Friendship Ecclesiates 4:9-12

Friends are a source of strength in our lives, supporting us through great difficulties. Friends also have the power to cause great pain and even ruin our lives. Therefore, it is imperative that we choose friends wisely. It is also important to know what a good friend looks like, and how to be one.

The friendship I am talking about is not the superficial stuff of Facebook or some club. Proverbs 18:24 says “a man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”

I was watching a nature show about wolves. The key to a successful hunt was for them to get one deer cut off and alone. Satan is much smarter than a wolf, He knows if he can get you alone his chances of defeating you have greatly improved. One of the best ways to get you alone is trick you into thinking you are not. You have heard of being all alone in a crowd, that might very well describe people today.

 True friendship is going to take time. It takes purposeful investment, sharing and trust.  Our passage describes two people who are together. A cord of three strands twisted together. With our busy schedules, this seems impossible. Yet friendship easies the burden not adds to it.

Who do you choose as a friend?

1 Corinthians 15:33 says, “do not be deceived, bad company ruins good morals.” So, one of the questions you need to ask is; what kind of choices do you see this person making? Are they foolish choices? Are they choices that honor God?

Proverbs 17:9 says, “Whoever covers an offence seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates good friends. Luke 16:10 says, “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.”  Which brings a second question to be asked. What has this person done with what you have told them, or they already know about you?

Proverbs 16:28 “a whisper separates good friends” This is not about gossip but of steadfastness. Can someone whisper in a person’s ear and turn their friendship? If they can, the person is not much of a friend. Will they not talk to you or spend time with you because you voted for the wrong candidate?

How do you be a friend to someone?

Do you take the time to invest in them?
Are you making godly choices in your life? Are you good company?
Are you faithful in what a person trusts you with?
Will stand with them, by them? Even when you know they are making a mistake?
You don’t have to approve of what they do but you do not desert them.

Now I want to tell you about the greatest friend I have ever had, Jesus. The greatest friend you can ever have, Jesus.

In John 15:13 Jesus said, “no greater love has any man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends, and you are my friends.”

Romans 5:8 says “God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Hebrews 13:5 God says, “I will never leave you or forsake you.”

You can start a friendship with Jesus today.