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FRIENDS MATTER

Friends matter. My guess is that we all believe that statement. Friends matter.

The way that we use technology shows that friendship matters to us. Many of the websites that we use are all about social networking. What’s social networking? It’s about keeping in touch with friends. It’s about making new friends.

MySpace, Facebook, MSN Instant Messenger, SMS… all of these are about friendship, sometimes the friendship is superficial, but in the very least our use of these technologies shows that connecting with others and friendship matters.

Families were once the bed rock of our society. Our families would always be there. But for many people there is greater stability in our friendship group than there is in our family. Some studies have shown that teenagers today will prioritise their friends over their boyfriend or girlfriend. Boyfriend/girlfriend relationships bust up. But out friends are constant.

So for some people – without their friends – they have nothing… they have no-one.

Friends matter.

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE TEACH US ABOUT FRIENDS AND FRIENDSHIP?

1) The Bible gives examples of good friendships

The Bible has some examples of great friendships that we can learn from.

David and Jonathan – 1 After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. 2 From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return to his father’s house. 3 And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. 4 Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt. 1 Samuel 18:1-4

Dave and Jono had a great friendship – Jono was a very good friend to have! If you want to read a bit more about their friendship have a look at 1 Samuel 20.

Paul and Timothy – 19I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered when I receive news about you. 20I have no one else like him, who takes a genuine interest in your welfare. 21For everyone looks out for his own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22But you know that Timothy has proved himself, because as a son with his father he has served with me in the work of the gospel. Philippians 2:19-22

There is a lot that we can learn from the gospel centred friendship of Paul and Timothy.

If friendship matters to you, it would do you well to learn from the example of some good friendships in the Bible.

2) The Bible gives great wisdom on how to be a friend

The Bible is full of good wisdom. Where do we turn for the book jam-packed with wisdom? Proverbs.

There are stacks of verses in Proverbs that give great ideas on how to be a friend and even what type of friends you should have.

Prov 11:13 - 13 A gossip betrays a confidence,
but a trustworthy man keeps a secret.

Good friends keep secrets.

Prov 17:9 - 9 He who covers over an offense promotes love,
but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.

We are to love one another – forgive each other – not go behind our friends backs and bitch about them

Prov 17:17a - 17 A friend loves at all times,

Not much needs to be said about that one!

Prov 22:24-25 –

24 Do not make friends with a hot-tempered man,
do not associate with one easily angered,

25 or you may learn his ways and get yourself ensnared.

Be careful who you’re friends with and how they influence you. Peer pressure is big, if you’ve got friends who keep doing stupid things, be careful that you don’t join them in doing stupid things.

Prov 25:17 - 17 Seldom set foot in your neighbour’s house—
too much of you, and he will hate you.

Some times we can overstay our welcome at a friend’s house.

Prov 25:19 - 19 Like a bad tooth or a lame foot
is reliance on the unfaithful in times of trouble.

In times of trouble, when we trust in friends who are hopeless friends, it’s like trying to walk on a broken foot… painful!

Prov 27:9 - 9 Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart,
and the pleasantness of one’s friend springs from his earnest counsel.

There is great joy in friendship

The Bible has some great tips on how to be a friend and how to look for a friend.

Friendship is to be characterised by: love; sharing; concern; not gossiping; being reliable; being trustworthy.

What type of friend are you? If you weren’t you – would you be willing to be friends with you? Does that make sense?

Take encouragement from the Bible to both be a good friend and not be influenced by bad friends.

3) The Bible shows us what a friend we have in Jesus

From the third chapter of the Bible – we see that people are in a bad way.

In Genesis 3, we see people sin against God. This meant that they couldn’t be friends with God.

Romans 3:23 says that we have all sinned. We’ve all lived life ignoring God. Therefore, the Bible says that because of our sin, we can’t be in friendship with God.

The good news? Jesus. Look at what type of friend he is:

John 15:13 - 13Greater love has no one than this, that he [Jesus] lay down his life for his friends.

Do your friends suck? Jesus doesn’t.

Do your friends let you down? Jesus won’t.

Are you a bad friend? Jesus isn’t.

You will not find a better friend than the one we have in Jesus.

When the Lord Jesus willing lay down his life – he did it to bring us back into friendship with himself.

The cross of Jesus is God’s way of saying: LET’S BE FRIENDS.

When we look at the cross we see God reaching down his hand of friendship.

As the nails were pierced into Jesus’ hands, he did it that we could be brought back into friendship with him.

The context of John 15 is where Jesus is talking about him being the Vine and His People are the Branches. His point ultimately is to STAY CONNECTED TO JESUS.

You don’t just put your trust in Jesus once, you keep connected to him, you keep trusting in him, you keep speaking to him, you keep being friends with him.

FRIENDS MATTER FOR ETERNITY

Are you friends with Jesus?

The friendship that matters most, the friendship that will never be ruined, is a friendship with the creator of the universe. It’s a friendship that’s been made available through the cross of Jesus.

Jesus loves you so much that he lay down his life that you would trust him and be his friend.

Friends matter. Not just here and now, but for eternity. Keep trusting Jesus and you will be friends with him forever. Keep clinging to him, he won’t let you down.

BE A GOOD FRIEND

During the school holidays we spend lots of time with our friends. Here are two things you can do these holidays to be a good friend:

i) Remind each other of what a friend we have in Jesus

a Hang out with Christians.

b Remind each other of Jesus’ death and resurrection

c Encourage one another to keep trusting in Jesus

ii) Tell your friends who don’t know Jesus of the type of friend that he is

a Keep hanging out with your friends who don’t know Jesus

b Be careful you don’t do stupid things with them

c Point them to the cross

d Point them to the friend they can have in Jesus.

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*This article adapted from end of year FLUORO PARTY talk. Check the photos online.