Christianity and your Friends

Welcome to this week's message from the Church at Chelsea Westover.

Our core values are vibrant worship, intimate fellowship, fulfilling service, and clear biblical truth.

We pray that this message changes your life.

Let's tune in to today's message and see what God has in store for you.

John chapter 15.

John 15 · chapter mention

Christianity and your friends.

Dr.

Falwell made a statement a long time ago when I was a student at Liberty University for all those years.

And again, if you do not have a worship guide, raise your hand.

We'll make sure everybody's got a worship guide.

The outlines on the back.

Outlines on the back.

And also in there, you've got an Easter extravaganza.

Woo! It's going to be fun around here that Saturday.

The Saturday before Easter.

So please be a part of that.

Bring your friends.

Bring your family.

It's going to be, we're going to be out on the property again, and the field's looking good, and we're just going to have a good time with the kids and family out there doing Easter egg hunts.

There's going to be a, I think there's going to be a, are you ready for this?

A$50 Easter egg you can find out there.

Oh yeah.

Yeah.

Somebody said it might even be a$100 Easter egg out there.

Whoa, that's what I'm saying.

I think I may get in on the Easter egg hunt.

I know, I know.

But uh only for kids.

But it's going to be a great day.

We're going to have a good day.

Easter's right around the corner.

Start calling your friends and inviting them to be in church on that Easter Sunday morning.

It's going to be a great Sunday morning.

I'm going to preach on the resurrection that morning.

Oh, yeah.

We're going to go to the resurrection when Jesus came up out of the tomb.

It's going to be a great, great Sunday.

Can't wait.

Can't wait.

That's our next big event, all of the church to get involved.

And so we're very excited about that.

We really are.

But Dr.

Falwell made the profound statement, and he would say this constantly from the pulpit.

He'd say, if you have five friends, if you have five close friends, in other words, if you can name five close friends, you're doing extremely well.

In fact, he says, you're way ahead of most people.

And I thought to myself, you know, I'm, you got to realize, I'm a sanguine choleric.

And a sanguine means I'm a people person.

Okay?

I don't meet a stranger.

I promise you, I don't.

Susan will tell you, I can be talking to them, and within five minutes, man, I you'd think we've known each other all our lives.

But that's just who I am.

And I also do that intentionally.

Because I've got an ultimate purpose.

And that's to bring out my life and death track and share the gospel.

So I have a purpose.

But but I do love people.

I'm the type of person that if we go on vacation, I'd invite the whole church to go with us.

But Sue said, no, no, no, no, no, no.

And it's true, but that's just who I am.

That's the way I am.

But when Thalwell made that statement that you can count on one hand, if you can, he said, you are very fortunate and very, hey, blessed.

And I thought to myself, I got a lot of friends.

And then I realized I have a lot of friendships.

But I only really have maybe four or five real friends.

You say, what do you mean?

That's what I'm gonna answer.

So what is a real friend?

And that's why you can be, hey, you can have a friendship with Jesus, but not be his friend.

Hello.

Now that's a, I know that's a that's a that's a great statement to really start this message on.

Today, the title of the message is Christianity and your friends.

And we're gonna be looking at the word friend, phylos.

It's the Greek word phylos, and it means devoted.

Now that's, hey, that's where you separate a real friend from a friendship.

I'm talking about the word means devoted, it means the love existing between family members.

Yes, family members.

The love that I have for my wife.

We're devoted to each other.

So it's that kind and affectionate uh affection that you have toward each other.

You're devoted to each other.

In fact, here's what the word means.

And it really takes on a different meaning when you look at it from a friendship from the world instead of a friendship as a Christian.

There's a whole big difference.

You can have a friendship, and you can have that with worldly people.

You can be have friendships, but an intimate, devoted friend, you can't.

And here's what we're saying: the word philosoph literally means comrade, companion, partner.

It means partner.

It's the same word that David and Jonathan used in 1 Samuel 18, verses 1 and 3, that when they met each other, they formed a bond.

1 Samuel 18:1

In fact, the Hebrew word there means knitted together.

They were knitted together.

And that's the kind of friendship that Jesus wants with you and me.

He wants us to be knitted together as friends.

I mean intimate, devoted friends.

You know, the word friend is defined so broadly today that it can be used to refer to all social acquaintances and even school and business associates.

But when it comes to serious study of the term of a what is a real, true Christian friendship, it takes on a whole new dimension.

It really does.

And our concept of friendship undergoes a tremendous, immediate change when we become a Christian.

Therefore, if any man be in Christ Jesus, he's a new creation.

