With Eyes Wide Open by Brother Duke Hansen

         Good morning. This walk with the Lord has many processes for the believer. There are many styles and deliveries of preaching given to people from all types of preachers and pastors. Some preaching is high energy, urgent, and can be manipulative. Other preaching is more calm, settled, and unemotional. 

        This morning we are going to read from the book of 2 Corinthians. Paul is writing a letter to the church in Corinth. We are going to focus on something he addresses which we still need to be wary and choose this day. Our first scripture is 2 Corinthians chapter 7 and verse 1. 

        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.

        The opening phrase, "Having therefore these promises", would give you reading the impression that chapter 6 is leading up to promises for the church in Corinth. Let's move back to chapter 6 and read verse 14. In this verse we will find the subject for this message today.

        14 Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

        There have been many interpretations given by thinkers and scholars over the years since this letter to argue or denote the simple manner of the text. The verse says exactly what it says. You shouldn't partner or associate with unbelievers. Your spiritual walk will always be out of balance and uneven. In life, we let our flesh off the hook too often for choices made that made our life difficult. In turn, our flesh likes us to focus on the past and mistakes made rather than focused on pressing through what God wants us to have victory over.

        Some people will grow and transform their life up to a certain point. People will surrender and turn over various parts of their life, but they set a ceiling on what to turn over. Please understand that what things you don't declare, as in your doing being righteous or unrighteous, where it places you as a group. It comes down to a simple either or question this morning. Is it still righteous or unrighteous?

        You can unwittingly become unequally yoked with the condemned when you participate in things you don't automatically realize as wrong to God. Actions like gossip, murmuring, complaints, haughty, self-righteous, etc. The list is long and our flesh will use all those actions to trap you into a cycle where you commit the sin, you recognize the sin, you ask for forgiveness, but you return back to the sin because there has been no true repentance. If you feel the call form God, it is upon you to break that cycle and strive for holiness before God. 

        Now, let's go back to chapter 6 of 2 Corinthians and read verse 15.

        15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?

        16 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.

        17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.

        18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

        Now, let's re-read the first verse of chapter 7 that we began this message with earlier.

        Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves form all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

        You mean there are elements of filth in your spirit? You know the filth of the flesh is what we call the ABC sins. Many people think that the line is so vague, that there is room for interpretation. The line of truth is really hard on the flesh.

        We either yoke ourself to righteousness or unrighteousness. What great conflicts arise when we are unequally yoked? We go out of our way to pacify judgement against ourself. In doing that, we will continue to live in that unending cycle of iniquity. 

        2 Receive us; we have wronged no man, we have corrupted no man, we have defrauded no man.

        3 I speak not this to condemn you: for I have said before, that ye are in our hearts to die and live with you.

        There are spiritual circles which you can find yourself in with life. Fear and distraction is brought by the devil and you're missing a truth that God had for you to discover about yourself. 

        4 Great is my boldness of speech toward you, great is my glorying of you: I am filled with comfort, I am exceeding joyful in all our tribulation.

        5 For when we were come into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were troubled on every side, without were fightings, within were fears.

        6 Nevertheless God, that comforteth those that are cast down, comforted us by the coming of Titus.

        All of us here cannot escape trails and tribulations. They are part of the process we all go through as believers. We get ourself trapped being unequally yoked sometimes by the law of man and law of God.

        7 And not by his coming only, but by the consolation where with he was comforted in you, when he told us your earnest desire, your mourning, your fervent mind toward me; so that I rejoiced the more.

        8 For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent, though I did repent: for I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, though it were but for a season.

        In verse 8, Paul is admitting to repenting for who he was before his conversion, but he isn't sorry for the correction he gave in the 1st letter to the church of Corinth.

        9 Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.

      10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.

        The two primary motivators which is the engine in the world of business are money and fear. It translates into other things in a life. Verse 5 is all about the flesh. Some people are always discontent and out of balance. We are subject to fight or flight with moments in life.

        A godly sorrow doesn't cause damage. A worldly sorrow can leave a permanent mark on you. A worldly sorrow can make you isolate, withdraw, mistrust, and disdain all people you encounter. In the book of 1 Samuel, when Saul was crowned king by the prophet, it was due to the fact he had the look, the stature of a king. People then laid their hopes on Saul in that day because he looked the part.

        This morning, can you recall the times God has made you sorry for something? Godly sorrow works towards repentance. Sorrow of the world works death. Not death in the physical sense but of the spirit. If God has cast your sin into the sea of forgetfulness, (Micah 7:19) why haven't you?

        11 For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.

        What happens when you don't sorrow after a godly sort? The difference between King Saul and King Davis was that David had a heart of forgiveness. A secret sin will be revealed by God from the rooftops. Good christians love to use the holy ghost as an incentive to keep people returning. You may experience a move of the spirit in a service, in worship, and feel a sense of wonder and joy. It's a passing thing though if you don't maintain your temple nor pursue knowledge. You end up attending various churches in the pursuit of that feeling you felt, that artificial high you experienced. We comprehend so many things wrong from what's written in scripture, because our flesh interprets it.

        We need to know our role with God and what our duties are with him. God prefers obedience over sacrifice but he also wants you and I to be a living sacrifice. If righteousness cost you relationships, they were not worth your time or effort. So, if I'm a living sacrifice, the trails and tribulations, how I overcame them, are my testimony. What makes you think you will not go through life without sacrifice? You often times unknowingly allow the world to stir up your flesh. That allow leads to the imbalance and the unequally yoked. There's nothing in scripture, in principle, or law which grants you to permanence of victim. Sacrifice will take place when you commit to a righteous life.

        There is filthiness of the flesh you need to overcome before you attempt to clean the filthiness of your spirit. Your opening question at the beginning of your day should be, "Do I believe in God?" There are always fightings erupting around us. Fear is ever present in our days. What is our reaction to these things? Is it a flight or fight response? You cannot have courage without fear. I want your eyes open. What are we fighting for? What is your end goal? As David wrote in Psalm 51, God loves a broken and contrite spirit. It is a conscious and committed decision with no emotional attachments. 

        Go from being afflicted by righteous people and be the righteous person. Let that be your goal.