United in Christ: A Spirit of Oneness and Holiness

The true saint of God becomes one with their Savior through a supernatural union.

This union is a divine covenant established in Jesus Christ, the Word before time began.

The Holy Spirit quickens and unites believers with Jesus Christ, making them one spirit.

This union is a marriage-like bond between Christ and his people, with Jesus Christ being the head and the church being his body.

Apostle Paul Epistle in 1 Corinthians 6.17 declares, He who unites himself with the Lord becomes one spirit with him. And this is saying that the true saint of God becomes one with his Savior. And I want to tell you, dear church, this is a true believer's union with Jesus Christ. you as a child of God are to be one with your Savior. And this is considered a deep and profound mystery. This is not an ordinary occurrence, an incident, or an episode in your spiritual attachment to Jesus Christ. This is supernatural and it is a miracle. And if you are living in Christ, you are truly one of the chosen by God before the foundation of the world. Apostle Paul declares in his epistle in Romans 8, verse 29, that the inheritance of our Lord Jesus Christ were chosen and destined for eternal life, and they were handpicked before the foundation of time. Romans 8, 29. so justified, he acquitted, made righteous, putting them in right standing with themselves. And those whom he justified, he also glorified, raising them to a heavenly dignity and condition or state of being. This divine covenant of God was established in his Son, who was the word before time ever began. Titus 1.2 declares resting in the hope of eternal life. Life which the ever-truthful God, who cannot deceive, promised before the world or the ages of time began. Think about that. Before time began, God made His Son, who was the Word, a promise that He Himself would be eternal life for the millions and millions of dear saints who would choose Him as their hope of glory. In this covenant, Jesus, who was then the Word, became the head of His church. It was at this time, precious church, that our head began His glorious joining and union with each and every precious saint when they were born again. This union is vital Divine and spiritual And only happens at the time You had accepted Jesus Christ As your Lord and Savior This divine and miraculous union Between Christ and his people Means you become one spirit 1 Corinthians 6.17 again declares He who unites himself with the Lord becomes one spirit with him. This means you have joined in a marriage union with him. Profound, isn't it? Too awesome to think about. Most Christians never give thought to the fact that this divine union is a covenant of marriage. Jesus spoke about this analogy and figurative type in Ephesians 5, verse 30. Ephesians 5, verse 30. We are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they too shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Jesus Christ and his people have been joined in one spirit. You see, it is the Holy Spirit who quickens you and smears his anointing oil all over you and perfumes you, making you totally acceptable to your Lord and God. The spirit of the Lord's work in you and me Is to make this union solid and complete Until you know that you know that you know that you are one spirit with him And you become just as jealous over him as he is over you You come to think and feel just as Jesus does dear one Because you have his mind, his will and his heart locked into the very fiber of your being. Jesus says, I in them, and you in me, that they may be made perfect in one. John 17, verse 20. Go with me, please. John 17, verse 20. I do not pray for these alone, but also for these who will believe in me through their word, that they all may be one as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they may also be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me, and the glory which you gave me I have given them, that they may be one just as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them as you have loved me. Well, in the natural, we have all probably known married couples in our lifetime who have become one spirit, that is by intimacy and mutual love and admiration for one another, where the friendship and marriage union developed into a perfect unity until it seemed that one became a complement of the other. If they were not together, it was like something was missing. Their life became one as their design and goal were one as well in Christ. It is like the member and the body. If there is life in our little toe, it is the same life that is life to our head. And so it is, precious ones, that in the whole church of the living God, the life and spirit of Jesus Christ are the life and spirit of his people. And this is why I believe Apostle Paul says in Ephesians 1.18, I pray that the eyes of your understanding being enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints. When we can come to the place where we see the awesomeness of God's plan of becoming one with Him in spirit and one with one another, we will capture the richness of the glorious inheritance in all of the saints. You know, to be one spirit with Jesus Christ, we need to have more than a good conduct, a gracious smile, and a friendly greeting. We need to have more than bear the name of Christian. You need to have more than an outward profession of your Christianity. You may have been reared up in the church, baptized in water, and be a member in your church for 20 years. But dear one, if you are not baptized into the Holy Spirit, you do not know what true union with Jesus Christ is. Remember that Simon Magus, who was a sorcerer, after he accepted Jesus Christ's offer of salvation, He was baptized, but we learn through his history. He had no part in Peter's ministry after he tried to buy the baptism of the Holy Spirit with his money. Simon's money could not buy this divine and precious gift that is given only to true Christians. To be one spirit with Jesus Christ, the accomplishment of your good actions, and the use of Christian words in conversation will not unite you supernaturally to Him either. The superficial, shallow, and outward show will not bind you to Christ in this divine union. Only, deep down, in the very depths of your soul and being, this union with Jesus Christ must spring forth and live by the divine power of the Holy Spirit who sees the burning passion of the believer to be united to Him in oneness, which stems out of a sincere and pure love for who your Savior is and what He has done for you. The illustration of what this divine unity of one's spirit is. we can only look at the rare and precious married state and relations of a married couple who are in a conjugal union this state is the highest ideal of the married life and is found in pure and bonded or cemented mutual admiration all of their hearts, desires and passions and longings are blended and are inseparable and after years together they begin to think very much the same way in thought and their intimate partnership and union. An intimate and close association cannot help but create conformity, precious ones. And Jesus comments on the closeness of this association between a husband and a wife in Mark 10, verse 6, when he says, From the beginning of creation God made them male and female. And for this reason a man shall leave behind his father and mother and be joined to his wife and cling closely to her permanently. And the two shall become one flesh, so they are no longer two, but one flesh. And therefore what God has united and joined together, let not man separate or divide. So just as we see the closeness of this human kind of oneness that is found only in the marriage union, so will this divine union be between the Christian and Jesus Christ, as the believer grows to think as Jesus thinks until Christ's teachings become real, plain, and cemented in his or her heart. Dear one, this is the highest union or bond of oneness which is known as the consummation between Christ and the believer. When