WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:06.640 What is my life or my father's family in Israel that I should be son-in-law to the king? 00:06.640 --> 00:11.760 But it came to pass at the time when Mirab, Saul's daughter, should have been given to David, 00:11.760 --> 00:16.240 that she was given unto Adriel the Mohollathite to wife. 00:16.240 --> 00:21.920 And Michal, Saul's daughter, loved David, and they told Saul, and the thing pleased him. 00:21.920 --> 00:27.360 And Saul said, I will give him her, that she may be a snare to him. 00:27.400 --> 00:30.860 and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him. 00:30.860 --> 00:32.860 Wherefore Saul said to David, 00:32.860 --> 00:38.000 Thou shalt this day be my son-in-law in the one of the twain. 00:38.000 --> 00:40.360 And Saul commanded his servants, saying, 00:40.360 --> 00:43.160 Commune with David secretly and say, 00:43.160 --> 00:47.400 Behold, the king hath delighted thee, and all his servants love thee. 00:47.400 --> 00:49.660 Now therefore be the king's son-in-law. 00:50.100 --> 00:54.660 And Saul's servants spake those words in the ears of David. 00:54.660 --> 00:59.540 And David said, Seemeth to you a light thing to be a king's son-in-law, 00:59.540 --> 01:03.460 seeing that I am a poor man and lightly esteemed? 01:03.460 --> 01:08.300 And the servants of Saul told him, saying, On this manner spake David. 01:08.300 --> 01:11.500 And Saul said, Thus shall ye say to David. 01:11.800 --> 01:18.800 The king desireth not any dowry, but an hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to be avenged 01:18.800 --> 01:20.960 of the king's enemies. 01:20.960 --> 01:25.100 But Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines. 01:25.100 --> 01:30.400 And when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to be the king's son-in-law, 01:30.400 --> 01:32.800 and the days were not expired. 01:32.800 --> 01:38.920 Wherefore David arose and went, he and his men, and slew of the Philistines two hundred 01:38.920 --> 01:39.400 in. 01:39.600 --> 01:45.440 And David brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full tale to the king, 01:45.440 --> 01:51.680 that he might be the king's son-in-law. And Saul gave him Michal his daughter to wife. 01:52.480 --> 01:58.080 And Saul saw and knew that the Lord was with David, and that Michal, Saul's daughter, loved him. 01:58.880 --> 02:04.720 And Saul was yet the more afraid of David. And Saul became David's enemy continually. 02:05.600 --> 02:11.760 Then the princes of the Philistines went forth, and it came to pass after they went forth that David 02:11.760 --> 02:18.480 behaved himself more wisely than all the servants of Saul, so that his name was much set by. 02:18.480 --> 02:20.160 Brother Ramon, will you pray for us? 02:32.600 --> 02:37.600 Amen, we're in 1 Samuel chapter 18 there. 02:37.600 --> 02:42.000 And so now we're here where Saul has become the enemy of David 02:42.000 --> 02:43.600 and that didn't take very long, did it? 02:43.600 --> 02:48.100 And it seems as if it's the same day because it says, 02:48.100 --> 02:51.900 or at least maybe fairly close to that day, 02:51.900 --> 02:53.300 because it says that... 02:53.600 --> 02:59.520 It's when he, when it came to pass when David, verse 6, was returned from the 02:59.520 --> 03:02.560 slaughter of the Philistine, that the women came out of all the cities. 03:02.560 --> 03:04.320 So it's the day that he comes back. 03:04.320 --> 03:07.040 I mean, so this is when Saul turns against them. 03:07.040 --> 03:07.920 It's like right away. 03:09.760 --> 03:14.640 Let's backtrack though to verse 57 in the last chapter there. 03:14.640 --> 03:18.560 It says, so this is just happening right after the last chapter, but it kind of seems... 03:19.400 --> 03:24.440 Chapter 1 kind of starts off in a weird way it seems like, or just like if you're not 03:24.440 --> 03:26.760 just taking it from the last chapter. 03:26.760 --> 03:27.760 So let's just read verse 57. 03:27.760 --> 03:32.240 In the last chapter it says, And as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, 03:32.240 --> 03:37.360 Abner took him and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand. 03:37.360 --> 03:40.840 And Saul said to him, Whose son art thou, thou young man? 03:40.840 --> 03:43.600 And David answered, I am the son of thy servant Jesse the Bethlehemite. 03:44.100 --> 03:48.880 Verse 1 chapter 18 says and it came to pass when he had made it end of speaking under Saul 03:49.260 --> 03:55.780 That the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David and Jonathan loved him as his own soul 03:56.260 --> 04:00.620 So it's like I mean, it's like they became best friends like as soon as 04:01.340 --> 04:05.700 He's like he's got a head in his hand. You know he's teaching him how to bowl or whatever 04:06.540 --> 04:07.600 he's 04:07.800 --> 04:14.760 He's like this dude's a man of war. I'm a man of war. You know did we just become best friends. You know it's like yeah 04:16.300 --> 04:18.740 And sometimes, you know, that's how friendships start. 04:18.740 --> 04:20.700 Like, it just takes like a, you know, 04:20.700 --> 04:22.000 just a little bit of camaraderie, 04:22.000 --> 04:24.400 and all of a sudden you have a lot in common, 04:24.400 --> 04:26.840 and then someone just becomes a great friend of yours 04:26.840 --> 04:28.700 just really quickly like that. 04:28.700 --> 04:29.800 Sometimes you don't kick it, 04:29.800 --> 04:31.500 you don't hit it off with some people, 04:31.500 --> 04:33.040 and it takes time to become friends with them. 04:33.040 --> 04:36.740 So friendships sometimes take time to cultivate, 04:36.740 --> 04:39.540 and sometimes you can just become fast friends with somebody, 04:39.540 --> 04:42.440 and this is the case with David and Jonathan. 04:42.440 --> 04:44.240 They just become best friends. 04:44.300 --> 04:46.400 besties, BFFs. 04:46.600 --> 04:50.100 or ride or die homies right off the bat there. 04:50.100 --> 04:52.500 So verse two says, 04:52.500 --> 04:55.620 and Saul took him that day and would not let him go 04:55.620 --> 04:58.620 and will let him go no more home to his father's house. 04:58.620 --> 05:01.420 So, and this is kind of what Saul's custom is 05:01.420 --> 05:04.060 that anytime he finds some great warrior 05:04.060 --> 05:06.260 or somebody that's, you know, 05:06.260 --> 05:09.460 somebody able to be in his army, he takes them for himself. 05:09.460 --> 05:11.340 And so David was just not allowed to go home anymore 05:11.340 --> 05:12.460 after this. 05:12.460 --> 05:14.600 And then Jonathan and David made a covenant. 05:14.600 --> 05:17.600 because he loved him as his own soul. 05:17.600 --> 05:21.360 So, Jonathan's very enamored by him apparently, 05:21.360 --> 05:24.320 and they just have a lot in common apparently. 05:24.320 --> 05:29.080 And loving him as his own soul, that's a deep friendship. 05:29.080 --> 05:30.880 Somebody that you would do anything for. 05:30.880 --> 05:33.980 And as we'll see here, I'm gonna go through some verses 05:33.980 --> 05:36.800 where it's very clear how much of a great friend 05:36.800 --> 05:38.680 Jonathan is to David. 05:38.680 --> 05:41.760 And so really my sermon is about 05:42.000 --> 05:44.880 David and Jonathan's friendship. I'm not going to get too much into what Saul, 05:45.600 --> 05:49.280 what happens with Saul's envy because that's to me, I'm just going to preach a different 05:49.280 --> 05:54.000 sermon about that. So I'm going to preach mainly about David and Jonathan's friendship and about 05:54.000 --> 06:00.000 how we should be as friends. Tonight, I'm just going to kind of preach about friendship. And 06:00.720 --> 06:07.200 verse four says, and Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him and gave it to David 06:07.200 --> 06:10.000 and his garments even to his sword and to his 06:10.000 --> 06:16.540 bow and to his girdle. So that term, they would give you the shirt off their back, probably 06:16.540 --> 06:21.240 comes from this verse. I mean that's kind of how Jonathan was. He was a great friend. 06:21.240 --> 06:25.760 Obviously Jonathan had probably wealth amassed. He's the king's son. He's a prince. 06:26.200 --> 06:28.120 And David comes from Bethlehem. 06:28.120 --> 06:31.000 He's a shepherd boy who probably didn't have a lot. 06:31.000 --> 06:34.680 He's the eighth of son and the last of the line. 06:34.680 --> 06:36.280 He probably didn't have a lot, 06:36.280 --> 06:37.520 probably didn't have a lot of garments. 06:37.520 --> 06:41.120 He probably, you know, he's obviously giving him clothes 06:41.120 --> 06:44.880 because he probably isn't in the greatest of attire 06:44.880 --> 06:47.400 and he's probably giving him all this stuff 06:47.400 --> 06:49.200 because he doesn't have weapons of his own. 06:49.200 --> 06:50.040 Obviously he didn't. 06:50.040 --> 06:52.320 He had to fight Goliath with a sling 06:52.320 --> 06:54.200 and five smooth stones that he picked up off the ground. 06:54.200 --> 07:00.200 So he didn't have any weapons, he didn't have armor or anything like that. 07:00.200 --> 07:03.200 And Jonathan had the things to give to him, so that's what friends do. 07:03.200 --> 07:07.200 Friends go out of their way to help their friends out when they're in need. 07:07.200 --> 07:13.200 And Jonathan did this for David, which was a nice thing for him to do, right? 07:13.200 --> 07:18.200 And that's what friends do. Friends sacrifice for each other and help each other out. 07:20.500 --> 07:28.500 And I'm just going to have us turn to some verses about Jonathan and David's friendship here. 07:28.500 --> 07:34.500 So, and then I'm going to go through some verses in the Proverbs about how friends should be and some other verses in the Bible. 