Have Friends It’s Good To Be Alive sermon video audio notes. I can’t imagine doing life without my friends. We have friends all of our lives. Can you ever remember a time in your life when you didn’t have friends or even a “best friend”? I can’t. The truth of the matter is God has wired us to have friends and to be a friend to others. This is a part of what makes IT GOOD TO BE ALIVE.
It’s Good To Be Alive and Have Friends
By Pastor Delbert Young
Audio
Have Friends It’s Good To Be Alive sermon video audio notes
Scriptures: Proverbs 12:26, Proverbs 18:24, 1 Samuel 17:57, 1 Samuel 17:58, 1 Samuel 18:1, Proverbs 18:24, Proverbs 12:26, Genesis 19:5, Genesis 19:6, Genesis 19:7, Genesis 19:8. Genesis 19:5, Genesis 19:6, Genesis 19:7, Genesis 19:8, Genesis 19:31, Genesis 19:32, Genesis 19:33, Genesis 19:34, Genesis 19:35, Genesis 19:36, 1 Samuel 18:1, John 19:26, John 19:27, Proverbs 18:24
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WATCH SERMON VIDEO
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We are in our series titled IT’S GOOD TO BE ALIVE! We are talking about some things God has given us to make life good. This week’s lesson is IT’S GOOD TO BE ALIVE… AND HAVE FRIENDS. I can’t imagine doing life without my friends. We have friends all of our lives. Can you ever remember a time in your life when you didn’t have friends or even a “best friend”? I can’t. The truth of the matter is God has wired us to have friends and to be a friend to others. This is a part of what makes IT GOOD TO BE ALIVE.
LARGE TEACHING, WHY?
Friendship is a large teaching in the Bible. There are about 163 passages that deal with friends and friendship. Why is it such a large and obviously important doctrine? It’s because your life is good and successful, or your life is led astray to ruin, because of friends.
THE PRIMARY EMPHASIS OF THE BIBLE’S TEACHING ABOUT FRIENDS IS TO SELECT FRIENDS WISELY.
Proverbs 12:26 A righteous man is CAUTIOUS in friendship, but the way of the wicked leads them ASTRAY.
A person not cautious in friendship will be led astray. We should be “friendly” with everyone, but to experience all God has for us, we must be CAUTIOUS when it comes to people who we allow close to us.
(ASV) Proverbs 18:24 He that maketh MANY FRIENDS doeth it to his OWN DESTRUCTION; But there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.
Many times people want to blame their friends for their mess-ups. No. You self-destructed by selecting the person as a friend.
I have heard it said friends are like elevators. They take us up or they take us down. We call it PEER PRESSURE, but it is actually FRIEND PRESSURE. They pressure us up or they pressure us down.
I could not help but evaluate myself as I had this thought and it might be something you might do as well. I asked myself, “What kind of friend am I? What happens to the people whom I befriend? Do they go up in life or do they go down?
III. BEST FRIENDS:
One of the most interesting thoughts I saw as I looked through all the scriptures about friends is the thought concerning “best friends.” We all have had “best friends.”
The Bible tells us a “best friend” story. Most of us know the story of young David who killed the giant Goliath with a sling and a stone. It was at this MONUMENTAL MOMENT in David’s life he met a person who became his best friend.
1 Samuel 17:57-18:1
57 After David had killed Goliath, Abner brought him to Saul with the Philistine’s head still in his hand.
58 “Tell me about your father, my boy,” Saul said. And David replied, “His name is Jesse, and we live in Bethlehem.”
18:1 After David had finished talking with Saul, he met Jonathan, the king’s son. There was an immediate BOND OF LOVE BETWEEN THEM, and they became the BEST OF FRIENDS.
I thought it was interesting one of the first things Saul wanted to know about David was concerning his parents. It is important to know a little about the parents of the friends of your child, especially best friends.
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What I found so interesting about David and Jonathan becoming best friends was the timing. With Goliath’s head still in David’s hand, he met Jonathan and David’s life changed from that MONUMENTAL MOMENT on. Jonathan was as important in David’s life, if not more so, than the slaying of Goliath. Both were instrumental in redirecting David to the road God had for David. I began thinking about this and realized at every major moment in my life, my friends changed.
