the Spirit what

708
00:30:09,627 --> 00:30:11,895
is truth and what is not truth.

709
00:30:12,675 --> 00:30:17,051
All the more reason today to
be a discerning Christian when we

710
00:30:17,083 --> 00:30:19,335
get bombarded with content.

711
00:30:19,855 --> 00:30:21,795
What's a lie and what's not a lie?

712
00:30:22,495 --> 00:30:23,911
That's what the world is.

713
00:30:24,103 --> 00:30:26,687
You know, we don't know what
to believe anymore.

714
00:30:26,871 --> 00:30:27,915
My parents.

715
00:30:28,255 --> 00:30:29,247
Well, I should be careful.

716
00:30:29,311 --> 00:30:30,695
I don't want to use myself here.

717
00:30:30,775 --> 00:30:31,191
Okay.

718
00:30:31,263 --> 00:30:33,847
Maybe some people in this room
used to Tell your children, don't

719
00:30:33,871 --> 00:30:35,515
believe what you read on the Internet.

720
00:30:35,815 --> 00:30:36,775
You ever heard that?

721
00:30:36,855 --> 00:30:39,855
When you were some people that
are in my age group, they said, son,

722
00:30:39,895 --> 00:30:41,151
don't believe that person on
the Internet.

723
00:30:41,183 --> 00:30:42,031
You can't trust that.

724
00:30:42,103 --> 00:30:44,595
I had teachers that told me,
you can't go to the Internet for

725
00:30:44,975 --> 00:30:45,559
resources.

726
00:30:45,607 --> 00:30:47,355
You got to go to an encyclopedia.

727
00:30:47,655 --> 00:30:50,887
And now the same people that
were saying that read his article

728
00:30:50,951 --> 00:30:52,559
on Facebook, that was forged.

729
00:30:52,607 --> 00:30:54,871
And they go, do you know that
they're doing this?

730
00:30:54,903 --> 00:30:59,055
And it's like, do you
understand, guys, that the lines

731
00:30:59,095 --> 00:31:01,335
have been so blurred for a reason?

732
00:31:01,455 --> 00:31:05,023
So that none of us can really
know what the truth is in this world?

733
00:31:05,199 --> 00:31:10,327
That's what the whole agenda
is from this world, to blur the lines,

734
00:31:10,471 --> 00:31:12,895
to make us think that
something is true or not true.

735
00:31:12,935 --> 00:31:13,687
We don't know.

736
00:31:13,791 --> 00:31:15,075
Guess who does that?

737
00:31:15,985 --> 00:31:21,045
The author of confusion, the
father of lies, the deceiver.

738
00:31:21,425 --> 00:31:23,761
The deceiver wants us all to
be deceived.

739
00:31:23,913 --> 00:31:24,977
That's his character.

740
00:31:25,121 --> 00:31:28,485
That's Satan's character, the
accuser of the brethren.

741
00:31:28,825 --> 00:31:31,665
And so the opposite of that is clarity.

742
00:31:31,785 --> 00:31:37,565
The opposite of that is
knowing a standard, objective truth.

743
00:31:38,185 --> 00:31:40,345
Now you say, what's that
standard, objective truth?

744
00:31:40,385 --> 00:31:43,765
Well, God is the God of all
truth, the God of all.

745
00:31:44,325 --> 00:31:45,669
And therefore, you know what?

746
00:31:45,717 --> 00:31:47,357
It's this amazing thing that
he gave us.

747
00:31:47,381 --> 00:31:48,509
And that's his word.

748
00:31:48,637 --> 00:31:51,285
And he says, hey, this is what
I give you to know, to be sanctified

749
00:31:51,325 --> 00:31:51,989
by thy truth.

750
00:31:52,037 --> 00:31:55,865
Thy word is truth, meaning
this God's word is truth.

751
00:31:56,325 --> 00:31:58,745
And so we check it to this.

752
00:31:59,645 --> 00:32:02,205
If it isn't in this, it
doesn't matter.

753
00:32:02,365 --> 00:32:03,901
And that's what we have to see
in our own lives.

754
00:32:03,933 --> 00:32:06,381
And so Second Corinthians,
chapter 6, verse 14.

755
00:32:06,453 --> 00:32:07,813
He says light and darkness.

756
00:32:07,949 --> 00:32:09,429
And then he says something
very interesting.

757
00:32:09,477 --> 00:32:14,429
And what concord hath Christ
with Belial, you might say, what

758
00:32:14,437 --> 00:32:15,705
is he talking about here?

759
00:32:16,365 --> 00:32:18,309
He's talking about compromise.

760
00:32:18,397 --> 00:32:23,781
And so, so far we've seen
association, influence, compromise.

761
00:32:23,933 --> 00:32:27,677
That's the spiral of
digression that happens.

762
00:32:27,821 --> 00:32:32,933
We associate with the world,
we're influenced by the world, and

763
00:32:32,949 --> 00:32:34,945
then we're compromised by the world.

764
00:32:35,685 --> 00:32:40,243
Compromise means I give up my
values for something else that I

765
00:32:40,259 --> 00:32:41,019
think is more important.

766
00:32:41,067 --> 00:32:42,699
I've now compromised.

767
00:32:42,867 --> 00:32:45,515
Now it's okay to compromise
when it comes to certain things in

768
00:32:45,555 --> 00:32:46,011
business, right?

769
00:32:46,043 --> 00:32:48,763
You're negotiating on a car
and, you know, you compromise on

770
00:32:48,779 --> 00:32:50,059
the middle ground, that's
totally fine.

771
00:32:50,147 --> 00:32:52,947
But one thing that we cannot
compromise on is the truth of the

772
00:32:52,971 --> 00:32:53,923
word of God.

773
00:32:54,099 --> 00:32:57,763
And so the Corinthian
Christians were so much love they

774
00:32:57,779 --> 00:33:00,443
were loving the world so much
and they were so affectionate in

775
00:33:00,459 --> 00:33:04,067
the sense that they thought
that it was accepting of them to

776
00:33:04,091 --> 00:33:08,255
allow lawlessness with
unrighteousness, to accept darkness

777
00:33:08,335 --> 00:33:14,391
and light, to associate, to
admit to following Christ along with,

778
00:33:14,463 --> 00:33:15,583
as it says here, belial.

779
00:33:15,639 --> 00:33:16,487
Now what is belial?

