The unequal yoke

With the Lord's help, help me Lord, I'd just like to share a few thoughts, how the Lord saved me after I got saved. There are three experiences in salvation, the day of salvation, day by day salvation, and now is our salvation nearer than when we believe. Now, I'm not going to tell how the Lord saved me on the day of discovery, but I got invited to a Bible conference at Garneville, and on the way back from the lunchroom, Henry Walls took me aside and said, Grant, could I visit with you, and so I stopped in at his place and he said, I'd like to talk to you a little bit about what we read in 2 Corinthians chapter number 6. 2 Corinthians chapter number 6. He said, if I understand your business right, I think you're in unequal yoke, I said, oh, what's that? Never heard that where we grew up, and he said, I think you could honor the Lord if you could change your business.

The Lord delights to bless his own, but when you're linked with someone that doesn't claim to be saved, the Lord cannot bless the same, the same person with the one that is not saved, and so I was in partner with my brother. Well, I didn't know what all that was, but it worked out at the end of the crop year, I sold out to my brother, came down to Cedar Rapids. He also said, when you are looking for a partner for life, you want someone that is saved, saved.

Maybe I should read here chapter number 6, 2 Corinthians chapter number 6, and we'll notice that verse number 14. 2 Corinthians chapter 6, verse 14, the Apostle Paul writing to the Corinthians here says, be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? What communion hath light with darkness? What concord hath Christ with Belial? What part hath he that believeth with an infidel? What agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God.

For God has said, I will dwell in them, I will walk in them, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore, come out from among them, be separate, saith the Lord. Touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you, and will be a father unto you.

You shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. And we need to read the first verse of the next chapter. Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

So when I think of the thought of unequal yoke and how Henry Walls explained it to me many years ago, I had my 50th, I'm 50 years old, so born again, March 31st, 1968. I'm eight years older than my wife, and she's three months older than I am. So I think you can figure that out.

Anyway, unequal yoke, so just briefly, I look at it as business yoke, religious yoke, forgot my notes, anyway, pleasure yoke, and maybe it'll come to me anyway. So now, after I got saved, I told Doc that I came over to Iowa from Wisconsin here, and told him that I trusted the Lord and became my savior, he said, well Grant, if you're really saved, the Lord will deliver you from your religion. Oh, I thought religion was good, and the more you have, the better things would be.

So I was just thinking of it recently, March 31st, and I think it was maybe a couple of weeks later, he might have stopped by the farm, or two or three weeks later, he mentioned that, and possibly two or three weeks later than that, and so into April, or early May sometime, because I did attend the Garneville Conference, I think it was in June, so happened to, my brother and I were plowing or tilling or whatever it was, happened to come around a corner, and clear day, and I see the smoke going up from the church, and so time we got around to the field, and we hopped in the old car and drove over here, and it was full blown fire, burnt down. I lost my job as Sunday school superintendent, and singing in the choir, and the Lord delivered me from my religion. Amazing, someone would say something like that, and it worked out in my personal experience.

So the Lord saved me after I got saved. Come out from among them, be separate. So be not unequally yoked together with a religion that doesn't recognize the Lord.

We were just reminded here of, I was just thinking of when our brother spoke first here about in Cedar Rapids, we have the Mother Mosque in North America, not in Iowa or United States, but in North America, across the river on the west side in Cedar Rapids. And to think of the infiltration of those, I don't want to take time to go with that, but it's unequal people with the common word document and all those things that go with that. So come out from among them, be separate.

And then he gives us some things here that do not go together. What communion has light with darkness? You have the two opposites. Those that have truth, light.

You have truth. We have it right before us. We can read it.

We have God's text message from heaven printed out. Right here it is. And God has given us his message for us to go by, to help us in our journey here below.

What agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God. I had half a cigarette after I got seen. Next morning, went down and fired the old furnace and reached up and I thought, oh, I remember what happened last night.

And it didn't taste good. Opened, threw it in, shut the door on the furnace. That's the last one I had.

But you have a craving. You know, I've been, back a day or whatever it was, but anyway, it's hard to give up. Well, I had gotten a Bible for confirmation.

I even had my name on it. I got a New Testament. I don't remember if I had my name on it or not.

I never read. But I found that little book and put it in my pocket in the same size as a pack of Winstons. Well, thank the Lord I lost my taste for that, but unconsciously reach in your pocket for matches or for a cigarette and feel the book.

And Doc had mentioned, Grant, you honor the Lord and the Lord will honor you. And I thought each time I can say no to that craving, I'm honoring the Lord. So share that with some that have a hard time getting over the habit and maybe other habits too that we can put something as a reminder in our pocket that can help us in our cravings for the things of this world.

So Lord, help me to get over the craving that way, carrying the little New Testament. Keith Hyde was comical. He said, yeah, Grant, he was putting strange fire in the temple.

I didn't know what that was in the scripture, but interesting anyway. So you are the temple of God and God wants us to take care of our bodies, our temple, the spirit of God, Christ in you, the hope of glory. And he wants us the dwelling place as we come together and as we take care of our bodies and what we put into our bodies.

So may the Lord preserve us as we think of our bodies as a temple because where does he dwell? We read here, I will dwell in them and walk in them. I'll be their God. They shall be my people.

Wherefore, come out, come out. What are we in today that we need to come out from? Can we help others that maybe are confused and they don't know where to go, what to say and whatever. May the Lord is laying it on some hearts here today to be a help to people in their day of crisis, day of need.

Wherefore, come out from among them. Be separate. God wants his people to be separate unto himself.

And when we're entwined and intermingled with a lot of these events and things of the earth, he wants us to come out. He wants us to be separate. Now we'll notice here, I will be their God.

They shall be my people. We're his people. Chosen in him before the foundation of the world.

He's called us out of darkness into the light. Break through his marvelous light. He calls us his people, my people.

Wherefore, come out among them. Be separate, saith the Lord. Touch not the unclean thing.

How much things are on the computer and the computer and whatever mode of communication you have. Things that are unclean that can pop up on the screen. A click to sin.

Lust when it is conceived, bring it forth sin. I will be a father unto you. We've been reminded of father, the children and the respect for the father.

If we're obedient children, bring joy to the father's heart. I'll be a father unto you. You should be my sons and daughters.

That's who we are. Saved by the grace of God. Sons and daughters.

And who's speaking? Saith the Lord Almighty. Almighty. Yeah.

The Almighty Lord. And then there's promise with this. Having therefore these promises dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit.

Perfecting holiness in the fear of God. God desires reverence. He desires communication, worship, thanksgiving.

Beginning of the chapter reminds us of receiving the grace of God. We receive the grace of God. We receive it in vain.

Is there evidence in our experience we've been enjoying the grace of God? And may the Lord preserve us as a people of God. We might live for Him. He died for us so we might live for Him.

And so I was just thinking a little bit of coming out, our experience of salvation day by day, day by day, day by day, salvation. And we're looking to a future day. It's drawing nearer.

Now is our salvation nearer than when we believed? I might mention one other as far as unequal yoke. Partner for life. For life.

Till death do us part. And as we make a commitment, a commitment for life. Henry said, you want to be sure you have, you find someone that is saved that knows the Lord.

Well, I've sometimes said, thank you, Lord. Pat was the only one I knew that was saved and available. So thank the Lord.

We're able to, how can you two work together all day during the week and live together, you know? And anyway, the Lord changed my career from caring for swine to caring for saints. So it'll be interesting to share some of those that have come to know the Lord, workers and residents in our experience. So may the Lord bless us.