Exodus 8:28
And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away: intreat for me.
One of the offers Pharaoh made to Moses was to worship God, only ye shall not go very far away. This offer was simply Pharaoh telling Moses not to be too fanatical about serving God, just keep your distance from Egypt, and we all can get along with each other. Pharaoh knew that if he could get Moses to accept the offer of keeping his distance, the Israelites would eventually return to Egypt.
Sadly, we have many believers who have accepted the offer to keep their distance from Egypt so they can feel religious. Many are fine with being religious, but not to the point that they are so far from the world that they can't partake in the world’s activities and lifestyles. Satan knows that if he can get believers focused on keeping their distance from the world that they will get their focus off God. The believer’s focus is not to be on the world, but on God. If you keep your focus on God, you will naturally live a separated life and will never become like the world. You see, your focus is your direction. If you keep your eyes on God, you will get closer to God, but if you keep your eyes on the world to keep your distance from it, you will eventually become more like the world. Let me share a few principles about the importance of not being focused on the world.
First, your distance from the world is not what you should be concerned about. Many feel they are spiritual because they have kept their distance from the world, but as the world moves, they move away from God because they are keeping their distance from the world. People change without knowing it because they are focused on their distance from the world. These people feel they have never changed because their distance from the world is what it has always been. If change was measured by the distance from the world, many have not changed, but our fellowship with Christ is never measured by our distance from the world, but by how close we have drawn to God.
Second, the believer’s responsibility is to be focused on God. Notice James 4:8 which says, Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. I cannot draw nigh to God if my focus is on the world. The only way to draw nigh to God is to be focused on Him. 1 Peter 1:16 says, Be ye holy; for I am holy. Again, how can I be holy if I am focused on my distance from the world? The only way I can be holy is to stay focused on God. My distance from the world is not what determines if I am living a holy life, but my distance from God is what determines it.
Third, the more I stay focused on God, the further I will find myself from the world. The world keeps changing, and if I stay focused on the world, I will keep changing with it; my distance from the world may not change, but my distance from God will certainly change. You will find that when you are solely focused on your fellowship with Christ and drawing closer to Him, the world will naturally get further from you.
My friend, you are always changing; you are either changing by moving away from Christ or by moving toward Him. The change in your life is either good or bad depending on which way you are moving. Stop focusing on the world and stay focused on God, and the move away from the world will become a natural move as you draw closer to God.