Everyone needs friends.
What is a friend? Friends are people with whom you dare to be yourself. Your soul can be naked with them. They ask you to put on nothing, only to be what you are. They do not want you to be better or worse.
When you are with them, you feel as a prisoner feels who has been declared innocent. You do not have to be on your guard. You can say what you think, as long as it is genuinely you. Friends understand those contradictions in your nature that lead others to misjudge you. With them you breathe freely.
You don’t need to worry about your flaws and opening them up to friends, they are lost, dissolved. They understand.
You do not have to be careful. You can abuse them, neglect them, tolerate them. Best of all, you can keep still with them. It makes no matter. They like you. They are like fire that purges to the bone. They understand. You can weep with them, sing with them, laugh with them, pray with them. Through it all--and underneath--they see, know, and love you.
Everyone needs friends. Even a variety of friends.
Illustration: Show a variety of shoes. Each shoe is for a different occasion, etc. (running or tennis shoes, casual, dress shoes, fishing shoes, etc.)
Likewise, in some ways, we have friends for different areas of our lives. We have casual friends, close friends, work friends, social friends, etc.
Illustration: Jessica, 31, of Dix Hills, New York, said, "When I feel low, I always think, ’Well, I have a friend who is this and a friend who is that -- the super-successful impressive friend, the crazy creative friend, the beyond-loyal friend, the since-seventh-grade friend’ -- and it makes me feel better to be able to say, ’I am so good at having friends that I’ve got them in all different shapes and sizes!’"
All of us do have friends in different shapes and sizes. It’s possible that we just never thought about it in this way. I believe that we all need three types of friends.
I. The Feel-Good Friend.
A.We all need a cheerleader who believes in us. Such a friend rejoices with you when you rejoice and weeps with you when you weep. WHAT A GREAT FRIEND TO HAVE!
(Ecclesiastes 4:10) If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!
1.Let’s face it, life is full of despair and moments that seem to tear us apart. Each of us needs someone in our lives that can help us along the way.
2.Most of us have some casual acquaintances that pass in and out of our lives and though our lives are impacted by all of our relationships, the greatest influence comes from those we call close friends.
3.Little teams of people, who help us try again when we fail, encourage us when we’re discouraged, lighten our load when it gets too heavy, and give us strength against the evil forces we all face.
Illustration: I remember my wrestling coach in the Army. He would always ask us if we were “Getty up Wrestlers”. He would tell us that when it seems tough and we feel like we can’t move another inch, all of our energy is zapped from our body and we are down, that we needed to dig deep within ourselves and Get Up!
- He was a great encourager and a fantastic coach that brought the best out of each of us.
4.Our friends either help us become and stay sharp or they facilitate our becoming and remaining dull. It’s like there is an invisible membrane between friends, and what passes between close friends are values, convictions, morals, habits, and goals.
(Proverbs 27: 17) As Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.
5.I’ve seen too many people try to go it alone. You get dull real quick. Who are you spending time with? (pause) "Who’s keeping you sharp?"
6.I believe the golden rule really applies within friendships. They work both ways don’t they? In order to have a successful friendship each person needs to care for the other.
-Friendships are not one sided.
Matthew 7:12 12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you,…
II. The Straight-Talking Friend.
A.We all probably need someone who’s honest, who gets to the heart of the problem, and doesn’t sugarcoat things. However, such a friend must be or should be someone who speaks the truth in love. Otherwise, their frankness can be brutal.
1.For the Christian, our motivation in life should always be love: love for the Lord
and love for others.
Proverbs 17:17 A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.
-A friend will show his or her true colors in times of adversity.
2. Whatever happened to being there for someone through thick and thin? Whatever happened to being there for your friend when they are going through a horrible situation?
Illustration: The movie, “The Way Home” is about a little boy that has gone missing. Distraught over her son’s disappearance, Lori’s friend arrives to give her the comfort and support that she needs.
VIDEO: “He is Here”
3.Whatever happened with friends praying for another? Whatever happened to those straight talking friends that talk truth to you, that talks about God’s Love and presence in our lives?
4.I believe we all need friends that will share God’s love with us and pray with us during those difficult times.
5.When you have a friend that prays for and with you, you better believe you have got an awesome friend that cares for you!
Illustration: I have a Christian friend I can ALWAYS count on, through thick and thin, good and bad to not only share God’s truth with me but pray with me as well.
6.Those of you that are here because a friend invited you is an awesome thing. Please know that you have a friend that cares so much for you that they wanted to share God with you and that my friends is a powerful caring friend!
III. The Brother or Sister Friend.
A.This friendship is or can be priceless. They keep memories alive and share them with you. They are as close as a brother or sister. They are a security blanket to us.
Proverbs 18:24 A man of many companions may come to ruin,
but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
How do true brothers act toward one another or treat one another?
