Sermon Illustrations on Companions

Companions, Evil

Being found with evil companions leads to judgment, regardless of personal innocence.

A farmer’s corn was destroyed by the cranes that fed in his field. Greatly annoyed, he declared that he would find a way out of the trouble. A net was set in which the cranes were snared. There was also a beautiful stork among them who had been visiting with the cranes, and had come to them from a neighboring roof.

“Spare me,” plead the stork. “I am innocent; indeed I am. I never touched any of your belongings.”

“That may be true,” answered the farmer; “but I find you among them and I judge you accordingly.”

The only safe way is to keep out of bad company.

Jesus As Companion

Jesus is portrayed as a faithful companion even in lonely, difficult circumstances.

A missionary riding on horseback through one of the cotton States of the South came upon an old tumble-down cabin in the doorway of which stood a poor crippled negress. Her back was bent nearly double with years of hard work and her face was deeply wrinkled and her hair was white, but her two eyes were as bright as two stars. The man called out cheerily, “Good-morning, Auntie--living here all alone?” “Jes me n’ Jesus, Massa,” she replied with a bright smile. The missionary dismounted and went in for a little visit with her--and he said as he was riding away, and looked back for a last glimpse of the happy old saint, “It seemed as if he could see the form of one like unto the Son of God” standing by her side in the doorway of the poor little cabin.

Social Christianity

Social creatures find joy and comfort in companionship, reflecting God's design for community.

See CHRISTIANITY, SOCIAL.

SOCIAL INSTINCTS IN BIRDS

On one occasion Mr. Leander Keyser’s several cages of birds were moved from one porch to another on the other side of the house. The jay’s cage, being too big for the new quarters, was left behind, when at once the bird began to express his dissatisfaction and loneliness. All day he rushed about his cage, calling in the most pitiful way. The next morning he was no more reconciled, and showed so plainly by every look and motion his unhappiness that a place was made for him near the others. The moment he saw them he gave a cry of delight, his calls ceased, he chirped and twittered, and was his happy self again.--OLIVE THORNE MILLER, “The Bird Our Brother.”

Social Strength

Social development progresses from individual play to cooperative group interaction.

See UNITY, STRENGTH IN.

SOCIAL TRAITS IN CHILDREN

Pedagogs tell us that the plays of children under seven or eight are noncompetitive and noncooperative. Kindergarten children play side by side or in pairs, rarely spontaneously in groups. They are gregarious rather than social. The plays between the ages of seven and twelve are social, cooperative and competitive games, but each child usually plays for himself. After twelve group games with opposing sides are more popular, and finally tend to crowd out all others.

(untitled)

The father of Frederick

the Great of Prussia sought to surround himself with

giants. He had agents who scoured Europe to find men of unusual

stature.

They were conscripted and sometimes even kidnapped to form his

personal

bodyguard. Souls Exploring the Christian Way by Vernon O. Elmore p.11

Life Is A Theater - Invite Your Audience Carefully

”Do not be misled: Bad company corrupts good character.” – I Corinthians 15:33

Not everyone is healthy enough to have a front row seat in our lives. There are some people in your life that need to be loved from a distance. It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you let go of, or at least minimize, your time with draining, negative, incompatible, not-going-anywhere relationships/friendships.

Observe the relationships around you … Pay attention!

• Which ones lift and which ones lean?

• Which ones encourage and which ones discourage?

• Which ones are on a path of growth uphill and which ones are going

downhill?

• When you leave certain people do you feel better or feel worse?

• Which ones always have drama or don’t really understand, know or

appreciate you?

The more you seek quality, respect, growth, peace of mind, love and truth around you, the easier it will become for you to decide who gets to sit in the front row and who should be moved to the balcony of your life.

“If you cannot ‘change’ the people around you, change the people you’re around.”

Themes In Proverbs: Bad Companions and Correction

Job 5:17

Themes in Proverbs — Bad Companions (”Enticers”) (verses from the New American Standard Bible) «Leader's version enclosed in these braces»

A. a selection of verses

1. 1:10–19 My son, if sinners entice you, Do not consent. If they say, “Come with us, Let us lie in wait for blood, Let us ambush the innocent without cause; Let us swallow them alive like Sheol, Even whole, as those who go down to the pit; We shall find all kinds of precious wealth, We shall fill our houses with spoil; Throw in your lot with us, We shall all have one purse,” My son, do not walk in the way with them. Keep your feet from their path, For their feet run to evil, And they hasten to shed blood. Indeed, it is useless to spread the net In the eyes of any bird; But they lie in wait for their own blood; They ambush their own lives. So are the ways of everyone who gains by violence; It takes away the life of its possessors.

