08-12-07 #Disciple Bible Study Titled: “LIFE: THE ULTIMATE JOURNEY” Part 2 of series

[Disciple]

“LIFE: THE ULTIMATE JOURNEY” – “Are You Traveling With The Right People?”
Ephesians 2:19-22

A journey to the most exotic, romantic, enticingly beautiful place can be incredibly miserable if you are not traveling with the right people.
The importance of traveling this journey with the right people cannot be overstressed. Do you have friends and companions who are helping you and encouraging you as you travel through this life? Or would you have to say that for the most part, those companions and friends with whom you associate are a hindrance and an obstacle for you in trying to live the Christian life?
How important is it to have good friends and companions in life?

Ill- we are told that companionship can literally add years to your life – Stephen W. Smith cites the Wall Street Journal in his ‘Life And Legacy Conversations’ – In a study of men and women over age 65, those who had more friends had a lower risk of health problems and recovered faster when problems did develop’ Yale University researches found that senior citizens with friends reduced their risk of death by 50% over a 5-year period. A California study found that among senior adults, friends had a bigger impact in reducing the risk of death than having a spouse.

Ill- I read about a woman who was driving from Alberta, Canada, to the Yukon. She didn’t know that you never travel that way alone, especially in a run-down Honda Civic. She set off on a road usually reserved for four-wheel drive trucks. Eventually she found herself in a truck stop, two truckers invited her to join them and since the place was so small she felt obligated to sit with them, ‘Where you headed?’ One of the truckers asked and she said, ‘To Whitehorse’ the trucker answered. ‘In that little Civic’? No Way! The pass is dangerous in weather like this.’ ‘Well, I’m determined to try’, she said. The trucker said, ‘Well, then I guess we’re going to have to hug you.’ And she immediately became defensive, saying, ‘There’s no way you’re going to touch me.’ The trucker laughed, ‘Not that kind of hug. We’ll put one truck in front of you and one behind you. That way we’ll get you through the mountains.’ And that whole day she followed two red dots through the fog as the two trucks ‘hugged’ her through the dangerous pass as she made her journey. That what the right companions will do for you on your spiritual journey.

We need to choose our traveling companions for this life’s journey with great wisdom and care.

I. Bad Friends Corrupt
Certainly we live in a hedonistic society today. We are pleasure-seeking people. We are in a mad rush to satisfy the flesh in which we live. Sadly, the pursuit of our pleasures often takes us on a course that leads us away from the will of God and the pursuit of the Lord in our daily lives. And to complicate this scenario, we often surround ourselves with those who encourage us away from the Word of God and away from the Assembly of God’s people on the Lord’s Day.

1 Cor 15:33
Paul is giving a stern warning here against being deceived and led astray by those who would deny the resurrection of the dead. If there is no resurrection, then there is no judgment and if there is no judgment then it doesn’t really matter what you do in life, does it? But again, Paul says to the believer, ‘do not be misled…’
There is danger in allowing your unbelieving friends to influence you into sinful practices. Wrong beliefs and misconceptions about the resurrection of the dead leads to the relaxing of our moral principles
Perhaps some of us here today who need to get out of bad relationships because they have corrupted the spiritual and moral character that once marked our lives. How can you expect to be a strong Christian and set a good example for other to follow when you are being misled because of the relationship you have with ‘bad company’? Consider the other side of the coin here.
Proverbs 27:17
A good, strong Christian friend will sharpen you and make you stronger in your spiritual walk
Do your friends sharpen you or do they dull you spiritually? Are your friends making you a better Christian or are they dragging you down and corrupting your character?

II We Are Fellow Citizens
Before we became Christians we were on the outside of the kingdom of God but now, in Christ Jesus we are citizens of his kingdom and members of his household.
Eph. 2:19
Paul is talking about the relationship between the Gentiles and Jews. Note the words he uses – ‘foreigners and aliens’ ‘aliens’ is the word also translated as ‘sojourners’ meaning those who lived temporarily ‘beside the house’ the did not have the rights to citizenship. But now he says you are ‘fellow citizens’ and ‘members of God’s household’.
Let’s understand that in Christ Jesus there are no ‘half-way citizens’. Those who once could live only beside the house now have been welcomed inside. I want to simply remind you that being a citizen gives you rights but it also gives you responsibility.
1 John 3:1
Because we are children of the Father, then we are expected to live like God’s Children.
Eph 5:1-2
We have the responsibility to have in our living the characteristics and traits of our heavenly Father. We need to understand that as fellow citizens and members of God’s household we have the right to belong – one citizen cannot put another citizen out of the kingdom – one family member cannot put another family member out of the family but our actions definitely affect our fellow members.

Ill – a photographer was sent to cover a forest fire for his magazine but when he got there the smoke was so thick he couldn’t see to get any good pictures. He called his magazine and said if they wanted any pictures they would have to hire an airplane so he could get pictures from above the fire. He was told to go to the little airport nearby and a plane would be waiting for him. Sure enough as soon as he goes to the airport, a plane was waiting on the runway. In just a few seconds he’s aboard the plane and they’re going down the runway and into the air. He say to the pilot ‘I want you to fly north to the forest fire, I want you to make three low passes over the fire and then I want you to dip the right wing and fly low over the fire. The pilot says, ‘Well, ok, but why?’ the photographer holds up his camera and says, ‘I’m a photographer, I take pictures, and the pilot says, ‘You mean you aren’t the flying instructor?’ those guys both had a problem and their actions affected the other.

As a fellow Christian, I have a responsibility toward you to live my life in the way and will of Jesus Christ because what I do will and does affect you and you have the same responsibility toward me.
How are you living your life? Are you a witness of the love of God in Jesus Christ? Are you and example that others here can look to and say, ‘I’m going to follow you because you’re following Christ’? Do others see in you the traits and characteristics of God the Father?

III We Can Win Our Lost Friends
There is an interesting verse of Scripture that point out an interesting ping about Jesus’ life and ministry.
Matthew 11:19
Do you see the significant point here? Jesus was called ‘a friend of tax collectors and sinners’
Think of people Jesus associated with in his life and ministry. There was Matthew and Zaccheus, both were tax collectors. There was the woman at the well who was an adulteress and had many husbands and was living with a man to whom she wasn’t married. Jesus often associated with those who were considered to be outcasts of the society life.
Are you known to be a ‘friend of sinners’? Here’s the point I’m trying to make. All of us have friends by association. There are people you work with and have become friends with simply because you are with them on the job. There are people you have a hobby with and have become friends with by your association with them. If we want our church to grow, we must have some friends outside the church with which we associate and can and do have a positive influence on their lives.
Are you allowing your friends to see Jesus Christ in you? Are you being an example of what it means to live as a Christian?
Consider an interesting scene recorded in John 12. John writes about some Greeks who had come to Jerusalem to worship. They came to Philip who was one of the 12 disciples.
John 12:21
I would remind you that there are people with whom you associate every day that are saying the same thing to you. They may not speak it verbally, but they are watching your life. They know you claim to be a Christian, they know you claim to be a member of the Lord’s church and they are looking at your life to see Jesus in you.
Are you showing them Jesus by the way you are living your life? Are you bringing your friends to Jesus Christ for salvation? What kind of friend are you if you never tell your ‘friend’ about Jesus and Gods love for them and his desire to save them?

Conc.
If you are a Christian today I hope you will seriously consider who your traveling companions are in this ultimate journey. Maybe you would even say, ‘I don’t have any traveling companions’ To which I would say, ‘no wonder you’re struggling then’
We were not intended to make this journey isolated and alone by ourselves. Are you traveling with others who are influencing you and helping you to grow and prosper in the Lord?
If you are not a Christian today I hope you will seriously think about where your journey through this life is taking you and what your destination is. Will you change your position in this journey? Will you come to Christ now and begin your journey with him?