Out of This World: A Call to Biblical Separation
This sermon from Pastor Josh Massaro at Middletown Baptist Church emphasizes the importance of biblical separation from the world. He discusses how believers are called to avoid being unequally yoked with unbelievers, which extends beyond marriage to various aspects of life, including friendships and influences. Pastor Josh highlights that our associations significantly impact our thoughts, beliefs, and actions, urging Christians to be mindful of what they allow into their lives. He reinforces the idea that true transformation comes from renewing our minds through the Word of God and living a life that reflects Christ's character. The message ultimately calls for a commitment to holiness and a deeper relationship with God, encouraging listeners to seek His guidance in their daily lives.
Pastor Josh Massaro delivers a compelling sermon at the Middletown Baptist Church, focusing on the theme of separation from worldly influences as a pivotal aspect of the Christian faith. Drawing from 2 Corinthians 6, he emphasizes the importance of not being unequally yoked with unbelievers, highlighting the dangers of allowing worldly affections to cloud one’s relationship with God. He articulates the concept of being ‘in the world but not of the world,’ encouraging listeners to assess their associations and the potential influence these relationships might have on their spiritual lives. The message is a call to action, urging Christians to prioritize their faith and maintain a distinct identity that reflects God’s holiness, while also engaging with the world in a manner that does not compromise their beliefs.
Throughout the sermon, Pastor Josh elaborates on various biblical passages, including Romans 12:1-2, which serves as a foundational text for understanding the transformative power of renewing one’s mind in Christ. He passionately argues that true love for God manifests in a lifestyle that honors Him and rejects the empty pursuits of the world. The sermon is rich with practical applications, urging congregants to evaluate their media consumption, friendships, and overarching life choices through the lens of their commitment to Christ. In essence, Pastor Josh challenges the church to reflect on their spiritual walk, advocating for a life that is distinctly set apart for God’s purposes, thereby fulfilling their identity as His children.
The message culminates in a heartfelt invitation for personal reflection and renewal, encouraging individuals to confront any areas of compromise in their lives. Pastor Josh reassures the congregation that God stands ready to embrace those who come to Him in humility and repentance, reinforcing the idea that true freedom and fulfillment are found in a relationship with Jesus Christ. This sermon not only serves as a reminder of the call to holiness but also as a practical guide for navigating the complexities of modern life, making it a pivotal teaching for anyone seeking to deepen their faith and understanding of what it means to live as a follower of Christ.
Takeaways:
- Pastor Josh emphasizes the importance of being separate from worldly influences in our lives.
- The message encourages believers to renew their minds through Scripture for transformation.
- Christians are warned against being unequally yoked with unbelievers in various associations.
- A strong relationship with God helps believers resist the temptation of the world.
- The sermon discusses how our actions reveal our true beliefs and influences.
- Believers are called to actively seek a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ.
Links referenced in this episode:
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This podcast is produced by Ralph Estep, Jr., host of the Ask Ralph Podcast, a daily podcast on Christian Finance you can find it at https://www.askralphpodcast.com/
00:00 - None
00:00 - Introduction to the Podcast
00:23 - Context of the Corinthian Church
00:48 - Understanding Worldly Affections
02:18 - Influence of the World on Believers
07:19 - Paul's Teachings on Separation
07:32 - The Dangers of Unequal Yoking
20:51 - The Importance of Yoking with Christ
36:51 - The Call to Biblical Separation
52:56 - Conclusion and Call to Action
Pastor Josh
Hello, and welcome to the Middletown Baptist Church podcast, where we are proclaiming the truth to the world.
Pastor Josh
My name is Pastor Josh, and I want to thank you for listening to this podcast.
Pastor Josh
I hope that this podcast can be a blessing to you and strengthen you in the word of God.
Pastor Josh
Now, come along.
Pastor Josh
Let's look into the Bible and see what God has for us here today.
Pastor Josh
What we're going to talk about here today is the understanding of how the Corinthian Church.
Pastor Josh
Okay, remember, these are the people that Paul is directly talking to here in Second Corinthians.
Pastor Josh
They loved themselves and the world too much.
Pastor Josh
If you remember, last week, we talked about how Paul says, hey, you.
Pastor Josh
You guys are constrained.
Pastor Josh
You guys are held together.
Pastor Josh
You guys are tightened in your love.
Pastor Josh
You are limited in your love because of your love for yourself and the love for the world.
Pastor Josh
You're not able to love the Lord.
Pastor Josh
You're not able to love others because you are tightened together.
Pastor Josh
You are, as it says here, straightened in the King James.
Pastor Josh
But constricted is the word we would use.
Pastor Josh
You're constricted in your love for God and the world because of your inappropriate affections.
Pastor Josh
And so now he's going to address one of those inappropriate affections, and that is the love for this world, the love for sin, the love for that worldly influence in our life.
Pastor Josh
And so we looked at how the church in Corinth had misappropriated their love.
Pastor Josh
Instead of loving God with all their hearts, as the Bible calls us to do, they allowed that love that was supposed to be for God to flow out to other things.
Pastor Josh
They were set in their own affections.
Pastor Josh
Well, what were these affections?
Pastor Josh
Well, the love for themselves.
Pastor Josh
And specifically, in the context of these next few verses, a love for the world.
Pastor Josh
Because of their love for this world, their lives were being influenced by the world.
Pastor Josh
So what you love, what you set your affections on will influence you.
Pastor Josh
And so what Paul is going to talk about here is that the fact that these individuals love the world so much, they were associated with the world so much that the world began to influence them.
Pastor Josh
And so they were being influenced to think, believe, and act like the world.
Pastor Josh
As Christians, it's important for us to think biblically.
Pastor Josh
It's important for us to believe in the truths of God, and it's important for us to act upon those truths in our lives as focused Christians on the truth of God.
Pastor Josh
But what we see here is that they started to think about the things of this world.
Pastor Josh
Their affections were set on the things of this world.
Pastor Josh
They Began to believe in the things of this world, and your thinking and your belief dictates your actions.
Pastor Josh
So they had worldly outcomes, worldly lifestyles.
Pastor Josh
And so they were, as the scripture says, not being transformed by the power of God, but they were being conformed to the image of this world.
Pastor Josh
God has a lot to say about a believer's relationship with the world.
Pastor Josh
The most popular passage of scripture that we could probably go to is the passage that I started out a sermon with a service with this morning.
Pastor Josh
Romans, chapter 12.
Pastor Josh
Romans, chapter 12, verses 1 and 2.
Pastor Josh
Paul says, I beseech you, I beg you, brethren, by the mercies of God.
Pastor Josh
This is because of the mercies of God that ye present your bodies, a living sacrifice.
Pastor Josh
Present everything to God, not just Sunday mornings, not just your free time.
Pastor Josh
He says, present your bodies.
Pastor Josh
He's talking about everything.
Pastor Josh
Your spiritual side, your physical side.
Pastor Josh
And, you know, there were people back at this timeframe that would have said, and people today that say that it's not about what you do, it's more about what you believe.
Pastor Josh
It's theoretical.
Pastor Josh
It's a very spiritual matter, which, yes, it starts with the spiritual.
Pastor Josh
But God does care about what we do with our bodies.
Pastor Josh
He cares about who we associate with.
Pastor Josh
He cares about what we do.
Pastor Josh
And so he says here in Romans, chapter 12, present your bodies, a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Pastor Josh
That word holy is going to be a theme here today.
Pastor Josh
A lot of times when we say the word holy, we think about sinlessness.
Pastor Josh
And with God, that's what it is.
Pastor Josh
God is perfectly holy.
Pastor Josh
But in scripture, the Bible calls us to be holy.
Pastor Josh
Now, does God expect us to be sinless?
Pastor Josh
Well, that's the expectation.
Pastor Josh
But of course, he knows that we won't be perfectly holy.
