WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:26.105 But we'll be starting in Proverbs chapter 17, and we'll be reading verse 17. Proverbs 17:17. A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. And now we'll be moving to Proverbs 18:24. A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. 2 00:00:27.600 --> 00:00:52.205 Now I'll be going to Proverbs 25:20. Whoever sings songs to a heavy heart is like one who takes off a garment on a cold day and like vinegar on soda. And finally, we'll be reading from Proverbs chapter 27 where we'll be reading a few verses from there. So starting at verse 5. Better is open rebuke than hidden love. 3 00:00:53.430 --> 00:01:09.865 Faithful are the wounds of a friend. Profuse are the kisses of an enemy. I'm going to verse 9 now. Oil and perfume make their heart... The heart glad, and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel. 4 00:01:10.745 --> 00:01:42.365 Do not forsake your friend and your father's friend, and do not go to your brother's house in the day of your calamity. Better is a neighbour who is near than a brother who is far away. And, finally, in verse 14, whoever blesses his neighbour with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, will be counted as cursing. So far, our reading. Some of you may have heard of the bestselling novel Theo of Golden. 5 00:01:43.010 --> 00:02:14.155 It's a fictional story about an older man who walks into a small town, and he begins giving self portraits quietly to different people in the town. And it may be one of the most unlikely bestsellers of all times. It sold over 4,000,000 copies. It is the most popular printed book in The US this year, and at the moment, apparently, Warner Brothers and Tom Hanks are trying to adapt it into a movie. And yet, Alan Levi, the author of this book, had never published a book before. 6 00:02:15.060 --> 00:02:41.995 In fact, he finished writing it at 67 years old, and after he printed out a manuscript, he put it into the drawer of his desk and closed the door. Closed the drawer. So how did this book come out of the drawer? Well, listened to this fantastic podcast by Sarah Zilsher and the Gospel Coalition recently, and she shared the story about how the book got out to the world. You see, Alan Levi has a group of friends called the... 7 00:02:41.995 --> 00:03:09.765 That call themselves the MOB, my own brothers. And once a year, they get together at his farm and they have a deep friendship with one another. They discovered each other throughout life. It's been going for decades and they were different involved in different Christian ministries and the shared love for Jesus and for serving others. And once a year, they get together at this farm and they ask each other some deep questions like, who has God been to you this last year? 8 00:03:11.010 --> 00:03:36.605 And how is Christ redeeming your suffering and pain at this time? And anyway, at one of these farm retreats, they got together and he shared how he'd kicked his goal of finally writing a book, and they said, well, where is it? And he said, oh, well, it's in the drawer in the desk over there. And they said, well, bring it out. So they got a few copies and they began to read it and as they read this book, most of them wept and they said, have to get this book out to other people. 9 00:03:37.165 --> 00:04:08.055 And so they encouraged him to self publish it. Now normally self publishing sells under a 100 copies on average and now it's a bestseller, so that's one of the reasons why this is so amazing. And just before the book got published, Alan's friends got a portrait done for Alan just like Theo of Golden does in the book and they presented it him... To him at a meal around the table, and they went around the table, and each one spoke to him about what they saw in him. And he talks about how he just put his face in his hands and wept for four or five minutes. 10 00:04:09.430 --> 00:04:27.745 It's because of these friends that this book actually saw the light of day. They knew him, they saw him, and they loved him enough to push him. Do you have friends like that in your life? Who doesn't want friends like that? And how do we become friends like that to others? 11 00:04:28.545 --> 00:04:53.035 Well, we're going to look at that a little bit as we continue on our series, Proverbs, sage advice for a skillful life. And today, we're looking at God's wisdom for friends. Now it's surprising how many Proverbs actually speak to friendship. And little Hebrew nerd fact for you. Sometimes the word neighbour and the word friend in English are the same word in Hebrew. 