when someone commits a crime when police pursue them or detectives open up an investigation on them once enough evidence has been gathered or better yet if they're caught red-handed or caught on camera then inevitably the handcuffs come out and the person is arrested now when the police arrest someone they read them their rights and it goes something like this you have the right to remain silent anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law Now isn't that interesting anything that you voluntarily say can be used against you anything that
you willingly reveal can be used against you is this not what happened to Joseph in the Old Testament Joseph was chosen by God and he willingly told his brothers what God had revealed to him and what happened they used it against him what if I told you there are secrets that chosen ones should never reveal yes even children of God must have certain things that they never reveal silence makes you less predictable and therefore less vulnerable I would even go as far as saying silence can be a way to guard your heart and protect your
plans because not everyone who Smiles has good intentions not everyone who claps is really happy for you and everyone who listens doesn't have pure intentions some are listening so that they can use it against you so as a child of God let's talk about some of the things you should never reveal number one the first thing you should not be quick to reveal is to do with your early victories and breakthroughs unless the Holy Spirit proom prps you to speak and testify be very careful who you tell about your early breakthroughs when God first grants
you favor in a certain field in your business or in your career never run to announce it when God promotes you when he increases your territory when he elevates you do not in this age of social media run to announce it Psalm 23:5 says you prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies you anoint my head with oil my cup runs over the Bible never tells you to announce the blessings that God has given you no it's God who prepares a table for you in the presence of your enemies when King Saul
was anointed the prophet Samuel told him in 1 Samuel 10 once these signs are fulfilled do whatever your hand finds to do for God is with you he did not encourage him to broadcast anything publicly it was a sacred secret so should you experience a sudden shift a sudden move from God that elevates you do not be the one to boast and reveal to all unnecessarily the devil plants people in your life who will be there only to plot your downfall so be careful about what you reveal and to whom you reveal secondly what God
has revealed to you or placed in your heart for example this may be a desire for you to go on a missionary trip and you begin to make plans or maybe you dream of being the person in your family to open and run a business for themselves learn this lesson be very careful when revealing your future plans and dreams the devil uses people the devil uses demons not only should you be careful but also prayerful when it comes to who you confide in don't give the wrong person ammunition to sabotage you Proverbs 29:1 says a
fool vents all his feelings but a wise man holds them back we ought to take heed of the wisdom in this proverb yes you may be happy and excited concerning what God has placed on your heart but remember the warning War we've been given a fool vents all his feelings but a wise man holds them back the plans you have and the dreams you have are like babies needing protection and nurturing during their early and fragile stages premature oversharing can open you up to misunderstanding skepticism and attacks at the wrong time rather than seeking vain
public validation qu quietly commit your Visions to prayer God may have you share pieces with a few trusted confidants who will stand in prayer with you learn to Steward Revelation with wisdom there's a certain level of safety in silence number three one of the most important things that you ought to be very careful about revealing is all to do with your family matters we all face marital disputes health concerns Financial pressures relational conflicts with children or other sensitive issues however we should never carelessly expose what goes on in the home The Book of Proverbs tells
us the wise woman builds her house but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down in the book of Ephesians we are told husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her both the man and woman in the house have a role to play and that is to be United it's God's design for the husband to be a covering in the home and to be selflessly loving and God's word calls for the wise woman to build her home and not tear it down all of this can be
partly achieved by keeping Family Matters private not everything that happens between you and your spouse should be public even though you have disagreements it's always better to deal with it within your home first you shouldn't become a public spectacle to others I encourage you to find Godly trustworthy counselors a you people who have integrity and who can prayerfully help you and encourage you do not make your family vulnerable by airing their imperfections before a fault finding audience as a priest over your home handle issues privately and protect your inner circle from unnecessary scrutiny Family Matters
