Scripture referenced 9 passages
The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.
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Romans 8:38-39 prayed aloud before worship: nothing can separate us from God's love
38 For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,
39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from God’s love, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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Keep this verse
Jeremiah 10:6
quoted as a call to worship: there is none like you, oh Lord
6 There is no one like you, Yahweh. You are great, and your name is great in might.
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Deuteronomy 22:6-12
read in full as background for the Old Testament holiness laws
6 If you come across a bird’s nest on the way, in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs, and the hen sitting on the young, or on the eggs, you shall not take the hen with the young.
7 You shall surely let the hen go, but the young you may take for yourself; that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days.
8 When you build a new house, then you shall make a railing around your roof, so that you don’t bring blood on your house if anyone falls from there.
9 You shall not sow your vineyard with two kinds of seed, lest all the fruit be defiled, the seed which you have sown, and the increase of the vineyard.
10 You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.
11 You shall not wear clothes of wool and linen woven together.
12 You shall make yourselves fringes on the four corners of your cloak with which you cover yourself.
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Leviticus 19:15-19
read in full as the first stating of the holiness laws including love your neighbor
15 “‘You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor show favoritism to the great; but you shall judge your neighbor in righteousness.
16 “‘You shall not go up and down as a slanderer among your people. “‘You shall not endanger the life of your neighbor. I am Yahweh.
17 “‘You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him.
18 “‘You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people; but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am Yahweh.
19 “‘You shall keep my statutes. “‘You shall not cross-breed different kinds of animals. “‘You shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed; “‘Don’t wear a garment made of two kinds of material.
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2 Corinthians 6:11-13
Paul's heartfelt plea to the Corinthians to widen their hearts
11 Our mouth is open to you, Corinthians. Our heart is enlarged.
12 You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted by your own affections.
13 Now in return, I speak as to my children, you also open your hearts.
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2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1
the call to holiness: do not be unequally yoked, cleanse from defilement
14 Don’t be unequally yoked with unbelievers, for what fellowship have righteousness and iniquity? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?
15 What agreement has Christ with Belial? Or what portion has a believer with an unbeliever?
16 What agreement has a temple of God with idols? For you are a temple of the living God. Even as God said, “I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they will be my people.”
17 Therefore “‘Come out from among them, and be separate,’ says the Lord. ‘Touch no unclean thing. I will receive you.
18 I will be to you a Father. You will be to me sons and daughters,’ says the Lord Almighty.”
1 Having therefore these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
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1 Peter
cited for the command not to leave a marriage where one spouse is an unbeliever
Keep this verseMatthew 11:28-30
closing words of Jesus: come to me, my yoke is easy and my burden is light
28 “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you will find rest for your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
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Recap
The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.
Pastor Ray preached from 2 Corinthians 6, walking the congregation through a call to holiness that sits at the center of two heartfelt pleas from Paul to the church at Corinth. The passage can feel out of place to modern readers, but Pastor Ray argued that it makes complete sense once you understand what the Corinthians were actually dealing with. The sermon drew on Old Testament law, the context of pagan Corinth, and a clip from Seinfeld to make the point concrete.
What was said
Pastor Ray opened by revisiting Leviticus and Deuteronomy from the previous week. Laws about not mixing seed, not plowing with an ox and a donkey together, and not wearing linen and wool mixed together can seem strange four thousand years removed from their cultural setting. But the pattern running through all of them is holiness, God setting his people apart from the nations around them. The priestly garments were actually made of linen and wool together, which is why ordinary Israelites were told not to wear that combination. God was drawing a line between what is holy and what is everyday.
That background matters because many readers of 2 Corinthians hit the passage beginning at verse 14 and assume it does not belong there. Some scholars have argued it was inserted by someone else, or that Paul wrote it but placed it wrong. Pastor Ray's answer to that is straightforward: if you decide ahead of time what a passage means, it will always seem to fit poorly. Read it as what it actually is, a call to holiness sandwiched between two heartfelt pleas, and the structure makes sense.
The first plea, in verses 11 through 13, is Paul telling the Corinthians that his heart is wide open toward them and asking them to widen their own hearts in return. What is closing their hearts off, he says, is their own affections, their gut instincts about how life works. Pastor Ray connected that directly to the pastoral experience of people who take God's promises seriously but have never taken his call to holiness seriously, and then wonder why things feel so hard.
The call to holiness itself runs through five rhetorical questions: what does righteousness have to do with lawlessness, light with darkness, Christ with Belial, a believer with an unbeliever, the temple of God with idols. In Greek, Pastor Ray noted, the expected answer to every one of them is obviously nothing. The command not to be unequally yoked is a direct imperative, but Pastor Ray was careful not to preach it narrowly. He said the explicit point is not simply about whom to date or marry. It is about whether Christians are living by the same system the surrounding culture lives by, which is exactly what the Corinthians were doing.