12 00:04:53.035 --> 00:05:15.630 So you've got to work out from context. Is this speaking about a neighbour, someone with geographical proximity, or a friend, someone with emotional proximity, or both? So there's lots of verses about neighbours and friends in the book of Proverbs. Now most of us might say that friendship isn't the highest thing on our priority list. Maybe you say, look, it's good, but it's not the most important thing. 13 00:05:15.765 --> 00:05:31.220 I've... I lead a busy life. I just don't have time for it. A pastor called Drew Hunter has written a very helpful book called Made for Friendship, and I just wanna acknowledge this book was very helpful for me in preparing this sermon. And he he shares about a common perspective in the book. 14 00:05:31.220 --> 00:06:00.820 He says, when I asked a fellow church member if he had any close relationships, he said, I'm too busy for friends. Between work and family, he didn't have any space left. We can commend him for those good commitments, but isn't this like saying we're too busy for water because we're committed to air and food? Now you might think that's a little exaggerated, but the book of Proverbs shows us that a life of wisdom is not a life lived in isolation. Friendship is one of the greatest gifts we can enjoy. 15 00:06:01.620 --> 00:06:16.605 Generations past have understood this far better than us. C. S. Lewis said, to the ancients, friendship seemed the happiest and most fully human of all love, the crown of life and the school of virtue. The modern world in comparison ignores it. 16 00:06:17.245 --> 00:06:52.400 And mister Lewis, luckily, didn't live to see the the phenomenon of Facebook friends, so it's way more watered down than it was in his time. Augustine, one of the most important theologians in the early church, said two things are essential in this world, and I wonder what you would say. He says life and friendship both must be priced highly and not undervalued. See, friendship isn't just a nice add on for your life if you have time for it, nor is it something we can necessarily manipulate and make happen. Maybe you've read how to win friends and influence people, whatever that book is. 17 00:06:52.480 --> 00:07:10.205 I'm sorry. Like, even even if you've read that book, you can't just make it happen. But it is something we should value and seek after. Where do we find people like the MOB, these friends that Al and Levi had? One of the early church fathers, Jerome, said a friend is long sought, hardly found, and with difficulty kept. 18 00:07:10.845 --> 00:07:30.750 How do we find true friends? What should we look for, and how do we become one ourselves? Well, let's turn to God's word for answers. Let's start by asking, what is a true friend according to the Bible? Now the fact is the Bible doesn't say that friends are people who just have a lot of fun together. 19 00:07:31.245 --> 00:07:48.300 Actually, it doesn't define it that way. Nor is it someone you request on Facebook or follow on Instagram. The definition of a friend in the Bible is far deeper than that. Timothy Keller says, it's someone who always lets you in and never lets you down. Someone who always lets you in and never lets you down. 20 00:07:49.020 --> 00:08:23.240 A bible scholar called Justin Langford says, in the Old Testament, covenant faithfulness is the primary way friendship is described. So covenant's a big word, but it just refers to this relationship God's entered into with us and this agreement about here's how we're gonna relate to one another. And faithfulness to that relationship, that covenant is the primary way that the Bible describes good friendship. Now covenant faithfulness, that idea is actually contained in a Hebrew word called Chesed. Friendship in the Bible is primarily about Chesed. 21 00:08:23.880 --> 00:08:39.575 What is Chesed? Well, God describes Himself as abounding in it. So in Exodus 34, when God says, I'm abounding in steadfast love, steadfast love is chesed. It means loyal love. It means faithfulness. 22 00:08:40.550 --> 00:09:01.325 And this is what we see... And so God abounds with this characteristic. He's a faithful, loyal, reliably loving God, and this is the way He's designed friendships to flourish. And this is what we see coming up in the book of Proverbs as well. So as Proverbs 17 says, a friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. 