The Importance of Choosing Your Closest Friends Wisely

In this evening's lesson, Reagan challenges the audience to identify their four closest friends and consider the influence these individuals have on their lives. He explores the dynamics of friendships using examples from weddings, personal anecdotes, and biblical teachings, including the friendships of Jesus and Job. Reagan emphasizes the importance of choosing friends who are true and faithful through adversity, bold and undeterred in seeking your good, and full of faith. He supports his message with biblical references from 2 Corinthians, Mark 2, and Proverbs. Reagan underscores the significance of godly friendships in one's faith journey and encourages the audience to be that kind of friend while also seeking out friends who uplift and bring them closer to Jesus.

00:00 Introduction: Reflecting on Friendships
01:41 Jesus and His Closest Friends
02:52 Qualities of True Friends
03:42 A Personal Anecdote on Friendship
05:46 Biblical Teachings on Friendship
07:53 The Importance of Faithful Friends
25:03 The Power of Prayer in Friendship
35:20 Conclusion: Seeking Godly Friends

Transcript

To begin this evening, I want to do something that might be difficult for you to do. I want you to think for just a moment. And answer this question, who are your four closest friends? I want you to actually go through this exercise, see if you can come up with your four closest friends. You don't have to put 'em in order, one to four.

It's not gonna be written down. Nobody else is gonna see this and be offended that they don't make the list. But I want you to actually think through and say, who are my four closest friends? Lots of weddings going on right now. I'm doing lots of weddings right now, which is kind of fun getting to do that in some ways and, and maybe it's like, you know, bridesmaids and groomsmen.

You know, some people say, oh man, seven, I can only pick seven bridesmaids. That's really, really difficult. Others might say, you know, two, I have to come up with two guys to stand beside me while I'm getting married, but I want you to actually come up with that. Who are your four? Closest friends, and it can be family members on my list, it would certainly include some family members on my four closest friends.

What do those friends have in common? I wonder, I wonder if our four closest friends are people that we strive to emulate that, that we wanna be like. Our four closest friends are people who we've known a long time being with us through thick and thin. Maybe our four closest friends are people who are like us in many ways.

I wonder what the answer would've been for Jesus for his four closest friends. Have you ever thought about that? That Jesus had these kinds of relationships too, that Jesus had friendships and they had friendships with some that were closer than others. We think about his inner circle, Peter, James, and John, probably those three would've made the list, but who would've been number four would've been Andrew or Matthew, or his brother James.

Maybe Martha or one of the Mary's? For, for my money I would, if I were a betting man, I would say that it was Lazarus would've maybe his, his fourth closest to be on the list. Do you have your four? Can I hear your head rattle on that? Have you thought of your four closest friends? Who are they? What are they like?

Have they done things for you? Do you trust them? More importantly, maybe are they believers at the very least, are they fateful Christians? Even better? I want you to open up your Bible with me to Second Corinthians, chapter six, second Corinthians chapter six. And we're gonna begin reading in verse 14, but then look at some surrounding verses as we introduce our lesson this evening.

And, and the lesson tonight that I want us to think about for just a few minutes is three fundamental qualities of a friend, the kind of friends that we are seeking to have and the kind of friends that we are seeking to be. And I join with Owen and Travis, and welcoming all, especially those who are visiting with us.

I, I hope the things that we've done have been pleasing to God. But also helpful to you and helpful to all of us as we're striving to be more who he has called us to be. What would your four friends be willing to do for you? Would they be willing to stand beside you when no one else will? Here's a funny test, and I almost named the lesson this, I, I texted this to Owen when he said, what are you preaching on?

Tomorrow night? I almost named this lesson finding friends who would Vandalize for you, but I thought maybe that was leaving the wrong impression. And, and partly because of a passage that we're gonna look at here in just a moment, but also because of an experience that I had in college. I was a freshman in college and I was driving back to campus one evening and it was very, very dark.

I had my lights on as we're driving and as I'm driving I see a kid on a big wheel who's coming out into the road, and I swerve hard to the left. I hit the curb on the other side, go off onto the sidewalk and slam on my brakes. I'm like, oh, somebody's gotta warn this kid. And I look back and he's sitting in the exact same place where he was before and what that house, the people in that house had done to try and slow probably college kids like me down as they're driving through the neighborhood they had cut out.

And then very risk realistically, painted a child on a big wheel and put it right directly by the road. Well. You can imagine how well I reacted to that particular situation. And so the next night I'm driving with three of my friends. I'm driving down the same road, and in my headlights this, this SIL silhouette comes up and I slam on my brakes again.

