Like a Sponge

Happy Sunday. I realize that I've lived a pretty sheltered life. My father was a pastor. I grew up in a Christian home.

Church was not optional. It was mandatory. In college, I was active in a great Christian organization. I've always been active in a church.

I'm married to a godly woman. My best friends are Christian people. I am blessed. I heard a testimony not long ago about a young man who grew up in a Christian home, went to a secular college and surrounded himself with people of questionable character.

He said that after a year, he was in a dark place. He was miserable. So miserable, in fact, that he dropped out and removed himself from the situation. Today's verse that we will look at is from Proverbs 13, chapter 13, verse 20.

Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools suffers harm. Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools suffers harm. It was the early '80s. I was a minister of youth at a church in Mississippi, and a young man named Mark was about to head to off to the military.

Mark was a pretty new Christian, and I had the joy of watching him grow in the faith. He was gone all summer, and when he returned, he came to see me, and he had a prayer request. He was concerned about his language. At boot camp, he was surrounded by a group that used some bad language.

As it turns out, some sailors do cuss like sailors. And Mark, well, he didn't like his new vocabulary. He told me something that I will never forget. He said, "David, I was like a sponge with those people.

Like a sponge." I thought that was a great way to put it. Mark absorbed the habits and the customs and the language of those that he was surrounded by. His environment dictated the way he lived.

Proverbs 13:20 gives us a choice. Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools suffers harm. I've been fortunate to walk with the wise for most of my years. Yes, I have had to make some adjustments and I and to delete some bad influences, and I'm thankful that I did.

Walking with the wise pays big dividends. One of the best parts, wise people stay away from bad places. I remember years ago having the opportunity to play the guitar in a bar, uh regularly. The money was good.

The environment, not so good. I wondered about that and talked to some friends about it and one of my friends said, "David, would you want your youth group to see you there?" I had my answer. I stayed away from that environment.

I've often felt the hand of God protecting me from making poor decisions. Not only do wise friends keep you from bad places, they take you to great places. I've had the great privilege to be exposed to lots of great teaching from churches and conferences and conversations that wise friends have led me to. It is so sad to see people choose to hang out with the wrong crowd.

I know a man who spent decades in prison because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong people. The wrong people will cause you harm every time. First Corinthians 15:33 puts it like this, "Bad company ruins good morals." Bad company ruins good morals.

That is so true. Years ago, I baptized a college student from Purdue. He had a pretty quick conversion and a few minutes after I baptized him, he said to me, "I probably need to get some new friends, don't I?" I thought that was wise of him.

The Holy Spirit gave him wisdom quickly. He realized that his choices of environment mattered. The old saying, "Show me your friends and I will show you your future" really makes sense to me. "Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools suffers harm."

Back when our kids were young, our daughter asked a little girl, a classmate at school, if she could come over and play. We lived in a small town and I learned that the little girl's mother began to inquire what type of people we were. We'd not met the parents and they wanted to make sure that our house was a safe place with wise people. Now, that's a good parent.

I absolutely loved that we passed the test. We kind of checked on them, too, before our daughter asked their daughter over. Our daughters became dear friends and we became dear friends with that family and to this day, they're some of my favorite favorite people. Thank God for godly friends.

"Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools, they suffer harm." If you're in the Atlanta area, I will be preaching the Easter sunrise service next Sunday morning at Arlington Cemetery. The service is at 6:30 a.m. and it is a spectacular venue for a sunrise service.

If you're in town, I'd love to see you there. Pray with me. Lord, thank you for the truth of your word and in the coming days we truly see your word come alive as Easter is upon us. We ask your blessing on the services that are coming up in churches that will be packed to a seekers wondering what's going on.

Help them to be wise and to turn away from the foolish ones. Father, thank you for this day and help us to be glad in it. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

God bless. Have a great week.