Relevant Friendship
“… enjoy the companionship of those who love the Lord…” 2 Tim. 2:22 (LB)
Intro: Sharon was like most lifelong members of First Church. At one time she knew every person by name. She and her husband had six children, eleven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Her family and their in-laws made up a big part of the church. One Sunday morning she heard what sounded like a young child crying. Sure enough, as she turned the corner, there was a little girl standing in the hallway alone. Not recognizing the child, she comforted the child, took her by the hand and led her toward the Sanctuary in search of her mother. Along the way she was stopped by several people who asked if this was her granddaughter or perhaps even her great-grandchild. Each time she explained that the child wasn’t one of hers but she was searching for the lost child’s mother. The mother and pastor were standing at the front of the sanctuary and immediately the child was reunited with her parents. That evening Sharon and her husband talked about how things had changed at church over the years. They talked about how many new people were at church and how people thought the lost girl belonged to her and how that each time she explained that the child wasn’t one of hers. She talked about how that made her feel, after a long pause, she said to her husband that she had been had been wrong. The next Sunday she stood and told the congregation all that had happened. With tears in her eyes she said, “I have been a member of this church all my life. I have been a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother to my own. Last Sunday I found a lost little girl in the hallway and returned her to her parents. In God’s eyes I realized that I am a mother to more than just my own children. Then it dawned on me that the little girl was part of my family, part of my church family, and that I have a responsibility for that little girl just like I have for each of my own children.” From that day forward Sharon and her husband made an effort to get to know a new family in the church every week. When it comes to friendship how are you doing?
Today we are going to talk about, significant friendship, important friendship “Relevant Friendship.” The bible uses the Greek word “koinonos” or Koinonia (coy NO nyah / coin IN ee ah) κοινωνία, Strong’s 2842 and 2844 which means communion, joint participation, fellowship, to share everything with one another. This means:
I. We are made for community. Both the New Living Translation and the Living Bible use the phrase, “enjoy the
companionship of those who love the Lord”
One of greatest things you will ever experience in life is the church at its best. I am talking about Worship and Praise that is joyful. People meet and experience Jesus in a relevant way. Discipleship, where people are working together and volunteer in service with gratitude. Not because no one else will do it, but because you have a passion and burden and enthusiasm about telling people “Jesus Loves Them.”
I know that for this to happen there has to Leadership where Coordinators and Individual Group Ministry leaders feel supported by the Pastor and Staff. The Vision and Strategic Plan has to be well communicated, so that there is this “buy in” by everyone taking ownership and being on the same page. When the vision is cast well by leaders it rallies the troops, and sounds the trumpet to march forward. The whole church is in a Partnership of Nurture and Outreach and Witness. People feel like they belong. Every member matters. Then Missions will drive the funding of the church.
It is great when the church is hitting on all cylinders. In a church when people are growing and practicing healthy spiritual habits the environment becomes contagious, and the whole congregation and community of faith begins to behave differently, positively, because you know you have God’s favor and blessings.
This is a great church. People are happy to see you come. Have you ever walked into a room and you just know that people want you there? This is the image that Timothy was drawing of the early church. A people who enjoy companionship with each other because of the love they have for the Lord. Timothy was a young person in the faith. His warning was to run away from anything that produced evil thoughts and sin. Knowing when to run away from something is sometimes very important. Wise people remove themselves from things that tempt them and can become a stumbling block in faith. Are there places in your life that trigger bad habits and cause temptation?
Knowing what to turn and run from is an important part of the spiritual battle. But knowing where to run to is how you find victory. It is not just about running away from things but running know where to run to the right things that is just as important. You can run from your past, but you will never get away from it until you run into the arms of a loving Saviour.
Joseph Scriven was from Dublin Ireland. After graduating college he planned to marry his fiancée but tragedy struck and she died in a sudden accident the day before their wedding. At age 25 the shock of the tragic event in his life, resulted in his running away. He ended up living in Canada. It was there he began to live his life passionately for the Lord. He took his new faith serious. He gave freely of his possessions. He was the type of person who literally would share the clothes off his back. He never refused to help anyone. It was during the next few years of his life he scribble a note that said, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.”
Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged—
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful,
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness;
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
1 Corinthians 1:9 says, “God has invited you into this wonderful friendship with his Son, Jesus Christ.” Think about God inviting you to have a wonderful friendship with his Son, Jesus. When you have faith in Jesus you have salvation. Even when your faith is weak. When Jesus returns you will be saved. It is all about that relationship. So how is your relationship with Jesus? Where are you in your relationship with others around you? Are there some things that need fixing? Are there some bridges that need mending? Is there brokenness in your life that needs repair and forgiveness? Don’t delay any further. There is nothing gained by putting off making things right. The sooner the better. The quicker the healing can begin.
What I have discovered is that when I am hurting the most if I will give love out and show goodness and mercy to others it helps me as much or even more than it helps them. Because the more you love, the more you forgive, the more you forget and more you can move on. The more exonerated, and the more free you will become and the more feel you will be. Remember you are made for community.