2. 4:14–17 Do not enter the path of the wicked, And do not proceed in the way of evil men. Avoid it, do not pass by it; Turn away from it and pass on. For they cannot sleep unless they do evil; And they are robbed of sleep unless they make someone stumble. For they eat the bread of wickedness, And drink the wine of violence.

3. 6:12–15 A worthless person, a wicked man, Is the one who walks with a false mouth, Who winks with his eyes, who signals with his feet, Who points with his fingers; Who with perversity in his heart devises evil continually, Who spreads strife. Therefore his calamity will come suddenly; Instantly he will be broken, and there will be no healing.

4. 16:28–30 A perverse man spreads strife, And a slanderer separates intimate friends. A man of violence entices his neighbour, And leads him in a way that is not good. He who winks his eyes does so to devise perverse things; He who compresses his lips brings evil to pass.

5. 22:24–25 Do not associate with a man given to anger; Or go with a hot-tempered man, Lest you learn his ways, And find a snare for yourself.

6. 24:1–2 Do not be envious of evil men, Nor desire to be with them; For their minds devise violence, And their lips talk of trouble.

B. What traits, words and actions identify bad companions?

1.

2.

3.

4.

C. What are the results of such bad associations?

1.

2.

3.

4.

D. What steps can be taken to be safe from these dangers?

1.

2.

3.

E. What Psalm makes a similar warning? What antidote does that Psalm suggest?

F. What “bad companions” is the church warned against?

1. «1 Corinthians 5:13»

2. «2 John 1:10–11»

G. Is there teaching in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7) that bears on this subject? — Matthew 7:15–20

Themes in Proverbs — Correction (Especially of Children) (verses from the New American Standard Bible)

H. a selection of verses

1. 3:11–12 My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD, Or loathe His reproof, For whom the LORD loves He reproves, Even as a father, the son in whom he delights.

2. 13:24 He who spares his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him diligently.

3. 17:10 A rebuke goes deeper into one who has understanding Than a hundred blows into a fool.

4. 19:18 Discipline your son while there is hope, And do not desire his death.

5. 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it.

6. 22:15 Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of discipline will remove it far from him.

7. 23:13–14 Do not hold back discipline from the child, Although you beat him with the rod, he will not die. You shall beat him with the rod, And deliver his soul from Sheol.

8. 26:3 A whip is for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, And a rod for the back of fools.

9. 27:12 A prudent man sees evil and hides himself, The naive proceed and pay the penalty.

10. 29:15 The rod and reproof give wisdom, But a child who gets his own way brings shame to his mother.

I. Behind these proverbs on the correction of children are the following instructions from Deuteronomy 21:18–21: If any man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey his father or his mother, and when they chastise him, he will not even listen to them, then his father and mother shall seize him, and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gateway of his home town. And they shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey us, he is a glutton and a drunkard.’ Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death; so you shall remove the evil from your midst, and all Israel shall hear of it and fear.

1. Why was such rebellion treated so seriously?

a.

b.

c.

2. What provision was there to ensure justice?

3. How does this passage throw light on some of the proverbs?

J. What should be the marks of such correction?

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

K. What are the goals of such correction?

1.

2.

3.

L. Which fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) have a bearing upon this subject of correction?

M. How does the New Testament further enlarge on this subject?

1. «Ephesians 6:4»

2. «Galatians 6:1»

3. «Mark 9:42»

N. What Bible character(s) give sad evidence of the danger of neglecting this advice?

Seeking Good Friendships

Psalms 1:1

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly. — Psalm 1:1

A lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate. — Titus 1:8.

The Christian should seek the friendship of good, godly and consistent Christians (Mal. 3:16). Though he cannot choose his work-fellows, he can choose his company. David said, “I am a companion of them that fear thy name” (Psalm 119:63). It is still true that a man is known by the company he keeps. Many a Christian has lost out in his life because he failed in this respect. (James 4:4). — A. P. Gibbs.

Not with the light and vain,

the man of idle feet and wanton eyes:

Not with the world’s gay, ever-smiling train,

my lot be with the grave and wise;

With them I’d walk each day,

from them time’s solemn lessons would I learn,

That false from true, and true from false,

I may each hour more patiently discern.

The Life of Daniel

Daniel 4:25

Thomas Jefferson said the president’s most important duty is putting “the right man in the right place.” Well, meet Mr. Right -- Daniel.

