AVOID CONDEMNATION: Watch Your Company

Anchor Scripture: Romans 8: 1

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” 

Focus Scripture: “Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.” – 1 Corinthians 15: 33

Scripture References: Genesis 3: 1 – 8; 2 Chronicles 18: 1 – 4, 28 – 31, 19: 1 – 3, 20: 35 – 37; 2 Corinthians 6: 14 – 18; Revelation 3: 7 - 22

Admonition

Greetings from the Throne of Grace!

Yesterday, the Holy Spirit admonished us to Remain at Home in the Lord. Essentially, God is the Home of everyone who believes in Him as espoused by the following Scriptures Proverbs 18: 10 and Acts 17: 28.

So, during my growing years still, perhaps of those guys, who constituted themselves into nuisances of some sorts, I noticed that some parents watch the kind of friends that come to visit their children and whenever they saw anyone of questionable character or queer looks, they asked questions and warned their children against the continuation of such friendship. They did this to prevent their children from either copying or being counted amongst evil people.

God, being a perfect Parent Himself does not want His children who are obediently remaining at Home to keep bad companies. That was why He warned in our focus Scripture this morning that keeping bad friends could lead to bad behaviours. There was this story (or was it a movie I watched? I can’t really remember vividly now) of a good Christian girl that I read sometimes ago who, unfortunately, got raped when she escorted her friend to her boyfriend’s house and she got pregnant. What a tragedy!

In 2 Chronicles 17, a good man, Jehoshaphat, became the King over Judah. He was good because he followed the ways of the Lord and carried out many spiritual reforms in Judah. So, God established his reign and made his enemies be at peace with (Proverbs 16: 7). After God had established him and he became very rich, the Bible says he joined affinity with Ahab (2 Chronicles 18: 1). Ahab was the evil King of Israel and he invited his new friend, the Godly Jehoshaphat to come and help him in battle. They went and Ahab never came back alive. Jehoshaphat almost got killed, too, but by the mercy of God, he escaped death and returned home safely.

However, in 2 Chronicles 19: 2, he got God condemned by God who sent a seer to him saying, “Shouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the LORD? therefore is wrath upon thee from before the LORD”.  Can you see that? However, he got pardoned because according to verse 3 of that Scripture, Jehu the son of Hanani, the seer sent to him by the Lord says, “Nevertheless there are good things found in thee . . . .” Unfortunately, however, Jehoshaphat did not FINISH STRONG because he later joined business with Ahaziah, a descendant of Ahab and another evil King of Israel; and Eliezer, a prophet was sent to tell him thus, “Because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah, the LORD hath broken thy works.” Truly Jehoshaphat was obediently staying at Home in the Lord, but evil friends brought him into condemnation from the Lord.

Brethren, as we close this morning, we are warned in 2 Corinthians 2: 11 not to allow Satan to take advantage of us. We must be aware of the incident in the Garden of Eden that led us to where we are presently with God; Satan doesn’t come as a lion, but subtly as a harmless serpent. Let us watch our companies because the devil has many devices, lest we go into condemnation before the Lord. This is a MUST IF WE MUST FINISH STRONG in and with the Lord! Always remember that that you are obediently at Home in Lord does not mean bad friends will not come and look for you. It's you that MUST be on guard!    

Till tomorrow when we shall meet again on this beautiful journey of FINISHING STRONG together, please, keep keeping on in Him. 

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As one privileged to be a teacher of the Word of God, and always under the tutelage of my only and Most Senior Teacher, I will like to answer your questions. Just put them in the comment box below.

Thanks, and God bless you!