And I look at 'em and I say, I'm getting that sign. And so I get out and I grab it. And what do they do? Reagan? No. Don't do, no. They all get out with me. We all grab it. We put it in the back of my little s 10 blazer, and we're driving back to campus and I do a rolling stop through a stop sign. Boop. I get lit up and here we are.

I had some blankets in the back. They put some blankets over the sign and the, the very nice policeman comes up and says, okay, you saw I saw you, that you just rolled through that sign. What do you got there in the back? And the guy behind me, my friend said we've got a, a sign. And he said, why don't you take those blankets off?

And we did. And we showed him. He said, where did that come from? And he very nicely didn't, you know, arrest us and haul us to jail. He made us go back and put the sign back where it belonged, and then he got on the bullhorn and said, okay, leave. And don't do that ever again. Maybe this is a good point in the lesson to get to.

Two Corinthians chapter six and discussing our friends and their influence on us. We normally talk about the dangers of improper friendship and, and the kind of peer pressure that others can put on us. One Corinthians 1533, do not be deceived. Evil company corrupts good habits, but we read two Corinthians six 14 through 18 and we are reminded, no, we're commanded.

Not to get too close with people of the world who will influence us in a negative way. Read with me beginning in verse 14. Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers for what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness and what communion has light with darkness. And what Accord has Christ with Belial and what part has a believer with an unbeliever?

And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? Now these are all rhetorical questions using a number of different Greek words, fellowship, communion, accord, part agreement. They're all talking about relationship. And, and certainly that would include friendship. For you, he says, are the temple of the living God.

There shouldn't be this kind of close and intimate relationship because you're the temple of the living God. As God has said, I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God and they shall be my people. Therefore, come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean and I will receive you.

I will be a father to you and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty. Now, we need to be aware of, of not just the commands of this particular passage, but but certainly a theme we see throughout the Bible that we are in the world, but not of the world, that we need to be also careful about whom we closely associate ourselves with.

And we need to, and to a certain degree, keep the world at arms length, that we need to be aware of the influence that others can have on us. And, and generally when we talk about friends, I think a lot of times that's where our focus is, that we talk about the kinds of friends that we shouldn't have. But what I wanna do instead is talk about the kind of friends that we should from a positive sense.

Maybe sometimes I've not talked about that enough in my preaching because you know, these verses that we know so well are bookended by Paul's plea for him, for them, the church and Corinth to accept his love and his friendship and his fellowship, despite the very difficult things that he's having to say to them in the previous letter and in this one about their behavior and who they needed to be in Jesus Christ.

Notice what he says. If you go back to chapter six, verses 11 through 13, Paul says to these same people that he says, be careful who you associate with. Oh Corinthians verse 11, we have spoken openly to you. Our heart is wide open. You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted by your own affections.

Now, in return for the same, I speak to you as children. You also be open. We love you and we want to have a relationship with you. Paul says, and and we want you to have that same relationship with us as well. And if we go down to chapter seven in verse two, we see the same concepts. Open your heart to us.

We have wronged. No one. We have corrupted, no one. We have cheated. No one. I do not say this to condemn for, I've said before that you are in our hearts to die together and to live together. Great. Is my boldness of speech toward you great. Is my boasting on your behalf? I am filled with comfort. I'm exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation.

Ultimately, he's gonna say, because it was for your benefit. I'm bold toward you. Paul says, and the implication is because of my relationship with you. And I boast on your behalf because of my relationship with you. The Bible emphasizes just as much, maybe in some ways more the importance of us having and picking the right friends from a positive standpoint.

And so I want us to think about that for just a moment. As much as we should not be unequally yoked to some. We should be equally yoked to others. Those four friends that that you're thinking about, are you yoked to them? Well, if they're your four closest friends you are, you have a relationship with them.

Are you equally yoked in such a way that you are beneficial to one another? What are the fundamental qualities that we should be looking for in a friend with those four friends? Would they carry you to Jesus if you needed healing? Would they vandalize a roof for you? If it was for your ultimate good, turn to Mark chapter two.

Now in your Bible, if you would mark chapter two, and that's where we're gonna spend the rest. Practically the rest of our time this evening. We'll, we'll turn to a couple of other passages, but I really want us to focus in on Mark chapter two verses one through 12. This account comes after Jesus has done much healing and much teaching.