When his tiny nation was attacked in 605 B.C., 14-year-old Daniel was among a handful of promising youths hauled off to distant Babylon. There, he found himself in a pagan land, being educated and groomed to serve in the gentile court of egomaniacal King Nebuchadnezzar.

RIGHT GOD

Daniel had the right God. But the Most High rules in the kingdoms of men. He gives them to whomever He chooses (Daniel 4:25). When we find ourselves in uncomfortable situations, we need to trust our God. He puts His people in the right place at the right time -- and that includes you.

RIGHT GIFTS

Daniel also had the right gifts. God endowed him with the qualities needed in his new circumstances -- “good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and quick to understand, who had ability to serve in the king’s palace” (Daniel 1:4). He was handsome, healthy, poised and graceful with wisdom and a high I.Q.

The Lord gives each of us the background, personality, gifts and skills necessary for the job He wants us to do. “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10).

Consider the story of Paul Woolsey, who grew up with a speech defect. When he became a missionary in India, his lisp enabled him to speak almost perfectly the language of the tribe he was among.

RIGHT FRIENDS

Daniel also chose the right friends. His three companions, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, were also his prayer partners. In Daniel 2, when a crisis threatened their lives, “Daniel returned to his house and explained.... He urged his friends to plead for mercy from the God of heaven.” They prayed and prevailed. It’s easy to be drawn to people who leave us weaker and pull us down. But as Henry Ford once said, “Your best friend is he who brings out the best that is within you.”

RIGHT CONVICTIONS

Daniel also had the right convictions. When he was expected to eat food that violated the laws of God, he purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself (Daniel 1:8). He had determined his moral standards in advance, and firmly stuck by them. Daniel drew the line at the king’s table because he couldn’t eat meat that violated the dietary laws God had prescribed in Scripture. He also knew the food on the king’s table had been offered to idols.

It’s interesting that Daniel didn’t protest when they changed his name or enrolled him in “Babylon University.” But when they wanted him to eat unclean food, he drew the line. Why? In the Old Testament, there is no prohibition against changing one’s name or learning what other cultures teach. But the Bible strongly prohibited eating what is offered to idols and eating unclean food.

Daniel drew the line where God had drawn it. When God said no, Daniel said no. Sometimes we argue about things God hasn’t emphasized while neglecting the things He has said. Daniel purposed in his heart to obey whatever the cost.

RIGHT HABITS

Daniel also developed right habits, especially in praying. In Daniel 6, his enemies could find nothing against him. So they passed an edict that prayers be offered to no one except the king for 30 days. When Daniel heard, he went home and prayed to God three times a day as he had done before. His lifelong habit remained unaltered even at the risk of death.

First we form habits, then our habits form us. It’s vitally important to establish habits of holiness that leave us stronger each day.

Does God expect us to live right in this wicked culture of ours? Daniel’s environment was far worse. Yet, he was a pure testimony to the grace of God. And you, too, can be a Daniel -- God’s right person, in the right place, at the right time with the right God, the right gifts, the right friends, the right convictions and the right habits.

________

David Jeremiah is the founder of Turning Point for God and senior pastor of Shadow Mountain Community Church in El Cajon, California. For more information on Turning Point, go to www.DavidJeremiah.org.

The Apostle Paul’s Response To Our ‘cancel Culture’

Romans 12:18

Recently, I typed in “how to be happy” on our collective consciousness, Google, and one of the first articles was “Three Ways to Be Happy Always.”

Quite a claim.

This article had some legitimately good advice, but it was sprinkled in among some proverbs that were less than helpful. For instance, this priceless pearl of wisdom: “Compliment yourself often.” A fun practice -- “J.D., you handsome devil, you” -- but not one I’d recommend for long-term health.

One suggestion, though, stuck out more than the others: “Seek out positive relationships with happy, optimistic, and cheerful people. If you’re struggling with your current relationships, seek out new ones.” In other words, the moment people get difficult, try deleting and replacing them. This is enthroned advice in our society.

Now, there’s an element of truth here, and it’s one that (in many circles) is too often missed. There are times when it’s wise to regulate your relationships. Hear me: If you are being abused or taken advantage of, it is both wise and loving to establish relational boundaries. After all, true love desires the spiritual health of the other person; it desires them to be rid of evil. Allowing someone else to abuse you isn’t helping them overcome their sin. It’s enabling it.

Sadly, however, this kind of relational regulation gets warped when it’s applied to other conflicts. The recent rise of the “cancel culture,” for instance, is an extreme version of this impulse: For many people, the way to deal with difficult relationships is not to fix them, but simply to end them.

Got a friend causing problems in your life? Cut them out. Someone in your small group says insensitive things? Leave that small group and find a new one. Someone at work doesn’t understand or respect your faith? Avoid them. Tired of being made fun of in the public square? Withdraw into your Christian bubble. Parents in your kid’s class not raising their kids the way you like? Surround yourself with people who make you feel safe and comfortable.

That’s what some people do -- they cut off those who offend them.

The apostle Paul says in Romans 12:18, “If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone” (CSB). The surrounding passage is about pursuing relationship and overcoming evil in someone who’s wronged you with acts of good.

When you think about it, denying someone your presence is like the ultimate punishment. Isn’t that God’s final judgment, after all? That’s what hell is: the total absence of God’s presence.

That’s what you do when you give someone the silent treatment. You are saying to them, “You are not worth a relationship with me.”

The Gospel, by contrast, sends us into the world to love people as we have been loved, to love people who will sometimes offend us. That means before we resort to ending relationships, we walk the messy road of confrontation.

Will this always work? Of course not. Restoration always takes two. But let’s not give up before we’ve even started. As much as it lies in our power, let’s be agents of reconciliation among those who have hurt us.

________

J.D. Greear is pastor of The Summit Church in Durham, N.C., and president of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Pointed Words From Brother Louis Beloney

Luke 11:28

I am the middle of five kids. My mom and dad were divorced when I was 6 years old. As a single mother of five kids, my mom had a lot of rules; however, the one that was non-negotiable was that everyone in our house had to attend church on Sunday mornings.

My mom would often say that everyone who sleeps in her beds, eats her food and drinks her water had to go to church on Sunday mornings. I have told people through the years that my mom gave me my first “drug” problem -- she drug me to church, she drug me to Sunday School and she drug me to Vacation Bible School! However, the fact of the matter is, I was just going to church but not living for God after the benediction.

Because my mom had to work two to three jobs, I literally lived the life of a street kid, getting involved in things and living a lifestyle that I knew was not pleasing to God. However, it was a lifestyle that all of my so-called friends were living and I wanted to be just like them.

I shudder to think where I would be today if I had gotten caught doing the wrong things simply because I was hanging around the wrong crowd. Several of the guys I used to run the streets with are either in prison, alcoholics, drug addicts or are dead as a result of their lifestyle choices. As I look back on those days, I often think that “but for the grace of God there go I.”

The turning point in my life happened in the summer of 1977. I had joined a motorcycle gang that my mom was totally against. However, because she was always working, she could not prevent me from hanging with the guys in the gang. One evening, I was riding my motorcycle and saw a car turning in the intersection where I was turning. I tried to avoid a collision, but it was inevitable. The next thing I remember is laying with blood covering my leg and head in Charity Hospital of New Orleans. I soon was told that I had a compound fracture in my left leg and had a serious head wound.

While lying in the hospital recovering from my wounds, I received a lot of visitors. Some I remember and some I don’t, but there was one visitor I will never forget. His name was Brother Louis Beloney, an older deacon at the church that I was being “drug” to every Sunday. He asked me how I was doing and told me how concerned my family was about me. Then he did and said something I will never forget. Brother Beloney pointed his finger within one inch of my face and said these words: “Boy, obedience is better than sacrifice. If you were obedient to your mom, you would not be sacrificing your life in this hospital. You better get your life together, ask God to forgive you and to give you another chance to get it right!” Then he prayed for me and told me that he and God loved me -- now that is what I call direct evangelism!

That night, I made a deal with God. I said, “God, I do not know if I am going to live or die. But if you wake me up tomorrow morning, I will live for you all the days of my life.” The next morning I woke up, gave God the praise and was determined to keep my vow to the Lord, and I have never looked back. I like to refer to my salvation testimony as my “Damascus Road” experience similar to the apostle Paul.

After getting out of the hospital, I willingly attended the church that I had been drug to all of my life as a kid. When the invitation was extended, with tears in my eyes, I walked down the aisle of that church and asked the members for their forgiveness and prayers. I told them of the vow I made to the Lord at the hospital and asked them to hold me accountable.

At the end of the service many of the members came to greet me. The first person in that line was Brother Louis Beloney. Today, he is in heaven watching the fruit of his labor. He has seen the young man that he challenged get saved, become a street preacher, become a pastor and eventually make history as the first African American president of the Southern Baptist Convention. That is why I am a living witness that “obedience is indeed better than sacrifice.” To God be the glory, great things He has done!

