Watch the Company You Keep

1 Corinthians 15:33–34 (NKJV) 33 Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.” 34 Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.

You have to be careful with the company you keep. When you hang around people that are always negative, you become negative. You see no wrong in what they are doing and saying to you.

A little each day you find yourself getting further and further away from God. The sad part about it, you don’t even realize it is happening. Then the saddest part about it is, that one day you wake up and realize I “hung around to long”. You say one thing today and do another tomorrow.  You easily forget what you said from day to day and then it appears you are lying about everything. It makes it hard for people to trust you.

If you are a child of God you do not want to hang with people who are out gossiping about your church and your leaders. Paul was warning the people that they were going backwards instead of forward. They were not growing or getting stronger because of the people they were hanging around.

Some people say, “well they haven’t done anything to me” but you are suppose to be the bride of Christ, so when they talk against or try to destroy the church, it should offend you to the point that if they do not want to do right or talk right, you should distance yourself.  If this hurts Christ, it should hurt you. It definitely hurts the church, when you are talking the same way they are.

It’s strange when the those people or person were in the midst of your congregation, the same one who has become even closer to them is the main one who saw how negative they were when they were in the church. Now they are arch friends and nothing can separate them. This is why Paul said, “Do not be deceived: “Evil Company corrupts good habits.”

When we find ourselves intermingling with the world more than the church, there is a problem. We have people who need to wake up and realize this is not a play thing, but real. Christ wants us to be an enhancement to His Word, not a pitfall.

No the church is not perfect, but we are or should be striving to perfection. You can’t move toward perfection when you are always hanging around negative people. Think about, would you want to hang around people who were always downing your love ones, NO!  So why would you want to hang around people who are always downing the church you are affiliated with. If your elevator go always to the top, the answer should be I don’t and won’t.

Many times people get upset with the Pastor because he or she will not bend to their ways. They jump up and leave the church without any good reason. Little do they know they are not walking out on the Pastor, they are walking out on God. They are angry and will say or do anything to hurt the cause, but do you know God will not allow his purpose to fail because of you.

Pastors, be patient, in due season God will send another. Each day we just have to pray for the ones we already have under our leadership. Many of us have members who trying each day to move forward in the Lord. They have zeal to move forward in the Lord.

We have to continually watch over our sheep and pray with them and for them. Many are being deceived by Satan and do not even realize it.

“Every morning we wake up, we are step closer to the graveyard or the rapture.”  We do not and should not take out time to tip toe around Satan. We need to be brave soldiers on this battlefield. We need to always be fully dressed in His righteousness.

Let us pray for one another that we do not get so caught up in “friendship” that we hold back the truth. People will get angry with you when you speak the truth, but speak it anyway, for your sake. You will be held accountable.

Members, have a tendency of holding private meetings and speaking their agenda instead of God’s agenda. They are trying hard to copy the world, when the world should be copying us. We have many people in the church who have been there for 50 to plus years and are still wearing pampers. You know if you keep on a pamper too long it will begin to stink. Let’s take off the pampers. Some are so timid, you can’t say any thing but praise to them, without them getting upset.

They want to do the Nicodemus syndrome, call you by night, phone or in an arena where no one else can see them and talk nice to you, but when you do as Jesus, be straight up with them, they get upset start talking silly. But you have to hold firm to the truth if you love them and say what they need to hear and not what they want to hear.

People need to understand, a good friend will tell you what you need to hear sometimes and not always what you want to hear. We should me missionaries trying to win souls not destroy. We should speak life and truth, not lies and death. When you are talking with and individual and they agree every time with every thing you say, you need to watch the “Company You Keep”.

Don’t get so caught up in “Friendship” Time is just about up, Christ is soon to come back. Which is more important, friendship or Christ? I don’t know about you, but I rather have Christ any day. That is why we are warned not to put our trust in man, but in Christ. Man will turn on you at a drop of dime. Man will deceive you. Man will tell you a lie as quick as they blink his or her eye. Man will tell you one thing and another something else.

Let us watch the company we keep, because if we don’t, we will be like a burlap bag, catch that garbage and bring it in our lives and the church. It is true, what you do, do affect others.

Prayer: Father help us to be the people you would have us to be. Let us not get so caught up in others that we forget about you. Let us realize that we are your children and you want us to live in a conducive way to hear from you and to respond to others. Help us to realize when we are being deceived. Father we need your help to stop Satan in his tracks. He is seeking and we know it, so help us to be alert at all times and in all places to his arrival. We love you and we know there is no one else who can give us what we really need but you. We ask for forgiveness of all of our sins and short comings. There were times we were in the midst of the wrong company entertaining them when we should have been giving you praise. We talked along with them, when we should have been correcting them. Amen

 

 

 

 

 

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