"“Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”” - Matthew 18:19-20 (NKJV) "Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?" - Amos 3:3 (NKJV)
Agreement has the power to transform your realm of influence. My life has been shaped by the people I have surrounded myself with. As Paul quotes the Greek poet Menander in I Corinthians 15:33:
Do not be mislead: "Bad company corrupts good character." (NIV)
How do we avoid bad company and walk in agreement with others? It begins with an understanding of who we are in Christ. As we deepen our intimacy with God, He speaks and, as we purpose ourselves to become aware of His presence, we hear His voice. In those moments, we discover who we are as He confirms what His written Word already says. The more we believe, the less chance there will be of compromising what He has called us to. We avoid bad company, but not by fleeing from opportunities to reveal God's love to them (though others often lean to the other extreme, justifying worldly lifestyles as a routine of evangelism by means of "relating"). The term "guilty by association" comes to mind.
Just because we are seeking those we can agree with, it doesn't mean we purpose to discredit, embarrass or backbite against those we don't. All things must be walked out in God's love.
When Keeli and I first met, a friendship immediately sparked from the love we had for believers receiving the fullness of God's promises. We began to meet weekly on campus to plan a conference that would share what I didn't know about until my junior year in high school: the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Our agreement grew, we met more frequently, and the following March, we hosted Presence: Out of Apathy...Into Power - a conference ministering to 200 students about the baptism of the Holy Spirit. That night, eight people received. After that night, hundreds. It became easy. It happened outside of the four walls of a church building. At lunch, on road trips, on hikes. An outpouring of the Holy Spirit had begun in North Carolina.
Since, our agreement has taken us to places we only dreamed. As Keeli once said concerning our relationship, "We can dream together." And in doing so, we put action behind the vision to see God's kingdom advance. Together.
Jonathan Fawcett