Familiarity?: With God, with Man, with the Adversary; All Will Surprise You. God Does More When We Are Flexible

By Pauline Adongo

Familiarity is a commonplace in the church today, this book is very helpful in understanding how detrimental it can be to spiritual growth, individually, and even corporately. I am blessed beyond words by every chapter and content of this book. It is a must read for any Christian worker or leader who really value growth, continuity, and relevance in the kingdom of God.

Pastor Denis Odhiambo Okang, MA, LPCC

Senior Pastor, LifeSpring International Church, Pennsylvania

Familiarity is a distraction that robes us from experiencing the fullness in God and in life. When we become familiar with the things and the ways of God, we miss out on the more He would want to do in, with and for us. The main objectives for this book are to help you identify the subtle distraction of familiarity that can hinder your spiritual and natural growth; and to help you attain fullness and maximization of your potential in God and in life. Flexibility, humility, adaptability and obedience are key ingredients for spiritual and personal development. God does more when we are flexible.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Apr 21, 2017
• ISBN: 9781512783377

Pauline Adongo

Pauline Adongo is a missionary and itinerant minister whose passion is to equip and prepare the body of Christ for His return. Her mandate is to ignite nations, harvest souls, and disciple believers globally; through preaching the gospel, billions will receive salvation, deliverance, healing, and restoration. Pauline’s goal is to see each believer mature and come to enjoy their fullness in Christ Jesus. She travels locally and internationally to accomplish the mission God has assigned her. Pauline has authored other books that can be purchased from her website; www.paulineadongo.com. She is the founder and president of The Ministry of Jesus Christ International Inc. Harvest- Equip-Disciple and Ignite Nations! Follow Pauline on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.

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Copyright © 2017 Pauline Adongo.

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This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB), Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

WestBow Press

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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ISBN: 978-1-5127-8336-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-8337-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017905819

WestBow Press rev. date: 04/21/2017

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SECTION I

Causes of Familiarity

CHAPTER 1

Introduction

CHAPTER 2

The Unteachable Spirit

CHAPTER 3

Assumptious Stereotypical Attitudes

CHAPTER 4

Past Experiences

CHAPTER 5

Repeat Success And Self-Reliance

CHAPTER 6

Contending For Equal Gifting Without Paying The Price

CHAPTER 7

The Cost of Familiarity

SECTION II

Combating Familiarity

CHAPTER 8

Do Your Homework—Spy

CHAPTER 9

Discern The Advice You Receive

CHAPTER 10

Watch Your Company

CHAPTER 11

Inquire of The Lord

CHAPTER 12

God Will Provide The Winning Strategy

CHAPTER 13

Rest In The Lord—Let God Have His Way

CHAPTER 14

God Does More When We Are Flexible

CHAPTER 15

The Power of Thanksgiving And Praise For Breakthrough

SECTION III

Conclusion

CHAPTER 16

Familiarity With God, With Man, With Your Adversary—All Will Surprise You

CHAPTER 17

Reflection

I am dedicating this book to my brothers Joseph Oriko and Eliud Omollo.

Individually, you have both inspired me. I love you dearly, Polly.

Also, dedicating this book to a special long-term friend; Philip Anyango.

Thanks for nourishing authentic friendship of over 20 years.

ENDORSEMENT

"Familiarity" is a commonplace in the church today. Your book is very helpful in understanding how detrimental it can be to spiritual growth, individually, and even corporately. I am blessed beyond words by every chapter and content of this book. It is a must read for any Christian worker or leader who really value growth, continuity, and relevance in the kingdom of God.

I particularly appreciate how you challenge a deep consider our hearts and motives to recognize the pride and self-righteousness there. Using personal stories and enlightening examples from the Bible, you demonstrate how familiarity breeds pride; which interferes with a close relationship with God and reveals how to overcome pride and become more like Jesus. The book is insightful, educative and very informative about familiarity.

Again thanks,

Denis Odhiambo Okang, MA, LPCC

Senior Pastor, LifeSpring International Church, Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania

SECTION I

CAUSES OF FAMILIARITY

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CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

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While reflecting on my personal life one winter evening, I received a revelation about the topic of this book. Familiarity is a great hindrance to life! Familiarity stunts our spiritual and natural growth.

Habitually, I listen to the Bible app, Christian teachings, or music while working out in the gym. On this evening, the Scripture I was reflecting on was Deuteronomy 1: 34-46, which says:

And the Lord heard the sound of your words, and was angry, and took an oath, saying, ‘Surely not one of these men of this evil generation shall see that good land of which I swore to give to your fathers, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him and his children I am giving the land on which he walked, because he wholly followed the Lord.’ The Lord was also angry with me for your sakes, saying, ‘Even you shall not go in there. Joshua the son of Nun, who stands before you, he shall go in there. Encourage him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it.

Moreover, your little ones and your children, who you say will be victims, who today have no knowledge of good and evil, they shall go in there; to them I will give it, and they shall possess it. But as for you, turn and take your journey into the wilderness by the Way of the Red Sea.’

Then you answered and said to me, ‘We have sinned against the Lord; we will go up and fight, just as the Lord our God commanded us.’ And when every one of you had girded on his weapons of war, you were ready to go up into the mountain.

And the Lord said to me, ‘Tell them, Do not go up nor fight, for I am not among you; lest you be defeated before your enemies. So, I spoke to you; yet you would not listen, but rebelled against the command of the Lord, and presumptuously went up into the mountain. And the Amorites who dwelt in that mountain came out against you and chased you as bees do, and drove you back from Seir to Hormah. Then you returned and wept before the Lord, but the Lord would not listen to your voice nor give ear to you.

So, you remained in Kadesh many days, according to the days that you spent there (NJKV).

Initially, I was