Text- Hosea 7:8-9 - “Ephraim mixes himself among the people… Strangers have eaten up his strength, yet he doesn’t know it”
One major factor that determines the level of strength that we carry as God's children is the kinds of spirits we fellowship with. Sadly, many Christians are unaware of this, and predispose themselves to people why carry negative flows.
You see, every human being lives subject to the influence of one spirit or the other. Depending on how much a person has yielded himself/herself to whatever spirit is predominant in his/her life, as you begin to fellowship with the person, with time, you will begin to fellowship with the spirits that are controlling their lives.
Jesus said in John 6: 63, “The words I speak to you, they are spirit and they are life”. It therefore follows that words carry and convey spirits. As such, when you begin to fellowship and relate intimately with people, the words that they are speaking to your life will begin to affect you.
Depending on how deep a person is in sin and alliance to the devil, when you begin to relate with them intimately, their words will begin to weaken and corrupt your spirit until light and life is taken out of it completely
Look at the example of Ephraim in our text; the Bible tells us that he mingled amongst the people and they have devoured his strength; the Amplified Bible says he mixed himself with the Gentile nations, seeking favor with one country, then another. That is the dangerous thing that some believers do!
In 2 Peter 2: 7-8 tells us this about lot, “And he rescued righteous Lot, who was made miserable by the unrestrained immorality of unruly people. While that righteous man lived among them, he felt deep distress every day on account of the immoral actions he saw and heard”
Distress and misery are usually the end results when your strength has been devoured by exposing yourself through fellowshipping with wrong people who carry a wrong spirit.
I am not saying you should turn your noses up and ignore unbelievers, or that you should hate and avoid them; neither am I saying that you should not talk to them, or that you should refuse to help them out when you can. What I’m saying is that as you go about your daily life, you must protect your heart and life from wrong spirits. Know where to draw the line between mere interaction and fellowship!
When you fellowship and relate with people, ensure they are right people, and that they carry the right spirits. Don’t be like Ephraim, going about to form familiarity with unbelievers – mixing yourself with the Gentile nations, seeking favor with one country, then another.
PRAYERS
1. Lord, I repent of wrong mixtures. Now, that I know the dangers, I make a decision today, to break off such fellowships.
2. Father, I ask in the name of Jesus that you root out from my life anything that has rubbed off on me hitherto, from fellowshipping with wrong spirits.
3. Holy Spirit, please be my guide. Teach me to be able to recognize men correctly, and to know where to draw the line between mere interaction and fellowship.
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