Set Apart: Chosen by God - Part 2

Thank you for joining us for this broadcast from The Ninth Avenue Church of Christ in Haleyville Alabama. We hope that you will subscribe and we'll share our broadcast with others. Now, we take you to the pope head of the 9th Avenue Church of Christ. I just want you to know that when I walk into this room and see all of you, it makes me happy. I don't know what makes you happy to the week. But as I see you and I want you all to come in and and and watch people kind of interacting worship. I just want you to know that it brings a smile to my face. I truly do look forward to every moment that we have in this room together to worship together in the study together at the interactive fellowship with one another. In a, thank you so much for being here today. Let's go to God In Prayer. Then we'll get into our time of study. God, we thank you for this blessing us and being with us and calling us your children. We thank you for We thank you for the truth that you have given us in our law for the, the standard of life that that leads us in the path of Holiness. But also leads us in a direction of living closer to you and and having your blessings and having this church family, God, And as we open up our hearts and Minds again to this idea of being set apart of being different from The World. God we we pray that we come into this study open mind that we come into this study, ready to learn and grow with a willingness to be convicted and allow that conviction to turn into change and forward, momentum in our lives. We thank you so much for our church family and thank you for the love that exists here for the acceptance that exists here for the truth that exists here. God, we thank you for the time that we have together that we've been able to run a spiritual, we commune with you and with one another around this table this morning to remember, the sacrifice of Jesus and the results of that sacrifice, which is the opportunity for us to have salvation and Hope love you turn alarm off in our life. Just thank you for the love that you show us and seeing your son's name we pray. Amen. Last week we started into this conversation in the study of Holiness or are being set apart and I want us to recap last. We just a little bit for those that you've of you that we're not here for those of you that may just forgotten. Cause this is really one sermon is divided up into two parts. So as we kind of begin this conversation, one of the challenges that we have in our Christian walking in our life is to understand that we are wholly and we've done to show up and before hands before and and you've all pretty well. Raise your hand of how many of you consider yourself, wholly it. In very few people. Really when they think about themselves consider themselves holy because we have this idea that Holiness, mini x equals perfection Because Jesus was. Holy God is Holy the holy. Spirit's name is Holy, right? And they are perfect in every way. And so, we carrying this concept that holding this must equal protection. Therefore, if Holiness, equals Perfection, I can never be what? Holy, but that's not what scripture says it all God says for us to be holy because he is Holy part of the reason that we are able to be holy is because of his Holiness. And if you look at the story of the Bible, not just the store, the New Testaments. But if you look at the story of the Bible, the story of the Bible starts with Adam and Eve and they have this personal one-on-one relationship with God. God had in mind. Have the purpose of the top of relationships that God wanted to have with his creation, was a personal face-to-face, one-on-one relationship, what messed that up. Starts with an S send send comes in and a if you will a holy God in an Unholy creation for our terminology here, cannot coexist. Okay. So God creates sacrifices in a way. It kind of bridge that Gap as we get into, as we get into the story of the Israelites God says, hey, I'm going to be your God or I especially as they come out of Egypt. I'm going to be your God, you're going to be my people and they cause there's this Unholy nishoo. I'm about you. He says we're going and this is where we really get some depth in the idea of sacrifices and what sacrifices do and what the power of the blood of an animal could do it created, if you will be an opportunity for people to deal with their Unholy Ennis, Define atonement for their Unholy mess for them to find forgiveness, for their on how innocent live in a relationship with God that although it is not Exactly what God created at the Garden of Eden. There is still a way for those people to have a relationship with God. Fast forward to the New Testament. Hebrews says, that the blood of goats don't have the ability to do what Jesus blood was able to do. And as Jesus died on the cross has shed his blood for us, that Gap becomes even smaller to wear. Now, not only are we able to have a deeper relationship with God? The spirit of God dwells within us when we become a child of God. So that that relationship. Originally created that we were separated because of on Holiness and sent is slowly. As we get through the story of scripture is getting smaller and smaller until one day. Until one day, as we talked about a few weeks ago, the day of the Resurrection that relationship will be completely restored. I want you to know this morning that you have the ability, you have the title of being holy, if you are a child of God. And then we talked about several things along. That way, with some, let's jump to our passage to our text this morning. If you would open your Bibles to 2nd Corinthians chapter 6, 2nd Corinthians chapter 6, as what will kind of be looking at here, From last week, and then finishing it up this week. But this is what we started last week. Do not be yoked together with unbelievers for what does for what do righteousness and wickedness have in common or what Fellowship can light have with Darkness. What Harmony is there between Christ and the law or what does a Believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and Idols for we are the Temple of the Living. God, as God has said, I will live with them and walk among them. And I will be their God and they will be my people, therefore come out from them. In the separate says the Lord touch, no unclean thing. And I will receive you, and I will be a father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters says, the Lord Almighty there for I've said all that to say this therefore since we have these promises dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit perfecting Holiness out of reverence for God. They so that was our text last week. So we talked about two things with that idea. Number one, the first thing we need to do with the idea of Holiness is, we need to take send seriously because God does we talked about the idea of drawing a bold Lion in our life and serving God above everything else. Those who suppress Truth by their sin will face the wrath of God. And remember that, those who approve of sin committed treason against God's. The second thing we talked about was be God's Temple and separate yourself from sinfulness. And this is one of the things I love about this idea, talks about perfecting our Holiness and within this idea and you can please, if you were here, you heard it's not my favorite idea, is that God understands that we're never going to be perfect. So we need to understand that we're never going to be perfect. But it is about a journey. It is about a process through the grace of God of us. Continuing to move forward. In holding us to continue working these things out, and perfect, and making myself better today than I was yesterday. That doesn't mean in 3 weeks. I'm not going to fall and stumbling and feel like I messed it all up but he says get up and let's keep going. So that brings us to our idea today that we're going to talk about. This is therefore since we have these promises us, what promises was he talkin about? Well if we back up in our text we see them get to it right here.

