We’re surrounded by a world which is ruled for the most part by Satan. How can we avoid getting caught up in it? How can we stand apart?

You’ll find the answer in John 17:17. There Jesus was speaking to the Father about all those who would believe on Him. « Sanctify them through thy truth, » He said. « Thy word is truth. » Sanctify means « to separate unto. » So Jesus was saying, « Separate them by the Word. » The Word separates!

When you initially believed the Word of God, you were born again. You were separated spiritually from the kingdom of darkness and separated to the kingdom of Light. Now that’s where a lot of people stop. They let the Word of God do its initial separating work and then go right on living like everybody else. Spiritually, they’re still separated from death. But physically and mentally, they’re up to their necks in it. They’re poor. They’re sick. They’re worried. They’re confused. They’re upset. In other words, they’re just like everyone else in the world.

But if you’ll give the Word of God first place in your life, it will continue to separate you from the poverty and the anxiety and the sickness and the hatred and the darkness of your old habitat.

There’s something else that the Word of God will do for you too. It will not only separate you from the things of this world, it will separate you to the things of God.

You can’t simply separate yourself from any old destructive habit without separating yourself to something else. You can’t turn away from the things of the world unless you turn to something stronger. I’m telling you, you can scream and squall and kick the altar bench and everything else trying to get rid of the sin in your life. You can cry, « Dear God, take this sin away from me. » But all the begging in the world won’t separate you from your sin. It’s the Word that does it!

Make a decision to give the Word first place in your life. Make it a quality decision, a decision from which there is no retreat. Lock into the Word and let the Word do its work. Let it separate you from the things of the world and to the things of God.