780
00:33:16,551 --> 00:33:18,663
That's a word that we don't
use quite frequently.

781
00:33:18,799 --> 00:33:23,035
It's the Hebrew word meaning
worthlessness or wickedness.

782
00:33:23,975 --> 00:33:27,075
But here it's used as a
synonym for Satan.

783
00:33:27,375 --> 00:33:29,223
So he says, what is he doing here?

784
00:33:29,239 --> 00:33:32,945
He's saying, how can you
associate with Jesus and Satan?

785
00:33:33,135 --> 00:33:33,533
How?

786
00:33:33,589 --> 00:33:34,505
You can't.

787
00:33:34,845 --> 00:33:37,825
How can you associate with
good and evil?

788
00:33:38,165 --> 00:33:39,265
You can't.

789
00:33:40,165 --> 00:33:41,557
It's a rhetorical question.

790
00:33:41,621 --> 00:33:42,285
We know the answer.

791
00:33:42,325 --> 00:33:43,865
You can't, you shouldn't.

792
00:33:44,325 --> 00:33:47,765
And the book of James mentions
this double minded man.

793
00:33:47,925 --> 00:33:50,253
Double minded man is unstable
in all of his ways.

794
00:33:50,349 --> 00:33:54,333
This is, I believe that this
is a definition of many people in

795
00:33:54,349 --> 00:33:58,389
this world today that are in
church in America today and sitting

796
00:33:58,437 --> 00:34:00,751
in a good Bible believing
church in America today.

797
00:34:00,853 --> 00:34:01,267
You know what?

798
00:34:01,291 --> 00:34:03,371
I want a little bit of Jesus,
but then I want a little.

799
00:34:03,403 --> 00:34:05,771
And they might not say Satan,
but they want a little bit of this

800
00:34:05,803 --> 00:34:06,355
world.

801
00:34:06,515 --> 00:34:09,135
They want a taste of that
forbidden fruit.

802
00:34:09,835 --> 00:34:12,435
They want to have a little bit
of that foot in the world because

803
00:34:12,475 --> 00:34:14,595
hey, this is my little bit of
a backup plan here.

804
00:34:14,715 --> 00:34:19,187
It makes sense every time we
saw that in scripture, every type

805
00:34:19,211 --> 00:34:23,867
of compromise found in
scripture comes to a place of destruction,

806
00:34:24,011 --> 00:34:27,985
light and darkness, good and
evil, Jesus for Satan.

807
00:34:28,025 --> 00:34:28,473
That's what it is.

808
00:34:28,489 --> 00:34:31,249
And he says, and what part
hath he that believeth with an unbeliever,

809
00:34:31,297 --> 00:34:32,329
an infidel?

810
00:34:32,497 --> 00:34:35,565
He just, he ties that all back together.

811
00:34:36,385 --> 00:34:41,401
And so the true question that
Paul is asking here is what are we

812
00:34:41,433 --> 00:34:43,537
going to allow to fill our hearts?

813
00:34:43,641 --> 00:34:46,605
And what are we going to allow
to fill our minds?

814
00:34:47,665 --> 00:34:50,081
Essentially it's the challenge
of are we going to follow Jesus?

815
00:34:50,113 --> 00:34:51,617
Are we going to follow the
ways of this world?

816
00:34:51,681 --> 00:34:57,403
So we have the association,
who are we associated with?

817
00:34:57,499 --> 00:34:58,459
We have the influence.

818
00:34:58,507 --> 00:34:59,723
Who are we influenced by?

819
00:34:59,819 --> 00:35:01,019
We have the compromise.

820
00:35:01,107 --> 00:35:02,667
Are we going to compromise?

821
00:35:02,811 --> 00:35:04,123
But there is hope.

822
00:35:04,179 --> 00:35:04,859
There is hope.

823
00:35:04,907 --> 00:35:08,251
There is something called
biblical separation.

824
00:35:08,443 --> 00:35:11,891
Now I gotta take a few moments
to explain this because if you came

825
00:35:11,923 --> 00:35:15,739
from a background that I came
from, biblical separation means something

826
00:35:15,787 --> 00:35:18,815
totally different than what
biblical separation really is.

827
00:35:19,125 --> 00:35:24,261
Biblical separation in some
cases, in some churches, looks like

828
00:35:24,293 --> 00:35:24,749
this.

829
00:35:24,877 --> 00:35:28,781
If that church doesn't look
exactly like us, talk exactly like

830
00:35:28,813 --> 00:35:32,781
us, you know, listen to the
exact same music as us, go to the

831
00:35:32,813 --> 00:35:35,785
same colleges we go to, we
can't talk with them.

832
00:35:36,285 --> 00:35:38,425
They're just as bad as an unbeliever.

833
00:35:38,845 --> 00:35:41,381
Problem with that is that's
not what biblical separation is.

834
00:35:41,493 --> 00:35:45,547
Biblical separation makes a
clear distinction between sin and

835
00:35:45,571 --> 00:35:47,875
not sinning, good versus evil.

836
00:35:47,995 --> 00:35:50,171
We have to separate ourselves
from the ways of this world.

837
00:35:50,203 --> 00:35:52,427
We do have to separate
ourselves from false teaching.

838
00:35:52,611 --> 00:35:54,971
I gave an example in my Sunday
school class this morning.

839
00:35:55,083 --> 00:35:57,923
You know, if there's a church
across town that meets at a different

840
00:35:57,979 --> 00:36:03,003
time or does a different music
or maybe, you know, has a different

841
00:36:03,059 --> 00:36:07,215
way of meeting, I'm not going
to preach against that.

842
00:36:08,155 --> 00:36:09,495
That's not my problem.

843
00:36:10,165 --> 00:36:12,677
And that's the way that they
worship, and we have to respect that.

844
00:36:12,861 --> 00:36:15,973
But there is a church across
town that preaches that there's a

845
00:36:15,989 --> 00:36:17,197
different way to get to heaven.

846
00:36:17,341 --> 00:36:19,757
If there is a church across
town that's preaching a different

847
00:36:19,901 --> 00:36:24,045
scripture, that's when we can
say, yeah, that is a time and a place

848
00:36:24,085 --> 00:36:26,065
for biblical separation.

849
00:36:26,365 --> 00:36:29,025
We don't treat them like one
of our own.

