 Welcome back. So, let's continue from where we stopped in 2 Corinthians chapter 6. So, in that second verse Paul references Isaiah 149 with someone willing to read that for us. So, maybe we can read a long chapter. We'll just read from verses 1 to verse 8 or verse 9, the beginning of verse 9, maybe more complete. So, Isaiah 49, verses 1 to 9, the beginning of verse 9. Isaiah 49 verses 1 to verse 9, right? Listen, O coastline to me, and take heed, you peoples from afar. The Lord has called me from the womb, from the matrix of my mother, he had made mention of my name, and he has made my mouth like a sharp sword in the shadow of his hand, he has hidden me. And made me a polished staff, and in his quiver he has hidden me. And he said to me, you are my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified. Then I said, I have lived bad in pain, I have spent my strength for nothing and in vain. Yet surely my just reward is with the Lord, and my work with my God. And now the Lord says, who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him. So that Israel is gathered to him, for I shall be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and my God shall be my strength. Indeed he says, it is too small a thing that you should be my servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved ones of Israel. I will also give you as a light to the Gentiles, that you should be my salvation to the end of the earth. That says the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, their holy one, to whom, to him whom man despises, to whom the nation abhors, to the servant of rulers. As kings shall see and rise, princes also shall worship because of the Lord, who is faithful. The Lord, the holy one of Israel, and he has chosen you. That says the Lord. In an acceptance, in an acceptable time, I have had you, and in the day of salvation, I have helped you. I will preserve you and give you as a covenant to the people to restore the earth, to cause them to inherit the destroyed heritages. That you may say to the prisoners, go forth to those who are in darkness, show yourself. They shall feed along the roads, and their pastures shall be on all destroyed hives. Amen. Thank you. So why do you think Paul goes back to this passage here in verse, or in chapter 6? That is he quote from Isaiah 49. Whenever we see a quotation from another part of scripture, it's good to go back to that passage and read what was the context within which it was written. So we read here in Isaiah 49, it is the promise of the coming Messiah who will restore Israel from a place of judgment to a place of exile. They will be restored to their land. They will be brought back. They will once again experience the prosperity, the blessings of God that had been taken away, that they had lost because of their sin. So that is a promise that the Jews were holding on to and waiting on to see that restoration happen. And now Christ had come in fulfillment of that. So when Paul in previous chapters talked about all of this reconciliation that is ours, he's now also telling them that this Christ is the fulfillment of that hope of Israel. The hope of Israel that has been there for hundreds of years, been longing for this restoration that was promised to us. Christ is that promised Messiah. And he has come to give us, this is the day of favor. This is the day of salvation. That day that Israel had been waiting for for hundreds of years is now there. And it's now being given to them. It's now being presented to them. And so he's saying, don't ignore this great grace that is here for you, that has been given to you. Receive it, be reconciled to God. Come back to God. And he says, I tell you now is the time of God's favor. Now is the day of salvation. That is, it has been fulfilled. These promises that were given have now been fulfilled and now is available to us. So receive that. He's encouraging the Corinthians to receive it. So verse three, we put no stumbling block in anyone's path so that our ministry will not be discredited. In the NKJV, it uses the word offense. We give no offense in anything that our ministry may not be blamed. So the word offense here refers to causing someone to fall, causing someone to stumble. And so he says, in carrying out our ministry, we do want to cause somebody else to fall. So the way we carry out our ministry, whether in the words we use, in the way we live our lives, in the actions, what we do, in all of that, there should be no cause for someone else to fall. So he's saying this is the way we carry out our ministry. So that's something for us as well to think about. We carry this great gospel. We carry this great message of reconciliation. But how are we presenting that to others in the way we are doing our ministry? Is our ministry itself reflecting the gravity, the power, the grace that is in the gospel? And if it is, then that itself should be a testimony from the people. But if there are things within the ministry, if there are issues that are unresolved, that are remaining undelivered, then that may be a reason for people to fall away. And so we shouldn't be giving people any reason by the way we are doing our ministries to discredit the work that we are doing or to discredit the gospel itself. Then we go on from there, verses 4 to 13, if someone read that for us please. But in all things, we commend ourselves as ministers of God in much patience, in tribulation, in needs, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonment, in term lots, in labours, in sleepless nights, in fastings. By purity, by knowledge, by long sufferings, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love, by the Word of God, by the power, by the Word of truth, by the power of God, by the hammer of righteousness, on the right hand and on the left hand, by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report, as deceivers and yet true, as unknown and yet well known, as dying and behold we live, as chastened and yet not killed, as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing, as poor, yet making many rich, as having nothing, yet possessing all things. O Corinthians, we have spoken openly to you. Our heart is wide open. You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted by your own affection. Now in return, for the same, I speak as to children, you also be open. Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. What fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness and what communion has light with darkness. Amen. Okay, Jeffina posted what the word now in chapter 6 verse 2 is. So Paul is saying that day of salvation, that time of God's favor that was prophesied about in the Old Testament is here and now, meaning Christ has fulfilled that and it's available to you at present. So, and he's saying now also in terms of I'm hoping that you know that I'm calling you back to be like this. So you have the opportunity now to be safe to experience that favor of God. So, in that, just to go back to that, I have 49 verse 8 in the time of my favor, I will answer you in the day of salvation, I will help you. So it was looking forward to this time of favor to that day of salvation. So Christ's coming. And since then till now, till Christ's return is this time of favor this day of salvation. So it's not a specific day or a specific moment, but it is this opportunity that is being offered to be seen to come into the favor of God. And so it's an extended period of time. So, yeah, verse 3 we covered in verse 4. So he's saying in verse 3, he says, we're not doing anything that will cause you to fall away from the faith or to discredit the work that we're doing. But on the other hand, what we are doing is in the way we are conducting ourselves, that itself tells you that you can trust us. It works itself the way we are doing things. And then he'll go on to elaborate what all he's talking about. That commends us to you. That is our recommendation, or that is our evidence, or that is our good report that stands before you. And then all of the things he lists here as examples are things of sacrifice, suffering, endurance. It's not the things that people would boast in generally. It's not about his knowledge, not about his speech, his eloquence as a feature, not about using wisdom, worldly wisdom. All of those things are not the things that are commending them. It's their sacrifices for the gospel, their perseverance in spite of the suffering. So the reality of suffering is definitely there. But it's not that they are giving up in the face of suffering. Instead, they are continuing to faithfully serve and continuing to take the gospel to places they're continuing to pursue this church itself that has rejected, that is only ways is rejecting him. And so all of the things is its endurance in spite of all of these things. We are continuing to do this work in spite of all of the challenges that we faced. So just the first verse four, verse five is talking about all of the sacrifices, the persecution, the suffering. Then verse six talks about more of their own heart and their own spirit in this. So in purity, understanding patience, kindness and holy spirit and essential love. So talking about their own motivations and attitudes in serving and then in truthful speech in the power of God. So their words have been words of truth. So there were other people who were coming in who was saying certain things, but the truthfulness of what they were saying was questionable. But with Paul, he's saying you can trust what we are saying that in our words is also the power of God that is being displayed weapons of righteousness. So however they were doing their work was in a way that displayed the righteousness of God in both the right hand in the left. So in both ways, in the way they were defending themselves, in the way they were carrying out their work in everything the righteousness of God was displayed. And then in aid, it says even if all of these challenges are coming up within the church, we have continued to serve you. So glory and dishonor, bad report, good report, genuine yet regarded as imposters, known yet regarded as unknown dying in yet we live on. So these challenges have come up here in this ministry, but we have continued to serve, whether y'all have dishonored us, whether there have been bad reports about us, whether we've been regarded as imposters, whether people are questioning whether they truly know us in all of those things we've continued to serve. So I'm fully yet always rejoicing for yet making many rich, having nothing in yet possessing everything. And yeah, so just to see that contrast of that last verse, verse 10, to say that even in the suffering we have rejoiced, even in our poverty, we have continued the work of enriching people spiritually. And even though we've had nothing yet, we know that everything is available to us, there's nothing that we lack. And then verses 11 to 13, we have spoken freely to you and opened wide our hearts to you. We are not withholding our affection for me, but you are withholding yours from us. And so here is where he goes back to that, what he was talking about in chapter five, being reconciled. So he's calling them to be reconciled to him. So to defend himself that whatever we've said, we've said openly, we've said honestly, we've spoken freely. And we have loved you fully, we've opened wide our hearts to you. That is, we've allowed y'all to come in fully, we've not withheld our love for you. But on the other hand, you have not loved us with that same kind of acceptance. You have not trusted us, you have withheld your love for us. And so he's saying, he's asking them to open their hearts, so verse 13, open wide your hearts to us also, because that would be the fair thing when we have come to you in this way and speaking to you as my children, as someone who loves you all, as someone who can be trusted, you also come to us with that same level of trust and love that we have shown towards you. So as we go on from there, verses 14 to 18. Someone read that for us, verse 14 to 18, chapter 6. Chapter 6, verse 14 to 18. Do not be un-mutilating together with unbelievers for what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness and what communion has light with darkness and what accord has Christ with the real or what part has a believer with an unbeliever and what agreement has the temple of God with idols. Therefore you are the temple of the living God. As God has said, I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God and they shall be my people. Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean and I will receive you. I'll be a father to you and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty. So Paul here kind of switches focus to something else and then he will go back to what he's talking about before. So that is quite common in this time. In the way they wrote letters, in between they would talk about another topic and then they go back to what they were saying. He does that here and he goes into being yoked with unbelievers. So the context for this is not clear why he's bringing this up at this point. But it's interesting that he brings it up at the same time that he's on the other hand calling them to be reconciled to God. So if you're not reconciled to God, if you're not, you're not coming into this oneness with Christ. Then who are you coming to oneness with? Is it that you are looking yourself with people who are on the other side who are not in Christ? You're looking yourself with unbelief. So in verse 14, he talks about this idea of being yoked. So that is like this picture of two animals having, like how we see being used in farms or being used to plow the ground. They have a wooden piece that is put over two animals and they walk with that together to plow the land. And so if that yok is being used or that wooden piece is being used with two different animals, then they can't actually do that work effectively. They can't actually carry out that work of plowing. So this is in reference to Deuteronomy 2210. And there are various other verses in the Old Testament, but this specifically is from Deuteronomy 2210. If someone could just read that for us, please. Deuteronomy 2210. You shall not plow with an ox, a clean animal and a donkey, and anything animal together. So here we see where that specific example of your king is used between two animals. So that is kind of the image of being yoked with somebody who is not your equal, who does not match where you are. So some ways in which we can understand this, what is he referring to when he talked about being yoked together. We can understand it from the perspective of marriage, where you do come together and you becoming, you're carrying on that purpose that God has for each of you. You bring your purposes together and you carry that out together, you live out your purpose together. So if you are getting married to an unbeliever, then you will not be able to fulfill your purpose. And you will not be able to carry out what God has entrusted to you because the unbeliever won't have that same vision, that same perspective that you have of serving God. And so that is one way in which we can look at what does mean to be unbeliever, yoked, how we can take that into where we can apply it in our lives. Another aspect is in a business, if you have a partnership with somebody you're carrying out a business, that is a place where really you're working so closely with someone else. You have to have the same values, the same vision, the same way of carrying out your day to day work. So it's a very big thing to handle money, to handle decision making, to handle relationships with other businesses. All of those things will be affected by the person's fate. And so if you are getting into a business partnership with somebody who does not have the same fate as you, then doing that work will be very difficult, it will be very challenging. So that's another way to look at how you avoid being yoked to the unbeliever. And then a third way is in the way we let the world influence us, or how do we allow the world, what place are we allowing the world in the Lord? So if we are allowing it to influence the way we think, if we are conforming ourselves to the way the world does things, then we cannot also stay in step with God. Because we are yoking ourselves to the world. And so we will start to come under the influence of the world in the way we are doing things, rather than taking on the yoke of Christ. And being led by Him and following through on His purposes, His vision for us. So those are three ways we can apply that practically to not be unequally yoked to an unbeliever. So Paul goes on from here to look at certain differences between a believer and an unbeliever. And he brings out a few things. So the first is fellowship. So fellowship between righteousness versus lawlessness. So righteousness is what we talked about, right? That you are walking in this perfect unity with God, with His purposes, with His plans, with His desires, with His will. Versus lawlessness, this is indirect opposition to that. It's walking by your own standards, your own will, whatever pleases you, not desiring to submit, not desiring to do what is said to be right or what is said to be wrong. Not following those rules. So saying these two cannot share with one another, cannot be participants with one another. If you are in the perfect will of God, then you can't at the same time be opposing the will of God or walking in your own ways doing what pleases you. So that is one contrast, one difference between the believer and the unbeliever. The other is that there cannot be intimacy or communion between light and darkness. So light representing purity, representing truth, representing spiritual understanding, right? Spiritualized being opened. So when you're spiritualized open, when you're walking in truth, when you're walking in purity, then at the same time, you cannot have intimacy with somebody who is blind, right? Somebody whose eyes have not been opened to the truth, who doesn't know the difference between right and wrong, who is walking in that kind of darkness, in immorality. So because they don't have that same revelation of truth versus what is true versus what is false or what is right versus what is wrong, they walk in sin, in their ignorance maybe, or in their willing projection of truth. Whatever it may be, there can be no intimacy between this, between light and darkness. Light is the absence of darkness. Darkness is the absence of light. So those two can be together. Another is you can't walk in. There can be agreement between Christ and Belian. So Belian was a Jewish term that was used to refer to Satan. And it means worthlessness. That means worthlessness. So Christ, this anointed Messiah, Son of God, between Satan. There can be no agreement between those, between Christ and Satan. The fourth one is there can be no share or no portion apart between a believer and an unbeliever. So we know, obviously a believer is somebody who has put their trust in Christ, who has surrendered their life to Christ, is following Christ. An unbeliever is someone who does not have that relationship with Christ. So it does not have that faith or that desire to follow to be obedient to Christ. And then the last difference he talks about is there can be no agreement between the temple of God versus idols. Now here, the temple of God is referring to the body of believers, not referring to an individual, but the body of believers in this passage. And so the body of believers in which the presence of God is, the spirit of God dwells, cannot walk in agreement with an idol that is from the demonic realm. So it's a false God, a God that represents evil, that represents this darkness that represents the demonic realm. And so that cannot be in agreement with the spirit of God. So these are just some standards that he's setting for the church, that if you are looking at walking with an unbeliever, you are basically walking in complete contradiction to anything that is even possible spiritually, because of all of these differences that exist between the holy spirit and between walking in this area, being led by Satan, being under the authority of anything that is demonic. There can't be anything between these two rights. So he asks all of these questions, these are atonical questions. So he's saying, can this happen, can this happen? Or what fellowship can there be? What does a believer have to do? What agreement is there? All of those things say there is no agreement. So the answer to all of these questions is there is no compatibility between all of these things. And then he says, he goes on from there to worse. Okay, so verse 16 again he quotes from the Old Testament. So verse 16, I will live with them and walk among them and I will be their God and they will be my people. That is from a few verses, a few different chapters in the Old Testament. Maybe we can just read Leviticus 26. Someone can read that verse, just from verses 1 to 13, Leviticus 26. You shall not make idols for yourself, nor shall you edit an image, a sacred filler, or an obelisk, nor shall you place any fingered stone in your land, so that you may bow down to it, for I am the Lord your God. You shall keep my Sabbaths and have residence for my sanctuary, I am the Lord. If you walk in my status and keep my commandments and do them, then I will give you rain in the season and the land will yield her produce and the tree of the seed bear their fruit. And your threshing season will last until great gathering and the great gathering will last until planting and you will eat your bread and be filled and live securely in your land. I will also grant peace in the land so that you may lie down and there will be no one to make you afraid. I will also eliminate harmful animals from the land and no sword will pass through your land and you will chase your enemies and they will fall before you by the sword. Five of you will chase a hundred and hundred of you will put ten thousand to flight. Your enemies will fall before you by the sword. For I will turn toward you with favor and regard and make you fruitful and multiply you and I will establish and confirm my covenant with you. You will eat the old supply of produce and clear out the old for the new. I will make my dwelling among you and my soul will not reject nor separate itself from you. I will walk among you and be your God and you shall be my people. I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt so that you would not be their slaves and I broke the bars of your yoke and make you walk upright. So we see here a lot of things that Paul talked about, right? So what have I done to do with the temple of God? And then in this last verse do not be yoked, that same language of yoked here in verse 13 of Leviticus 26. It's being yoked under the Egyptians versus being yoked under Satan would be the spiritual equivalent of what Christ has done for us. He has freed us from the yoked of Satan. And so we see here in Leviticus 26 where God is calling them to honour him, right? To worship him alone as God and to revere his sanctuary. So verse 2 it says, observe my Sabbath and revere my sanctuary. So why was his sanctuary to be given that kind of respect and honour was because his presence, the presence of the Lord was it? And so Paul is saying that same thing. So honour the presence of God in your midst as a body of believers. You honour what God has entrusted to you which is his very presence. And in