Go back one. I will live with them and walk among them and it will be their God and they will be my people, okay? That is where we launch into this idea today that if we commit ourselves to a life of Holiness of living by the standards of God, God will bless us if we stand with Holiness, or for Holiness. And the first thing I want to think about than this idea here is, the reward of Holiness, is God himself, and that's what he says in our texts. He says, if you live this way, if you set yourself apart and you live this life, you live, this Coley culture than what you receive in return, is you have a relationship with me. Yo, one of the things that I think we struggle with sometimes and in our faith and I've heard it talked, and I've heard it preached and I don't always agree with with maybe the direction, I do understand the premise. Okay, but we talk about, sometimes about how this relationship we talked about it in Worship. In particular, a lot that worship is not about what I get, but what I give to God. But one of the things that you see throughout scripture, is that there is give and take on both sides of this equation with a relationship with God. God says, to the people of Israel, I will be your God. You will be my people. These are the blessings that you received, but to receive these blessings. You must also do these things. And he says, the same things about the New Testament to us. I'm going to save you from your sins would offer you salvation. I'm going to, I'm going to be your God, but in response to that, you need to do these things. Right? If we're not careful, sometimes we get so focused on the doing that we lose. We lose the promises. Hours to obtain that are that are that are the gifts of this relationship. And he says, here, I am going to be your God. When you live this way, understand, I'm going to be here with you and what greater promise is there. Then the presence of God in our life. What you agree with that, what greater promise is there, then the presence of God in our life and says, I'm going to be your God, but the next thing, he kind of talks about here. And I want you to understand about this idea is fighting against sin is hard, but yielding to enslavement is harder fighting against sin is hard.

I think we've all got that thing. That we struggle with. Don't we? We've all got that. That Temptation that that's in that maybe we don't want other people know about maybe one with, maybe it's kind of Windows secret sins. Maybe it's something like greed, maybe it's jealousy. Maybe it's one of those type things that for some people, maybe it's more public. We all have that seen that we struggle with and that we have a hard time sometimes overcoming. And if it's the right day and I'm in the wrong mood, in the wrong person, says something to me, boy, I'm in a mood and I'm in the direction of Unholy Ennis, if you will, I'm in a direction of negativity and it just opens the door for that to come in and then that the kind of have control against and sometimes I give in to it, sometimes I don't we all struggle with that idea, but I want you to know something this morning. I want you to know something this morning, struggling with sin, is much better than giving in to send. Can you say Amen to that struggling with sin is so much better than giving in to sin and sometimes whether we mean to or not? We were talking about judgement class this morning was a great conversation sometimes whether we mean to or not we judge people because of their struggle.

