Set Apart

But know that the Lord has set apart for Himself him who is godly; The Lord will hear when I call to Him.

 -Psalm 4:3

Are you set apart? 

We have to be repentant daily, working out our salvation with fear and trembling. (Philippians 2:12) Not because we don't trust in God's promise of salvation or because we don't believe in the cleansing power of Jesus' Blood. But, because we cannot allow ourselves to become complacent to ANY sin - no matter how great or small. We can never reach perfection or complete holiness on our own - that is through Christ Jesus alone. Many teachers out there teach that you have to follow rules XYZ, and if you can't conform to their image of holiness (note I said "their" and not "God's"), you are condemned. Period. 

But, that's not what Scripture says. God knows that we are but dust, and that as long as we are in these earthly bodies of flesh, we are prone to sin. Thus why He sent His One and Only Son to become that everlasting sacrifice of atonement. He says that HE will sanctify us and purify us. We cannot become holy or righteous on our own! But, we can desire and work towards holiness. We can hunger and thirst for righteousness, giving our hearts wholly in surrender to the Lord for transformation.

When we overlook even the little sins in our life, or when we begin to not see any need in repentance - despite conviction and despite God's Word saying otherwise, that is when we find ourselves in deep trouble. We have rejected holiness when we 1: justify any sin that the Bible says is sin, ignoring the sinful spirits behind our selfish desires; 2: condemn with a spirit of offense - anyone who "judges" us for our sinful living; 3: do the opposite of blatant willful sin and create extreme rules and laws as hedges (think the Pharisees) that only prevent the visible sin and not the root spirit behind the sin; and 4: when we condemn anyone and everyone to Hell who does not follow those extreme rules and laws that are hedges. 

If we create rules and laws that become stumbling blocks to those who are striving to live for Christ truly, we are sinning in error. How? Through causing a Believer to live in constant fear and terror of messing up, becoming irredeemable, etc..., losing focus of Christ and His grace, being forced to determine their salvation status based on a checks and balances system where if they do this they are good, if they mess up and do that, they are condemned - with only trivial things. And all of it being not because of what Scripture calls sin, but because of what man calls sin. How many times did Jesus Himself, call out and rebuke the Pharisees and teachers of the law because of this? 

We have willingly allowed ourselves to come out of agreement with the Holy Spirit (grieved Him) and placed ourselves, our selfish desire, and even our legalism above the Lord - thus committing idolatry, are operating in a spirit of pride or religion, and if for the sake of manipulation or power - witchcraft. All of which Scripture is quite clear will have you thrown out the gates into the darkness. (Isaiah 63:10, Matthew 8:12) 

Putting legalism and the stumbling block of extreme religious "rules" and "laws" aside....let's focus on blatant willful sin. Sin separates us from the Father. Even sinful thoughts can separate us. Yes, you can sin with your thoughts. (Matthew 5:22, 28) Now, I am quite aware that sometimes (many times) a wicked/unholy/unrighteous thought can come upon us through demonic influence - unbidden and unsolicited. Being tempted is not a sin, Jesus was tempted and Scripture tells us that man has not been tempted by anything that isn't common to man. 

(1 Corinthians 10:13) 

But, when you grasp onto those tempting/wicked thoughts and run with it in your imagination- whether or not you act out in the flesh in reality, you have already conceived sin which gives birth to death. (James 1:15) To resist the devil in our thoughts, we must take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ so it cannot take a sinful hold and produce the rotten fruit of unrighteousness. 

(2 Corinthians 10:5). 

I know I am constantly calling for the repentance of the church or fellow Believers. And to many, it appears as if I am attacking the Church and/or Christians. I'm not. I'm warning as a watchman on the wall. I'm crying for repentance as a prophet on the street. I'm trying to help my brothers and sisters in Christ (whether by name alone or in spirit) to see just how serious it is to decide now whom you serve. I often feel like the prophet Jeremiah - having to go through the streets of Jerusalem crying out for repentance amongst the pious and legalistic, but idolatrous and wicked nation of Judah. 

We are no different than Judah was during that time. There's a church on every corner, yet "Christians" today are some of the most selfish, idolatrous, and shamefully defiled and sinful people there are. Legalism abounds behind every closed church door, hypocrisy has a seat behind every pulpit. And the hearts and minds of those in the church pews are bent towards evil six days out of seven. Those who truly seek and follow Christ are few, very few, because they are drowned out, mocked, silenced, ignored, and shamed by either the lukewarm or the Pharisaical Christians who are happy in their wicked ways. 