your heart is so wrapped up completely in the lover of your soul, Jesus Christ, this union is an inseparable passion and burning flame that can never be put out. This is called being one spirit with your God. And again in 1 Corinthians 6.17, again I say, according to the Scripture, he who unites himself with the Lord becomes one spirit with him. This union exists for one purpose, and that purpose is for the glory of God and is motivated by love for God and his Son, Jesus Christ. If you are fully joined to your Lord and Savior And are one spirit with Him You will have the same mind And you will exhibit His same taste His love will capture and motivate you To keep reaching ahead Never growing weary or faint in your Christian journey You will love what Jesus loves And hate what He hates You who love the Lord Hate evil Jesus says I have come to do my father's will and this must be your desire too to do the will of your father in heaven and walk in obedience to his ways and precepts will keep you eternally attached to your Lord and God oneness of heart with the lover of your soul will be your whole aim in all that you do for him You might at this present moment have many, many goals But if you are one spirit with Jesus You will have but one objective in this life You will be on fire And have great desire, passion and intensities In your prayers and your service to God You will not fall asleep Or grow weary or tired in your service to Him If you are truly one with the Lord You will not be troubled By the rude comments Or petty remarks of others And you will not be moved By the troubles and calamities That may fall all around you But I ask you at this moment Dear one I challenge you If you have been joined In one spirit to Jesus Christ Your precious Lord and Savior Do you still manifest outlandish and uncontrollable anger? Is this Christ spirit you are joined and united with? Do you still love the world, its fashions, its offerings in the way of R-rated movies, nightclubs, worldly entertainment, sick humor, filthy talk, sensual passions, and so on? Is this really Christ's spirit you are united with? Living in Christ is the same as being united to him as in one spirit. This means as well that if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. And this is saying that in this intimate connection with Jesus is begun in time as you follow after him and learn to submit yourself to his precepts and his ways. We could see and learn this from the example of his disciples as they each eventually drew near to him in close and intimate union. Jesus said in John's Gospel 6.56, John 6.56, He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood dwells in me and I in him. Jesus, by using the word dwells, is saying, You are truly and intimately connected with me when you continually dwell or abide in my word and obey what it tells you to do. Jesus dwells in believers by his spirit and by his doctrine or his word and when his Holy Spirit is given to you it is to sanctify you and to cast an aura which is his glory of his presence over you and in you to bring change in the visible manifestation of his humility, his love and his meekness You see, the love of Christ permeates the depths of your heart when you receive it, and his influence begins to change you when you begin to embrace the gospel. And this is why Jesus says, He that eats my flesh and drinks my blood dwells in me and I in him. The precious gospel of truth becomes our food and begins to be entwined and incorporated with our very lives. So Christ and those who eat his flesh and drink his blood become spiritually one life. One life. Though we be personally distinct and unique in our own person, just as are the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, yet they are three. They are three, but they are one. And dear church, we shall be one with Christ, just as our bodies are with our physical food when it is digested. You see, when you dine on the bread from heaven, who is Jesus Christ, the Word incarnate, you live by faith in Christ and are crucified with him, He who dwells in me and I in him. By faith we have close and intimate union with Jesus Christ. He in us and we are in him. You as a believer dwell in Christ. As your stronghold or city of refuge or shelter. Jesus dwells in you as the master of the house. And his aim is to rule your house or temple and provide for it. and in this union between Jesus Christ and true believers he shares in their grief their pain, sorrow, suffering and their joy and happiness he dines with you also when you go through times of eating bitter herbs which are your bitter experiences just as did the Israelites when they celebrate the Passover these herbs help them to remember their bitter experiences as an enslaved people in Egypt. Jesus is with you and me in these bitter times of our lives too. This union with the lover of your soul is an inseparable union, like that between the body and digested food. Once it goes in the body and enters into the bloodstream, it is then inseparable from the body. Apostle Paul said, I am convinced that nothing shall separate us from the love of God. Look with me, please, in Romans 8, verse 35. Romans chapter 8, 35. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For your sake we are killed all day long. We are counted as sheep for the slaughter. Verse 37. Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. Verse 38. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Jesus Christ our Lord. This divine union or oneness with Christ Jesus is absolutely inseparable and the attachment cannot be torn asunder or apart. 1 John 4.13 declares, By this we have come to know and understand that we abide, we live and remain in Him and He in us, because He has given and imparted to us of His Holy Spirit. True believers receive this divine life by virtue of their union with Christ, which is paralleled with the same union between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The new life you and I have comes from Christ. It is being hidden with Christ as we live in Him. We live in Him as the members who belong to the head or the branch that is connected to the root. And because He lives, we shall also live forever and eternally joined to Him. If you presently live in Christ, please understand that you are living in eternal life himself. And eternal life for you has already begun. You are given a foretaste of it now. And the hope of it that you shall live forever and ever with the one who died for you and has truly become the lover of your soul. Another analogy, but yet living truth for Christ's word, He that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit is found in Ephesians 5.30. For we are members of his body, of his flesh and of his bones. This is a powerful statement that Paul is making in this word. And the idea here is that there is a close and intimate union between the Christian and their Savior. A union so intimate that they may be spoken of as one. The statement of his flesh and of his bones is an allusion to the language which Adam used in respect to Eve. In Genesis 2 verse 23 Adam said, Now this is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. You see, the use of this language by Adam means or infers the closeness of the marriage relationship. Paul is applying this same language to be the connection between Jesus Christ and his people. But please understand that it cannot be taken literally here because we are dealing with the spiritual in these terms and anything taken physically or in the natural would be taken literally here Because we are dealing with the spiritual in these terms and anything taken physically or in the natural would steal from the divine and spiritual and miraculous union of this awesome and mysterious wonder, precious ones. It is not a physical union, but a union of attachment, of feeling, of love and passion for who Christ is and what He has done, what He has promised to do to all who join themselves willingly to Him. Dear ones, there is no other union of deep affection