23 00:09:01.885 --> 00:09:25.045 Now brother here may refer to a literal brother, but it's likely it's a poetic way of speaking of a friend, a close friend. This proverb teaches us that a biblical friend, a true friend, loves you at all times. Even in adversity, they never let you down. They stick by you in every season. How many of us have friends like that? 24 00:09:26.085 --> 00:09:40.230 How many of us are a friend like that? What is a friend according to the bible? Well, a friend is someone who always lets you in and never lets you down. They're full of chesed. They're they're loyal and reliably loving. 25 00:09:40.230 --> 00:09:56.235 They're faithful. Now that we've defined what the bible says a friend is, let's look more closely at what a friend does. This is gonna fill out our definition of a friend as well. And the proverbs on this topic can be read in two ways. First, they tell us the kind of friends we should be looking for. 26 00:09:56.795 --> 00:10:10.320 Maybe you're in high school and you're thinking about, is this a... Is this the right friend I should be investing in? Is this a true friend to me? It's gonna help you discern that. On the other hand, it's also gonna show us the kind of friends that we should be to others, who we can become. 27 00:10:10.640 --> 00:10:35.660 So it helps us to discern a true friend and helps us to learn how to become a true friend to others. And so we're going to look at those two angles as we ask the question, how do true friends treat each other? How do true friends treat each other? Now I'm gonna give you five c's to help you remember how the proverbs answer this, and these five are inspired by Timothy Keller's four marks of friendship with one that I've added. So the first is this. 28 00:10:35.660 --> 00:10:50.475 According to Proverbs, a true friend is, number one, committed. Our discussion about has already made that clear. Proverbs 27:10, it says, do not forsake your friend and your father's friend. So a true friend is committed. They're faithful. 29 00:10:50.475 --> 00:11:01.195 They're full of chesed. When the going gets tough in your friendships, don't step back. They're going through a difficult time. Don't wash your hands in the situation. Step in. 30 00:11:01.435 --> 00:11:13.250 Listen with care. Offer to pray for them. A true friend is with you through thick and thin. They are committed. How much have you committed yourself to your friends that you hold dear? 31 00:11:13.890 --> 00:11:41.710 The bible makes it clear that true friends are not unessential but precious, and you won't have deep friendships if you don't commit to seeking their good throughout the seasons of life. A true friend is committed. A true friend is also, number two, caring. In Proverbs 27:9, it says, oil and perfume make the heart glad, and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel. That Hebrew word for earnest is the word nephesh. 32 00:11:41.790 --> 00:11:59.695 It's normally translated soul. So this is this friend's counsel coming from his soul. Doesn't necessarily say it's the right counsel, but the picture is that this friend is not someone who hears that your marriage is going through a tough time, don't we all struggle? Yeah. Maybe you're going to see a psychologist or something. 33 00:12:00.110 --> 00:12:12.350 They're actually a friend who actually deeply cares and their advice is coming from their soul. They're saying, oh my goodness. Okay. Let me pray about that. I'll come back and I don't have all the answers, but, you know, and they're trying to actually invest in your life. 34 00:12:12.350 --> 00:12:29.790 This is a caring friend, a friend that talks to you from their soul. One of C. S. Lewis' good friends was Tolkien, who wrote the Lord of the Rings series. And in the movie adaptation, in the story even, he just shows a beautiful picture of friendship between some of the different characters in the movies. 35 00:12:30.190 --> 00:12:39.870 And at one stage, Frodo is crushed by the weight of this ring that he has to destroy. He doesn't want the responsibility. It's too difficult. It's so dangerous. He wants to give up. 36 00:12:40.535 --> 00:12:58.390 And then his faithful friend Sam gives him a heartfelt speech. He loves Frodo. He wants the best for Frodo. Even though for a moment while overtaken by the ring, Frodo has a sword to Sam's throat, Sam still seeks his good. And whether Sam's speech was good advice or not, it was heartfelt. 