Old things have passed away.

Behold, all things have become new.

So I want us to look at three things today.

First of all, let's look at the basis of this friendship.

Read with me in your Bibles.

In John 15, Jesus said, starting at verse 9, as the Father has loved me, I have also loved you.

And then he says, remain in my love.

If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love.

Just as I have kept my father's commandments and remain in his love.

In other words, he says, in order to have this kind of bonded, knitted together friendship, there has to be action.

Amen.

True friendship equals action.

Amen.

That's pretty important.

And it really means action, hey, toward one another.

In other words, it means action toward your friend.

And your friend's action towards you.

There was action in this love.

It wasn't just a superficial saying, I love you.

It's one thing for you to tell me that, and my wife tells me, I want you to tell me I love you.

And I'll say, honey, you know I love you.

And I said, you know, we've been married 35 wonderful years, and I told you the day that we met.

In fact, we were just listening to our marriage ceremony yesterday.

Yeah.

Oh yeah.

And that song you sang, you need to sing that.

You need to sing that here.

And uh, and I heard my little son, who's now 40, how old's Eric?

Whatever, but 40 something.

But he was he was eight years old singing, take my home, Lord, take my life, Lord, make it yours.

At eight years old, I was listening to him sing, and I thought, is that Eric?

But but I listened to the vows that the preacher brought to us, Susan and me, and then the the charge that he brought to the church.

And you gotta realize, uh, I'd only been at that church less than a year, and my wife had died when I got there, and then 11 months later I'm marrying Susan.

And a lot of people thought that was a weird and that uh that it was too early and all this other stuff.

I mean, I caught it, and I said, Well, but I did you think 35 after 35 wonderful years it took, I think I did all right.

I think I did all right.

But as I was beginning to listen to those those those vows, and then the vows that I took for her, toward her, I thought to myself, what I was literally saying that day was that, honey, I am, Susan, I am devoting myself to you.

I am giving you, hey, myself to you forever till death do us part.

That is a commitment, folks.

But that is a hey, a friendship that is knitted together, not only for the love that we had for each other, but the love of God in our hearts toward each other.

And by the way, it's just getting tweeter and tweeter.

Amen.

It really is.

So, the basis, he said, look at verse 13.

And then, well, verse 11, he says, And I have spoken these things to you that my joy might be in you, and that your joy might be full, complete.

This is my commandment.

Love one another as I love you.

Now, watch this.

And no one has greater love than this, that someone should lay down his life for his what?

Friends.

Now that's not friendship, that's hey, that's deep, devoted friends.

Not just an acquaintance, not just, you know, a friend, but someone, let me ask you, are you willing to give your life for just anyone?

Oh, I doubt it.

Hello?

But we're talking about a true friend is willing to give their life for their friend.

Now, do you see how it's gone to that next level?

That's the friendship we're talking about.

In fact, another word is lover.

In other words, that friend, that philosophers, it's so powerful that it means that you are lovers.

Now that takes it to the next level.

You and I are lovers with God.

Wow.

Wow.

That's why when you use that word, it really takes it to that, hey, deep level that you probably have three to four of maybe five if you're fortunate on your hands.

Make sense?

Work with me here.

Makes sense?

So here we see this basis.

And I love it because he says, you, verse 14, here's the key.

You are my friends if you do what I commend you.

Uh-oh.

There it is.

There's that action verb again.

You gotta love is action.

So, the basis of our Christian fellowship, verse 13.

Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

The Lord Jesus made it quite plain that the basis of true friendship is a love which is both, watch.

Write it down.

It's both spiritual and sacrificial.

That's true friendship.

It's spiritual as well as sacrificial.

By love, serve one another.

Galatians 5, 13.

It's so important that we understand that.

In fact, there's two things I want us to look at this morning.

Number one, let's look at the spiritual love.

Here it is.

Greater love hath no man than this.

Hey, our Lord quite obviously was drawing attention to the nature of his own love when he said, look, verse 9, as the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you.

Continue in my love.

True friendship love is steadfast.

In other words, it won't walk out when the hey, on somebody when the going gets tough.

When the tough, hey, when the when it gets going tough, that's when you stick.

That's when you steadfast.

Anybody can can enjoy a relationship when it's all peaches and cream.

By the way, I like peaches and cream.

Hello.

But hey, when the hey, when the peaches aren't sweet anymore, hello?

And the cream's a little sour, what do you do?

Do you throw it out or do you try your best to fix it?

Throw it out.

Yeah, that's what most people do.

Just throw it out while I'm out of here.