Lukewarm Christians don't like being told Biblical Truth that challenges their cozy and comfy "churchianity" that makes them feel good and allows them to sin (do what makes you happy, God is love....). They don't like having their beloved sins exposed. Legalistic Christians don't like being told Biblical Truth that challenges their erroneous interpretations of Scripture and their rigid "hedge" rules. They don't like having their traditions of men exposed as just that - traditions of men. Two extremes: both claim Christ, yet neither seek Him in spirit nor in Truth. Repentance and conviction doesn't sit well with them. Digging down deep into the Word of God, rather than a shallow glossing of Scripture is downright awful to them. I know on a personal level, because I was once both a lukewarm Christian and a legalistic Christian immersed in churchianity, plus I wallowed in my sin and justified it.   

We cannot live like the world, look like the world, and expect Jesus to recognize us as His own on the Day of Judgment. We are called to be set apart, to be holy, to be His. (Leviticus 11:44) It doesn't matter if we go to church on Sunday, if we said the "sinner's prayer", if we were baptized, or how often we stand up in front of people and pray with beautiful elaborate words. It doesn't matter if we attend this denomination or that one, if we don't eat this or that, if we don't wear this or that, or if we sign up to sing in the choir each week. It doesn't matter if we donate tons of money to charities or send our kids to private Christian schools. It doesn't matter if we volunteer more than we are at home. It doesn't even matter how many Gospel tracts we hand out. 

If our hearts are not seeking the Lord in all things and at all times - if something/someone else dominates our mind, our thoughts, our heart (idolatry).....it is all for naught....fruitless. If we allow willful sin into our home, if we indulge in entertainment/activities that are wicked and of the occult (whether books, tv, music, etc... or celebrating the things of darkness like Halloween), if we seek our own selfish pleasure with justification of it, if we focus more on how we appear to others (vanity and pride), if we spend all of our time condemning people who don't follow our denomination's rules (traditions of men).....we have missed the whole point of the Gospel. 

God knows our weaknesses and our struggles, but He has given us His Word and His Holy Spirit to help us to endure until the end and overcome. We are not to use the grace of Christ as an excuse to willfully sin. Nor are we to use the Word of God as a stumbling block of condemnation and control over Believers through the making of hedge laws and rules. We are to strive for holiness and walk the narrow path of righteousness. We are to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Christ no matter the cost. This is what sets us apart - our desire to be obedient to the Lord and surrender to Him our lives - for HIM to transform, not our own strength, rules, power, etc.... Don't let Satan steal your crown or keep you from finishing this race. (Galatians 5:7) 

We have to realize that just as we cannot purify and sanctify ourselves (or others) on our own....we also cannot change the world, nor can we even change our city - only Jesus can do that through His power alone. This world is not our home and this earthly kingdom is run by and belongs to Satan. (John 18:36)

Place your eyes upon Jesus and make Him your foundation. The church should not be your foundation, Christ should. If you make your church, denomination, your pastor, or even your ministry a foundation...it will be sinking sand. And for sure if you make anything of this world your foundation (idolatry), including your beloved nation that seems to do no wrong in your eyes, it is not just sinking sand - but boiling hot mud! (Matthew 7:24-27)

Things will only get worse (plagues, pestilence, famine, war....), and the people more wicked, as Scripture tells us all throughout. And guess what? Those true followers of Christ know we can't do anything about it other than cling to the Lord for endurance until He returns. We're not called to rise up or fight back. We are not called to join a political side. We're not called to be and look perfect according to our denomination's ideals (traditions of man), and then condemn to Hell those who don't. 

We are called to be set apart by sharing the Gospel (with honesty and compassion). We are called to be set apart by loving our neighbor as ourselves (without selfish ambition, pride, or fake love) in a way that demonstrates Christ in us. We are called to be set apart by not conforming to this world (sin) and resisting the devil (temptation). Resisting is done with spiritual warfare using the Word of God and prayer - not political, military, physical, etc.... The battle belongs to the LORD, not us. 

We do not belong to this world if we are followers of Christ Jesus. I repeat, we do not belong to this world. We belong to the Kingdom of God and are foreigners here. We are nomads, wandering, serving, sharing the Good News of Christ Jesus our KING! His Kingdom is coming and the King of Kings will burst forth in glorious display in the clouds, riding a white horse and all Heaven behind Him. (Revelations 19:11-16) 

The kingdoms of this earth WILL come to an end and the Kingdom of Heaven will come, but it will not be by our hand or doing as some false teachers are teaching. It will not be by vote or election every November (local, state, national elections). It will not be through the power of our accumulative prayers or through assembling together with some supernatural spiritual elevation (New Age teaching).... And it will not be by looking a certain way or eating a certain way or making sure our churches are big, successful, and perfect (denominationalism/churchianity). No, the nations will be shaken by the hand of the LORD God Almighty alone! And the Lord will first judge the House of God Himself! Christ will dash the nations to pieces and all wickedness will be removed through His power and might alone. The Lord Himself, will pull down every stronghold that is defiling churches and leading people to Hell rather than to Him. 

