The Power of Associations

Yes we all have strengths in certain areas but unfortunately also weaknesses! Funny yesterdays message at church was very interesting – he was saying how God has made us all unique and all with different “shapes” S = spiritual gifts, H = heart or passion, A = abilities, talents & skills, P = personality & different temperaments, E = experience – vocational, educational & painful experiences. “Your success in life is based on your response to the shape God has given you” that is with all your unique mix you are able to fit perfectly into certain areas and arenas in life! It’s when you’re not operating the way God designed you (i.e. not living your passion or trying to be like someone else) that’s where you can miss your destiny!

So one of my strengths is encouragement and something else I’ve only just recently been told and discovered is that I have the “Joshua” anointing! Joshua was Moses’ captain of the army and when Moses died Joshua took over. But his main purpose and destiny was to take the Israelites across the Jordan, out of the wilderness into the Promised Land, Canaan, to receive their inheritance! We all sometimes go through wilderness experiences and difficulties but God’s purpose in that is to develop and strengthen our characters so that we are able to handle the blessing He gives us and not squander it or lose it!! So my gifting is to help people to receive their inheritance, or to help them realize the dream or vision God has given them! (“Birthing Your Dream”)

Oh ok now I can see the thread that God is making here because the subject I wanted to speak on is “The Power of Associations” as it is impossible (I cannot overemphasize this) to receive your inheritance or dream if you have the wrong associations!!! It is also impossible to grow with the wrong associations!!

Wow this is quite a vast subject but will try to be brief and hopefully share on what’s important as it’s a subject I’m passionate about and feel very strongly about! Ok where do I start?? There are certain blessings that come by association with certain people or organizations. This doesn’t happen with casual associations but with deep, connected and committed associations! In other words to put it simply what they have rubs off on you! “Who you hang around with is what you’ll become!” Then there are certain principals that can invoke their blessing into your life i.e. commitment, accountability, humility, submissiveness, recognition, service & sowing (giving) to them will cause even more of their anointing to rub off onto you! 2 Kings 2:9. Ok these are good, Godly associations and if you want to grow spiritually you hang around with those who are on a higher level than you (be humble and submissive to resident anointing) so that by association you can learn and grow from their experiences and hopefully grow into that level! And also hopefully some of their anointing (the power of the Holy Spirit) and blessings will rub off onto you! This is where mentors play a huge role in our lives!

Now this exact same principal applies to bad associations!! “Who you hang out with is what you’ll become” Ps 1:1 “Oh, the joys of those who do not follow evil men’s advice, who do not hang around with sinners, scoffing at the things of God..” Proverbs is full of this advice but here is just one Prov 2:11-15 “you will be given the sense to stay away from evil men who want you to be their partners in crime – men who turn from God’s ways to walk down dark and evil paths and exult in doing wrong for they thoroughly enjoy their sins. Everything they do is crooked and wrong” 2 Cor 6:14,17 “Don’t enter into partnership with those who do not love the Lord…. how can light have fellowship with darkness…that is why the Lord has said, “leave them; separate yourselves from them; don’t touch what is unclean” (all quotes taken from the Living Bible).

You have seen this principal work in Jay’s life – bad associations and friends caused him to walk down the wrong paths, causing havoc and destruction in his life Deut 30:15-20 and you made a very wise and prudent decision to move him to another location in the attempt to break those ties and connections!!! When we are young we all make this same mistake by sometimes choosing the wrong friends, but we grow and move forward and learn from our mistakes and hopefully learn to make better choices of friends in the future, those that will not bring destruction and chaos into our lives!! I must say here and please forgive me if I’m offensive (as hopefully he has changed?) but I’m very shocked that you still have Matt as a friend!!!! Even though I was young and naive and inexperienced then, I still knew that he had a very strong and bad influence on you!! But like I say I hope he has changed and is now bringing a positive (& not evil) influence into your life??????

Another example I want to share is a friend of mine Sally. She had a very close friend Anne. They were always together but Anne unfortunately is an ardent gossiper, slanderer and loves to cause division among people!! And even though Sally would not entertain her gossiping she still could not help it rubbing off on her! She has since moved away from this friend, ( not long after this Anne even started slander that Sally was having an affair with someone they all knew – some friend hey???) making better friendships and wow since she has done this I can’t believe the growth I have seen in her!!! People have even said to her there is something different about you – you look different – wow amazing what God can do when we position ourselves in the right place and that sometimes means moving away from wrong associations. Yes that can be hard at times as we want to be popular and liked but in the long run it is far better to be popular with and have God’s favour in your life than man’s!! And yes sometimes following Jesus is not always easy and it means taking up your cross (Matt 16:24-25, 19:29) and being unpopular with man but from my experience it is WELL worth it! As in the end of it all we all stand and give an account of our lives to God – NOT MAN!!!!! And it is God who holds the eternal rewards in His hands – not man!!

There is something else I want to add here; sometimes God will forcibly remove you from associations, either by relocation or even death!! And sometimes He even removes good, wholesome relationships from you. This is what the bible calls pruning John 15:1-8. He prunes us or lops off things from us so that we can produce more fruit in our lives! So that we can become more productive – this by the way is a very painful process but will definitely produce very good results in us, making us far stronger!! Last year God removed 2 very close, godly friends from me within a month of each other!! I couldn’t understand it and it was very painful but it made way for even better and stronger relationships!! Also another reason God sometimes removes people from us is that they have become an idol, someone we have placed over and above God! They have become more important to us, than God Himself!!

Well take care my friend and may God’s light continue to shine on you! I know He has much install for you and as you learn to walk in His ways He will bring to pass those dreams and visions He has placed on your heart!! Of course the first step in that journey is one where you make a commitment to follow Him and invite Him to come into your heart! Have you ever done that my friend?? I really hope and pray that you will!!! Cos without that first step you will never really know of God’s plans and purposes for your life!!