Add a little sugar to it, Tamara.

Yeah.

A little sweetness never hurt anybody.

My grandmother used to say, Danny boy, you gotta be sweet.

I used to hate that word.

I don't want to be sweet.

That's not manly.

But the older I'm getting, the sweeter I'm getting.

Right?

You even said that.

How about Fainting?

My wife called me sweet.

She said that was sweet.

You used to, I said, I don't want to be sweet.

I'm gonna be tough.

You know.

Macho man.

You know, I grew up in there with the remember the cigarette commercial, which was terrible.

The marble man.

Yeah, yeah.

Tough.

You don't cry.

Yeah, men don't cry.

Men don't complain.

I like that part.

But but really, listen to what he's saying.

This is awesome.

This strongly implies that no matter to what height human friendship may rise, it becomes Christian only when it is transformed into the love of God by spiritual love.

Paul said this: the love, you know what he said?

You know what compeled Paul, 2 Corinthians 5.14?

The love of Christ compels me.

You know what makes you stick there and serve there when nobody else and when you feel like griping, Darren, about serving?

You know what?

You you you hey the flesh wants you to just complain and gripe.

I know it does me, and I I can do that, quite with the best of them.

You know?

Nobody, they don't care.

I mean, you ever been?

Don't look at me like that.

You've been there.

I've seen you.

I've seen you.

Yeah.

It's the old me monster.

That's right.

Oh me.

Oh, it's all about me.

But listen, here's what you gotta realize when Jesus said this.

He said, look, it's the love of Christ that compels me.

Here's the thing.

If you're doing it for anything other than the love of Christ, you're doing it for the wrong reason.

Hello.

See, when when the going gets tough and you're out there and you're the only one setting up chairs or putting and you're looking around, and I'm sure Matt and some of you that do it every Sunday, you watch, you watch people walk by and they eat and smile and just walk out.

They don't pick up a chair, they don't pick up a table, they don't wash a dish, and you know what you're thinking.

Well, they just are they're moochers.

Now I know you're thinking that, because I've thought that.

Amen.

Oh, the preacher thinks I'm a moocher.

Are you?

Hello?

Yo Cav You washed your dish.

Yeah, oh, talking about me.

Oh boy, have I gotten training recently?

I've gotten to the point I made up, I said I'm gonna I'm gonna put up my clothes, I'm gonna wash my dish.

My dishes?

Right my dishes.

I forgot when I, you know, I I I I I I did she just cooked it.

Yeah, she just cooked my food.

She didn't let me know that.

She says, now you can help me.

I did the cooking, you can do the washing.

I said, ooh.

I said, well, I did wash my dish, and I washed Rocky's dish.

But see, a servant is washing her dishes if I'm devoted.

Can I get an old me?

Can I get an old me?

But I only had two dishes.

She had seven.

But but that's what I'm talking about.

If I'm devoted and I'm a servant, then I'm gonna wash whatever dishes in the hey, in the sink, not washing with the attitude, she didn't have to use these many pots and pads.

Just a thought.

See, you just because you just eradicated everything of your service uh that you were trying to do when you start doing it with a bad attitude, what you're doing, you've just lost.

The service you just lost.

But, but, but, but if you're washing it there and saying, don't even think about how many dishes there, whoo! Man, that food was good.

I'm so glad my wife's pretty.

I'm so glad my worth cares about me.

I'm so glad my wife cooks for me.

I'm not getting squat for a response on that one.

Hello.

Are we okay out there, gentlemen?

I know you're saying, please get off that subject.

Number two, not only is it spiritual love, it's sacrificial love.

I'll go on.

Look at verse 13.

Greater love hath no man than this, then a man lay down his life for his friends.

Now here it is.

The spirit of true friendship, now watch, is always ready.

I love this, is always ready to do, to dare, and to die.

That's true friendship.

It's already, it's always ready to do, dare, and die for the highest good of another.

This is supreme, manifested friendship that the Lord had toward us.

Listen to what he says.

I love this.

John could say it this way: 1 John 3, 16.

Here's what he said.

Hereby perceive we the love of God because he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brethren.

Now remember, our brethren, that's that true friendship.

It's not an acquaintance, it's that true friendship.

That person that you're knitted together with, you're bonded together with.

And that should be in this church.

It should be in our church fellowship.

You and I are bonded together.

Now, watch this.

1 John 3 18, don't miss this.

Here's the evidence.

My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue.

I love that.

But in what?

Say it with me.

Deed and what?

There's that love in action.

There's that love in action.