In grammar school, there were my best friends, and in high school, there were new best friends. In college, there were more new best friends. Of course, marriage brought a best friend. I cannot imagine a person’s spouse not also being a best friend. Work brought new best friends. When I came into the kingdom, there were new best friends. I found new best friends when I moved to this city and became the pastor. At every major intersection of my life, there were new best friends.
I need to ask you a question. How many of us had a best friend in grammar school and that same person is your best friend today? I know it might happen, but this is not the norm. It was not with me and it has not been with anyone of whom I personally know and am aware. Here is my point. Along the road of life, we come to crossroads, intersections, and sometimes dead ends. The directions we take in life are greatly influenced by friends. God strategically sends people to intersect with our lives to “pressure” us to go the correct way. There is a direct correlation between the directions we take in life and our friends.
I am certain David had a best friend prior to Jonathan, but when it came time for David to change directions from being a shepherd boy to becoming a king, his best friend changed.
Joseph ended up in prison. God sent a divine appointment to Joseph with Pharaoh’s butler who became Joseph’s friend. It was because of this intersection – MONUMENTAL MOMENT – that Joseph was delivered from prison and became the successful and powerful man he became.
Joshua became friends with Moses and, because of this friendship, Joshua became the great warrior leader of the children of Israel.
It was the intersection in Ruth’s life with Naomi that totally changed Ruth’s life. This MONUMENTAL MOMENT – divine intersection – brought her into the best life she could imagine.
The apostle Paul, though saved, spent several years in Tarsus. At the divine time, there was an intersection with Paul’s life and a man named Barnabas. They became friends and, because of their friendship, Paul became the great apostle and author of most of the New Testament. However, during Paul’s life, there were many friends. His relationship with Barnabas did not remain a “best friend” relationship. Silas came along at a necessary time. Lydia came along at a necessary time. In addition, there were Timothy and Luke.
Here is my point. Your “best friend(s)” will change when it is time for your life to change. God uses friends to make life good. IT’S GOOD TO BE ALIVE… AND HAVE FRIENDS!
The enemy understands friends take us up or take us down. Therefore, at those major intersections of life, the enemy will also send people, but their pressure may take us down or bring us to ruin.
Proverbs 18:24 A man of many companions may come to RUIN, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
Proverbs 12:26 A righteous man is cautious in friendship, but THE WAY OF THE WICKED LEADS THEM ASTRAY.
No good thing can come from being friends with wicked people. The Bible tells us the story of Lot who was the nephew of Abraham. Lot came to an intersection in his life and went the wrong way. Lot moved to a city named Sodom and made friends. The Lord sent two angels to investigate Sodom and remove Lot and his family. While the angels were in Lot’s house, the men of Sodom came.
Genesis 19:5-8
5 They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.”
6 Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him
7 and said, “No, my friends. Don’t do this wicked thing.
8 Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them…”
Lot’s life was ruined. Sodom was destroyed. Lot lost everything. His wife was turned into a pillar of salt. Lot’s two daughters committed incest with him. Everything Lot ever thought precious came to ruin. It was because of his selection of friends – the people with whom he did life.
Here is a major point I want you to get today. YOUR “BEST FRIEND(S)” WILL CHANGE WHEN IT IS TIME FOR YOUR LIFE TO CHANGE. For some of us, it could be time to change best friends.
LOT:
I want us to see something from this verse I read about Lot. Let’s look at it again.
Genesis 19:5-8
5 They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.”
6 Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him
7 and said, “No, MY FRIENDS [KJV brethren]. Don’t do THIS WICKED THING.
8 Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them…”
Lot thought it wicked for those Sodomites to have the two men/angels, but thought it not wicked to allow all those men to do whatever they wanted to do to his daughters. What’s wrong with this picture? Lot called the Sodomites “my friends.” KJV translates it as “brethren” showing the closeness of Lot and those men. The way we think is determined by our friends. If you become my friend, I will influence how you think. Lot had spent many years with his righteous uncle Abraham. Yet, when he made friends with the Sodomites, his entire way of thinking changed. Lot became numb and desensitized to what was once wrong and wicked to him.
