Friend or Foe? Part 2 - what,why and how
Psalm 1:1-3 (NLT) - "1 Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners or join in with mockers. 2 But they delight in the law of the LORD, meditating on it day and night. 3 They are like trees planted along the riverbank,bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.
Blessings everyone,
Welcome back to Words of Righteousness! I'm back with a part 2 of 'Friend of Foe' and I'm so thankful to God that part 1 really helped people. Whenever I write, I start off by praying that I make sense because this Pharmacy degree has really drained my English speaking and writing skills. Awifidifiii
I only speak Pharmacokinetics and them tings there and I don't think I'm going to be able to revert back to the Queens english any time soon.
Part 2 is going to focus around friends and foes. All 3 points are very different but I pray that they are of some help on your Christian walk. If you have not read Part 1, please click here to read it or you can read it afterwards.
Point 1 - Desire and pray to have iron sharpening friends. Be that friend too!!
Proverbs 27:17- "As iron sharpens iron,so a friend sharpens a friend"
Your friends are a big part of your life; we absorb so much from them because we're around nearly all the time, even more than your family. You go to school and you hang around with them for 7 hours, sometimes even longer if you're at University. Playing games (non-alcoholic and Christian friendly games) into the evening and sometimes into the night. You'll be cackling like a dragon for hours on end together:
You're bound to rub off on them and vice versa.
If this is the case, then why don't you ensure that what rubs off on you is beneficial? Would you rather have Hugo Boss rub off on you or cigarette smoke? (I hope you picked what I picked because I don't want to be smelling like eau de lung cáncèr)
Let me give you an example.
The friends I'm around the most at Uni are the ones I met/got to know better at Church.They are VERY jarring. I have loads of love for them but crikey. God must have had a laugh putting us together because the laughs we've had>>
Now, I have a very disgusting laugh (yes I'm claiming it) and very recently, some of them have actually started to pick it up. (INJECTTT ITTT) I laugh like a Cillit Bang spray bottle in all honesty and I'm okay with it. However, my friends aren't. So whenever they burst into laughter and start disinfecting the environment with their new laugh, they turn to ME in disgust and blame ME.
The moral of this little story is that even though they didn't want to, they ended up adopting my laugh anyways. This was only because they are around me so often. So that friend that you may be hanging around that is always talking bad about Church and bringing you down by telling you that walking with Christ is useless, even if you don't want to, you WILL end up starting to thinking like them.
Desire to have iron sharpening friends. In all honesty, my University friends helped me trust and open up more. Yes, I'm still tight with my guys from back in the day but these recent friend have and still are helping in so many ways at once it's mind blowing. But what they don't know is that I spent days praying for them. Not them in particular but praying to God for friends that would help me walk with Him.
1 John 5:14-15 (NLT) - " 14 And we are confident that He hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases Him. 15 And since we know He hears us when we make our requests, we also know that He will give us what we ask for."
Use this scripture when presenting your requests to God!
Asking for iron sharpening friends is definitely going to please Him so ask for them if you need them! Don't just make do with people who might slow down you walk because when you get to Heaven and tell God that you didn't fix up your association because you weren't sure how to do it, He will tell you that He SAID He would help you! (Psalm 46:1)
Now, when God answers your prayers and you find those edifying friends, you may have to start distancing yourself from the old ones. Especially if they speak bad about Christ. If you look at the verse this post is centered around(Psalm 1:1), you can't just be chilling with everyone. Remember your association. Don't be dragged into the earth with Korah! (Part 1 reference)
Point 2 - When you give your life and when you find brothers and sister in Christ and you may start to get distant from your other friends/drop them.
Side note - I somehow made these points link. We THANK the Holy Spirit for inspiration.(Now back to my point)
Don't panic. It's normal.
Here's my story(ish)
I made a few friends in first year. I'm apparently a 'social butterfly'.I just get on with people easily. When it came to moving in with people, I moved in with my friends that I made early on and it was calm. This was before I started to shift the gears and move out of my lukewarmness.
*DISCLAIMER* - These guys are still my boys and I have so much love for them because they understood what I was going through and I thank God for their lives. They are not bad people HOWEVER, on this walk, you have to surround yourself with like-minded people - brothers and sister with the same goal in mind.