To make that visible, Pastor Ray showed a clip from Seinfeld in which a character named Putty turns out to be a Christian, but his girlfriend Elaine only finds out because she borrows his car and notices the radio presets. The moment Pastor Ray returned to was Elaine grabbing Putty and telling him that if he genuinely believes she is going to hell, he should be trying to save her. That, Pastor Ray said, is true, and the way to do it is by living with enough integrity and holiness that it actually shows. The presets on someone's car radio should not be the first clue.
Paul closes the section in chapter 7 verse 1 by grounding the call to holiness in the promises God has already made: that he will dwell among his people, walk among them, be their God, and receive them as sons and daughters. Because those promises are real, Paul says, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit. Pastor Ray emphasized both words, body and spirit, as a direct push against any idea that only the inner, spiritual life matters. Which one wins, he said, comes down to which one you feed.
The second heartfelt plea closes the passage and mirrors the first. Paul tells the Corinthians they are in his heart, that he has wronged no one among them, and that he is overflowing with joy even in affliction. Pastor Ray pointed out that this second plea and the first one bracket the call to holiness perfectly, and that Paul can make these claims precisely because he has lived in pagan cities and walked in integrity there. The call is not to withdraw from the world but to stand out in it, and to let God do the ongoing work of sanctifying a life that is genuinely turned toward him.
Doing a Bible study?
Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages in order, questions for the group, and room to write.
- Pastor Ray described the Corinthians as people who took God's promises seriously but did not take His call to holiness seriously. Where do you see that same gap showing up in your own life?
- Paul lists five rhetorical questions in a row, each with an obvious answer of 'none,' about what believers share with unbelievers. What does it look like practically, in your daily life, to be 'holy other' without withdrawing completely from the people around you?
and 3 more questions in the guide
Read the full transcript 7,222 words
0:00
Okay. I think we are on hey. Good morning, everybody. What do you
0:04
say we we start by just warming up to God in song? Little verse here. My heart is confident in you, oh God. No wonder I can sing your praise with all my heart. Let's stand up and just kinda sing our way to the Lord this morning.
0:25
Sing my soul. Soul. Sing my soul. Sing my soul. Sing my soul.
2:09
Amen. Y'all can have a seat. I've got a few announcements, but before I get into the announcements at all, we have a good idea. Okay? Right now, at this stage in the game, this is a good idea and I'm going to introduce Eden Star, would you come on up?
2:24
And Christy, would you come on up? And Bobby, would you come on up? So, I'll let them tell you about it but this is right off the bat. First thing, There you go. Microphone.
2:35
Good.
2:36
Good morning, everybody. My name is Eden Star, and I am starting an organization called Christie's Second Chance. When I was 17, I fell in love with the idea of helping out young women in an unplanned pregnancy. And, as I really began to work on this idea, my mother felt like it was the best time to tell me her own beautiful story. Mom?
2:58
Oh, and how Bobby and Daley, Mike and Bobby Daley are definitely involved in it. So,
3:04
so importantly. Here you go. Alrighty. Good morning. Yes.
3:09
I am Christy, Eden's mom. And now I moved to Jackson in 1922. And I was Okay. Yes. I'm very nervous.
3:21
This is not my bag. But anyway, let's see. I was 22 in 1992. And I moved to Jackson, yeah, with a young man. And he was my boyfriend and we were dating, living together.
3:36
And let's see, have it all written down so I'll just do that. Yeah. So I found out I was pregnant and that wasn't great news. I walked around the corner, I lived in town and I walked to the crisis pregnancy center and there was, many of you know Pam Murdock, who was just a light. And she told me yes indeed you're pregnant and I informed her that this was really not good news.
4:09
And explained exactly why this was not good news. And when I got done telling her my kind of hopeless view of life, she shared her very hopeful view of life. And so she introduced me to Mike and Bobby Daley who I had not met. And they took me in and I lived with them during the pregnancy. Had a little boy, he was adopted by a family in Tulsa.
4:41
I met the family through a network of friends at the church that I attended. But I will tell you that prior to meeting Bobby and Mike, I really had very little hope about life. But being with them and watching their life and experiencing God with them was just life changing. It really was. It was the hope that I had not known.
5:08
And let me see if I said everything. Yes. It was so beautiful the way I'd written it. But anyway, I think that's all. All I wanted to say was just that it was a wonderful experience.
5:23
So Bobby, you tell your little.
5:26
Well, the day that Christy walked into our life was life changing for Mike and I. And my husband and I got, had the privilege to walk with her through a very, very difficult time. But we knew the more we knew her that God had a special plan for her and that he loved her so deeply. As a matter of fact, Mike said, God loves her more than anybody else. He just constantly was blessing her.
