[Steve Myers] Well, the question of the week is probably, what in the world is going on? Did that come to mind to you this week? I think the other phrase is chaos at the Capitol. We've seen that. We've seen violence in our streets before, but a pretty shocking scene to see that right at the Capitol Building. Of course, you add that to things that have happened over the last few months with violence, and rioting, and racism, and injustice, it almost seems overwhelming. And perhaps that passage in 2 Timothy 3 came to your mind. You know it, it says, "In the last days, perilous times will come." Perilous times, horrible times, difficult times, times that wear on us with many troubles and tribulations. And it goes on in Timothy to list those character traits of being unloving, and unforgiving, and no self-control, words that describe the things that have been happening over the last several months. And those are things we want nothing to do with that. We don't want to come near any of those things. Perhaps the Coronavirus protocols were getting us ready for some of this because we don't want to be close to any of this. We better keep our distance.

And so that's been I think the word of the day, that we don't want to come near it or touch any of those types of things because these tumultuous times that we're living in, certainly show, this is an uncertain world. And so as we watch these things unfold before us, what should our perspective be? As a Christian, what about our viewpoint? How should we face the challenges of violence, and racism, and partisanship? How do we deal with those things that just seem to surround us? I thought it might be helpful this afternoon, to take a look at that basic spiritual principle that God gives us, that should guide our viewpoint, that should really help us to have the proper focus. And not only that in these difficult times, to really give us some encouragement, as we face the challenges that lie ahead of us. There are three basic Biblical passages that I think can help us to do that. And so I've, kind of, organized the sermon by those three specific passages that can help us to face those challenges and give us that guidance, give us that perspective that we need, as we face the days ahead.

The first one is found in 2 Corinthians 6:17 if you'll turn there with me. You could even say, this is the theme Scripture of the day, 2 Corinthians 6:17. Now, of course, in this particular section of Scripture, Paul's writing to Corinth, and they have so many issues and so many problems. The Church was a divided church. And they were dealing with the issues of partnering with the world. And Paul talked about, "Don't be unequally yoked." He said, "What fellowship does light have with darkness? What communion does Belial have with Christ? What part does the temple of God have with idols?" And he's dealing with much of the same issues that we're facing today. What agreement is there between these things? And as a result, he comes to the conclusion in chapter 6 verse 17 of what we and what the Corinthians had to do. What do we have to do about these things? Well, verse 17 says, "Come out from among them and be separate," says the Lord. "Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you." And so a pretty short, concise, simple direction that God inspired Paul to give us.

He starts by saying, "Come out." Now, if you were to look that up in a Greek dictionary, a word dictionary, the definition would be pretty straightforward. Yeah, it means to come out but it gets to the point of departing or even takes it to the level of escaping. If we're going to come out, we've got to escape from the pulls and the draws of this world. He just got down telling us the influence of unbelievers, the influence of wrong ways of thinking, the wrong ways of idolatry has to be something we escape from, we depart from. We get away from this. And then He emphasizes that fact by saying, "Be separate. Be separate." And the connotation of that Greek word means we've got to set a limit. There has to be a limit to the contact that we allow this outside influence to affect us. In fact, the word has a sense of making a boundary. This is as far as I go. And there is a boundary between my thinking and the influence of culture and society around me, and that effect it might have on me. And so, it has this sense of, keep your distance, keep your distance.

And, of course, we should be good at this right now, since we've been social distancing for a while. Do we recognize that? So we don't contract the illness of sin of this society, set a boundary, get away from it, sever yourself from that influence. That's what that word for separate really gets down to, that corrupting influence of society, the corrupting influence of government, the corrupting influence of politics, and entertainment, and the world around us. We've got to be set apart from it. We've got to make that choice ourselves. To the extent, Paul says here, "Don't even touch it. Don't touch it. Don't touch." And, of course, when you think of this word for touching, what does that imply? Well, what do we do when we come into services these days? Okay. We, kind of, stopped touching and now maybe we do a, you know, elbow bump or something like that. But normally, when you love people, you hug them, and you hold them, and you touch them. Why? Because we care. Because we care. And I'm attached to these people so I show it by touching.