And they're trying to overcome their trying to steal walk towards Jesus. They're trying to do the best are trying to perfect their Holiness, but they're struggling, they're not completely giving in, but they're struggling. And since we understand Holiness as Perfection, we expect Perfection and people struggle and it's never going to happen. But I want you to know this morning, if you're struggling with something, I would rather you struggle Binta completely giving.

As long as you're struggling. as long as you're fighting, as long as you're not giving up, You're putting yourself in a situation to win the battle with god by your side cuz he says I'm going to be with you. I'm going to be with you to help you and miss, you know, it's it's if it's here, I've got you cuz you willing to it is enslavement.

Enslavement to sin. Is a is, is it's kind of become a church were to us. It's become a word that we use. It's a word that's in scripture. The Biblical word. I don't think it's the word that we really give enough Credence to. We don't give enough credit to. We don't give enough attention to another word that you can use. There's control. If something has enslaved, you it controls you.

We don't like to give up control, do we? We don't want to admit that sin could have control of us. Maybe you struggle with the greed or the sin of greed. Everything about your life is going to be controlled by getting more. I getting more by getting better by having more than other people. And although you may think I'm just trying to better myself, I'm trying to better my situation in. All of those moment. It's all about feeling that greed, in that greed, controls you above everything else, ABS jealousy and you look around other people. And all you can think of is how how you wish you had, what they have in that sin controls. You and we can list those things, just long as you're struggling and not giving you and you've not given it control, you've not given over to it. And I want you to know this morning, Struggling is better than being Enslaved. The burden of Jesus is so much better than the pigpen of Satan. Amen. Is what? Is why John rocks a man? That's right. In fact, This is Love for God to what? Keep his say it, what's that word? Commands and his commands are not. Burdensome. What's a burden? What's a burden in class last week? Was it last week? You talked about the brick in your back pocket? He was talking about

Our newest Coach of the Year, Mr. Williams hear congratulations. By the way, was talking about how we talked to his players about this idea of trying to play with a brick in your back pocket. Heavy is just a dummy. Most everybody in here can just pick up a brick in general right. Just pick up a brick, pick it up and that that first moment that you pick a brick up, is it heavy? I mean, I can pick something up and it not really slow them down, but what happens if you take that brick and you put it in your back pocket for the day, does that brick become lighter or heavier? As the day goes on? It becomes heavier. It's really not any heavier, but it feels heavier. It's a burden, it's something that slows you down as something. The drags you down as something that keeps you from being efficient and watch, you're doing. And a lot of people want to look at Christianity Olympian, one. Look at Halloween, and I want to go, it's not, I can't do it. It's a burden. I can't leave that, which I can't be perfect. God doesn't tell us to be perfect. He tells us to be Okay, we're sermon and a half into it yet. You should know. The answer is not asking us to be perfect. He's asking us to be wholly. He's asking us to be set apart, he's asking us to be difference. He's asking us to be above the world. He saying, look, I want you to create a holy culture that you live in in this is a great idea that I heard this past couple of weeks, I've been studying and it and I don't think about this, okay? I don't think about this and I'm going to say Alex Alex over here. Alex thinks about this Alex, gets this Alex, where are your parents originally from? Mexico do in your house growing up. Even though y'all moved here and you live in America. Inside of your house. What culture was the main culture, a Mexican culture, you spoke Spanish at home, right? You ate. Mexican food like real Mexican food not like La. Casona Mexican food right like real Mexican food, not Tex-Mex, K the structure within that book. So maybe the friendships that you had in that in that environment, that culture, okay? So there's a living in America but when they are to themselves when they're in their home, they are still living there culture, but they know that they're familiar with it. That's what I want from you. That's what being wholly is, that's what being set apart is, is that we live in this world. We live in this world but we have a Christian culture. It defines Who We Are. We live this way together. This is our community. This is our family.

