Separation from the Common: Special Series, #3

By Zacharias Tanee Fomum

In Separation from the Common, author Zacharias Tanee Fomum shares his personal journey of obedience to God's call to live a life of separation from the ordinary. Fomum's journey began with small steps of obedience, like giving away his suits when God asked him to, but it soon became a radical commitment to living a life different from what obtains in the world around him.

Using biblical examples and others from Church history, Fomum makes the case that all who are called by God to specific tasks are called away from the ordinary life and to uncommon lifestyle, He argues that success and distinction come at a great price and that responsibility curtails a person's freedom. Fomum's book challenges readers to consider whether they are willing to pay the price for success and follow the narrow way that Jesus walked.

Through his own story and reflections on the Scripture, Fomum offers encouragement to those who are willing to heed God's call to a life of separation from the common. He reminds readers that they can hear God's voice and that He will be their guide and helper on the path to success in Him.

Separation from the Common is a challenging and inspiring call to a radical commitment to Christ and a life that stands out from the crowd.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Books4revival
• Release date: Mar 28, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215183304

Zacharias Tanee Fomum

For FREE books from Zacharias Tanee Fomum: https://books.bookfunnel.com/ztf-free-ebooks. Professor Zacharias Tanee FOMUM was a man of uncommon spirituality, a leading voice for revival, a workaholic, a prophet-teacher, and a world-shaping spiritual genius. He was a bestselling Christian author (with over 350 books, over 10 million copies in circulation in over 100 languages) and a professor of Organic Chemistry (with over 160 published scientific works of high distinction (earning him the award of a Doctor of Science degree from the University of Durham, Great Britain). His books and the millions of people he influenced in more than 40 years of Christian ministry continue to impact the world with the Gospel today. He founded Christian Missionary Fellowship International (CMFI), a missionary movement that has planted churches in more than 120 nations on all continents. He believed in a life of simplicity and with the support and dedication of his wife and their seven children, his all—time, money, heart, and soul— was dedicated to spreading the Gospel. He carried out exploits for God through the making of disciples for Christ, planting of churches, building spiritual leaders according to the model of the Bible, and serving the body of Christ, especially as a teacher on prayer. Learn more and read exclusive excerpts at: https://ztfomum.org

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WHAT IS SEPARATION FROM THE COMMON?

1

AMY CARMICHAEL ON SEPARATION FROM THE COMMON

"We are not dealing with the question of rightness of this and that for others, but whether we as God’s servants have not something to learn from the Nazirite’s special vow, and how it bore on the harmless indulgences in harmless things. The essence of that vow was abstention from things which were lawful in themselves, but not expedient for him.’’

In the Student Movement Magazine, there was an article on, "Prayer and Fasting. We quote from the last paragraph. The speaker has just referred to the discovery of the papyrus in Egypt, upon which was inscribed a few of the supposed Sayings of Jesus,’’ one of which was this: "Unless ye fast from the world ye shall not find the Kingdom of Heaven.’’

It is not a difficult idea to follow, and it takes you to the very heart of the thought of Jesus. It is for you as missionaries, and it is just as much for us who are trying to serve our Lord at home, to treat the world not only in its corruptions, but in its legitimate joys, in its privileges and blessings, as a subject that we should touch at a distance, and with strict reserve and abstinence, feeling that if we are caught by its spirit, or feed upon its meat, we shall not feel the breath of the Highest nor receive the manna that falleth from Heaven. Therefore, we are bound to look upon the world with all its delights and its attractions, with suspicion and with reserve. It is not for us, not for us, not for us. We are called into a higher kingdom; we are touched with a Diviner Spirit. It is not that he forbids us this or that indulgence or comfort of life; it is not that he is stern, making upon us the call of the ascetic but it is that we who love our Lord, and we whose affections are set on the things that are in heaven, voluntarily lay aside the things that charm and ravish the world, that for our part, our hearts may be ravished with the things of heaven and that our whole being may be poured forth in constant and unreserved devotion in the service of the Lord who died to save us. A pure heart, says Tauler, is one to which all that is not of God is strange and jarring.

Comrades in the war of God, has not something got out of its place? Is it not time we call a halt, and search ourselves in the searchlight of the Cross?"

AMY CARMICHAEL IN MESSAGE OF THE CROSS, MARCH‒APRIL 1985, P. 27.