850
00:36:29,605 --> 00:36:32,301
We don't treat them like
someone who's walking in the same

851
00:36:32,333 --> 00:36:33,557
stride as we are.

852
00:36:33,741 --> 00:36:37,627
That's confusing, because if
someone sees that as Christianity

853
00:36:37,651 --> 00:36:40,731
and they see what we preach as
Christianity, and they see what other

854
00:36:40,763 --> 00:36:43,483
person over here preaches as
Christianity, all three different

855
00:36:43,539 --> 00:36:45,131
messages, well, who's really true?

856
00:36:45,203 --> 00:36:45,507
Right?

857
00:36:45,571 --> 00:36:47,939
That's what Satan's trying to
do, blur the lines.

858
00:36:48,067 --> 00:36:49,195
And so there is so.

859
00:36:49,235 --> 00:36:51,539
So go with me to Second
Corinthians, chapter six.

860
00:36:51,627 --> 00:36:54,615
There is this idea of biblical separation.

861
00:36:55,795 --> 00:36:58,875
And what agreement hath the
temple of God with idols?

862
00:36:58,915 --> 00:37:05,965
Now, at this point in time,
okay, the temple is not the building

863
00:37:06,125 --> 00:37:08,525
that's standing in Jerusalem.

864
00:37:08,645 --> 00:37:09,765
He's talking about.

865
00:37:09,845 --> 00:37:12,785
If you guys know this in
context, he's talking about you.

866
00:37:13,165 --> 00:37:15,305
We are the temple of the Holy Ghost.

867
00:37:15,685 --> 00:37:19,037
And so he says, what agreement
hath the temple of God with idols?

868
00:37:19,141 --> 00:37:22,221
For ye are the temple of the
living God.

869
00:37:22,333 --> 00:37:25,997
As God has said, I will dwell
in them and walk in them, and I will

870
00:37:26,021 --> 00:37:27,605
be their God and they shall be
my people.

871
00:37:27,645 --> 00:37:30,939
He says, think about it from
the biblical perspective.

872
00:37:31,067 --> 00:37:33,695
You are the temple of the
living God.

873
00:37:34,235 --> 00:37:35,483
Now, now, that doesn't.

874
00:37:35,579 --> 00:37:38,027
That doesn't mean that I get
inflated and I go, wow, look at me.

875
00:37:38,051 --> 00:37:38,651
I'm a temple.

876
00:37:38,683 --> 00:37:39,027
Look at me.

877
00:37:39,051 --> 00:37:40,355
No, that's not what it's
talking about.

878
00:37:40,475 --> 00:37:43,971
It's talking about you having
the responsibility to live a life

879
00:37:44,043 --> 00:37:45,975
separate from the ways of this world.

880
00:37:46,835 --> 00:37:50,011
He says there in verse 17,
this is that biblical separation

881
00:37:50,123 --> 00:37:53,561
wherefore come out from among them.

882
00:37:53,723 --> 00:37:57,005
This is where I got that
phrase out of this World, come out

883
00:37:57,045 --> 00:38:00,901
of the world, leave your
associations, leave the influence,

884
00:38:01,013 --> 00:38:02,173
leave the compromise.

885
00:38:02,229 --> 00:38:08,109
He says, come out from among
them and be ye separate, be holy,

886
00:38:08,237 --> 00:38:13,253
be different, be distinct,
don't be different for the sake of

887
00:38:13,269 --> 00:38:15,053
being different, okay?

888
00:38:15,109 --> 00:38:16,637
Some people just like to do that.

889
00:38:16,741 --> 00:38:22,435
They're like, you know, okay,
we don't have to dress like puritans

890
00:38:23,735 --> 00:38:25,871
to be separate from this
world, okay?

891
00:38:26,023 --> 00:38:29,999
God's not asking us to be
weird, he's asking us to be like

892
00:38:30,047 --> 00:38:32,535
him so that it will look weird
to the world.

893
00:38:32,695 --> 00:38:33,943
You understand that, right?

894
00:38:34,039 --> 00:38:36,855
There are some Christians that
say, like, how obscure can we be

895
00:38:36,975 --> 00:38:38,463
so that we can just fulfill this.

896
00:38:38,519 --> 00:38:39,687
No, he's not saying that.

897
00:38:39,711 --> 00:38:42,679
He says, be able to reach the
people in your community.

898
00:38:42,807 --> 00:38:43,239
Right?

899
00:38:43,327 --> 00:38:46,383
He's not calling us to live
out and not, you know, if you say,

900
00:38:46,399 --> 00:38:48,503
well, it's my conviction not
to have technology in my house, that's

901
00:38:48,519 --> 00:38:51,455
okay, but you're not sinning
if you have technology, okay?

902
00:38:51,495 --> 00:38:53,755
God has given us tools to
reach people for Christ.

903
00:38:54,215 --> 00:38:55,631
That's not what he's talking about.

904
00:38:55,743 --> 00:38:58,471
He's talking about separating
from the influence of this world.

905
00:38:58,503 --> 00:39:01,223
So we redeem the things that
we have in this world for the cause

906
00:39:01,239 --> 00:39:04,039
of the gospel and we don't
join in with the way that the world

907
00:39:04,087 --> 00:39:05,195
uses those things.

908
00:39:05,655 --> 00:39:08,727
Whether therefore, you eat or
drink or whatsoever you do, do all

909
00:39:08,751 --> 00:39:09,423
the glory of God.

910
00:39:09,479 --> 00:39:11,159
So the way that I read that is this.

911
00:39:11,247 --> 00:39:13,591
I can eat and drink to the
glory of myself.

912
00:39:13,703 --> 00:39:16,711
I can do anything to the glory
of myself, or I could do something

913
00:39:16,743 --> 00:39:18,007
for the glory of God.

914
00:39:18,191 --> 00:39:22,071
And so in this case here we
see that there is a command to be

915
00:39:22,103 --> 00:39:25,087
biblically separate, he says,
and touch not the unclean thing.

916
00:39:25,111 --> 00:39:27,815
And I will receive you and
will be a father unto you.

917
00:39:27,855 --> 00:39:32,719
Meaning you want to be my
child, act like my child and ye shall

918
00:39:32,767 --> 00:39:35,915
be my sons and daughters,
saith the Lord Almighty.