Pastor Josh
That word holy means to be separated, to be sanctified, to be set aside for a specific use.
Pastor Josh
You know, sometimes when we're at our house and we don't want to do dishes, what do we do?
Pastor Josh
We do paper plates.
Pastor Josh
I don't know if any of you guys have ever done that in your life.
Pastor Josh
Maybe you guys are just so.
Pastor Josh
So refined that you would never do that.
Pastor Josh
But sometimes we're like, oh, paper plates and throw it in the trash, right?
Pastor Josh
But if we had a dignitary coming over to our house, someone really special, we wouldn't go, all right, let's pull out the paper plates.
Pastor Josh
We're going to get out the best that we have.
Pastor Josh
We.
Pastor Josh
We have things set aside for a specific use.
Pastor Josh
And as a Christian, what we are called to Be is a people that are set aside.
Pastor Josh
God calls us to be set aside for a specific use.
Pastor Josh
What is that use?
Pastor Josh
To be messengers of the Gospel, to glorify him.
Pastor Josh
And so he says there, be holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service, and be not conformed to this world.
Pastor Josh
The idea here is being molded into an image.
Pastor Josh
Sometimes, like our kids make cookies, and you have the little cookie cutter presses and you press something in.
Pastor Josh
That's what the idea is.
Pastor Josh
The world has this image, this mold, and they want to jam us into that mold and make us look just like them, just like the ways of the world, just like the enemy, just like that fleshly, sinful nature.
Pastor Josh
But he says, don't be conformed to this world, but be transformed.
Pastor Josh
That word transformed comes from a Greek word that's similar to our English word, metamorphosis, a transformation.
Pastor Josh
Micah likes animals, and one of the things that we like to do is study them, obviously, together.
Pastor Josh
And one thing that a caterpillar will do is a caterpillar will be on the ground, and eventually that caterpillar climbs up on a branch and makes a chrysalis and over a period of time, transforms into a butterfly.
Pastor Josh
Right?
Pastor Josh
It's that metamorphosis, that change.
Pastor Josh
As a Christian, we are called to be different from what we used to be before we were saved.
Pastor Josh
We're called to be different from the world.
Pastor Josh
And so what Paul says is, be different by what?
Pastor Josh
By renewing of your mind.
Pastor Josh
He says the way that we can understand what it means to be different, the way that we can be renewed and strengthened, is to think biblically, to think clearly, to think about the things of God, not the things of this world that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Pastor Josh
You want to follow the will of God, renew your mind so that you can live that transformed life, so that you can live separately from the world, so that you can live away from the association and the influence and the impact of the sinful ways of this world.
Pastor Josh
And so this passage of Scripture here in Second Corinthians, chapter six, deals with that very issue.
Pastor Josh
And so let's look at our text here this morning.
Pastor Josh
Romans, chapter 12 was just a context passage, but we're going to now look at Second Corinthians, chapter six, and we're going to start in verse number 14.
Pastor Josh
Paul is going to teach the Corinthian church what it means to be separate, to be different.
Pastor Josh
He says, be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers.
Pastor Josh
Now, you might have heard that phrase before, and we're going to get into the depths of that phrase here this morning.
Pastor Josh
But he says, don't be yoked up with unbelievers.
Pastor Josh
The yoke would have been something that would have been used for putting on two different animals and associating them together.
Pastor Josh
He says, don't join up with unbelievers.
Pastor Josh
For what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?
Pastor Josh
And what communion hath light with darkness?
Pastor Josh
And what concord hath Christ with Belial?
Pastor Josh
Or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel or an unbeliever?
Pastor Josh
In what agreement hath the temple of God with idols?
Pastor Josh
And for ye are the temple of the living God, as God hath said, I will dwell in them and walk in them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people, wherefore come out from among them and be separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you and will be a father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
Pastor Josh
The name of the sermon this morning, the title is out of this World.
Pastor Josh
Let's go ahead and pray.
Pastor Josh
And then we're going to jump right into our main thoughts here this morning.
Pastor Josh
Lord, I pray that you be with us as we look into your word.
Pastor Josh
I pray that we can understand what your teaching is here when it comes to this idea of being separated from the world would help us to understand the importance of living the transformed life as a believer, to live differently, to live separate, to live sanctified.
Pastor Josh
Lord, help us to understand that you have called us to be different, that you have called us to be a testimony, that you've called us to live pure and holy lives so that folks can see that life and so that folks can understand the goodness of salvation.
Pastor Josh
To know the goodness of walking with a God who loves them.
Pastor Josh
And so, Lord, I pray that you help us, challenge us, encourage us in this walk.
Pastor Josh
Lord, I pray that there's anyone here today that does not know you as Savior, that today can be the day in which we can understand positionally that we can be different, that there's hope in Jesus.
Pastor Josh
So, Lord, we thank you and we love you.
Pastor Josh
In Jesus name we pray.
Pastor Josh
Amen.
Pastor Josh
I want you to see point number one here this morning.
Pastor Josh
God calls us to not have association with the world.
Pastor Josh
Number one is the association God is concerned with who we are associating with.
Pastor Josh
Verse 14.
Pastor Josh
Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers.
Pastor Josh
Paul speaks of the association of believers and unbelievers.
Pastor Josh
And he uses an analogy.
Pastor Josh
He uses the analogy of being unequally yoked.
Pastor Josh
Paul is speaking to the overly broad affections of the Corinthian Christians.
Pastor Josh
Who are you loving?
Pastor Josh
Who are you associating with?
Pastor Josh
What are you associating with?
Pastor Josh
You know, so many times in our life we are challenged with this and we think, well, what am I supposed to be?
Pastor Josh
A person who goes and lives in a monastery and never addresses people?
Pastor Josh
No, that's not what he's talking about here.
Pastor Josh
He's not talking about being in the world.
Pastor Josh
In another passage of Scripture in First Corinthians, Paul says, you can't separate yourself from the world completely.
Pastor Josh
You got to be there.
Pastor Josh
You got to be in the world.
Pastor Josh
But maybe this is a phrase that you've heard before.
Pastor Josh
You're in the world, but you're not of the world.
Pastor Josh
Right?
Pastor Josh
And so as a Christian, we gotta go to work.
Pastor Josh
We.
Pastor Josh
We gotta go to the grocery store.
Pastor Josh
We gotta see people that are not believers.
Pastor Josh
That's understood.
Pastor Josh
He's not talking about that.
Pastor Josh
He's not talking about us moving to an island and creating a Christian utopia and only having Christians there.
Pastor Josh
That's not what he's talking about.
Pastor Josh
He's talking about being associated with unbelievers.
Pastor Josh
And he says a believer should not be linked to an unbeliever when it comes to association.
Pastor Josh
You know, in this case, he's talking about Christians who join themselves with unbelievers.
Pastor Josh
And this is difficult because for many of us, we might say, what does that specifically mean?
Pastor Josh
Does that mean that I can't talk to an unbeliever?
Pastor Josh
That's not what he's talking about here.
Pastor Josh
It's the joining of two things that should not go together.
Pastor Josh
It's the celebration of the things of this world.
Pastor Josh
It's associating with an unbeliever and hoping that that unbeliever will act like a believer.
Pastor Josh
And the Bible says that should not be so.
Pastor Josh
Now, in many cases, in most cases, we see this preached when it comes to the institution of marriage, in which it does apply, by the way, I believe that God is warning us, as Christians, do not have unbelievers marrying believers.
Pastor Josh
Believers should not be associating in the closest biblical relationship in marriage.
Pastor Josh
Right?
Pastor Josh
What does the Bible say about marriage?
Pastor Josh
The Bible says when we're married, it's one flesh husband, wife become one.
Pastor Josh
Bible says an unsaved person and a saved person should not be associated.