Now, on the other hand, what we find here, it says, "Don't touch. Don't attach yourself to this world's way." Don't have a relationship because that's an implied relationship, really what it's getting at here. So, you don't stick to this vain world. You don't attach yourself to this pollution of society that we're surrounded by. Don't have close connection. He just got done saying, "Don't have fellowship. Don't have koinonia. Don't have a partnership. Don't have a communion with those that are ungodly, those that are false worshipers. Those that are in the dark." He tells us don't have that kind of a relationship. We've got to stay detached from that. And don't let society stick to you because after all, we're a part of the Ecclesia. We are the Church of God. We are a separate community of believers. So we don't touch immorality. We don't touch the impurities of this world. And so he reminds us that this world is just that. It is unclean. So, don't touch what is unclean. We're reminded of that. It's impure. Literally, that's what the word means. It's foul. It's nothing you want to come near.

So we cannot attach ourselves to the same things that culture, society, and this world attaches itself to. Our priorities, they have to be different. They have to be different choices. And so, what do we see all around us? I mean, all we see around us is division. We see division over the coronavirus. "Oh, it's all a fake. It's all a phony. It isn't real." "Well, no, it's killing people. Thousands and Thousands are dying." "A mask? You don't have to wear a mask. That doesn't help." "Oh boy, you better wear a mask because it's what's going to save you." And so we see the divide. And that spills over to so many areas. We've seen it with injustice and racial tensions, rioting, chaos at the Capitol, all of those things. All of those things are indications of the impurities of the world that we live in. Those impurities have infected the society around us. Now, in contrast, we as God's people, our life is to represent something totally different. Our life is to picture and symbolize a time when the world will be severed from unclean and unrighteous actions and ideas. And our lives should reflect that right now.

So as God's people, we condemn violence in all of its forms. We condemn rioting. We condemn lawlessness in whatever form it takes. And we stand against the political systems of this world. We must. We must. And so we recognize that the governments of this world, governments of man, are not the governments of God. They're not. They're not. And so it should cause us to ask ourselves, "How attached am I to this world?" I mean, what did our Savior say? What did Christ say? When confronted with that concept, He said, "My Kingdom is not of this world. It's not of this world, otherwise, my servants would fight," is what He said. But that's not what He was all about. He said, "My Kingdom is not from here." You see, He had an entirely different perspective. And as we try to live our lives, we recognize this culture, the society around us, continues to push us further and further away from God. And these events that we recognize, show this continuous spiral downhill. And so it's absolutely critical that we as Christians, not follow that downward slope. We can't get caught up into that. We are to be citizens of the Kingdom of God.

That is our calling. That is our citizenship. And so, we are told… In fact, as we look at 2 Corinthians 6:17, God doesn't say, "Well, it would be a nice idea if you did this." I mean, He doesn't say, "Well, I'd like to request this of you or just ask that you consider." No, what does He say? He gives us a command. He commands us to come out of the world and be separate, to be different. And so our calling as Christians, as God's people, it's not just to be a little bit better than the world. Is that what God's called us to? Well, just try to be a little better. No, He says, get out of it. Get away from it. Escape it. In fact, if you were to think about it, when Christ returns, what is He going to do? Well, oftentimes, we might think, well, the systems of man, they're horrible. When Christ returns, He's going to get rid of communism. Totalitarianism is awful, right? Totalitarianism? It's unacceptable. And of course, socialism. That is an obvious evil.