I love what Paul said in Ephesians 5, 2.

Walk in love as an offering and a sacrifice to God.

Now, watch, as a sweet smelling savor.

Do you realize when you and I are serving each other, when we are helping each other, God just knocked me side the head with this.

Hey, you and I are a sweet smelling offering unto God.

Now, watch, hang with me.

Here's so now, when you watch the Moochers walk out, hello.

I'm helping you here.

I'm not just talking about the church.

I'm talking, you know what I'm talking about, serving everywhere.

All right.

Now listen, listen.

So when you see people that just aren't serving, they don't care, they're just taking advantage of you, taking advantage of others.

How can you still have a smile on your face?

How can you still love and be excited and have an attitude that's sweet?

Is that not so?

I've been trying to help you wash dishes recently.

Why?

Because I just realized it.

Hey, it's a sweet smelling de God.

See, I grew up in a house where that was a j a woman's job, not a man's job.

Hello?

Actually, I grew up in a home where we didn't wash any dish because nobody was there.

I just I grabbed my sandwich and went outside and ate and kept getting it.

I had no mother and dad.

I just tended for myself.

I really did.

I learned how to eat a cereal bowl.

Bowl of cereal, and then just wash the bowl out, take the soap, do it like that, and put it back, dried out, put it back up.

I'm through.

But see, that's tending for yourself.

That's not being a servant.

That's not helping others.

Amen.

That's not being a friend.

I didn't have a friend.

And I understand that.

And a lot of us grew up that way.

But once you, hey, bring Christ into your life, everything changes.

You got a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

And your love should be impartial, it should be unselfish, it should be sincere, and it should be abounding.

Can I get an amen?

Number two.

That's the basis of our fellowship.

Our friendship.

The basis is it's spiritual and it's sacrificial.

Remember what Jesus said, He that is greatest among you shall be what?

Your servants.

Your servants.

But number two, look at the bond of Christian friendship.

Verse 14.

You are my friends.

Now watch.

If you do whatsoever I command you, if you do whatsoever I command you, Jesus here states that the bond which cements true friendship is threefold.

Watch this.

This is really good.

Number one, it's unity.

Christian unity.

Ye are my friends.

Watch.

If you do whatsoever I command you.

It is important to remember that the master was addressing these words to the eleven, not Judas.

To the eleven.

Judas was not his friend.

It wasn't Jesus' fault that Judas wasn't his friend.

But Judas was not his friend.

Judas was the traitor.

He had gone out into the night when Jesus made the statement that you are my friends.

My friend is a powerful statement in the sense in which he could apply it to all the others.

Here's what he said: The unity of the Spirit is the bond of love.

Amen?

Ephesians 4, 3.

What did Paul say?

Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of love.

See, let me say something.

If you really love Christ and you love each other and you're knitted together, you will do everything it takes to keep unity in your home and in your, hey, and with your friends.

You with me?

Sylvester and I'm talking about different theological and about the gifts of the Spirit.

I said, you know, there's so much difference in the gifts, the interpretation of gifts.

I mean, we could fight all the time, but I don't let those things be divisive.

Hey, if if you believe that Jesus is the way, the truth, the life, and no one man can come into the Father except by Christ, I can fellowship with you.

I can be a friend to you.

Amen.

I do not waver on sanctification.

I mean, on justification.

Now we can differ a little bit in the sanctification process.

Amen?

And still love each other, folks.

You can disagree with your husband and still love him, ladies.

Gentlemen, you can love your wife and still disagree with her.

Amen.

But there's one thing you can't disagree on, and that's the, hey, intimacy with Jesus Christ.

As Susan and I have been married 35 wonderful years, and we've been working on this triangle with God and triangle with Satan that we want to do with the couples starting in April.

And I got to thinking, as she and I were talking the other day, I said, do you realize we were we we were and still are so opposite in everything else the way we were raised, our likes, our di uh, our giftedness, everything.

But the one thing that's the most important thing is we both love God with all our hearts and souls and minds, and that's what knitted us together.

And after 35 wonderful years, that's what's kept us together.

Big difference, folks.

So that means all that's those preferences I put aside for the principles of God's word.

Can I get an Amen?

Amen.

And that's the way it works.

That's sacrificial love, that's Christian unity.

It really is.

Therefore, hey, hey, remember what Amos said in Amos 3:3?

Amos 3:3

Can two walk together except they agree?

Now I'm not talking about being a doorman or just no, I'm talking about you, you are who you are.

You have your thoughts, you have your, and by the way, I like it.

I I like it when Susan I S.

