Got Friends?

My family attended Providence Church in West Chester last Sunday and listened to a really good sermon.  Below are some bullet points from that sermon:

*  Jesus uses us as his strategy to fight the war

*  We are in training for the fight every day.  Our words matter, how we use our money matters, everything we do matters.  We are fighting for our lives.

*  We go into the fight together.  We all need godly friends and we need to be godly friends.

*  There is a difference between true friends and acquaintances.  Having lots of friends on Facebook is not the same as being a godly friend.

*  So often in today's culture we convey information rather than humanity.  Social media puts the focus on ourselves and less on others.

*  The definition of a godly friend:  Someone who stays with you where you are but loves you enough to not let you remain where you are.  Jesus modeled this more than anyone (Zacchaeus is just one example).

*  Tests for friendship: 

    1 - friends stop and stick with you - they WANT to be with you - not just for "coffee" but for meal sharing.  Meal sharing was an important social event in the days of Jesus and is often overlooked today.

    2 - Godly friends know all about you and still accept you (Jesus knew Zacchaeus inside out!).  It's not if you behave a certain way or do certain things for them.  If something happens a true friend will stick with you otherwise it's a superficial and fake friendship.

    3 - Friends are willing to wound you in order to help you. Try not to be defensive.  You should know you are with a godly friend if they are willing to hurt you to help you.  We all have at least one friend like this - Jesus!

    4 - Godly friends are willing to lay down their lives for others to see Jesus

In order to have godly friendships your relationship with Jesus comes first.  Remember you are forgiven and you have all you need - these things will transform you and show you what godly friendships should be.

Don't enlarge your circle of friends but rather enrich it.