And so when Christ comes, He'll fix democracy? Is that what He's going to do? No, He said, come out of the world. When Christ returns, is He going to be a political conservative? Is He going to be a political liberal? Is that what He's going to be? I don't think so. When you recognize what Daniel 2:44 says, it makes it very plain. When Christ comes and establishes the Kingdom of God, we're told “it will break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, all these kingdoms.” And that word for break there is absolutely crush. And so it doesn't matter what the system of man is. It's going to be totally annihilated when Jesus Christ comes to set up God's Kingdom. And that should begin to give us a much clearer perspective on what we need to do. Because not only are we told it once, here in 2 Corinthians 6, this is actually a quotation from Isaiah 52. So, a second passage. Let's take a look at Isaiah 52. And here we'll find the section of Scripture that the apostle Paul is quoting. He's quoting and summarizing some of the thoughts that are mentioned in Isaiah 52. And it is a powerful section of Scripture. Of course, Isaiah was prophesying to Judah. Israel, the northern kingdom was already in captivity, and God sends Isaiah to prophesy to Judah.

And it's interesting, as this chapter begins, look at the words of Isaiah that were inspired by God. Isaiah tells them, “Awake, awake!” Wake up, in other words, he says, "Put on your strength, O Zion." Of course, Zion being Jerusalem, representative of God's people, the Jews at that time. Of course, think about Zion today. Who is Zion today? Well, it's us. It's the true Church of God. It is the Church of God. So, imagine God calling out to us as His people, "Wake up, Wake up! And put on your strength." And so, Paul quotes this. And in fact, a little bit more specifically, down in verse 11, Isaiah says, “Depart! Depart! Go out from there, touch no unclean thing; go out from the midst of her." And so, here's Isaiah, under God's inspiration, telling us exactly what needs to do if we're going to wake up if we're going to strive to be godly people. If we truly are God's Church and putting on the strength that only comes from God, we've got to get out of here. We can't let the influence of this world infect us.

And, of course, this section of Scripture has multiple implications here because you can think back in time, was there ever a time for God's people before this that they had to get out and maybe wander a while in the wilderness? Yeah. God's people had to get out of Egypt. That represented satanic rulership, the rulership of Pharaoh, and the satanic culture of Egypt. It represented sin. They have to get out of there. And, of course, moving forward just a little bit. What about the other representations that this could have? Well, we could think back even to another. Another one back in time, of course, was Lot and Sodom and Gomorrah. He had to depart. He had to get out. He had to escape. Could they hang on to things and touch things or even look back? No, you can't be doing that. This has implications certainly for today, like the apostle Paul was quoting, and encouraging, and trying to convict us all in that way. Most scholars feel it probably most is connected to Babylon. Because here's Isaiah, warning the people of Judah that if they don't change, if they don't disconnect from the idolatrous world around them, they're going to end up in captivity, under Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon.

And so if you can imagine that, this call to depart from Babylon, "Wake up and get out of there." Now, that would have been probably pretty simple, right? I mean, the captivity in Babylon would it last like a couple years or so, maybe 5, 10? Oh, no, it was decades. How long was that captivity for Judah in Babylon? Seventy years, 70 years. So think about 70 years. That's a long time. Many of us in this room haven't been around for 70 years. That is a long time. So what happened to God's people as they're in Babylon, year after year, decade after decade after decade? You think some of them might have become a little attached to the idea of living there? You think that they might not have wanted to return to Jerusalem? I mean, think about that. Most of the captives that were brought to Babylon initially, would have died by now before the release. It's the children, the ones who were born in Babylon, who would be the ones to return.

Now, for them, well, they'd only heard about Jerusalem. They'd only heard about what it was like to actually have a godly community and what the temple might have been like, right in the midst of them, the Promised Land? That is so far away. That's in this distant land. How could you ever think of going back there? Because Babylon, it's our home. We've lived here. Going there, that's a long, long perilous journey. In fact, you have to cross the desert to get to Zion. I mean, we've been born here. This is our home. And so you can imagine the kind of thinking that would have been very difficult to overcome. I mean, some of them had jobs, some of them had good jobs. We read about guys that were advisors to the king, Jews that had prominent positions in Babylon. Yeah, there were a bunch of them. Daniel, for one. How about the three guys that got thrown in the furnace? Yeah, we've got some connections there where they had profitable positions. And no doubt, many of the Jews had property and had lands.