07:34.500 --> 07:43.500 So yeah, so I'm going to mainly just preach about David and Jonathan's friendship and then apply that to Christians and how we should be as friends also. 07:43.500 --> 07:46.300 because all of us, I'm sure, have friends, 07:46.300 --> 07:47.500 unless you're just a real... 07:47.700 --> 07:51.780 hard person to get along with and maybe you just don't have a lot of friends or maybe 07:51.780 --> 07:55.260 you know you just don't have a you're not in a position or a time in your life 07:55.260 --> 07:58.820 where you have a lot of friends that could be the case too maybe you just 07:58.820 --> 08:01.740 have a big family and your friends are your kids or your friends are your 08:01.740 --> 08:06.860 spouse and that's just the way it is and that was kind of it's kind of been was 08:06.860 --> 08:10.740 it was my and my wife's way for a long long time where we just didn't have time 08:10.740 --> 08:15.500 for other friends outside of our family and we just kind of I mean 08:15.600 --> 08:18.880 It's not like we could just go do things that other people were doing. 08:18.880 --> 08:21.200 First of all, you don't have a lot of money when you have a big family. 08:21.200 --> 08:22.480 You have to go do a lot of things. 08:22.480 --> 08:28.760 So, you know, so it's just kind of our life was our kids and doing stuff with our kids 08:28.760 --> 08:29.800 and all the extra money we had. 08:29.800 --> 08:33.480 We spent time on doing stuff with our kids and things like that. 08:33.480 --> 08:35.960 So anyway, so. 08:36.500 --> 08:43.020 So when it was turned up first Samuel chapter 19 for Samuel chapter 19, so it's just one chapter over from where we're at 08:43.700 --> 08:48.460 So Saul goes on this mission, obviously, if you were paying attention during the Bible 08:48.460 --> 08:53.740 reading, Saul gets super envious of David because of what these dumb girls start doing, 08:53.740 --> 09:00.140 these dumb broads start doing. 09:00.140 --> 09:05.500 I can say that about these ones because they're stupid for saying these things. 09:05.500 --> 09:08.900 But I think that if it wasn't this, Saul probably would have flipped out about something 09:08.900 --> 09:09.340 else. 09:09.700 --> 09:11.160 You know, this is already in his heart. 09:11.160 --> 09:13.520 The spirit of the Lord is apart from him. 09:13.520 --> 09:14.920 The Bible kind of says this. 09:14.920 --> 09:18.760 And it's so weird because David is, you know, 09:18.760 --> 09:21.360 Jonathan, like, sees what David does 09:21.360 --> 09:22.720 and becomes best friends with him. 09:22.720 --> 09:26.560 But his dad sees what he does and then envies him 09:26.560 --> 09:29.240 and tries to kill him and becomes his mortal enemy 09:29.240 --> 09:30.480 after this. 09:30.480 --> 09:33.840 Both guys are saved, but one has a different reaction 09:33.840 --> 09:34.800 to him than the other. 09:35.100 --> 09:39.100 Obviously, Saul has a lot to lose and the spirit of the Lord departed from him. 09:39.100 --> 09:42.940 But I mean, Saul didn't have to do the things that he did. 09:42.940 --> 09:45.260 And Saul was definitely saved. 09:45.260 --> 09:48.620 But he was definitely saved and doing a lot of wicked things. 09:48.620 --> 09:53.020 Therefore God killed him for, ultimately, for all the things that he did. 09:53.020 --> 09:56.780 Ultimately, he killed him for going to the witch at Endor. 09:56.780 --> 09:59.860 The Bible says that in 2 Chronicles chapter number 10. 09:59.860 --> 10:00.160 So. 10:00.800 --> 10:06.160 But anyway, I mean, it's strange how some people, you know, some Christians will react 10:06.160 --> 10:07.640 to things completely different. 10:07.640 --> 10:12.040 And even in your own household, you can be divided about how much you like someone compared 10:12.040 --> 10:18.040 to someone else in your family, where the dad doesn't like someone and the son does. 10:18.040 --> 10:21.840 But in this case, the son is right and the dad is wrong. 10:22.600 --> 10:26.400 But, you know, it could be the other way around in some cases. 10:26.400 --> 10:28.120 It just depends on what the situation is. 10:28.120 --> 10:29.540 But which one is right? 10:29.540 --> 10:34.140 Jonathan is right because David is doing that which is right here and Saul is doing that 10:34.140 --> 10:36.540 which is wrong. 10:36.540 --> 10:42.560 So 1 Samuel 19, 4 says, And Jonathan spake good of David unto Saul his father, and said 10:42.560 --> 10:46.080 unto him, Let not the king sin against his servant, against David, because he hath not 10:46.080 --> 10:50.600 sinned against him, because his works have been to the word very good. 10:50.600 --> 10:55.600 So when Saul wants to kill David and puts this death sentence on him 10:56.100 --> 11:04.100 What's he do? He intercedes for David and tries to speak kindly about David and tries to help David to not get killed because he's his friend. 11:04.100 --> 11:13.100 And friends will, if you're a good friend, you're gonna not just go along to get along and say, oh yeah, you know, we should kill him, Dad. 11:13.100 --> 11:17.100 He's a good friend and sticks his neck out on the line to help him. 11:17.100 --> 11:22.100 And that's what good friends should do and not just let people talk bad about your friend. 11:22.100 --> 11:24.100 But some people are fair weather friends. 11:24.100 --> 11:30.700 or friends that they don't want to lose their position of what they think is the pecking order inside their circle of friends 11:30.700 --> 11:32.700 so they wouldn't say something in a situation like that. 11:32.700 --> 11:39.700 But, you know, we should step up and say something when someone's being defamed, someone's being slandered, 11:39.700 --> 11:45.700 someone's being talked about, someone's being, you know, run down about something like this when David didn't do anything wrong. 11:46.500 --> 11:52.540 1 Samuel 19.5 says, For he did put his life in his hand, and slew the Philistines, and 11:52.540 --> 11:55.060 the LORD wrought a great salvation for all Israel. 11:55.060 --> 11:57.740 Thou sauced it, and disrejoiced. 11:57.740 --> 12:04.340 Wherefore then wilt thou sin against innocent blood, to slay David without a cause? 12:04.700 --> 12:08.700 So, it's very clear that he's doing this for no reason. 12:08.700 --> 12:12.740 And Saul harkened unto the voice of Jonathan, and Saul swears, as the Lord liveth, he shall 12:12.740 --> 12:13.740 not be slain. 12:13.740 --> 12:17.820 So, he does get through to Saul, and he agrees to not kill him. 12:17.820 --> 12:20.500 Now let's go to the next chapter, chapter number 20. 12:21.800 --> 12:25.080 And Saul's anger does return in chapter 20, 12:25.080 --> 12:28.760 and I'm just kind of briefly going through this really quickly. 12:28.760 --> 12:31.800 And then David ends up having to flee again. 12:31.800 --> 12:34.800 And Jonathan meets with David secretly, 12:34.800 --> 12:36.560 and they kind of have this warning system 12:36.560 --> 12:39.400 that they devise, and we'll go into that more 12:39.400 --> 12:40.760 as we get to those chapters. 12:40.760 --> 12:43.080 But during this meeting, Jonathan 12:43.080 --> 12:46.920 asked David to promise a lifelong kindness 12:46.920 --> 12:48.080 to his family, basically. 12:48.600 --> 12:52.760 recognizing that David is one day going to be the king of Israel. 12:52.760 --> 12:55.880 He knows that that's what the prophecy says, 12:55.880 --> 12:58.360 or that that's what Samuel prophesied or whatever. 12:58.360 --> 12:59.400 Look at verse 16, it says, 12:59.400 --> 13:01.240 So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, 13:01.240 --> 13:05.320 saying, Let the Lord even require it at the hand of David's enemies. 13:05.320 --> 13:07.880 Verse 17, And Jonathan caused David to swear again, 13:07.880 --> 13:12.040 because he loved him, for he loved him as he loved his own soul. 13:12.040 --> 13:13.000 So... 13:13.000 --> 13:15.000 So they renew that covenant. 13:15.000 --> 13:19.400 The covenant they make in this chapter is obviously of kindness between themselves and 13:19.400 --> 13:21.880 probably in the future. 13:21.880 --> 13:26.720 But then they renew this covenant at the time when David has to flee and he's hiding out. 13:26.720 --> 13:30.000 And that warning system is about shooting the bow over the kid's head that's going 13:30.000 --> 13:31.000 to fetch the arrows and stuff. 13:31.000 --> 13:34.700 And like I said, we'll get into that later as we get into that chapter. 13:34.700 --> 13:38.800 But Jonathan sticks his neck out on the line again. 13:38.800 --> 13:39.200 Thanks for watching! 13:39.400 --> 13:42.000 His dad has already sworn that he wasn't going to do anything. 13:42.000 --> 13:44.600 And Dave is like, no, he's trying to kill me again. 13:44.600 --> 13:45.760 And he's like, no. 13:45.760 --> 13:47.520 He already told me he wasn't going to do that. 13:47.520 --> 13:49.760 It's like, no, seriously, he's trying to kill me again. 13:49.760 --> 13:54.120 And so then I think Saul throws the javelin at him. 13:54.120 --> 13:56.160 And then he's like, oh, yeah, he's trying to kill you. 13:56.160 --> 13:56.920 You're right. 13:56.920 --> 13:57.600 So. 13:58.000 --> 14:02.660 Anyway verse 42 in that same chapter says and Jonathan said to David go in peace for as much as we have 14:02.800 --> 14:08.460 Have sworn both of us in the name of the Lord saying the Lord is between me and thee and between my seed and I see 14:08.460 --> 14:11.860 Forever and he arose and departed and Jonathan went into the city 14:14.080 --> 14:19.440 But you know before this in verse 41 it says and as soon as the lad was gone David arose 14:19.560 --> 14:24.540 Out of his place toward the south and fell on his face to the ground and bowed himself three times and they kissed one 14:24.540 --> 14:25.500 another and wept 14:25.700 --> 14:28.880 one with another until David exceeded. 14:28.880 --> 14:33.080 So they were obviously very sad about the fact 14:33.080 --> 14:34.980 that this was happening. 14:34.980 --> 14:36.800 And they basically, but they had to agree 14:36.800 --> 14:39.800 because they're both on two opposing sides here. 14:40.100 --> 14:46.020 And David, I mean, Jonathan does have to be loyal to his dad to a certain degree. 14:46.020 --> 14:52.420 I mean, he had to be loyal to the point where he has to go down in flames with his dad against the Philistines. 14:52.420 --> 14:56.460 He has to die with the Philistines, even though Jonathan was a good man. 14:56.460 --> 15:00.420 Jonathan didn't deserve to have to die in this way. 15:00.420 --> 15:05.300 But Samuel, when he brought him up with the witch at Endor, he said, 15:05.300 --> 15:07.300 tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. 15:07.700 --> 15:11.940 And so all of his sons had to die because of the stuff that he was doing. 15:11.940 --> 15:17.700 And Jonathan was just loyal in that way. He was the captain of his host with Abner. 15:18.500 --> 15:28.420 So, chapter 23 verse 16. And so Jonathan comes to him again. 15:29.900 --> 15:33.020 and reaffirms their bond in chapter 23 it says, 15:33.020 --> 15:38.460 Jonathan saw the son of rosen went into to David into the wood and strengthened his hand in God. 15:39.260 --> 15:45.900 Verse 17. So he never stopped being his friend, but he just kind of had to secretly go to him. 15:45.900 --> 15:49.660 And he said unto him, Fear not for the hand of Saul my father shall not find thee, 15:49.660 --> 15:55.660 and thou shalt be king over Israel, and I shall be next unto thee, and that also Saul my father knoweth. 15:56.200 --> 16:01.240 And they too made a covenant before the Lord, and David abode in the wood, and Jonathan went to his 16:01.240 --> 16:11.160 house." So more covenants. I mean, they're making covenants together of friendship. And now turn to 16:11.880 --> 16:22.600 2 Samuel chapter 1 verse 25. So this is after Jonathan's death, after the battle. 16:23.400 --> 16:29.080 It says, How art the mighty fallen in the midst of battle, O Jonathan, that was slain 16:29.080 --> 16:31.240 in thine high places? 16:31.240 --> 16:33.180 I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan. 16:33.180 --> 16:35.000 Very pleasant hast thou been unto me. 16:35.000 --> 16:40.240 Thy love to me was wonderful passing, the love of women. 16:40.240 --> 16:45.480 So and obviously people, these homos that have these filthy minds will try to make this 16:45.480 --> 16:47.400 out that they were gay or something. 16:47.400 --> 16:48.880 They weren't gay. 16:48.880 --> 16:49.400 P there. 16:50.800 --> 16:54.800 Men have friendships that are just different sometimes, 16:54.800 --> 16:58.800 you know, and obviously they're not queers, okay? 16:58.800 --> 17:04.800 So this is not what it's saying, because they would be stoned to death right after this happened. 17:04.800 --> 17:07.800 David was not a fag, alright? 17:08.100 --> 17:10.940 That's just filthy homos dreaming up things. 17:10.940 --> 17:15.140 They call Christ a homo too, because he hung up with 12 men 17:15.140 --> 17:15.860 all the time. 17:15.860 --> 17:16.860 I mean, what do you think they were doing? 17:16.860 --> 17:18.300 That's the kind of stuff that they say. 17:18.300 --> 17:20.260 Because they're filthy fags. 17:20.260 --> 17:23.460 And that's the kind of things that filthy fags think about. 17:23.460 --> 17:26.420 And that's just wicked and weird that they would come up 17:26.420 --> 17:27.660 with that kind of garbage. 17:28.000 --> 17:31.200 So let's look at some Proverbs here. Proverbs chapter 17. 17:31.200 --> 17:34.400 Proverbs chapter 17. So, I mean, even, you know, I mean, 17:34.400 --> 17:39.840 David actually even takes care of Jonathan's son after he, after Jonathan died. 17:39.840 --> 17:45.280 He did, he tried to do good things unto his children and took him in his house and fed him. 17:45.280 --> 17:47.520 And his son was, was lame because... 17:48.300 --> 17:53.960 He, not lame as in the way we would use it now, but lame as in he was crippled. 17:53.960 --> 18:01.060 So he fell, his nursemaid was trying to get him on a horse or something and he fell and 18:01.060 --> 18:04.340 became lame. 18:04.340 --> 18:10.580 So he, David took care of him and let him eat at his table all the days of his life. 18:10.580 --> 18:14.580 So did good things for Jonathan's family even afterwards. 18:14.580 --> 18:15.000 Good. 18:15.200 --> 18:19.200 As friends, we should be loyal and we should love our friends. 18:19.200 --> 18:22.200 And not unconditionally, obviously. 18:23.200 --> 18:25.320 You know, there are conditions upon things. 18:25.320 --> 18:27.320 God has conditions upon things. 18:27.320 --> 18:31.800 And he doesn't just love people no matter what all the time. 18:31.800 --> 18:34.760 Sometimes his love can be hatred. 18:34.760 --> 18:36.280 They can turn to hatred. 18:36.280 --> 18:38.160 I mean, I wouldn't say that when he throws people in hell, 18:38.160 --> 18:39.760 he still loves people. 18:39.760 --> 18:41.320 I would say that he does. 18:41.320 --> 18:42.880 Anybody who would throw somebody into a fire 18:42.880 --> 18:45.720 that lasts forever doesn't love those people anymore. 18:45.720 --> 18:47.480 I mean, that's just, people, 18:47.480 --> 18:49.640 and when I ask people about that, they go, 18:49.640 --> 18:51.200 well, of course he still loves them. 18:51.700 --> 18:54.020 It's like how how's that what? 18:54.400 --> 18:59.080 Those are people, those are the holier than nows that are smoke in the Lord's nose, you know. 18:59.080 --> 19:03.440 It's just like, come on, you're more loving than God is, if that's what you're saying. 19:03.440 --> 19:05.280 And nobody's more loving than God is. 19:05.280 --> 19:06.880 And God does hate people. 19:06.880 --> 19:09.440 The Bible says that multiple times in His Word. 19:09.440 --> 19:12.200 So, He says there's a time to love and a time to hate. 19:12.200 --> 19:20.320 So anyway, Proverbs 17, a friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. 19:20.320 --> 19:20.820 So. 19:21.200 --> 19:24.040 Look, we're supposed to love our friends at all times. 19:24.040 --> 19:25.600 Now obviously, people could say, 19:25.600 --> 19:27.240 well, that's unconditional love. 19:27.240 --> 19:30.680 But obviously, if a person is just pretending to be 19:30.680 --> 19:32.640 your friend, they never were your friend, 19:32.640 --> 19:36.520 I mean, there's a time to stop loving them. 19:36.520 --> 19:39.640 If there's some kind of a Judas Iscariot, obviously. 19:39.640 --> 19:41.600 Judas went to hell, you know. 19:41.600 --> 19:44.320 Jesus was a friend to him until the end. 19:44.500 --> 19:47.460 But then he didn't say, okay, well, you're my friend still. 19:47.460 --> 19:49.780 I'm going to just let you go to heaven even though you're not saved. 19:50.220 --> 19:53.780 So that there is an end to his mercy. 19:53.780 --> 19:58.740 So Proverbs 18 verse 24, Proverbs 18 verse 24. 20:01.820 --> 20:04.940 It says a man that have friends must show himself friendly. 20:05.340 --> 20:07.740 And there is a friend that sticketh closer. 20:08.100 --> 20:11.620 than a brother. So sometimes our friends can be 20:11.620 --> 20:15.580 so close that they're even closer than our kin that we are actually 20:15.580 --> 20:20.340 blood related to and they treat us better than our family would treat us. 20:20.340 --> 20:22.020 I mean that's just the truth. 20:22.020 --> 20:25.060 Sometimes there's people that are closer than actual family members 20:25.060 --> 20:29.220 and we've all probably dealt with family members that don't want to 20:29.220 --> 20:32.100 have anything to do with this anymore because of Christ. 20:32.200 --> 20:36.860 Because Christ comes, He says, I came out to bring peace but a sword. 20:36.860 --> 20:39.680 And so Christ divides families. 20:39.680 --> 20:41.740 And you're like, well, that sounds not right. 20:41.740 --> 20:42.740 Why would He do that? 20:42.740 --> 20:45.880 It's just, it's not Him doing it necessarily. 20:45.880 --> 20:48.860 It's them doing it because they don't like Him. 20:48.860 --> 20:51.320 It's them doing it because they hate Him. 20:51.320 --> 20:54.000 It's them doing it because they want nothing to do with Him. 20:54.000 --> 20:57.640 And if you have something to do with Him, I mean, they called Him Beelzebub and they'll 20:57.640 --> 20:59.920 call us worse things because we love Him. 21:00.300 --> 21:03.900 And so they don't hate necessarily us, they hate him. 21:03.900 --> 21:08.060 And I'm not saying that if they don't want anything to do with us, they hate him all the time, 21:08.060 --> 21:12.860 but they don't want anything to do with him as far as like they don't want to be saved or whatever. 21:12.860 --> 21:16.620 And so not all people that don't want to get saved are necessarily reprobates, 21:16.620 --> 21:20.060 but you know they still don't want anything to do with them. 21:20.060 --> 21:22.540 You know, they just think that we're weird or whatever, you know, 21:22.540 --> 21:26.300 oh this Jesus, they've turned into Jesus freaks ever since, you know, whatever. 21:26.300 --> 21:27.300 and then they just... 21:27.600 --> 21:28.600 You know how it is. 21:28.600 --> 21:35.240 So, but it says, a friend must, that hath friends, must show himself friendly. 