Set Apart

Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
Romans 12:1-2 (NASB1995)

Big Idea: Are we Conformed or Transformed?

We have to Break Out! We have to Be Set Apart!

• We can intentionally started to seek out differing political, cultural, and social perspectives - Like what The Word of God says.
• Fasting from social media to create space With God so that HE can give us a new feed.
• Allowing God to chronologically speak His word regarding our IDENTITY.

We can’t do this without His presence and making room to abide in His presence!

And what if our algorithm became…

• But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:33 (NASB1995)
• Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15 (KJV)
• Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and [b]He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 2 Corinthians 5:17-19 (NASB1995)

Are we grieving The Holy Spirit?

“Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” Ephesians 4:30 NASB1995

Are the things that we do and how we live from day to day quenching the Holy Spirit?

See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek what is good for one another and for all people. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit, do not utterly reject prophecies, but examine everything; hold firmly to that which is good, abstain from every form of evil. I Thessalonians 5:15-22

Let’s be that church that carries the presence of God everywhere we GO!

Then they said, “What is to be the guilt offering that we shall return to Him?” And they said, “Five gold tumors and five gold mice corresponding to the number of the governors of the Philistines, since one plague was on all of you and on your governors. So you shall make likenesses of your tumors and likenesses of your mice that are ruining the land, and you shall give glory to the God of Israel; perhaps He will lighten His hand from you, your gods, and your land. Why then do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When He had severely dealt with them, did they not let [b]the people go, and they left? 1 Samual 6:4-6 (NASB1995)

Because the presence of God is for all people!

Now the ark of the Lord had been in the territory of the Philistines for seven months. And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, “What are we to do with the ark of the Lord? Tell us [a]how we may send it to its place.” 1 Samual 6:1-2 (NASB1995)

And they said, “If you are going to send the ark of the God of Israel away, do not send it empty; but you shall certainly return to Him a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be revealed to you why His hand does not leave you.” Then they said, “What is to be the guilt offering that we shall return to Him?” And they said, “Five gold tumors and five gold mice corresponding to the number of the governors of the Philistines, since one plague was on all of you and on your governors. So you shall make likenesses of your tumors and likenesses of your mice that are ruining the land, and you shall give glory to the God of Israel; perhaps He will lighten His hand from you, your gods, and your land. 1 Samual 6:3-5 (NASB1995)

The presence of God wasn’t mean to be pulled it was meant to be carried!

When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy objects and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, when the camp is to set out, after that the sons of Kohath shall come to carry them by the poles, so that they will not touch the holy objects and die. These are the things in the tent of meeting that the sons of Kohath are to carry. Numbers 4:15 (NASB1995)

We want to create “NEW” things and put God in it, when God doesn’t need anything new! He doesn’t change...

Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their way of life, imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, and forever. Hebrews 13:7-8 (NASB1995)

But when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out toward the ark of God and took hold of it, because the oxen nearly overturned it. And the anger of the Lord burned against Uzzah, and God struck him down there for his irreverence; and he died there by the ark of God. Then David became angry because of the Lord’s outburst against Uzzah; and that place has been called Perez-uzzah to this day. So David was afraid of the Lord that day; and he said, “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?” And David was unwilling to move the ark of the Lord into the city of David with him; but David took it aside to the house of Obed-edom, the Gittite. 2 Samual 6:6-10 (NASB1995)

We get stuck to a way rather than being the people of the Way!

and asked for letters from him to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them in shackles to Jerusalem. Acts 9:2 (NASB1995)

Instead of focusing on outward, rituals and rules, Jesus focused on the reality of the heart!

The ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite for three months, and the Lord blessed Obed-edom and all his household. Now it was reported to King David, saying, “The Lord has blessed the house of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, on account of the ark of God.” So David went and brought the ark of God up from the house of Obed-edom to the city of David with joy. 2 Samual 6:11-12 (NASB1995)

And so it was, that when those carrying the ark of the Lord marched six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened steer. And David was dancing before the Lord with all his strength, and David was wearing a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with joyful shouting and the sound of the trumpet. 2 Samual 6:13-15 (NASB1995)

We need to asses our temple so we can see how far we have strayed from the presence of God! It’s time to clean house and clean the temple so that the presence of God can dwell amongst us and so that we become prosperous

People may hate you when you make a change for the good, but this is how you know you are tracking well with God.

Then it happenedasthe ark of the Lordcame into the city of David that Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart. 2 Samual 6:13-15 (NASB1995)

• We believe the Lord wants to heal someone who has been having a constant aching in your right calf muscle.
• We believe the Lord wants to heal someone suffering from neuropathy.

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35 (ESV)

• Division on every kind lives, or dies in how we disagree.
• Learning to live and be loving in the expressions of our disagreement is essential for the full impact of God’s work, His blessing, and the full scope of our influence for Him to be achieved.
• We can’t be argumentative or factious or have what scripture calls a “party spirit” and expect to live in full blessing of unity.
• Each of us needs to learn the rules and the methods of “Kingdom fighting.”
• God is not looking for Kingdom Cage Fighters with the mindset that we will win this fight no matter the cost.
• The problem begins with us!