919
00:39:36,655 --> 00:39:37,447
Do we love him?

920
00:39:37,471 --> 00:39:41,239
Do we love him enough to say,
I want to honor you, Abba Father,

921
00:39:41,287 --> 00:39:42,795
I want to honor you.

922
00:39:42,975 --> 00:39:45,067
And therefore, if you're
asking me to stay away from this,

923
00:39:45,091 --> 00:39:46,387
I'm going to stay away from this.

924
00:39:46,491 --> 00:39:48,587
If you're asking me to
separate, See, there's some people

925
00:39:48,611 --> 00:39:51,059
that will say, well, I don't
care what God says, I'm not giving

926
00:39:51,107 --> 00:39:51,811
that up in my life.

927
00:39:51,843 --> 00:39:53,955
Folks, that is a dangerous
place to be.

928
00:39:54,075 --> 00:39:58,075
That's hard hearted pride that
we have to get taken care of right

929
00:39:58,115 --> 00:39:58,363
now.

930
00:39:58,419 --> 00:40:01,571
If God comes and tells us to
get rid of something, step away from

931
00:40:01,603 --> 00:40:04,987
something, we need to say,
that is something that I have to

932
00:40:05,011 --> 00:40:09,613
separate from, that I have to
cut out of my life because my association

933
00:40:09,669 --> 00:40:12,293
with him matters more than any
other association that I have in

934
00:40:12,309 --> 00:40:13,005
my life.

935
00:40:13,165 --> 00:40:16,477
Oh, God is never going to call
you to do something according, or

936
00:40:16,581 --> 00:40:18,181
I should say opposite of his scripture.

937
00:40:18,213 --> 00:40:20,509
He's always going to call you
to do something according to scripture.

938
00:40:20,637 --> 00:40:22,225
So someone says, well, you
know what?

939
00:40:24,125 --> 00:40:26,717
I feel like my spouse is
really a bad influence on me right

940
00:40:26,741 --> 00:40:28,905
now, so I'm just going to cut
them off.

941
00:40:29,405 --> 00:40:31,309
God does not want you to do
that, okay?

942
00:40:31,357 --> 00:40:32,693
I don't think that that's what
God wants you to do.

943
00:40:32,709 --> 00:40:33,803
He wants you to strive.

944
00:40:33,909 --> 00:40:36,831
Now you say, well, are there
times and places for different things

945
00:40:36,863 --> 00:40:37,555
like that?

946
00:40:38,295 --> 00:40:39,767
That's another conversation.

947
00:40:39,911 --> 00:40:41,635
But what I will say is this.

948
00:40:42,735 --> 00:40:43,463
God is.

949
00:40:43,559 --> 00:40:45,727
Cause I've heard a lot of
people argue the fact that, well,

950
00:40:45,751 --> 00:40:46,595
you know what?

951
00:40:48,415 --> 00:40:51,983
God told me to just lose my
cool with that person, okay?

952
00:40:52,079 --> 00:40:54,263
He wouldn't have made me feel
that way if he didn't want me to

953
00:40:54,279 --> 00:40:58,831
go out and just tear up into
that person and just yell at them

954
00:40:58,863 --> 00:40:59,761
and scream at them.

955
00:40:59,863 --> 00:41:00,301
You know what?

956
00:41:00,333 --> 00:41:01,893
It's not God's will that we
lose our cool.

957
00:41:01,949 --> 00:41:05,469
It's not God's cool that we
get angry in our own flesh.

958
00:41:05,597 --> 00:41:07,685
There is a time and a place to
be angry and sin not.

959
00:41:07,725 --> 00:41:11,125
But the Bible doesn't say that
we have justification to do whatever

960
00:41:11,165 --> 00:41:12,677
we feel because God's allowed that.

961
00:41:12,741 --> 00:41:17,029
No, the Bible says that
everything that God wants us to do,

962
00:41:17,077 --> 00:41:19,425
he's going to align that with
his Word.

963
00:41:19,725 --> 00:41:20,909
And so it's that true Test.

964
00:41:20,957 --> 00:41:24,581
Is it lust of the flesh, lust
of the eyes and dare I say, the pride

965
00:41:24,613 --> 00:41:27,455
of life, that's the one that
gets us sometimes.

966
00:41:27,575 --> 00:41:28,663
It's that pride.

967
00:41:28,799 --> 00:41:30,087
It's that pride to say, you
know what?

968
00:41:30,111 --> 00:41:31,375
I'm not willing to separate.

969
00:41:31,455 --> 00:41:34,279
I'm not willing to get rid of
that in my life because it's fun.

970
00:41:34,447 --> 00:41:35,935
What's the harm in this?

971
00:41:36,095 --> 00:41:38,175
And I can tell you, as
Christians, if you come on our Sunday

972
00:41:38,215 --> 00:41:40,767
night services, for the last
few weeks, we've been talking about

973
00:41:40,791 --> 00:41:43,703
that there are certain things
that we can differ on and we can

974
00:41:43,719 --> 00:41:45,295
be okay with, right?

975
00:41:45,415 --> 00:41:48,679
There's biblical preferences
that are not essential doctrines

976
00:41:48,727 --> 00:41:50,827
that we can say, okay, you
have liberty.

977
00:41:50,951 --> 00:41:55,611
But ultimately, at the end of
the day, as a believer, I have to

978
00:41:55,643 --> 00:41:57,495
really inspect the why.

979
00:41:57,795 --> 00:41:59,779
The major word that I want you
to think about here this morning

980
00:41:59,827 --> 00:42:01,859
before we close is this.

981
00:42:01,987 --> 00:42:02,587
Why?

982
00:42:02,731 --> 00:42:04,667
Why am I associated with this?

983
00:42:04,851 --> 00:42:10,267
What is this bringing to my
life in the way of influence is this.

984
00:42:10,451 --> 00:42:11,411
Paul talks about this.

985
00:42:11,443 --> 00:42:16,055
He says, all things are
lawful, but not all things are expedient

986
00:42:17,085 --> 00:42:21,453
and not all things are
edifying decisions that we make in

987
00:42:21,469 --> 00:42:21,781
our life.

988
00:42:21,813 --> 00:42:25,805
We have to say, is this
building my faith, is this growing

989
00:42:25,845 --> 00:42:28,381
my faith, or is this
influencing me to start thinking

990
00:42:28,413 --> 00:42:29,625
more and more like the world?