So do you think they might have been a little reluctant to get out, a little reluctant to leave? I mean, undoubtedly, some improper connections, some wrong attachments had been made. And some didn't want to give them up. So when the decree finally came, what happened? Cyrus makes the decree that you can return to Jerusalem. So they all went back. Right? They all went back to… No. No. Read history. It shows, a pretty small number of the Jews actually ever left Babylon to go back to Zion. But Babylon was supposed to be temporary. That wasn't supposed to be real life. That wasn't supposed to be your home. Jerusalem, Zion was your home. And I'm sure it must have been pretty difficult, especially when family or friends decided, "I'm not going." To still make that choice to return. Well, it sure brings home the lesson. It doesn't matter what somebody else decides to do, you better do what's right. You better depart. You better awake. You better come out. And you better separate yourselves and don't touch anything to bring that filth along with you.

And so, that lesson just rang so true today, doesn't it? That we have to separate ourselves completely from the values of this world. Because face it, we live in an idolatrous nation. Sadly, that's the way our country has become. And God says, preserve yourself, pure. Separate from the wrong influence of culture and society. Don't forget as God's people, as Christians, we're pilgrims. We're like those captives in Babylon. This isn't home. We're not residents. We're supposed to be aliens. We're sojourners. We are on a journey. We are on a journey to Zion. We are looking for the Kingdom of God. And so, we can never forget this. This world around us is just temporary. Life is temporary. Physical life is temporary. So instead of being attached to it, we have to consciously detach ourselves. Detach ourselves from everything that looks like it's real, seems like it's real. We have to detach from the visible, from the scene, and separate ourselves from all that is around us, what's present. Because when we recognize that, we cannot allow ourselves to be polluted and become drug into society and its ways.

We have to be like those in Hebrews 11, that looked for Zion, looked for the city, looked for the Kingdom of God. And so, the way we see things, the way we live our life, there has to be that stark difference between the lifestyle of a true Christian and those who attach themselves to this life. And that's the challenge. I mean, no doubt, there's uncertainty all around us. I mean, no doubt the political situation in America has been a volatile issue. It has been an uproar, hasn't it? But what about us? You see, we've got to make sure we are separate. We should never equate our faith with a political party. We can't do it. I mean, think about how Christ got things done. How did He do things? Did He do things and get things done by manipulating the political process? He worked with the Romans and then He worked with the Sanhedrin? He worked with the Pharisees so that they could accomplish? No. What did Christ do? He washed feet. That's what Christ did. You know, how do you defeat principalities? How do you defeat the powers that come against us? Do we do that by the force of man's law? It's not going to happen. Christ did it by a sacrifice, by sacrificing, ultimately giving His life.

And that's how He subverted this world's modus operandi. He was not about to participate in any way because human governments cannot properly administer sound, beneficial, spiritual governance that works for everyone, for good. Man just can't do it. So that's why God the Father will send Jesus Christ as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And that will change government forever. And as a response to the plan of God and our calling, and receiving God's Holy Spirit, we have to come out of this world's way of thinking. And it pushes us. It tries to force us its way. And it stresses us out. I mean, how can we describe the events of the last year? I mean, it's disturbing. Some of it's shocking. Some of it's depressing and discouraging. In the last program that I recorded, I cited a stress in America survey that was just done a couple of months ago. And the results that were done by the American Psychological Association were really astounding. It polled people in America and the stressors they face.