6:00
I never thought that I would be standing here not only with her, but with her beautiful daughter. And looking at doing this project, I would encourage all of you, what Eden is looking for is host families to host women who are in crisis, young women. They don't necessarily have to be pregnant, but if they are, okay. And I can tell you from experience, we hosted probably 15 or 20 women, maybe more than that, some pregnant, some not. They give so much.
6:42
It's just amazing how the Lord blesses you. And I encourage you to pray, see if God would have you do this. And I caution you, if he says no, don't go past him. I did that once. Not a good experience.
7:02
It sounds like it's daunting. It isn't. It's not like having another child. It's coming alongside someone who really, really needs you. And it's a blessing beyond all blessings.
7:16
And I encourage you to seek God and to join us.
7:21
So, as Bobby said, what we are looking for is families who are able to provide shelter for young women like my mother. With the help of my advisors, Pastor Ray, Kristin McDonald, Bobby Daily, and a good friend of mine, Bob Peters, I have formulated an application process to facilitate this program that we are calling The Daily Project. We had the opportunity to meet with Judy Basie at Turning Point and she agreed that this was a real need here in our valley. If you would like to get involved, talk to Pastor Ray, I would love to talk to you as well. Thank you all so much for listening and have a really great week.
8:01
Alright. The rest of the announcements are in your bulletin. Alright. That's it. Is there anything that we have to say back there in the back?
8:15
Please check your morning's bulletin. That's good. Also, Teri Nuttle, for those of you who don't know, is doing better. I have a quick note on her. She's off the ventilator since last week since yesterday.
8:27
Her sutures are not leaking. She's out of a coma. She's had some jello. Her cognitive skills are improving somewhat. She is still in ICU.
8:36
Still no visitors but there will be updates on the Caring Bridge website. So, thank you for your prayers and keep on going. Is that it? Alright. Check your bulletin.
8:46
You can shake hands with one another and we'll bring you back together with a song. Amen.
10:11
I'm alive because I'm alive and deep. It's all because of Jesus. And I'm covers me and prays this difference by. And it's all because, Jesus, I'm Alright. Higher than the mountains.
16:10
Amen. Let me just pray through this verse here. I'm convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love, neither death or life, angels or demons, neither our fears for today or our worries about tomorrow that doesn't stop God from loving. Not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love. Amen.
16:33
It's good. It it's good to meet on a on a Sunday morning to get when else do we have an opportunity to do this? You know, just hang out together as a a a church family, like minded, singing the praises of God. It it really is a special thing, and let's not take it for granted, That we have an opportunity to come together and center ourselves right on Jesus, right on the cross. It is a beautiful thing.
17:03
God, we're grateful. We're grateful to be able to meet with you. Thank you that you put a song in our heart, and then now we we we sing it back to you. And would you use our voices here and use us worship together to bring you bring you praise and and and bring this body close together, God. I I thank you for how you're you're helping us to love one another truly and on purpose.
17:30
Would you keep doing that, God? And we invite you. We invite you to be with us. Amen. From Jeremiah ten six, there is none like you, oh Lord.
21:59
And God, we say we say that. You are great and your name is great and mighty. Can we leave it at that and just rest on you for a bit? Our great and mighty savior. Amen.
22:12
Let's see. Steve, can I have you just just give thanks for we're we're entering here? The worship through giving. Just one way to give. And so I'm gonna let Steve go ahead and and and give thanks.
22:27
Father, we're so grateful. You've blessed us abundantly. And, we just wanna we wanna share that. We wanna give it back and say thank you. Lord, would you please take these funds, spread them around this town and around the world?
22:39
And, Lord, we pray that with every dollar, every penny, that your name, your gospel would go forth and that you would draw many to yourself. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.
23:20
Here in this morning weary land where many
28:00
Alright. Amen. That was a slideshow from the women's retreat that happened a couple weeks ago and it is time for the kids to head down to Peak Children's Church. The cavalcade going downstairs. The pitter patter of little feet.
28:19
A lot of that going on this morning. I have I I I have an a confession to make. Don't worry but I have a confession to make. I just got here. Like, I just right before the service.
28:31
Usually, we come in for sound check. We're here at 07:30. If we're dragging in at 07:45, I woke up at 08:25. So, yeah. So, I'm an insomniac.
28:46
I I don't sleep much and y'all have heard that before but last night, I didn't fall asleep till after the alarm went off this morning at 06:30. So, if this is apologizing advance, so be it. Okay. So, we're going pick up right where we left off last week. Deuteronomy 22.
29:05
Deuteronomy twenty two six through 12 says, if you come across a bird's nest in any tree or on the ground with young ones on the eggs or the mother sitting on the young or on the eggs, you shall not take the mother with the young, you shall let the mother go. Okay? But the young, you may take for yourself that it may go well with you and that you may live long When you build a new house, you shall make a para pit for your roof that you may not bring the guilt of blood upon your house if anyone should fall from it That you should not sow your vineyard with two kinds of seed lest the whole yield be forfeited. The Hebrew right there is become holy not just forfeited. You have to throw it away that it should become holy The crop that you have sown and the yield of the vineyard, you shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.
