Good morning and welcome in everybody. Today, we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture, but before we do that, I wanted to tell you a little story.
A yoke is a wooden bar that is fastened over the neck of two animals, especially cattle, and is connected to the load that they pull. They work side by side with each other, united together in labor out somewhere in the field. Whenever people work alongside each other, there are going to be very close relationships that develop. When I was in sales, I spent a lot of time visiting with customers, but after they left the store, it was the rest of the employees that you spent the majority of the day with. We might visit with people at the grocery store, or even have dinner with them, but joining up with them in a regular working relationship is a whole different issue. A lot of people spend forty hours a week with other employees, which is a lot more time than they spend with their spouse or even their own children. With that said, we are not supposed to join up with others in some type of regular working relationship when they don’t share our faith and our beliefs. I turned away from many high-paying jobs in my life, but I knew that in order to reap the blessings of God I needed to come out from among them who didn’t share my beliefs.
2 Corinthians 6:14-18 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? 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 ye 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.
Work relationships can become very close, and we are not supposed to join together with unbelievers and work alongside them. An unbeliever is basically anybody who really doesn’t believe in the Lord Jesus and the teachings of scripture. When you spend your day surrounded by people who don’t share your convictions, you are asking for trouble. Bad associations can corrupt good morals.
Ephesians 5:5-12 For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them. For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.
The Lord Jesus called His Apostles to come out and be separate from the world.
John 15:18-19 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
The Apostle Peter separated himself from people that he knew in his past.
1 Peter 4:3-5 For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries: Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you:
Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead.
In order to become children of God, we must keep separate from the world, turning away from the darkness in order to walk in His light.
1 Peter 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
In the Corinthian Church there was fornication going on among them, and the Apostle Paul wanted them to keep their distance from those who were involved with it.
1 Corinthians 5:6-8 Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:
Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
We also are not supposed to have any fellowship with people who are caught up in false religions.
1 Corinthians 10:16-21 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread. Behold Israel after the flesh: are not they which eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar? What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing? But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils.
To be a part of God’s family, we need to separate ourselves from the wicked works of this world.
James 4:4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
When we become a Christian, we need to step away from the world, just like coming out of Sodom and Gomorrah. We must develop new relationships with people who call on the name of the Lord out of the pure heart. The church is a place of repentance, and if people choose not to do that, just remember to…..
…….Keep Separate
Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you all, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody.❤️
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Teufer Lake King James Bible Church 