Did you know that that survey found that 77% of us felt that the future of our nation is a significant stressor in their life? Seventy-seven percent, not just a few of us, the vast majority, over three-quarters of us. A huge majority are stressed. And it doesn't matter what race they are, the poll says, but they are stressed and say that police violence toward minorities is a significant source of stress in their life. And the list goes on and on and on. In fact, 7 in 10, 71% of Americans say this is the lowest point in our nation's history. That's how stressed they feel over these things. And, of course, that stress impacts us too. Yeah, we feel the stress of these things. So, our response, what do we do? How do we handle these things? Well, a third passage that relates is found over in the book of Revelation. We looked at the first-century church and its instructions. We looked back at the instructions God gave to ancient Judah and Israel. Here in the book of Revelation, we look to the future. We look to the future.

And in Revelation 18:2, see if any of this sounds vaguely familiar because it talks about this time that a great beast power, a huge government is going to control the world. And ultimately, it's a government of man and it cannot last. And so, in verse 2, we're told an angel cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, "Babylon the great is fallen, and it's become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit,” but notice the influence, the influence of this great power, verse 3, "All the nations have drunk the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her,  the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury." So, things were pretty good. Things were pretty peaceful for a while. The impact of that, it had affected culture. It affected society. It affected the people's perspective. Probably much like ancient Babylon. Are you going to get out of that? Well, this coming Babylon, notice the instructions that are given. Verse 4, "I heard another voice from heaven saying, 'Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, lest you receive of her plagues.'"

Yeah, sounds like 2 Corinthians 6, sounds like Isaiah 52, because once again, the command is given to the people of God. As people of God, get out, escape from the influence. Don't let that overwhelm you. Set a boundary. Stay away. Sever yourself from this and don't even touch it. Don't attach yourself. Don't have a relationship, in that sense, with this evil world. It means as a Christian, for us, today, it means we cannot be a part of this corrupt world around us. That means our behavior has to be different. It means we don't post on social media about the horrors of those awful Republicans. We don't post on Facebook, "Oh, those Democrats, those liberals, they're a bunch of maniacs." We detach from this world. We don't talk about this political system that is bound to fail. We don't write about, "Oh, how righteous the Republicans are. Oh, the Conservatives are the best. How could you not support the Conservatives? The Conservative movement in the United States is what really matters." That's what we're about? Do we write about that?

You see, the whole story here is about not attaching ourselves to a side because both sides are wrong. Both sides are wrong. We have to worry about, "Oh, the possible conspiracies of the Democrats or the Republicans or that coronavirus vaccine, that's the mark of the beast. I'm going to write about that on social media." Really? How ridiculous? We come out of all of that. This is not God's government. This is not God's system. And so as we consider that, we've got to recognize, first and foremost, God's way is not about legislating better laws in man's system. It's not what it's about. God's way is not about voting in godly political leaders. Are there any? Think about that. You see, instead, it's about us. It's about us living such remarkable spiritual lives, that others feel compelled to learn about God's way. It's about us. It's about our comments, our conversations that should ultimately lead people to God. It's about our shining example. It's about utilizing and submitting to God's Holy Spirit. So that shines through in everything that we do. So I can't help but wonder, have we been sidetracked? Have we become compromised or maybe just complicit? You see, we misplace our energies and we can begin to lose our way.

And when we're really committed to God, and we recognize His system is not man's system, we recognize we don't fit in. We don't fit into any worldly system, any two-party, three-party, whatever party you want to talk about. And you see, we fail. We fail if we are not a faithful witness and an example of God's way, a living, breathing, true Christian that supports every way of God. And so, when we look at these passages, I really do think it's a wake-up call. It's a wake-up call for all of us, that we re-engage the way of Christ. In fact, our name even says that, doesn't it? We are the Church of God. We are the Ecclesia of God. Ecclesia, that means the called out ones that are brought together. We are called out by God and brought together to serve Him, to honor Him, to worship Him, to be a witness to this world, that that is a dying culture out there. And the only answer is found through our Lord Jesus Christ. And that's it.