I can tell a lot about how a person thinks by observing with whom they run. Perhaps you have seen something like this with your children. You raised them to think righteously, but suddenly homosexuality is ok. I look at our society and our young people today. Many adults and most children see nothing wrong with homosexuality today. Gay marriage is okay. Rosie did it. Madonna kissed Britney Spears on television, so it must be okay, right? Television programs like “Queer as Folk” must be ok, so homosexuality must be ok, right? Let me tell you how this works. If it is ok with your friends then it is ok with you. It’s all about PEER PRESSURE OR FRIEND PRESSURE. So, parents, when your children do some strange things, check out their friends.
Not only did Lot’s thinking change when he got around the Sodomites, but the way his entire family thought went downhill.
Lot’s daughters thought it acceptable to get their father drunk and commit incest with him.
Genesis 19:31-36
31 One day the older daughter said to her sister, “There isn’t a man anywhere in this entire area for us to marry. And our father will soon be too old to have children.
32 Come, let’s get him drunk with wine, and then we will sleep with him. That way we will preserve our family line through our father.”
33 So that night they got him drunk, and the older daughter went in and slept with her father. He was unaware of her lying down or getting up again.
34 The next morning the older daughter said to her younger sister, “I slept with our father last night. Let’s get him drunk with wine again tonight, and you go in and sleep with him. That way our family line will be preserved.”
35 So that night they got him drunk again, and the younger daughter went in and slept with him. As before, he was unaware of her lying down or getting up again.
36 So both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father.
That’s pretty drunk! You get my point. Our lives will always go in the direction of our friends because we will think like our friends. I have read 1 Samuel 18:1 from the NLT. Here it is from King James.
1 Samuel 18:1 And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that THE SOUL OF JONATHAN WAS KNIT WITH THE SOUL OF DAVID, and Jonathan loved him as his OWN SOUL.
This was a soul tie (knit). A soul tie (knit) means to become like-minded. They think the same and have the same desires and the same purpose in life. They go in the same direction up or down the same road. Allow me to tell you a story. Our daughter wanted to date someone with whom she had become friends. Her mother and I said, “No.” The boy was in our church and the child of a leader, but the boy was “bad news“. Judy told Bonnie she could either tell the boy she did not want to date him and avoid some problems in the church or, tell him we would not allow her to date him and maybe cause major problems in the church.
Either way, she was not going to date the boy or go off with him. This was probably years ago and to this day the boy has lived a RUINED life.
Bonnie looks back at it now and sees we saved her from ruin. We dealt with the situation severely. We could not allow a soul tie between them.
I talked about this last week but thought it good to talk about it again as I begin closing this lesson. Jesus was on the cross and looked at his mother.
John 19:26 When Jesus saw his mother standing there beside THE DISCIPLE HE LOVED, he said to her, “Woman, he is your son.”
John 19:27 And he said to this disciple, “She is your mother.” And from then on this disciple took her into his home.
Not one of the natural brothers of Jesus was at the cross. It seems of all the disciples, only John was there. Jesus loved John because John stuck closer than a brother.
(ASV) Proverbs 18:24 He that maketh many friends doeth it to his own destruction; But THERE IS A FRIEND THAT STICKETH CLOSER THAN A BROTHER.
A friend is there with you when you are on your cross and a friend will take care of things for you when you can’t. Also, a friend will care about and care for what you love when you can’t. Moreover, a true friend carries you upward and encourages you in the Lord.
So, here we are. What are you going to do with this lesson? Some of you need to make some decisions about your friends. Some of us need to change friends because it is time for our lives to change. Have things become acceptable you know are wrong and not what the Lord has for you? In what direction are your friends taking you?
No matter what you do with the lesson, be cautious in friendship because IT’S GOOD TO BE ALIVE… AND HAVE FRIENDS!
Let’s pray.
Have Friends It’s Good To Be Alive sermon video audio notes
Have Friends It’s Good To Be Alive sermon video audio notes
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Adventure With Friendship – sermon video audio notes
Favor of God It is Good to be Alive and Have
Church Friendship & Participation
And Have Family It is Good To Be Alive