________

Fred Luter is senior pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans and a former president of the Southern Baptist Convention.

*

[Original illustration at this number was added to HolwickID #9347]

Is Your Life 'Pollution Free'?

1 Corinthians 15:33

Keep your “personal space” free from pollutants. Just as America’s Environmental Protection Agency is concerned about land, water and air pollution, our spiritual EPA should be concerned about toxins in three areas of life -- people, places and practices.

It begins with the people we’re with. When baseball great Lou Gehrig was starting his career, the Yankees sent him to Hartford to get some practice in the minor leagues. Until then, Lou had lived at home. Now for the first time in his life, he was living with a rough crowd of minor league ballplayers who cursed, drank heavily and spent their time in bars and speakeasies. Gehrig began experimenting with alcohol and consorting with the wilder men on the team. Consequently his game went into a slump.

The manager of the Hartford Senators, a small, wiry man named Paddy O’Connor, took Gehrig under his wing and mentored him like a father. One night, O’Conner invited the player to his home for dinner. “Lou,” he said, “you have a great career ahead of you. Nothing can stop you, except Lou Gehrig. That gang you’re traveling with is poison....”

O’Conner talked to the young man about choosing friends and working hard, and he ended by saying, “Think it over.” Gehrig did think it over. He quit the gang and went on to become one of the greatest figures in the history of baseball.

Perhaps we need to think it over, too. Think of the people you most enjoy seeing. The ones you relax with after work or on weekends. The people you call if you have exciting news or feel depressed. Do they build you up spiritually? Is your walk with the Lord stronger after you’ve been with them? Or weaker? One of the Bible’s “EPA” regulations for the soul says, “Do not be deceived: Evil company corrupts good habits” (1 Corinthians 15:33).

PLACES

We must avoid toxic places, too. There’s always a corner of the magazine shop at the airport that isn’t healthy. If you use your Internet, there are thousands of noxious sites to avoid. If you join your friends for a movie, there are some films that can contaminate the milieu of your mind.

The Bible says, “Ponder the path of your feet” (Proverbs 4:26). “Make straight paths for your feet ...” (Hebrews 12:13). Think of these commands as God’s EPA regulations for your life.

PRACTICES

We also need to guard against toxic practices -- habits in our lives that defile us. Too often we allow our culture to infringe upon our lives, creating the opportunity for Satan to influence our choices whether it be in our language, our reading material or the television shows we watch. The radios in our cars, turned to the wrong stations, can pollute the air with profanities and obscenities. Toxicity is everywhere, but we can avoid it.

Wherever we are, it is important to remain committed to pursuing righteousness, knowing that God has called us to “Be holy, for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16). We can remain “uncontaminated” by our environment if we remain diligent and alert.

It’s vital to maintain vigilance and discipline to avoid the many temptations and snares that are available in our culture. The pollutant could be anything from pornography to pessimism, but the Christian must work to preserve an environment where our Holy God can dwell. Someone said that first we make our habits, and then our habits make us.

Backsliding begins with small steps, but improving the environmental quality of our lives begins the same way. Let’s ask ourselves: What one thing can we do to provide a cleaner, healthier environment for our souls? How can we develop a quality system of living? What little change can yield lifelong results? Perhaps it’s as simple as changing what we do on Friday nights, or meeting a Christian friend for coffee and forming a new friendship. Maybe it’s installing a filter on the home computer or canceling some of the cable services.

Keep the landscape of your life, the waters of your mind, and the atmosphere of your home healthy and holy. Give a hoot -- don’t pollute.

Society Is Man’S Place

True character is formed not in solitude but in society and human relationships.

The man of the city closes his house, forgets his office and goes away. He has a suit of store clothes on him and two linen collars in his handbag, but for the rest he carries the garb of the vagabond, and getting into this as quick as he can he buries his face in the pine-needles and lets the wind and rain beat down on his uncovered head and untrimmed beard. And the weeks pass; and then happens the stranger thing. Through the music of the forest and the harmonies of the falling waters, he hears, at first, far away and hardly audible, then ever nearer and clearer, the voice of the city he deserted, and to his manhood’s spirit that voice speaks with a charm which overcomes the woodland’s spell and in another day he is back again, back in the old street, to the old work, to the ever dear old city. And once more keeping step with the vast army of toilers, he knows that not in solitude, but in society, is character made, and more, that not nature, but human nature, is God’s best handiwork.

— T. C. MCCLELLAND