29:51
You shall not wear a cloth of wool and linen mixed together. You shall make yourself tassels on the four corners of the garment of which you are covered yourself. There's that's what I expected. It's completely still in the room. Y'all know what Deuteronomy means?
30:13
It's Greek, actually. It's from the Greek. Deuterias means second and Namas means law. So, Deuteronomy is the second stating of the law. Now, Moses has had a chance when he came down from Sinai when the whole Levitical priesthood is traveling in the wilderness.
30:30
They've had this chance and just before they go into the promised land, Moses restates the law in Deuteronomy. Deuteros Namos. That is a second telling of the law from the lips pen. Scrap, whatever of Moses. Leviticus, this is a real good telling of the first law and again, we've said several times, there's not a whole lot of mercy found but listen to Leviticus nineteen fifteen through 19.
30:57
Right where we left off last week. You shall not do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great but in righteousness, shall you judge your neighbor? You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people and you shall not stand up against the life. That's literally in Hebrew the blood.
31:16
You shall not stand up against the blood of your neighbor for I am the Lord. You shall not hate your brother in your heart but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor lest you incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear grudge against the sons of your own people but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord. Hey, there's something we recognize.
31:38
You shall keep my statutes. You shall not let your cattle breed with a different kind. You shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed nor shall you wear a garment of cloth made of two kinds of material. The second one does get to be a more accurate restating the linen and wool together thing. And when we look at these laws, sometimes we just go, what in the world does that have to do with the price of tea in China?
32:01
This doesn't make any sense at all to us whatsoever because we removed four thousand years, maybe a little more from the cultural context of this and so some of the stuff you just go, what in the world is he talking about? But there's something holy other about it, right? It's holy different. It's holy actually H O L Y, holy different He is making rules for his people, his people, Israel, and he's asking them to follow these rules. And there's not a whole lot of mercy if they don't.
32:30
He's setting them apart from the nations. And he's got some things that he really, really cares about in here. Love your neighbor as yourself. We pick up a lot. The this the garment of cloth made of two types of material in Deuteronomy says, wear a cloth of wool and linen mixed together.
32:50
That comes up a lot these days. I've heard several debates recently where people are saying, well, do you still believe this? I see you're wearing linen and wool there and that comes up and this is Old Testament law. So, I'm I'm just saying, there's one thing that I had never known before and this wool and linen together, you know the priestly garments that were required of the Levites that were required of the priest especially the priest in service. They were made of linen and wool together.
33:19
God was trying to separate that which is holy from the mundane every day. So, it's about the holiness of God but also the holiness of his people. He wants for them to be different. He's the creator. He is the arbitrator.
33:34
He is the one that can say what the rules are and if he tells us what the rules are, that's what we need to go by. Now, for his children of Israel, this is what he told them and some of em admittedly are a little bit weird but it does set them apart. Does that make sense? Okay. Deuteronomy, I got that.
33:50
Leviticus, you got that. So, this is where we really were last week. When we left, okay? The reason that I did that little abrupt change of pace right there is because tons of people going through second Corinthians see this set of verses we're going to go through today and go, this is weird. This is completely out of context.
34:12
This makes no sense. It does not follow the point before nor the one after. It's just separated and because the context seems strange to them, they go, well, it means this and they pick one of two places. One of those places is Deuteronomy. The other one of those places is Leviticus.
34:30
So, I'm sure that y'all have all heard the the call to holiness portion of this sermon before and I'm going to try my best to approach this this way. Second Corinthians six eleven through twelve, eleven and twelve, we went over last week. 11 through 13, we went over last week but we're going to hit it again, keeping that wet edge, keeping things fresh. Second Corinthians six eleven through 13 is a heartfelt plea which I shared last week with y'all. I'm going to share again and then, 14 through seven one is a call to holiness and that's the part that people generally when they read it, they go, wait a second, this seems out of place.
35:09
In fact, a lot of theologians and a lot of especially higher criticism, redaction, theologians would say that it's completely out of place. It was something that somebody else wrote. It was something that maybe Paul wrote but it certainly doesn't fit here. It doesn't seem to go here at all. I think though, that's because they've made up their mind what it means.
35:27
If you make up your mind ahead of time what something means, then it might seem out of place. Would you please try to listen to it? Through the meekness of Paul and the meekness of Christ, he said last week, look at it as this heartfelt plea that matches perfectly the other side of the Oreo The heartfelt plea on the other side and then the sweetness in the middle is this call to holiness but he's using the Old Testament. Now, Paul didn't have the New Testament written down in front of him where he could quote chapter and verse but he uses the Old Testament to speak directly to the Corinthians problem and if we look and examine what was the Corinthians problem, we've talked about it over and over. They are in a pagan land.