991
00:42:30,605 --> 00:42:35,173
There's things that we have to
do within our own home that I say,

992
00:42:35,189 --> 00:42:40,077
you know what, I can't
necessarily take you to chapter and

993
00:42:40,101 --> 00:42:43,553
verse and say, thou shalt not
have this in your house.

994
00:42:43,669 --> 00:42:46,841
But I can tell you that that
is influencing my family to the way

995
00:42:46,873 --> 00:42:47,553
of the world.

996
00:42:47,649 --> 00:42:49,977
And I say, guys, we gotta stop this.

997
00:42:50,121 --> 00:42:52,657
Unless you think that my
children are just angels sitting

998
00:42:52,681 --> 00:42:54,417
there going, okay, Father, perfect.

999
00:42:54,561 --> 00:42:58,361
My children press back on me
too, okay, can we be transparent?

1000
00:42:58,393 --> 00:43:00,985
This morning my kids go, dad,
why can't we do that?

1001
00:43:01,145 --> 00:43:03,273
And I have a point to tell
them, because dad doesn't want you

1002
00:43:03,289 --> 00:43:03,697
to do that.

1003
00:43:03,721 --> 00:43:04,465
And that makes me mad.

1004
00:43:04,505 --> 00:43:05,881
No, it says, you know what?

1005
00:43:06,033 --> 00:43:10,181
As a Christian, we have to say
that this is something that is not

1006
00:43:10,213 --> 00:43:11,765
pulling us more and more close
to the Lord.

1007
00:43:11,805 --> 00:43:14,013
It's pulling us away from God
and making us more and more like

1008
00:43:14,029 --> 00:43:14,629
the world.

1009
00:43:14,757 --> 00:43:15,629
And we're called to be.

1010
00:43:15,677 --> 00:43:19,901
If you're going to air, be on
err on the side of being distinct

1011
00:43:19,933 --> 00:43:24,061
from this world, okay, be
safe, be safe.

1012
00:43:24,093 --> 00:43:26,533
Now you would say, well, come
on, you're going to be legalistic.

1013
00:43:26,709 --> 00:43:28,237
Have you heard me be
legalistic this morning?

1014
00:43:28,261 --> 00:43:30,053
I've not sat down and said, do
this, do this.

1015
00:43:30,109 --> 00:43:34,141
But what I am saying is be so
very cautious about what you are

1016
00:43:34,173 --> 00:43:38,099
pulling into your life because
what you pull into your life matters.

1017
00:43:38,147 --> 00:43:39,923
And that's what Paul is saying here.

1018
00:43:39,979 --> 00:43:41,411
Do not love the world.

1019
00:43:41,603 --> 00:43:44,931
Because the more that you love
the world, the more your affections

1020
00:43:44,963 --> 00:43:46,455
are stolen from God.

1021
00:43:47,475 --> 00:43:50,535
And so what we can see is
this, okay, so what's the remedy?

1022
00:43:50,995 --> 00:43:52,535
Doesn't mean no contact.

1023
00:43:53,675 --> 00:44:01,131
It's the balance of the gospel
testimony and ridding ourselves of

1024
00:44:01,163 --> 00:44:02,691
the sinful influence of the world.

1025
00:44:02,723 --> 00:44:04,795
We'll never be sinless on this
side of heaven.

1026
00:44:04,955 --> 00:44:09,323
But what the Bible does say is
that we should strive to sin space

1027
00:44:09,419 --> 00:44:10,055
less.

1028
00:44:10,515 --> 00:44:15,403
Okay, so we can't be sinless,
but we can strive to sin less in

1029
00:44:15,419 --> 00:44:16,175
our lives.

1030
00:44:16,755 --> 00:44:19,459
And this is not a message to
say that, hey, this Christian is

1031
00:44:19,467 --> 00:44:21,555
better than this Christian
because they sin less than this Christian.

1032
00:44:21,635 --> 00:44:22,699
It's the heart of the matter.

1033
00:44:22,747 --> 00:44:24,363
It's the why behind it.

1034
00:44:24,539 --> 00:44:26,935
So what I would tell you here
this morning is this.

1035
00:44:28,675 --> 00:44:34,297
It's not about separating
yourselves and saying, okay, we're

1036
00:44:34,321 --> 00:44:36,673
against this, so we're going
to stop this we're against this,

1037
00:44:36,729 --> 00:44:39,153
and we're going to stop this,
because at the end of the day, you're

1038
00:44:39,169 --> 00:44:42,273
going to end up being against
everything, and then you're not going

1039
00:44:42,289 --> 00:44:43,805
to be for anything.

1040
00:44:44,545 --> 00:44:46,785
And so the remedy is what we
talked about at the very beginning.

1041
00:44:46,825 --> 00:44:47,961
Don't yoke up with the world.

1042
00:44:48,033 --> 00:44:49,017
But who do you yoke up with?

1043
00:44:49,041 --> 00:44:50,565
You yoke up with Jesus Christ.

1044
00:44:51,265 --> 00:44:54,481
And the more that you know him
and the more that you grow in his

1045
00:44:54,513 --> 00:44:57,201
love, and the more that you
understand him, the more you will

1046
00:44:57,233 --> 00:44:57,929
say, you know what?

1047
00:44:58,017 --> 00:45:01,849
I'm not missing out by cutting
out, because this is natural inclination

1048
00:45:01,977 --> 00:45:02,945
of a Christian.

1049
00:45:03,025 --> 00:45:05,465
The more I love him, the less
I will love this world.

1050
00:45:05,625 --> 00:45:08,169
The more I cling to him, the
less I will cling to the things of

1051
00:45:08,177 --> 00:45:08,993
this world.

1052
00:45:09,169 --> 00:45:12,401
And so what I would say for
you here today, it's not about missing

1053
00:45:12,433 --> 00:45:12,625
out.

1054
00:45:12,665 --> 00:45:16,681
I used to think and still
sometimes struggle with, the more

1055
00:45:16,753 --> 00:45:20,017
I love God, and the more I
serve God, the less I do things in

1056
00:45:20,041 --> 00:45:20,409
this world.

1057
00:45:20,457 --> 00:45:23,521
Maybe sometimes, just maybe,
I'll miss out on what the world has

1058
00:45:23,553 --> 00:45:24,089
to offer.