doing this there will be a blessing upon you. You will have victory over your enemies. You will experience God's favour. But the greatest thing will be that God himself will be present among you and he will be walking with you. And so this is what he's saying in verse 16. What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said, I will live with them, walk among them, I will be their God and they will be my people. And then verse 17 he says, therefore come out from them and be separate says the Lord. Factional, unclean thing and I will receive you. So this again is a reference from the Old Testament. So let me just read one of those passages. So the two verses that are given here is Isaiah 52, 11 and Ezekiel 20, 34 and 41. Maybe we can just read Isaiah 52 from verse 7 to verse 11. Isaiah 52. Yes, Isaiah 52 verses 7 to 11. Okay. How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings glad tidings of good things, who proclaim salvation, who says to Zion, your God reigns, your watchmen shall lift up their voices with their voices. They shall sing together for they shall see eye to eye when the Lord brings back Zion. Breakfast with joy sing together. You waste places of Jerusalem for the Lord has comforted his people. He has redeemed Jerusalem. The Lord has made bear his holy arm in the eyes of all nations. And all the end of the earth shall see the salvation of our Lord God. Depart, depart. Go out from there. Touch no unclean things. Go out from the midst of her. Be clean. You who bear the vessels of the Lord. Amen. Amen. Thank you. And if someone can read as Ezekiel 20 verses 32 onwards till 41. Ezekiel is going to verses 32 to 41. What do you have to do and shall never be when you say we will be like the Gentiles, like the families in other countries serving good and strong? As I live, says the Lord God, surely with a mighty hand, with the Lord's blessing, I will rule over you. I will bring you out from the people and gather you out of the countries where you are scattered with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm and with a very poor heart. And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people and there I will plead my case with you face to face. Just as I plead in my case with your father in the wilderness land of patriot. So I will plead my case with you, says the Lord God. I will make you pass under the rod and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant. And those who transgress against me, I will bring them out of the country where they do. But they shall not enter the land of the same. Then you will know that I am the Lord as for you. So every one of you is idols and hereafter if you will not obey me, but profane my holy name, no more gifts and your idols. On my holy mountain, on the mountain height of this way, says the Lord God, there all the house of this way, all of them in the land shall certainly, there I will accept them and there I will require the sacrifices together with all your, you as a sweet aroma when I bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you have been scattered and I will be hollow in you before the Gentiles. So we see here. Yeah, so we see in both these passages that are quote, it reminds I have 52 and is it 22 is this promise of restoration of Jerusalem and bringing out of Jerusalem from under bondage to nations that have taken control of it and come to reign over it. And then in Ezekiel 20 is also again this promise that the people will be brought out from their place of judgment and a new covenant will be established with them. But the difference we see between Isaiah 52 and Ezekiel 20 is that Ezekiel 20 also talks about judgment of those who have turned away to worship idols. So even though everyone will be brought out of, out of their exile, out of their bondage, not everyone is going to reach that promised land. On the way to the promised land is where God will execute judgment on those who turned away from his worship idols. And so in this verse second to 1617, he's calling them to separate themselves. So he's saying separate yourselves from these idols, separate yourselves from these unbelievers. Because if we are looking at Old Testament history, those who didn't separate themselves will be the people who come under God's judgment. So you all have received this gospel, you all have been invited to freedom in Christ. But if you do not walk in obedience to Christ, do not walk in oneness with Christ in Holy Spirit, then you will not have the privilege of being in God's presence in eternity. You may have come to this place of believing in Christ at one point, but now if you are choosing to yoke yourself with idols, with darkness, with unbelievers, then you are going to experience judgment. And so he says, come out, separate yourselves from them. And then verse 18, and I will be a father to you. You will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty. Again, a reference from the Old Testament, which I don't think we have time to look at, but that's from 2nd Samuel 7, verse 14, where this promise is given to the people of Israel that you will be restored and you will come to this position as being sons and daughters. So we see here in this chapter verse 5, Paul talks about being reconciled, being brought into a right standing with God, being made the righteousness of God. And then he calls them to recognize what a huge blessing this is and how they should respond to that blessing, to that grace that they have received. And one of these ways in which they need to recognize that they are being drawn away is being yoked to unbelievers or in some way joining with darkness. So you can separate yourself from that darkness, come back to Christ because in that place of coming back to Christ is where you will experience your true identity as children of God. So we continue from there next week. Have a good week and God bless you.