Separation (January 15, 2023)

I have prayed and I believe that, just like in years past, God has given, as the Pastor of Coosa Valley Church of God, a THEME for the Year 2023 for Coosa Valley Church of God. Over the next few weeks, we are going to look at each of these four words individually and moving throughout this year, we are going to dig into His Word deeper and deeper.

• SEPARATION

• SALVATION

• SERVICE

• STEWARDSHIP

Let’s start this year off by taking a look at each of these just a little bit closer:

• SEPARATION

What does it mean for separation? The action or state of moving or being moved apart.

Let’s look at Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer …

John 17:14-18 ~ “I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.”

The world we live in today, some believes that the church is just about Hate and Offending. This is because many have shown this from the church. Some believes that the church is about about God’s Love and therefore the church accepts the world just as they are and no change must occur. I am here to tell you that neither is true.

We as the Church of God (not denomination) are not to walk around hating the world, nor our neighbors, nor our enemies, but we are to show the Love of God, however, we also must remember that the world needs to be able to tell the difference between the world and the Church that God has established and is coming back for. How do we do this?

First, everyone is welcomed into this House of God – drunk, druggy, thief, murderer – it doesn’t matter the life that they once had or still have, that person is still a soul that needs to hear about the Salvation Grace of Jesus Christ the Son of God. But in coming into this House of God, they need to hear about how we as Christians are to SEPARATE ourselves from the things of the world – lust of the flesh and eyes – for example.

Take a look at our verse one more time.

Jesus prayed that God would keep the disciples, and thus you and I, from the world and the evil one (Satan). This therefore means that Jesus is praying that the things that Satan brings into this world, Jesus is praying that God would keep the disciples from those things as well. What does this mean? This means that those things Satan has brought into the world is SIN and Jesus wants us as His Disciples to STAY AWAY FROM SIN!

Both the world and Satan are evil and stand opposed to all that Jesus and His disciples have proclaimed.

• The world and Satan stand against the love of God. Why? Because God’s love is not the grandfatherly love of indulgence. God’s love is the true love of obedience, an obedience that gives all one is and has to meet the needs of a desperate world lost in sin and death. True love loves so much that it gives everything and does all it can to help any who are in desperate need. Most men in the world are unwilling to give anything other than a mere token, and even then recognition is desired for what little is given.

• The world and Satan stand against the holiness and justice of God. Why? Because it means that both must stand before God some day to give an account of their lives and deeds, sins and dirt, pollution and evil.

• The world and Satan stand against Jesus. Why? Because Jesus was the One who claimed to be the Son of God, and if He is truly the Son of God, then total allegiance is due Him. And neither the world nor Satan are willing to serve anyone other than self.

There are three primary reasons why God needed to protect the disciples, you and I are counted in this as well, from the world and Satan:

• The world and the devil hates the disciples of Jesus

• The disciples of Christ have the Word of God in them. God’s Word reveals …

• God’s love, a sacrificial love that gives all it has, is different from the love the world wants.

• God’s holiness and justice and man’s depravity, a fact that man rejects and refuses to face.

• Christ, the Son of God Himself, who demands total allegiance and commitment to become ministers and servants of God.

• The disciples are not of the world, even as Jesus was not of this world.

• The disciples and other believers were born again by the Spirit of God and given the very nature of God. The world and the devil want absolutely nothing to do with a selfless and sacrificial nature, a righteous and godly nature that gives all one is and has to meet the needs of the diseased and starving and lost masses of the world.

John 13:34-35 ~ “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.””

Romans 5:8 ~ “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

1 John 3:16 ~ “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.”

• The disciples were needed in the world. The need was not for them to be taken out of the world; the need was for them to be kept from the evil one or from Satan. The disciples were called to be ambassadors and messengers of God in the world. God’s mission to save the world depended upon their loyalty and faithfulness. They had to be kept and protected and covered with the armor of God.

Ephesians 6:10-11 ~ “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.”

1 Peter 5:8 ~ “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”

• The disciples were now of the same nature as Jesus. This is the same truth stated in verse 14. The truth is so glorious, it has to be reemphasized. Note this is the main reason the world and Satan attacks the believer.

Romans 12:1-2 ~ “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Jesus, in His prayer, doesn’t start at just asking God to SEPARATE the disciples, again this is you and I today as well, from the world and protect the disciples from Satan, Jesus also asks God to SANCTIFY them. (I didn’t list Sanctify in our 2023 Theme, because I firmly believe that SANCTIFICATION is a vital part of SEPARATION.) For me, I believe that SEPARATION and SANCTIFICATION are the same thing. The word “Sanctify” means to be set apart, to be separated. I also believe that in order for us to spread the news of the SALVATION of Jesus Christ, SEPARATION and SANCTIFICATION must take place in our lives FIRST AND FOREMOST!!!

Jesus prayed and believed that the disciples needed to be SEPARATED and set apart to God through His truth for two reasons:

• They were being sent into the world just as Jesus had been sent into the world. Jesus had come into the world to bring men back to God through reconciliation. The disciples had to be set apart to this same task.

Matthew 20:28 ~ “even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.””

Mark 16:15 ~ “And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.”

Acts 1:8 ~ “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.””

1 Peter 3:15 ~ “but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,”

• Sanctification is the way of salvation chosen to reach the world. Jesus had set Himself apart to please God and He pleased God to the ultimate degree. No matter the cost, the glory of God was to be done. Perfect obedience to God was the chosen way of salvation. Being set apart to serve and worship God is what salvation is all about.