that is more powerful or carries the weight of such influence than that which binds the true Christian to their Savior and lover of their souls. scriptures tell us that the true believer who is longing for and desirous of consummation in this divine union must be willing to forsake father mother home and even leave his own country and to abandon his possessions just as our father Abraham had exampled he went to a distant land and dwelt among the barbarians in order to make His Redeemer known. And there are many who, out of a simple and true love for their Savior, have gone to a burning stake to give their lives because they have refused to deny or renounce Jesus Christ. There has been no other manifestations on this earth where so strong an attachment than this, which binds the true Christian to their Savior in this divine union of oneness is found. This is a stronger love and passion than that which a man has for his own flesh and bones or his own wife because it makes him willing that his flesh would be consumed by fire rather than deny his Lord. this is truly a divine union where these have demonstrated an inseparable love just as Paul had spoken of in Romans 8.35 when he said who shall separate us from the love of God shall tribulation shall distress or persecution or famine and so forth he says it is for your sake we are killed all day long Paul says, we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter, yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither life nor death nor angels or principalities or powers nor things present or yet to come, nor height nor death or any created thing should be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Jesus Christ our Lord. This burning passion of our Savior and Heavenly Father is shown in the fact that the Father would give His Son and that Jesus should willingly give up His life as the innocent Lamb of God so that man should be brought back to Him. This being brought back was not to be a one-time expression of our salvation for the assurance that we would not suffer in the eternal flames of hellfire. But dear ones, it was a burning love that motivated Jesus to restore fallen man back to himself in this divine union of oneness, where we would become like the scripture says in its spiritual analogy, to become bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh, as likened in the closeness of a marriage relationship. this is to be the connection between Jesus Christ and his people this is the restoration and union with Christ himself that both he and his father deeply long for you see it is here in Christ where your sins are forgiven and your transgressions are covered Jesus Christ is now your mediator we would not have needed a mediator if there were no sinners. But by His obedience you are accounted as righteous. In Christ you become a joint heir with Him and we all become one with one another as well as we dwell together in unity. Regardless of denominational preference we all being a part of the body of Jesus Christ become joint heirs with him. The uniting love of Jesus Christ cannot help but overflow and overlook any denominational differences. But many people ignorantly turn what should be secondary in this fellowship of believers around to first importance in their estimation by saying, I am Baptist. I am Catholic. I am Presbyterian. I am Orthodox. I am Methodist. Instead of saying, I am a Baptist Christian. I am a Presbyterian Christian. I am a Catholic Christian. I am a Methodist Christian, and so on. See, this is really a distortion of values. Since being Christian is the most important thing, and what kind of Christian you call yourself is purely secondary in the uniting love of our Lord Jesus Christ. There was only one Lamb of God who was sacrificed for his church. Jesus was that Lamb. And there is no such thing as a Methodist Lamb of God, or a Baptist Lamb of God, or a Catholic Lamb of God, or so on. There will be no denominations in heaven, as we will all be part of the heavenly hosts, praising and worshiping the only Lamb of God who was slain before the foundation of time. Let us put away these prideful and odious differences and get over the fact that one denomination would even dare to think or say that they are the only true church when Jesus Christ died for all who would choose Him as Savior, as Master and Lord. You who think this way and are caught up in this deception, You may be well surprised one day to find out who had a deep and abiding union with their Lord on this earth and are sitting next to Him on a throne in heaven right now. Dear ones, if we are passionate about our Savior while we live on this earth and have breath now, we are going to live forever and eternally with the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings forever and ever. we will be living in a continuing and everlasting union with him now while we have breath. If we submit ourselves to him and if we forsake the world, our fleshly passions and resist the devil, death will not separate us, nor the fear of his judgment keep us from him. Just as you have received him now, so shall you walk with him by his spirit, whether you are in this life or the next. His Spirit shall be eternally with you. Your life is now hidden in Christ if you live in Him and obey His commands. If you are not with Him, you are not a Christian. Oh, please, don't be angry with me for this statement. If you are not presently obeying Christ your Savior, you are separated from Him because you are backslidden, then I want to tell you, dear ones, If you are separated from him at this time, you are dead. And this is why we have the analogy of the branch and the vine. And Jesus said in John 15, verse 5, I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, bears much fruit. For without me you can do nothing. Verse 6, if anyone does not abide in me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered. And they gather them and throw them into the fire, and there they are burned. Verse 7, if you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, it shall be done for you by my Father. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, so you will be my disciples. Jesus himself said, If anyone does not live in me, he will be like the branch that is cut off and thrown into the fire. And this is again saying quite emphatically, that if you are not drawing your daily nourishment from the source of the tree of life, you are dead and separated from the author of life, Jesus Christ. In the continual and habitual abiding union to Christ, We are joined unto the Lord, as was likened in the figurative analogy as the bones of my bones and flesh of my flesh. We are one spirit with him, dear ones. One spirit. When we are in this place of union with Jesus, we experience an intense joy. That is, even Christ's own joy himself fills us and overflows our lives. and on the other side of the spectrum where we are laden with sorrow. We are still having fellowship and united to Christ in His sufferings. Romans 8 verse 16 declares, The Spirit Himself thus testifies together with our own spirit, assuring us that we are children of God. And if we are His children, then we are His heirs also. heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, sharing his inheritance with him. Only we must share his suffering if we are to share his glory. But what of that? For if I consider that the sufferings of this present time, this present life, are not worth being compared with the glory that is about to be revealed to us and in us and for us and conferred on us. You see, the troubles and sorrows that you experience on this earth at this present time are a part of the proving and trying that bring you into deeper union with your Lord, depending on how you come through them. This fellowship will be made manifest to others by the fruit you bear. It is always quite apparent when the disciples of Jesus have spent time with Him because of the outward adornment of His grace, His joy, His peace and presence is very obvious. And let me say