2

THE CLEAN AND THE UNCLEAN

The Holy and the Common

The Bible talks about the clean and the unclean. The clean is acceptable to God whereas the unclean is not. Below are some instances where the Bible distinguishes between the clean and the unclean:

And the LORD spoke to Aaron, saying, ​Drink no wine nor strong drink, you nor your sons with you, when you go into the tent of meeting, lest you die; it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations. ​You are to distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean (Leviticus 10:8‒10).

This is the law pertaining to beast and bird and every living creature that moves through the waters and every creature that swarms upon the earth, ​to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean and between the living creature that may be eaten and the living creature that may not be eaten (Leviticus 11:46‒47).

"If a man's hair has fallen from his head, he is bald but he is clean. ​And if a man's hair has fallen from his forehead and temples, he has baldness of the forehead but he is clean. But if there is on the bald head or the bald forehead a reddish-white diseased spot, it is leprosy breaking out on his bald head or his bald forehead. Then the priest shall examine him, and if the diseased swelling is reddish-white on his bald head or on his bald forehead, like the appearance of leprosy in the skin of the body, ​he is a leprous man, he is unclean; the priest must pronounce him unclean; his disease is on his head (Leviticus 13:40‒44).

For on this day shall atonement be made for you, to cleanse you; from all your sins. You shall be clean before the LORD (Leviticus 16:30).

Her priests have done violence to my law and have profaned my holy things; they have made no distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they taught the difference between the unclean and the clean, and they have disregarded my sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them (Ezekiel 22:26).

They shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and show them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean (Ezekiel 44:23).

Jesus said to him, He who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but he is clean all over, and you are clean, but not every one of you. For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, You are not all clean (John 13:10‒11).

From these verses we see that a person may be unclean because he is ceremonially unclean, for example, he might have touched the dead or did other things that defile a man. He may be unclean because of sin that he has committed. In this case, he is cut off from fellowship with God and remains out of fellowship with God until he repents. Repentance involves among other things the following:

Recognition that all sin is against God,

Hatred of the sin committed because of what it does to God—offends Him,

Hatred of the sin committed because of what it does to you—it destroys you in every way,

Total and irrevocable turning from the sin committed,

Pleading with God for pardon,

Reception of pardon,

Cleansing of the heart and all,

Restitution to God,

Restitution to man,

Walking in vital fellowship with God,

Walking in vital fellowship with man.

When repentance has taken place according to the steps above, the unclean person becomes clean and fellowships with God and man.

It is imperative that all God’s children be clean in the heart. Outward or ceremonial cleanliness means nothing to God. He looks at the heart.

It is self-deception for anyone whose heart is unclean to dare to come to God, to consecrate himself to Him. It is self-deception for anyone who is practising sin in any area of his life to decide to separate himself from the common in any way. He is rejected at the very onset. Only that which is absolutely clean can be offered to God. So be clean before you continue to think about separating yourself unto Him. This is a divine law!

So, we divide people into two classes:

The unclean

The clean

Those who are clean are in two classes:

The common

The uncommon (the holy)

The difference between the common and the holy has nothing to do with sin; rather it has to do with separation unto God. It has to do with consecration to the Lord and to His purpose. It is dependent on a special price paid. It is not obligatory for a person to be separated from others. However, if he wants special distinction, he must separate himself from the others and pay a special price.

Most children play when they are able to. However, for a child who wants to distinguish himself in say, the academic field, the time that others invest in

playing,

making friends,

enjoying music,

and in other hobbies will be invested in studying. He is thus separated from the others who are common. He is separated for studies. He is separated for distinction.

Many believers are content to give a tithe and a small offering. They are common. Others are caught up with a vision to conquer the world for Christ and consequently put in 40%, 50% or more into the gospel enterprise and sacrifice every form of luxury. These are uncommon. They are holy. They have been taught the difference between the holy and the common.