36:08
They are in a a land where people are offering meat and idols, where there's temple prostitution, where there is an overemphasis on sports and riches and money and so this place that he's talking to these people, He's calling them out to be holy. Now, this is a powerful, powerful thing. It's a powerful sermon but all the references are Old Testament that Paul makes in this intersection. Then, he gets back to this heartfelt plea. I I think I understand a bit of what Paul is is saying because when you're doing pastoral ministry and people are coming into the office and they go, well, I don't know.
36:50
God just is not blessing. I don't know anything about what's going on. I just don't feel like things are happening for me and I'm just bedraggled and they've taken God's promises seriously but they haven't taken his charge for holiness seriously at all. It doesn't fit into their life in any way whatsoever and so, a lot of our pain, oh, what needless pain we bear keeps on coming to mind right now. Oh, what needless pain we bear because we won't surrender.
37:18
We won't turn it over to God. So, here we go. Heartfelt plea number one, six eleven through 13. Now, we have spoken freely to you, Corinthians. We've, our mouth has been completely open literally.
37:32
It's what it says. Our mouth has been completely open. Our our heart is wide open. We've spoken freely to you Corinthians. Our heart is wide open.
37:40
You are not restricted by us but you are restricted in your own affections. In return and I'm speaking to you as children, widen your hearts also. He's saying, widen your hearts to receive this word. Consider the possibility that this might be what you need to hear. Widen your hearts to receive this word.
37:59
You're restricted in your own affections. Splunk noy, your guts, your gut instinct on this is what's restricting you and your gut instinct is wrong and then he goes into this, call the holiness, sight in the Old Testament. Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever?
38:31
What agreement has the temple of God with idols? Now, I have heard this preached mean, really, really mean about somebody who grew up in church dating somebody who didn't grow up in church and look at this. This is unequal yoking. Have you seen this? That's rough on the camel and it's rough on the cow.
38:55
Not to mention the guy standing behind him. I have only plowed behind two animals. They were completely different animals, they were not at the same time. One of them was a mule, stubborn, and the other was my brother, almost as stubborn. They were not linked together.
39:13
You can look for unequally yoked and you'll find all kinds of great images. This donkey is very upset with this cow, and it looks like the other way around too. And it is implicit in the text, but it is not explicit. From the context, it's definitely not explicit in the text that this is about marrying one that is an unbeliever or about going into business with one who's an unbeliever. Now, those are the two applications from the Old Testament, right?
39:41
It says, don't plow with a donkey and an ox together. They're completely different. They're going to go at different speeds. They're going to have a problem. Now, that is implicit but it's not explicit.
39:51
I want you to think about this in a different way if you would this morning. Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. Now, we know that we know that Peter has said that God has said in first Peter, he has said that if you find yourself in a marriage where one of you is a believer and one of you not, do not go, do not leave. Paul said it in first Corinthians, if you find yourself where one of you is a believer and the other one is not the believer, do not leave. It says it over and over.
40:20
This fighting against. If you're a believer, it can look like a really, really good excuse to get out of a marriage. He says don't do that. Equally yoked oxen. Maybe one of them is a little bit bigger than the other, but they are the same animals.
40:41
They're pulling the same speed. Generally, they eat the same food. If you have an ox and a donkey, one of them is a clean animal. An ox is clean, a donkey is unclean. One of them eats a different diet than the other.
40:58
One of them is going to pull faster than the other. The donkey is much faster than the ox. We don't think of donkeys as being fast, they're much faster than an ox. The donkey is also self protective. Self preservation is what he's concerned about.
41:13
That's why we think they're stubborn because they don't want to do what they don't want to do. But they don't want to hurt themselves. And so they're much more cautious and they care less about what's linked to them. It's just the way it is. So, it's implicit in the text but I'm not preaching it mean this morning.
41:28
I want you to get to this. Stop being unequally yoked with unbelievers. Now, we know God has said, stay in the marriage. So, this is the the force of the of the Greek there is stop being unequally yoked. All the times that we read about the yoke in the Old Testament, God says, I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt and took off of you the yoke of slavery.
41:58
So, we were yoked with something and it was slavery. We were not necessarily yoked with an Egyptian. We're just yoked with slavery. He says that about five different ways about five different times. Stop being unequally yoked with unbelievers.
42:14
I've got a clip today and I I hesitate to show it but it's a little bit it's not really just show it. It's something. Alright? So if you're Christians and you don't like this, forgive me. Alright?
42:30
Be careful. Carbag.
42:31
Yeah. Yeah.
42:31
Don't move the seat. I got it right like it.
42:34
Goodbye.
42:35
Too intense. Okay.
42:38
Don't peel out.
42:39
I won't.
42:57
So we prayed, Jesus.