as well, it is very, very contagious. His unchanging love is continually set upon you, dear one. His love for you never dies out, nor will anyone or anything or any circumstance or tragedy ever separate you or me from the love of God because we are continually dwelling in this place of oneness by being united to Him through the power of His Holy Spirit. This is a present place, a state of continual advancement to come nearer and nearer to Christ Jesus until He comes to take us home. Although our souls are presently dwelling with the Lord, Yet our bodies are subject to decay and corruption. And after death, the separation will continue. But the time will come when at the twinkling of an eye and the last trump shall sound, this corruptible body will put on incorruption. And our whole person, our body, soul, and spirit will be perfectly at one with the Lord just as he is. 1 Corinthians 15, 49. In 1 Corinthians 15.49, the Word declares, As we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, neither does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump. For the last trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruption must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Jesus Christ made all of this possible for you and me and all else who would choose him as their Savior and Lord through the repentance of their sin. We are called to the place of divine perfection, dear ones. We are called to be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect. Look what Paul says. in Ephesians 4, verse 11. And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers for the equipping of the saints and for the work of ministry, for edifying the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. Well, this place of divine perfection is found in our continual advancement and upward climb and journey as we reach for the wisdom and the revelation of Christ, which has given us insight into mysteries and secrets in the deep and intimate knowledge of Him. He shines His light into the eyes of our hearts and floods it with light so that we can know and understand the hope to which He has called us to. we grow in understanding what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of his power and love for those who believe and are reaching forward constantly and continually to be united with him in a deeper and deeper union and this in effect we could say is the power of the resurrection at work in our lives just as the Holy Spirit raised Jesus from the dead and seated him at his Father's right hand. The Holy Spirit is busy raising us up level after level to a more glorious state to where we also are seated with our Heavenly Father in the high place. Ephesians 2 verse 5 please. Ephesians 2 verse 5. Even when we were dead, slain by our own shortcomings and trespasses. He made us alive together in fellowship and union with Christ. He gave us the very life of Christ himself and the same new life with which he quickened him, for it is by grace, his favor and mercy, which you did not deserve, that you are saved and delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ's salvation. Verse 6, And he raised us up together with him and has made us sit down together, giving us joint seating with him in the heavenly sphere by virtue of our being in Christ Jesus. Let me say that again, by being in Christ Jesus. and again this wonderful and awesome divine mystery happens only when we live in Jesus Christ and are habitually united to him we shall be with our Lord and no one can take us away from him we'll be so tightly knitted and joined to him no one could tear us away no sin will cloud our view of him precious ones and you can now see your beloved Jesus by the eyes of your spirit. You can see him now as your friend and the lover of your soul. And you can know his love now, and yes, you can even return it back to him, and this love union will be forever and ever. If you are not developing this wonderful state of bliss now for yourself, while today is called today, you will have nothing to give him in eternity. In fact, you may never even make it there. Apostle Peter, who had committed the greatest crime against his Lord, denied him. And yet we see in Scripture that he had a bitter and real repentance from turning away from his Lord. But one thing Jesus asked Peter three times when he reinstated Peter back into fellowship with himself and his ministry was, Peter, do you love me? Do you love me? Let us see this. John 21 verse 5 When they had eaten, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these others do? With reasoning, intentional, spiritual devotion, as one loves the Father. He said to him, Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. and that I have deep, instinctive, personal affection for you as a close friend. Jesus said to him, Feed my lambs. And again he said to him the second time, Simon, son of John, do you love me? And he said to him, Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. He said to him, Shepherd, tend to my sheep. Verse 17. And he said to him the third time, Simon, son of John, do you love me? Peter was grieved, was saddened and hurt that he should ask him the third time, Do you love me? And he said to him, Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you. And Jesus said to him, Feed my sheep. You see, Jesus wasn't interested in any of Peter's capabilities, his gifts or his talents. He wasn't interested in how many people might follow Peter or how big his church might be. Jesus was only interested in Peter's love for him. He was seeking Peter's deep and intimate devotion to him as his Savior and Redeemer. Dear ones, we too will be with our Redeemer one day Just as Peter, Paul and all of the other faithful brethren are Jesus, our Redeemer, went to the cross for us But today we must see Him as well Seated high upon His throne And obey Him as our King in this present moment Jesus the author of life and creator of all things came to this earth as the answer for man's sin his death provided the atonement for all of our sin and our repentance and forgiveness of these sins yoke us together with our creator and our redeemer but dear ones we must obey our king who is seated high upon his throne. He is worthy, dear church. He is worthy of our obedience. This possibility of divine union or oneness with your king is true identity with the lover of your soul. He continually draws you and interests you in his love and ever-increasing knowledge of himself through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within you. You have the opportunity now to know Him and to ascend to the place where you can know of His beauty and presence in a powerful way, not just in this present moment, but forever. You have the opportunity to dwell in His glory and manifested presence every day as you stay united to Him in a deep, reverent and obedient fear of His person and position of authority, not just now, but forever. But precious one, this forever must start and begin now, while you have breath and opportunity to know Him and to develop a deep and intimate relationship with Him. This is why He created you. God declares in Jeremiah 31 verse 3, Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love. Therefore, with loving kindness I have drawn you and continued my faithfulness to you. and with passion prophet Isaiah says in Isaiah 30 verse 18 yet the Lord still waits for you to come to him so he can show you his love he will conquer you to bless you we live in a day and time where our world is very shaky and nothing is certain in any kind of stability the economy is faltering Our rights and freedoms as American citizens are being threatened. And as Christians, we are watching as our freedoms of worship and sharing the gospel message of Jesus Christ are being ripped away from us. Every day we read or hear of something new where hatred of Christians in the United States is growing and increasing. The Word of God says that in the last days, people will run to and fro to hear the Word of God. but it will be too