You're right.

You're right.

I've been doing good.

I'm not gonna go there.

Let's go on over.

But I like her input.

You know what I'm saying.

Hey, I love it.

I really do.

Now okay, I'm not gonna say it.

All right, let's go.

So, Christian unity, but listen, can two walk together?

But even though we may disagree in areas, we agree in the most important.

And that's Christ in honoring him, whether he eat or drink, whatsoever, do or do all to the glory of God.

Can I get an amen?

Man, that's so good, preacher.

That's so good, preacher.

I needed that preacher.

I needed it.

He that is joined unto the Lord, listen, it's one spirit.

That's why when I see a church fighting, God help us.

That's nothing but of the devil.

The leadership of a church or divisions in a church is nothing but of the devil.

That's all it is.

Because when you're walking with the Lord, yes, hey, I like the blue chairs.

Well, I like red, but who cares?

Amen.

I don't care if it's red, I don't care if it's pink, I don't care if it's blue, I don't care.

What I do care about is that we love each other and that the love of Christ is exhibited out here to Chelsea, Westover.

And when they said, they don't hear us grumbling and fighting, but they hear us loving and helping people.

Can I get an amen?

That's it.

Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit, do whatever it takes.

That's what he talks about.

That's what he means.

Oh, Philippians 1 27 is one of the my best.

Oh, yeah, there it is, Jason.

Amen.

Listen, put it up there.

Stand fast in one spirit with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel.

Now, what are you talking about?

One mind.

We're not talking about because I like blue, you like red.

No, one mind means we're standing together for the gospel of Jesus Christ.

That to present the gospel, to share the gospel, to show like Christ's likeness.

We're in one accord, not for the peripheral things, but we're in one accord of the main thing, the gospel.

Amen.

Is that not what it says?

Now what?

Striving together for the faith of the gospel.

Striving together means that we work at it.

We have to work at it.

It's not easy.

Hey, if marriage was easy, we wouldn't have a 50% divorce rate.

Can I get an amen?

Oh me?

Really?

It's not easy.

You have to strive.

But you have a purpose.

You have a foundation.

And the purpose and the foundation is Jesus Christ.

That's it.

That's it.

That's it right there.

That's right.

Second thing is Christian loyalty.

Look at verse 14.

We have Christian unity, then we have Christian loyalty.

Oh, couples, listen to me.

You are my friends if you do whatsoever I command you.

True friendship is neither soft nor shallow.

It expresses and expects wavering and unending loyalty.

Jesus said in John 13, 1, I will love you to the end.

I love you to the end.

I won't give up on you.

Can I get an amen?

Aren't you glad he never gave up on us?

The proof of our friendship and love is not in our feelings, but our actions.

Sometimes I don't feel like loving Susan.

But my actions should still show that I love her.

Can I get an amen?

Feelings are funny.

Feelings fluctuate.

And you know what I've learned about feelings?

I'm going to help all of us.

You ready?

Listen to me.

You know when you really feel good.

You know when you really, really, really feel good.

Some of you look at me, no, I never felt that way before.

God help you.

But you know when you really feel good.

You know when it is?

When you know you're doing what God wants you to do.

It feels good.

When I know God wants me to wash Susan's dishes, I'm feeling good.

Now he doesn't.

I don't feel that way every time.

But my actions ought to portray that.

Can I get an amen?

Because why?

Watch.

I'm helping you.

Boy, this is help me.

It's a sweet, smelling aroma to God.

You stack these chairs today.

Go like this.

You put up the tables.

You wash in a dish.

Oh, that's a sweet smelling dish.

Amen.

Because guys, that is it.

That's what it is.

It brings a whole new perspective, doesn't it?

Oh, it does.

Oh, it does.

And when your boss is giving you a hard time, you know what next time in a loving way say I love you, and just go.

Your husband giving you a hard time, ladies know this will be good.

Go.

Oh, Pastor Daddy, you're crazy.

I told you it's been two weeks since I preached.

I'm having a good time up here.

But that's it.

It's Christian unity.

It's Christian loyalty.

Now, write this down.

This is good.

Let me show you what I found out about loyalty in my research.

And I wrote this down to me.

Such loyalty that we're talking about, where Jesus said, You're my friends, if you do whatsoever I command you.

Watch this.

Such loyalty results in, here it is.

This kind of loyalty results in faithfulness and all confidence.

And what does that mean?

A true friend.

A true friend, my true friend.

I can tell him or her.

My wife, me and my friend, men, you don't you only need one female friend, and that's your wife.

Amen.