43:02
Jesus. Here's one. I borrowed Putty's car and all the presets on his radio were Christian rock stations.
43:17
I like Christian rock. It's very positive. It's not like those real musicians who think they're so cool
43:24
and hip.
43:26
So, you think that Putty actually believes in something? Something?
43:30
It's a used car. He probably never changed the presets.
43:33
Yes. He is lazy.
43:35
Plus, he probably doesn't even know how to program the buttons.
43:38
Yes. He is dumb.
43:41
So, you prefer dumb and lazy to religious?
43:44
Dumb and lazy, I understand. Hello, boys.
43:49
Hey. So did you get that radio of the
43:51
old switcheroo?
43:51
I did. Mhmm. And the Christian rock? Resurrected. And look what I pried off of his bumper, a Jesus fish.
44:05
Do you have any fish sticks?
44:07
No. So you're disappointed he's a spiritual person?
44:12
Oh, yeah. I got him because he seems so one dimensional. I feel misled.
44:18
I think it's neat. You don't hear that much about God anymore. I hate things.
44:27
So, where do you want to eat?
44:28
Feels like an Arby's night.
44:32
Do you believe in God?
44:34
Yes. Oh,
44:36
so you're pretty religious.
44:38
Not true. So
44:41
is it a problem that I'm not really religious?
44:44
Not for me.
44:45
Why not?
44:46
I'm not the one going to hell.
44:53
Well, I'm going to hell.
44:54
That seems about right.
44:56
Quentin, howdy.
44:57
Hey, have you heard the one about the guy in hell with the coffee and the donuts?
45:00
I'm not in the mood.
45:02
I want some coffee and a donut. How do you care? You don't believe in hell.
45:07
I know, but he does.
45:09
So it's more of a relationship problem than the final destination of your soul.
45:13
Well, relationships are very important to me.
45:15
Maybe you could strike one up with the prince of darkness as you burn for all eternity. And a slice of devil's food cake.
45:31
Well, and they forgot to deliver your
45:32
paper today. Why don't you, just grab that one?
45:36
That belongs to Mr. Potato Guy. That's his.
45:39
Come on. I get it.
45:42
Well, if you want it, you get it.
45:44
Sorry. Thou shalt not steal.
45:49
Oh, but it's okay for me.
45:52
What do you care? You know where you're going.
45:55
Alright, that is it. I can't live like this.
45:58
Oh, no. Come on. Alright, what did I do?
46:02
David, I'm going to hell. The worst place in the world with devils in those those caves and and the ragged clothing.
46:11
It's gonna be rough.
46:13
You should
46:14
be trying to save me.
46:15
Don't boss me.
46:16
This is why you're going to hell.
46:18
I am
46:18
not going to hell.
46:19
And if you think I'm going to hell, you should care that I'm going to hell even though I am not.
46:25
You stole my Jesus fish, didn't you? Yeah. Well, that's right. Okay.
46:44
Stop being yoked with unbelievers. They are not married. They are dating. They are obviously sleeping together. That was not a problem for Putty.
46:52
Alright? That's the problem. He's being selective about what's his problem. He's being he won't steal. No.
47:00
Wouldn't dare do that but he's sleeping with her and it's obvious that he is if you if the pajamas threw you off later on in the program, there are no doubt about it. He's made up his own list and it's pretty much the same list that everybody else goes by in the society, in this time, in this day, and that's what the Corinthians were doing. They were tying themselves to temple prostitutes. They were going after the same exact things. The affections of their heart were the same as the world around them.
47:30
They did not stand out at all. They didn't stand out because they were not holy at all. The false apostles, super apostles were advising them that, no, it's fine. We're free. Everything's fine.
47:42
Remember the party from the first Corinthians that he said, there are some of you that just feel like you've gotta you gotta sin all you want to because grace may abound more. No. He's calling them to holiness. That's what he's calling. It's not specifically just not to date a non Christian.
48:02
That's implicit but it's not explicit. It's not specifically not to marry one. Although, that's going be a hard road to hope. If you're pulling together with somebody that's different from you. Stop being unequally yoked with believers and stop going by the world system, the same system that they use.
48:20
There were some things that came out in that and it that actually, I remembered that from when it came on television years ago and I thought, that is so sad. Elaine grabs him by his lapels and says, and if you think I am going to hell, you should be trying to save me. That's true and the way to do that is holiness. She didn't even know he was a Christian till she borrowed his car. She borrowed his car and the presets were there.
48:49
I mean, that's something. Would there be enough evidence to convict you of Christianity? I've heard that message before but the presets on your car shouldn't be the first clue, okay? Alright. What partnership has righteousness with lawlessness?
49:05
And the expected answer in Greek is obvious, it is none. It they have nothing to do with one another. Righteousness and lawlessness are opposite sides. They have nothing to do with each other or he goes on, five rhetorical questions in a row. What fellowship has light with darkness?