late too late because people did not take God word serious and sow seeds of righteousness for themselves while they had the time and opportunity And God will shut the door to further opportunity for these people to hear His truth. I cannot imagine living without my God being with me. This is an urgent cry and word to you today, dear backslider and neglector of Jesus Christ. if you have been negligent in your Christian responsibilities and obedience to the commands and dictates of your Savior and God, may I urge you to be like Peter and quickly and bitterly repent of denying your Savior. May I encourage you to begin to attend a Spirit-filled church and to associate yourself with godly men and women in the body of Jesus Christ and fellowship with them. Find yourself an older member in the body of Christ to tutor you in this Christian way. Attend Bible studies and be a student of the Word every morning in your times of devotion with the Lord. Do not delay. Do not delay, but run back to your Savior and seek true repentance. Every day that you delay, time is running out and you may be one of those whom the hour has come, but it is too late it is too late oh God forbid may God forbid and have mercy upon your soul the book of Jeremiah declares in Jeremiah 50 verse 4 in those days in that time says the Lord the children of Israel shall come they and the children of Judah together with continual weeping they shall come and seek the Lord their God. They shall ask the way to Zion with their faces towards it saying, Come and let us join ourselves to the Lord in perpetual covenant that will not be forgotten. My people have been lost sheep. These people were weeping because they had neglected their God. They were expressing a bitter repentance and seeking to be united or joined back into the Lord's fellowship once again. This word says they were asking their way to Zion, and their faces were set towards it, meaning that they were not going to stop until they set their eyes upon her towers once again. Their hearts were honestly impelling them in the right line of direction, and they did not stop to inquire or seek the advice of empty and vain logic or reasonings of men along the way who might suggest they take another path. But they hearing a voice behind them saying, this is the way, walk in it. They implicitly followed the leading of the divine guidance and suggestions of the Holy Spirit. The people all chorused together, come and let us join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant that shall never be forgotten. Dear one, is this not your desire? Are you to remain the sworn enemy of sin and the world and the devil? How have you done so far in your Christian life in fulfilling your commitment and responsibilities to your Christ? Can you lay your hand upon your heart and say, I have fulfilled them as I ought to have? Either you are presently doing this or you are not. If you have not, what road will you take today? We have just read some scriptures in Jeremiah chapter 50 that said, With continual weeping they shall come and seek the Lord their God. They shall ask the way to Zion with their faces towards it saying, Come and let us join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant that will not be forgotten. Should this not be your road today? Those who have been negligent in joining themselves with their loving Savior ought to say, as did these precious people, Come and let us join ourselves to the Lord. you must make sure your heart is repentant before there will ever be any true reuniting or joining here you must ask yourself am I truly repentant? am I believing as those do who are justified by faith? am I seeking my Lord in a manner which is pleasing to Him? these precious people had so long been lost sheep going from mountain to hill that they had forgotten their resting places so therefore they walked in confusion depression and strife and finally came to the place where they were afraid of wandering completely out of any hope of ever coming back into the place of fellowship with God ever again that they went forth as mourners to inquire with eager anxiety the path that they should follow which would lead them into the city of their God. These people had great sorrow for the neglect of so great a God. And I would just like to say to those who are coming back that just like Peter who has expressed a bitter repentance for his sin, you too, if you are truly coming back to Christ, you must have a great sorrow for sin and a great lamenting after the Lord. You must truly hate and loathe your sin. And I do not believe that you can truly come back to God if you do not have this hatred and understanding for your sin. If your heart feels no qualm or anxiety arising from the awareness of the guilt of your sin, no mourning over its guilt, no grief at having grieved the Lord. There will be no acceptance with God because your heart is so hard. For you who hear this message today, this might be your only day and opportunity to return to Jesus Christ and be restored back into His fellowship and process of grace once again, where you will experience His peace and joy. And He will give you the comfort that you so badly need. He will shower His love upon you, and you shall experience the soft drops of His mercy, and there will be a tenderness towards God that you did not have before. This must be if you expect reconciliation with God, dear one. To not come to this place that is back to the cross with weeping, then there is another road one has taken, a true heart repentance that comes back to Christ takes this road by weeping because it feels the weight of its sin its guilt its desertion and therefore it mourns and to sit down and say I will have sorrow for my sin but dear one to never seek your Savior is the sign of an unrepentant sinner who has expressed a barren sorrow which brings forth no cleansing, no repentance, and ultimately no diligent search after the lover of their soul. True repentance sees its eye upon the sacrifice, seeing the flowing precious blood of the Savior, making note of every drop, gazing into the Redeemer's wounds and believing in the love and the depth of it that He would go to such extremes to win you back to himself. All the while saying, My God, my God, I groan within myself that such a sacrifice would have been required by my atrocious, wicked, abominable, and barbaric sins against you. They who go forth and seek the Lord their God shall find him. This must be a guide to you as to whether your present state of knowing God is leading you on the right path. You must be seeking the Lord Jesus Christ, or you are on the wrong path, dear one. Just like the little lost child who has been picked up from the gutter, who is diseased and filthy, improperly clothed and unfed, and if it were asked of the little child what it is that he needs, he will tell you every time that he wants his mother. If that child can find its way back into the arms of its mother, he has found everything he needs right there. So all who have wandered along on their own path, I say to you reach out to Jesus Christ and you will find him too do not cheat yourself of the so great a salvation and the possibility of being totally united and made one with him in the union he looks for for those of you who are on this path of divine union with your Christ keep your faces looking upward and forward because anything short of this will not suffice. Continually look forward to the deeper union that is found only in Jesus that says, Come and let us join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant that shall never be forgotten. May I tell you, dear ones, that God will never forget, yet it is up to you to pray, Lord, remember me, when you come into your kingdom. The only fear you or I should ever have is that we might forget to do our part. God forbid. Oh, God forbid. The End profound statement in John chapter 15 verse 19 when he said, if you belong to the world, it would love you as its own. And as it is, you do not belong to the world. But listen