"A world of nice people, content in their own niceness, looking no further, turned away from God, would be just as desperately in need of salvation as a miserable world---and might be even more difficult to save." C.S. Lewis
"The true man of God is heartsick, grieved at the worldliness of the Church...grieved at the toleration of sin in the Church, grieved at the prayerlessness in the Church. He is disturbed that the corporate prayer of the Church no longer pulls down the strongholds of the devil." Leonard Ravenhill
"Enemy-occupied territory-----that is what this world is. Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed, you might say landed in disguise, and is calling us all to take part in a great campaign in sabotage." C.S. Lewis
"Obedience to the call of Christ nearly always costs everything to two people- the one who is called, and the one who loves that one." Oswald Chambers
2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. 3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. 4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
Matt 4:2-4 (KJV)
1 And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. 3 And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. 4 And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.
Luke 4:1-4 (KJV)
Here we read how Jesus was hungry. He had not eaten for 40 days. I can not even imagine how hungry He must have been. I have gone 3 days without eating or drinking anything except water. This was a challenge to me because I really like to eat and I know the importance of fasting and overcoming my flesh to let my spirit have control. I have fasted for 2 weeks straight, but I did eat broth and milk, and other liquids. I was not hungry even though I thought I was. Jesus knew what it was like to be hungry.
6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Matt 5:6
Jesus said that those who hunger and thirst after righteousness are blessed or will be blessed. I am using this as an opener to the bible study today. We are not going to go over being hungry after God’s word but we will touch on it. I want us to see before we start on the main topic that we must hunger and thirst after righteousness. This means that when we hunger or thirst after something we accept it as it is. If you had not eaten for 40 days, and someone handed you a bowl of mashed potatoes, you will not care if they have salt or butter on them. You will just eat them at they are no questions asked. If you have not drunk anything for a long time, you are not going to ask for ice in your water. You will drink the water as it is to quench your thirst. Today most professed Christians do not hunger or thirst after anything. Because of this they decide they want to order their faith as they see fitting to their life. They pick and choose what sounds the best and try and say that the rest was for a different time or interpret the Word as something different.
21 Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh. Luke 6:21 (KJV)
Remember we are blessed if we hunger. How can we be blessed by being hungry? If we hunger and thirst after righteousness, righteousness will be all we can think about. When you are hungry for something, your mind will only be on what you are hungry for. We are blessed when we seek God’s righteousness, but only if we seek it by itself. We should have such a hunger that we should not care about our petty worldly problems around us. We should not care about our own selfish desires and our selfish wants. See most Christians hunger and thirst after success. They hunger and thirst after acceptance in this corrupt and evil world. OK let’s get to our topic. This is a controversial topic. This is an area that the majority of Christians are not willing to let go of and let God’s word say what it is saying. Before we start let’s look at Psalms 25:4-5.
4 Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths. 5 Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day. Psalms 25:3-5 (KJV)
This should be our prayer daily. Let’s let God’s word lead us and let’s put our own personal feelings away. Let’s hunger after what God wants for His people, TRUTH and OBEDIENCE.
We are going to discuss biblical separation from the world and the things in it. We as Christians are called to be separate from the world. We are called to be Holy. We are called to be sanctified. Let’s look at what the definition of these words are.
Sanctify
SANC'TIFY, v.t. [Low L. sanctifico; from sanctus, holy, and facio, to make.]
1. In a general sense, to cleanse, purify or make holy.
2. To separate, set apart or appoint to a holy, sacred or religious use.
God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it. Gen 2.
So under the Jewish dispensation, to sanctify the altar, the temple, the priests, &c.
3. To purify; to prepare for divine service, and for partaking of holy things. Exo 19.
4. To separate, ordain and appoint to the work of redemption and the government of the church. John 10.
5. To cleanse from corruption; to purify from sin; to make holy be detaching the affections from the world and its defilements, and exalting them to a supreme love to God.
Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth.
6. To make the means of holiness; to render productive of holiness or piety.
Those judgments of God are the more welcome, as a means which his mercy hath sanctified so to me, as to make me repent of that unjust act.
7. To make free from guilt.
That holy man amaz'd at what he saw, made haste to sanctify the bliss by law.
8. To secure from violation.
Truth guards the poet, sanctifies the line.
To sanctify God, to praise and celebrate him as a holy being; to acknowledge and honor his holy majesty, and to reverence his character and laws. Isa 8.
God sanctifies himself or his name, by vindicating his honor from the reproaches of the wicked, and manifesting his glory. Ezek 36.
Holy
HO'LY, a.
1. Properly, whole, entire or perfect, in a moral sense. Hence, pure in heart, temper or dispositions; free from sin and sinful affections. Applied to the Supreme Being, holy signifies perfectly pure, immaculate and complete in moral character; and man is more or less holy, as his heart is more or less sanctified, or purified from evil dispositions. We call a man holy,when his heart is conformed in some degree to the image of God, and his life is regulated by the divine precepts. Hence, holy is used as nearly synonymous with good, pious, godly.
Be ye holy; for I am holy. 1 Pet 1.
2. Hallowed; consecrated or set apart to a sacred use, or to the service or worship of God; a sense frequent in Scripture; as the holy sabbath; holy oil; holy vessels; a holy nation; the holy temple; a holy priesthood.
3. Proceeding from pious principles,or directed to pious purposes; as holy zeal.
4. Perfectly just and good; as the holy law of God.
5. Sacred; as a holy witness.
Holy of holies, in Scripture, the innermost apartment of the Jewish tabernacle or temple, where the ark was kept,and where no person entered, except the high priest, once a year.
Holy Ghost, or Holy Spirit, the Divine Spirit; the third person in the Trinity; the sanctifier of souls.