What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions James 4:1-3 (ESV)

• Politics
• Marriages
• Families, sometimes generationally or passed on
• Government
• Churches

There is a difference between a disagreement and a fight.

• A disagreement is a difference of perspective.
• In a disagreement when your done you can walk away still loving the other person.
• In a disagreement you seek to understand and be understood.
• In a fight, Inner vows … thinking that says in essence I will never, or I will always and leads us to oppose any perspective that differs from our own.
• In a fight the goal is to win, to prevail against our opponent not to understand and connect relationally.
• Every fight becomes an effort to prove you are right rather than to understand and connect on the issue being discussed.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12 (ESV)

3 Steps to Resolve a Conflict the Kingdom Way:

1. Correctly Identify The Enemy in your Fight:

• It is a spiritual battle we are fighting, not physical.

For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (ESV)

• It is won using spiritual weapons
• It takes a tenacious faith

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. Hebrews 11:6 (ESV)

2. Know Your Commanding Office and Use the Right Weapons in your fight:

• Bluster, Loud Volumes, and Threats (1 Samuel 4)
• Rather than engage the fight with prayer and seeking Gods power they assume His presence will atomically guarantee the victory.

And when the people came to the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord here from Shiloh, that it may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.”So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, who is enthroned on the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.As soon as the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel gave a mighty shout, so that the earth resounded. 1 Samual 4:3-5 (ESV)

• We fight using right or wrong thinking / my side or your side and assume God is with us.

When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” And he said, “No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped[a] and said to him, “What does my lord say to his servant?” And the commander of the Lord's army said to Joshua, “Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so. Joshua 5:13-15 (ESV)

3. Kingdom Fighting Requires Tenacious Faith

• We stand by and wait for God to do the work of defeating our enemy.
• He wants us to be actively engaged, not passively engaged.
• 5 Step Kingdom Fight method: Wait, Pray, Ask, Answer softly, and Believe
• In order to win, we must actively and faithfully fight, not give in.

Now when Elisha had fallen sick with the illness of which he was to die, Joash king of Israel went down to him and wept before him, crying, “My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” And Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and arrows.” So he took a bow and arrows. Then he said to the king of Israel, “Draw the bow,” and he drew it. And Elisha laid his hands on the king's hands. And he said, “Open the window eastward,” and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot,” and he shot. And he said, “The Lord's arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Syria! For you shall fight the Syrians in Aphek until you have made an end of them.”And he said, “Take the arrows,” and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground with them.” And he struck three times and stopped. Then the man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck down Syria until you had made an end of it, but now you will strike down Syria only three times.” 2 Kings 13:14-19

• Are you passively beating the ground as you seek God’s help in your fight?

1. Acknowledge where you have used the weapons of your flesh to fight.

2. Implement and practice the 5 Step Kingdom Method of Fighting.

3. Remember we don’t fight to win arguments we fight to understand people.

Words of Knowledge

• We believe the Lord wants to heal someone suffering from mild hearing loss due to a childhood injury to your eardrum. The Lord wants to remove the scar tissue and restore your hearing.
• We believe the Lord wants to heal someone suffering from a long-term upper respiratory infection. You have tried multiple antibiotics and they haven’t worked. The Lord is going to cleanse your respiratory system today.

Welcome to The Crossing Church

You yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:5 ESV

and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” 1 Peter 2:6 ESV

So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone” 1 Peter 2:7 ESV

and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. 1 Peter 2:8 ESV

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 1 Peter 2:9 ESV

Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 1 Peter 2:10 ESV

Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. 1 Peter 2:11 ESV

Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. 1 Peter 2:12 ESV

• God gave us the ministry of reconciliation.

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 2 Corinthians 5:20 ESV

• We believe there is someone here today who has been having an issue with your vision that is causing major frustration for you. You keep having something that seems to be floating through your sight. We believe the Lord wants to heal you today.
• We believe the Lord wants to heal someone who has been dealing with severe joint pain in your big toe on the right foot.
• We believe the Lord wants to heal people of heart palpitations today.

When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:16-17 NKJV

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Matthew 4:1 NKJV

Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. Luke 4:14 NKJV

How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. Acts 10:38 NKJV

On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!” Mark 4:35-41 NKJV

Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes. And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains, because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones.

When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him. And he cried out with a loud voice and said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me.”

For He said to him, “Come out of the man, unclean spirit!” Then He asked him, “What is your name?”

And he answered, saying, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country.

Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains. So all the demons begged Him, saying, “Send us to the swine, that we may enter them.” And at once Jesus gave them permission. Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and drowned in the sea.

So those who fed the swine fled, and they told it in the city and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that had happened. Then they came to Jesus, and saw the one who had been demon-possessed and had the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. And those who saw it told them how it happened to him who had been demon-possessed, and about the swine. Then they began to plead with Him to depart from their region.

And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him. However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.” And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled.

Mark 5:1-20 NKJV

Words of Knowledge:

• We believe the Lord wants to heal arthritis in the hands and feet.
• We believe the Lord wants to heal someone with an umbilical hernia.
• We believe the Lord wants to heal someone who has a chronic ear infection.