37 00:12:58.390 --> 00:13:07.910 It was from the soul. He wants the best for his friend. That's a picture of a true friend. A true friend is caring. They care for your soul. 38 00:13:08.885 --> 00:13:35.545 And if you care for your friend's soul, you'll likely notice their shortcomings and their sins. And this leads us to the third practice if we wanna be true friends because true friends are candid. Candid, honest is what we learn in Proverbs 27:5. Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Now rebuke sounds like a scary word as if you have to shout at someone to rebuke them, but rebuke isn't actually... 39 00:13:36.105 --> 00:14:02.910 Doesn't necessarily involve anger or force. Actually, in Galatians, it says, brothers, sisters, if anyone is caught in any transgression, restore him in a spirit of gentleness. That's the way that we correct one another in the church. Biblical correction is humble and gentle. It's done as a fellow flawed sinner, gently and humbly to the other person you see walking off the path. 40 00:14:03.855 --> 00:14:25.310 That's the kind of correction Proverbs has in mind when it says better is open rebuke than hidden love. But what does it mean by hidden love? Hidden love is simply the refusal to give open correction when it is needed. You might say, oh, I love my friend too much to point out that sin or that flaw in their life. I couldn't bear hurting them. 41 00:14:25.950 --> 00:14:45.075 But what you're really saying is I love myself too much to tell them what they really need to know. I don't wanna risk the friendship or risk them hating me. I couldn't bear it. Now, of course, there's wisdom with these things, and some of us are way too quick to give correction advice. Some of us are too slow because we're too scared to hurt their fear... 42 00:14:45.075 --> 00:15:01.440 Feelings. We need wisdom. But a true friend gives open, loving, humble, gentle rebuke when they see their friend airing off the path towards destruction. That's the kind of correction that the Proverbs has in mind for friendship. A true friend is candid. 43 00:15:01.825 --> 00:15:16.225 Now if you're on the receiving end of a gentle rebuke, then you need to take words... These words to heart. Proverbs 27:6. Faithful are the wounds of a friend. Profuse, disgusting are the kisses of an enemy. 44 00:15:17.610 --> 00:15:46.225 This proverb teaches that someone who always flatters you, likes all of your social media posts, always telling you you're amazing, may actually be an enemy. If have a friend who has wounded you with a word of correction, assuming it was done out of love, then think about the incredible courage it took them to have that conversation with you. It's possible they misunderstood you. It's possible their correction was misguided. But at the very least, know that they stuck out their neck to do what they didn't have to do. 45 00:15:46.730 --> 00:16:05.475 They took the risk of offending you by bringing that up with you. A fair friend will never bring up your sins with you. They'll never try to correct you out of love, because a fair weather friend finds you useful for their for their own fun or for their own status, and that's as far as the friendship goes. A true friend is candid. They're honest. 46 00:16:06.195 --> 00:16:30.730 A true friend is committed, caring, candid, and they're also close. In Proverbs 18, we're told about two different types of friends. A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Now this proverb is contrasting two different types of friends. So there's the man of many companions, and then there's a friend who sticks closer than a brother. 47 00:16:31.585 --> 00:16:45.105 See, you can have many unreliable and shallow friendships. People who may like you, but they're not deeply committed to you. They're not gonna make your problems their problem. They're not gonna be around for long when adversity strikes. If you come to ruin, they'll quietly back away. 48 00:16:45.970 --> 00:17:20.710 But there is a type of friend who sticks even closer than a brother, closer than blood. And notice that the unreliable friends, that's in the plural, can have lots of unreliable ones, but the true friend in the proverb is in the singular. There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. A true friend is close, and close friends are by necessity fewer than casual friends and acquaintances. The Oxford professor, Robin Dunbar, is famous for saying we can sustain a 150 casual relationships, but only five very close emotionally supportive relationships. 