Impure In Behaviour

Again we get straight into the matter at hand. Because these men were not born Jews and were not bred as Jews, their behaviour would be totally different.  How they reacted and responded to certain laws and ways of acting would be quite unlike the Jews. 

Listen to this. Can you see any true Christian family, followers of Jesus, running a sleazy night club? Can you see any devout disciple of Shiva, calling on the Name of Jesus, in times of sunshine or rain? Can you see an Adventist, sitting down to a plate of pork chops, with pork eating friends? Yes, as ridiculous as these are, that is how deep and personal this behaviour goes.

Recently, I was told of a big split in a relationship, when the husband and wife were ready to call it quits, over a kiss. Well, it was more than a kiss. The husband, because of his religion, absolutely abstains from alcohol in any form or fashion.  In this marriage, the wife sees nothing wrong in having a glass of wine now and again. She had gone out with her colleagues and had had a couple drinks.  When she got home, she kissed her husband and he got the ‘taste’ of alcohol. He went berserk and that was that.  For him, the alcohol and his adherence to this law of the flesh, were more important than the love which is of God. Are you still with me? When others are behaving in ways contrary to our earthly breeding, we call them unclean and see them as impure and think of them as unclean. 

When the Lord was putting this change in Peter, was He not just changing Peter from a situation like that?  For any Jew to have such close, deep contact with those who ate pork, for example, is to have not just outer, but inner contamination. This had to be a most damning moment for Peter, as three people of ‘wrong’ behaviour, came to him as though they were such close, true friends. But Peter is also telling us that to mix the earthly with the heavenly, is NOT the Lord’s way, Spirit is Spirit and Flesh is Flesh.

Right then, three men of ‘wrong’ behaviour, came to Peter. He did not call them impure for he had learnt that God Himself, had made them clean. 

Never see anyone of wrong behaviour as impure, when the Grace of God has made them clean.

God still sends people to us, in our perfect, proper and correct places. God still sends the ’wrong’ people to us.  How often are we embarrassed, for they do not just come to the back doors of our places. They do not just stay at a distance and call out. They do not hide themselves in some out-house or barn and send some worthy servant to secretly call us. They do not send letters or faxes or such mail to us. No! They come straight to the front door of where we are.

The truth is that many of us who profess to be the Church, those who are the faithful, loyal servants of Jesus, His true disciples, are having the wrong kinds of people call for us at the wrong times, in the wrong places, and before the wrong onlookers. The problem is that too many of God’s servants fail to realise and see that God Himself has sent these wrong people to us. The Lord has sent these wrong people to us, not to make these wrong people right, first and foremost, but to bring them to the place of being, as Jesus is, as The I AM.

Note with gratitude, that God still has a way of changing His servants first, before they can be free enough, to be Jesus, to those who are of wrong; Birth, Breeding, Behaviour.

As we come to the conclusion of this specific time, learning more about favouritism, we understand that it is grave, both in the physical realm and Spiritual realm. I believe that, like myself, many of you have been brought to face your attitude of being partial at times and your displays of favouritism. At first, we might have wanted to deny any such behaviour as coming from us, but when we see our actions, hear our words and listen to our thoughts, as the Holy Spirit enables, we are found to be guilty. Our Holy Spirit does not just leave us there with our guilt and shame, but He sees our sorry hearts, hears our genuine pleas for forgiveness and heals us from such wrongs. We learn to die to all that we have learnt in the past, any traditions and practices which will hinder us in doing the Lord’s Work, and more so, being His True witnesses.

Showing Favouritism is not of God as we have already noted earlier in the week. We will conclude tomorrow with what the Bible has to say to us about what to expect when we show favouritism. We shall also share in prayer.