require wisdom and privacy do not swallow the enemy's bait toward resentment or bitterness against loved ones avoid slander that poisons how others perceive your family any dysfunction is an opportunity to extend more grace and forgiveness God desires to heal and restore relationships but in a context of love and secrecy not expose drama learn restraint rather than hurling Stones through impulsive oversharing that can never be fully retracted the fourth and final thing you should never reveal are your intimate spiritual encounters with God this can be dreams and even visions that God gives you unless you are
prompted by the Holy Spirit to share a testimony to encourage others many profound moments with him are meant just for you do not quickly turn sacred spiritual events into casual conversation pieces Mary's visitation announcing her Immaculate pregnancy was a secret only revealed later when Angelic timing permitted John was instructed not to write the Thunders he heard in Revelation 10 Paul hurt inexpressible things in 2 Corinthians 12 that he admitted no one is permitted to tell some things that God reveals to us are like babies still developing in the womb if they're birthed prematurely they go
into the wrong atmosphere and they won't survive they won't survive the words of discouragement from others and the spirit of doubt that comes from unbelievers honor the Lord by keeping intimacy private may the Lord grant us wisdom to know when to speak boldly and when to cultivate prudent inner silence before him alone there is safety power and Beauty in learning the sacred art of holding your peace we come across many people in our lifetimes friends for a season friends for a lifetime acquaintances and colleagues that we have reasonable relationships with but here's the thing the
devil is an evil devil if he cannot infiltrate and invade by force he will do it by deception and inadvertently through your consent one of the ways that he will try and get you to consent unknowingly is through our network of relationships if the devil can plant someone into your inner circle then he knows that he has a good chance of influencing you to do the wrong thing he knows that you're much more likely to be receptive when someone close to you is encouraging you to do the wrong thing even more so if that person
is helping assisting and enabling you to do the wrong thing and so the thing is you need to be alert to the signs that someone in your life may be planted by the devil in order to get you to push or pull you away from walking with the Lord now the first sign you should look for is probably the most obvious and that is the person who encourages you to do wrong the enemy will always plant people or a person who encourages and cheers you on this is the type of person who encourages you to
go to places that you know you have no business going to this is the type of person that edges you on oh there's nothing wrong with a little fun every once in a while they'll say stop being so uptight stop being such a Holy Roller one drink won't make you a sinner this person is a dangerous person they are a threat to your salvation the Amplified translation for 1 Corinthians 15: 33-34 says do not be deceived Bad Company corrupts good morals be sober minded be sensible wake up from your spiritual stuper as you ought and
stop sinning for some of you have no knowledge of God you are disgracefully ignorant of him and ignore his truths I say this to your shame how does Bad Company corrupt good moral you ask well they encourage you to do the wrong thing they encourage you to sin they try and get you to compromise your integrity they are the sort of person who will tell you things like it's okay once in a while but be warned this is the type of Bad Company that corrupts they push and pull you to sin and as children of
God once we identify such people in our lives we need to separate ourselves from them now the second sign that that someone in your life has been planted by the devil is that they try to control and manipulate you think of it this way God Almighty in his wisdom in his majesty and Glory he does not control you he does not forcefully make you do anything the Holy Spirit May convict you but conviction in the heart and manipulation are two very different things now when you find someone who attempts to control you that person is
being used of the devil God has given you a free will he has given you the ability and capability to make choices and anytime that someone else tries to take that away from you anytime that someone attempts to impose their will upon you they are being used of the devil if you look throughout the Bible you will see that anyone who had this Spirit of control was used by the devil Jezebel had this controlling spirit Nebuchadnezzar had this spirit in fact it was so strong on him that he built a golden statue of himself and
demanded that everyone would Bow Down and Worship it and when three Hebrew Boys by the names of Shadrach meach and Abednego refused he had them cast into a furnace that is a wicked and controlling Spirit if you identify this spirit in anyone within your inner circle I encourage you to move away separate yourself that's how you will be protected the third sign that someone is sent by the devil is what I'd like to call the enabler the enabler is really used by the enemy because this person goes beyond encouraging you to sin they go beyond
manipulating you to sin they provide the resources for you to sin the enabler will give the addict money to feed their habit the enabler will invite the married man to an event with single women and help him to lie to his wife that he'll be out of town for a few days because of work if you're a person given to lust the enabler will make it possible for you to act out that lust the enabler will facilitate they will provide the resources and everything needed for you to do what you are not meant to do