Pastor Josh
Therefore, we can take by way of context, being unequally yoked would be that one unsaved person is marrying a saved person.
Pastor Josh
And we warn against that.
Pastor Josh
We caution against that.
Pastor Josh
Jesus says, don't do that.
Pastor Josh
But what we also have to understand as Christians is that that means so much more.
Pastor Josh
It means so much more than just marriage.
Pastor Josh
Because a lot of times we might think, well, I'm married to a believer, so I don't have to worry about Second Corinthians, chapter six.
Pastor Josh
That's not the full scope of it.
Pastor Josh
That's one element of it.
Pastor Josh
But Paul means so much more here than only marrying an unbeliever.
Pastor Josh
It really applies to the environment where we let the world influence our thinking.
Pastor Josh
Because if we let the world influence our thinking, what happens?
Pastor Josh
Well, then it changes what we begin to believe, and then it changes how we act.
Pastor Josh
And so if we want to protect ourselves from acting like the world, we need to go back about thinking like the world and say, you know what?
Pastor Josh
I'm allowing these associations, these partnerships to infiltrate my mind and allow myself to think about the things of this world and not think biblically.
Pastor Josh
And when we're being conformed to this world and we're not being transformed by the renewing of our mind, we join together with unbelievers in an ungodly way.
Pastor Josh
And I've heard it said many times, well, you know what?
Pastor Josh
I'm going to influence this unbeliever.
Pastor Josh
The truth is, is that scripture tells us that when we associate with an unbeliever, when we associate with the things of this world, when we associate with this way of thinking, eventually that will bleed into what we do in our own lives.
Pastor Josh
And so what we can see here is that God warns us over and over again about the dangers of joining in with this world.
Pastor Josh
I want you to see another passage of scripture in James, chapter four.
Pastor Josh
If you don't think that God is serious about this, I want you to see a couple passages of scripture where he deals with this understanding of being too friendly, too loving with the things of this world.
Pastor Josh
Now, I've said world a lot today.
Pastor Josh
What am I meaning by the world?
Pastor Josh
I'm not talking about the physical world out there.
Pastor Josh
I'm talking about the ways of the world, the systems of the world.
Pastor Josh
Ultimately, it's the enemy system, right?
Pastor Josh
You have Satan who attacks Christians, but Satan has set in motion a way of the world.
Pastor Josh
And so we're talking about sinful ways.
Pastor Josh
The ways of the world is like, hey, get what you can.
Pastor Josh
It's all about fleshly feeling good about yourself.
Pastor Josh
It's all about lifting yourself up.
Pastor Josh
It's all about stepping on another person.
Pastor Josh
It's all about putting yourself first.
Pastor Josh
From the very beginning, in the garden, what was the original lie?
Pastor Josh
Put yourself first.
Pastor Josh
Be God.
Pastor Josh
You're your own God.
Pastor Josh
Put yourself up.
Pastor Josh
Humanism.
Pastor Josh
And that's what the ways of the world is.
Pastor Josh
It's humanism.
Pastor Josh
The way of the world is humanism.
Pastor Josh
So what, what we can see here in James, chapter four, we see God telling us a very important thing here in this passage.
Pastor Josh
He says, ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that friendship of the world is enmity with God.
Pastor Josh
Meaning, if you're friends with this world, you're enemies of God.
Pastor Josh
If you love this world, if you cling to this world, you're not clinging to God.
Pastor Josh
Whosoever, therefore, will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
Pastor Josh
I don't know how much more clear he can be.
Pastor Josh
The more we love the world, the less we love the Lord.
Pastor Josh
And the more we attach ourselves to the things of this world, the more we lose grip on what God wants for us.
Pastor Josh
Go back to What Romans, chapter 12, verse 2 says, you want to follow that good, perfect will of God in your life.
Pastor Josh
Cling after him, go after him, search after him, love him.
Pastor Josh
If you want to know the ways of the world and be conformed to this world, love that, go after that.
Pastor Josh
Over and over again, we're told that we should not love the world.
Pastor Josh
First John, chapter two.
Pastor Josh
First John, chapter two, verses 15 through 17.
Pastor Josh
First John, chapter two is talking all about Jesus being the propitiation of our sins and how we should love him and how we should walk in his truth and how we should obey Him.
Pastor Josh
And then he goes on to say in verse number 15, Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.
Pastor Josh
So lest you think that, hey, I don't love the world, he says, don't love the world.
Pastor Josh
Or the things that are in the world, that the products of the world.
Pastor Josh
Now, I've heard a lot of sermons where pastors get up and start picking and choosing what they don't like and telling you that you shouldn't like that either.
Pastor Josh
Okay?
Pastor Josh
That's not my job here today.
Pastor Josh
My job is not to get up here and give you your biblical preferences and convictions.
Pastor Josh
All I'm saying is that when things are very clearly from the world, we should not love those.
Pastor Josh
We should not chase after those.
Pastor Josh
He says here, love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.
Pastor Josh
If any man love the world.
Pastor Josh
Okay, this is not Pastor Josh.
Pastor Josh
This is.
Pastor Josh
This is scripture.
Pastor Josh
If any man love the world.
Pastor Josh
The love of the Father is not in him, for all that is in the world.
Pastor Josh
And here, here's what he says.
Pastor Josh
This is.
Pastor Josh
If you could summarize the world, this is it.
Pastor Josh
Okay.
Pastor Josh
So.
Pastor Josh
So.
Pastor Josh
So if you were thinking, well, I don't know if what I love is, is worldly, well, here it is.
Pastor Josh
He gives you the definition of what it means to love the world.
Pastor Josh
He says, for all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh.
Pastor Josh
So, so what your flesh wants feel good, right?
Pastor Josh
What feels good?
Pastor Josh
The lust of the eyes, what looks good, what's going to bring you pleasure, what's going to bring you success.
Pastor Josh
And the pride of life.
Pastor Josh
Lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, pride of life.
Pastor Josh
Those things it says is not of the Father, but of this world, but is of this world.
Pastor Josh
And then he gives us the reason why we shouldn't love the world.
Pastor Josh
And the world passeth away in the lust thereof.
Pastor Josh
But he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.
Pastor Josh
The things of this world are empty.
Pastor Josh
The things of this world are temporary.
Pastor Josh
The things of this world are going to vanish.
Pastor Josh
What he says is the only thing that is going to last is our relationship with the Lord.
Pastor Josh
So love him.
Pastor Josh
And so Paul means so much more than just a believer.
Pastor Josh
And marrying an unbeliever, that is one of the greatest examples of being unequally yoked.
Pastor Josh
But we can be unequally yoked in many different ways in our life, whether it be in personal relationships outside of marriage, whether it be through, maybe even some cases, business relationships.
Pastor Josh
Maybe, maybe it just could be my affections of what I entertain myself with, what, what we've, what we stream into our households do matter.
Pastor Josh
Folks, I'm going to tell you this morning, it matters what we take in through entertainment.
Pastor Josh
A lot of times you're going to be taught, hey, you know what?
Pastor Josh
Just do whatever you want to do because that's fun.
Pastor Josh
And then go to church and you just cleanse your mind.
Pastor Josh
That's.
Pastor Josh
That's not the case.
Pastor Josh
The world has a system of propaganda that is trying to get into your minds and get you to think a certain way, whether you know it or not.
Pastor Josh
That makes it good propaganda.
Pastor Josh
You don't know that it's coming to you.
Pastor Josh
It's not overt.
Pastor Josh
It's not in your face.
Pastor Josh
It's under the guise of, hey, this is just fun.
Pastor Josh
The problem is that can come in and plague our minds, plague our families.
Pastor Josh
And the Bible says that's being unequally yoked with the world.
Pastor Josh
Would you Bring in.
Pastor Josh
I'm just going to.
Pastor Josh
I already knew this morning I'm going to step on toes and I love you.
Pastor Josh
So just understand that.