Here is a key factor in being in a “Relevant Friendship” with someone.
II. Friends Don’t Let Friends Go It Alone.
“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” Proverbs 27:17 NIV Strong’s 2300 Original Hebrew Word: חָדַד for sharpen means to “let a person sharpen the countenance (presence, bearing) of their friend;”
In other words a true friend is someone who makes you a better person. They improve your life. They help you work on things that need grinding down and filed off. Sand blasting the rusty, rough edges and smoothing out the hard and coarse spots can be painful. Those are not pleasant things. But sometimes that what is takes to build you up, encourages you to be better. True friends seek to bring out the best in you, sometimes it is called tough love.
Can you think of a true friend in your life? Because you knew them, you are a better person. Do you have anyone like that in your life?
A young boy was sent to the store by his mother to buy a loaf of bread. He was gone much longer than it should have taken him. When he finally returned, his mother asked, "Where have you been? I’ve been worried about you." He answered, "there was a little boy by the side of the road with a broken bicycle who was crying.
So I stopped to help him." "I didn’t know you knew anything about fixing bikes," his mother said. "I don’t," he replied. "I just stayed there and cried with him."
Listen, learn this lesson: Sometimes the best thing you can do for someone is to just stay there and cry with them. Friends come alongside you on your journey. They lend support to us. They rejoice with us. When necessary they cry with us. A friend is one that comes when everyone else goes.
A lot of the ministry you will be called to do is planting. You plant a seed here. You plant a seed there.
Statistically less than 1% of the people you share your faith with will respond and ask to pray a prayer of repentance and accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. There will be seasons of doubt. Times of famine. But be of Good Cheer. Christ has not left you alone in this world. God want let faithfulness go unrewarded. There is a time of harvest coming. Your victory is on the way. That is the “Good News.” You have come to the right place. It was meant for you to be here today and hear this message.
Solomon was one of the wisest people who ever lived. He said in Ecclesiastes 4:12“A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated. But two can stand back to back. Three are even better. The greatest gift you can give anyone is the gift of an invitation. It is that gift of “let’s sit together.”
Let’s walk together. Come join me. Some of you are here today because your friend invited you. You may even think that your friend is a little bit of a religious freak because they just keep talking about it. They are sharing with you the grace and acceptance that comes from being wrapped together as one with Christ. That is a true friend.
You were not made to go through life alone. Don’t isolate yourself when trouble comes. As a friend, don’t let a friend, go it alone. Watch out for one another. Let’s stop for a moment and think about, “How do you invite people into your circle?”
Specially do “You Have New Friend Requests?”
III. You Have New Friend Requests.
“So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.” Acts 11:25-26 NIV
One of the best friends the Apostle Paul had was his friend in the ministry named Barnabas. Here in Acts 11 Barnabas travels from Jerusalem to the city of Tarsus, Saul’s hometown, to recruit this person who was so eager to destroy the Christians and to bring him to the Church at Antioch. Saul had one of the worst reputations in town. But Barnabas invites Saul into his inner circle of friendship and community of faith.
One Sunday after church a couple asked if they could talk with the pastor. When they sat down in the pastor’s study they began to complain about the sermon, the music, the order of worship, mistakes in the bulletin, staff members and other people in the church. The pastor listened patiently until it was finally his turn to speak. After hearing all the complaints and unhappiness the couple had about the church and denomination, the pastor gently said that perhaps they would be better off if they left and started their own church. The man stood up and motioned for his wife to leave saying “we may just do that.” As the pastor met them at the door he turned to them and added, “when you build your own church, I wouldn’t build it very big if I were you.” Folks we live in culture today where people are obsessed with building their own church instead of building the Kingdom of God.
Friends, if you are here looking for a church to join then I invite you to become a member of this church today. I am convinced that it is a great place to belong. The church you join today cannot be the church you belong to a year from now and five years from now. We must be growing, inviting new people, sharing, constantly changing as we share the faith in the culture we live in. The bible says, Go and be healed. Go and be baptized. Go and sin no more. Go make and disciples. But nowhere in the bible does it say “go and be the same.”
When you look around you in church and all you see is the same people you have seen week after week, month after month and year after year, and there are no new faces, and no new people, and you have no new friends, then it is time come to altar. What I want you to pray for when you come to the altar is that you can “… enjoy the companionship of those who love the Lord…” 2 Tim. 2:22 (LB)
Listen: Where there is love, there will be church growth. I have seen some of the worst preaching in some of the biggest churches across this county. Churches don’t grow because of preaching, churches grow because of great love. I have heard some the worst praise bands, and choirs and music in some of the fastest growing churches. Churches don’t grow because of their hymns or songs, they grow because of the company of people are worshiping joyfully around the throne. When we magnify God our attention turns away from all the faults and flaws and human imperfections. It becomes more about the beauty God sees in every person, and potential every person has to becoming your newest friend in the family of the Lord.
Closing: We are made for community. Friends don’t let friends go it alone.
I ask you again. “How many new friend requests do you have?”
