In John 17, Jesus prayed to God and said ... 6 I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world:thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. 7 Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. 8 For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them,
and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed
that thou didst send me. 9 I pray for them:I pray not for the world,
but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. 10 And all
mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them. 11 And
now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to
thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me,
that they may be one, as we are. 12 While I was with them in the world,
I kept them in thy name:those that thou gavest me I have kept,
... 14 I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
When we are given a word from God and believe that word, we end up being "kept" by that word.
Here is an example of this.
Testimony of Pam Padgett:
Several
years ago I became engaged to marry a man named Chuck. Chuck said he
was a Christian. He had three grown children from a previous marriage.
He and his first wife divorced after she began having an affair with
another man. (Since his wife had been unfaithful, I believe he was
free to re-marry, according to scripture, although a woman is not free
to re-marry even if her husband has been unfaithful ... 1Corinthians
7:10 And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not
the wife depart from her husband: 11 But and if she depart, let her
remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the
husband put away his wife.)
I had a strong desire to be married, and had ignored and kept quiet about things that troubled me.
A
few days before we planned to be married, Joan (apostle/prophet) and
Barbara in our little church group each contacted me saying they were
very troubled about this marriage. I took these warnings very seriously, and we postponed the wedding. I also prayed diligently about the entire matter.
Then one day Chuck and I were talking on the telephone and he mentioned
that his grown son who was in the army and stationed in Germany had
called to say he was engaged to be married. The woman he was engaged to
marry was divorced. I told Chuck that this marriage was against what
we're told in the Bible, that his son would commit adultery by marrying a
divorced woman. Chuck got very quiet and we soon ended the
conversation.
Matthew 5:32 Jesus said ...
But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for
the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.
Although
we usually spoke on the telephone or emailed each other every day,
after I spoke against his son's marriage Chuck called me only once and
that was a brief call while I was at work. Something was not right.
After a few days I arranged to meet him so we could talk. During that
talk it came out that he no longer wanted to marry me. My speaking
against his son's marriage had stopped our engagement.
It was very hard for me to comprehend what had happened. But as I drove away, I heard from the Holy Spirit "Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers".
Immediately I saw that although Chuck said he was a Christian, he was
really an unbeliever, for he didn't believe the word of God in which we're told
that a man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
God delivered and kept me as I believed and spoke HIS word.
2
Corinthians 6:14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers:
for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what
communion hath light with darkness? 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.
Today
I have no doubt that had I married Chuck, it would have been a very
terrible and hard situation. I would have been continuously troubled by
what Chuck and his children said and did, and there would have been
problems as I held to what God has told us since Chuck didn't believe
and became upset with me when I spoke up about these things. I am so
thankful I did not marry Chuck.