Pastor Josh
Because I'm preaching to myself this morning.
Pastor Josh
Would I bring in some worldly person who had a filthy mouth who celebrated immorality and say, hey, come on to my house and just live out your life in front of my family?
Pastor Josh
I hope not.
Pastor Josh
Hope you'd say, get out of my house.
Pastor Josh
This is our sanctuary.
Pastor Josh
This is our comfort.
Pastor Josh
This is our peace in Jesus Christ.
Pastor Josh
But what happens sometimes is we're not willing to enter through our front door, but we're allowing them to come in through our televisions.
Pastor Josh
We're allowing them to come in through what we take in our cell phones.
Pastor Josh
Folks, I'm the first guy to tell you that in and of itself, the iPhone isn't a bad thing, right?
Pastor Josh
You can do a lot of great things with it.
Pastor Josh
But just as much as you can do a lot of great things with this thing, you can do a lot of bad things that are destructive to yourself, to your minds, to your families.
Pastor Josh
And I'm going to tell you, being unequally yoked with the world would be, hey, I'm taking in content from the world, and that is where I'm feeding my hunger.
Pastor Josh
That is where I'm feeding my pleasure.
Pastor Josh
I'm going to tell you folks, there's danger with that.
Pastor Josh
There's danger with that.
Pastor Josh
It's a slippery slope because the more that I take in from the world and the more I set my affections on the things of this world, the more that's going to affect what I believe, and it's going to affect what I believe.
Pastor Josh
It's actually going to then affect what I do because I'm going to live the way that I believe.
Pastor Josh
You know, if I'm going to ask you what you believe, you can tell me whatever you want.
Pastor Josh
You can tell me whatever you want.
Pastor Josh
But what you believe is how you act.
Pastor Josh
Really.
Pastor Josh
That's, at the end of the day, what's all about what you believe.
Pastor Josh
So if you believe that this is something that's good, eventually that's something that's going to bleed into your life.
Pastor Josh
We cannot compartmentalize these things.
Pastor Josh
And so what we can see here in this case is that Jesus says, don't be yoked with this world.
Pastor Josh
Where should we be yoked?
Pastor Josh
Well, Matthew chapter 11 tells us where our yoke should be.
Pastor Josh
Matthew, chapter 11 tells us that our yoke should not be with this world, but it should be with Jesus Christ yoke.
Pastor Josh
Up with him a lot of times.
Pastor Josh
I was always taught growing up, just stop doing bad things.
Pastor Josh
Turn off the TV.
Pastor Josh
Maybe you've seen this guy on YouTube, he got an ax out and he smashed the TV on stage.
Pastor Josh
Right?
Pastor Josh
Folks, we all know that we can try to stop doing things, but that's not what the Bible says is the complete model of living a godly holy life.
Pastor Josh
You can cut out a bunch of bad stuff in your life, but ultimately that bad stuff is just gonna come back in different forms.
Pastor Josh
And so there's a replacement for the bad.
Pastor Josh
Matthew, chapter 11, verse 28.
Pastor Josh
Jesus says, Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Pastor Josh
Take my yoke.
Pastor Josh
So we don't yoke up with the world, what do we do?
Pastor Josh
We yoke up with Christ.
Pastor Josh
Take my yoke upon you and learn of me.
Pastor Josh
So it's that Christ like attitude, it's that humility, it's that sacrifice, it's that grace, it's that mercy.
Pastor Josh
He says, take up my yoke.
Pastor Josh
Let me tell you, when you yoke up with Jesus Christ, it's not lust of the eyes, it's not lust of the flesh, it's not pride of life, it's the complete opposite.
Pastor Josh
He says, for I am meek and lowly, completely different.
Pastor Josh
For I am meek and lowly in heart.
Pastor Josh
And ye shall find rest unto your souls.
Pastor Josh
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
Pastor Josh
Jesus says, come, you know, you know what's a real big burden is being yoked up with this world and trying to keep up with all that.
Pastor Josh
Because ultimately it all falls on us.
Pastor Josh
And it all falls on our strength.
Pastor Josh
And we are flawed human beings that will fall.
Pastor Josh
But what we see here is that Jesus says, yoke up with me instead of the world.
Pastor Josh
And so we see that there's this idea of association.
Pastor Josh
And that association comes to point number two, influence.
Pastor Josh
We're going to go back to second Corinthians, chapter six.
Pastor Josh
So go back there with me.
Pastor Josh
We'll spend some time in 2 Corinthians, chapter 6.
Pastor Josh
Now, Paul says, be careful of your associations, because your associations will influence you.
Pastor Josh
They will influence the way that you act, the way that you think, the way that you believe.
Pastor Josh
Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers.
Pastor Josh
For what fellowship we see that word fellowship?
Pastor Josh
For what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?
Pastor Josh
These are true questions.
Pastor Josh
He wants you to think about this.
Pastor Josh
What association does righteousness have with unrighteousness?
Pastor Josh
And what communion hath light with darkness?
Pastor Josh
These are all thoughts that we have to think about.
Pastor Josh
Cause sometimes when we frame it this way, it makes more sense when we frame it for what it really is.
Pastor Josh
Dark and light, righteousness, unrighteousness.
Pastor Josh
So many times we try to blur the lines.
Pastor Josh
And that's what the world tries to do, blur the lines, make definitions unclear.
Pastor Josh
God is not the author of confusion.
Pastor Josh
God is clear in how he deals with things.
Pastor Josh
But what we see here in this case is that sometimes we can allow the influence to come into our lives when we blur the lines.
Pastor Josh
And so what Paul is doing here is he's saying, look, it's really this fellowship with righteousness or unrighteousness, fellowship with darkness or light, communion.
Pastor Josh
He's talking about that walk that we have.
Pastor Josh
And so this passage here speaks especially to the issue of influence.
Pastor Josh
Paul is not suggesting that Christians should never associate with unbelievers, because there's a.
Pastor Josh
There's a point to associate with unbelievers.
Pastor Josh
Like the gospel.
Pastor Josh
Be salt and light.
Pastor Josh
We should reach out to those that are around us.
Pastor Josh
We should influence those that are around us.
Pastor Josh
So instead of us being influenced by the world, we should influence the world for the cause of the gospel.
Pastor Josh
And so there's a difference there.
Pastor Josh
It's in the world, but not of the world.
Pastor Josh
And he makes it very clear in First Corinthians, chapter 5.
Pastor Josh
We don't have the time to go there.
Pastor Josh
But Paul says, you can't just leave this world.
Pastor Josh
You got to be around other people that are unbelievers, but it's how you associate with them.
Pastor Josh
And so the principle is that we are to be in the world, but not of the world.
Pastor Josh
It's like this.
Pastor Josh
I heard a commentator say it this way.
Pastor Josh
Like a ship should be in the water, but the water shouldn't be in the ship.
Pastor Josh
Right?
Pastor Josh
Right.
Pastor Josh
So when we're in a boat, we expect there's water outside.
Pastor Josh
We're in that water.
Pastor Josh
But when that water starts coming in, hopefully that water starts coming into the boat, into the ship.
Pastor Josh
There's a big problem.
Pastor Josh
That's the problem.
Pastor Josh
It's the influence of that outside into our own family, our own life, our own hearts.
Pastor Josh
And so we're there.
Pastor Josh
But the problem is, if the world is influencing us, it's clear that we are unequally yoked together with unbelievers.
Pastor Josh
So where's the test?
Pastor Josh
The test is this.
Pastor Josh
Is my life mirroring Christ and Christ likeness?
Pastor Josh
Or is my life looking more and more like the world?
Pastor Josh
If you could take me and put me up to a person who has no faith.
Pastor Josh
And if my life looks the same as his, except I go to church on Sunday mornings and I give to the church.
Pastor Josh
There's a big issue there.
Pastor Josh
Right?
