Discerning the voice of God #2

recap

Last Sunday we talked about the right place. The right place often comes after a season of discomfort. The reason is simple: until your misery factor exceeds your fear factor, you won’t change. We love the security of the known. And we don’t like change. You will never change that which you are willing to tolerate. Adam’s sin drove him out of the place specifically prepared for him. It may not be comfortable, but it will certainly be worth it.

Lets talk about right people! You can be in the wrong place and worse is with the wrong people.

Relationships - Flesh People vs. Faith People

Life is better together and God wants you to enjoy healthy, balanced relationships. Who you choose to spend time with is one of the most important decisions you can make. It’s also one of the most practical areas to begin discerning the voice of God and His will for your life.

Your relationships impact your destiny and purpose—either for good or for bad. Too often, good people get entangled in bad relationships—with disastrous results.

Look what the bible says about relationship:

Ecclesiastes 4:8–12 ESV

8 one person who has no other, either son or brother, yet there is no end to all his toil, and his eyes are never satisfied with riches, so that he never asks, “For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?” This also is vanity and an unhappy business. 9 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. 10 For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! 11 Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? 12 And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

because they can reap36 more benefit37 from their labor.

4:10 For if they fall, one will help his companion up,

but pity38 the person who falls down and has no one to help him up.

4:11 Furthermore, if two lie down together, they can keep each other warm,

but how can one person keep warm by himself?

4:12 Although an assailant may overpower39 one person,

two can withstand him.

Moreover, a three-stranded cord is not quickly broken.

The people you surround yourself with determine the person you will become.

The people you surround yourself with determine the person you will become. When you start bringing the right voices into your life, you’ll begin to make the right choices as well. And once you start making the right choices, you get the right connections. Every time God does something significant in our lives, He introduces us to new people—ones who are connected to our destiny and purpose. Learning to discern God’s voice and follow His leading will remove you from bad relationships and bring you into contact with the right people. 

When you start bringing the right voices into your life, you’ll begin to make the right choices as well. And once you start making the right choices, you get the right connections.

And once you start making the right choices, you get the right connections. Every time God does something significant in our lives, He introduces us to new people—ones who are connected to our destiny and purpose. Learning to discern God’s voice and follow His leading will remove you from bad relationships and bring you into contact with the right people. 

Every time God does something significant in our lives, He introduces us to new people—ones who are connected to our destiny and purpose. Learning to discern God’s voice and follow His leading will remove you from bad relationships and bring you into contact with the right people. 

Character discernment helps you avoid toxic entanglements.

What is character discernment?

It’s the ability to recognize and embrace relationships that are good for you and to recognize and avoid those that are not. If you have a history of toxic relationships, you may need to develop this skill.

Romans 8:5 ESV

5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.

When people come into your life, they don’t just bring their bodies—they also bring their spirits. One way to look at it is that there are two kinds of people: flesh people and faith people. Here are a few characteristics of each:

Flesh people:

· Tear you down and make you feel discouraged about yourself and your life

· Feed your fears and shake your confidence

· Waste your time and drain your energy

Faith people:

· Build you up and move you closer to being the person God created you to be

· Feed your faith and encourage you to pursue your God given dreams

· Are lovingly honest with you and will be strong when you are weak

God wants you to love everyone you come into contact with, but you have to make sure you are surrounding yourself with more people who fill your life than people who drain your life. Don’t just fall thoughtlessly into relationships. Make deliberate, discerning choices.

Proverbs 13:20 ESV

20 Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.

proverbs 13:

Proverbs 13:20 ESV

20 Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.

Conclusion

Think of the people you spend the most time with. Do these individuals encourage or discourage you? Are they the type of person you want to be?

Ask God to help you hear His voice and discern His will so that you can distinguish between the “right people” and the “wrong people.”

Overboard

Jonah 1:15–17 ESV

15 So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. 16 Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows. 17 And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

In the story of Jonah, God sends Jonah on a mission to Ninevah, but Jonah disobeys. Instead, he heads in the opposite direction to Joppa, where he boards a ship to Tarshish. During the journey, a storm comes and the ship is in danger.

Have you ever stopped to think about the other people on the boat who were about to lose their lives besides Jonah? In fact, they were in danger because of Jonah. You see, sometimes all it takes is one rebellious, disobedient person to take down a whole shipload of people.

There are times in life when you are not the problem; the problem may be the people you’re associating with. 

The boat to Tarshish was taking on water. Everyone was frightened for their lives, but it wasn’t their fault. The problem was that they were associating with the wrong person—Jonah.

Sometimes as soon as you get the wrong people out of your boat, your storm will cease. 

Matthew 5:29–30 ESV

29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.

Before the sailors threw Jonah off the boat, they tried rowing harder to bring the ship to land. But finally someone on the boat called a meeting and decided Jonah had to go.

I’m sure they felt badly about it, but they knew that if they didn’t throw him off, they were not going to make it to the other side.

Remember that when the sailors threw Jonah off the boat, God did not abandon him. He had already prepared a great fish to swallow him and spit him back onto shore so he could travel on to Ninevah, his intended destination.

When you allow the wrong people to remain in your life, you are not helping them, but may be keeping them from what God has prepared for them.

Are there people in your life who are dragging you down?

Ask God to reveal to you the people who need to be cut from your life and for wisdom in removing yourself from those relationships.