And Luke chapter five the parallel account, Luke five 17 through 26. It's also found in Matthew nine, one through eight. But in Luke five, this, this account is placed right after Jesus heals the leper. And his fame for healing is spreading especially around the region of Galilee. In verse 15 of Luke five, it says, the report went out concerning him all the more and great multitudes came together to hear and to be healed by him of their infirmities.

So let's read what happens next within that context. Mark chapter two, beginning in verse one. And again, he, Jesus entered Capernaum after some days and it was heard that he was in the house. Immediately, many gathered together so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And he preached the word to them.

Then they came to him bringing a paralytic who was carried by four. And when they could not come near him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where he was literally that is, they unroofed the roof where he was. So when they had broken through. They let him down on the bed, which the paralytic was lying.

When Jesus saw their faith. Whose faith? Their faith. He said to the paralytic, son, your sins are forgiven. You. Some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, why does this man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone? Immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they responded thus within themselves, he said to them, why do you reason about these things in your heart?

Which is easier to say to the paralytic, your sins are forgiven you, or to say, arise, take up your bed and walk. This, you may know that the son of man has power on earth to forgive sins. He said to the paralytic, I say to you, arise, take up your bed and go to your house. Immediately he arose, took up the bed and went out in the presence of the mall.

So that all we're amazed and glorified God saying, we never saw anything like this. Now why is that account in our Bibles well? In, in the context of certainly all three of the gospels where it's found, Jesus is showcasing his power and he is proving by healing this man of his paralysis, he is proving that he has the power to forgive sins.

He asked the question, which is easier to say, well, from the perspective of which is actually making an impact, it's easier to say, your friends are forgiven, you. Because there's nothing tangible or physical, any evidence of that to say, yes, those sins are forgiven. It is harder to say, take up your bed and walk, because then they have to take up their bed and walk if you're actually gonna have that kind of power.

And so Jesus proves his power to forgive sins by healing this man of his paralysis. But here's my question. Certainly that's the primary reason why that's in our Bible. But couldn't have Matthew and Mark and Luke accomplished their purposes and the purposes of the Holy Spirit by simply saying, a paralytic was brought to Jesus and this is what's happened.

But instead, all three of those accounts go through all the rigamarole of what they had to do in order to bring this man to Jesus and place him before him. May I suggest that there is a secondary point to be found? Those points are found in regard to these men and what they were willing to do. We think about what they did.

This is a picture of what a ancient near Eastern roof would've looked like. You can see here's the roof line right here. And they would've used mud and plaster and different things and they would've rolled it. This is a, a kind of roller that they would've had not. Not a big roller like we would have on roads today, but it's the same concept, right?

They're packing it down and, and then what would often happen is grass and other things would grow on top of that. And as the seasons and years go by like we do sometimes, especially with flat roofs, this would be resurfaced and resurfaced and resurfaced. And so on the underside, it would look like this with the, the I think that's actually bamboo in that particular picture, but it's the same kind of concept, right?

We would have sticks running this way and beams running this way, and they would've had to have literally dug through. Ultimately gotten through on the other side, most, most ancient near Eastern houses would've had steps that went up to the roof on the outside of the building, and so they would've been able to go up there, dig through the roof, and then let this man down before Jesus.

Can you imagine what that would've been like on the inside? As the dirt and debris is coming down on top of you as Jesus is trying to teach on this occasion, and finally the sun bursts through and then you see this man being lowered down until he is right there in front of Jesus. May we all have at least four friends who love us enough to do something like that.

So what qualities do we find in these friends? Notice three things with me. The same. Three things. We should be looking for the same. Three things we should be looking to be Number one, we are looking for friends who are true and faithful through adversity. I wonder how many of this man's friends had left him in his paralysis, but not these four.

They were still his friends. I've always had a soft spot for job's, friends, the three friends who came to him and all of his adversity that he was going through. You say what you want for the Friends of job, they didn't desert him in his moment of need. They came and they sat with him in the dust and the ashes.

Yes. They made false accusations. Yes. They didn't give him the benefit of the doubt like they should. Yes. They didn't get it as he was explaining these things to them, but they were true friends. Job even complains at one point in his speeches about friends and family abandoning him, but not these three men, these three came and sat with him in silence for a week before they even said anything.

They waited for job to speak first. Are our closest true friends or are they fair weather friends? When things are going well, it's easy to have friends, but if things are going badly, well are our friends still to be found. That's the beautiful thing about relationships that we have in Jesus Christ, isn't it?