49 00:17:21.510 --> 00:17:42.065 Now the number of deep relationships someone can sustain will be different from person to person. But the point is that this biblical friend, it's in the singular, it's it's rarer. It takes a lot more investment. You can't do with everyone. I think the the Bible would suggest to us, at least the way I read it, is that as a church, we should be friendly to all, even though we can only be deep friends with a few. 50 00:17:43.860 --> 00:18:04.815 Dunbar suggests you can only have five. Jesus seemed to have three close friends in John, Peter, and James. But whether we're single or married, we should pray for and seek more than one close friend, I think. Hopefully, if you're married, one of those close friends is your spouse, but just relying on your spouse can be unhelpful if you're going through marriage trouble. You can feel deeply alone. 51 00:18:05.935 --> 00:18:32.665 I believe the wisdom of Proverbs shows us that we should pray for and seek to cultivate at least two close friends. Now remember, Proverbs are not laws. They are wise observations about how life works in this world. If you pray and seek a true friend but don't find one, you haven't failed. Be content in the circumstances God has placed you in, and keep praying and be the kind of friend that others desire... 52 00:18:32.665 --> 00:18:55.735 To others that you desire. As a church, we are the family of God. It's not socially possible that you can be close with everyone here, but we can be friendly to everyone. And at the same time, among God's people, we shouldn't have anyone among us who feels left out or unvalued. There shouldn't be anyone in our church who joins this modern trend. 53 00:18:55.735 --> 00:19:18.240 I don't know if you've heard of it, but use it for using AI chatbots as their companions and friends. Looked up recently, about 10 to 20% of people use AI chatbots for companionship. That shouldn't be happening here. In a church. We should actually have time always to talk to someone after the service, to grab a coffee with them, to pray for them, to look them in the eyes, to tell them they're valued. 54 00:19:19.120 --> 00:19:34.535 If you feel lonely here, I'm so sorry. It shouldn't be that way. But let me ask you gently, what have you done to help yourself as well? Let me encourage you. If you want friendships here, start by getting involved here. 55 00:19:35.840 --> 00:19:44.320 Often, friendships are found in a common mission. If you have a love for Jesus, join us in loving Jesus. Join a team. Join the prayer group. Join a small group. 56 00:19:44.320 --> 00:20:02.225 Get involved. Pray and ask the Lord to provide you with friendships, and he may grant you that. Now you might be saying, Ben, so you say true friendships are close, but how close? Because I'm not the touchy feely type. I know, Ben, you say you're a hugger, but I'm not. 57 00:20:03.050 --> 00:20:30.325 Now I don't wanna legislate how close you should be with your friend because I don't think the Bible legislates that exactly. It takes time and trust and safety and proven reliability and so on to know who you can really open up to, but I can say the model example for human friendship in the Old Testament was David and Jonathan. That Hebrew word, it's all over their friendship in the Bible. They seem to know each other intimately. It says in 1 Samuel 20 that Jonathan loved David as he loved his own soul. 58 00:20:31.260 --> 00:20:52.855 They loyally loved one another. They covenanted and committed to be faithful to one another. Their their friendship makes most modern blokes blush. Carl Deenick, an Australian writer and bible college professor, blogged about this online. He said, I've been working my way through Richard Godby's fascinating and unusual, the overflowing of friendships, with his book that he's been reading. 59 00:20:53.255 --> 00:21:40.960 Godby shows the quite astonishing openness and depth of relationship between American men in the eighteenth century. To quote just one example, in 1763, Joseph Hooper wrote to his friend Benjamin Dolby, the sun never rose and set upon me since I parted from you, but he brought to my longing imagination the idea of my bosom friend, like heart friend. My fancy paints him in the most beautiful colours, and my soul is absorbed and contemplating the past, wishing for a reiteration and longing to pull forth the expressions of friendship and receiving those that would calm, soften the horrors, and wholly eradicate the distractions that your absence creates. Now as God notes, Carl writes, such language among friends today would make many of us feel more than a little