1059
00:45:24,177 --> 00:45:26,549
Folks, the world has nothing
to offer.

1060
00:45:26,737 --> 00:45:30,485
Some of you can give
testimonies to say, it is not worth

1061
00:45:30,525 --> 00:45:33,757
it, and I would encourage you
to do so.

1062
00:45:33,941 --> 00:45:34,733
Okay, this.

1063
00:45:34,789 --> 00:45:38,909
Okay, I'm not on script here,
but if you lived a life and you.

1064
00:45:38,997 --> 00:45:41,861
And you lived through things
and you said, man, that was not worth

1065
00:45:41,893 --> 00:45:42,109
it.

1066
00:45:42,157 --> 00:45:43,661
God got a hold of my life.

1067
00:45:43,773 --> 00:45:45,773
I know sometimes the
temptation is to say, well, I don't

1068
00:45:45,789 --> 00:45:48,749
want anyone to know about
that, but biblically speaking, I

1069
00:45:48,757 --> 00:45:51,349
think it would be wise for you
not to proclaim it against the whole

1070
00:45:51,397 --> 00:45:55,477
masses, but to take time and
opportunity to give testimonies of

1071
00:45:55,541 --> 00:45:58,893
why you could explain that
this is not worth it.

1072
00:45:59,069 --> 00:46:02,005
I wish we could all say that
we were all, you know, free from

1073
00:46:02,045 --> 00:46:03,589
the harm of sin and evil in
our life.

1074
00:46:03,637 --> 00:46:06,229
But I guarantee you, if we
started talking about your story,

1075
00:46:06,317 --> 00:46:09,021
you could say, man, I can tell
you that this was a pitfall in my

1076
00:46:09,053 --> 00:46:10,869
life and it was not worth it.

1077
00:46:10,957 --> 00:46:11,741
And you know what?

1078
00:46:11,773 --> 00:46:14,333
There might be a young
Christian or another Christian in

1079
00:46:14,349 --> 00:46:17,065
this room that needs to hear
that from somebody else.

1080
00:46:17,375 --> 00:46:19,423
Because a lot of times if you
hear the message from a pastor, you

1081
00:46:19,439 --> 00:46:22,263
go, well, of course a pastor
is going to say that he grew up in

1082
00:46:22,279 --> 00:46:23,055
a sheltered home.

1083
00:46:23,095 --> 00:46:23,791
He grew up here.

1084
00:46:23,823 --> 00:46:25,327
He never, you know, he went to
Bible school.

1085
00:46:25,351 --> 00:46:26,615
He never did anything.

1086
00:46:26,775 --> 00:46:30,487
Okay, I concede that to you,
if that's the place you want to take.

1087
00:46:30,591 --> 00:46:32,959
But there are people in this
room that can tell you story after

1088
00:46:33,047 --> 00:46:36,495
story about the blessings of
following Jesus Christ and the peace

1089
00:46:36,535 --> 00:46:40,111
of following Jesus Christ and
the dangers and the pain and the

1090
00:46:40,143 --> 00:46:42,527
suffering of following the
ways of this world.

1091
00:46:42,711 --> 00:46:44,895
And so I'm going to tell you
here this morning, Jesus does not

1092
00:46:44,935 --> 00:46:46,595
want us to go through that pain.

1093
00:46:47,145 --> 00:46:49,041
He wants us to submit to him.

1094
00:46:49,073 --> 00:46:50,265
He wants us to follow Him.

1095
00:46:50,305 --> 00:46:51,369
He wants us to be different.

1096
00:46:51,417 --> 00:46:53,125
He wants us to be distinct.

1097
00:46:55,105 --> 00:46:57,393
And so we conclude that
passage there with this.

1098
00:46:57,449 --> 00:47:01,913
He says, and I will be a
father unto you, and ye shall be

1099
00:47:01,929 --> 00:47:05,993
my sons and daughters, saith
the Lord Almighty.

1100
00:47:06,049 --> 00:47:09,273
Folks, it ends with that
beautiful relationship of walking

1101
00:47:09,329 --> 00:47:11,605
in fellowship with our
Heavenly Father.

1102
00:47:12,075 --> 00:47:13,935
True test this morning is this.

1103
00:47:14,755 --> 00:47:18,155
Are you walking in the truth
of Jesus Christ?

1104
00:47:18,195 --> 00:47:20,347
Are you walking in a
relationship with Jesus Christ?

1105
00:47:20,451 --> 00:47:21,571
Where are your associations?

1106
00:47:21,643 --> 00:47:22,935
Where's your yoke?

1107
00:47:23,315 --> 00:47:24,895
Are you yoked to the world?

1108
00:47:25,275 --> 00:47:26,975
Are you yoked to Jesus Christ?

1109
00:47:27,835 --> 00:47:31,535
Are you allowing your
associations if they are negative

1110
00:47:32,035 --> 00:47:33,579
associations with the world?

1111
00:47:33,707 --> 00:47:36,371
First of all, you got to
recognize that that's kind of the

1112
00:47:36,403 --> 00:47:39,501
first step of understanding
this change is where are my associations?

1113
00:47:39,573 --> 00:47:42,465
But number two, how much has
it influenced me already?

1114
00:47:42,845 --> 00:47:45,093
How much has it influenced my
family life?

1115
00:47:45,189 --> 00:47:47,773
How much has it influenced my marriage?

1116
00:47:47,829 --> 00:47:49,749
How much has it influenced my children?

1117
00:47:49,837 --> 00:47:51,733
How much has it influenced my workplace?

1118
00:47:51,829 --> 00:47:54,025
How much has it influenced the church?

1119
00:47:54,845 --> 00:47:58,589
Folks worldly ways have
influenced the church so much today

1120
00:47:58,677 --> 00:48:00,305
and we don't even see it.

1121
00:48:00,725 --> 00:48:04,661
How do we find that standard,
standard of truth, standard of His

1122
00:48:04,693 --> 00:48:05,263
Word.

1123
00:48:05,429 --> 00:48:10,459
And so the influence, but then
the compromise, you could be influenced

1124
00:48:10,507 --> 00:48:11,835
but still kind of be on the fence.

1125
00:48:11,915 --> 00:48:13,715
But there is that point where
we say, you know what, I'm just going

1126
00:48:13,715 --> 00:48:15,627
to compromise to the ways of
this world.