We, as servants of Christ, are to remain here as "aliens" or foreigners, serving in obedience to our King, who we eagerly wait for. Yes, it is easy to get caught up in the spell and fervor of politics, social issues, hot topics (like covid), and pandemonium on a global scale. But, we cannot lose focus of Christ and His Word, in order to devote all our energy and time to those things. Should we be informed of and warn about what's occurring in the world and our nation? Yes, absolutely! Should we continue to warn of those Biblical prophesies that are coming to pass before our very eyes? Yes! Should we continue to call for repentance and warning Believers to turn to Christ and come out of Babylon? Yes! Should we continue to preach the Gospel to the lost? YES! But we are to not make these things an idol, neglecting Christ and His Word, and neglecting our desire to increase our faith, by not relying on and trusting in Him, and forgetting to pursue holiness and righteousness. 

We're not called to live on homesteads in the mountains as off-grid Amish hermits oblivious to reality - as pleasant as that sounds. But, we cannot immerse ourselves in these  matters and place Jesus on the side burner like a side dish to an entrée. Jesus is not the green beans or the mashed potatoes or even the cake. He is the grilled steak, the green beans, the mashed potatoes, AND the cake! I'm not trying to be lighthearted, but I hope you see the point I'm trying to make. Jesus is to be our all in all, our everything. If we are obsessed with anything or anyone, it should be HIM. If we strive to convert and convince people to follow anything or anyone - it is to be HIM! 

Just like we shouldn't chase down rabbit holes of conspiracies (whether true or not) instead of focusing on God's Word. Many conspiracies are true and quite disturbing, but we shouldn't invest all our time on it. Spending more time on YouTube and on blogs, than in time with God in prayer or in His Word, or even neglecting our life responsibilities (children, home, work, etc...). That doesn't mean we never inform others about things that should be made known nor pay attention to things going on. 

It is important to be knowledgeable, but not obsessed or immersed in anything other than Christ and His Word. We are to be set apart in our knowledge of goings on - not by way of "secret knowledge" which is Gnosticism and pride. But we are to be set apart in that we are aware and warning the people, as well as preparing and getting our hearts aligned with God's Will. Get into God's Word and read it for yourself. Spend time in precious prayer with the Lord, just you and Him. Teach your family/children to draw near to the Lord, show your coworkers/family/friends what it looks like to follow Christ. 

If you're reading this and you are NOT a Christian (whether atheist, agnostic, New Age, whatever...), know that Jesus is who He says He is and the Bible is 100% infallible and true. He is going to come soon, and when He does, Judgment will be upon His brow and a sword will come forth from His mouth. He is the King of Kings and someday every knee will bow before Him. (Romans 14:11, Philippians 2:10) So repent and turn to Jesus, live! Choose life and leave your life of sin which leads to death. (Acts 2:38, John 14:6, Proverbs 11:19)

If you're reading this and you ARE a Believer in Christ, seek the Holy Spirit today. Set a time to fast (for however long and from whatever you choose) and spend that time fasting in prayer to the Lord, seeking confirmation of what I said. Seek the Scriptures and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to you through His Word. Repent oh church, repent and run to Jesus! Don't continue being lukewarm and deceived into thinking that your spiritual life is all fluffy bunnies and roses because you're a good person. Don't continue to be a Pharisee, making sure you look perfect and sound perfect and condemning anyone who doesn't conform to your church's ideals, but you do so with a spirit of pride, idolatry, and condemnation. (Revelations 2-3) 

Every day is Ephesians 6:10-20! Every day is a battle of epic proportions! It's time to armor up and follow Christ. Resist the devil and make him flee! (James 4:7) So I beg the question of you:  are you set apart for destruction, or salvation? Do you look like the world (lukewarm), do you look like a church denomination's ideal perfect Christian (Pharisee), or do you look like Christ (righteous and redeemed)? The choice is yours to make, make it soon because you are not guaranteed the next day. Don't assume you are standing firm, less you fall. (1 Corinthians 10:12)

Have a blessed week everyone, Numbers 6:24-26.