You don't need any other women friends.

So when I say I ought to be able to tell my friends, my male friends, that are really my friends, I ought to be able to tell them anything.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

I don't want them to know this.

Why?

You know why you don't want them to know it?

Because you ought not to be doing it.

Amen.

Hello, owe me.

You ought not to be doing it.

I don't want them to know this.

You ought not to be doing it.

Why not?

You're, what did Paul say?

You are a letter written in our hearts, known and read by all men.

You're writing a gospel or a chapter each day, by the deeds that you do, the words that you say, mean read what you write distorted to true.

What is the gospel according to you?

2 Corinthians 3, 2.

So it's, hey, listen to this.

Oh, let me give you the psalmness.

Oh, I think it's there, Jason.

Is it there, Psalms 25, 14?

Listen to what I found.

The psalmist tells us that the secret of the Lord is with them that fear him.

Can I have my towel right there, baby?

Listen to what he says.

Hey, look at it again.

Is it up there?

Yeah, he's got it.

Read that with me, church.

Read that verse.

The secret of the Lord is with him.

Whoa! The Lord's not hiding anything from his friends.

Nothing.

Remember when he told Abraham, he said, You're my friend?

Abraham, well, actually, Abraham and Moses.

Abraham was called the friend of God.

Genesis, hey, hey, a friend of God in James 2.23.

And God asked him, listen to what God asked him in Genesis 18, 17.

Man, this is good.

Shall I hide from Abraham the thing which I do?

He says, I'm not gonna hide anything from my friend.

I'm not gonna hide anything from my friend.

A true friend, you ought to be able to, hey, share everything with them.

That's why you're only gonna have two or three.

A true friend's not gonna get on the phone and say, Now, now don't tell anyone.

You know what?

When somebody tells you not to tell anyone, do you know what that really means in the Greek?

Tell everybody.

You like that, didn't you, Darren?

Tell everybody.

Yeah, that's what it means.

That's what it means.

Don't tell anybody.

Hey, have you heard you can't you can't tell anyone now.

Well, if you can't tell anyone, why are you telling them?

Duh.

That's dumb.

But but but there it is.

Faithfulness in all confidences.

Listen to what he said.

Remember Moses?

The Lord spake unto Moses face to face as a man speaketh unto his friend.

Exodus 33, 3.

So, we ought to be able to tell a true friend anything, knowing that that true friend's not going to tell everybody, or it's not, hey, and here's the other thing: a true friend's still gonna love you even when you blow it.

Amen.

And that's what the church ought to be.

Can I get an amen?

I don't care how many times you fall off the wagon, we ought to be there to help them back up and put them back on the wagon.

Can I get an amen?

We're not a self-righteous judgment place.

We're all sinners saved by God's grace.

All my righteousness is a filthy rags, Isaiah 64, 6.

Amen.

So we see.

Now notice the other thing I saw.

It's faithfulness.

Now watch.

Woo! This is worth coming for.

Because you're gonna really be able to evaluate your friends now.

Alright?

It's faithfulness in all confidences.

You can share anything.

Number two, it's faithfulness in all criticisms.

Now watch.

Proverbs 27, 6.

Faithful are the wounds of a friend.

Let me repeat that.

Proverbs 27, 6.

Faithful are the wounds of a friend.

A loyal friend is one who is faithful in all his criticisms if and when.

Now listen, if and when they are necessary.

And they're spoken in love.

Listen, you're not perfect.

I'm not perfect.

I make mistakes.

And I need a good friend to put his arm around me and say, whoa, Pastor.

You think Christ would do that?

That's all you gotta say.

You don't have to start telling them why you think they ought not to do it.

I've learned that's about as bad as.

All you gotta do is, all you, all you gotta do is say, you think Christ would do that?

I had a chance to run up to our cabin.

One of my mentors came down for a few days.

He and his wife, Dr.

Ron Hawkins, who's the provost of Liberty University, but he's also my mentor.

I hired, he hired me, and then I hired him back at Liberty during those years.

I'll never forget Ron.

Ron, he used to say, he'd say, Danny, I don't know if we need to do that.

And here's the way he'd always handle it.

He'd always say, I'm not sure we need to do that.

He didn't say we shouldn't do it.

He said, I'm not sure we need to do that.

And here's what he'd always follow up with.

You think the Lord would want us to do that?

Woo! He has just taken it to another dimension.

Because, see, most of the time you and I are thinking about what we want to do.

Hello.

And we're going so fast, we're not even giving the Lord time to think with us.

Gotta get it done.