1127
00:48:15,811 --> 00:48:17,375
The Bible says, don't do that.

1128
00:48:17,995 --> 00:48:22,419
The Bible says in First Peter,
hey, be separate, be holy, for I

1129
00:48:22,467 --> 00:48:23,163
am holy.

1130
00:48:23,219 --> 00:48:25,963
God says, be like me, follow me.

1131
00:48:26,139 --> 00:48:28,035
And it's the balance of the gospel.

1132
00:48:28,195 --> 00:48:31,211
And so ultimately, after the
compromise, there is hope.

1133
00:48:31,243 --> 00:48:33,949
And that hope is to separate
yourself from this world.

1134
00:48:34,037 --> 00:48:35,781
Cling to Christ, follow him.

1135
00:48:35,813 --> 00:48:37,549
And he is your heavenly Father.

1136
00:48:37,637 --> 00:48:38,661
He will protect you.

1137
00:48:38,733 --> 00:48:39,789
He will guide you.

1138
00:48:39,877 --> 00:48:42,757
He will walk you through that
path of danger in this world.

1139
00:48:42,861 --> 00:48:43,645
Psalm 23.

1140
00:48:43,685 --> 00:48:45,837
Yea, though I walk to the
valley of shadow of death, I will

1141
00:48:45,861 --> 00:48:46,957
fear no evil.

1142
00:48:47,141 --> 00:48:47,605
Why?

1143
00:48:47,685 --> 00:48:49,065
Because God is with me.

1144
00:48:49,365 --> 00:48:50,325
He's comforting me.

1145
00:48:50,365 --> 00:48:52,789
He's protecting me, he's
providing for me.

1146
00:48:52,957 --> 00:48:54,277
So here this morning, hey, you
know what?

1147
00:48:54,301 --> 00:48:57,557
You might say, I've been a
Christian for a long time, but I

1148
00:48:57,581 --> 00:49:01,037
have allowed the ways of the
world to seep into my life here and

1149
00:49:01,061 --> 00:49:01,677
there.

1150
00:49:01,861 --> 00:49:05,909
Hey, folks, it just takes one
time for that seed to get planted.

1151
00:49:06,037 --> 00:49:08,861
And as that seed's planted,
that can lead us to a place of danger

1152
00:49:08,893 --> 00:49:09,581
in our lives.

1153
00:49:09,693 --> 00:49:10,749
But then you might say, hey,
you know what?

1154
00:49:10,757 --> 00:49:12,485
I don't even have a
relationship with Jesus Christ.

1155
00:49:12,605 --> 00:49:13,853
I've been trying my own thing.

1156
00:49:13,909 --> 00:49:15,905
The Bible says that you can
never try enough.

1157
00:49:16,285 --> 00:49:17,301
You're never gonna be good enough.

1158
00:49:17,333 --> 00:49:18,301
You're never gonna be holy enough.

1159
00:49:18,333 --> 00:49:21,837
Can I tell you this morning,
in and of yourself, you and I can

1160
00:49:21,861 --> 00:49:23,065
never be holy enough.

1161
00:49:23,405 --> 00:49:24,989
Because God is perfectly holy.

1162
00:49:25,077 --> 00:49:27,563
His defining character
attribute is his holiness.

1163
00:49:27,709 --> 00:49:29,751
He's perfect in every way.

1164
00:49:29,863 --> 00:49:32,687
And that is the only way that
we could obtain heaven.

1165
00:49:32,751 --> 00:49:36,895
But the Bible says that even
in our failure and in his holiness,

1166
00:49:37,015 --> 00:49:38,007
he offered us a way.

1167
00:49:38,031 --> 00:49:39,399
And that is the message of the gospel.

1168
00:49:39,447 --> 00:49:41,215
Jesus died on the cross for
your sins.

1169
00:49:41,335 --> 00:49:44,035
And his death on the cross
means something because he sinned.

1170
00:49:44,575 --> 00:49:45,159
Nothing.

1171
00:49:45,247 --> 00:49:45,567
Zero.

1172
00:49:45,631 --> 00:49:47,207
He sinned in no way.

1173
00:49:47,351 --> 00:49:48,835
He fulfilled the law.

1174
00:49:49,495 --> 00:49:52,527
And because of his love for
you, he says, my sacrifice is in

1175
00:49:52,551 --> 00:49:53,247
your place.

1176
00:49:53,351 --> 00:49:58,081
And when you trust in me and
through your faith in me, you will

1177
00:49:58,113 --> 00:49:58,961
have everlasting life.

1178
00:49:58,993 --> 00:50:00,857
Now, how could he offer us
everlasting life?

1179
00:50:00,961 --> 00:50:04,405
Because three days later, he
conquered death through resurrection.

1180
00:50:05,305 --> 00:50:07,393
He's the only one that did
that, and he's the only one that

1181
00:50:07,409 --> 00:50:08,369
can offer that.

1182
00:50:08,537 --> 00:50:10,393
So I would encourage you here
this morning if you want to get on

1183
00:50:10,409 --> 00:50:14,633
that path of knowing him and
yoking with him and being together

1184
00:50:14,689 --> 00:50:15,801
with him and having him walk.

1185
00:50:15,833 --> 00:50:18,593
Because he says, my yoke is
easy, My burden is light.

1186
00:50:18,649 --> 00:50:20,127
You want to know that freedom.

1187
00:50:20,281 --> 00:50:22,415
You want to know that victory?

1188
00:50:22,995 --> 00:50:24,835
Trust in Jesus Christ today.

1189
00:50:24,995 --> 00:50:28,095
Put your faith in him and him
alone for your salvation.

1190
00:50:28,915 --> 00:50:32,875
And that's just the beginning,
the beginning of a walk with Jesus

1191
00:50:32,915 --> 00:50:33,495
Christ.

1192
00:50:33,795 --> 00:50:35,739
I'm going to ask everyone to
stand with me this morning.

1193
00:50:35,787 --> 00:50:38,899
If everyone can bow their
heads, close their eyes as the music

1194
00:50:38,947 --> 00:50:40,895
plays this morning, there's no
pressure in this.

1195
00:50:42,115 --> 00:50:43,611
It's just a time of inspection.

1196
00:50:43,683 --> 00:50:45,371
For us, at least.

1197
00:50:45,403 --> 00:50:46,831
For me, it's a time of inspection.

1198
00:50:46,963 --> 00:50:49,967
And if I'm honest, I will be
honest with you today.

1199
00:50:50,151 --> 00:50:52,383
Sometimes it's difficult to be
honest when you're standing up in

1200
00:50:52,399 --> 00:50:53,235
front of people.

1201
00:50:53,535 --> 00:50:54,647
But I'm going to be honest
with you.

1202
00:50:54,671 --> 00:50:57,175
There have been times in my
life where the worldly associations

1203
00:50:57,255 --> 00:51:01,127
have taken over, not
necessarily in an egregious way where

1204
00:51:01,151 --> 00:51:02,591
I'm rebelling against God.

1205
00:51:02,623 --> 00:51:06,551
But that seed of influence has
gotten into my mind and gotten into

1206
00:51:06,583 --> 00:51:06,911
my heart.

1207
00:51:06,943 --> 00:51:10,607
And I haven't renewed my mind
and I haven't renewed that walk with

1208
00:51:10,631 --> 00:51:11,375
Christ today.

1209
00:51:11,455 --> 00:51:14,575
And I haven't stuck in his
word and I haven't followed his word,

1210
00:51:14,655 --> 00:51:17,775
and therefore I'm allowing
myself just to act like a person

1211
00:51:17,895 --> 00:51:19,303
who has no hope.

1212
00:51:19,479 --> 00:51:22,543
And therefore I would
challenge you this morning to inspect

1213
00:51:22,599 --> 00:51:23,475
your life.

1214
00:51:24,175 --> 00:51:29,855
It's possible, I would even
say that it's probable that many

1215
00:51:29,895 --> 00:51:33,975
of us in this room have
allowed the associations and the

1216
00:51:34,015 --> 00:51:37,151
influence lead us to
compromise and lead us away from

1217
00:51:37,183 --> 00:51:40,667
biblical separation and lead
us to a worldly association that

1218
00:51:40,691 --> 00:51:42,775
we have to be cautious of in
our life.

1219
00:51:43,515 --> 00:51:46,267
And so I would encourage you
this morning, if you need to get

1220
00:51:46,291 --> 00:51:49,235
things right with the Lord, if
you need to come back and say, lord,

1221
00:51:49,315 --> 00:51:51,283
I've associated with the wrong things.

1222
00:51:51,419 --> 00:51:51,979
I've.

1223
00:51:52,067 --> 00:51:54,347
I've been influenced by the
wrong things.

1224
00:51:54,531 --> 00:51:54,995
I've been.

1225
00:51:55,035 --> 00:51:57,255
I've been compromising in my life.

1226
00:51:58,555 --> 00:51:59,811
Come forward, give that over
to him.

1227
00:51:59,843 --> 00:52:02,523
He's a loving, forgiving
father that will accept you and say,

1228
00:52:02,539 --> 00:52:03,123
you know what?

1229
00:52:03,219 --> 00:52:05,067
I hear you and I hear your repentance.

1230
00:52:05,171 --> 00:52:07,301
God gives grace to the humble.

1231
00:52:07,413 --> 00:52:08,985
He resists the proud.

1232
00:52:09,405 --> 00:52:10,789
He resists the pride of life.

1233
00:52:10,837 --> 00:52:15,085
But he gives grace and
forgiveness to those who humble themselves

1234
00:52:15,165 --> 00:52:16,061
before him.

1235
00:52:16,213 --> 00:52:18,477
So I challenge you this
morning to humble yourselves before

1236
00:52:18,541 --> 00:52:19,145
Christ.

1237
00:52:19,445 --> 00:52:21,053
Think of the contrast.

1238
00:52:21,229 --> 00:52:24,501
Lust of the flesh, lust of the
eyes, pride of life.

1239
00:52:24,533 --> 00:52:25,549
What did Jesus say?

1240
00:52:25,637 --> 00:52:29,805
Meek, lowly, humble, Love, sacrifice.

1241
00:52:29,925 --> 00:52:31,105
That's the difference.

1242
00:52:31,535 --> 00:52:34,383
And so this morning, if you
need to respond to that this morning,

1243
00:52:34,439 --> 00:52:37,991
if you need to commit yourself
to him in humility, do so.

1244
00:52:38,143 --> 00:52:40,519
But if you need Jesus Christ
as your Savior, we've got some folks

1245
00:52:40,567 --> 00:52:43,599
standing up here that can show
you in the word of God what it means

1246
00:52:43,647 --> 00:52:47,599
to trust in Jesus as your
Savior, to be on that path of walking

1247
00:52:47,687 --> 00:52:49,167
that different, transformed life.

1248
00:52:49,231 --> 00:52:51,079
Lord, I pray that you be in
this time of invitation, working

1249
00:52:51,127 --> 00:52:51,871
hearts and lives.

1250
00:52:51,983 --> 00:52:54,127
Pray that you challenge our
hearts, convict us, and comfort us

1251
00:52:54,151 --> 00:52:55,751
in ways that only you can do.

1252
00:52:55,783 --> 00:52:56,767
In Jesus name, Amen.

1253
00:52:56,791 --> 00:52:59,525
As the music plays, follow as
the Lord leads here this morning.

1254
00:53:01,145 --> 00:53:03,729
Thank you again for listening
to the Middletown Baptist Church

1255
00:53:03,777 --> 00:53:04,505
podcast.

1256
00:53:04,665 --> 00:53:07,245
I hope that this sermon has
been a blessing for you.

1257
00:53:07,585 --> 00:53:09,881
If you would like to find out
more information about our church

1258
00:53:09,913 --> 00:53:11,932
or this sermon, you can find
us at middletownbaptistchurch.org

1259
00:53:12,060 --> 00:53:16,445
or find us on Facebook or YouTube.

1260
00:53:16,945 --> 00:53:21,409
You can also email me directly
at joshmasaroiddletownbaptistchurch

1261
00:53:21,457 --> 00:53:25,919
dot com if you've enjoyed this
podcast, please subscribe and follow

1262
00:53:25,967 --> 00:53:28,915
along for future podcasts and updates.

1263
00:53:29,335 --> 00:53:30,447
Thank you so much.

1264
00:53:30,591 --> 00:53:31,399
God bless.

1265
00:53:31,527 --> 00:53:32,575
Have a wonderful day.