uncomfortable. Most would suspect an underlying romance and sexual relationship between the men. 60 00:21:41.675 --> 00:21:57.890 Yet as Godby carefully shows, from countless examples, that wasn't the case. Indeed, our suspicion reveals more about us and the sexualisation of our culture than it does about them. Interesting. Now some of you may know like, what? 61 00:21:57.890 --> 00:22:16.185 Like, I'm not saying you have to talk like that Benjamin Doleweer and that you have to do that. Right? But I'm just saying, there's something about the way they related as friends back then. Some of us have this standoffishness, especially among blokes about emotionally connecting. Whether you're a bloke or not, maybe you're uncomfortable with intimacy as a person. 62 00:22:16.585 --> 00:22:33.750 I wanna encourage you to work at it in your own way. Learn to understand your own emotions, communicate them to your friend, your spouse, someone you trust. Share your heart with someone. How many people actually know your soul? How many people actually know your past? 63 00:22:33.910 --> 00:22:54.080 How many people... How many Christian brothers and sisters actually know what sins that constantly struggle with and need prayer for? How many Christian brothers and sisters know your longings and desires in life? It's a good thing to have some close friendships that you can walk along with in the journey of faith. A true friend is close. 64 00:22:54.880 --> 00:23:20.055 A true friend is committed, caring, candid, close, and finally, they're careful. A few funny verses to finish off. Whoever sings songs to a heavy heart is like one who takes off a garment on a cold day. If you're not connected with a friend to know their heart is heavy and you start singing Happy by Pharrell Williams to them, then I'm sorry, you're not being careful. That's like ripping off their jumper off them in winter. 65 00:23:20.055 --> 00:23:27.030 It's offensive. It's annoying. True friends are careful. They take time to understand their friends. They know their friends. 66 00:23:27.030 --> 00:23:48.925 They know what triggers them because of their story. They're careful not to step on their toes or hurt them unnecessarily. Proverbs 27:14 says, whoever blesses his neighbour with a loud voice rising early in the morning will be counted as cursing. Look, if you're meant to be close with your friend and don't even know that they're not a morning person, then you don't know them well enough. 67 00:23:49.325 --> 00:23:59.750 Please don't go up to them and say, good morning, in the first thing that they wake up and they've just woken up. They're not gonna like you for that. Personally, I like to stand on my friends while they're sleeping and study their sleep. No. I'm just kidding. 68 00:23:59.750 --> 00:24:15.995 That's that's weird. That's creepy. True friends are careful though. They're committed, caring, candid, close, and careful. Now if you reflect on that list, you'll probably feel two things stirring you. 69 00:24:15.995 --> 00:24:45.895 Maybe there's a longing that you have for this kind of friendship. The MOB, my own brothers, it's a beautiful friendship that they had, and you'd like that. Someone who always lets you in and never lets you down, is committed to you through thick and thin, who genuinely cares for you, who will speak the truth and love. And yet you may also feel crushed by the same description. Which one of us can claim to be committed, caring, candid, close, and careful all the time? Who among us has lived up to that perfectly? 70 00:24:47.040 --> 00:24:56.800 Or maybe you don't just feel crushed. Maybe you feel guilty. Maybe you feel like, I've let down my friends. There are some people that maybe I should have invested in more. I just didn't value this. 71 00:24:56.800 --> 00:25:15.635 I I put my career first. I put other things first. Maybe feel guilty. See, the teaching of Proverbs paints a picture of a friend we all long for, but also paints a picture of a friend we've all failed to be. I cringe at some of the things, some of the silly things I did in my early twenties. 72 00:25:16.140 --> 00:25:32.975 I've got this memory of me and two friends. One was mistreating this one, and I was kind of involved in the mix. And I was too focused on being the kind one that everyone likes to actually challenge this one. I didn't step in when I should have. I should have actually challenged and said that... 73 00:25:32.975 --> 00:25:51.420 You're not treating him well. That's not right. I let a friend down when I should have stood up for them. The teaching of Proverbs paints a picture of a friend we all long for, but it also paints a picture of a friend we've all failed to be. How can we possibly live up to this definition? 