to this please. I have chosen you out of the world. Now we're going to get right into this word today and go right to the core and the root of the matter of what is on the Lord's heart and what concerns him dearly and greatly these days dearly because many many of his children are at risk in perishing and greatly because the enemy is on the prowl and God's people overall are oblivious as to what is happening in the world today as prophesied in Matthew 24 when Jesus says, Watch out that no one deceives you. Now many Christians, as I said, are oblivious as to what is happening on the world scene overall and moreover and most importantly, spiritually, they are neglectful in watching over the state and the condition of their own souls. Jesus said also in Matthew 24, warning about the end times, that people will be preoccupied with the world and life in general, as they were in the days of Noah. The message I wish to impart in this word today is found in 2 Corinthians 6.16. And the word declares, For we are the temple of the living God, even as God said, I will dwell in and with and among them, and I will walk in and with and among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people. Verse 17, So come out from among unbelievers, and separate and sever yourselves from them, says the Lord, and touch not any unclean thing. Then I will receive you kindly, and will treat you with favor. and I will be a father to you and you shall be my sons and daughters says the Lord Almighty. You see verse 17 is a command that says come out from among them and separate yourselves from them. Come out from among them is a statement that says come out from among the idolaters and the unbelievers and from every superficial, sinful, and perverse thing in this empty world that belongs to Satan, the devil. You must come to see that the world is vicious because it is influenced by Satan and his hordes of hell. And there are people who purport to be a Christian who mock and ridicule and contemptuously put down and badger those who do attempt to live in compliance to God's holy word and command in 2 Corinthians 6.17 again, which declares, so come out from among unbelievers and separate, sever yourselves from them, says the Lord, and touch not any unclean thing, and I will receive you and treat you kindly with my favor. And I will be a father to you and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty. Well, God is saying, Come out of Babylon and do not touch the unclean and the vile things which belong to Satan. These people who mock and ridicule say, We can't come out of the world. how could we come out of the world when we're a part of it and they also are ones who mock and say ah we can't be perfect they say this because they really like the world and what it has to offer they love looking like the world acting like the world and behaving like the world Jesus commanded also that we be perfect like his father in heaven is perfect, but unregenerate purporting Christians who are ignorant of what God says do not know that to be perfect means that we are to grow in maturity in this Christian way of life. And this was a command from Christ himself. So how dare we, who claim to wear the title of Christian, which means a follower of Christ, if you claim to be a believer in Jesus Christ, how dare we then say that we can't be perfect or to come out of the world is not right? How dare we contradict the word of God? Who are we but mere creatures of clay? so if we claim to be a believer in Christ then we will be imitating and reflecting his likeness his character, his purity, his modesty his honesty and sincerity and you'll be united with him in oneness Jesus also said in John 10, 27 the sheep that are my own are listening to my voice and I know them and they follow me. Hallelujah. Praise the Lord. They follow me. Now listen. To follow Christ and listen to him means that you will hear and you will obey his commandments. And Jesus knows those who are his because they go where his spirit and his providence leads them, and they will yield themselves to his guidance and seek desperately to be led by him. Therefore, the name and title of Christian means to be a follower of Christ. True Christians are ones who truly follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They are not Christians in name only. To be a follower of Christ means that you will obey his word and submit entirely to him. Revelation 14.4 declares, These are those who have not defiled themselves by relations with women, for they are pure as virgins. These are those who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These are they who have been ransomed, they've been purchased and redeemed from among men as first fruits for God and the Lamb. No lie was found upon their lips, for they are blameless, they're spotless, untainted, without blemish before the throne of God. These verses get right to the heart of the matter in describing what a Christian looks and acts like. Here in these beautiful verses, we have one of the most awesome, most descriptive sights that can be seen and visualized with Jesus Christ as head of his church and his faithful followers who represent his true church. that is, individual members of his body, who took him at his word on the earth by holding it dear to their hearts and denied themselves of worldly vices and every abomination, that is, every shameful, vile, or detestable thing that Satan presented to them. They hated anything that was impure and perverse. they had not defiled themselves with women means that they remained pure and had not tainted or trained themselves to let their minds and their hearts wander when looking upon another to where impure or sexual thoughts or desires rose up which leads to the physical act of adultery or fornication. spiritual adultery is symbolic of one who professes to be a follower of Christ but yet are ones who remain faithless and unholy because they profane Christ's name by way of their attachment to worldly entertainments such as movies and videos and games and TV and technology and sports parties and travel and the busyness of life with people, places and things and all of these are put first in people's lives to where they neglect the number one responsibility in their lives and that is to love the Lord their God with all of their hearts all of their souls all of their minds their entire being spiritual adultery is worshipping or putting first all of the above a mentioned before putting Christ first and honoring he and his father in daily and continual worship and heartfelt devotion. And if the latter does not happen in a professing Christian's life, then they will only be living a lie and will be known in heaven as pretenders of the faith. Pretenders of the faith are called an adulterous generation, which means they were unholy and faithless in an apostate church who deceived themselves right into hell. They compromised God's truth to fit their carnal passions and desires. They toyed with God's grace once it came into their hearing. And these are those in every generation who stand before the great and the mighty judge Jesus Christ and hear, get away from me, I never knew you. Because they did not take the time while they had breath on the earth to come to him, to know him. But those who truly follow him are purifying their hearts by obeying his every command and living a life that is truly honorable and pleasing to him without compromise, without mental assent, without presumption, without sympathizing with evil, without adapting to this world's vile system or ways. And this is why they are considered pure and chaste. They have the name written on their foreheads. Listen to what Revelation 14.1. In Revelation 14.1, what it has to say about the true followers who honorably follow the Lamb. Then I looked, and behold, the Lamb stood on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 men who had his name and his father's name inscribed on their foreheads. These are sealed in Christ. They cannot be touched or harassed by the evil