And the LORD said to Moses,

Say to the people of Israel, When either a man or a woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the LORD, ​he shall separate himself from wine and strong drink; he shall drink no vinegar made from wine or strong drink, and shall not drink any juice of grapes or eat grapes, fresh or dried. ​All the days of his separation he shall eat nothing that is produced by the grapevine, not even the seeds or the skins. ​All the days of his vow of separation no razor shall come upon his head; until the time is completed for which he separates himself to the LORD, he shall be holy; he shall let the locks of hair of his head grow long. ​"All the days that he separates himself to the LORD he shall not go near a dead body. ​Neither for his father nor for his mother, nor for brother or sister, if they die, shall he make himself unclean; because his separation to God is upon his head. ​All the days of his separation he is holy to the LORD (Numbers 6:1‒8).

The person was common until he took the vow and kept it. Those who did not take the vow ate anything they liked, treated their hair the way they wanted, and went to the dead the way they liked. There were no restrictions and constraints on them. On the other hand, the person who took the vow and thereby separated himself unto God could not do these things. He had separated himself unto God and was compelled to be separated from some things and from some people.

Separation unto God always implies separation from some things, people, attitudes, pleasures and so on. Those who do not know ‘separation from’ cannot know ‘separation unto’. No one can consecrate himself unto the Lord until he has separated himself from that which will stand in his way of being all that God wants him to be.

All who want a special place in God’s heart must know an unusual separation from the hearts of men.

It was expected that spiritual leadership would teach the people the difference between the clean and the unclean and between the common and the holy. We thank God that there are still a few spiritual leaders who by their lives and messages proclaim the distinction between the clean and the unclean.

However, there are very, very few who, by their lives and messages proclaim and teach the people how to distinguish between the holy and the common. This is a tragedy. The reason for this is because majority of God’s children know nothing in their lives about separation from the common. The vast majority of those who call themselves spiritual leaders today are not spiritual leaders. They are common people and common people cannot lead. True leadership is for those who will pay a price and move ahead of the people in their devotion to the Lord and His work! Such are separated from the common. They are holy unto the Lord.

3

WATCHMAN NEE ON SEPARATION FROM THE COMMON

Delegated Authorities Must Sanctify Themselves

…For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth (John 17:19, NKJV).

We have already seen that spiritual authority is based on spirituality. It is neither something apportioned by men nor simply appointed by God. We need to remember that it is, on the one hand, based on spirituality and, on the other hand, based upon the humble and obedient condition of the man before God. We will now add one more point, which is, that one who is to be in authority must be sanctified from the crowd. Although our Lord was sent of God and had uninterrupted communion with God, he still declared, For their (disciples’) sakes, I sanctify myself.

WHAT DOES THE LORD SANCTIFYING HIMSELF MEAN?

The Lord sanctifying himself means that for the sake of His disciples the Lord refrained from doing many things which were perfectly legitimate to Him; from speaking many words which He might have lawfully spoken, from maintaining many attitudes which He could justifiably have, from putting on many kinds of apparel which would have been proper for Him, and from taking many foods which would have been normal to Him. Being the Son of God who knew no sin, His freedom far exceeded any we have on earth. There are many things we cannot do because we have defects in us, many words we cannot speak for we are unclean people; but there was no such difficulty in the life of our Lord, since He is most holy. We need to humble ourselves, for our nature is full of pride, but our Lord was never proud; hence He did not need humility. Moreover, we need patience, for we are naturally impatient; our Lord, however, was never impatient, so He had no need of patience. He did not need to be restrained in many things since he was absolutely sinless. Even his anger was without sin. Nonetheless He says, For their sakes, I sanctify myself. He was willing to be restrained in many things.

With regard to the matter of holiness, the Lord has not only His own holiness in view but ours as well. Whatever holiness we have causes us to be sanctified from the world; consequently, there are many things we cannot do. Aside from His own holiness, He adds ours. Hence, He sanctifies Himself for our sake; He accepts the restrictions which come from men. Since He speaks and acts according to His holiness whereas men always speak or judge according to their sins, He was willing to accept restraint lest He be misunderstood by the sinful thoughts of men. We act not, because of sin; but He puts Himself under restraint due to holiness. We do not, for we should not; yet He does not do that which He could do. For the sake of God’s authority, He refrains from doing many things in order to manifest His separation from the world. This is what is meant by the Lord sanctifying Himself.