That we understand and expect for there to be adversity in life. We too are sinners and so we know that others sin. We are promised from from God that if we are faithful to Christ. Those who are faithful will face persecution. These kinds of adversities are gonna come into our life, and so we expect those things and we expect people to be beside us when those things happen because we share something in Jesus Christ.

Proverbs 17, in verse 17 says, A friend loves at all times and a brother born for adversity. A chapter later in chapter 18, in verse 24, there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. I don't have a brother in the flesh. I have a sister for whom I would do most anything and hopefully she would do most anything for me, but not a brother.

And yet I've realized of, as I've gone through my life, that I do have brothers what I imagine brotherhood to be like men who genuinely love me and I them. And that wouldn't change if I fell on hard times. I could rely on them. No matter what am I that kind of friend back to others? I pray that I am, and this is the kind of friend that we should be looking for.

Now, the difficulty in that sometimes is we don't find out they're this kind of friend until when, until adversity strikes. But in those moments of difficulty. In those moments of persecution, in those moments, perhaps where we've fallen into sin in those moments where we're facing adversity, that is when we find out who our true friends really are.

I want to be that kind of friend and I want to have those kinds of friends. We're looking for friends who are this, and the other two things that we're gonna say here in just a moment. We have eight seniors who are gonna be graduating. A lot of you grew up here and you grew up with built-in friendships, right?

That these are the people that I knew and I grew up with, and I know from church and all those sorts of things. But if you leave here and you go somewhere else, you're gonna have to start looking for friends. What kind of friends are you looking for? Well, I hope that you're looking for friends who are true and faithful through adversity, but also friends who are bold and undeterred in seeking your good, in seeking what is good for you.

Not merely what is good for themselves and how you might benefit them in some way. A crowd who won't let you through. That's what they faced. Did they say, oh, well, let's carry the guy back home, or were they undeterred? Ha, please, that's not gonna stop us. We'll go up to the roof and dig a hole through and lower you down if that's what we have to do, because we are gonna get you to Jesus.

Why? Because that was the hope that this man had in life, and his friends, his friends, wanted to see to it that, that hope would be fulfilled. Stephanie and I love traveling with Andy and Sheila. Because our personalities balance out in many ways, and I understand some of this boldness and undeterred, some of that is personality, right?

We we were driving not too long ago. Not, not this past trip. We were on another trip and we came to a road close to through traffic sign. I'm, I'm really telling on myself a lot tonight. I, I'll tell you the end of the story. I actually did turn around. I'm 90% sure. I didn't turn. No. Okay. I didn't turn around apparently.

So I found this sign road close to through traffic. But the thing is, there's a, there's a divider and then a road, and then you can see the other divider up there. And so I'm, I'm stopped and I'm looking and I'm looking and I kind of inch forward. And Stephanie and Andy both say, Reagan stopped. No. And Sheila says, nobody's coming.

Go ahead. Right. Well, it's good to have that kind of balance and personalities, but that's not really what we're talking about. Boldness like we're talking about, goes beyond the personality of the person. What about the boldness of those who see their friend in need, no matter their personality and their love for that person?

Compels them to be bold in doing what is for their good, to do whatever we can for our friend. There's a friend that I have in my life that. That, that there, I'll, I'll be honest, there are others who, who don't understand our friendship totally. Maybe some even who don't particularly want me to have this friend.

But one thing that I know about this friend is that they have been my biggest cheerleader to others. That this friend is seeking my good and whatever flaws they have and those flaws are there. This friend is always behind me wanting what is best for me. Never with, you know, unspoken jealousy or anything along those lines.

That kind of friend is something that should be valued, though they have other things that perhaps could be better. We need friends who will stand up for us, but we also need friends who will stand up to us, don't we, who are bold and doing what's best for us and hoping for the best in us. We need someone who is bold to shake us and say, Reagan, what are you doing?

You shouldn't be doing this. Or to stand up and say, that's not right. They're my friend, and they wouldn't do that. Do we have those people in our lives who are bold and undeterred and seeking our good? Well, surely the place to begin in looking for those kinds of friendships is with those who are constantly and consistently.

Not looking out only for their own interests, but also the interest of others as Paul commands the church in Philippi. We need people like what? Proverbs 27 and verse six says, fate for the wounds of a friend. Those who are willing to wound us if it is for our good. The other half of that proverb says, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

I don't need someone in my life who just tells me how great I am and, and never is willing to tell me the truth In life. We need bold and undeterred. Especially in what these friends in Mark chapter two did. We might express that in two ways, saying the same thing with, with different applications, bold and undeterred in seeking your good, especially in approaching Jesus.

