Find Life Relationships – How to Build Strong Connections sermon notes and audio. When we find proper relationships, we learn they have a profound effect on our life’s blessings. However, some of us need to evaluate our relationships. I believe there are people here who have been stopped from going to the next level of abundance because of relationships. Now, I am not talking about witnessing and being lights and salt. However, I am talking about companions in life.
ABUNDANT LIFE – Living in the Kingdom
By Pastor Delbert Young
Find Life Relationships – How to Build Strong Connections
Find Life Relationships – How to Build Strong Connections
Audio
Find Life Relationships – How to Build Strong Connections
Scriptures: John 10:10, Proverbs 13:20, Proverbs 22:24, Proverbs 14:7, Proverbs 20:19, Proverbs 5:8, Psalms 1:1, 1 Kings 19:21, 2 Kings 2:9, 1 Corinthians 15:33, Numbers 14:24
People we talk to and spend time with have a profound influence on our lives. They make us happy or depressed, lead us to success or failure, help us experience abundant life, or steal it from us.
(Amplified) John 10:10 The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have {and} enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).
There is a thief(s) who will steal, kill, and destroy the abundant life that God has planned for us. Ultimately, the devil is the thief, but he will show up in people very close to us in an attempt to steal our abundant life. He did this with Jesus in Peter and Judas.
PEOPLE THAT YOU DO LIFE WITH HAVE A PROFOUND INFLUENCE upon your life.
If you associate with wise people who are successful, you will become successful. If you hang with people who have big visions and are going places in life, that will inspire you and you will go further than you would go without those people.
The opposite is true also. If you run with foolish, lazy, and undisciplined people, before long, you will be lazy and undisciplined. If you are always around negative people who are constantly complaining and finding fault, that is what you will become. You will look around, and your good life will be destroyed. You will become exactly like the people with whom you do life.
Find Life Relationships sermon notes audio
Proverbs 13:20 He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.
That verse says that we will become exactly like the people we make companions in life. This applies to all of us, no matter who we are or what we do.
Joke: There was a Hindu Priest, a Jewish Priest, and a Televangelist traveling together. Their car broke down late at night out in the country. They could get no help until morning, so they asked a farmer if they could spend the night. He said, “Certainly, but I only have room for two in the house. The other will have to sleep in the barn. The Hindu Priest said he would go and headed for the barn. In a few minutes, there was a knock on the door. They opened the door and it was the Hindu Priest who said there was a cow in the barn and they were sacred. He couldn’t sleep there.
So, the Jewish Priest went to the barn. In a few minutes, there was a knock on the door. They opened it, and it was the Jewish Priest who said there was a pig in the barn and he could not sleep there because pigs were unclean. So the Televangelist said he would go. In a few minutes, there was a knock on the door. They opened the door, and it was the cow and the pig. You really need to be careful as to whom you allow in your barn.
I WANT TO CHALLENGE YOU to examine your friendships.
To whom are you giving your time? Ask yourself, “Do I want to be like this person?” Do they inspire me to reach new heights? Or do they drag me down and make me depressed? Do they have a vision for their lives? Also, do they want excellence or mediocrity?
Find Life Relationships sermon notes audio
THE BIBLE IS VERY CLEAR as to whom we should not associate.
For example, it says don’t have friendships with angry people.
Proverbs 22:24 Keep away from angry, short-tempered men, lest you learn to be like them and endanger your soul.
Why should we avoid friendships with angry people? We will become like them. But what if they are believers? That doesn’t matter. You keep away.
The Bible says to stay away from lazy, foolish people.
Proverbs 14:7 Stay away from a foolish man, for you will not find knowledge on his lips.
Foolish people make foolish decisions. You will begin making foolish decisions also.
If you are around people who talk about people, you will eventually become a gossip.
Proverbs 20:19 A gossip betrays a confidence; so avoid a man who talks too much.
You cannot trust a person who talks about people. Avoid people who talk too much. But what if he or she is a believer? Doesn’t matter – avoid them.
Stay away from people who are loose in their morals. Speaking of adultery, the Bible says,
Proverbs 5:8 Keep to a path far from her [adultery], do not go near the door of her house.
If you hang around the barbershop long enough, you will eventually get a haircut. The Bible is very clear as to whom we should do life.
Find Life Relationships sermon notes audio
BLESSINGS CAN ONLY COME WHEN we do not walk with, stand with, or sit with certain people.
Psalms 1:1 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.
Relationships have a profound effect on the blessings of our lives.
YOUNG PEOPLE IN SCHOOL should never hang with people that are going no place.
People that are always getting into trouble will bring you into trouble along with them. The enemy would love to get you off course at an early age. Find some friends that you know are going to be successful. Find some friends who are self-disciplined and have goals. You know who they are. You can look around and see them.
