All right.
Let's talk about friendships.
I'm sure you've heard people say,
show me your friends
and I will show you your future.
But what do people mean by that?
Hi, I'm Shontelle.
Today, I'm
going to give you three points
about how you and I can better point
our friends towards Jesus,
by just being us.
Now, every week,
we're going to be talking about ways
that you and I
can live life on mission.
And so you don't miss out.
Make sure to subscribe
and even join
the conversation in the comments
section down below.
If you're a new Christian
or Christian with friends
who don't yet know
Jesus, it is so important.
You and I know how to stay firm
in our faith and convictions.
You and I need to make sure
that we're
influencing our friends
towards Jesus
and not actually
the other way around.
So when I say show me your friends
and I'll show you your future,
what I'm saying is,
how can we be the influential people
and not the other way around?
So let's dive
deep into this idea
of how you and I can have
a positive influence on our friends
who don't yet know Jesus
and not the other way around.
So here's some helpful thoughts.
Number one, know what you stand for.
After deciding to follow Jesus.
What do you stand for?
Have things changed?
Has your view on dating changed?
Has your view of swearing changed
as maybe even your view
on alcohol changed?
What has changed?
Now I want to ask you the question.
What do your friends stand for?
I ask these questions
because we have to know
what we stand for
to be able to stand,
well for anything,
but more importantly,
not to be swayed by anything
or anyone else.
I'm not at all saying
that you and your friends
have to agree
on every single worldview
that you have.
What I am saying is
we do need to know
what friends have different values
so we can put some healthy
boundaries in place
so that our values
aren't compromised.
I remember
I was once invited
to a friend's birthday party
and the plan
was to go to a restaurant
and then after the restaurant
to go clubbing.
Now, as soon as I read
that on the invite
I knew
I wasn't comfortable with that idea.
And so
before I went, I made the decision
that I was just
going to go to the restaurant
and wasn't going to go
clubbing afterwards.
Now, this was
a very simple decision,
but it was a very healthy boundary
for me to put in place.
I was able to still have so much fun
with my friend
and celebrate her birthday,
but I also didn't have to compromise
any of my values while doing that.
Point number two.
Know your identity in Christ.
A part of setting boundaries,
as I mentioned
before, is being able to say
no, so
that your boundaries
don't get crossed.
And I found the easiest way
to confidently
say no,
is by knowing my identity in Christ.
Knowing who
and what God has called us to
helps us
to not only confidently say no,
but understand why we are saying no.
Like I mentioned before,
I said no to going clubbing
because I believed that that wasn't
God honoring in my life.
Now, don't get me wrong,
it was hard.
When I was at the party.
I was asked over
ten times to go clubbing afterwards,
but I continually said no.
Why?
Because I knew it was something
God didn't want me to do.
There's a perfect scripture
in the Bible that speaks on this.
It's from Romans 12,
verse two, and it says,
Do not conform
to the pattern of this world
but be transformed
by the renewing of your mind.
Then you'll be able to test
and approve
of God's will, His good,
pleasing and perfect will.
This Scripture directly
says that we shouldn't
just fall into things
because our friends are doing them,
but instead we should know
what God wants for us,
what God calls us to.
Number three.
Ensure that you are building
a community of friendships
that are encouraging you
with your walk with God.
I can't stress this enough.
This is so important.
We have to have friends in our life
that are pointing us towards God.
Now, I found a perfect question
to ask in terms of your friendships.
The question
is, is this relationship
pointing me towards God?
Just like I said at the start.
Show me your friends
and I'll show you your future.
What kind of future
are you building
with your Christian friends?
Are you encouraging each other?
Are you pointing each other towards
Jesus when things get tough?
And what kind of future
are you building
with your non-Christian friends?
Are you pointing them towards God?
Are you helping
build a better future together?
So I encourage you this week
pray about your friendships
and ask yourself
what friends are pointing me
towards God.
What friends
might need some boundaries.
And what friends do
I need to point towards Jesus more.
Even comment down below.
What's the dynamic
of your friendships right now?
Are there more friends
that need boundaries?
Or are there more friends
that are pointing you towards God?
And we know that life on mission
is better together by simply
sharing this video
and start a conversation
with your friends.