74 00:25:52.300 --> 00:26:04.535 Well, this is the final thing we're going to explore together. How do we become a true friend? How do we become a true friend? We can actually grow into better friends for one another. We can do it. 75 00:26:05.095 --> 00:26:20.330 And the reason is because God has been a true friend to us. Drew Hunter again says the greatest power for becoming a better friend is being befriended by the best friend. Capital F. He's talking about God. What does he mean? 76 00:26:20.650 --> 00:26:41.235 How has God been our friend? Well, remember, God is full of that characteristic we've been talking about, Chesed. He is the great friend who abounds in loyal love and everlasting kindness and will never let you down. And this is why God took on human flesh in Christ. To come and save us was the ultimate expression of friendship. 77 00:26:41.235 --> 00:27:25.590 In fact, the night before He died, Jesus described His agonising death as a cosmic act of friendship. John 15, greater love is known than this, that someone laid down his life for his friends. And Jesus' 12, some of His closest friends were around that table when He was speaking about that, And He talked to them about what was about to happen, that darkness was coming, and some of them said, well, we'll never leave You, and Jesus said, actually, you'll betray Me. And Peter famously gets up and said, I'll never leave You, and Jesus is like, actually, you're gonna deny Me three times. And in Jesus' darkest moment, as He was taken to be put under false claims to this kangaroo court and be accused of all these sorts of things, in His darkest moment, His friends fled. 78 00:27:26.390 --> 00:27:56.085 His friends left Him. But Jesus is the best friend, the most faithful friend. Even though all of His friends let Him down, He never let them down. You see, at the cross, Jesus experienced the desertion of God, the breaking apart of friendship with God, not because He deserved it, but because He was representing failed friends like me. He's taking the consequences we all deserve. 79 00:27:57.285 --> 00:28:15.530 Jesus is the best friend there ever was because He was so committed to us that He chose to pull us out of our ruin. He chose to go through hell to save and restore us. He didn't let us down when we needed Him most, and He's candid with us. He doesn't flatter us. He tells us we're sinful, but He also loves us in our flaws. 80 00:28:16.490 --> 00:28:24.095 He's careful and caring. He knows every hair that's on your head. He knows how you tick. He knows your soul. He's closer than anyone else. 81 00:28:24.095 --> 00:28:42.680 His spirit actually dwells within you. He calls you His own body. Jesus is the most faithful friend, and he is the reason why we can be a true friend to others. Because when you experience friendship with Jesus, it fills your heart. It fills your soul. 82 00:28:43.320 --> 00:28:58.535 It makes you feel loved. It makes you feel rich. It enables you to stop looking within in all your needs and to look out at the needs of others. You can be a true friend because Jesus is the best friend. He loyally loved us when He should have kicked us to the curb. 83 00:28:58.695 --> 00:29:30.445 He even chose to go to the grave so that He could restore our friendship with God. We can be better friends because Jesus has let you in, and He will never let you down. Let me pray for us. Jesus, we thank You for Your faithful, loyal love. Thank You, God, that You are love, and You will never deny Yourself, and You will never change. 84 00:29:32.810 --> 00:30:08.340 We thank You for demonstrating that in Christ. Jesus, thank You for being a friend to us when we were Your enemies, when we were rebels to Your reign, when we didn't even want You. Thank You for dying for our sins and failures, to restore us to relationship with You and the Father and the Spirit. We ask that You'd fill us up. We ask that You would lead us into times of friendship with You, God, just talking to You throughout our days. 85 00:30:08.500 --> 00:30:27.125 Thank You that You love to hear from Your children. And we pray, Lord, that as we receive Your great love, that You'd help us to look out at the needs of those around us and to be good friends to those we call friends. We ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen.