DON'T FOLLOW THE WRONG TREND

Do not set foot on the path of the wicked
or walk in the way of evil men.
Avoid it, do not travel on it;
turn from it and go on your way.

WHY?

Because:
They cannot rest until they do evil;
they are robbed of slumber until they make someone fall.
Proverbs 4:14-16

Some folks are not satisfied until they have voiced a word against someone or started a rumor, or just bold faced lied on someone else.
They are not satisfied until they have done it.

Don't follow the wrong trend.
Don't be talked into building something else before you build your self up in the fruit of the spirit.

I'm talking relationships.
The one between us and God being paramount.
Don't try and go into a marriage following the example of a bunch of failed ones.
Don't take relationship advice from women or men who haven't had successful relationships.
Don't put material things before time spent with God like so many do, because you will come out with exactly what so many have, an empty lonely heart.

I remember trying to explain to a young lady how when we get married our relationships with other people change, and the young woman didn't want to hear what I was saying.

Relationships will change and they are supposed to change because we have left the most nurturing relationship that God gave us the parent child relationship and entered into a partnership with our spouse.
Our leave and cleave.

Now our family members and friends who don't understand this have to learn and understand this.
Those who have succeeded in marriage have come to understand that for a woman and a man to succeed they can't allow anything to come between them.

So when we receive Christ we are entering into an even deeper and stronger committed covenant than marriage.

For us to succeed in our relationship with Christ we can't allow the cares of this world or opinions of people to come in between us and God.
We can't allow our friends or family to come between what God has called us to do.

When we think of wickedness we think of terror plots in Afghanistan.
But the enemy roams about looking for ways to get into all of our mix and put a wedge between us and our God and if he can start a trend, he will.

The enemy will do anything to get us to turn from the way of the LORD.

If he can start a trend of tiredness and get us to tell everyone how tired we are, everyone else will begin to jump on that tired bandwagon.
If he can start a trend of offense he will do it, "Hold on to that grudge girl, you can't work with her..."
If we let the enemy start the trends in our life we are living after his fashion.
Wicked is what he is and he will steal your joy, destroy your plans and kill your dreams.

You start the trend by confessing that the Joy of the Lord is my strength.
I can do all things through Christ Jesus who gives me strength and I can work with her, because I walk by Faith and not by sight!

Start the "I am going to bed early trend and no I can't go to the movies and dinner with you because I have to get up early and pray trend."

Put the wicked way down instead of putting God down.

There are unsatisfied folks in our email address book, in our offices, in our family, even in our church who unless they have voiced a complaint, rumor or joined in on a gossip session can't lay down and get some sleep.
They can be the trendsetter or you can be the trendsetter.

Pray for people.
I want you to know that the real you, not the you that walks around in front of the church folk like you are floating on a Holy Ghost cloud, hugging and smiling and pretending to have it all together spiritually is revealed in your teenagers and close friends.

Whatever we really do, whatever our real reaction is when pastor and them are not around is absorbed by our children and our inner circle.
I notice that birds of a feather flock together.

It's not just your life that will be affected by following the wrong trend, it has an impact on all of those around you.

Young people who don't have deep roots in God are very impressionable when they are allowed to spend time in the company of people who say one thing and do one thing in church and then do something completely different outside of the church, this is one thing that drives them to the world system.

People come to church looking for direction and they get directed by examples, yet the examples among those closest to them point them right back at street behavior.

Poor attitudes, poor manners, dressed in the latest fashion with the latest hair do but following the wrong trend.

When our friends or children get tangled up in the world system we wonder what went wrong because after all we took them to church.
What went wrong was as a parent or friend we are their church and we chose to follow the wrong trend.

We didn't set trends in our own life and in our own home because we were too busy trying to impress people, meet our own needs, and not please the Father or meet the needs of His children.

TO BE A TRENDSETTER MEANS WE DON'T FOLLOW THE WRONG TRENDS

PSALM 1