Beware of The Company You Keep
Category: City Pastor's Teachings
Places we go to and people we interact with can put us in serious problems both spiritually and physically.
Let me tell you a little story before I continue the subject of this message: In the Old Testament God used several prophets and ordinary people to carry out His work. Some of these people and prophets went through great ordeals to deliver the work of God.
For instance, Jeremiah was severally arrested by the people and sometimes thrown into well and jail because he was sent by God to deliver His judgment to the people of Israel. Attempt was made severally on His life but he obeyed God all through.
Ezekiel was tied down in his room for days because God did not want him to speak a word to anyone. There was also an instance where he ate excrete because God told him.
Hosea was made to marry a prostitute because God wanted to make Israel understand the curse of prostituting and idolatry. The man suffered the pains of marrying a famous prostitute and partakes in what he did not directly cause.
Many others went through ordeals just to serve God and deliver His judgment and message to the people.
Maybe this is why Jonah became afraid to do the work of God when he was sent by God to deliver His message to the people of Nineveh. In the Book of Jonah 1; God sent Jonah to the city of Nineveh, He said, “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how wicked its people are” Jonah 1:2 (NLT)
“But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord. He went down to port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. He bought a ticket and went on board, hoping to escape from the Lord by sailing to Tarshish” Jonah 1:3 (NLT)
The same way we meet our friends we hadn’t seen in years, we don’t know if he is running away from the law. We don’t know if he had committed a crime somewhere and he is running away. We don’t know if he just killed a man and police is looking for him. That is why you need to be careful of the company you keep.
Jonah disobeyed God because he was afraid of going to Nineveh and so he was running away from God. But the mistake he made is that, unlike man God can reach any where he wants to reach. Unlike police who searches for a criminal for years, God sees an offender while he is committing the offence and even while he is trying to escape.
And so God hurled a powerful wind over the sea, causing a violent storm that threatened to break the ship apart.
The people in the ship were afraid and called on their gods but nothing happened until they discovered that Jonah was asleep and asked how he could sleep in such a storm when every other person were afraid that the ship would capsize.
When the sailors’ caste lots they discovered that Jonah was the cause of the problem.
The same way we sometimes go to wrong places, keep wrong companies and get into trouble when we allow ourselves to befriend wrong people. Sometimes we associate with people who have been cursed and carry the effect of the curse on them.
For instance if you have a friend or some friends who are armed robbers or hired assassins and you are hanging out with them when the law enforcement agents carries out a raid on them, you will not be spared just because you are innocent.
In fact sometimes it is the innocent that gets caught in the line of bullet. So it is always wise to stay away from situations, people that can lead you into trouble and problems.
“Then the sailors picked Jonah up and threw him into the raging sea, and the storm stopped at once!” Jonah 1: 15, so that situation you are facing, the problems you are having maybe as a result of wrong association, being in the wrong place.
The wrong association maybe people or the things you do, the wrong places maybe a place you go to or even the job you do. It can even be the church you go to.
Praise God! Stay away from bad people so that they don’t affect you negatively. Stay away from things and situations that can put you in trouble. Cast away that burden today and be saved. Pray against curse and be saved.
I pray that as you read this message that you are delivered from negative situations that are causing you problems, in Jesus name, amen.
Note: All quotes are from the New Living Translation of the Holy Bible except otherwise stated.
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