PSYCHOLOGISTS TELL US about “The Law of the Group.”
The law is that we associate with people with whom we see our own selves. In other words, if you see yourself as weak, defeated, and not having much future, then that is the type of person with whom you will do life. On the other hand, if you see yourself as successful, victorious, and happy, then you will associate with people exactly like that. You will be a person of vision and dreams. So, here is a really good reality check. If you want to see what you will be in the future, simply look at your friends.
Find Life Relationships sermon notes audio
Though we adults know this is true, adults are the same. We can look around and see with whom we associate and what we are. Sometimes, we need to find new friends. Successful people hang with successful people. Happy people hang with happy people. If the person you want to be is not like the people you run with, then this should be a wake-up call.
DID YOU KNOW THAT THOMAS Edison, Harry Firestone, and Henry Ford all had summer homes next door to one another in Florida?
They were close friends and spent much of their summers together. Think about that. Those were three of the most brilliant minds in modern history. Edison, with the light bulb and other inventions; Firestone, with rubber and auto tires; and Ford, with the automobile assembly lines, changed history and the way we live today. It is interesting that they spent time together. Is it no wonder that they soared to new historic heights?
I WANT TO ENCOURAGE YOU TO FIND SOMEONE WHO HAS THE QUALITIES that you want.
Find someone who possesses the life you desire, someone who has a larger vision for life than you, and stick with that person.
The Bible tells us about Elijah and Elisha. Elijah was a great prophet of God and very successful. Elisha was a simple farm boy, but he wanted to be like Elijah. Do you know what Elisha did? He didn’t sit back and wonder why God didn’t make him like Elijah. Neither did he only pray for success. The fact is he followed Elijah around for years.
Find Life Relationships sermon notes audio
1 Kings 19:21 So Elisha left him and went back. He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his attendant.
God gave Elisha the opportunity to become somebody. Elisha did not miss it. God will give each of us that opportunity. Don’t miss it.
Elisha pressed in. He burned his bridges. Then he set his vision. Next, he served Elijah. Day in and day out, sun up to sun down, Elisha followed Elijah. It was so much that Elijah got tired of it. Once Elijah attempted to trick Elisha. Elijah told Elisha to stay here and that he would be back in a short time. Elisha would have nothing to do with it. He said I am going wherever you go.
Finally, when Elijah was nearing the end of his life and about to be caught up in the whirlwind, he asked Elisha what he wanted from him.
2 Kings 2:9 …Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?” “Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,” Elisha replied.
Elisha said he didn’t want much. He just wanted to be like Elijah except more. Notice how far Elisha had come. The once-farm boy now wanted to be a man of God. His vision had changed because he had been with Elijah. He was so inspired that he not only wanted what Elijah had, but he wanted twice as much.
That is what will happen if you will associate with the correct people. You will dream bigger dreams. You will enlarge your vision.
Find Life Relationships sermon notes audio
One day, Elijah was taken, and Elisha got the double portion. Did you know there were twice as many miracles recorded that Elisha did than did Elijah?
Let me ask you this. Do you think Elisha would have gotten out of life what he got had he not chosen his companion wisely?
THE REASON HE GOT WHAT HE GOT OUT OF LIFE was because he set out to follow Elijah.
He caught his spirit. The scriptures say that when you walk with wise people, you become wise. We become like the people with whom we live.
I WANT TO CHALLENGE YOU TO STOP hanging with people who don’t have what you want.
UNDERSTAND WHAT I MEAN.
We help those people. We encourage them, and we don’t throw them away, but we must set our sights higher if we want an abundant life. I know we are the light of the world, but don’t use that as an excuse to stay in an unhealthy environment. If you hang around that environment long enough, you will be like those who live there. You may not have any intentions of doing drugs or being immoral, but if you walk along the riverbank long enough, you will fall in. Think about it. People addicted to drugs today never planned on becoming addicted. People got around the wrong environment and fell in. What if people in prison had gotten around honest, successful people?
Find Life Relationships sermon notes audio
(NIV) 1 Corinthians 15:33 Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”
(TLB) 1 Corinthians 15:33 Don’t be fooled by those who say such things. If you listen to them you will start acting like them.
I am not talking about witnessing and being lights and salt. Surely, we do that. As a matter of fact, I am talking about companions in life. No matter if you realize it or not, you are taking on the qualities of the people you hang with.
IF YOU DON’T WANT TO BE STUNG, don’t rub against a hornet’s nest.
If you play with fire, you will be burned.
Instead, find you an Elijah. Find someone who has what you want. You will never be an eagle as long as you hang around chickens. A lot of people today hang with negative people. They say, “I don’t understand why nothing good ever happens to me.” You need to look at your friendships. Find some people who will build you up, not bring you down. Find people who will inspire you to new heights.
Some of us need to evaluate our relationships. I believe there are people here who have been prevented from reaching the next level of abundance because of relationships.
SOME OF YOU ALWAYS HAVE to deal with people who dump all their problems, heartaches, and pains on you.
They have been doing that for months or maybe years. I don’t mean to sound uncaring, but you need to stop doing that. It’s not doing them any good. They don’t do what you advise them to do. It certainly is not doing you any good. It’s dragging you down. If you keep doing it, you will join in and begin talking about your problems. You will say, “Your husband does that? Oh well, you should see what my husband does.” “You think you are having a bad day? Girlfriend, you should see what I am going through.” You will get their spirit.
Find Life Relationships sermon notes audio
That has happened more than once when Judy and I were trying to do counseling. Nothing was being accomplished. It was the same sad story session after session. They would not do what we counseled. We eventually said, “We aren’t helping you. This will be our last session with you. If you want, we will find someone else to try and help you, but we won’t see you anymore.”
I’m not saying we shouldn’t try and help people. Of course, we should help people. But the best thing we can do for depressed people is to get them around happy people. The best thing we can do for people with a bad marriage is to get them around people with good marriages. The best thing we can do for people with financial problems is to get them around people in good financial condition.
MOSES SENT THE 12 SPIES into the land of Canaan.
After 40 days, 10 of those men came back with a negative report. They told the people that they didn’t have a chance. The people were giants. The cities were walled. Those negative words spread like wildfire throughout the camp. Before long, those ten people had the entire 2 million people defeated and depressed. Just 10 negative people infected 2 million. But Joshua and Caleb had a different report. They were not like the other 10. Look what God said about Caleb.
Numbers 14:24 But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.
If we want the promise of abundant life that God has for us, we must be different. The “Law of the Group” was working. Over in one group were the complainers. They were pointing fingers, blaming people, blaming God, and talking about how unfair life was to them. “We can’t do it.” “There are giants in the land.” “We are grasshoppers compared to them.” “The cities have walls too thick and too high.” “We will die.” “It’s your fault, Moses.” Over in another group are Joshua and Caleb. “We can do it.” “They are bread for us.” “We are well able.” “God will give us the victory.”
Find Life Relationships sermon notes audio
Joshua and Caleb were different. They had avoided the negative bunch because they knew they would steal the dream out of their heart. By the large, they knew they would talk them out of their miracle.
Think about that for a minute. In life – school, work, church, and family – there are always two groups. One group is the ten. The other group is the two. One group will wander around in the wilderness all their lives. The other group will enter the Promised Land and experience abundance.
PEOPLE WILL KEEP YOU OUT OF YOUR PROMISED LAND.
If you are running with negative, critical, can’t-do-it people, you need to get away from them.
There are always going to be more negative people in life than positive people. There will always be more non-dreamers than dreamers. Find you an Elijah. Find somebody who works miracles, i.e. find you some people who believe God can do anything like Joshua and Caleb.
YOU MAY SAY THAT IF YOU DO THAT, YOU WON’T HAVE MANY FRIENDS.
Well, yes, you will, but they will all be dreamers. Anyway, chickens live their lives in flocks and chicken coops. Eagles fly alone, fly high, and fly free. How high do you want to go in life? To reach your full potential, you will need to sometimes fly alone. You will need to be different.
I like to be around people of faith. I like people who find the high ground even in tough times. “Well, I heard you got a bad report from the doctor.” “Yes, but by his stripes, I am healed. I will beat this thing.” “Well, I heard you got laid off from work.” “Yes, but I know that God has something better waiting for me. Can’t wait to see what it is.” “Well, I see you are facing a giant in your land.” “Yes, but I know that in Jesus I am well able. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Find Life Relationships sermon notes audio
That is what I like about Life Gate and its leadership. We are dreamers. We will try anything. “Invite the whole city to a Labor Day BBQ?” Sure, we can do that. “Minister to all those injured by the Tri-State Crematory incident?” Sure, we can do that. We are well able. “Reach this region with the gospel of the kingdom?” “Absolutely!”
You have to be careful of whom you allow to be your companions in life. Remember, you will become exactly like them. Associate with eagles. Hang with ‘can-do’ people. If you will, you will enter the Promised Land that God has waiting for you.
How many people do we have that want to enter their promised land? How many people want to go higher than they have ever been before? If that is you, give the Lord a shout and a handclap.
Find Life Relationships – How to Build Strong Connections
Find Life Relationships – How to Build Strong Connections
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