We talked about the gift of "influence" that gives us in the way of relationships in our lives today at Bay West...and these are not just "saved" people. We all have lost friends and the question always comes up if we should distance ourselves from our lost friends.
A couple of caveats and a stressing of a point I made today:
1) People under the authority of others - Teenagers, especially. Until you are on your own, you are under the wisdom of your parents. Because of the mandate that God has given them, they need to have a say in who you choose for your tight circle of friends. Listen to their wisdom, because God has them in your life.
2) Jesus modeled influence management in several ways, but here's two. 1) He met with the Father regularly and often, and He studied the Word and knew it by heart. As we know in God's Word, this is prime way to keep yourself from trouble. 2) Jesus had a tight network of support through the believers around him...that helps for us to make us able to maintain our relationships out in the world in a healthy, God-honoring way.
A stressed point: the only way that ANY of this works is keeping the relationship with Christ as the trump for EVERYTHING. If you begin to value the approval of others above that, whether they are saved, lost, or Klingon...whatever...the structure crumbles when you look to others for things God is meant to provide or to place them at a higher priority level than Jesus.
Just wanted to stress that stuff. Please pray for us as we continue to try to be church in west Palm Bay at Bay West Church.
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