49:23
None. None at all. That's obvious. What accord has Christ with Belial? Belial is a word for the devil, for Satan, the adversary.
49:35
It's actually the oppositional word. It's the one where he's in absolute opposition to Christ and everything good. He wants to thwart God's plans and he won't win. He won't win overall but individually, going with going with Satan, that's crazy. What accord has Christ with Bilal?
49:58
Do you think they just said, alright, you take this one, I'll take this one, you take this one, I'll take this one. No. There is an effective call out there for everyone who would go with Christ. It's effective. What accord has Christ with Belai or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever?
50:15
What portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? We are to be holy other. Completely set apart, sanctified for God's use. Now, can you do that in a sinner's house? Yes.
50:31
Can you do that in a place where most of the people around you are involved in sin? Yes. It's going to make it harder for you. It will but what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? Nothing.
50:47
That's the answer. It's expected in the Greek. There's no doubt about it. For we, oh, what agreement has the temple of God with idols? Anything?
51:00
Do you remember the old story from the old testament with Dagon? They set him up in the in the temple and he falls over. Let's set him up again. He's having a problem. No, there's no agreement whatsoever.
51:13
It defiles the temple. There's no agreement between the temple of God and idols. And we, Paul says, to them and I'm saying to you, we, Christians, are the temple of the living God. We are the temple of the living God. So, whatever our idols are, we gotta get rid of those.
51:35
We gotta get those out. This is a call to holiness. Whatever it is and I don't know what yours is. Whatever it is, God is calling us to drop the idols. We're the temple of the living God.
51:46
It will go well with us. Remember the about the bird nest? I'm telling you this so that it will go well with you. It will go well with you. A call to holiness.
51:56
As God says or as God's had said, God has said, I will make my dwelling among them and I will walk among them. What a promise And I will be their God and they shall be my people. Therefore, go out from their midst and be separate from them, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, then I will welcome you, Old Testament reference and I will be a father to you and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord almighty. Amen.
52:23
That God is calling us out into a new life. The new covenant. When I baptized Samariah, buried with Christ and raised to walk what? In newness of life. Going forward.
52:35
Sanctified by God. He's he's in this continual process of sanctifying you and as you yield your will to his, he will make you holy. He will separate you out from them. He does require that it be in your heart, that it be one of your affections to be after God. After what he wants, his will be done, not mine.
52:59
And then seven one is another and six fourteen is a direct command. Do not be unequally yoked. It's an imperative. No doubt about it. This one, just as strong and imperative and since we have these promises that God will be our God, that he walk among us, that he will take care of us, that he loves us, that he cares for us.
53:17
Since we have these promises, beloved, let it, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement. If you know what it is that hangs you up, if you know what affection of your own is hanging you up, cleanse yourself from it. That's what calls call Paul's calling you to do. God will help you. He wants for you to do his will.
53:36
He wants for you to do it in his way. If you've got something that's hanging you up, he says, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit. That's just for those gnostics out there that thought only the spirit world mattered. Bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God. Bringing holiness into our lives in completion in the fear of God.
53:57
Looking at this one that loves us and cares for us and has promised great things for us. Let's live differently than the world lives. That's what he's saying. Body right there is literally flesh. You know, Paul's flesh and spirit.
54:11
One of them is winning. You remember the white wolf and the black wolf illustration from a while back. Which one's gonna win? The one you feed. Stop feeding the flesh.
54:19
Start speeding the spirit. There are different diets involved for these two animals. Don't eat the chaff and the husk from the pigpen. When you could be having what God has for you, his word. Alright.
54:36
So, that was the call to holiness and it's strong and it's strong enough right there to look like it doesn't even belong there. I still think that first call, open your hearts. It's your affections that are holding you back. Consider this, just be holy. Like Jesus said, be holy as I am holy.
54:54
Like God said, so just call to holiness and I I like I like that there are a lot of people here. When I go to a concert, there are a lot of Christians from here that I know here that are there. I like that. I'm not saying, hey, everybody withdraw from every social event, from every concert, from anything where they might actually serve alcohol. Anything like that and pull back.
55:19
No. I'm saying it's going to be more difficult for you right there but if you walk in holiness and in integrity in that environment, you're going to stand out. It's going to be different and that's a good good thing. Israel made the mistake of hoarding the blessing, of turning inward to the point that they didn't do anything outward at all. They took it so literally that they just hoarded the blessing.
55:45
Let's don't do that. Let's take it seriously. You worry about yourself. Remember the little girl from last week? You worry about yourself.
55:51
You worry about walking in holiness for yourself and accountability partners always help that situation. A call to holiness site in the Old Testament. Then, the second heartfelt plea and see if these two don't match perfectly. The first one and the second plea. He says, make room in our hearts.
