We are not of this World

The goal for each of us is to be in the world but not of the world.  God does want us to be involved in the world but not of the world. Some people think that this means we retreat from life and everyone in general. Some people become monks, hermits and recluses hiding away from as much of the world as they possibly can.  God wants his people to become very active "in" the world trying to make it a much better place to live, work and play in. How can you witness, save, teach, preach and help deliver other people if you are not "in" the world trying to reach and connect with them in the first place?

On one side we are to be "in" the world. We can't "reach" the lost, the downtrodden, the helpless, the poor, the sinners and the people who are being held in some type of captivity if we are not "in" the world trying to reach them with the message and gospel of our Lord and Savior.
This is what is meant by the Lord telling us that we still have to continue to be living "in" this world. Again, you cannot properly compete your calls, your divine assignments, and your tasks and duties for the Lord if you are not willing to get actively involved "in" the world to some degree and to some extent. This is the one side of where we are supposed to be "in" the world.

Though we are to be actively involved "in" the world to the degree that God will lead us to, we also have to realize and be very aware that we are not to become too much of an actual part "of" the world. God is telling us to keep ourselves "unspotted" from the world. In other words, He does not want us to become spotted, contaminated and tainted by the bad and evil things of this world. God is asking all of us to walk a very fine line between being actively and properly involved "in" the world so we can reach and help other people - but at the same time making sure that we do not fall too deep and too far into the world where we then start to fall into the actual evil, depravity and corruptness of this world.

Think of it like a fence.  We are staying on our side of the fence yet still ministering to others. On your side of the fence is the call and path that you are taking for the Lord. On this side of the fence are all the righteous ways of our Lord on how we are to act and behave in this life with ourselves and with other people in general. On the other side of the fence are the walks and paths taken by those who are not working for the Lord.

We live in a dual type of world. On the one side of the fence is the side of God and the righteous way that He wants us to live this life in. On the other side of the fence are people opposed to God’s way.  And it is the Devil that wants to tear that fence down.

God is giving every single one of us a big choice to make in this life. We can either choose to follow God and His ways for living in this life and "live" - or we can choose to follow the wicked and evil ways of this world and "die."

"... I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days ..." (Deuteronomy 30:19)

Either we choose to follow God and live this life in the way that He wants us to live it, or we can choose to follow the ways of this world and eventually bring down death and cursing upon us and possibly those who may be close to us.
Notice in this verse that God is telling us that we must "obey His voice," which means that we have to follow directly after Him and all of His ways for us in this life, not after the ways of this world or anyone else in this world.

So let’s be in the world but not of the world.

"If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you." (John 15:19)
 
"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 pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world." (John 17:14)
 
"Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world." (James 1:27)
 
"Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world - the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life - is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever." (1 John 2:15)
 
Jesus is specifically telling us that we are not to be "of the world." He then goes one step further in the third verse from James when He tells us that He wants us to remain "unspotted" from the world.

Jesus points out to us that all of the lustful pursuits and things of this life will eventually pass way when we die and cross over. In another verse, Jesus has already told us that what good will it do a man to gain all the wealth of this world as his possessions, but then lose his own soul in the pursuit and acquirement of all of that wealth. It will all have ended up being for naught when everything is all finally said and done.

Christians in this day and age face a tough battle.  With the incredible advances in technology and knowledge in the last 100 years, much of the world has become a much better place to live, work and play in. As a result of all of this technology and knowledge, we now have many more toys and material possessions that we can all strive to acquire more of. We can now shoot for bigger and better houses, bigger and better cars, and bigger and better things for our lives in general. With all of these types of material blessings from our Lord, it becomes very easy for many to get out of balance with all of it. Instead of realizing where all of this abundant type of wealth is really coming from in the first place, and choosing to say humble and accountable with it in their walks with the Lord, many Christians start to get to caught up in the actual pursuit and desire for this material wealth.
Before they know it, they have placed their pursuit and desire for all of this material wealth before God. They are no longer wanting to serve and follow God. They now only want to serve themselves and what they can get out of this life.

As Christians, we always have to stay on top of this part of our walk with the Lord. Jesus Himself has made it as clear and as plain as day as to how we are to look at this life and interact with it. We are to stay "in" the world. We have a holy mission and a holy calling direct from the Lord on what it is He wants us to accomplish and get done in this life before we depart to be with Him for all of eternity.

The goal of each Christian's life should be to accomplish, to the best of our abilities, God the Father's perfect will for our lives. Our goal should be to serve God and do what He wants us to do in this life - not to chase after the world and all the wealth and possessions of this world, which will do nothing but rot and perish the minute we leave and depart from this life.
We have to keep our priorities straight, and our number one priority should be to want to serve God and accomplish His perfect will for our lives. If we make that our number one goal and aspiration in this life, then God will appropriately reward each one of us once we enter into heaven. And those heavenly rewards will far surpass and far exceed any of the material wealth and possessions that we could have gained down here on this earth.

As Christians, we have to realize that we no longer even belong to ourselves, much less to the world in general. We have been bought back at a severe price at the death of our Lord and Savior, and we now belong to God, and God alone. We now work for God, and God alone.

What this means is that our protective and loving God has now drawn a major battle line in the sand. He is letting all of us know what we can and cannot do in this life. He is letting all of us know where we can tread in this life and where we cannot tread. Boundary lines and a fence line have now been put up by our Lord. God is now telling all of us to stay on our side of the fence in our walks with Him. We have to stay on the righteous side of the fence in our walk with Him.

Though there is much in this life that is enticing and tempting to want to cross over and experiment with, realize that there are going to be certain things of the flesh that you will not be able to chase after in this life.
You now have to play everything by the Book - and that Book is the

You can sit next to someone who may be doing drugs and living a wide and carnal type of life. You can befriend him. You can witness to him as the Spirit leads. You can help him but that doesn't mean you have to leave your side of the fence and cross over into his world. You can help out, and work in harmony and unity with those who are living their life on the dark and wild side of this life.

Many Christians have been seduced into crossing over into some of these carnal and fleshly realms as a result of the seductive and persuasive influence of some of their co-workers or schoolmates. This is why this particular piece of revelation is so important for each and every Christian to not only have the knowledge of, but to also abide by it and not be tempted to ever cross over into some of these forbidden areas with the Lord.

These boundary lines are being set up by the Lord for our own good and for our protection. Every Christian mother and every Christian father should be burning this piece of revelation into their young children's minds at an early age so that they can have this knowledge to fall back on when they start to get tempted to cross over into this darker side of life. This knowledge should be fully ingrained into them by the time they move into their high schools, their colleges and then eventually into the work place.

This particular piece of revelation may be the difference as to whether or not some of your children ever become everything that God is calling them to become in this life. Every minute of every day someone is getting hurt, maimed or murdered as a result of crossing over into the darker side of this life and hanging out with the wrong type of people or crowd.

Bottom line - you are still "in" the world as far as God the Father is concerned because He has a specific plan and purpose for your life - but you are no longer part "of" this same world. You now belong to God and Jesus, and you now have to live your life the way They want you to live it - not the way you or the rest of the world would like you to live it.

This choice will always be yours to make. You can either choose to follow
God and His ways for your life and stay on His side of the fence in your walk with Him - or you can choose to leave the safety and protection of His side and venture into the darker side of this life where death, cursing and major misfortune will await you.

Remember, stay on your side of the fence in your walk with the Lord. Many great men and women of God have lost their calls, their ministries and their earthly destinies in the Lord because they violated this basic, fundamental, common sense rule and revelation from the Lord.
 

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