And so, we model justice. The Ecclesia live the things that make for peace. We show what true right relationships are all about. We live godly morality. In fact, our marriages are so strong and so healthy, who cares about the crazy relationships out there in the world? Because look, this way works. And we demonstrate a love, and a care, and a concern for each other. And so, we must speak, and we must teach, and we must preach, and act in a manner that shines that beacon of Jesus Christ to the world. That's our duty. That's our calling. And it must be one that inspires people. An example that truly shows we're not attached to the political systems of this world, we're not attached to worldly biases. In fact, we're not even attached to our own personal opinions. It's not about my viewpoint. It's not about my perspective. You see, we're not attached that way. We're not focused on what we think about who's right or what's right in this system of men. That's not what it's about. And so instead, we disconnect from today's perilous world. Yeah, we sigh and we cry over what's going on in our world today. It just shows forth the sin of materialism, self-centeredness, violence, cynicism, the reliance on wealth, and luxury, and pride, and self-sufficiency. That's all around us.

But it moves us to compassion and it moves us to love our neighbor. It moves us to serve our communities so we don't disconnect from people. But we demonstrate the true love of God to everyone we come in contact with because that's our God-given responsibility. That is our duty. Our duty then to recognize the difference between what's right and wrong, what's clean and unclean, between what's good and what's evil. And then take that power that God's given us to choose right. Utilize God's power to choose good. Submit to the power of God to do what's pure. Now, there is good news. I mean, the good news, it doesn't matter how uncertain the times are that we live in. That doesn't matter. We look back regardless what happened in 2020, regardless of what happened last summer, regardless of what happened in November, regardless of what happened this week. We've been given the precious promise of God's Holy Spirit. That is a phenomenal blessing. And we are the children of God. We are different. And we can confidently hold on to the precious promises that God has given us. God's in charge. He's in control. He's not going anywhere. And the Creator of this universe loves us and He cares about us.

In fact, He loves the world and can't wait for a better time to be established right here on earth. And He wants us to have the best, the best right now. And so He gives us an amazing promise. In fact, I just looked at one this afternoon, Psalms 32:8, God gives us a remarkable, really an unchangeable promise. That's a just short, succinct, right-to-the-point promise in Psalm 32:8. Notice here is God speaking. God's the one doing the talking here in Psalm 32:8. And He says something pretty special, something that can give us the confidence and assurance that we need in these difficult times. God says this, "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye." You see, God says that, and in His infinite wisdom, He promises to instruct us. Do we really recognize the power of that promise? I mean, here's God Himself, God Himself guarantees to instruct us, and lead us, and teach every single one of us.

And, of course, think about God for a minute. Here's the God of infinite wisdom. He knows all. He knows everything from the beginning to the very end. And what does He say? What does He vow? He says, "I'm going to be your personal Counselor. I'm going to be your Coach. I'm going to be your Instructor. I'll be your Professor. And I've got my eye on you. I've got my eye on you." I mean, it's a promise. In fact, it's undoubted, isn't it? Notice the words that He used there verse 8, "I will." It's not a question. "No, I will instruct and teach you. I will counsel you. I will guide you."

You see, so as a loving Father, we have an amazing God, who's our advisor, our leader, the guide, that will be with us every single step of the way, every minute of the day. And He says, "You can count on it." Take it to the bank, God will never forget to lead us. He'll never forget to watch over us. In fact, He says, "Not one second is going to pass where I take my eye off of you." And so we can have that confidence, we can have that assurance. When we submit to the Spirit of God, He promises the best will resolved. And we can succeed with the watchful eye of God.

And so, let's be good students. Let's learn from God. Let's maybe even earn a Master's degree or maybe a Doctorate for that matter, so that we can truly learn to discern between good and evil so that we can train our spiritual perception and learn to view life as God would have us view it, so that it begins to show in our thoughts, which can't help but then live in our actions, that we begin to filter life through the perspective of the one true God and we allow Him then to lead us and guide us every step of the way. So we become detached from this world and attached to Him. And when that happens, then we certainly won't touch the unclean thing.