I'm grateful to you, my, my friends and family here at Timberland Drive. I'm grateful because you are people of prayer that you approach Jesus on behalf of others. When Stephanie and I found out about Mallory Deon's diagnosis and the seriousness of that I told Stephanie, I said, we've gotta get Timberland praying for her because I knew if I shared that information with you, I knew what you would do.

You, you'll pray for her. You'll approach Jesus on her behalf. Really you're doing that? Not so much because you know her, but because you know me and I'm your friend and because she is my friend, well, you will approach Jesus on her behalf boldly and consistently. And I am so very grateful. I'm so very grateful to be part of a group who does that.

I have, I have confidence that my closest friends, when they say they're praying for me, they are. Even when they're not telling me they're praying for me, they are. Do you pray for your closest friends? I hope that you do, and I hope they're praying for you as well. In my time of need, I want people who are bold to come before the throne of God expecting answers.

And here's the reality, and I do not say this unloving, but I do wanna say it plainly, worldly friends. Cannot do that. They cannot come boldly to the throne of God because they don't have the right to come through the name of Jesus to his throne. And many of our worldly friends will not do that because they have no relationship with him.

We talk about unfortunate, effective, powerful prayer, and we talk about passages like James chapter five. If you wanna turn there for just a moment, James chapter five

in James chapter five. Notice there in verse 16. Just one phrase down in the verse, pray for one another that you may be healed. The effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. The example is given of Elijah, not because he was a prophet, but because he is a person with a nature like ours.

He prayed to God and God. Gave him what he asked for, and it's that example. That is to be the kind of example that we emulate with our prayer. That we are striving to be righteous, we're striving to be effective and fervent in the prayers that we offer. But notice here in verses 16 through 18, the prayer that James is talking about is not for himself.

It is not one offered for oneself. It is a prayer that is intended for others. Verse begins in verse 16, confess your trespasses to one another and pray for one another. It is a brother or sister praying for another brother or sister. And this is the kind of person that I want praying for me, the kind of friend that I need, and the kind of friend that I want that is bold and undeterred and seeking our good, especially in approaching Jesus.

And that's what these four men were willing to do for the paralytic. They were bold in getting this man to Jesus because he needed Jesus, and especially in bringing you to Jesus, if I might express that in just a little different way. Yes, approaching Jesus in prayer, but also this idea of bringing you to Jesus.

The reality is many of us were brought to Christ by a friend, maybe a family member, but certainly someone who loved us and valued our soul. Now here's the application for those of us sitting here this evening, most of which most of whom are already Christians. Are you this kind of friend to others?

Are you the kind of true friend that is bold and undeterred and seeking to bring your friends to Jesus? If they need to come to him? That's the kind of friend that we should be looking for, and that's the kind of friend that we should be. And then finally, we should be looking for friends who are full of faith.

Go back there to Mark chapter two. Just one more time if you would, mark chapter two. We emphasize this kind of as we were reading through, but I want you to notice there verses four and five,

he was carried by four and when they who. The four could not come near him because of the crowd. They who the four uncovered the roof where he was. So when they, who the four had broken through, they, the four let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying when Jesus saw their who the four. Jesus saw their faith.

He said to the paralytics, son, your sins are forgiven you. Now, I think certainly the paralytics faith would've been included in that, but it is clear that it is not just his faith that was under consideration by Jesus. It was the faith of these four. Maybe this is the most fundamental of the three qualities.

Jesus saw their faith in all three of the accounts. And this is the most important factor in someone for whom we wish to be friends. We've, we've discovered the most important thing that we have in common. I was sitting around a table this has been about a year ago, with some very diverse Christians, diverse in age, diverse in gender, diverse in personality, diverse in a lot of things.

And I prayed at request of one of these others. Something along the lines of, thank you for that most important bond in Jesus that makes our bond of friendship possible. And what I meant by that is we are such close friends because we are all Christians. But one of them said to me after I prayed, we wouldn't be friends, would we?

And all likelihood without Jesus. Because of how different we are, or at least how different we appear to be on the surface when it comes to superficial things. You look at this group and you say, we don't have anything in common, and we've discovered some cool things through the years that we mutually enjoy.

Primarily our love of reading, but our faith is what brought us together to begin with, and it is our faith that unites us. On the other hand, a lack of faith divides us and it should to a certain degree. If Jesus is really first in our lives, there will always be an inherent barrier in our relationship with someone who is not full of faith.