These are our Traditions. These are our teachings. This Is Our God. And it's not hard and some not at all. it's not burdensome, the commands of God are not burning some, but the enslavement of Satan's Pig penius, So he says, Hey look. When you live Holiness, when you stand for it, you're going to be blessed in the main. Blessing is God himself. I would step down to say, the Second Blessing is us as a family and then all the blessings that God for is on to us through. They. Okay. We got a few more minutes plus knock out. Some of these applications applications here for you this morning because I thought I've given you the w k. Three points of the W. What is Holiness? All right, how we supposed to live this? I was supposed to do this is next. What does it mean to live this out of my lost? Here's the first thing. I want you to really key in here and listen, if you are struggling with sand Temptation and failure, we welcome you to join us in a repented life. In a repentant life is easy to listen to the sermon and go home and I'm struggling with something. He's talking to me. I'm not living and Holiness. I'm not perfect. Everything's wrong with me and they I can't I can't do this no more. If you're struggling with Sam this morning, you're in the perfect place. Amen. You're struggling with in this morning you are in the perfect place because guess what? We're all struggling with this morning, all struggling with it. We're doing our best not to give up, give in to it and give over to it. We are here so that God's grace we can find an eventual Victory. The lesson is not about you. The lesson is about those who refuse to repent. Those who refuse to struggle, those who give up and say, I'm not going to have anything to do with it anymore. If you're struggling and still walking towards Christ, you're still living in the light. You're still living in that Holiness. A second thing I want you to think about it though. And we talked about this a couple of different times when people are going toward Christ, we showed lots of love when people are going away from Christ, we show a lots of Truth and I showed you this last week and I've really grown to love this example and I don't want you to misunderstand this example at all. I'm not saying that we just accept anything and everything okay but what I'm saying is as people are coming in and they're growing closer to Christ and they're not yet Christians but they're moving in that direction of their babes in Christ in their learning and they're in their infancy, we don't have to make it so so rigid and so burdensome, we help them gross. But just because I become a Christian, doesn't mean that the struggle stops just because I've become a Christian doesn't mean Satan could have leave me alone, as a matter of fact, what do animals in the wild? Do they find the youngest they find the list? The least they find the one that struggling the most and that's who they attack.

Satan's the same way he's looking for that easy prey. And a lot of times, it's the young Christians, you're still haven't figured it all out. So in those moments with those people we teach truth, but we teach it and Grace and love and understanding and say, hey I know you're not going to get it all right now, but we're going to help you to that place, but once they get to a place of maturity and they decide how I don't want to have anything to do with this anymore, I need to start decide to walk away. Then, hey, we we, we teach and we demand Purity and we demand that Excellence. That God says, You must have in your life. We have to understand that. The next thing, two things always think about is renounce Indulgence as fake love renounce Indulgence as fake love. Now are our world, our country, our society uses. The word, love in so many different ways. I love a cheeseburger, and I love my wife. Which one do I love more? Yeah. When do I Love More by just say I love them. That's why I scripture has all of these different words for love. They all mean kind of different things and they have different depths and different understandings. You know, what was it? Nathan asked me for like a few weeks ago. I said it, I love is a feeling that you feel when you feel a feeling that you never felt before. Okay? So what is Love by that definition, you could also be white indigestion. You know, who knows, right. We have replaced the word love in our society with the word lust. We have replaced the word love in our society with the word lust and desire, a craving of wanting to have it. They and us, not just love in a sexual term or less in sexual term. It's the last for all kinds of things. We cannot allow us to Define our love. We have to renounce that we have to love that, which is holy and pure and the flip side of that takes us in the next learn to say, I love you but I will never approve of that. That is so hard in our walk because when I live this lifestyle people also, look at this lifestyle is a lifestyle of what judgement, hey Riley, I love you brother. But if you smoke that certain food, but I don't like him, like I can't get can't go there. You know. Do it my way. I love you Riley but this thing you're doing in your life, I can't be a part of it. And when you're ready to come back to God's way, then that relationship can keep going. But for now, for now, Jonathan, I love you, but you an Astros fan unless you thinking can't go down that road with you, when you come back over to our side,

Then we can continue this relationship in. Those are funny examples but you get what I'm saying? And what the World Hears is why I'm doing what I'm judging, what God sees is your living for me. We don't do it in a harsh way. We do it in a loving way, but we have to be able to say this is the one I'm not going to cross it. The next couple of things and movies, all kind of leaning together, love non-christians enough to enter their Unholy live for the purpose of winning them to Christ. Read that with me, say that with me, love non-christians enough, to enter their Unholy lives for the purpose of winning them to Christ. One of my favorite stories with this idea. Is Phil Robertson? How do you know who Phil Robertson is these the w? The Duck Commander, he's an elder in the church down in Louisiana. If he's had a TV show that got another show coming out on Fox here, box, train me or something. We got, they're all, they're all back out here again, doing things Anna,

Bill's come under a lot of heat through the years for his just Unapologetic service to God, okay?

Let me ask you this. What would you think about me? If you saw me drop in and pull out of the local bar four times this week, what you think about me? How many people judge me?