TO BE IN AUTHORITY OFTEN MEANS LONELINESS

In learning to be in authority we ought to be sanctified before brothers and sisters: many legitimate things we cannot do and many lawful words we cannot speak. We must be sanctified both in words and in sentiments. According to ourselves we take a certain attitude, but among God’s children we will be sanctified. Even our fellowship with brothers and sisters must have a limit beyond which we will neither be casual nor frivolous. We should rather lose our liberty; we rather will be lonely. Loneliness is the mark of authority. It is not due to pride but for the sake of representing God’s authority.

There is not a question of sin here, only a matter of sanctification. The opposite of holiness is commonness, not sin. To be sanctified is to be different from others. Many rightful things we will not do, many speakable words we will not utter. This is not an outward pretension but, the restraint of God in the spirit. Only in this way can we be God’s delegated authorities.

One who is in authority represents God in his every word and action. As we see in Numbers 20:12, Moses failed to sanctify God in the eyes of the people of Israel and he did not sanctify himself before them. He misrepresented God; hence he could not enter Canaan. The sparrows fly in flocks, whereas the eagles fly singly. If we can only fly at a low level because we cannot bear the solitude of high flying, we are unfit to be in authority. To be in authority requires restraint; one must sanctify oneself. Others may, but you cannot; others may speak, but you cannot. You must obey the Spirit of the Lord as He teaches within you. You may feel lonely and miss the fervour of the crowd; nevertheless, you dare not mingle with the brothers and sisters in joking and jesting. This is the price of authority. Unless we sanctify ourselves like our Lord, we are not qualified to be in authority.

Even so, as regards being members one of another, whoever is in authority should be perfectly normal in maintaining the fellowship of the body with all the brothers and sisters. Accordingly, in representing God he must sanctify himself under the restraint of God that he may be an example to all while as a member of the body he should serve with all his brethren in coordination, never assuming the false position of being in a special class.

TO BE IN AUTHORITY REQUIRES RESTRAINING ONE’S AFFECTIONS

Leviticus 10:1-7 records the judgement of Nadab and Abihu because they failed to be subject to their father Aaron. On the same day their father was anointed, Aaron’s four sons were also anointed in the sanctuary to be priest. They were not to serve individually but to help their father in God’s service. And so they were not permitted to initiate anything. Now without their father’s permission and according to their own thoughts, Nadab and Abihu offered strange fire and consequently they were consumed by fire. Then Moses said to Aaron: This is what the Lord has said, ‘I will show myself holy among those who are near me…. In this incident God reveals something: those who are near Him should never be careless. There is a much severer discipline applied to them than to the people in general.

What could Aaron do when two of his four sons, Nadab and Abihu, died in one day? For he had a double relationship here: he was the priest before God but he was also the head of his family. Can a person serve God to the extent of forgetting his own son? According to the custom of the people of Israel, when there was a death in the family, the members would let their hair hang loose and rend their clothes. Yet in this case Moses commanded that the bodies be carried out and forbade Aaron and his two remaining sons to follow the custom of the day.

Mourning is a normal human affection and is perfectly legitimate, but to those Israelites who served God, as here, it was forbidden lest they die. How serious this is! Those who served God were judged differently from the ordinary Israelites. What all other people of Israel might do, they could not. For a father to mourn his son, for brothers to wail over brothers, was both lawful and natural; nonetheless, those who had the holy oil upon them must sanctify themselves. No question of sin on their part was involved in this case. Yet not everything which is legitimate even though sin is not involved can be indiscriminately done. The issue is not over sin but over sanctification.

As has already been mentioned, the opposite of holiness is commonness. Holiness means that others may, but I cannot. What the disciples may do, the Lord does not; what others may, I cannot. What other brothers may do, those in authority cannot do. Even lawful affection needs to be put under control otherwise, death can be the consequence. The people of Israel died because of their sins but priests could die because of not being sanctified. With the Israelites, he who killed was bound to die; for Aaron, however, if he had mourned his sons he would have died. People in authority must pay the price for it.

Aaron could not even go out of the tabernacle; he had to let others bury the dead. The people of Israel did not live in the tabernacle, whereas Aaron and his sons were not allowed to step out of the door of the tabernacle. They had to diligently keep God’s charge. The anointing oil sanctifies us from our natural affections as well as from customary conduct. We should respect the anointing oil which God gives to us.

Let us therefore have a thorough dealing before God with respect to our being sanctified from the rest of the people. The world and ordinary brothers and sisters may continue their family affections, but God’s delegated authorities must maintain the glory