Pastor Josh
Let's think about that.
Pastor Josh
You know reality shows, right?
Pastor Josh
They have reality shows and they follow people around.
Pastor Josh
Some of you might like those.
Pastor Josh
Some of you might like.
Pastor Josh
You ever seen that?
Pastor Josh
Undercover Boss?
Pastor Josh
That's interesting, right?
Pastor Josh
Those guys come in and these guys are yelling at them, and like, you know, I'm the CEO of the company, and they end up firing them, and they give a million dollars to this guy who was nice.
Pastor Josh
It's all.
Pastor Josh
I don't know how much of it scripted or not, probably most of it's scripted, but either way, it's entertaining, right?
Pastor Josh
Speaking of that, we got to be careful about our entertainment, but I think that's okay to watch sometimes.
Pastor Josh
So the idea would be this.
Pastor Josh
If we followed around, you know, Middletown Baptist Joe here, okay, he's going out into the world and he's gonna.
Pastor Josh
We're gonna follow him.
Pastor Josh
And then we go follow an atheist guy who doesn't believe in Jesus Christ.
Pastor Josh
And we follow him everywhere he goes.
Pastor Josh
And if we didn't show what he did on Sunday morning, and we didn't show what he did when he had his ministry that Saturday, but now we just show what he does in his life all those other times, and the life of the unsaved person and the life of the saved person looks exactly the same.
Pastor Josh
There's a big issue there, because what's happened is we know that an atheist is not going to live like Christ.
Pastor Josh
We know that that unsaved person is going to live the way that unsaved people do.
Pastor Josh
But then if the saved person doesn't live like a saved person, he's influenced by the world.
Pastor Josh
And so there's that understanding that that influence matters.
Pastor Josh
And so that's the test.
Pastor Josh
The test is, who am I living like?
Pastor Josh
Whose yoke is driving me forward?
Pastor Josh
And so we have this understanding of influence in your life.
Pastor Josh
Who is influencing you?
Pastor Josh
What are you taking in?
Pastor Josh
What content are you taking in on your daily walk?
Pastor Josh
John 15.
Pastor Josh
John 15, verse 19.
Pastor Josh
We see this.
Pastor Josh
I believe, as you know, I don't like proof texting.
Pastor Josh
Proof texting is.
Pastor Josh
I'm going to come up with one verse to try to prove a thought.
Pastor Josh
But if you were to say, okay, where do you get that phrase in the world, but not of the world, I think this would be a great passage of scripture to take somebody in.
Pastor Josh
John 15, you got to know context, right?
Pastor Josh
What has Jesus been doing he's been teaching his disciples what it means to abide in him, to live in Him.
Pastor Josh
You know, he says, you are not the vine.
Pastor Josh
Okay, I am the vine, you are the branches.
Pastor Josh
You can't live without me.
Pastor Josh
You're nothing without me.
Pastor Josh
And then in John 15, verse 19, he says, if ye were of the world, the world would love his own.
Pastor Josh
But because ye are not of the world.
Pastor Josh
So there's a good phrase.
Pastor Josh
You're not of the world because you're not of the world.
Pastor Josh
But I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
Pastor Josh
Remember the word that I said unto you.
Pastor Josh
The servant is not greater than his Lord.
Pastor Josh
If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you.
Pastor Josh
If they have kept.
Pastor Josh
If they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.
Pastor Josh
What does Jesus say?
Pastor Josh
He says, you're not of this world.
Pastor Josh
You should be away from this world.
Pastor Josh
You should not be associated, and you should not allow it to influence you.
Pastor Josh
Another passage of Scripture that talks about this is in John 17.
Pastor Josh
John 17, he reads.
Pastor Josh
He's.
Pastor Josh
He's.
Pastor Josh
He's praying.
Pastor Josh
Here.
Pastor Josh
In this case, Jesus is.
Pastor Josh
This is his high priestly prayer.
Pastor Josh
In John 17, verse 16, he says, they are not of the world, talking to His Father about us, talking to His Father about those that follow Him.
Pastor Josh
And he says, they are not of this world, even as I am not of this world.
Pastor Josh
Sanctify them through thy truth.
Pastor Josh
Thy word is truth.
Pastor Josh
Are you starting to see that there is a theme here?
Pastor Josh
The theme is, if we want to live separate from the world, we must be grounded in the truth of the word.
Pastor Josh
Can't go off of our feelings now.
Pastor Josh
Feelings do matter, and we don't discredit feelings.
Pastor Josh
But what we do say is this.
Pastor Josh
Jesus says, hey, they're not of this world.
Pastor Josh
Believers, Christians, followers of me are not of this world, even as I am not of this world.
Pastor Josh
So therefore, sanctify them through thy truth.
Pastor Josh
Thy word is truth.
Pastor Josh
And so the Bible tells us over and over again the importance of grounding ourselves in the word of God so that when things come at us, we can decide and discern according to the Spirit what is truth and what is not truth.
Pastor Josh
All the more reason today to be a discerning Christian when we get bombarded with content.
Pastor Josh
What's a lie and what's not a lie?
Pastor Josh
That's what the world is.
Pastor Josh
You know, we don't know what to believe anymore.
Pastor Josh
My parents.
Pastor Josh
Well, I should be careful.
Pastor Josh
I don't want to use myself here.
Pastor Josh
Okay.
Pastor Josh
Maybe some people in this room used to Tell your children, don't believe what you read on the Internet.
Pastor Josh
You ever heard that?
Pastor Josh
When you were some people that are in my age group, they said, son, don't believe that person on the Internet.
Pastor Josh
You can't trust that.
Pastor Josh
I had teachers that told me, you can't go to the Internet for resources.
Pastor Josh
You got to go to an encyclopedia.
Pastor Josh
And now the same people that were saying that read his article on Facebook, that was forged.
Pastor Josh
And they go, do you know that they're doing this?
Pastor Josh
And it's like, do you understand, guys, that the lines have been so blurred for a reason?
Pastor Josh
So that none of us can really know what the truth is in this world?
Pastor Josh
That's what the whole agenda is from this world, to blur the lines, to make us think that something is true or not true.
Pastor Josh
We don't know.
Pastor Josh
Guess who does that?
Pastor Josh
The author of confusion, the father of lies, the deceiver.
Pastor Josh
The deceiver wants us all to be deceived.
Pastor Josh
That's his character.
Pastor Josh
That's Satan's character, the accuser of the brethren.
Pastor Josh
And so the opposite of that is clarity.
Pastor Josh
The opposite of that is knowing a standard, objective truth.
Pastor Josh
Now you say, what's that standard, objective truth?
Pastor Josh
Well, God is the God of all truth, the God of all.
Pastor Josh
And therefore, you know what?
Pastor Josh
It's this amazing thing that he gave us.
Pastor Josh
And that's his word.
Pastor Josh
And he says, hey, this is what I give you to know, to be sanctified by thy truth.
Pastor Josh
Thy word is truth, meaning this God's word is truth.
Pastor Josh
And so we check it to this.
Pastor Josh
If it isn't in this, it doesn't matter.
Pastor Josh
And that's what we have to see in our own lives.
Pastor Josh
And so Second Corinthians, chapter 6, verse 14.
Pastor Josh
He says light and darkness.
Pastor Josh
And then he says something very interesting.
Pastor Josh
And what concord hath Christ with Belial, you might say, what is he talking about here?
Pastor Josh
He's talking about compromise.
Pastor Josh
And so, so far we've seen association, influence, compromise.
Pastor Josh
That's the spiral of digression that happens.
Pastor Josh
We associate with the world, we're influenced by the world, and then we're compromised by the world.
Pastor Josh
Compromise means I give up my values for something else that I think is more important.
Pastor Josh
I've now compromised.
Pastor Josh
Now it's okay to compromise when it comes to certain things in business, right?