That's exactly what the preacher did with Phil Robertson. The guy that baptized fuel was bound and determined that guy he was going to get him in the water. You know where we could find him every night? At the bar there in Louisiana. So you know what he did. He went to the bar set a table with Phil while field drink. And talk to him about God. He loved still enough. To enter into his Unholy life, not for the purpose of acceptance, not for the purpose of participation. But for the purpose of what winning him, the Christ, and sometimes we have to let our guard down and understand that.

I may have to.

Don't change what I believe. I don't participate in the sinfulness, but if I'm going to win the World to God, we have to fish in the waters of the world. We have to go out there and talk to him and y'all people are not flooding in the church is like they did 50 years ago. This is not our main point of evangelism anymore. It was at one point, it's not today. And that's not a good thing, that's not a bad thing. That's just where we are. So what does that mean? Instead of them coming to us? Why do we have to do? We have to go to them and if we're not willing to do that, if we're not willing to enter their lives for the purpose of winning them to cry. If we're looking at them and going over there over there, and I can't do that because I'm going to be judged if I do. Not know if we're not willing to go, we can't then look at them and go. Well they're lost. Maybe they're lost because you won't go.

Maybe they're lost because you don't love them enough. Maybe they're lost because you're a hypocrite, maybe they're lost because you're more worried about for Perfection and holiness. I love people enough to meet them where they are and help them come close. We can't compromise, we can't compromise. We can't participate. Sometimes we have to step out of her comfort zone and reach them and love them and pull them closer to Christ. Then that's leaves in the next time, you'll love Christians enough to confront them. When they rebelled against God, that was conversation. We had this morning in our class was the idea, it was that easy to judge ourselves or judge other people and it may be easier to judge or sell. Actually, it may be easier to judge other people who judge ourselves but Sometimes it's harder to have those conversations. We were looking the sermon about in Jesus were paraphrasing here. Jesus says, hey don't be so concerned about your brother's back. When you got to watch. Plank in your eye. Was he going to say? Cuz first remove the plank and the whole sections under this idea of don't judge. But you know what, he never says, he never said don't remove the speck of dirt. He says, take care of yourself live, a life of Holiness and then go deal with your brother. But that whole idea there, is there still may come a time where I've got an issue where I've got a problem. Not me. Okay, you've got an issue, you got a problem in your direction with God. And as your brother, I have the ability to sit down and say, hey, Gary. I got to talk to you in a while, then I'll talk to you in love cuz you're moving away from God, part of me living. Holy is helping you live. Holy as well. And so we have to love Christians enough to confront them even when they rebelled against God. All right, I get this lesson 2. We've been called to be something awesome. We've been called to be something amazing been called to be Christians. We are children of God, we're children of God, you know, in our world and our society who your parents are has a lot to do with maybe what you get and receive in the benefits of your life. There are some families who have more clout, there are some families who have more influence and when you are born into that family you get the benefits from that even though you had nothing to do with it whatsoever. we all understand that don't, you know, this morning,

It is Christians. It's people who have said, I believe in God. I'm turning my life over from enslavement to send the service to God. I will let everybody know that I serve God and I believe in God I'm going to have my sins washed away in the waters of baptism so that I can come up a new creation so that I can receive the indwelling of the holy spirit so that I can be forgiven of my sins so that I can have my salvation so I can have it, you know, nn-no rock-solid and know that I have a home in heaven with God, when eternity comes, when I make those decisions and live that life. I'll become a child of God. The ultimate family, I'm set apart and I'm living in a certain direction and that's what we're called to do. It's an awesome life but it's something that I know we all struggle with And so that's why we're spending some time with this so that we have an understanding of what God expects not perfection. Holiness is closed with the word of Prayer. God, we thank you for the time that we spent with one another this morning. We thank you for the opportunity to just open up your word and to share thoughts from this amazing. Passage we thank you for Jesus and his sacrifice that that brings complete cleansing. Complete cleansing in our life. Not partial, not part of the way, not 3/4 complete cleansing in our life and we thank you for your holy spirit that once he enters, OST, you see us, you see us as living with you. You are living with us in that moment. You see us as your pimple Help us to see that in ourselves. God help us to live that every single day and we struggle. Help us to not give help us to not give up. And give him just help us to keep fighting keep pushing, help us to lean on each other. Help us to draw from your strengths. The win that battle. In your son's name we pray. Amen.

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