one. They endured through every trial and remain faithful They became one with Christ They married to him And this seal is their distinguishing badge His name was written on their foreheads They made a bold and an open confession and profession of their love and faith in God and his Son, Jesus Christ. Their words were pure and sincere, without deceit and fraudulence in their confession. and they're known and approved by heaven. And their love and their attention was followed by a song in their heart which was unknown and yet secret to others. And others might endeavor to repeat or copy this divine or supernatural song, but they remain strangers on the outside looking in, in God's eyes and His sight. and these had the character, the faith, the purity in spirit that delighted the very heart of God and they are described as those who kept themselves undefiled by the world. They were not spiritual adulterers. They are virgins who in spirit were pure and chaste like the dove with their eyes only fixed and their love, their eyes and their love fixed on the object of their faith who was none else but Jesus Christ, the author and the finisher of their faith. As we grow and we peer into God's word and we study this wonderful and enlightening truth, it is supernatural, dear ones. It's divine. And it begins to bring about a wonderful change in your heart. and as you learn this beautiful truth and understand it personally that God is speaking to me through his word you come to love the truth that God speaks to your heart and before long you find yourself being enveloped in his love and his presence and you find yourself wanting to please him and you find your joy and peace comes only from him because, because, because of your submission and obedience in obeying what he tells you to do in his word. This command in 2 Corinthians 6.17 which declares come out from among unbelievers and separate yourselves or sever yourselves from them, says the Lord, touch no unclean thing, then I will receive you kindly and treat you with favor. Now this command to come out of Babylon and not touch any unclean and vile thing which belongs to Satan, if heeded, will invoke the kindness and the favor of God in your life. Verse 17 in our scripture in the latter part says, I will receive you kindly and treat you with favor, says the Lord. I'll be a father to you and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty. You see, Babylon represents the world. And even though we live in the world, we're not to be a part of the world. And the command to not touch any unclean or vile thing means that you will separate yourself from vain, from idolatrous, from filthy, perverse attachments. and you will be watchful and careful in your thoughts, your thought life, in your words, in what you say, and your deeds, and also what you lay your eyes on and what you incline your ears to hear. You and I, if we call ourselves Christian, are to be separated from the world and all of its corrupting influences, and we are actually called to loathe all of Satan's evil temptations. Touching no unclean thing tells us that we are to be pure and have absolutely no connection to anything vile, vain, and polluted, such as sexy, indecent, and lewd fashions, which excite and incite sexual, sensual, obscene passions in others. And I'm afraid there are many professing Christians in name only who sit in pews every Sunday who will stand before their judge one day and will be sentenced to hell because of their indecent and sensual dress. not only dragging it into the church week after week, but wearing it in the workplace and at home because it is fashionable in today's time. God commands that women, men too, dress decently and modestly. Being pure also means that we will not desire to see movies, videos, or partake of games that have pornography, that are violent, full of sex and foul language. Being pure means that we will not commit adultery or fornicate. Well, the word says to look upon another with a lustful passion or fantasies is being guilty of the act of adultery or fornication already. And being pure means that you will not covet or desire those things that demand your time or attention. Covetousness is defined by the Bible dictionary as being a very grave or serious sin. And this means that Satan puts on people's heart desire to have things, which include the materialistic things or material things, which include larger cars, houses, bigger bank accounts, entertainment, riches, which include wealth and status, titles, and today, the unsationable desire to have all the technology, the new devices and gadgets that are constantly being updated and invented and advertised as a must-have, gotta have it. And young people are victims of this technology. And Christian parents are guilty of allowing this sinful practice of keeping up with the Joneses, so to speak, so that their child will not be left out of the race to show them just as affluent as the boy or the girl next door. Young children or young Christian adults soon become responsible for the salvation of their own souls when it comes to putting the brakes on and saying, These are not eternal things, and I will take nothing with me out of this world when I depart. it covetousness is inordinate or extreme love of money and also the desire to have more than one possesses in many cases this unsationable appetite seeks and finds ways to have what they want and many feel their desire to have more by dishonest gain which leads to people stealing and lying and manipulating people to have what they want to have. Covetousness is such a grave and serious sin that scriptures class it among the most serious of sins. Ephesians 5 verse 3 please. Ephesians 5 verse 3. but fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness let it not be once named among you as it is fitting and proper among saints God's consecrated people now another word for covetousness is called greed or greediness in Colossians 3.5 it is called idolatry Colossians 3.5 covetousness, for that is idolatry, the deifying of self and other created things instead of God. Ranked among everything that is impure in the eyes of God, covetousness and greed listed among those things employed in our bodily members that have these insatiable appetites to have more, want more. And it's fit in right with fornication, adultery, impurity, sensual desires, appetites, unholy desires. Covetousness leads to departure of the faith. Did you hear that? Covetousness leads to departure of the faith. It is the root of many other sins. It leads, as I said, to lying, to disagreement, to lust, to argument, and eventually to murder. Look with me, please, opening your Bibles to Proverbs 15, verse 27. Proverbs 15, verse 27. The Word declares, He who is greedy or covetous for unjust gain, that means that which he or she does not have, troubles his own household. So this is saying that this monstrous greedy appetite that wants more and more will cause trouble in their own household. And these kinds of people are a torment to themselves and their own families by having such greediness and ravenous fascination with more and more stuff that bottom line, it is a curse from Satan and fueled by his demons until that individual puts his foot down on the neck of the devil and says, No more, Satan! I will not be controlled by you any longer. I am a follower of Jesus Christ in him whom my soul craves. I crave his truths and long after his righteousness and purity. Dear church, covetousness does not fit anywhere into God's holy ways of being pure. Not one place does it fit in. being pure means also that we will not engage in conversation that is filthy or foul or vile or sinful or sleazy of any kind and being pure means that we will tell the truth at all times it means we will not tell a half truth in order to pull the wool over someone's eyes in order to keep our image or to save face or get by with something now let me say a half truth is the most dangerous because it is the most seductive form of delusion and for homework those