Pastor Josh
You're negotiating on a car and, you know, you compromise on the middle ground, that's totally fine.
Pastor Josh
But one thing that we cannot compromise on is the truth of the word of God.
Pastor Josh
And so the Corinthian Christians were so much love they were loving the world so much and they were so affectionate in the sense that they thought that it was accepting of them to allow lawlessness with unrighteousness, to accept darkness and light, to associate, to admit to following Christ along with, as it says here, belial.
Pastor Josh
Now what is belial?
Pastor Josh
That's a word that we don't use quite frequently.
Pastor Josh
It's the Hebrew word meaning worthlessness or wickedness.
Pastor Josh
But here it's used as a synonym for Satan.
Pastor Josh
So he says, what is he doing here?
Pastor Josh
He's saying, how can you associate with Jesus and Satan?
Pastor Josh
How?
Pastor Josh
You can't.
Pastor Josh
How can you associate with good and evil?
Pastor Josh
You can't.
Pastor Josh
It's a rhetorical question.
Pastor Josh
We know the answer.
Pastor Josh
You can't, you shouldn't.
Pastor Josh
And the book of James mentions this double minded man.
Pastor Josh
Double minded man is unstable in all of his ways.
Pastor Josh
This is, I believe that this is a definition of many people in this world today that are in church in America today and sitting in a good Bible believing church in America today.
Pastor Josh
You know what?
Pastor Josh
I want a little bit of Jesus, but then I want a little.
Pastor Josh
And they might not say Satan, but they want a little bit of this world.
Pastor Josh
They want a taste of that forbidden fruit.
Pastor Josh
They want to have a little bit of that foot in the world because hey, this is my little bit of a backup plan here.
Pastor Josh
It makes sense every time we saw that in scripture, every type of compromise found in scripture comes to a place of destruction, light and darkness, good and evil, Jesus for Satan.
Pastor Josh
That's what it is.
Pastor Josh
And he says, and what part hath he that believeth with an unbeliever, an infidel?
Pastor Josh
He just, he ties that all back together.
Pastor Josh
And so the true question that Paul is asking here is what are we going to allow to fill our hearts?
Pastor Josh
And what are we going to allow to fill our minds?
Pastor Josh
Essentially it's the challenge of are we going to follow Jesus?
Pastor Josh
Are we going to follow the ways of this world?
Pastor Josh
So we have the association, who are we associated with?
Pastor Josh
We have the influence.
Pastor Josh
Who are we influenced by?
Pastor Josh
We have the compromise.
Pastor Josh
Are we going to compromise?
Pastor Josh
But there is hope.
Pastor Josh
There is hope.
Pastor Josh
There is something called biblical separation.
Pastor Josh
Now I gotta take a few moments to explain this because if you came from a background that I came from, biblical separation means something totally different than what biblical separation really is.
Pastor Josh
Biblical separation in some cases, in some churches, looks like this.
Pastor Josh
If that church doesn't look exactly like us, talk exactly like us, you know, listen to the exact same music as us, go to the same colleges we go to, we can't talk with them.
Pastor Josh
They're just as bad as an unbeliever.
Pastor Josh
Problem with that is that's not what biblical separation is.
Pastor Josh
Biblical separation makes a clear distinction between sin and not sinning, good versus evil.
Pastor Josh
We have to separate ourselves from the ways of this world.
Pastor Josh
We do have to separate ourselves from false teaching.
Pastor Josh
I gave an example in my Sunday school class this morning.
Pastor Josh
You know, if there's a church across town that meets at a different time or does a different music or maybe, you know, has a different way of meeting, I'm not going to preach against that.
Pastor Josh
That's not my problem.
Pastor Josh
And that's the way that they worship, and we have to respect that.
Pastor Josh
But there is a church across town that preaches that there's a different way to get to heaven.
Pastor Josh
If there is a church across town that's preaching a different scripture, that's when we can say, yeah, that is a time and a place for biblical separation.
Pastor Josh
We don't treat them like one of our own.
Pastor Josh
We don't treat them like someone who's walking in the same stride as we are.
Pastor Josh
That's confusing, because if someone sees that as Christianity and they see what we preach as Christianity, and they see what other person over here preaches as Christianity, all three different messages, well, who's really true?
Pastor Josh
Right?
Pastor Josh
That's what Satan's trying to do, blur the lines.
Pastor Josh
And so there is so.
Pastor Josh
So go with me to Second Corinthians, chapter six.
Pastor Josh
There is this idea of biblical separation.
Pastor Josh
And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols?
Pastor Josh
Now, at this point in time, okay, the temple is not the building that's standing in Jerusalem.
Pastor Josh
He's talking about.
Pastor Josh
If you guys know this in context, he's talking about you.
Pastor Josh
We are the temple of the Holy Ghost.
Pastor Josh
And so he says, what agreement hath the temple of God with idols?
Pastor Josh
For ye are the temple of the living God.
Pastor Josh
As God has said, I will dwell in them and walk in them, and I will be their God and they shall be my people.
Pastor Josh
He says, think about it from the biblical perspective.
Pastor Josh
You are the temple of the living God.
Pastor Josh
Now, now, that doesn't.
Pastor Josh
That doesn't mean that I get inflated and I go, wow, look at me.
Pastor Josh
I'm a temple.
Pastor Josh
Look at me.
Pastor Josh
No, that's not what it's talking about.
Pastor Josh
It's talking about you having the responsibility to live a life separate from the ways of this world.
Pastor Josh
He says there in verse 17, this is that biblical separation wherefore come out from among them.
Pastor Josh
This is where I got that phrase out of this World, come out of the world, leave your associations, leave the influence, leave the compromise.
Pastor Josh
He says, come out from among them and be ye separate, be holy, be different, be distinct, don't be different for the sake of being different, okay?
Pastor Josh
Some people just like to do that.
Pastor Josh
They're like, you know, okay, we don't have to dress like puritans to be separate from this world, okay?
Pastor Josh
God's not asking us to be weird, he's asking us to be like him so that it will look weird to the world.
Pastor Josh
You understand that, right?
Pastor Josh
There are some Christians that say, like, how obscure can we be so that we can just fulfill this.
Pastor Josh
No, he's not saying that.
Pastor Josh
He says, be able to reach the people in your community.
Pastor Josh
Right?
Pastor Josh
He's not calling us to live out and not, you know, if you say, well, it's my conviction not to have technology in my house, that's okay, but you're not sinning if you have technology, okay?
Pastor Josh
God has given us tools to reach people for Christ.
Pastor Josh
That's not what he's talking about.
Pastor Josh
He's talking about separating from the influence of this world.
Pastor Josh
So we redeem the things that we have in this world for the cause of the gospel and we don't join in with the way that the world uses those things.
Pastor Josh
Whether therefore, you eat or drink or whatsoever you do, do all the glory of God.
Pastor Josh
So the way that I read that is this.
Pastor Josh
I can eat and drink to the glory of myself.
Pastor Josh
I can do anything to the glory of myself, or I could do something for the glory of God.
Pastor Josh
And so in this case here we see that there is a command to be biblically separate, he says, and touch not the unclean thing.
Pastor Josh
And I will receive you and will be a father unto you.
Pastor Josh
Meaning you want to be my child, act like my child and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
Pastor Josh
Do we love him?
Pastor Josh
Do we love him enough to say, I want to honor you, Abba Father, I want to honor you.
Pastor Josh
And therefore, if you're asking me to stay away from this, I'm going to stay away from this.
Pastor Josh
If you're asking me to separate, See, there's some people that will say, well, I don't care what God says, I'm not giving that up in my life.
Pastor Josh
Folks, that is a dangerous place to be.
Pastor Josh
That's hard hearted pride that we have to get taken care of right now.
