FULL FRIENDSHIPS

Noah Blount

Friendships, Relationships, and Sinking Ships • Sermon • Submitted 4 months ago • Presented 4 months ago

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FULL FRIENDSHIPS

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Introduction

When it comes to friendships and relationships, we either have one or we want one. There have been many psychological studies on the impact of friends, and they agree that people who have friends and close confidants are more satisfied with their lives and less likely to suffer from depression. So friendships & relationships are not just a want in our life but they are a NEED!

In this series let’s look at the biblical design for friendships and relationships. The world has tried and continues to distort friendships & relationships. The world says your my friend when you do things for me. The world says we can have whatever kind of relationship we want with no boundaries.

God has designed the perfect design for friendships and relationships. During this series, will you truly consider and ask the question. “WHAT FRIENDSHIP/RELATIONSHIP DO YOU WANT ME TO HAVE?”

This series is not about the person next to you. This message is for you as a friend. This message is for you as the one in a relationship

Let’ start this week by talking about FULL FRIENDSHIPS!

Proverbs 17:17 “17 A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”

Full Friendships - STICK

Look at Proverbs 17:17 again, it says that a “friend loves at ALL times.” Friends stick all the time. It’s not a part time job. It’s not a partial commitment. You are to love your friends at all times. You are to stick to them. What causes friends to stick together, to bond, to hold? It must be based on love - an unselfish attitude to serve the other. Think about the ones you consider your friend. Do yall STICK together?Are you with them? Do you have an unselfish love for them?

Let’s do a quick activity to see if you and your friends STICK. Stand up and set your things on your seat. Get together with your friends. You will have to pick a side of the room based upon interests and characteristics.

MOUNTAINS — BEACH

MATH — ENGLISH

OT — NT

COFFEE — NO COFFEE

FOOTBALL — BASKETBALL

VOLLEYBALL — SOCCER

SOFTBALL — BASEBALL

Did you and your friend stick together? Did anyone sacrifice their own interest to stick with their friend? A friend remains your friend through differences. A full friendship also sticks through the mistakes. Has your friend ever made a mistake? Did you stick with them or was that it? The expectation of a perfect friend is an unrealistic relationship, because there have been times when you were the friend who made a mistake? Did you friend stick? “FRIEND LOVES AT ALL TIMES.”

Proverbs 18:24 “24 A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” Friends STICK unconditionally. Some have described friendship as “someone who walks in when the whole world walks out.” Friends stay with you when the weather gets rough and everyone else abandons ship. a full friendship STICKS. But I thought part of this series is about knowing when to abandon ship? And it is but it’s not the first option! Before we consider abandoning ship, we need to understand what a full friendship looks like.

A FULL FRIENDSHIP is one that sticks and it is one that SHARES

Full Friendships - SHARE

I heard another interesting definition of friendship: one who multiplies our joys and divides our grief. This multiplication and division comes through sharing. Sharing encouragement, sharing prayers, sharing about Christ’s work, share hope, share love.

Friends share love and they share hurt. Friends share time. You both have the same amount of time every day, to keep that friendship you must share time. We all have limited time. There will be moments when a friend will need your time - share your time.

Full Friendships share friends. All friends have others friends. Sometimes a friendship may feel like peaceful isolation. Just you and them. It is so comfortable and nice! The reality is that there are other people and other friends. SHARE YOUR FRIENDS with other people. We can become TOO protective of our friendships that we close off everyone else and lose sight of John 13:34 “34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” We become so protective of what we have that we miss what could be.

The same encouragement and love we share with our friends we need to reach out and share with others. Full friendships share love, share time, and share friends.

A FULL FRIENDSHIP is one that sticks, one that SHARES, and one that sharpens.

Full Friendships - SHARPEN

The analogy were using through this series are ships. Have you ever wondered how those large ships make it out in the middle of the ocean when the waves are crashing during a storm. Maybe some of yall have see videos of waves crashing onto ships and wonder, “How is it not sinking?” Check this video out of a ship going through monstrous waves……

The front of ships have a sharper nose compared to the rest of the ship. Cut through the waves.

The captain tries to face every wave - head on. Why is that? The ship is not designed to be hit from the side. It’s designed to face it head on. Our friendships are designed to sharpen our friend.

Proverbs 27:17 “17 Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.” (Some versions say sharpen “friend”). Friends challenge you on the difficult conversations. They do this with the greatest form of love - HONESTY. You will have some friends that are more honest than others. The older I get, the more I appreciate the friends who sharpen me with honesty. Their honesty is not passive aggressive. Their honesty is not attacking. Their honesty is love. Sometimes it may not feel like love. Through the sharpening you will begin to feel the love. Proverbs 27:6 “6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.”

There is a story of friend sharing with another: I love you for not what you are, but for what I am when I am in your presence. I love you not only for what you have made of yourself, but what you are making of me.

Be a friend that sharpens but never forget to let your friends sharpen you!

Conclusion

With all this talk about friends, let me tell you about my best friend, Jesus! He is a friend that loves you at all times. He is the pure form of John 15:13 “13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” Jesus laid down His life for you. He wants to call you son and daughter. Maybe you want to know what it means to be a son and daughter of Christ. Will you come down in a few minutes and talk with me?

There may be some others that need to repent of not being a full friend. Maybe you want to grab a friend and pray with them. A friend loves at all times. Love them enough to pray during the difficult times. Love them more through the journey of life.

Do not hesitate to be a true friend today. Do not hesitate to meet the greatest friend of all, Jesus!