If we are full of faith, if we are striving to be who it is, God has called us to be, and I would remind all of us, not just our young people, all of us that. The kind of person you hang around is the kind of person you become, and that's true in a negative sense, and we've talked about that many, many times.

But it's also true in a positive sense. Proverbs 27 17, as iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friends. Do we desire friends who are better than us, who make us want to get better? Some people always wanna be the top dog in every relationship, to be the best, to be the boss, to be the smartest and prettiest person in the room.

And the problem comes in when that leads us to only wanna be around people whom we perceive to be not as good as us, who make us feel better about ourselves by comparison, instead of challenging us to be better and to do better. Now you know how much I love to win, so this may come as a shock to you.

Huh. But all things being equal, whatever game it is, you know, the person that I love to play with the most, the person who's just a little bit better than me because they encourage me to be better, they challenge me to be my best, or at the very least, to be better than I already am and I play better, whatever it is if I'm called to be better in that way.

Now, that's with trivial things, but isn't that true of all areas of life? I want to hear preaching that is better than mine. That's why we brought Preston on. That's why Harold's still here, right? I wanna read books written by and listen to the ideas of people who are smarter than me. I wanna be around Christians who are more faithful and more zealous than I am who are full of faith in a way that right now I can only aspire to be, but I desire to be.

And I can see that it's possible because of who they are and what they're doing. If that's true of our friends, may I take just a moment and say, how much more so should it be true of our spouses young people? Are you seeking out and desiring a spouse who is full of faith? Amos chapter three and verse three, ask the question, can two walk together unless they are agreed?

And what is more important to agree on than Jesus Christ and him crucified? The word of God and its authority in our lives and what it is God calls us to be. We need friends who ask for much from us, and they came these four to give this man healing. And he leaves, yes, with healing, but also with forgiveness.

Sometimes we settle maybe in our relationships. We need friends who don't settle for us, especially spiritually. We need friends who are full of faith and they desire nothing less from us than for us to be full of faith. Also. Now come back to your list, your very four closest friends, do they check these three boxes?

Let me say, what should go without saying, we need friends like this. Here's the great news. The Lord does not limit us to four. Sometimes it's nine bridesmaids, sometimes it's one, but the Lord limits us in no such way. I want you to turn to one last passage and the lesson will be yours, Ecclesiastes chapter four.

In talking about friends, it's difficult not to at least reference this passage, but I, I love the imagery that is used here in Ecclesiastes chapter four, beginning in verse nine.

Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their labor. There's a greater return on what we do when there's two of us for if they fall, one will lift up his companion, but woe to him who is alone when he falls. There's the opportunity for a quicker recovery when we have those beside us.

Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one be warm alone? Sometimes it's a matter of survival, both physical and spiritual, to have someone there be besides you. And it's not just these two. Verse 12, though one may be overpowered by another two can withstand him and a threefold cord.

Is not quickly broken. Now, maybe you look at all of this, talk about friendship and you say, eh, I don't know. You know, I'm kind of an introvert. I'm a loner. I'm self-reliant. Well, that works for a while, but the day will come when you fall into the ditch, maybe literally, but certainly metaphorically, who will be there to help you up.

Jesus is there, and certainly that's true. But isn't it interesting that Jesus set up the church, our brothers and sisters in Christ, our friends, so that we could help one another? And it is not good that a Christian should be alone. We have to have helpers who are suitable and compatible to us, not just in a marriage relationship.

In this relationship that we have in Jesus Christ, are you yoked to friends who are pulling you to Jesus and would carry you if they had to, who have these three qualities? If not, and we have two things we need to do, be a friend that carries them to Jesus, but maybe we need to seek more Godly friends because it will be hard to reach the goal without them.

And if the answer to this question, do you have friends? Like this is yes, emphatically yes, then thank God for that. But may I suggest one other thing to do? Thank them for that, for their influence that they have used in in your life for good. A friend. Well, that's a euphemistic word sometimes. Jesus used that word in kind of a sarcastic way a number of times in the Gospels.

Friend, you're not being very friendly. I'm calling you friend because that's what I wish you were, but you're not. But if you're here this evening and you're not yet a Christian, you're probably already a friend to one or many of us who are gathered here this evening. I think I speak on behalf of all of us when I say we wish so desperately that you were not just a friend, but that we could call you brother or sister too, because that's a friendship that lasts for eternity.

And if we can help you to come to Christ and to know him even tonight. Won't you come where together we stand and while we sing.