Holy war, a war undertaken to rescue the holy land, the ancient Judea, from the infidels; a crusade; an expedition carried on by christians against the Saracens in the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth centuries; a war carried on in a most unholy manner.
I used both of these definitions together because where ever sanctify is used in the new testament, it is the Greek word ἁγιάζω.
Greek Word: ἁγιάζω
Transliteration: hagiazō
Phonetic Pronunciation: hag-ee-ad'-zo
Vine's Words: Hallow, Holiness, Holy, Holily, Sanctification, Sanctify
Usage Notes:
English Words used in KJV:
sanctify 26 hallow 2 be holy 1 [Total Count: 29]
from <G40> (hagios); to make holy, i.e. (ceremony) purify or consecrate; (mentally) to venerate :- hallow, be holy, sanctify.
Consecrate
CONSECRATE, v.t. [L., to consecrate, sacred. See Sacred.]
1. To make or declare to be sacred, by certain ceremonies or rites; to appropriate to sacred uses; to set apart, dedicate, or devote, to the service and worship of God; as, to consecrate a church.
The word ἁγιάζω, means to make holy, purify, consecrate or venerate.
17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. 18 As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. 19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. John 17:17-19 (KJV)
Here is a section of John 17. This chapter is Jesus praying for his own. In 17-19 He is praying for the apostles to be sanctified in God’s truth. He is praying that they be made Holy, purified, consecrated. I am sure He is also wants them to venerate the truth. Remember the definition above on sanctify. There is a reference to this passage in the dictionary.
To cleanse from corruption; to purify from sin; to make holy be detaching the affections from the world and its defilements, and exalting them to a supreme love to God.
This is what Jesus was praying for. He wanted his followers to be cleansed from corruption, purified from sin, TO MAKE HOLY BE DETACHING THE AFFECTIONS FROM THE WORLD AND ITS DEFILEMENTS, and to exalt them a supreme love to God. Jesus knew the dangers of not separating ourselves from this world’s thinking and things. There is nothing good here because He is gone.
15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 1 John 2:15-16 (KJV)
Why don’t our churches today preach this?! ALL that is in the world is not of God. Your vanity, success, coolness, acceptance, lust, and everything else that man has made to bring you joy is NOT OF GOD. Not only that but if you love the things of this world, the love of the Father is not in you. “Oh but I have not been convicted of that yet” Shouldn’t we say “I know the bible says that but I refuse to accept it because it will make my life too hard. I need the things of this world to help me cope”. If this is you, you had better enjoy what you have because it will only get worse from here on out. God only has mercy for those who acknowledge they are sinners and those who repent of their sin. This is why Jesus prayed for his followers to be separated by the truth.
14 And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. Luke 8:14 (KJV)
Again, Jesus talks of the dangers of the cares and riches of this world. That word for riches is ploutos and it means wealth and possessions. Your cares for your possessions can make you fall away. You can be a Christian and never bring any fruit to perfection because you refuse to separate yourself from this world. What about the people who agree there is supposed to be separation from the world but disagree on how severe it should be? The word separate means to disunite; to divide; to sever; to part, in almost any manner. This sounds pretty severe.
10 For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; 2 Tim 4:10 (KJV)
Demas was also mentioned in Col 4:14 and Philemon 1:24. Demas was one of the faithful. He was a Christian and now has moved on to something else because he loved this present world. Once saved always saved huh? This was put here for a reason.
13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. 14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. 15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Matt 5:13-16 (KJV)
What does it mean to be the salt of the earth? Make a pot of beans without any salt. Add just a little salt and see what happens. You cannot hide the salt in the beans if you know what the beans taste like without salt. Even a little makes a big difference. If you lose your saltiness you lose your difference. Jesus said we are the light of the World. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Why is this? Take a candle in darkness. I have heard many people talk about how far we can see a single candle at night. I researched this and could not come to a conclusion because everyone came up with a different conclusion. Most came up somewhere between 11 miles and 20 miles. Regardless of how far it is the truth is that a little bit of light sticks out in darkness. A little bit of darkness can hide in light. We are supposed to be the light in the darkness. We are supposed to stick out not fit in. A Christian should not even have the opportunity or option to hide in darkness because they carry a light that can not be hidden. I want to ask a question of everyone. Think about the answer and pray on it. Do you stick out in a dark world or do you blend in with the darkness that surrounds us all? Can people see you from a distance or do they have to look under a bushel to see if you are from God? In our country we have become another line on the measuring stick. We find out who we are by what we wear, listen to, read, attend, etc. We should not be measured with the rest of the world. We should not be held to the same standards as the world. I do not want people to say that Chris is a good person because he does not cuss, watch bad movies, listen to bad music, get mad, and he is also a member of the AFA and he attends Promise Keepers meetings and so on and so on. I want people to say that Chris is a man of God because that is all he talks about, cares about, etc. You can’t even have a conversation with Chris because he only wants to discuss the bible and how great God is. I do not want to be accepted by this world in any way, shape or form.
"I give thanks unto my God for this; that I am found worthy to be among those whom the world hateth." Jerome
We are broken into two groups in this country now. Conservatives and Liberals. Shouldn’t we be Christians and Non-Christians? If I call myself a conservative, I am in the same group as Hank Williams Jr., Arean Brotherhood, and the KKK. I am a Christian only. Then we have different levels of Christians. Conservative Christians and Liberal Christians. Talk about an oxymoron. Either you believe the bible and hunger and thirst for righteousness or you don’t. Either you care what God thinks about you or you don’t. Let’s be hated by Satan’s people. Let’s make it clear to people who don’t even know us that we swear allegiance to King Jesus. Amen.
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