56:07
He said a minute ago, widen your hearts to us, right? And so, in this part, he says, make room in your hearts for us for we have wronged no one. We've corrupted no one. We've taken advantage of no one and he can say that. He lived in that pagan society and many other pagan societies around there.
56:25
He can say, we've wronged no one. We've corrupted no one. We've taken advantage of no one and I don't say this to condemn you for I said before that you are in our hearts. Our hearts are wide enough to accept you. You're in here.
56:39
To die together and to live together. I would take a bullet for you or at the time a boat, an arrow, whatever. I don't know that much about that. I would fight for you. I'm acting with great boldness towards you.
56:52
I'm calling you to holiness. Flat out, I'm saying, it really does matter. I really want for you to experience the joy in life because I know what it's like to live a holy life and it's a lot better than living that profligate lifestyle. I know it from experience and so now, I want for you to open your heart to this possibility. I'm acting with great boldness towards you and I have great pride in you and I'm filled with comfort in all our affliction.
57:17
I'm overflowing with joy. Amen. So, that's the second heartfelt plea and that's the end of the sermon actually. There are plenty of implications and there are plenty of implicit points. I think if you didn't get em from Seinfeld and you didn't get them from me, you're not gonna get them during an invitation.
57:35
I do have one more thing that I'm gonna ask though. Melissa Ripley, are you in here somewhere? Yes, good. So the tough guys and drama queens, I wanted to separate this out too. This is happening next week.
57:48
We might not have advertised it as off as we should have. It's
57:51
Week after next.
57:52
Week after next. Good. So we'll advertise again next week. Your email said this is the last opportunity we had. No.
58:01
This is good. Hey. That works.
58:02
Okay. Probably more y'all know my husband than me. I'm Melissa Ripley. My husband is Kurt. He has the vacuum store.
58:11
All the women love him. Or that's what I hear quite often.
58:17
Not from him. So this is something that is really close to our hearts.
58:25
Didn't think I'd get emotional. Raised all my kids in church from the day they were born. Through Awana, they know scripture. They could lead you to the Lord if they wanted to. They could tell you everything about the Lord and about church life and being a Christian and those things.
58:46
Had no idea a year ago. We'd be a little rattled with our oldest. Getting into some stuff that we had no idea she was getting into. And found this Heartlight Ministries. Went to a conference in Texas.
59:05
So, is a good deal because we went to the Heartlight Conference in Texas. It was $250 a person to go to for the weekend. It was amazing. It changed changed our lives but this is free for y'all because we all that have parent that have kids even if they're not teenagers yet, they're gonna be teenagers or if we have for grandparents. I want to read you just this one little piece out of Mark Gregston is the guy.
59:33
Y'all will love him. He is so easy to listen to. He's from Texas and which just makes him all the easier to listen to. But it says, this world is tough on kids. It's confusing cultures reflected in the heightened strength and energy in a teen's questioning of traditional values and principles.
59:56
Lack of respect, uncertainty, overexposure, and confusion about issues surrounding gender have only escalated the great disconnect in relationships among teens, ushering in a world of performance and appearance. So parents must shift their styles of parenting from ideologies of perfection, signs of judgment, and shows of authorities to relational style that walks alongside a child rather than dictates from above. That new style would involve and not be limited to putting the relationship first in the life of your children because they need you now more than ever. And this culture screams that. And that's what this seminar is about, how to walk alongside your child and to learn right alongside them.
1:00:37
And my oldest is 18. She's out in Oregon now, and she was in this Heartlight facility for ten months. When she left, she had all kinds of piercings and which I don't have a problem with piercings or tattoos. That's just so not part of the relationship with me and my child or children. But the the drugs, the alcohol, the self harm, the cutting, the scars on her arms, the things that just broke my heart.
1:01:08
And her goal in life was to be an aesthetician, which there's nothing wrong with that, but she wanted very little for herself. She was very not motivated and she was down there for ten months, excellent boarding school, now she wants to go to college to be a neurologist. I think part of it is to figure out her mama's brain. But gosh, if you know anybody that could benefit from this and every one of you sitting in here honestly could benefit from this because we all need help on raising these kids. They have relationships.
1:01:40
They have 600 friends on Facebook. Right? They have lots of friends. But they're an inch deep and a mile wide. And we need more than that for our kids.
1:01:49
Amen. Thank you. So that's November sixth and seventh. Thank you, Melissa. Would you stand with us and sing?
1:04:01
Amen and I'll give you one more thing. Everything in the Old Testament about a yoke is this yoke is hard and I'm going to make it harder. This yoke is hard and I removed it from you. This yoke is hard but listen to this. This is the words of Jesus.
1:04:15
Come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I'm gentle and I'm lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Amen.
Topics
Call To HolinessDating UnbelieversHolinessTemple Prostitution CorinthUnequally YokedYoke Of Christ
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