Sunday Morning September 13, 2009
Bel Aire Baptist Church
Series: Pot Holes [#11]
A BUMP IN THE ROAD OR A BLESSING?
1 Samuel 19:1-20:42
Introduction:
The older I get, the more that I realize what an impact our friends have on our lives. Our friends can either be a bump in the road to us or a blessing to us. While we should be friendly to all people, we should be careful in whom we are friends with. I have often told people that one of the ways the Lord help get me out of drugs and alcohol was He moved me to Canyon, TX. I got a brand new start. Nobody knew that I was addicted to drugs and alcohol at my new college in Canyon. Nobody knew that I had given up all my friends in Albuquerque because I realized that they weren’t really my friends except at the party. I literally changed my qualifications to be a person whom I would “hang out” with.
The Bible defines for us 2 categories of friendship: Friendship with God and friendship with the world.
Friendship with God:
John 15:9-17 (NIV)
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit--fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. This is my command: Love each other.”
Friendship with the world:
James 4:1-4 (NIV)
“What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.”
Are you a friend of Satan’s or God’s? You can’t be a friend of both. I believe that friendship with God is the key to the fulfilling of the purpose God has in store for you. The key difference in being friends with God and with the world are found in love; and we show our love to God by being obedient to Him and loving others.
So what godly characteristics should we be looking for in people whom we would consider to be close friends- People whom we share a lot of our time and fellowship with? Please notice that every one of these characteristics is found in God’s actions towards us.
1 Samuel 19:1-5
A godly friend…
1. Gives refuge.
When a friend is in a dangerous situation, we must warn them. Jonathan didn’t just warn David, he also gave him a place to hide. We ought to be a refuge for those whom are in danger.
God is our refuge and our strength. When you need a place to hide, go to God. When you need a place of rest, go to God. When you need a place of protection, go to God. He is our refuge.
A godly friend…
2. Intercedes.
Jonathan interceded for David. He went to his father on David’s behalf. We are to intercede for our friends. Instead of going along with the crowd we should defend them. Instead of talking to others about them, we should intercede in prayer to God for them. Instead of allowing them to handle it on their own, we should realize that God uses us to help them; and we need to help.
Jesus Christ intercedes for us. We can go to an Almighty, Perfect, Righteous, and Just God only because of the blood of Jesus. Without the blood of Jesus, we can never go before God the Father; but through the blood, we can go to God the Father any time we want to with confidence and boldness.
A godly friend…
3. Will risk their life for you.
Chapter 20 begins by telling us that David had fled because Saul was still trying to kill him. David and Jonathan met together and made a covenant that Jonathan would not allow David to be put in a compromising situation with his father again.
1 Samuel 20:24-34
Jonathan almost lost his life simply because he did the right thing. Are you willing to stand up for one another, even if it cost you everything?
Jesus wasn’t just willing to give His life for us, He did it. As the passage we read earlier said, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”
As always, the opposite of these godly truths represent the evilness of the world. Scripture is clear that Satan is the father of this world and that he wants to destroy anything of God- Which includes us.
A worldly friend…
1. Will set you up.
Saul could care less about all of the victories David had won for him and his country. We can see through the rest of this book that Saul is always trying to ambush David and kill him. Saul was always scheming and using people to catch David in a bad situation.
Satan will use whoever, however he can in order to destroy you. If he can’t hurt you through your kids, then he will try with your boss. If he can’t hurt you through your boss, he will try through your church family. He is just waiting around to find the best time and opportunity to attack.
A worldly friend…
2. Is selfish.
Saul wanted David dead so bad that he was angry at his children, he tried to kill Jonathan, he did kill some of the priest, and he was always conniving simply because he was all about himself. Saul had always been about his comfort, his kingdom, “his this and his that”, etc…
All sin is selfish. If you want to get real simple about it- It is our selfishness that put Jesus on the cross.
A worldly friend…
3. Will destroy you.
They will allow you to be drawn into those very places and things that will destroy you and they don’t really care. Misery loves company.
Why does Satan want to destroy us so badly? It’s because of the fact that Jesus died on a cross and arose from the grave on the 3rd day to redeem mankind- Not angels. Satan’s rebellion against God was no worse than our rebellion against God; yet through the blood of Jesus we can be redeemed and given eternal life. Satan wants us to be as miserable as he is. The only way that Satan can really hurt God, is through leading people to Hell with him. Every person that is saved through the power of Jesus Christ is a huge victory over Satan. Why do you think that the angels in Heaven are throwing such a party when someone gets saved? Victory!
Conclusion:
We need to understand this morning that we must befriend the lost by living like Jesus, talking like Jesus, and lifting up Jesus before them at all times; but whom we fellowship with is a different story.
There are people here today that need godly friends- Is it you? There are people here today that are friends of this world: They don’t know Jesus as Savior and Friend- Is it you? There are people today that need a new start- Is it you? Choose today: Friend of the world or Friend of God?