21:35.240 --> 21:38.240 And look, if you have a friend, it's not a one-way street. 21:38.240 --> 21:42.120 You know, it can't just be that friend always reaching out to you and always calling you 21:42.120 --> 21:44.440 and always wanting to hang out with you. 21:44.440 --> 21:46.200 You know, you've got to call your friends sometimes. 21:46.200 --> 21:49.440 You've got to be good, you know, do nice things for your friends sometimes. 21:49.440 --> 21:53.440 And if it's just always a one-way street, then that person, that's not a real friendship, 21:53.440 --> 21:53.800 is it? 21:54.400 --> 21:57.400 A real friendship is when people are friendly to each other. 21:57.400 --> 21:59.640 You have to show yourself friendly. 21:59.640 --> 22:01.040 And if you want to have friends... 22:01.500 --> 22:03.820 then you have to be friendly to other people. 22:03.820 --> 22:06.500 If you're always just like grumple still skin all the time 22:06.500 --> 22:08.500 when you're around people and you just kind of have this 22:08.500 --> 22:11.820 standoffish attitude, then people aren't going to want to be friends with you. 22:11.820 --> 22:13.460 It's just that simple. 22:13.460 --> 22:15.900 You know, if people don't want to be friends with you, 22:15.900 --> 22:19.500 there might be just something in your character that you need to fix. 22:19.500 --> 22:22.100 There might be something about yourself that you need to fix. 22:22.100 --> 22:24.500 And you're like, well, why don't people ever want to be friends with me? 22:24.500 --> 22:26.620 Or why don't people ever want to stay friends with me? 22:26.620 --> 22:29.500 Well, maybe there's some kind of flaw in your character that you need to fix. 22:29.500 --> 22:32.540 and you need to pinpoint that and figure out what it is 22:32.540 --> 22:36.540 that you're not likable, that makes you unlikable. 22:36.540 --> 22:37.820 And fix that. 22:37.820 --> 22:39.000 Maybe you're just. 22:39.000 --> 22:45.000 too pushy or you're too smothering because you can't be too smothering as a friend too. 22:45.000 --> 22:48.000 It's like, I just want to hang out with you all the time. 22:48.000 --> 22:51.000 I just want to be your friend all the time. 22:51.000 --> 22:53.000 It's just like, okay, chill. 22:53.000 --> 22:56.000 I don't have time for you to be at my house all the time. 22:56.000 --> 22:59.000 I got these things called kids. 22:59.000 --> 23:02.000 I got stuff to do. 23:02.000 --> 23:03.900 But obviously... 23:04.100 --> 23:07.860 I mean, we don't want to be like clingers, you know, where we're just, you know, always, 23:07.860 --> 23:11.340 you know, people that have families, you know, they got, they only have so much time. 23:11.340 --> 23:14.780 So but also, you know. 23:15.700 --> 23:18.500 They're just, you know, whatever the problem is, 23:18.500 --> 23:20.020 and you should be able to ask people like, 23:20.020 --> 23:22.580 hey, well, you know, did I do something wrong? 23:22.580 --> 23:24.740 And usually they're like, it's not you, it's me. 23:24.740 --> 23:26.840 You know, that kind of thing. 23:26.840 --> 23:29.460 But I mean, people, we should be able to be honest 23:29.460 --> 23:31.660 with people, you know, and as Christians, 23:31.660 --> 23:33.800 that should be even more the case. 23:34.100 --> 23:40.220 If someone doesn't want to be your friend anymore, you could ask them why. 23:40.220 --> 23:43.980 But if they're going to give you an honest answer, if you say, just be honest with me, 23:43.980 --> 23:48.580 I won't get mad, then don't really get mad. 23:48.580 --> 23:52.420 Don't really be mad about it because if you get mad about someone, when you ask someone 23:52.420 --> 23:57.060 their opinion and then you get mad about it, then that might be the reason why they don't 23:57.060 --> 23:59.660 want to be friends with you because they can never be honest with you about it. 23:59.660 --> 24:00.500 think is 24:00.600 --> 24:03.100 you're just gonna get mad and throw a fit. 24:03.100 --> 24:05.240 So, and obviously nobody wants to hear 24:05.240 --> 24:07.800 uncomfortable truths about themselves. 24:07.800 --> 24:10.280 Not, people just don't wanna hear the flaws 24:10.280 --> 24:12.580 that they have in themselves because we have this, 24:12.580 --> 24:16.420 this facade of perfectness about our own selves. 24:16.420 --> 24:18.720 We're always the hero of our own stories, 24:18.720 --> 24:22.320 and you know, we don't wanna see our own flaws. 24:22.320 --> 24:25.480 We're the last one to see our own flaws in a lot of ways. 24:25.480 --> 24:25.500 you 24:25.700 --> 24:31.300 So that's why it is good to self-reflect on how we are, how we are with our friendships. 24:31.300 --> 24:35.380 And it's not fun, like, you know, when people don't want to hang out with us and we're 24:35.380 --> 24:36.580 just like, well, what did I do? 24:36.580 --> 24:38.180 You know? 24:38.180 --> 24:40.380 Sometimes people are just unreasonable, too. 24:40.380 --> 24:43.180 Sometimes people are just bad friends. 24:43.180 --> 24:47.700 What's-his-name has that thing about the King James Bible where he calls it false friends. 24:48.300 --> 24:54.300 But false friends actually are people that pretend to be your friend and they're really not. 24:54.300 --> 24:56.300 And that happens a lot in life. 24:56.300 --> 25:00.300 And here's something that we all need to learn and learn this well. 25:00.300 --> 25:04.300 You know, that not everybody is your true friend. 25:04.300 --> 25:09.900 And so when people turn against you, it shouldn't be a big shocker. 25:10.200 --> 25:15.800 But we also shouldn't just say, well, I never want to make a friend again because this friend stabbed me in the back. 25:15.800 --> 25:18.600 Look, it's going to happen a lot of times in your life. 25:18.600 --> 25:26.280 And let me just tell you this also, the friends that you make as a child, as a teenager, as a young person, 25:26.280 --> 25:31.400 as in your 20s, your 30s, even in your 40s, you might not be hanging out with them for the rest of your life. 25:31.400 --> 25:37.000 You might think that you're going to be friends forever like David and Jonathan, but it might not be the case. 25:37.000 --> 25:38.120 They didn't even get the real... 25:38.200 --> 25:43.840 stay friends except for him coming to visit him in secret in the woods. 25:43.840 --> 25:48.440 It's like they weren't, I mean it's not like they got to hang out forever and then Jonathan 25:48.440 --> 25:52.420 was taken from the earth before his time. 25:52.420 --> 25:55.280 And so that's another thing we should cherish the friendships that we have because we don't 25:55.280 --> 25:57.760 know how long we're going to have them. 25:57.760 --> 26:03.080 But you know we, friendships are sometimes difficult. 26:03.700 --> 26:05.820 And it sucks when we lose friends. 26:05.820 --> 26:09.180 It sucks when you're betrayed by a friend. 26:09.180 --> 26:12.780 But we all betray friends to a certain extent, I would say. 26:12.780 --> 26:14.540 I'm sure everybody in this room is probably 26:14.540 --> 26:17.100 guilty of saying something about one of their friends 26:17.100 --> 26:18.700 that they wish that they could take back. 26:18.700 --> 26:21.500 Or one of your friends heard something 26:21.500 --> 26:24.220 that you'd said about them to one of your other friends, 26:24.220 --> 26:25.660 and you're embarrassed about it. 26:26.100 --> 26:29.100 And that's true, it does happen. 26:29.100 --> 26:31.260 But we should minimize and mitigate those things 26:31.260 --> 26:32.860 from happening. 26:32.860 --> 26:35.540 Again, especially as Christians, those things 26:35.540 --> 26:37.060 ought not to be happening. 26:37.060 --> 26:39.180 But again, we're still sinful. 26:39.180 --> 26:41.340 We can still have these types of things 26:41.340 --> 26:43.180 happen in our Christian life. 26:43.180 --> 26:48.060 But the best thing that we can do is to not do them anymore. 26:48.060 --> 26:49.420 You can apologize. 26:49.800 --> 26:53.960 I found that people would rather just cut ties, I've said this before, people would 26:53.960 --> 26:59.160 rather completely just cut ties and quit church or quit being your friend than to just admit 26:59.160 --> 27:01.400 that they did something wrong to you. 27:01.400 --> 27:04.880 Admit that they screwed you over somehow. 27:04.880 --> 27:08.440 I don't know why that is, but it just is. 27:08.440 --> 27:14.240 And that is a characteristic flaw that people have, that they would rather just move on 27:14.240 --> 27:17.160 with their life than to admit that they wronged somebody. 27:18.100 --> 27:24.500 And I don't know why that is. It's just it's really not that hard to say I'm sorry. It's it is humbling though 27:25.260 --> 27:27.260 It is humbling and 27:27.500 --> 27:30.140 But God will lift up those people that humble themselves 27:30.980 --> 27:32.980 God gives grace to the humble 27:33.780 --> 27:40.420 But you know those people are proud and lifted up. He abases them. He lowers them, you know, so 27:41.180 --> 27:43.180 It's better to be humble 27:43.400 --> 27:45.000 and just ask people to forgive you. 27:45.000 --> 27:46.500 And if, look, if someone doesn't forgive you 27:46.500 --> 27:48.300 after you've humbled yourself to them, 27:48.300 --> 27:50.100 that's their problem. 27:50.100 --> 27:52.400 You did what was right. 27:52.400 --> 27:54.700 And look, as a friend, we can do something wrong to someone, 27:54.700 --> 27:58.200 but admit it, and if they're really a good friend, 27:58.200 --> 28:00.400 they will forgive you. 28:00.400 --> 28:01.200 They will forgive you. 28:01.200 --> 28:01.600 And you know what? 28:01.600 --> 28:03.400 As Christians, we should forgive people 28:03.400 --> 28:05.000 that ask us to forgive them. 28:06.400 --> 28:10.720 Obviously there's people that, I've talked about this before too, the people that want 28:10.720 --> 28:13.120 the forced forgiveness. 28:13.120 --> 28:16.880 They need to make this right and apologize. 28:16.880 --> 28:21.120 It's like, do you want me to make someone apologize to you? 28:21.120 --> 28:22.120 Really? 28:22.120 --> 28:25.600 Because I think, we make our kids do that sometimes. 28:25.600 --> 28:28.440 Tell your sister you're sorry. 28:28.440 --> 28:29.440 Sorry. 28:29.440 --> 28:33.200 It's like, is that really an apology? 28:34.700 --> 28:39.700 To me, I've always just found that's a little weird. 28:39.700 --> 28:42.140 Shouldn't that person just apologize if they're sorry? 28:42.140 --> 28:44.140 Why do I have to tell someone to apologize? 28:44.140 --> 28:45.660 I don't know. 28:45.660 --> 28:46.660 Maybe I'm wrong. 28:46.660 --> 28:50.620 I think that people would think, yeah, you do need to make them apologize, oh pastor. 28:50.620 --> 28:53.900 It's like, I need to make them apologize. 28:53.900 --> 28:56.820 Why don't they just apologize because they're not a weirdo? 28:57.300 --> 29:01.540 or they're not prideful, or they're not lifted up and haughty, why don't they just apologize? 29:01.540 --> 29:06.820 Because that's the right thing to do. Why is it so hard for people to just apologize for something 29:06.820 --> 29:12.580 they did wrong? I mean, I just don't understand that. You do something wrong to somebody, 29:12.580 --> 29:18.340 you talk about it behind their back, you rail against them, or you do something wrong, just apologize. 29:19.600 --> 29:25.600 And then the Bible says you're supposed to forgive them. Jesus said that you're supposed to forgive them 70 times 7 or whatever. 29:25.600 --> 29:31.600 So if you're supposed to forgive them that many times, then why are you not just asking someone to forgive you? 29:31.600 --> 29:36.600 Are you afraid they're not going to? Well at least you got that off your conscience. 29:36.600 --> 29:39.600 And if the other person doesn't want to forgive them, they're wrong. 29:39.600 --> 29:44.600 And they're not right with God. Then that transfers from you to them. 29:44.600 --> 29:46.600 You know, and you don't want that either. 29:47.400 --> 29:50.600 But at least you have that off your conscience. 29:50.600 --> 29:53.800 But instead of going around having a root of bitterness all the time, 29:53.800 --> 29:57.900 because you're too proud to apologize, you're too proud to do the right thing, 29:57.900 --> 30:00.400 you're too proud to restore the friendship you have, 30:00.400 --> 30:06.200 that's why it's harder for a brother offended to be won over. 30:06.200 --> 30:11.600 Because once a brother offended, they can't be won over because they just... 30:11.700 --> 30:17.060 People just get like this, they don't want to just admit that they're the one that did wrong or that both of them did wrong. 30:17.060 --> 30:19.060 Usually both people do something wrong. 30:19.060 --> 30:22.900 Usually one's more wrong than the other one, but they both do something wrong. 30:22.900 --> 30:28.260 Because neither one will respond in the correct way that they need to respond. 30:28.260 --> 30:32.980 Usually people, when they're mad at somebody else, they'll instantly go tell somebody else about it. 30:33.600 --> 30:36.780 which is not the way Matthew 18 is described as saying. 30:36.780 --> 30:40.860 If someone offends you, go to them and them alone. 30:42.000 --> 30:44.200 But then you hear that people are just talking bad 30:44.200 --> 30:45.640 about you behind your back, 30:45.640 --> 30:47.400 about something they're mad about, 30:47.400 --> 30:48.700 and instead of coming to you alone, 30:48.700 --> 30:50.680 they went and told a bunch of other people. 30:50.680 --> 30:53.400 And then it becomes a big issue. 30:53.400 --> 30:56.060 It's just like, people are afraid to be honest. 30:56.060 --> 30:57.560 Just be honest. 30:57.560 --> 30:57.600 you 30:58.000 --> 31:00.500 I mean, if it makes people mad, it makes people mad. 31:00.500 --> 31:04.540 My wife is a professional at making people mad sometimes. 31:04.540 --> 31:06.180 She always has been. 31:06.180 --> 31:10.640 But that's why she is, because she's super blunt. 31:10.640 --> 31:14.340 And she used to be way worse, though, before she was saved. 31:14.340 --> 31:16.780 I mean, I'd be like hiding in Walmart or something, 31:16.780 --> 31:19.180 because she's taking something back. 31:19.180 --> 31:22.020 And then they're trying to say that she 31:22.020 --> 31:25.260 ripped a brand new pair of whatever she was taking back 31:25.260 --> 31:25.760 or whatever. 31:26.200 --> 31:28.680 And she literally just wore this, 31:28.680 --> 31:31.120 I forget what it was, like a jean skirt or something one time, 31:31.120 --> 31:33.520 and the button fell off of it. 31:33.520 --> 31:35.560 So we take it back to Walmart. 31:35.560 --> 31:38.080 And she had the receipt and everything. 31:38.080 --> 31:39.880 It was just bought the day before. 31:39.880 --> 31:42.760 And then they're like, oh yeah, you 31:42.760 --> 31:44.120 wore that too many times or whatever. 31:44.120 --> 31:45.640 It's like, it was just bought yesterday. 31:45.640 --> 31:46.720 So the manager's like threatening 31:46.720 --> 31:48.080 to call the police on her. 31:48.080 --> 31:48.920 And she was like, what? 31:49.500 --> 31:53.500 And like it says guaranteed satisfaction or whatever. 31:53.500 --> 31:55.000 And then my wife just is like, 31:55.000 --> 31:56.260 this is before we were saved or whatever, 31:56.260 --> 31:58.060 but she just started going off. 31:58.060 --> 32:00.880 And I'm just like, I'm not with her. 32:00.880 --> 32:01.880 I'm not with her. 32:03.520 --> 32:05.760 But she used to be way more bold about stuff like that. 32:05.760 --> 32:08.220 Now I'm kind of the jerk and she's like really, 32:08.220 --> 32:10.020 really more timid about stuff like that. 32:10.020 --> 32:13.180 As I've gotten older, I'm just like, no, they need to learn. 32:13.180 --> 32:15.360 They need to learn what real customer service is like. 32:15.360 --> 32:17.020 I'm gonna teach them. 32:17.600 --> 32:20.600 You will learn by the numbers, I will teach you. 32:20.600 --> 32:23.440 You're going to cut line in front of me? 32:23.440 --> 32:27.080 I don't think so. 32:27.080 --> 32:29.120 Isn't it funny how older people act like... 32:29.400 --> 32:34.040 No offense older people, but they'll act like they're confused just so they can get to the front of the line like oh 32:34.040 --> 32:39.560 I don't know where I'm at. It's oh yeah here. Let me buy this stuff. It's like get back to the back of the line old man 32:41.560 --> 32:43.720 Anyway, I'm let me move on here 32:45.320 --> 32:50.840 First let's see chapter Proverbs 18. Oh no no no 32:52.760 --> 32:55.960 John John 15 John 15 33:00.700 --> 33:07.000 John 15 verse 13 says, greater love hath no man than this that a man lay down his life 33:07.000 --> 33:08.000 for his friends. 33:08.000 --> 33:11.800 I mean, wasn't Jonathan willing to lay down his life for David? 33:11.800 --> 33:12.800 He was. 33:12.800 --> 33:15.760 I mean, he was endangering himself to the point where his dad threw a javelin at him 33:15.760 --> 33:16.760 too. 33:16.760 --> 33:19.800 He's like, oh yeah, you think David, I won't throw one at you too? 33:19.800 --> 33:23.360 So Jonathan's like, ah. 33:23.360 --> 33:27.400 Apparently throwing javelins wasn't his skill or something. 33:28.200 --> 33:30.880 He wasn't very good with it. 33:30.880 --> 33:32.120 And then in verse 15 it says, 33:32.120 --> 33:34.320 henceforth I call you not servants, 33:34.320 --> 33:36.720 for the servant knoweth not what his Lord doeth, 33:36.720 --> 33:38.200 but I have called you friends. 33:38.200 --> 33:40.920 For all things that I have heard of my Father, 33:40.920 --> 33:42.880 I have made known unto you. 33:42.880 --> 33:46.380 So, I mean, Jesus even calls us his friends. 33:46.380 --> 33:47.000 And... 33:47.500 --> 33:49.840 Jesus was willing to die for us. 33:49.840 --> 33:52.340 That's the ultimate sacrifice that someone can make 33:52.340 --> 33:55.720 as a friend is to die for them. 33:55.720 --> 33:58.060 And I mean, he was friends with people 33:58.060 --> 34:01.620 that don't even like him. 34:01.620 --> 34:04.540 So how much more friendly should we be towards people 34:04.540 --> 34:06.540 and try to go out of our way to try to be friendly 34:06.540 --> 34:08.860 to other people, right? 34:08.860 --> 34:11.300 So Ecclesiastes 9, turn to Ecclesiastes 9. 34:13.200 --> 34:18.640 There's no reason to be standoffish with people unless, you know, they're giving you a reason 34:18.640 --> 34:23.440 to be, I guess, but we should be friendly to people when they come to church. 34:23.440 --> 34:32.200 We should be friendly to strangers and widows and fatherless and people that we don't highly 34:32.200 --> 34:34.400 esteem necessarily in our minds. 34:34.400 --> 34:36.640 Kudzias 4 verse 9 says, 34:36.640 --> 34:38.080 two are better than one 34:38.080 --> 34:40.520 because they have a good reward for their labor. 34:40.800 --> 34:45.840 For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow, but woe to him that is alone. 34:45.840 --> 34:49.840 When he falleth, he hath not another to help him up." 34:49.840 --> 34:55.440 So this principle in Ecclesiastes is that it's not good to go things alone. 34:55.440 --> 34:58.400 You know, there's some people in the IFB world that are just so 34:59.120 --> 35:03.520 separated and so independent that they don't want to have any friends. 35:04.200 --> 35:08.280 I don't want to be friends with any other pastors because I'm independent. 35:08.280 --> 35:09.960 I put the I in independence. 35:09.960 --> 35:12.840 Like, dude, it's not good to not have friends. 35:13.560 --> 35:16.200 That's what this principle is teaching is that we should have friends. 35:17.000 --> 35:21.240 We should be friendly because if you're just going it alone all the time, 35:21.240 --> 35:24.040 you don't have anybody as a support system. 35:25.000 --> 35:29.240 And it's good to have friends. Friends will give you good hearty counsel. 35:29.240 --> 35:32.520 Friends will be strength for you when you're going through a hard time. 35:32.520 --> 35:35.960 Friends will give you that good advice that you need. Friends 35:36.600 --> 35:42.200 will counsel you through the hard times. And they'll help you when you need help. 35:43.640 --> 35:48.440 But if you're alone when you fall, no one's there to pick you up. That's a horrible feeling. 35:49.000 --> 35:52.360 to know that when you're going through a hard time, there's nobody there to help you. 35:52.360 --> 35:58.600 There's nobody there to support you. There's nobody there to be a counselor for you and to 35:58.600 --> 36:03.880 help you through things. It says, and if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him. 36:03.880 --> 36:10.040 Verse 12, and a threefold cord is not quickly broken. It's easier to get through life when 36:10.040 --> 36:15.400 you have friends. It's easier to go through life in this life when we have a support system. 36:16.100 --> 36:21.900 And look, the Bible is, you know, this principle is taught over and over in the Bible, and 36:21.900 --> 36:25.140 this is a true thing, that we should have some friends. 36:25.140 --> 36:27.460 I think everybody in this room has friends. 36:27.460 --> 36:29.300 It's good to have friends. 36:29.300 --> 36:32.900 And you know, a three-fold cord is not quickly broken. 36:32.900 --> 36:36.580 Have you turned to Hebrews? 36:37.000 --> 36:39.600 Chapter 10, I'm going to read a couple of verses. 36:39.600 --> 36:42.200 One in 1 Thessalonians 5.11 says, 36:42.200 --> 36:45.360 wherefore, comfort yourselves together and edify one another, 36:45.360 --> 36:47.960 even as also ye do. 36:47.960 --> 36:51.280 So we are here to comfort one another 36:51.280 --> 36:53.520 and comfort ourselves together. 36:53.520 --> 36:56.160 That's why one of the good reasons why we come to church 36:56.160 --> 36:59.600 is to edify each other together. 36:59.600 --> 37:03.080 If it was just me and my wife coming to church. 37:03.700 --> 37:05.700 That would be pretty depressing. 37:05.700 --> 37:09.700 That would be pretty awful if it was just a two person... 37:09.700 --> 37:13.700 If I came to church and it was just nobody else here, it would be pretty upsetting. 37:13.700 --> 37:15.700 Galatians 6.2 says, 37:15.700 --> 37:19.700 "...bear you one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ." 37:19.700 --> 37:21.700 And we're not just here to help ourselves, folks. 37:21.700 --> 37:23.700 We're here to help each other. 37:23.700 --> 37:25.700 We're here, it says, to bear one another's burdens. 37:25.700 --> 37:29.700 What's our burdens? Our problems that we have in life. 37:29.700 --> 37:31.400 Our sins, our... 37:31.400 --> 37:37.040 our, our, our, you know, any woes that we have going on in life, our loss that we go 37:37.040 --> 37:41.760 through, our hardships that we go through, everybody has hardships in life. 37:41.760 --> 37:45.640 And we're all going through something at some point in our life. 37:45.640 --> 37:50.120 Nobody is without some kind of turmoil and hardship. 37:50.120 --> 37:55.320 And you know, obviously rejoice with them that rejoice and mourn with them that mourn. 37:55.800 --> 38:00.000 And it's good to have others there. 38:00.000 --> 38:03.200 And it's good to have someone else help you with the burdens that you have going on in your life. 38:03.200 --> 38:04.360 Hebrews 10, 24 says, 38:04.360 --> 38:09.800 Let us consider one another and provoke unto love and to good works. 38:09.800 --> 38:11.640 See, consider one another. 38:11.640 --> 38:14.360 You know that term can be considerate. 38:14.360 --> 38:16.360 Like think about other people, right? 38:17.300 --> 38:21.700 Let us consider one another to provoke unto love and good works, not forsaking the assembling 38:21.700 --> 38:26.980 of ourselves together as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another and so much the more 38:26.980 --> 38:34.660 as you see the day approaching." I mean, going to, and look, people like condemn this kind of 38:34.660 --> 38:38.500 preaching where I'll say, hey, you should just go to church because the Bible says you should. 38:39.140 --> 38:40.260 Look, that's true. 38:40.400 --> 38:44.400 You should go to church because it says you're not supposed to forsake the assembly. 38:44.400 --> 38:48.520 And they'll say like, well, when you say stuff like, oh, your wash machine is going to break 38:48.520 --> 38:53.920 down or your car is going to get a flat tire and all this other stuff, you know, look, 38:53.920 --> 38:55.360 I don't know what's going to happen. 38:55.360 --> 38:57.040 I really don't. 38:57.040 --> 39:00.200 But and look, I'm not saying that every time you miss church, something bad is going to 39:00.200 --> 39:01.200 happen to you. 39:01.200 --> 39:02.600 I don't, you know, look, I'm not, I'm not God. 39:03.000 --> 39:06.360 I don't know what he's going to decide or whatever. 39:06.360 --> 39:07.560 I don't even know why you miss. 39:07.560 --> 39:09.240 I don't care. 39:09.240 --> 39:12.360 I just want us to fulfill what God says to do. 39:12.360 --> 39:15.360 And this is a New Testament passage. 39:15.360 --> 39:19.000 And it's not just for you, though. 39:19.000 --> 39:21.960 It's like I don't get any fulfillment, necessarily, 39:21.960 --> 39:25.320 besides just the fellowship and what this verse says. 39:25.320 --> 39:28.480 But this is not just about you. 39:28.800 --> 39:32.400 This is about provoking others unto love and good works. 39:32.400 --> 39:37.840 This is about assembling ourselves together to exhort one another. 39:37.840 --> 39:42.240 And so it's not just about you, it's about other people. 39:42.240 --> 39:47.680 And that's why we should care about others. Jesus died loving others. 39:47.680 --> 39:52.480 He died for the church. The church is the assembly. The church is the 39:52.480 --> 39:54.300 fellowship of the believers. 39:54.700 --> 40:00.700 And so if he died for the church, those people that were supposed to gather together and we forsake that, 40:00.700 --> 40:06.200 then, you know, it's just kind of like, it is kind of like spitting his face to a certain degree. 40:06.200 --> 40:11.500 So, and I know I've harped on this verse so many times or whatever, but, but look, people say that there's, 40:11.500 --> 40:15.700 you know, there's no duty in the New Testament to do certain things and whatever. 40:15.700 --> 40:20.700 There's no commandments that we're supposed to keep. And that's just, that's hogwash. It's just not true. 40:21.000 --> 40:25.000 But people like the preaching of people that would say, 40:25.000 --> 40:28.000 there's no tithing in the New Testament, it doesn't say you have to. 40:28.000 --> 40:30.000 It doesn't say you don't have to. 40:30.000 --> 40:33.000 It never says you don't have to. 40:33.000 --> 40:37.000 But people like that kind of preaching because they're cheapskates. 40:37.000 --> 40:39.000 They don't want to give to the work of the Lord. 40:39.000 --> 40:43.000 They want to be able to just say, well, it says God love with the cheerful giver. 40:43.000 --> 40:47.000 Well, the context of that passage is not talking about tithing though. 40:47.300 --> 40:52.700 And that's the, I mean, but obviously a secondary, a secondary interpretation of that might be. 40:53.100 --> 40:55.820 Yeah, God does love it when you give cheerfully to Him. 40:55.820 --> 40:57.180 I'm sure He does. 40:57.180 --> 40:58.700 But that's not the context of the passage. 40:58.700 --> 41:02.540 The context of the passage is He's talking about giving to the poor saints of Jerusalem 41:02.540 --> 41:07.860 that Paul is taking up that offering and he is saying, hey, I robbed other churches to 41:07.860 --> 41:09.260 help this other church. 41:09.260 --> 41:14.540 Basically, he was going and gathering offerings to take to the poor saints of Jerusalem. 41:14.540 --> 41:15.540 That is not tithing. 41:15.540 --> 41:16.540 That is an offering. 41:16.540 --> 41:17.400 That's different. 41:17.900 --> 41:24.140 But people will take that and they love to say how the new IFB likes to take stuff out of context. 41:24.140 --> 41:28.940 But in reality you're taking it out of context buddy. You're taking it out of context and then 41:28.940 --> 41:33.660 you're trying to act like you're more righteous because we're using the law or whatever. We're 41:33.660 --> 41:40.460 using rules. We're using stuff to try to force people. No, you're just being slick about it. 41:40.460 --> 41:41.260 You're just saying 41:42.100 --> 41:48.260 Oh, well I don't think you have to do those things, but if you feel led to give to me, 41:48.260 --> 41:49.540 then you can do that. 41:49.540 --> 41:54.500 And that's their way of kind of end-arounding and making us look bad for saying God says 41:54.500 --> 41:58.540 that you're supposed to do this, and they're just like, well I didn't say you have to, 41:58.540 --> 42:00.540 but you probably should. 42:00.540 --> 42:04.820 And maybe you should give 23%. 42:04.820 --> 42:07.140 You see how people are though? 42:07.140 --> 42:07.780 That's slick. 42:08.100 --> 42:11.020 That's a good way to just end around it and like, 42:11.020 --> 42:13.540 oh, well, I'm just going to give to them because, you know, 42:13.540 --> 42:16.020 they don't say that you have to do it. 42:16.020 --> 42:18.260 So I'm just going to give to them. 42:18.260 --> 42:20.900 That's weasel stuff right there. 42:20.900 --> 42:21.940 It is. 42:21.940 --> 42:24.860 And but I'm just I'm just saying that to you know, 42:24.860 --> 42:27.300 because people also say that you don't have to go to church. 42:27.300 --> 42:28.860 But what does it say right there? 42:28.860 --> 42:30.980 Yeah, you're not supposed to forsake the assembly. 42:30.980 --> 42:33.500 The apostle Paul, that's the apostle Paul said that. 42:33.500 --> 42:34.260 So is he wrong? 42:35.200 --> 42:36.640 I mean it's not like I'm just making this up. 42:36.640 --> 42:40.160 They're like, well, where does it say you have to go to church three times a week in 42:40.160 --> 42:42.080 here, Pastor Thompson? 42:42.080 --> 42:43.500 What times do you have to go? 42:43.500 --> 42:44.920 What days of the week do you have to go? 42:44.920 --> 42:45.920 It doesn't say that. 42:45.920 --> 42:47.880 It doesn't say how long your hair has to be either. 42:47.880 --> 42:48.880 But you know what it says? 42:48.880 --> 42:51.120 The guys are supposed to have long hair. 42:51.120 --> 42:53.600 Well how long does it have to be, Pastor? 42:53.600 --> 42:59.800 See the people that argue over the minutia of stuff, they're the real Pharisees. 42:59.800 --> 43:01.080 They're the real Pharisees. 43:03.000 --> 43:06.500 But they'll get up and say that we are the Pharisees. 43:06.500 --> 43:09.200 I'm not telling you how long exactly your hair has to be. 43:09.200 --> 43:13.360 It's just, if it's covering your head, then it's too long. 43:16.080 --> 43:18.520 I mean, that's what the Bible says, right? 43:18.520 --> 43:20.640 So you determine whether that is. 43:20.640 --> 43:23.280 And if you just want to get so close to the line every time, 43:23.280 --> 43:25.720 just to see how, and look, I've known people like that 43:25.720 --> 43:27.440 my whole Christian life. 43:27.700 --> 43:31.100 Men that will just try to get just as long enough 43:31.100 --> 43:33.620 that they can push a line and just make sure, 43:33.620 --> 43:36.740 oh, but it's not long. 43:36.740 --> 43:38.100 But it's not short either, is it? 43:38.100 --> 43:38.940 So what is it? 43:40.100 --> 43:43.100 You're not hot nor cold, but you're lukewarm, aren't you? 43:44.260 --> 43:46.620 Stinking hypocrites is what they are. 43:47.720 --> 43:50.720 Anyway, I was supposed to be talking about friendship here. 43:50.720 --> 43:51.480 What? 43:52.200 --> 43:57.640 But as friends we're also supposed to counsel people and give them wisdom and we're supposed 43:57.640 --> 43:59.480 to sharpen one another. 43:59.480 --> 44:02.880 You know if we just have all these weird ideas all the time we never tell other people what 44:02.880 --> 44:04.360 we think about the Bible. 44:04.360 --> 44:10.680 That's why after church we get together and we talk about things about the Bible and we 44:10.680 --> 44:14.200 sharpen each other with the Scriptures. 44:14.200 --> 44:19.400 chapter 27, turn to Proverbs chapter 27 verse number 17. 44:20.000 --> 44:25.080 And believe it or not, I'm almost done. Proverbs chapter 27 verse 17. 44:28.700 --> 44:30.700 See if I would have done the whole chapter, 44:30.700 --> 44:33.700 we'd be here till like 815, 820. 44:34.700 --> 44:36.700 Proverbs chapter 27 verse 17, 44:36.700 --> 44:38.700 Iron sharpeneth iron, 44:38.700 --> 44:42.700 so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend. 44:42.700 --> 44:44.700 See we should be there to sharpen each other, 44:44.700 --> 44:47.700 not to just say, oh yeah, I agree with you about everything. 44:47.700 --> 44:49.700 I just agree with you about everything. 44:49.700 --> 44:51.700 No, that's not how you sharpen things. 44:51.700 --> 44:54.700 Isn't it, you know, we take a knife, 44:55.400 --> 45:01.480 And what do we use to sharpen it? Something that's hard. Something that's steel. We sharpen it with 45:01.480 --> 45:07.160 other steel. That's how we make, that's why this proverb is here. Isn't it strange how God made 45:07.160 --> 45:14.840 something to sharpen something else that's made out of the same material? Because we're supposed 45:14.840 --> 45:18.600 to be like sharp steel that's sharp. We know the scriptures. 45:19.200 --> 45:22.840 And then, you know, if we're getting weird on something, our friend can go, 45:22.840 --> 45:25.840 no dummy, that's not what the earth isn't flat. 45:25.840 --> 45:28.140 So let me show you that. Let me show these verses. 45:28.140 --> 45:31.240 And then we're like sharpening each other and getting each other better 45:31.240 --> 45:34.280 and helping each other to discern things. 45:34.280 --> 45:37.180 And that's another reason, by the way, why going to church is good, 45:37.180 --> 45:40.480 because it helps make you normal. 45:40.480 --> 45:42.220 Because I'll tell you what, when I first got saved, 45:42.220 --> 45:44.060 there's a lot of weird stuff that I believed. 45:45.700 --> 45:48.300 I'm not going to go through it all right now because that will just be another rabbit trail. 45:48.300 --> 45:50.420 But there is some weird stuff I believe. 45:50.420 --> 45:53.500 I'm sure there is some weird stuff that you believe too before you start going to church 45:53.500 --> 45:57.660 on a normal basis because church does make you normal. 45:57.660 --> 46:03.620 It kind of stops with the high and low ranges of things and it keeps you on an even keel. 46:03.620 --> 46:06.980 And so you're not going to believe all these weird radical things like the Nephilim and 46:06.980 --> 46:11.700 you know the Satan's little seeds and all that other weird stuff. 46:11.700 --> 46:12.300 Alright. 46:12.900 --> 46:15.900 Proverbs 27 verse 6 says, 46:15.900 --> 46:18.500 Faithful are the wounds of a friend, 46:18.500 --> 46:21.860 but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. 46:21.860 --> 46:25.420 This is a good one for Saul and David and Jonathan here. 46:25.420 --> 46:30.380 I mean, Jonathan and David probably told things to each other 46:30.380 --> 46:32.660 that would be, hey, no, you're wrong on this. 46:32.660 --> 46:34.620 You know, and sometimes your friend is going to tell you 46:34.620 --> 46:36.180 that you're wrong. 46:36.180 --> 46:39.660 A real friend is going to tell you when you're wrong. 46:40.000 --> 46:44.560 I mean, I keep getting this lie told about me from a former friend of mine, where he's just saying, 46:44.560 --> 46:47.000 he told me what to do. 46:47.000 --> 46:51.000 It's like, that's not what I was saying, though. 46:51.000 --> 46:53.000 I wasn't telling him what to do. 46:53.000 --> 46:59.000 I was just recommending, you know, to just wait. 46:59.000 --> 47:04.000 I wasn't saying, you have to do this because I'm Pastor Thompson, I'm the new-Ice-Bear. 47:04.000 --> 47:05.800 I don't do that kind of stuff. 47:06.100 --> 47:09.140 Anybody that knows me knows I'm not that way. 47:09.140 --> 47:15.340 It's just a lie, because you want to just blame somebody else for your dumb mistakes. 47:15.340 --> 47:19.460 And you can just keep telling that lie over and over again, but it still doesn't make 47:19.460 --> 47:21.660 it true, you know. 47:21.660 --> 47:31.260 And so, but the real truth is, is that he allowed my truth, the actual truth, to upset 47:31.260 --> 47:31.800 him. 47:31.900 --> 47:39.900 Because he wanted to do what he wanted to do because he just was on a on a track to just destroy himself and destroy 47:39.900 --> 47:43.020 His church or whatever so it's like okay. Well fine. Don't listen to me 47:43.020 --> 47:50.800 I don't care, but you know I just wanted to warn you and tell you you're heading down a wrong path and a true friend 47:50.960 --> 47:57.420 Will tell you that you're headed down a wrong path and you know sorry for just trying to help you 47:58.400 --> 48:01.360 But I've found that when you're honest with people 48:01.360 --> 48:02.880 and you try to be a good friend to them 48:02.880 --> 48:06.000 and then they just sit there and lie about you like that, 48:06.000 --> 48:09.000 then they weren't a real friend to begin with. 48:09.000 --> 48:11.520 Because faithful are the wounds of a friend. 48:11.520 --> 48:13.320 Sometimes you're gonna get wounded by your friend, 48:13.320 --> 48:15.480 but you should look at that and go, 48:15.480 --> 48:18.360 you know what, he was trying to help me. 48:18.360 --> 48:21.000 And we should try to help people and not just. 48:21.300 --> 48:24.540 just placate everything they say. 48:24.540 --> 48:26.520 If they're really gonna walk off of a, 48:26.520 --> 48:29.500 obviously we shouldn't be just giving people 48:29.500 --> 48:32.320 unsolicited advice all the time, 48:32.320 --> 48:35.120 but when someone's about to harm themselves 48:35.120 --> 48:37.720 in a major way, I don't think that there's anything wrong 48:37.720 --> 48:40.840 with kindly and just saying, 48:40.840 --> 48:43.220 hey, I'm not trying to give you unsolicited advice here, 48:43.220 --> 48:44.060 but... 48:45.700 --> 48:51.700 But I do really feel like as your friend that I want to, I feel like you're going down a wrong path here. 48:51.700 --> 48:59.700 You're making a mistake here. I could be wrong, but maybe you should just exercise some caution in this area. 48:59.700 --> 49:05.700 You know, maybe moving to the middle of nowhere where there's no good church is probably a bad idea. 49:05.700 --> 49:10.700 And then it's like, that prophecy is going to come true every time. 49:11.500 --> 49:14.980 Because if you move to a place where there's no good church 49:14.980 --> 49:17.660 in the middle of nowhere for some job, 49:17.660 --> 49:19.500 I'm telling you, you're going to be out of church 49:19.500 --> 49:20.960 and you're going to be backslidden 49:20.960 --> 49:23.140 within a certain amount of time. 49:23.140 --> 49:25.540 And every time people do that, the same thing 49:25.540 --> 49:27.260 happens every time. 49:27.260 --> 49:32.900 And I don't want to say I told you so, but I did tell you so. 49:32.900 --> 49:35.860 I mean, but I was just trying to be a good friend and tell you. 49:35.860 --> 49:37.640 It's just a dumb idea. 49:37.640 --> 49:38.300 And. 49:38.500 --> 49:40.500 Good friends are going to tell people the truth. 