I started to pick up the pace and dropped the lukewarm behavior as SOON as second year started (so the start of my tenancy). I was yet to click with my now brothers and sisters in Christ but I became heavily involved with ministry so I was barely at home. I started to become distant with my housemates because I was always at Uni or Church. Now when I started to actually become friends with my people, I spent even less time at home because it was just more edifying to be with my them than to be at home where I was alone on my walk. It's nobody's fault HOWEVER I had to change my environment. I had to make sure it was one where I could grow. Then slowly,the distance developed with other people too.There were some people that I only saw when I wanted to go out to motives or when I wanted to drink that Pharmacy out of me.
Imagine if I was serving on Sunday but then drowning in Henny the next day.
3. Don't try and save everyone. You may end up compromising yourself.
Yes, you shouldn't give up on people straight away but there is only so much that you can do.
(this scripture is so beautiful. Even those that have been called beautiful, do not have beauty like this)
Romans 8:29(NLT) - 29 For God knew His people in advance, and He CHOSE them to become like His Son, so that His Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.
Pastor David said something a while back which has STUCK with me since. It was about Outreach/Evangelism - Evangelism isn't going to call everyone and anyone. You're going forth in the Spirit praying that you encounter those who God has already chosen.
It was something along those lines and it makes so much sense. Romans 8:29 says that God knew His people in advance. It also says that He chose them to become like His Son. It's sad but there are people that just were not meant to be saved.
Romans 9:17-18 talks about Pharaoh and how God created him with a stubborn heart to display his power. Verse 18 (NLT) says "So you see, God chooses to show mercy to some, and he chooses to harden the hearts of others so they refuse to listen"
Now,trying to figure out whether the person you are trying to save is one of those people or not will take prayer. I have no idea why God does that but His ways aren't our ways.
Back to my point, it's not everyone that you can save. That being said, it may not be their time OR you may not be the person that God has destined to save them. That is why you always need to pray for your friends and family. A Bible plan that I'm reading with my friend on Evangelism (I'll attach it below) made a very interesting point. Many Christians will reply "yes" if you were to ask them whether they would want their friends and family to be saved. However, does your prayer life reflect that desire? PRAY FOR THEM!
We don't fight flesh and bone but spiritual principalities.(Ephesians 6:12) So why use the flesh to fight the flesh? ENGAGE YOUR SPIRIT!! You WILL see results if you pray according God's will!
Now if you go on and try and save someone that isn't in His will at all or someone who isn't a soul that is attached to you, your walk could pay the price.
Most times the person will end up proving difficult and you'll start to pay less attention to your own relationship with God.
1 Peter 2:2(NKJV)- "Like newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word,that you may grow thereby"
If you deprive yourself of the Word, your inner man, your spirit will diminish. It won't grow. The Spirit and the flesh are contrary to each other (Galatians 5:17) so if you don't feed one, the other will grow and overpower it. This world that we live in, it's funny. It has optimal conditions for the flesh to thrive so without you trying, its desires will grow. So we need to ACTIVELY feed our Spirit to quench the desires of the flesh.
So back to friends and foes, is the friend that you're trying to save worth it? Are they a friend or foe? We should be cautious when trying to save our worldly friends.
Jude 1:23(NLT) - "Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgement. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives"
Be cautious!! Scripture says SNATCH them. A snatch isn't something that is longed out. It's quick. Don't hang around too long if you discover your efforts are futile. Furthermore, remember that you aren't doing this in your own strength. The Holy Spirit is our fuel.
However, if you're going to the clurbb (inside at 12am when people are active) to evangelize (a place where the Spirit is most definitely absent) what are you running on? Don't take your electric car to the petrol station. IT WON'T WORK. As soon you purchased that motive ticket, you purchased your fall.
I'm not saying be selfish but I'm saying be wise. Don't go and be doing Mr and Mrs Soul Winner of the Year without even praying over your decision first! Some people and places may actually do you harm!
I really pray that whoever this post was meant for took away what they needed from it. Your friends are important but you can only do so much. Sometime it's better to focus on your growth and let that do the talking. The Spirit can cut deep.
That's all for this post. I hope you were blessed.
Thanks again for reading :)
If you have any questions , corrections/suggestions or just want to have a discussion, please contact me via Twitter. I think I'm amiable enough to hold a conversation.
See you guys soon!