So that's a good insight.

You think the Lord would be pleased with that?

Proverbs 27, 17, as iron, say it with me, as iron sharpens iron, so the countenance of a man sharpens a man, so a friend sharpens the countenance of his friend.

Wow, that's good.

That's good.

Now notice the other thing I saw.

This is really good.

Loyalty and Christian friendship means faithfulness in all confidences.

It means faithfulness in all criticisms that they can say something, but yet they know you know when they even say it the way they say it, that they love you and they're trying to help you, not condemn you, not judge you.

But there's a third thing: faithfulness in all circumstances.

Proverbs 17, 17.

A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

Meaning that in prosperity or adversity, your friendship with your friend never changes.

Whether you're prospering or whether you're in the dumps, your friend's still there loving you, sticking with you, got your back when everybody else has walked out on you.

Hello?

Now that's the way this church, my heartbeat for and the leadership of this church, our heartbeat is that's what this church is all about.

And for you that have been here now more than a year or two, you know that's true.

We don't care anything about your past, all we care is about your future, and God's got a fantastic future for you.

Jeremiah 29, 11.

And we want to help you find what God's future is for your life.

Can I get an amen?

Man, that's good, isn't it?

A community church that believes that.

Red, yellow, black, and white, they're all precious in his sight.

We don't care what color, we don't care what creed, we don't care what social stats, we don't care.

All we care is do you know Jesus?

And if you don't, let us lead you to Christ and let's watch what Christ's gonna do in you.

Amen, amen, amen, amen.

We're all one and together.

We're unified.

There's loyalty, there's unity.

Wow, that's good.

True friendship is not inspired or impaired by time nor dissolved by distance.

Let me give you an example.

Anytime I meet my mentor, Dr.

Hawkins, here's even a better example that you just saw.

Ron, I meant Randy Spencer, we've we're we're like this.

Ron Hawkins and I are like this.

I mean, those are two of those, probably four or five friends that I could count on my hand.

But those two, and every time we've been separated, now we talk a lot on the phone, don't get me wrong.

But but for seeing each other, we haven't, but the moment we come together, the moment we spent four and a half hours the other night and had supper there, I mean, it's like we've never left.

David and Christy, we've been separated from them from almost 20 years.

But when we started this church, it was like we had never left all those years we were together at Tuscaloosa.

That's what I'm talking about.

That's a true friend.

Can I get an amen?

You ought to desire that kind of friendship.

You need that kind of friendship.

That's what I'm talking about.

Fullness in all circumstances.

And then number three.

Christian unity, Christian loyalty.

Now, number three, Christian sympathy.

Look at verse 14.

You are my friends if you do whatsoever I command you.

Wow.

In the word, whatsoever is summed up in all the sympathies of the Savior, Jesus shared everything with his disciples and therefore expected them to share everything with him.

This should be true of any genuine friendship.

When Paul says, Rejoice with them that do rejoice and weep with them that do weep in Romans 12, 15, we have basically done that verse in justice because what we have elevated that verse to mean is weep in the sorrowful times with our brothers and sisters, which is vitally important.

But it doesn't stop there.

That's not the best part of the verse.

But the best part is yes, but then rejoice with them that rejoice because they found victory in the midst of the, hey, hey, when they're down in the dumps and they're defeated and they're discouraged, God brings them.

You weep with them, you help them, but then he brings them out of the dump.

He puts their feet, I'm about to have a spell, he puts their feet on a rock, puts a new song in the heart.

And then you rejoice with them.

Amen.

Amen.

There ought to be more rejoicing than weeping.

But we never see that verse in that context.

We ought to be rejoicing with the victories in the lives of our people and our friends.

Then the last thing, and I'm through.

Wow, the bond of friendship.

The basis for the friendship.

And the last thing.

What do we have for lunch today?

Roasted chicken.

I'm hungry.

You hungry, Carol?

I'm hungrier too.

I know what you think.

I'm going to wrap it up.

Wrap it up and set it up.

Set it up.

And when you're setting the tables, y'all gonna walk out of here.

The only thing you're gonna remember.

I can't, I couldn't, a sweet smell.

That's it.

But this is the now we've we've got the cake.

Now it's time to put the icing on it.

Ready?

Here it is.

The benefits of Christian friendship.

Look at verse 15.

Henceforth I call you.

Now watch.

Not servants.

Mmm.

Powerful transition.

For the servant knoweth not what the Lord doeth.

Huh?

But I've now called you friends.

For all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.

In other words, the benefits of friendship are too many for us to even try to enumerate.

