It Is Not Good That Man Should Be Alone! Series

IT IS NOT GOOD FOR MAN TO BE ALONE (Part 3 of THE FRIENDSHIP FACTOR)

Dan Harman www.CityMinistries.org.uk

See ’The Friendship Factor - Part 1) for media suggestions (relevant songs, film clips)

Re-cap of Part 1 & 2: David & Hushai, Ruth & Naomi

Intro:

How many of you want to want to have people in your life that you can open up to and just be yourself without fear of rejection? Someone who LOVES you, ACCEPTS you and makes you feel like you BELONG? How many of you enjoy being around someone who you can TRUST and share your struggles & victories with?

How many of you learn how you can be an even better friend to those around you? How many of you want to make a IMPACT for Christ in the lives of those around you? How many of you would like to know how to prevent valuable relationships from ending? How many would like to GROW even more in your faith?

This morning’s sermon about FRIENDSHIP helps to engage all of these NEEDS & DESIRES. We’re going to be looking at ‘WHAT FRIENDSHIP IS, the BENEFITS of Friendship & How friendship can change your life, the churches life & those people who are in YOUR world! & How we can prevent relationships from failing.

PERSONAL TESTIMONY – There’s been many times in life that I’ve felt like giving up, that I’ve felt like jacking it all in & moving away for an easy life in Hawaii. There’s been many times I’ve felt like life was too much to bare & I couldn’t take much more. There’s been many times I’ve felt like a failure, left questioning my calling & purpose in life – but I’ve held in their, kept on keeping on WHY???…one of the BIGGEST reasons is because of the FRIENDSHIP, COMPANIONSHIP & support that my FRIENDS have given me! Somehow when you have friends around you, even in the deepest depths of despair and discouragement, it gives you a BOOST to make it through! I’m so grateful that God has blessed me with so many friends.

Q.) How many of you can relate to that? When you’ve felt really down, your friends provided you with the ENCOURAGEMENT you needed to carry on?

Without a doubt: 2 is better than 1! Because when one falls, the other is there to lift him up. I firmly believe that one of the vehicles that God uses to take care of us is FRIENDSHIP.

"We can get mighty rich, but if we haven’t any friends, we will find we are poorer than anybody." Will Rogers

Because friends accept us for whom we are, we gain the confidence to dream great dreams—and to make them real. Friends liven up our days with their twisted HUMOUR, and their HONEST answers. We can even TRUST them with our most embarrassing secrets! What a relief it is for us to REVEAL our true selves to someone!

HEALTHY BENEFITS

It’s no wonder, then, that MEDICAL RESEARCH have found that those who have friends tend to be HAPPIER, HEALTHIER, and LIVE LONGER than those who do not.

Solid scientific evidence indicates that friendship can extend life. People with plentiful social support have stronger immune systems and are less likely to suffer from depression, anxiety and other types of mental illness. Having friends helps lower a persons stress levels.

In a Yale University study of 194 heart attack patients, those who reported emotional support were three times more likely to be alive six months after their attack than subjects who had no support.

Friendship is a POWERFUL thing that has numerous PHYSICAL and SPIRITUAL benefits.

“True friendship is like sound health; the value of it is seldom known until it be lost.” Charles Caleb Colton (19thc minister, writer)

DEFINITIONS

Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary says that a friend is “one attached to another by affection or esteem”. I’m sure you’ll agree with that definition, but there is so much more to add to it if you want to find friends that you can have a long lasting, mutually beneficial, relationship with.

Friends come and friends go, but a true friend sticks by you like family.

Prov 18v24 (MSG) FAITHFULNESS & COMMITMENT

"Everyone hears what you say.

Friends listen to what you say.

Best friends listen to what you

don’t say."

“Many people will walk in and out of your life; but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart."

A Friend should be Radical;

They should love you when you’re unlovable,

Hug you when you’re unhuggable,

And bear you when you’re unbearable.

A Friend should be Fanatical;

They should cheer when the whole world boos,

Dance when you get good news,

And cry when you cry too.

But most of all, a Friend should be Mathematical,