and be where you are not meant to be the enabler is a dangerous person because they make it possible for you to sin and Jesus gave a very Stern and serious warning to those who enable others to sin here's what Mark 9:42 says but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe and trust in me to stumble that is to sin or lose faith it would be better for him if a heavy Millstone one requiring a donkey strength to turn it were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea those are
strong words to illustrate the severity of punishment that would follow if someone leads others to sin so be careful assess your inner circle is there anyone who enables you to sin because if there is that's not the sort of person you should be around now the final type of person you need to avoid is the discourager the discourager is one who pulls you away from God they make you question God the discourager might not necessarily enable you to sin or encourage you to sin but here's what they'll do they'll talk you out of joining that
Bible study group on Wednesday they'll talk you out of attending that prayer meeting they'll give you a thousand and one reasons why you should watch the game or attend this event and they'll tell you how missing one service won't hurt you this is the type of Bad Company you don't want around you the discourager will question your pastor they present the case of how church is all about profit they will highlight how church people treat you everything negative they'll pick up on it and so be aware be careful of this type of person they will
never tell you that there is no perfect Church they will never tell you that if you keep missing and neglecting your prayer life you will not progress as a Christian you will be powerless as a Christian so overall I pray that you will be vigilant against people who encourage you to sin enable you to sin stay away from these types of people evil company corrupts good good habits pray that God would expose every single individual that's been planted by the enemy in your life but especially pray that God would lead you to people who are
strong in faith so that you can strengthen each other and encourage each other in the things of the Lord the Bible makes plenty of references about the types of people you should not be around and before I go any further take a moment to answer the question would God approve of everyone that's in my circle of influence Psalm 1:1 paints a clear picture when speaking of the kinds of people who should be in our lives because the Bible says blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly nor stands in the
path of Sinners nor sits in the seat of the scornful there's so much wisdom and guidance in this single verse when you really examine it a person is blessed when they are diligent about who they walk with which path they stand stand on and which seat they sit on so ask yourself the following questions about those around you who am I walking with which path am I standing on and where am I sitting now who are the ungodly people you need to Be watchful of those who are morally wrong those who are actively bad those
who are wicked or unjust your faith your salvation is a precious thing that you have to guard and nurture for you to walk under the counsil of the ungodly you are putting your faith in Salvation at risk now this teaching is not to say you cannot or should not interact with unbelievers no on the contrary we should minister to them and show them the love of God however the Bible makes it clear that it is not advisable to walk under their counsel which means their advice or guidance that it's the key part to understand it's
not advisable to do so and we are told many times 1 Corinthians 15:33 sayso not be deceived evil company corrupts good habits Proverbs 13:20 says He Who Walks With wise men will be wise but the companion of fools will be destroyed everyone you come across has a certain character some some have a bad character and exhibit toxic traits While others are the complete opposite and have a sound Godly character these are the people who will exhibit the fruit of the spirit they will encourage you pray with you show you a Godly love and they will
have a sweet Spirit at the end of the day we need to be people who are prayerful and Discerning because we have to guard our elves you cannot just allow anyone to walk into your life look at their character study their character because in one way or another they will have an impact on you people can have an impact on you some people are honest While others are deceitful some are trustworthy While others are liars some have a great work ethit while others are Slackers your character will influence those around you for good or for
evil and likewise the character of those closest to you will influence you for good or for evil so here's the thing whoever you decide to walk with to form a friendship with refuse to be led astray refuse to be influenced refuse to be led away from the truth and into ER error and sin it's a one-way Street when we associate with evil people and that one-way Street takes you from Purity to defilement that one-way Street will take you from Holiness to Sin from Darkness to light from worth and value to corruption and Decay when it
comes to who we should and shouldn't associate with the Bible is clear we are told not not to be yolked with unbelievers what Fellowship does righteousness and wickedness have or what Fellowship can light and darkness have what Harmony is there between Christ and the devil saints of God we are to come out from among them and be [Music] separate
