Elke Melconian (amazingly a second German Elke at Calvary Fellowship Church!) and I went down to Beth Yeshua on Friday for Erev Shabbat service.

Rabbi David Chernoff was preaching on the "Power of Association". His key verse was Proverbs 13:20: "He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm."

I have to say, his sermon greatly impacted me. Just this past week in our Bible study (Beth Moore's "Breaking Free"), we had talked about a five step approach to tearing down the high places, i.e. the idols/sin still in our lives:

1) Recognize the Captor (Satan)
2) Stand in Agreement with God
3) Tear Down the Lies
4) Put Up the Truth (the Word of God)
5) Bow Thoughts to Truth (God's Truth)

Beth further makes it clear that once we tear down the wallpaper of our minds, the walls never stay bare. If we do not immediately re-wallpaper with the Truth (the Word of God), the enemy will walk in with another roll of wallpaper - different pattern, but as Beth says, the "same deceptive manufacturer".

Rabbi Chernoff's message beautifully aligned with what I had learned this past week.
He focused on three areas in his looking at the power of association:
People - Situations - Issues

In order to better understand what God expects, he outlined the following Scripture:

1) Fellowship with the Lord: Psalm 1:1-3
"1 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wickedor stand in the way of sinnersor sit in the seat of mockers. 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water,which yields its fruit in seasonand whose leaf does not wither.Whatever he does prospers."
Psalm 1:1-3

In this passage, Rabbi Chernoff highlighted that the opposite of verse 1 was not walking in the counsel of the just, stand in the way of saints or sit in the seat of affirmers of God. Very clearly, God expects our fellowship to be with Him!This insight was such an affirmation for what was already processing in my inner being. Praise God!


2) Sinners Enticing: Proverbs 1:7-15
"7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. 8 Listen, my son, to your father's instructionand do not forsake your mother's teaching. 9 They will be a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck. 10 My son, if sinners entice you,do not give in to them. 11 If they say, "Come along with us;let's lie in wait for someone's blood, let's waylay some harmless soul; 12 let's swallow them alive, like the grave,and whole, like those who go down to the pit; 13 we will get all sorts of valuable thingsand fill our houses with plunder; 14 throw in your lot with us,and we will share a common purse"- 15 my son, do not go along with them,do not set foot on their paths."
Proverbs 1:7-15

Enough said!


3) Fellowship: 1 John 1:7
"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin."
1 John 1:7

Clearly, the emphasis here is on us walking in the light and this bringing us into the right kind of fellowship with kindred "light walkers". Light dispels darkness!


4) Anger: Proverbs 22:24-25
"24 Do not make friends with a hot-tempered man, do not associate with one easily angered,25 or you may learn his ways and get yourself ensnared."
Proverbs 22:24-25

Wow, that was a tough one for me as I realized I had let my work situation make me associate with those easily angered, and how it was beginning to rub off on me...!

5) False Doctrine: Titus 3:10-11
"10 Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him. 11 You may be sure that such a man is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned."
Titus 3:10-11

Again...my week revisited. I have had an old friend tell me in so many words how stupid I was to even think God existed. It was starting to tear at me as I do want to be viewed as someone with a certain level of intelligence, but I had to realize that I may need to cut that tie.


6) Sexual Immorality: 1 Corinthians 6:18
"Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body."
1 Corinthians 6:18

This seems to be one that people don't seem to worry about that much in this day and age, but let me just say, for believers, this one couldn't be a more important one. The recent happenings around Ted Haggard has made me keenly aware of us having to pay very close attention here - lest we stumble!


7) Walk with the Wise: Proverbs 13:20
"He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm."
Proverbs 13:20

This verse really summarizes the above verses.

Rabbi Chernoff did a wonderful job of tying what I had learned from Beth's Bible study into an amazingly homogeneous message from God to me this week. I am sure he didn't know, but well done.

Father, make me seek out walks with the wise! Let me meditate on Your Word, so I may become one of Your trees planted by streams of water and abundantly bearing fruit!
posted by Elke at 8:56 PM