Bible plan link: The 5 P's of Evangelism - click here
Twitter: www.twitter.com/johnpaulk01
Blessings everyone,
Welcome back to Words of Righteousness! I'm back with a part 2 of 'Friend of Foe' and I'm so thankful to God that part 1 really helped people. Whenever I write, I start off by praying that I make sense because this Pharmacy degree has really drained my English speaking and writing skills. Awifidifiii
I only speak Pharmacokinetics and them tings there and I don't think I'm going to be able to revert back to the Queens english any time soon.
Part 2 is going to focus around friends and foes. All 3 points are very different but I pray that they are of some help on your Christian walk. If you have not read Part 1, please click here to read it or you can read it afterwards.
Point 1 - Desire and pray to have iron sharpening friends. Be that friend too!!
Proverbs 27:17- "As iron sharpens iron,so a friend sharpens a friend"
Your friends are a big part of your life; we absorb so much from them because we're around nearly all the time, even more than your family. You go to school and you hang around with them for 7 hours, sometimes even longer if you're at University. Playing games (non-alcoholic and Christian friendly games) into the evening and sometimes into the night. You'll be cackling like a dragon for hours on end together:
You're bound to rub off on them and vice versa.
If this is the case, then why don't you ensure that what rubs off on you is beneficial? Would you rather have Hugo Boss rub off on you or cigarette smoke? (I hope you picked what I picked because I don't want to be smelling like eau de lung cáncèr)
Let me give you an example.
The friends I'm around the most at Uni are the ones I met/got to know better at Church.They are VERY jarring. I have loads of love for them but crikey. God must have had a laugh putting us together because the laughs we've had>>
Now, I have a very disgusting laugh (yes I'm claiming it) and very recently, some of them have actually started to pick it up. (INJECTTT ITTT) I laugh like a Cillit Bang spray bottle in all honesty and I'm okay with it. However, my friends aren't. So whenever they burst into laughter and start disinfecting the environment with their new laugh, they turn to ME in disgust and blame ME.
The moral of this little story is that even though they didn't want to, they ended up adopting my laugh anyways. This was only because they are around me so often. So that friend that you may be hanging around that is always talking bad about Church and bringing you down by telling you that walking with Christ is useless, even if you don't want to, you WILL end up starting to thinking like them.
Desire to have iron sharpening friends. In all honesty, my University friends helped me trust and open up more. Yes, I'm still tight with my guys from back in the day but these recent friend have and still are helping in so many ways at once it's mind blowing. But what they don't know is that I spent days praying for them. Not them in particular but praying to God for friends that would help me walk with Him.
1 John 5:14-15 (NLT) - " 14 And we are confident that He hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases Him. 15 And since we know He hears us when we make our requests, we also know that He will give us what we ask for."
Use this scripture when presenting your requests to God!
Asking for iron sharpening friends is definitely going to please Him so ask for them if you need them! Don't just make do with people who might slow down you walk because when you get to Heaven and tell God that you didn't fix up your association because you weren't sure how to do it, He will tell you that He SAID He would help you! (Psalm 46:1)
Now, when God answers your prayers and you find those edifying friends, you may have to start distancing yourself from the old ones. Especially if they speak bad about Christ. If you look at the verse this post is centered around(Psalm 1:1), you can't just be chilling with everyone. Remember your association. Don't be dragged into the earth with Korah! (Part 1 reference)
Point 2 - When you give your life and when you find brothers and sister in Christ and you may start to get distant from your other friends/drop them.
Side note - I somehow made these points link. We THANK the Holy Spirit for inspiration.(Now back to my point)
Don't panic. It's normal.
Here's my story(ish)
I made a few friends in first year. I'm apparently a 'social butterfly'.I just get on with people easily. When it came to moving in with people, I moved in with my friends that I made early on and it was calm. This was before I started to shift the gears and move out of my lukewarmness.
*DISCLAIMER* - These guys are still my boys and I have so much love for them because they understood what I was going through and I thank God for their lives. They are not bad people HOWEVER, on this walk, you have to surround yourself with like-minded people - brothers and sister with the same goal in mind.
I started to pick up the pace and dropped the lukewarm behavior as SOON as second year started (so the start of my tenancy). I was yet to click with my now brothers and sisters in Christ but I became heavily involved with ministry so I was barely at home. I started to become distant with my housemates because I was always at Uni or Church. Now when I started to actually become friends with my people, I spent even less time at home because it was just more edifying to be with my them than to be at home where I was alone on my walk. It's nobody's fault HOWEVER I had to change my environment. I had to make sure it was one where I could grow. Then slowly,the distance developed with other people too.There were some people that I only saw when I wanted to go out to motives or when I wanted to drink that Pharmacy out of me.
Imagine if I was serving on Sunday but then drowning in Henny the next day.
Angels would be like
It comes down to making the best decision for your walk.
Taking into consideration the CHRIST in YOU, is that person a friend or a foe? Will they sharpen you or make you blunt? Who wants a blunt tool in their toolbox? Especially if they're not trying to become sharp. God wants us to work for Him - Genesis 2:5, God needed humans to cultivate the land. We have been sent on a mission - Matthew 28:19-20 - to make disciples throughout the world so do you think a blunt tool would be the best fit? Don't fight a full time devil with part time effort. Equip your spirit by all means. Find people who will feed your spirit and vice versa.
Yes, you shouldn't give up on people straight away but there is only so much that you can do.
(this scripture is so beautiful. Even those that have been called beautiful, do not have beauty like this)
Romans 8:29(NLT) - 29 For God knew His people in advance, and He CHOSE them to become like His Son, so that His Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.
Pastor David said something a while back which has STUCK with me since. It was about Outreach/Evangelism - Evangelism isn't going to call everyone and anyone. You're going forth in the Spirit praying that you encounter those who God has already chosen.
It was something along those lines and it makes so much sense. Romans 8:29 says that God knew His people in advance. It also says that He chose them to become like His Son. It's sad but there are people that just were not meant to be saved.
Romans 9:17-18 talks about Pharaoh and how God created him with a stubborn heart to display his power. Verse 18 (NLT) says "So you see, God chooses to show mercy to some, and he chooses to harden the hearts of others so they refuse to listen"
Now,trying to figure out whether the person you are trying to save is one of those people or not will take prayer. I have no idea why God does that but His ways aren't our ways.
Back to my point, it's not everyone that you can save. That being said, it may not be their time OR you may not be the person that God has destined to save them. That is why you always need to pray for your friends and family. A Bible plan that I'm reading with my friend on Evangelism (I'll attach it below) made a very interesting point. Many Christians will reply "yes" if you were to ask them whether they would want their friends and family to be saved. However, does your prayer life reflect that desire? PRAY FOR THEM!
We don't fight flesh and bone but spiritual principalities.(Ephesians 6:12) So why use the flesh to fight the flesh? ENGAGE YOUR SPIRIT!! You WILL see results if you pray according God's will!
Now if you go on and try and save someone that isn't in His will at all or someone who isn't a soul that is attached to you, your walk could pay the price.
Most times the person will end up proving difficult and you'll start to pay less attention to your own relationship with God.
1 Peter 2:2(NKJV)- "Like newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word,that you may grow thereby"
If you deprive yourself of the Word, your inner man, your spirit will diminish. It won't grow. The Spirit and the flesh are contrary to each other (Galatians 5:17) so if you don't feed one, the other will grow and overpower it. This world that we live in, it's funny. It has optimal conditions for the flesh to thrive so without you trying, its desires will grow. So we need to ACTIVELY feed our Spirit to quench the desires of the flesh.
So back to friends and foes, is the friend that you're trying to save worth it? Are they a friend or foe? We should be cautious when trying to save our worldly friends.
Jude 1:23(NLT) - "Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgement. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives"
Be cautious!! Scripture says SNATCH them. A snatch isn't something that is longed out. It's quick. Don't hang around too long if you discover your efforts are futile. Furthermore, remember that you aren't doing this in your own strength. The Holy Spirit is our fuel.
However, if you're going to the clurbb (inside at 12am when people are active) to evangelize (a place where the Spirit is most definitely absent) what are you running on? Don't take your electric car to the petrol station. IT WON'T WORK. As soon you purchased that motive ticket, you purchased your fall.
I'm not saying be selfish but I'm saying be wise. Don't go and be doing Mr and Mrs Soul Winner of the Year without even praying over your decision first! Some people and places may actually do you harm!
I really pray that whoever this post was meant for took away what they needed from it. Your friends are important but you can only do so much. Sometime it's better to focus on your growth and let that do the talking. The Spirit can cut deep.
That's all for this post. I hope you were blessed.
Thanks again for reading :)
If you have any questions , corrections/suggestions or just want to have a discussion, please contact me via Twitter. I think I'm amiable enough to hold a conversation.
See you guys soon!
Bible plan link: The 5 P's of Evangelism - click here
Twitter: www.twitter.com/johnpaulk01
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