The Danger of Cultivating Incorrect Relationships

All right. Now, we've got 2 minutes to deal with it. We don't. We have a minute and a half. Deal with the other three things. Cultivate right relationships. Well, I'm preaching on that other times. Be careful about going back into resentment, bitterness, and unforgiveness. Cultivate. The moment you feel resentment rising up against that husband of yours, check it. And I say, replace the negative by the positive.

“Brother Prince, I just resent him. What am I to do?” Pray for him. I don't believe you can resent someone and pray for them at the same time. So, replace the negative by the positive. But you'll have to be on your guard because resentment is a habit with many of us. I'll tell you another habit that most of us have, and I'm not innocent. That's arguing.

I'll tell you truthfully, and I've said this in front of my wife when she's there, there are some situations in our home when my wife and I start to discuss certain things. I say to her, “We just as well play a tape recording of this because we both know what we're going to say now for the next 5 minutes.” And when I say that, then I say, “Well, let's switch off the tape recorder, shall we? Stop it now.”

The beginning of strife, the Bible says in rather vulgar plain way, is what is as when one letteth out water. So, stop before you start. You know how difficult it is once you've started to stop. There are lots of worse things than that that are on tape.

Now, come on. We've got two more things. Number six, cultivate right fellowship. And you've got a good scripture there about light cannot have fellowship with darkness. And I don't mean that you separate yourself from the world and go into a convent, but do not go around with the negative people. Cultivate positive people, people that will build up your faith, strengthen you, encourage you. If you've taken a stand for healing, don't go back to the people that believe healing ended with the apostles. See?

I'll tell you two things that come by hearing. One of them you know. Romans 10:17,

“Faith cometh by hearing.”

You know the other one? Unbelief. Jesus said,

“Take heed what you hear and take heed how you hear.”

And the book of Proverbs says,

“Cease, my son, to hear the instruction which causeth thee to err from the words of truth.”

I'll tell you, if I wanted to keep my faith up, I'd never go and listen to some of the sermons that you people go and listen to on Sunday morning. I just couldn't do it. That's all. I don't want to fill my mind with negative poison and then try to live a victorious life. I couldn't do it. Maybe you're better than I am. Maybe you're stronger. But you cannot feed on faith-destroying sermons, literature, and conversation, and then expect to be a victorious, believing Christian. It just cannot be done. What comes in has to come out somewhere. If you admit it to your heart, it's going to be expressed in your living.

“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”

If it gets in here, it's going to be expressed in what you do. It matters what you believe. This goes beyond just what church you attend. It goes to the whole question of whom you spend your time with, what kind of people you listen to over the telephone, too. Because a lot of people have a lot of problems through listening to the wrong kind of telephone talk.

All right. Finally, and this is the last, make Jesus central. Don't go off on a tangent about demons. See, you can be one-sided about anything in the Christian life except Jesus. You can be one-sided about tongues, one-sided about healing, one-sided about divine order, one-sided about women not speaking in the church, one-sided about demons. You can be one-sided about anything except Jesus. He's the center. He's the author. He's the finisher. He's the foundation, and He's the coping stone. Keep Jesus in the center.

I realize for many of you being confronted with this type of message and deliverance service, it makes a powerful impact. I can believe that. And for the next few weeks, you're going to wander around, “Do I have a demon? Does he have a demon? Does my preacher have a demon?” So on. Well, they may all have demons, but don't become demon preoccupied. All right? It'll take a little while to fit into your total Christian believing. You've got to find a new file for demon truth. See? But don't let it dominate you.

I'll give you that beautiful scripture, and we close. Jesus said when He went to the cross,

“Now is the judgment of this world.”

And now, at the cross, through what Jesus did, is the prince of this world, Satan, cast out. All right. He's cast out. There's a vacuum. Who's going to fill it? The next scripture is,

“I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.”

Make it your supreme aim always to uplift and glorify Jesus.