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MISMATCH
'Be
ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship
hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light
with darkness?'
'And
what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that
believeth with an infidel?'
'And what agreement hath the temple of God
with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said,
I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and
they shall be my people.'
2 Corinthians
6:14-16 (King James
Version)
The saying 'opposites
attract each other' is not valid to the journey of divine destiny! This
is because this journey is a spiritual one! The reality is that true
spirituality and carnality are enemies!
'For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit,
and the
Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with
each other, so that you do not do what you want.'
Galatians 5:17(New International Version)
The enmity gives no room for
compromise! Even witchcraft which parades as spiritualism is classified
as part of carnality(Gal.5:20)! 'Righteousness', 'light',
'Christ', 'he
that
believeth', and 'the temple of God' characterise spirituality which
actually enhances the journey; while 'unrighteousness',
'darkness', 'Belial',
'an
infidel', and 'idols' characterise
carnality which really hinders the journey!
Every attempt at compromise only proves a mismatch just like a farmer
who attempts to plow with an ox and a lion yoked together. Both are
land animals but the yoke between them is unequal! Firstly only
the ass is a beast of burden! Secondly a lion is a flesh-eating animal
which will not refrain from eating the ox when hungry! And if it is a
man-eater, the farmer will be the next meal!
A clear picture of such a mismatch is seen in the following scriptures:
'And after this did Jehoshaphat king of
Judah join himself with Ahaziah king of Israel, who did very wickedly:'
'And he joined himself with him
to make ships to go to Tarshish: and they made the ships in Eziongaber.
'
'Then Eliezer the son of Dodavah
of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, Because thou hast
joined thyself with Ahaziah, the LORD hath broken thy works. And the
ships were broken, that they were not able to go to Tarshish.'
2 Chron.20:35-37(KJV)
Jehoshaphat was supposed to
reflect spirituality while Ahaziah represented carnality,even though
they were both covenant children of God. The former king paid dearly
for his compromise with the latter king-the relationship was actually a
mismatch!
God is love(1 John 4:8,16)-love that is light,in which there is no
darkness(1 John 1:5). Therefore God unconditionally loves us when we
were or are children of darkness without loving our works of darkness!
His love knows no compromise because God himself is
unchangeable(Malachi 3:6a)!
Everyone is born in darkness(Eph.2:1-3). Therefore to become a child of
light under the new covenant of God,one needs to
receive Jesus Christ into one's heart as one's personal Lord and
Saviour(John 1:12-13;Rom.10:9-10). By this sound decision,one becomes a
new creature who is born of the Spirit(2 Cor.5:17,John 3:5-8).
As a child of God,one needs to consciously and consistently choose to
be spiritually minded(Rom.8:6b),that is,to mind the things of the
Spirit(Rom.8:5b). This is because in Christ one walks after the
Spirit(Rom.8:1).
One's walk in the Spirit excludes all carnality(Gal.5:16) because one
is in a blessed state of grace through Christ Jesus to live a
life
that one is destined to live:
'Blessed is the man that walketh not in the
counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth
in the seat of the scornful.'
'But his delight
is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and
night.'
'And he shall be
like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his
fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he
doeth shall prosper.'
Psalm 1:1-3(KJV)
This is a clear and beautiful picture of the
blessedness(Eph.1:3) that is in Christ Jesus. This glorious picture is
demonstrated as one walks after the Spirit. This walk is a walk in
which by faith one manifests God's grace and love by
delighting in
God's word which embraces everything one is,has,and can do in
Christ. It is not a walk after the flesh in which by
one's strength one bears a grievous burden of rules and
regulations so as to earn God's grace and love! The walk after the
Spirit actually prospers one's journey of destiny!
But and if one wrongfully chooses to compromise with
the flesh,one becomes a portrait of conflict described in Galatians
5:17. At such moment,there is a mismatch that only leads to
shipwreck in one's journey of destiny,no matter how anointed, gifted
and talented one may be! When shipwrecked,one needs not to blame God
since He is not to be blamed(James 1:13)! One needs to humbly receive
God's forgiveness and cleansing (1 John 4:9) so
as to arise from such a fall from
grace (Gal. 5:4) and resume one's walk
after the Spirit! Trusting the Lord to sort out the mess that one
leaves
in the past as one restitutes as led by the Spirit!
Every compromise is actually a conspiracy against one's divine
destiny!!!
'Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers
and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;'
1 Peter 2:11(KJV)
'For he that soweth to his flesh shall of
the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of
the Spirit reap life everlasting.'
Gal. 6:8(KJV)
Consequently to win every match of
destiny,one must choose not to entertain any mismatchat all!!!
'This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye
shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.'
Gal.
5:16(KJV)
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