Illustration: Let me give you an example. Once my older brother Corey ran short on money one time. We lived miles apart, I was living in Hawaii and he was living here in Kansas. He called me and told me of his financial problems. HE DID NOT CALL ME TO ASK HELP FROM ME. But when he told me, I was moved as a brother should be moved. I said, “I will go and send some money via Western Union for you. I don’t want you having trouble like that.” That’s how a brother sticks close. He didn’t ask for help, this was not his intention. It was an automatic response that was within me to help my brother because he is my brother!
1.No conditions, no strings attached. My brother needed help and I helped him. It was as natural to me as breathing. He had a problem and I had his back.
2.In the Army, your fellow soldiers would always say to one another just before we would go through an obstacle, “Hey, I’ve got you back.” I really enjoyed hearing that, it made me feel a bit more confident going into tough situations.
3.My fellow soldiers were as close to me as my brother. They were there for any and everything.
4.Growing up I always knew I could trust my brother through thick and thin. No matter what was going on, he was my big brother and I knew he had my back so to speak.
5.I can remember one time that my brother had my back but it didn’t turn out well for him.
Illustration: I was about five or six years old and believe it or not I was not a very nice well behaved kid at that age. I use to be a bit mouthy and sometimes it got me into trouble. One day there was this older boy in the neighborhood that I really didn’t get along with at all. It was so long ago that I can’t even remember why we had our heated argument but what I do remember is the outcome of our argument.
During our argument I guess I must have felt threatened so I told him that my brother was gonna beat him up!! He then said oh really, go get your brother. I ran and got my brother to meet him.
This is the part of the story in which it didn’t turn out well for my brother. This other boy was a good three years or so older and was quite a bit larger than him. Needless to say, my big brother got pummeled.
6.Even though this particular situation didn’t turn out well for my brother, He still had no problem stepping up for me. This too came natural for him and was an automatic response.
7.In life we may have many friends. Friends that come and go out of our lives but it is the ones that are like a brother that we can truly count on no matter the situation.
8.These friends are truly there for us no matter the cost, no matter the sacrifice.
Illustration: Stu Weber writes of his experience at US Army Ranger training school. They were running in full field uniform. Loaded packs, Helmets, Boots, and Rifles. The works. 70 pounds. As usual, the word was “You go out together, you stick together, and you come home together.” Miles they ran, then more miles. Over hills, through brush and pine.
Somewhere along the way, through a fog of pain, thirst and fatigue, Weber realized something was wrong. Two rows ahead, one of the guys was out of sync. A big, redhead named Sanderson. His legs were pumping, but he was out of step with the rest. Then his head began to roll from side to side. The guy was close to losing it. Without missing a step, the Ranger on Sanderson’s right reached over and took the man’s rifle.
Now one of the Rangers was packing two weapons, his own and Sanderson’s. The big redhead did better for a while. The platoon kept moving. But then his head began to sway again. This time the Ranger on the left reached over, removed Sanderson’s helmet, tucked it under his own arm, and continued to run. All systems go. Boots thudded along the trail.
Sanderson was hurting. He was buckling, going down. But, two soldiers behind him lifted the pack off his back, each taking a shoulder strap in his free hand. Sanderson gathered his strength, squared his shoulders. And the platoon continued on, all the way to the finish line. They left together. They finished together.
9.The truth is, life gets heavy sometimes. The road stretches on and on. We give it a shot, stumble, find our rhythm once again, the load of responsibility bites into our shoulders, and the race wears us down.
10.We feel our knees begin to buckle and we fear falling short of the finish line. We need friends to help us along, bear the load, and sharpen us when we become dull.
B.Those of us that have a friend that is like a brother or sister for that matter are so very blessed. But there is a friend who sticks closer than any brother or sister ever can.
1.Jesus! He is always there for us and He will never leave us. This is a promise that he has given to us throughout Scripture.
-Hebrews 13:5 “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
-Matthew 28:20 “….I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
2.He is the one and only friend that we can always count on to have our back, lift our spirits and give us the truth on all matters.
3.If you have never experienced the friendship that Jesus offers then I urge you this morning to open up your lives to him and allow His never ending Love to bless your life.
4.As we bring our service to a close I want to open our alter up to you for prayer.
Conclusion:
This is not the place or time to allow pride to step in. Coming forward is a sign of strength. Let us open our hearts, and step a step out of our comfort zone.
Someone today is like Sanderson. You are going down unless you get help. Everybody needs help once in a while. Jesus wants to help you He wants to be the friend that we all need. In fact, when you can’t go another step, He will even carry you.
But you know Jesus can use you and me to help others as well. How are you helping make a positive difference in someone’s life? You can!
Where are you within the race of life? Do you have a battle buddy helping you along the way, a friend that just compliments your life?