Pastor Josh
If God comes and tells us to get rid of something, step away from something, we need to say, that is something that I have to separate from, that I have to cut out of my life because my association with him matters more than any other association that I have in my life.
Pastor Josh
Oh, God is never going to call you to do something according, or I should say opposite of his scripture.
Pastor Josh
He's always going to call you to do something according to scripture.
Pastor Josh
So someone says, well, you know what?
Pastor Josh
I feel like my spouse is really a bad influence on me right now, so I'm just going to cut them off.
Pastor Josh
God does not want you to do that, okay?
Pastor Josh
I don't think that that's what God wants you to do.
Pastor Josh
He wants you to strive.
Pastor Josh
Now you say, well, are there times and places for different things like that?
Pastor Josh
That's another conversation.
Pastor Josh
But what I will say is this.
Pastor Josh
God is.
Pastor Josh
Cause I've heard a lot of people argue the fact that, well, you know what?
Pastor Josh
God told me to just lose my cool with that person, okay?
Pastor Josh
He wouldn't have made me feel that way if he didn't want me to go out and just tear up into that person and just yell at them and scream at them.
Pastor Josh
You know what?
Pastor Josh
It's not God's will that we lose our cool.
Pastor Josh
It's not God's cool that we get angry in our own flesh.
Pastor Josh
There is a time and a place to be angry and sin not.
Pastor Josh
But the Bible doesn't say that we have justification to do whatever we feel because God's allowed that.
Pastor Josh
No, the Bible says that everything that God wants us to do, he's going to align that with his Word.
Pastor Josh
And so it's that true Test.
Pastor Josh
Is it lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and dare I say, the pride of life, that's the one that gets us sometimes.
Pastor Josh
It's that pride.
Pastor Josh
It's that pride to say, you know what?
Pastor Josh
I'm not willing to separate.
Pastor Josh
I'm not willing to get rid of that in my life because it's fun.
Pastor Josh
What's the harm in this?
Pastor Josh
And I can tell you, as Christians, if you come on our Sunday night services, for the last few weeks, we've been talking about that there are certain things that we can differ on and we can be okay with, right?
Pastor Josh
There's biblical preferences that are not essential doctrines that we can say, okay, you have liberty.
Pastor Josh
But ultimately, at the end of the day, as a believer, I have to really inspect the why.
Pastor Josh
The major word that I want you to think about here this morning before we close is this.
Pastor Josh
Why?
Pastor Josh
Why am I associated with this?
Pastor Josh
What is this bringing to my life in the way of influence is this.
Pastor Josh
Paul talks about this.
Pastor Josh
He says, all things are lawful, but not all things are expedient and not all things are edifying decisions that we make in our life.
Pastor Josh
We have to say, is this building my faith, is this growing my faith, or is this influencing me to start thinking more and more like the world?
Pastor Josh
There's things that we have to do within our own home that I say, you know what, I can't necessarily take you to chapter and verse and say, thou shalt not have this in your house.
Pastor Josh
But I can tell you that that is influencing my family to the way of the world.
Pastor Josh
And I say, guys, we gotta stop this.
Pastor Josh
Unless you think that my children are just angels sitting there going, okay, Father, perfect.
Pastor Josh
My children press back on me too, okay, can we be transparent?
Pastor Josh
This morning my kids go, dad, why can't we do that?
Pastor Josh
And I have a point to tell them, because dad doesn't want you to do that.
Pastor Josh
And that makes me mad.
Pastor Josh
No, it says, you know what?
Pastor Josh
As a Christian, we have to say that this is something that is not pulling us more and more close to the Lord.
Pastor Josh
It's pulling us away from God and making us more and more like the world.
Pastor Josh
And we're called to be.
Pastor Josh
If you're going to air, be on err on the side of being distinct from this world, okay, be safe, be safe.
Pastor Josh
Now you would say, well, come on, you're going to be legalistic.
Pastor Josh
Have you heard me be legalistic this morning?
Pastor Josh
I've not sat down and said, do this, do this.
Pastor Josh
But what I am saying is be so very cautious about what you are pulling into your life because what you pull into your life matters.
Pastor Josh
And that's what Paul is saying here.
Pastor Josh
Do not love the world.
Pastor Josh
Because the more that you love the world, the more your affections are stolen from God.
Pastor Josh
And so what we can see is this, okay, so what's the remedy?
Pastor Josh
Doesn't mean no contact.
Pastor Josh
It's the balance of the gospel testimony and ridding ourselves of the sinful influence of the world.
Pastor Josh
We'll never be sinless on this side of heaven.
Pastor Josh
But what the Bible does say is that we should strive to sin space less.
Pastor Josh
Okay, so we can't be sinless, but we can strive to sin less in our lives.
Pastor Josh
And this is not a message to say that, hey, this Christian is better than this Christian because they sin less than this Christian.
Pastor Josh
It's the heart of the matter.
Pastor Josh
It's the why behind it.
Pastor Josh
So what I would tell you here this morning is this.
Pastor Josh
It's not about separating yourselves and saying, okay, we're against this, so we're going to stop this we're against this, and we're going to stop this, because at the end of the day, you're going to end up being against everything, and then you're not going to be for anything.
Pastor Josh
And so the remedy is what we talked about at the very beginning.
Pastor Josh
Don't yoke up with the world.
Pastor Josh
But who do you yoke up with?
Pastor Josh
You yoke up with Jesus Christ.
Pastor Josh
And the more that you know him and the more that you grow in his love, and the more that you understand him, the more you will say, you know what?
Pastor Josh
I'm not missing out by cutting out, because this is natural inclination of a Christian.
Pastor Josh
The more I love him, the less I will love this world.
Pastor Josh
The more I cling to him, the less I will cling to the things of this world.
Pastor Josh
And so what I would say for you here today, it's not about missing out.
Pastor Josh
I used to think and still sometimes struggle with, the more I love God, and the more I serve God, the less I do things in this world.
Pastor Josh
Maybe sometimes, just maybe, I'll miss out on what the world has to offer.
Pastor Josh
Folks, the world has nothing to offer.
Pastor Josh
Some of you can give testimonies to say, it is not worth it, and I would encourage you to do so.
Pastor Josh
Okay, this.
Pastor Josh
Okay, I'm not on script here, but if you lived a life and you.
Pastor Josh
And you lived through things and you said, man, that was not worth it.
Pastor Josh
God got a hold of my life.
Pastor Josh
I know sometimes the temptation is to say, well, I don't want anyone to know about that, but biblically speaking, I think it would be wise for you not to proclaim it against the whole masses, but to take time and opportunity to give testimonies of why you could explain that this is not worth it.
Pastor Josh
I wish we could all say that we were all, you know, free from the harm of sin and evil in our life.
Pastor Josh
But I guarantee you, if we started talking about your story, you could say, man, I can tell you that this was a pitfall in my life and it was not worth it.
Pastor Josh
And you know what?
Pastor Josh
There might be a young Christian or another Christian in this room that needs to hear that from somebody else.
Pastor Josh
Because a lot of times if you hear the message from a pastor, you go, well, of course a pastor is going to say that he grew up in a sheltered home.
Pastor Josh
He grew up here.
Pastor Josh
He never, you know, he went to Bible school.
Pastor Josh
He never did anything.
Pastor Josh
Okay, I concede that to you, if that's the place you want to take.
Pastor Josh
But there are people in this room that can tell you story after story about the blessings of following Jesus Christ and the peace of following Jesus Christ and the dangers and the pain and the suffering of following the ways of this world.
Pastor Josh
And so I'm going to tell you here this morning, Jesus does not want us to go through that pain.
Pastor Josh
He wants us to submit to him.
Pastor Josh
He wants us to follow Him.
Pastor Josh
He wants us to be different.
Pastor Josh
He wants us to be distinct.
Pastor Josh
And so we conclude that passage there with this.
Pastor Josh
He says, and I will be a father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
Pastor Josh
Folks, it ends with that beautiful relationship of walking in fellowship with our Heavenly Father.
Pastor Josh
True test this morning is this.
Pastor Josh
Are you walking in the truth of Jesus Christ?
Pastor Josh
Are you walking in a relationship with Jesus Christ?
Pastor Josh
Where are your associations?
Pastor Josh
Where's your yoke?
Pastor Josh
Are you yoked to the world?
Pastor Josh
Are you yoked to Jesus Christ?
Pastor Josh
Are you allowing your associations if they are negative associations with the world?
Pastor Josh
First of all, you got to recognize that that's kind of the first step of understanding this change is where are my associations?
Pastor Josh
But number two, how much has it influenced me already?
Pastor Josh
How much has it influenced my family life?
Pastor Josh
How much has it influenced my marriage?
Pastor Josh
How much has it influenced my children?
Pastor Josh
How much has it influenced my workplace?
Pastor Josh
How much has it influenced the church?
Pastor Josh
Folks worldly ways have influenced the church so much today and we don't even see it.
Pastor Josh
How do we find that standard, standard of truth, standard of His Word.
Pastor Josh
And so the influence, but then the compromise, you could be influenced but still kind of be on the fence.
Pastor Josh
But there is that point where we say, you know what, I'm just going to compromise to the ways of this world.
Pastor Josh
The Bible says, don't do that.
Pastor Josh
The Bible says in First Peter, hey, be separate, be holy, for I am holy.
Pastor Josh
God says, be like me, follow me.
Pastor Josh
And it's the balance of the gospel.
Pastor Josh
And so ultimately, after the compromise, there is hope.
Pastor Josh
And that hope is to separate yourself from this world.
Pastor Josh
Cling to Christ, follow him.
Pastor Josh
And he is your heavenly Father.
Pastor Josh
He will protect you.
Pastor Josh
He will guide you.
Pastor Josh
He will walk you through that path of danger in this world.
Pastor Josh
Psalm 23.
Pastor Josh
Yea, though I walk to the valley of shadow of death, I will fear no evil.
Pastor Josh
Why?
Pastor Josh
Because God is with me.
Pastor Josh
He's comforting me.
Pastor Josh
He's protecting me, he's providing for me.
Pastor Josh
So here this morning, hey, you know what?
Pastor Josh
You might say, I've been a Christian for a long time, but I have allowed the ways of the world to seep into my life here and there.
Pastor Josh
Hey, folks, it just takes one time for that seed to get planted.
Pastor Josh
And as that seed's planted, that can lead us to a place of danger in our lives.
Pastor Josh
But then you might say, hey, you know what?
Pastor Josh
I don't even have a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Pastor Josh
I've been trying my own thing.
Pastor Josh
The Bible says that you can never try enough.
Pastor Josh
You're never gonna be good enough.
Pastor Josh
You're never gonna be holy enough.
Pastor Josh
Can I tell you this morning, in and of yourself, you and I can never be holy enough.
Pastor Josh
Because God is perfectly holy.
Pastor Josh
His defining character attribute is his holiness.
Pastor Josh
He's perfect in every way.
Pastor Josh
And that is the only way that we could obtain heaven.
Pastor Josh
But the Bible says that even in our failure and in his holiness, he offered us a way.
Pastor Josh
And that is the message of the gospel.
Pastor Josh
Jesus died on the cross for your sins.
Pastor Josh
And his death on the cross means something because he sinned.
Pastor Josh
Nothing.
Pastor Josh
Zero.
Pastor Josh
He sinned in no way.
Pastor Josh
He fulfilled the law.
Pastor Josh
And because of his love for you, he says, my sacrifice is in your place.
Pastor Josh
And when you trust in me and through your faith in me, you will have everlasting life.
Pastor Josh
Now, how could he offer us everlasting life?
Pastor Josh
Because three days later, he conquered death through resurrection.
Pastor Josh
He's the only one that did that, and he's the only one that can offer that.
Pastor Josh
So I would encourage you here this morning if you want to get on that path of knowing him and yoking with him and being together with him and having him walk.
Pastor Josh
Because he says, my yoke is easy, My burden is light.
Pastor Josh
You want to know that freedom.
Pastor Josh
You want to know that victory?
Pastor Josh
Trust in Jesus Christ today.
Pastor Josh
Put your faith in him and him alone for your salvation.
Pastor Josh
And that's just the beginning, the beginning of a walk with Jesus Christ.
Pastor Josh
I'm going to ask everyone to stand with me this morning.
Pastor Josh
If everyone can bow their heads, close their eyes as the music plays this morning, there's no pressure in this.
Pastor Josh
It's just a time of inspection.
Pastor Josh
For us, at least.
Pastor Josh
For me, it's a time of inspection.
Pastor Josh
And if I'm honest, I will be honest with you today.
Pastor Josh
Sometimes it's difficult to be honest when you're standing up in front of people.
Pastor Josh
But I'm going to be honest with you.
Pastor Josh
There have been times in my life where the worldly associations have taken over, not necessarily in an egregious way where I'm rebelling against God.
Pastor Josh
But that seed of influence has gotten into my mind and gotten into my heart.
Pastor Josh
And I haven't renewed my mind and I haven't renewed that walk with Christ today.
Pastor Josh
And I haven't stuck in his word and I haven't followed his word, and therefore I'm allowing myself just to act like a person who has no hope.
Pastor Josh
And therefore I would challenge you this morning to inspect your life.
Pastor Josh
It's possible, I would even say that it's probable that many of us in this room have allowed the associations and the influence lead us to compromise and lead us away from biblical separation and lead us to a worldly association that we have to be cautious of in our life.
Pastor Josh
And so I would encourage you this morning, if you need to get things right with the Lord, if you need to come back and say, lord, I've associated with the wrong things.
Pastor Josh
I've.
Pastor Josh
I've been influenced by the wrong things.
Pastor Josh
I've been.
Pastor Josh
I've been compromising in my life.
Pastor Josh
Come forward, give that over to him.
Pastor Josh
He's a loving, forgiving father that will accept you and say, you know what?
Pastor Josh
I hear you and I hear your repentance.
Pastor Josh
God gives grace to the humble.
Pastor Josh
He resists the proud.
Pastor Josh
He resists the pride of life.
Pastor Josh
But he gives grace and forgiveness to those who humble themselves before him.
Pastor Josh
So I challenge you this morning to humble yourselves before Christ.
Pastor Josh
Think of the contrast.
Pastor Josh
Lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, pride of life.
Pastor Josh
What did Jesus say?
Pastor Josh
Meek, lowly, humble, Love, sacrifice.
Pastor Josh
That's the difference.
Pastor Josh
And so this morning, if you need to respond to that this morning, if you need to commit yourself to him in humility, do so.
Pastor Josh
But if you need Jesus Christ as your Savior, we've got some folks standing up here that can show you in the word of God what it means to trust in Jesus as your Savior, to be on that path of walking that different, transformed life.
Pastor Josh
Lord, I pray that you be in this time of invitation, working hearts and lives.
Pastor Josh
Pray that you challenge our hearts, convict us, and comfort us in ways that only you can do.
Pastor Josh
In Jesus name, Amen.
Pastor Josh
As the music plays, follow as the Lord leads here this morning.
Pastor Josh
Thank you again for listening to the Middletown Baptist Church podcast.
Pastor Josh
I hope that this sermon has been a blessing for you.
Pastor Josh
If you would like to find out more information about our church or this sermon, you can find us at middletownbaptistchurch.org or find us on Facebook or YouTube.
Pastor Josh
You can also email me directly at joshmasaroiddletownbaptistchurch dot com if you've enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe and follow along for future podcasts and updates.
Pastor Josh
Thank you so much.
Pastor Josh
God bless.
Pastor Josh
Have a wonderful day.
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