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The Sin Of MIXING

The Sin Of
MIXING!”
How many churches do you know that are flooded with the awesome presence of Jesus Christ? Where believers are so awed and reverent, they gather in holy silence. Where no one dares be flippant or silly. Where the singing is so filled with Christ’s presence, sinners weep. Where the backslider and the wicked sinner become so miserable they either run to the altar, or out the door. Where the preacher is so anointed his face seems to Shine with supernatural glory, and his words have con­victing power. How many Christians do you know who live in the glorious victory that comes from spending much time in the presence of Jesus? Who do you know that is exciting to be around, because you car sense victory and peace in them? Where are those who rejoice in pulling down strongholds— casting down evil imaginations—victorious over lust and passion—who have found and appropri­ated the strong arm of the Lord to all their hurts, problems, and anxieties?

How few churches, how few pastors, and how few Christians there are who are alive and vibrant with the power of Christ’s presence Why? Because this generation of Christians is guilty of the sin of mixture! We have beer. shut­ting out the actual presence of Christ because we no longer want to be a separated people. We want to mix. We do not want to be different. Mixture means “to combine or blend Into one mass so that individual characteristics are gone” It is the intermingling of two elements causing them to lose their separate uniqueness, and take on a new, singular character. Doesn’t this describe exactly what is happening in Christianity today? God’s people wait to blend and intermingle - and soon they lose their uni­que, different, special character. They lose their godly character, and take on the character of the world From the Very Beginning, God Chose to Reveal His Presence Only Through a Special, Separated People. He chose to reveal Himself through Israel—If they would avoid the sin of mixture:

“For thou art a holy people unto the Lord thy God; the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special [called out] people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth...” (Deut 7:8). Moses knew there was only one thing that made them special, or different, from all other people on earth. It was not because they were in. them­selves worthy, or holy ‘It was the presence of God revealed In theirmidst! They alone had the actual presence of Almighty God.

“And God said to Moses.. . my presence shall go with thee... and Moses answered...if thy presence go not with me, let us go no fur­ther... “For how shall it be known here that I and my people have found grace in thy sight ...Is it not that thou goest with us? So in this way we shall be different from all people upon the face of the earth...” Exo 33:14-16

Here is conclusive proof that God’s people are special and different because of the actual pres­ence of the Lord In their midst! Take away His presence, and there is no deference from the rest of the church world. Any church or people can boast they are Spirit-filled and full gospel—but if there Is no overwhelming presence of Christ at work In their midst, they are just as ordinary as any other dead, dry church. We are special, different,, only when Christ’s presence Is in full rev­elation among us. God warned Israel that any mixture with the world would cause Him to withdraw His presence, and He would reject them as the special channel of revelation. They were commanded to deal unmercifully With the ungodly, heathen spirit of their time:

“Thou shill smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no agreement with them nor show mercy upon ... neither shalt thou intermingle in marriage with them... for they will turn thee away from following me...” (Deut. 7:2-4).

Joshua had also warned the children of God
 “..they shall be snares and traps unto you and the cause of widespread affliction
(scourge), and thorns In your eyes, until you perish from off this good land the Lord your God hath given you. , .“ (Josh. 25:18),

The warnings of Joshua are needed today just as much. ‘To me, this explains much of the hurt and pain in the lives of some Christians. Think of It—widespread afflictions and thorns, all caused by affinity with the world, The direct result of the sin ~f mixture. Israel loved to mix! God’s people were determined to do away with everything that made them different from the rest of the world. They despised the reproach of being separated. They wanted kings, like the rest of the world. They wanted sexual freedom, like the rest of the world. They wanted to flirt and indulge in adultery and still covet the altar with tears; they wanted the lust, the passion, the Immorality, the pornography, the fornication, and the idols of the rest of the world. So they rejected His commandment to be separate and special to Himself. They sinned and became proud and vain, and made them­selves molten Images and worshipped all the hosts of heaven—to do evil In the might of God ‘as did the wicked.”

“And the Lord rejected all the seed of Israel, and afflicted them, and delivered them Into the hand of spoilers, until he had cast them out of his sight...” (2 Kings 17:20).

There was no need for Israel to seek after counselors, or spiritual advisors, or prophets—to find out why they were so harassed and filled with despair. They knew why they were being affixed. They knew why troubles were piling up on them—the presence of the Lord was gone! God had rejected them as the channel of Ills presence and had turned them over to spoilers! Of course, not all who suffer have been rejected as channels of Christ’s presence. Many are sick and suffering because, like David, God is seeking to reveal more of His presence to the sufferer, or those who are near them. But the context here speaks of a people living in mental and spiritual torment because of rejecting their place in God.

The Predominant Message of the Proph­ets Was “Your Iniquities Have Turned
Away the Presence of God” Jeremiah asked Israel, “Why do you think the Lord God has done all these things to you?” Then he gave them the answer: ‘Because you forsook the Lord and mixed with the worldly and wicked among you...” (Jer. 8:19).
God spoke to His peo­ple through His prophet, saying.
‘Do you fear me? You will no longer tremble in my presence.. .but you have a rebellious end revolting heart, … your sinful heart has turned away God’s presence, end your sins have withholding good things from you...” (Jer 5:22-25). Listen to God’s indictment against these mixers!
“You have grown prosperous and bright— you overlook the deeds of the wicked.  (.Jer. 5:28).
Isaiah wept because “lion was a wilderness, the people desolated the holy house of God lying in ruins, and sore affliction. In the hearts of God’s people.,.”  (Isa 64:9-l2).

He cried out,
“And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou haul hid thy face from us, and his consumed us, because of our iniquities...” (Is. 84:7),
Was that unmerciful of God? Was there no grace shown to them? Oh, listen to the loving appeal God had made to them: “I have spread out my bands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walked In a way that was not good, after their own thoughts...” (Isa 65:2).

Isaiah goes on to describe the results of their mixing. They began to - “sacrifice to idols .., eat swine’s flesh. . . burn incense upon altars of brick,. .“ Israel had mixed, lost its unique character, and had taken on the character and identity of the world! So God hid His face from them, rejected their new character, and withdrew His presence. Are we so blind as to miss the point God is mak­ing in the Old Testament! How much clearer could it be that God will not put up with our mixing with the unholy, the unclean? Why such a separated priesthood in the Old Testament? ‘To give us an example of God’s firm commitment to revealing Himself through a holy, clean, sep­arated people. “Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when you go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die; it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generation.... “And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, end between glean and..”
(Lev 10:9-10) “And you shall be holy unto me; for I the Lord am holy, and have severed you from other people, that you should be mine,” (Lev. 20:36).