of you who do not know what delusion is I suggest that you learn and you study that word a half truth which is presented usually excludes the suspicion of deception a lie is a lie a half truth is deceptive and God's word says all liars deserve eternal death being a true Christian means then that we are to avoid all unholy contact with the vain and polluted world we are not to have a close connection with an idolater or unholy person We are not to be unequally yoked. An idolater is someone who turns away from God because of other interests that capture and steal their attention and attraction to God, their creator. The things or persons that these turn to are their idols, and they are known as an idolater. An idolater or an unholy person is one who fits into the category of a list that I have just mentioned. Now how many people who call themselves Christians fit into this category and sit in the pews of churches every week? Ignore the promptings and unctions of the Holy Spirit by hardening their hearts to him when all he is endeavoring to do is interest and draw them unto the one true and eternal God who desires to bring them in this exciting and the divine and supernatural truths and ways that make up his everlasting kingdom where he can demonstrate his love and his joy and his peace in their hearts and their lives while they journey through this life on earth. in our opening scripture today in John 15 verse 19 Jesus said I've chosen you I've selected you out of the world Christ's followers are always described as a peculiar or different people and even treasured possessions and this is because they are not of the world and do not partake of its evil offerings as we have been covering and speaking about in this word today. Christ's followers are separated from the world. And Jesus said again, I have chosen you out of the world. And this separation is called separation from sin. The separation actually manifests itself in being true to Christ's commands and demonstrates a joyful obedience and submission to his commands. and it's actually being at one with God and close agreement with his word and maintaining close fellowship with him and enjoying a life of a holy love and internal and eternal joy beyond description. You are actually not your own anymore and you'll love it this way because you've been bought with the price and you know the value and costliness of that price. And you will die for the one whose name means costly. You no longer wish to participate in the futile and empty enjoyments of Satan's system. He no longer has claim on your life. You're free because you live in Christ and your love is fixed on him and not on people, places, or things. Satan hates people like this with a passion. But he cannot touch them because God has his mark upon them and that means his protection surrounds them as well. And this means when all this is taking place in your life, that you've answered the call to holy living. and you have agreed with your master when he called you out of the world and invited you to separate yourself from every sinful desire and deed and you've sown seeds of righteousness into your heart and you know that God's election rests upon you and in time of need you know that you will reap his mercy. Those who choose to live a life of sin and rebellion are heirs of his wrath and they walk in the darkness believing the lies of the evil one. And these roam with other wild beasts upon the desolate places and are trapped in the web of vanity and pride. You see, when Christ gave you the call and chose you out of the world, you agreed to devote your life to him in a life of purity, instead of a life of slavery to sin. This was God's goodness and his mercy being revealed to you. And your part was to agree to be in compliance with his commands. You see, it is the call of Christ alone that makes a distinction amongst God's true and devoted people. Abraham once he received the call of God the word tells us he believed and he obeyed God hallelujah and he did this because listen to this he did it because he knew that he was called he knew that he was called he didn't say manana or tomorrow or chew bubble gum and blow bubbles in God's face he knew he was called and he was called not because he was more handsome or better or special or smarter than others, but because it pleased God to call him and not others. That's why he was called. Look at 1 Corinthians 1.26, please. 1 Corinthians 1.26 For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put shame to the wise. And God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty and the base things of the world and the things which are despised. God has chosen in the things which are not to bring to nothing the things that are. Verse 29. that no flesh should glory in his presence. But of him you are in Jesus Christ who became for us wisdom from God and in righteousness and sanctification and redemption that is as it is written he who glories let him glory in the Lord. Just as it pleased God to call Abraham It pleased God to call you out of the world also. And the church of the living God consists of those who are called out of the world and demonstrate the true fruit of his spirit. The call of Abraham is a pattern or a type of the call of the church, which is found again in 2 Corinthians 6.16. 2 Corinthians 6.16. what agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God said, I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God and they will be my people. Verse 17, therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you. I'll be a father to you and you will be my sons and daughters says the Lord Almighty you see self-denial is the foundation and proof of all Christian profession let me say that again and may the word go deep in your hearts self-denial is the foundation and the proof of all sincere profession. Abraham began his walk and demonstrated his self-denial and his agreement of his call from God by walking in the highest and greatest examples of faith that earned him the title of the Father of Multitudes. And Jesus gives insight into the Scripture that parallels Abraham's example of dying to self and all earthly passions, and it's found in Matthew 10, verse 37. We're just really going through the word today, aren't we? He who loves and takes more pleasure in father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. And he who loves and takes more pleasure in son or daughter more than in me is not worthy of me. Verse 38, And he who does not take up his cross and follow me, that means cleave steadfastly to me, conforming wholly to my example in living, and if need be in dying, also is not worthy of me. Verse 39, whoever finds his lower life will lose it, the higher life, and whoever loses his lower life on my account will find it in the higher life. Well, Jesus also speaks another example of what our faith requires in dying to Satan's system of greed. means covetousness, lust, and carnal passions, and it amounts to this just as stated in the scripture that we have just read. And this one is found in Matthew 16, verse 24. Matthew 16, verse 24. Then Jesus said to his disciples, If anyone desires to be my disciple, let him deny himself, disregard, lose sight of, and forget himself and his own interest. and take up his cross and follow me, and cleave steadfastly to me, conform wholly to my example, and living if need be, and dying also. Verse 25. For whoever is bent on saving his temporal life, his comfort and security here, shall lose it. And whoever loses his life, for my sake, shall find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? that is, his blessed life in the kingdom of God? Or what would a man give as an exchange for his blessed life in the kingdom of God? You see, if you desire or intend to have the faith of Abraham in answering the call to come out of the world and wish to demonstrate the fruit and receive the blessings and the protection of God, you must lay the foundation of it in the abandon

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