God's WrestlersSpiritual DoseThe month of September 2016. Tagged: September For Spiritual Service (SSS 2016) Edition.
SSS 11- Sunday 11th, September 2016
Topic: Ingredients of Spiritual Service 6
Sub- Topic: Spiritual Companionship Text: Prov. 13:20
Get this as quick as possible-
"whoever can control your heart can control your life"
And the people you move with determines what moves with you. Hear this Proverbial Fact:
He that walketh with wisemen shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed. Prov. 13:20
There are reasons to understand that spiritual companionship is clearly an ingredients for spiritual service. One of such reason is that people are easily deceived by certain attractive things they see with their physical eyes. The scripture gave us warnings:
Do not be deceived. ‘Good character is marred by evil company.’ 1Cor. 15:33 20cNT
Be not deceived: Evil companionships corrupt good morals. ASV
Do not be tricked by false words: evil company does damage to good behaviour. BBE
Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners. Darby
Do not believe false words. But these words are true: ‘Do not have friends who are bad. They will make you do the bad things that they do.’ EasyEnglish
Be not deceiving yourselves,––evil communications corrupt gentle manners:–– EBR
Do not be deceived: "Evil associations corrupts good habits." EMTV
Be not deceived: Evil company doth corrupt good manners. ERV
Don’t be deceived! “Evil companionships corrupt good morals.” HNV
Stop being deceived: “Wicked friends lead to evil ends.” ISV
We must know very clearly that it is very easy to influence one's behavior into the bad side than the good. People who became victims of circumstances are led by their friends. Your friend defines you, shapes you and design your boundary. Your desire drives and directs you to the friend you walk with.
A Companion is a friend, acquaintance, or partner; someone with whom one spends time or keeps company. This can be of any age. The most important thing is that of time and what one would receive in the long run. This can be said to be in three categories. Your Senior, Your mate and your junior colleagues. All these function at different time for different purposes. Timothy enjoyed Paul's companionship for many years before he was left alone. The disciples of Jesus were enjoying the same thing until the fullness of time. At the same time, Jesus enjoyed the companies of his disciples before he finally finish the mission. Daniel also enjoy the communion of his mates in Babylon. This people if we look carefully, are people of like passion. See Daniel for example:
Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions:
That they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. Dan. 2:17-18.
This is what we are pointing at not people like Dinah who went to the strange daughters of the land and was quickly defiled. Gen. 34:1. The decision to be successful starts with the kind of friend you choose. Are the friends you keep helping you to get God's secret on your table? Who is the person you call your best friend? That guy? That babe? You will soon become one. But hear this there is no address for you in the word of God:
Jesus makes people completely good and clean inside themselves. Both Jesus and all the people that he makes good and clean have the same Father. So, Jesus is not ashamed to call all those people his brothers and sisters. Heb. 2:11.
If He is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters, I think He would be ashamed to call them anything different from that, as a replacement to it. Emphatically, Jesus is ashamed to call them guys and babes! The truth is, you are transform into the image you watch daily this process is slow and unconscious. See 2Cor. 3:18.
The people who are your senior companion should be able to give you a correct sample of Christian living models not those who will tell you fables and stories which has not been done on them. Let learn from Apostle Paul:
Put into practice what you learned and received from me, both from my words and from my actions. And the God who gives us peace will be with you. Phil. 4:9 GNT.
Not what they tells you, but everything about them. That is why you need to carefully select them.
The people that would also be a junior companion should be those who are zealous for good works, willing to grow into that companionship. Not magic-expectant fellows, lazy and unwilling to yield. In all, all must be like-minded:
make my joy full by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Phil. 2:2 WEB.
Companion can also be in group. The group must follow the same principles as given from the word as seen above.
In search of companions, there are crucial things to know. First is your worth. Who are mine? This is not a question to see yourself as something when you are not, it is not to overestimate yourself either, it is know the choice to make. This worth is beyond your present value. You might be in level zero now, but if by virtue of knowing who you really are, say level 8 you can seek for people of such level to make your companion. We need to be careful:
As God’s messenger I give each of you God’s warning: Be honest in your estimate of yourselves, measuring your value by how much faith God has given you. Rom. 12:3 TLB
You must be honest, honesty and seriously, be honest about it. Don't hide under the umbrella of faith and overestimate yourself, God will not spare you:
Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. 2Cor. 10:5.
This knowledge of who you really are would help you achieve your God-given vision and attain your goal. When you get this right you have accelerated your success in life by 50%.
Second is that you define a scope and means via God's word on how you can bring the dream into reality. In the process of doing that you must base everything on God's word because He has made a provision for that before us:
Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions. Eccl. 7:29 Webster.
We just need to get what God has prepared and bring them on our table just as the way Job did:
Like when I was in my prime and God trusted me with his secrets! Job 29:4 ISV.
God reveals them to Him, he plans them on his table. The attitude of writing down vision:
And then God answered: "Write this. Write what you see. Write it out in big block letters so that it can be read on the run. This vision-message is a witness pointing to what's coming. It aches for the coming—it can hardly wait! And it doesn't lie. If it seems slow in coming, wait. It's on its way. It will come right on time. Hab. 2:2-4 The Msg.
So, your table is where you will map out God's secrets on how to fulfill your God given mandate. It is in this same time that those companion fitting for this move would be discovered.
Third, get a sample of what you want from the scripture. Look out for Christian virtues and those special endowments that suits your purpose. Then you can search in the spirit- praying and get direction on who to point and move with. Prayerfully keep your companion. Hello, any company that is not encouraging or challenging you to go deeper with God in communion, in praying, in fasting, in study of the word, in reading spiritual books, in vigils and christian gatherings, in giving and evangelism, in reproduction, in practice or demonstration of God's power and demonstration of God's wisdom in your field, is the correct one.
If this things are sustainef for years it will bring so much increase in your life and carrier and therefore enabling you for better spiritual service via people unto God. Then what should we do? As you read now, there are some friend you need to just say good bye to. Sin-encouraging friend. Club-suggestion friends, vain and canal advising friends and so on. We must say to them, bye, by the help of God.
The companion you keep determine your champion's chance.
Today, it is important that this action be taken, once and for all. That your so called boy friend and girl friend who make you to sin are embargo to your spiritual service. That brother who brothered and sistered so called, and yet you still engage in secret sins, it is overdue for you to say good bye. Hear this:
Don’t be teamed with those who do not love the Lord, for what do the people of God have in common with the people of sin? How can light live with darkness? And what harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a Christian be a partner with one who doesn’t believe? And what union can there be between God’s temple and idols? For you are God’s temple, the home of the living God, and God has said of you, “I will live in them and walk among them, and I will be their God and they shall be my people.” 2Cor. 6:14-16. TLB.
It is high time we stopped, turned and started a new deal with God. Our service is a product of our sacrifice.
I see you changing friends and changing levels. I see a new communion with God. I see grace available for you. I see a new you at the top. Glory!!!
Femi Falade
God's Wrestler
Femlex1@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment