Dear sons and daughters - remember that old proverb we would often repeat? - "He who walks with the wise becomes wise, but a companion of fools comes to ruin."
Well I was reading proverbs today and this verse goes perfectly with that verse. In the Septuagint it reads -"a youth when in the company of a godly man will be bound together with him and HIS WAY WILL BE STRAIGHT."
May God grant us wisdom to chose our companions wisely and help us never to forget to pray - "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."
One
of the ways the Lord will deliver a young man from the evil one is by
binding him together with a godly older brother. I hope you discover
this special grace from God. The Lord can rescue us when we have
foolishly followed our own lusts or the desires of other fools
because He is merciful; however, it's better to receive the mercy and
grace to bind ourselves to those who walk in righteousness and wisdom
so as to stay out of the snares of the devil. I am praying for all of
you to walk with the wise and be wise so others can walk with you.
Hi Pastor Alan,
ReplyDeleteWe wanted to thank you for your teachings. You have such a clean, undefiled anointing when you teach. We have been through the ringer and have recently left our leadership position at church due to half of the gospel being preached and odd manifestations. Our pastor was unwilling to address these issues and seemed to be so involved that he couldn't see clearly. We are now without a church and after listening to your sermons we are reminded and convicted of how important unity is. We have isolated ourselves in order to find our way back to Christ and our foundation. We want to be in fellowship but I would literally leave church feeling more oppressed than when I walked in. We have those that are very focused on the finished works and grace deny the process of sanctification and holiness. Then we have those who are full of " prophetic wisdom" and they are walking in judgment. There is so much division. We have teetered on both spectrums and we are trying to find a middle ground. Your teachings have brought life to our weary souls. I was struggling with confusion and feeling rejected by the Lord and went to sermon index and typed in " the love of the father" and your sermon came up. It was so awesome that I've listened to it about 5 times. There are a few of us without a church due to the inability to find strong teaching based on the Bible. I was just wondering your thoughts on this and having a "church/pastoral covering". We want this but can't seem to fit anywhere.. We have tried. Thank you so much for allowing the Father to mold you into such a wonderful teacher.
Scott and Jessica Sautter
California