But in their effect on our us personally, there's two things I want us to look at.

First of all, hey, this benefit is morally elevating.

Look at verse 15.

Henceforth, I call you not servants, but friends.

When the Lord Jesus first called these disciples to himself, remember that?

They were not even servants.

Watch.

They were sinners.

When he called them to himself, they were sinners.

But the transforming power of Christ's friendship was such that it changed eleven of these men.

Now watch.

This is good, Sylvester.

From sinful nobodies to saintly somebodies.

Is that not good?

From sinful nobodies to saintly somebodies.

And when that transformation took place, it is important to notice.

He did not call them.

Now watch friends at the beginning.

Ah, listen, he didn't call them friends at the beginning.

They had to know his salvation first.

And then go through his school of discipline and service.

Wow.

Oh, that's good.

That's good, folks.

Don't miss that.

He didn't call them friends first.

They had to first be saved.

Then they had to go through his school of discipline and service.

Just like the tabernacle.

Then he called them friends.

Wow.

Wow, wow, wow.

A friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

And then the lastly, and I'm through.

Not only was it morally elevating, but number two, it was mentally educating.

Look at what he said in verse 15 again.

Jesus said, I have called you friends.

Now watch.

For all things that I have heard of my father, I have made known unto you.

Talking about educating.

True friendship not only elevates us morally and in, hey, encourages us and builds us up together as we walk through life together with our friends, but it educates us mentally.

Listen to what Solomon said.

This is so good.

Listen to what Solomon said in Proverbs 13, 20.

He that walketh with wise men shall be wise.

But a companions of fools shall be destroyed.

Woo! See, you either walk hey, you either walk in with, hey, friends that morally elevate you, mentally educate you, refine you to be more like Christ, or you're walking with the world's bunch and they're nothing but fools.

Wow.

I didn't say that.

Don't go out here and say, Danny, that Pastor Danny called all y'all fools.

I didn't say that.

And if I have to, I guess I'll have to tweet the truth.

That was a joke.

But really, really, watch.

Watch what he's talking about here.

Think of Peter.

Oh, I love this.

Remember Peter?

Think of Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost.

How full it was of sound teaching and spiritual power after he had been a friend with Jesus.

And notice what they said, and I close with this.

Acts 4, 13 is one of my greatest verses that I pray every day for me.

And they saw, are you ready for this?

They saw the bonus of Peter and John and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, but they marveled and they took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus.

That's what I want.

A friend.

Peter and John, they were friends.

They were knitted together.

Can I get an amen?

I want to be knitted together with you, our church.

And that we we refine each other and we encourage each other.

We morally elevate each other.

We mentally, hey, educate each other to be more like Christ.

Now, folks, if you want that, you found the right place.

And I we've had over 200 first-time visitors in the last almost uh six months.

It's been unreal.

Six months to a year, but it's just been unreal.

Some stay, some don't.

And that's okay.

We pray God send us the people that want to be a part of this community that really want to, hey, be friends.

Can I get an amen?

Be real friends.

Now, real friends doesn't mean we're gonna agree at everything, but it does mean we're gonna agree with the main thing.

Can I get an amen?

And that's to be Christ-like.

Put our preferences down, put it and elevate his principles.

Can I get an amen?

The book.

If the book says it, we do it.

Doesn't matter what you think, doesn't matter what I think.

What matters is what God's word says.

Can I get an amen?

And that's it.

I've always lived my life.

35 wonderful years, actually, more than that, being saved, but I've been with her 35 wonderful years.

And we really have lived our life.

I'm telling you, we're badly in love with each other, but it's not because of our personalities.

It's because of the person.

Jesus.

Because personality rise, when we've taken, we've taken the personality test two or three, the discs two or three times.

And the guy that was given it last time, we were in a in a big meeting.

He where?

Yeah, leadership class that we were taking working on my doctorate.

And and and you know what he did?

He looked at us and he said, No.

He said, that's the worst combination possible.

He did, did he not?

Most incompatible people ever.

And then he said, How in the world?

How many years y'all been together?

And y'all still seem to like each other.

One reason, folks.

J-E-S-U-S.

Amen.

Because, see, nothing else really matters when he's the focus.

When he's in the middle of that triangle, nothing else matters.

Thanks again for tuning into this week's message.

We pray that your life has been changed.

If you would like to find out more about us, visit us on our webpage at thechurch at cw.com.

You can also connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at TheChurch at CW.

Need prayer or more information?

Send us an email at office at the church at CW.com.

We hope you have a wonderful day, and again, God bless you.