WHO ARE THOSE IN YOUR INNER CIRCLE?

SONG

I will not forget thee

In my hand, I hold thee

In my hand, I hold thee

I will not forget or leave thee

I am thy Redeemer. I will care for thee

TEXT

"And he suffered no man to follow him, save Peter, and James, and John the brother of James. ...But when he had put them all out, he taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying." (Mark 5 verses 37,40).

  The question this morning is who do you have in your inner circle? Understand that the person you have in your inner circle is very significant to your fulfillment in life. He or she has a very vital role to play in your journey of life. What we have to discuss this morning has much to do with your destiny and its fulfillment, as well as your eternal destination. In actual fact, the company you keep can determine how far you will go and what you will become in life. Wrong people will never take you up, but rather, they will take you down. There are people that can't add value to your life. They will rather subtract from it.

  Jesus, our Great Master and Perfect Example, had as many followers as over five hundred (First Corinthians chapter 15 verse 6), of which seventy were His disciples (Luke 10 verse 1), twelve were His apostles (Matthew 10 verse 12) out of which only three were His closest confidants. These were Peter, James and John.

     Our Scripture reading this morning is the story of Jesus in the house of Jairus. Jesus was on His way to the home of Jairus to minister to his daughter who was sick, but before He got there, she had died (Mark 5 verse 35).

      The Lord Jesus Christ was a man that was followed by a great crowd of people and on this occasion, "much people followed him, and thronged him." (Mark 5 verse 24). Notwithstanding, the Lord did something that was very unusual, but peculiar to Him. The Scripture reading for today says that "he suffered no man to follow him, save Peter, and James, and John the brother of James". But initially, we read that while He was on his way to Jairus' house, "much people followed him, and thronged him." But the moment news came from Jairus' house that his daughter was dead, the Lord did the unusual! From that moment, "he suffered no man to follow him, save Peter, and James, and John the brother of James". Further still, when he got to Jairus' house, he met a wailing crowd in the place (Mark 5 verse 38). "But when he had put them all out, he taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying." (Mark 5 verse 40).

    The point to note here is this: Jesus was out to go to perform a miracle, but He was conscious of those that went with Him. He took only those who could flow along with Him in faith (James, Peter and John). These were His closest confidants, members of His inner circle. Similarly, the Lord also had them with Him at other crucial moments of His ministry (at His transfiguration, Mark 9 verses 2 to 3; at the garden of Gethsemane, Mark 14 verses 32 to 33). We have to understand that in the case under consideration, Jairus and his wife wouldn't have qualified to be at the scene to witness the miracle, but for the fact that the Omniscient Lord knew that they possessed the requisite faith to be there! Unbelief and faithlessness hinders God from working miracles for us (Matthew 13 verse 58). So, you don't go around with people that will impede your faith.

    Truth is, as God's children, we need to practice separation because the Lord has called us out of the world unto Himself; "Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, ..." This principle is copiously enumerated for us in 2nd Corinthians 6 verses 14 to 18.

     The bottom line is that there are people we need to separate ourselves from should we want to see progress and fulfillment in life. Don't have every Tom, Dick and Harry as your friend. Be selective! Keep at bay those that are a minus to your aspirations in life. Keep a close contact with those that will be of help to you! Jesus did it and it paid off for Him! As you do so, you will not regret it also, in Jesus name.

PRAYER:

Dear Heavenly Father, disconnect me, I pray from the wrong people and connect me with the right ones that will help me in life, in Jesus Mighty name.