Good Afternoon Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
We’ve been learning about Spiritual Laws in the last several messages. The last law I will address, although there are several more, is the Spiritual Law of Separation. Simply put, if you are a Believer walking in Christ, the Spiritual Law of Separation will occur many times in your life. God’s intent with this Spiritual Law is to eliminate all things, people, activities, places, hindrances, encumbrances, etc., that are incompatible with His calling and purpose for your life.
There is the principle of First Mention when studying The Scriptures. Since The Scriptures are thematic, the first mention defines the theme of the mention throughout the rest of The Scriptures. The first time God calls a Believer to be separate is when He called Abram in Genesis 12:1.
Genesis 12:1
Now The LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
God calls Abram to separate himself from his country, from his people, and from his family and follow God’s leading into a land He will give to Abram. Now, notice the result of the separation in Genesis 12:2-3.
Genesis 12:2-3
2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
God will bless Abram and his seed so Abraham and his seed can be a blessing to all families of the earth in Abraham’s generation and all the generations to come. Obviously we know this promise was kept as The Seed of Abraham, Jesus Christ, came from Abraham’s lineage, and we, the seed of Abraham, are made so in Christ as Believers (Galations 3:13-14, 29).
We can see that God called Abram “out of the world” and into God’s promises of another land for His people through Abraham (notice the change in names). Think about when God called His children out of Egypt and when He called you and me out of the world. This is the same thing He did with Abram who became Abraham. This is the Spiritual Law of Separation at work. God separated Abram unto God’s calling and purpose for his life as Abraham.
Jesus spoke of this Spiritual Law of Separation when He spoke Matthew 19:24.
Matthew 19:24
And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into The Kingdom of God.
This verse has been debated and misunderstood by so many. In ancient fortified cities with fortified walls, in the evening and the night, the larger doors would be closed and barricaded or barred from inside. There would be a single entry way, very narrow called the “Eye of the Needle” through which visitors or late night arrivals would have to pass. Because it was so narrow, the visitor or late arrivals would have to unpack the animals (camels, donkeys, oxen) and lead them through the eye and return outside the wall to pick up their goods and reload their animals. Although this was laboriouis and time consuming, it prevented enemies or maurading bands from quickly entering the city and causing carnage.
The point of Jesus’s Words in Matthew 19:24 is to say a rich man has a tough time entering The Kingdom of God because he is not willing to shed, or be separated from, his possessions. Or better said, not willing to give his heart to God rather than to his possessions. God has ABSOLUTELY NO ISSUE with a man or woman possessing things, wealth, etc., as long as those things don’t possess the heart of the man or woman. The signifcance of the verse is if a rich man is willing to give his heart to God, he can then go back out and pick us his possessions. God will give them to him with a blessing. Now, God has his heart as a possession and the riches don’t have the rich man’s heart as a possession.
As a Believer, if you truly give your heart to God, He is going to send you through the eye of the needle on occasion. He will work with you to cut loose the dead branches, to cull the tares, to remove people, places, things, and other encumbrances/hinderances from your life so you can take on greater and greater Kingdom responsibilities. The challenge to us is will we be willing and obedient to His calling(s) and purpose for our life. Notice what God has to say in Isaiah 1:19.
Isaiah 1:19
If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:
Two years ago as I was coming into the new year of 2022, God told me to apply the Spiritual Law of Separation by starting to cut loose people and things in my Spiritual walk, in my business, in my family, and in Dianne’s and my ministry that were “dead wood.” His point was to cut loose those things that created a terrible drag or impedence to me/us accomplishing what God had commanded us to do or was going to command us to do. Being honest, as we should all be, I did quite a bit, but I still have some “dead wood” in areas of my business, ministry, family, friends, etc. that I need to cut. If I don’t do it, I’m not being willing or obedient. While I’m blessed, I’m not blessed to the level God wants to take me. We CANNOT allow friends, family, acquaintances, things, places, etc., get in the way of God’s commands to us. I’ve not done some of it because I don’t want to upset or offend others. However, I’m in direct violation of a command from The Ancient of Days. I have to stop worrying about the percieved offense or hurt at doing it and leave it to God Who knows much better than I how it will all work out. How about you? Has God commanded you to cut out the “dead wood?”
We must keep in mind that the entire purpose of God’s Spiritual Law of Separation is to advance us, to promote us, to bless us. It is never to hurt us, to take from us, to curse us. We also must remember satan will do as he has always done and use the Spiritual Laws in an ungodly way to place or keep us in bondage. We must always be sure that what we are being commanded to do is from The Holy Spirit. How can you tell? Because what we are commanded will line up with The Word of God, and we will have peace from The Holy Spirit. satan will work to keep you FROM obeying God’s command to separate. He doesn’t want you growing Spiritually and physically stronger in this world.
In closing, let’s look back at Abraham. God told Abraham in Genesis 12:1 to leave his country, his people, and his family. But what did Abram do? He brought Lot with him. This was a direct violation of what God had commanded Abram to do. But notice that even though Abram had Lot with him, Abram still prospered. I remember asking God how can you prosper Abram when he disobeyed you, pimped his wife, and other things? God explained to me Abram was not under the law, and Abram’s faith was imputed to him as righteousness. God saw Abram as a righteous man even though he was screwing things up. Abram was blessed because of God’s righteousness, not Abram’s works. Sound familiar? Yes, The Grace of God. Not giving us what we deserve and giving us what we don’t deserve. BUT, God also told me there is limits to the blessing if we don’t walk in willingness and obedience to Him. We cannot receive the fulness of what God intends to bless us with, only a portion. AND, our lack of willingness and/or obedience leads to our faith weakening because we are not exercising it according to God’s Word. When this happens, WE place ourselves in a position where WE are more vulnerable to satan’s attacks of condemnation, deception, and temptation. Just look at the Children of Israel that wandered in the desert for forty years because they were not willing or obedient. God took care of them the entire forty years. But, they never experienced the “fulness” of God’s blessings in the Promised Land that eventually Joshua, Caleb, and the Children of Israel would eventually experience. And the same happened with Abram when he finally obeyed God and separated from Lot in Genesis Chapter 13. We see Abram take off and become great, and Lot, who God tells us is righteous, go down hill into incredible bondage and vexation. If God is telling us to “separate,” let’s be willing and obedient.
Much love in Christ,
Larry