Pastor Wayne Cordeiro
June 9, 2013 - W1323

In 1 Chronicles 27, King David has assigned people to different offices.  Different positions were one of a scribe, counselor, commander of the army and so on.  But surprisingly there was an office of a friend.  King David appointed Hushai as a friend.  The office of a friend was just as important as any other office.  Everyone needs a friend.  Friends are a matter of the heart.

    In the New Testament, in John 5, there was an invalid who lay by the pool of Bethesda for 38 year.  When Jesus approached him, the invalid said that it has been 38 years and he has no friends to help him into the water.  Are you cultivating and building friends?  The time to build friends is before a crisis.  You need friends to push you in difficult direction that you need to go, even if you don’t want to go.

    Another story in the New Testament in Mark 2 recounts of 4 friends helping out their paralytic friend.  They brought him to Jesus, but they could not bring him close because the place was crowded.  They then made an opening on the roof and let down their friend.  Jesus saw their faith and healed their friend. They four friends helped their paralytic friend with a full heart.  In your own life you will need friends that will stick to you like a brother.  This type of friend will be there for you in difficult situations and call you out when you are not moving in the right direction. The reason why friends are needed is because every single one of us is a step away from making a poor decision.   That one step can lead to disaster, like a loss of a job or marriage. 

People have mostly acquaintances, where they know people from work, church, or other places.  The problem is that people lack committed friendships where when times get rough, they lack a friend to bring them to Jesus.  In church we have groups like home groups, sports groups, and life groups; where one of the purposes is to develop friendships.  In life people lack making deep friendships. You need friends that care about you and your future.  The people that are in your inner circle should be the ones that deeply care about you.  They should be made up companions that will help you get to Christ.

Please choose friends wisely.   “He who walks with wise me will be wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm (Proverbs 13:20).” Make friends that care about you and your family.  Not the type of friends that encourage you to do wrong things or put your family second.   If you are young, make your decisions wisely.  You don’t have enough experiences to make wise choices.  Depend on the advice of experience people to help navigate your decisions.  There may be some that value individualism, but to be honest even those that hold individualism as a virtue has copied someone else.  Let the people that influence you be the right people that listen to God.  Assess your friendships and make sure you chose friends that the listen to God. It will save you from pain and suffering.

Deep friendships are hard to find.  Friends can betray us.

David said in Psalm 55, “ For it is not an enemy who reproaches me.  For then I would bear it, but it is you  a man, my equal, my companion, and my familiar friend, we who had sweet friendship together, we walked in the house of God together.”

The truth is that an enemy won’t betray us, but a friend will.  An enemy will be upfront about their dislike for you, but a friend can betray you.  Betrayal only comes from a friend.   Betrayal could be part of God’s design.  Jesus was betrayed by Judas; his own friend.  Betrayal is a horrible, but God will use it for his purpose.  God will use it to draw you closer, to trust in him ultimately, instead of trusting on man. 

The example that Jesus left for us to follow:

“For you have been called for this very purpose, since Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example to follow in his steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in his mouth; and while being reviled, he did not revile in return; while suffering, he uttered no threats, but kept on trusting himself to him who judges righteously; and he himself bore our sins to the cross that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by his wounds we were healed.  For we were constantly straying like sheep, but now we have returned to the shepherd and guardian of our souls (1 Peter 21-25).”

Finding friends is good for our soul.  It is important to have friends that will care deeply for you and do whatever thy need to get you to Jesus.  In this season please fill your office of a friend.  Ask God to help you find friends.   Find a group where you can develop friendships where the center is God.

Discussion Suggestions:

1.   Why are friends important?

2.   What is difference between a friend and an acquaintance?

3.   What are the qualities of a deep friendship?

4.   Does your inner circle of friends listen to God?

5.   What is the God’s purpose if you are betrayed?