49:41.500 --> 49:44.000 So, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. 49:44.000 --> 49:46.500 See, an enemy is going to tell you, 49:46.500 --> 49:48.500 oh yeah, that's a great idea. You should do that. 49:48.500 --> 49:50.500 Don't listen to what, you know, so and so is telling you. 49:50.500 --> 49:53.500 You just go live your best life now. 49:54.000 --> 49:55.500 Okay, Joyce Myers. 49:55.500 --> 49:57.000 Okay, Joel Osteen. 49:57.000 --> 49:59.000 Yeah, just go live your best life now. 49:59.500 --> 50:01.500 You know, God will, God will... 50:01.500 --> 50:03.500 Don't let the devil steal your joy. 50:04.000 --> 50:05.000 You know? 50:05.400 --> 50:08.400 I'm going to put my handkerchief up on the screen. 50:08.400 --> 50:11.400 And just put your hand on the screen right now. 50:11.400 --> 50:14.400 And God will give you $10,000." 50:14.400 --> 50:18.400 That's the kind of people that people listen to for whatever reason. 50:18.400 --> 50:21.400 And they just follow those people right off the cliff. 50:21.400 --> 50:23.400 It's retarded. 50:23.400 --> 50:25.400 Verse 9, ointment and perfume rejoice the heart, 50:25.400 --> 50:30.200 so doth the sweetness of a man's friend by hearty counsel. 50:30.700 --> 50:36.020 So, it's good to have good, hearty counsel from a friend that's wise. 50:36.020 --> 50:42.820 Proverbs 13 verse 20, He that walketh with wise men shall be wise, but a companion of 50:42.820 --> 50:44.900 fools shall be destroyed. 50:44.900 --> 50:49.680 Now look, if you're going to have friends, have good friends. 50:49.680 --> 50:54.120 Not friends that are going to just turn you and corrupt you into things that you shouldn't 50:54.120 --> 50:55.120 be involved in. 50:55.120 --> 50:55.300 Thanks for watching! 50:55.400 --> 50:58.460 A companion of fools shall be destroyed. 50:58.460 --> 51:02.800 If your friends are fools, they're going to get you destroyed because they're going to 51:02.800 --> 51:07.160 influence you into wrong things, into wrong areas. 51:07.160 --> 51:09.920 And look, young men, just read the book of Proverbs. 51:09.920 --> 51:15.280 Solomon's just like pleading with you and warning you not to hang out with people, not 51:15.280 --> 51:19.520 to go around with friends that are robbing people and drunkards. 51:19.520 --> 51:22.600 And you know, obviously that could be druggies and whatnot. 51:22.900 --> 51:26.500 and people that are thieves, you know, people that are profane. 51:26.500 --> 51:30.980 And look, if you're a fool, a lot of people that are fools are just not saved, 51:30.980 --> 51:35.940 that's what it's talking about. Or they're stupid. You know, don't go around hanging around with 51:35.940 --> 51:44.580 fools. People that God finds unsavory. Because if you walk with wise men, you're going to be wise. 51:45.620 --> 51:48.180 What are the wise? Those that are saved people. 51:49.100 --> 51:52.940 I mean, just insert that into the argument here. 51:52.940 --> 51:54.940 Hang around with saved people. 51:54.940 --> 51:56.240 You know, be around saved people. 51:56.240 --> 51:58.700 Those should be your best friends. 51:58.700 --> 52:00.340 Not fools. 52:00.340 --> 52:03.940 A companion of fools shall destroy him. 52:03.940 --> 52:06.980 So we should be, just in summary, 52:06.980 --> 52:09.540 we should be good friends. 52:09.540 --> 52:11.140 You know, don't be a bad friend to people. 52:11.140 --> 52:11.700 Be a good friend. 52:11.700 --> 52:13.100 Be someone that's going to support your friend 52:13.100 --> 52:13.980 and give them good counsel, 52:13.980 --> 52:15.900 tell them the truth when they need to hear the truth. 52:16.500 --> 52:20.500 And try to find friends that are good people, like yourself. 52:20.500 --> 52:23.500 If you're a bad person though, then you're going to find bad people. 52:23.500 --> 52:25.500 I just have seen that to be true too. 52:25.500 --> 52:27.500 You know, the bad people find each other. 52:27.500 --> 52:30.500 I found that to be true too. 52:30.500 --> 52:33.500 So I don't know, it's kind of strange how that happens. 52:33.500 --> 52:36.500 But I'm not saying there's anybody bad here though. 52:36.500 --> 52:38.500 I think we've gotten rid of all those people. 52:38.500 --> 52:41.500 But be a loyal friend, you know. 52:42.000 --> 52:48.600 Don't just be a backstabber friend and don't just cast your friends aside over anything and everything. 52:48.600 --> 52:51.400 You know, sometimes we're going to have a bad day. 52:51.400 --> 52:55.400 And just because your friend had one bad day, it doesn't mean that they're a bad friend. 52:55.400 --> 52:57.600 I mean, they had a bad day. 52:57.600 --> 52:58.900 Everybody has bad days. 52:58.900 --> 53:03.600 Everybody has a day that they wish they could take back and wish that they didn't say something they said 53:03.600 --> 53:06.500 or tell somebody something they shouldn't have told them. 53:06.500 --> 53:08.000 You know, have enough... 53:08.300 --> 53:14.380 Sand and have enough character and have enough heart to tell your friend. You're sorry when you do something wrong and 53:15.020 --> 53:17.640 Tell your friend that you messed up and 53:18.500 --> 53:23.580 You know it's just move on from there most people have enough character to forgive also 53:23.580 --> 53:26.260 And if they don't then they weren't really your friend in the first place 53:26.820 --> 53:29.460 You know and then that should be your clue to just make another one 53:30.420 --> 53:35.180 You know some people are in friendships for what they can get out of other people 53:36.100 --> 53:43.100 And all they want to do is just mooch and mooch and mooch off you until they use you up and then they go find somebody else to mooch off of. 53:43.100 --> 53:52.100 And, you know, that's not a friendship. That's a one-way friendship that we shouldn't, you know, obviously we can figure those things out on our own. 53:52.100 --> 54:00.100 When we have wrong friends, you know, we're going to do wrong things. And we need to stay away from those types of people. 54:00.100 --> 54:02.600 And this is the last thing I want to say. 54:03.900 --> 54:07.200 that it's rare to have a really good friend 54:07.200 --> 54:10.900 that sticks with you like Jonathan and David. 54:10.900 --> 54:13.400 And that's super loyal and, 54:15.040 --> 54:17.040 you know, it's just, it's rare. 54:17.040 --> 54:19.380 You know, it's rare to have someone that's just 54:19.380 --> 54:23.380 that loyal to you and you would be very blessed 54:24.420 --> 54:27.580 to have like a handful that you can count 54:27.580 --> 54:30.760 as really good friends that don't, you know. 54:31.200 --> 54:36.880 hose you in some way, shape, or form, or stop being your friend for some weird reason. 54:36.880 --> 54:41.000 But it's hard, you know, because I've felt like I've had a lot of people that I felt 54:41.000 --> 54:45.200 like were best friends of mine, and they're just nowhere to be found now. 54:45.200 --> 54:48.380 You know, people have betrayed me very deeply. 54:48.380 --> 54:54.680 But we can't change who we are as friends because someone has harmed us in the past. 54:54.680 --> 54:55.920 You know, I don't think that Jesus... 54:56.600 --> 55:00.200 was like that. He was still a friend, knowing that Judas was going to do what he did. 55:00.840 --> 55:04.200 Even after Judas did what he did, he still was friends with the disciples. 55:04.920 --> 55:12.040 You know, he resurrected from the dead, gave him fish and bread upon the fire. He came and 55:12.300 --> 55:15.300 He can't, he blessed them. 55:15.300 --> 55:17.500 He's going to come back for everybody. 55:17.500 --> 55:23.320 You know, even though he had people that hated him and, or mean to him and did horrible things 55:23.320 --> 55:27.700 to him, he still has stayed friends with all those people that are saved and he's still 55:27.700 --> 55:31.460 going to, he still loves those people that are saved and he's still friends with us 55:31.460 --> 55:32.780 to this day. 55:32.780 --> 55:35.680 He's friends to the end, right? 55:35.680 --> 55:36.180 And that's... 55:36.500 --> 55:41.060 That's what, I mean, obviously everything that we pattern our life after, you know, 55:41.060 --> 55:46.180 when we look unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, that's who we need to try to 55:46.180 --> 55:48.140 be like the most, right? 55:48.140 --> 55:53.940 And Jonathan and David do have a great example to us as what friends should be like also. 55:53.940 --> 55:54.940 And so let's pray. 55:54.940 --> 55:59.380 Lord, we thank you so much for this lesson in friendship and pray that you would just 55:59.380 --> 56:03.280 help us to be good friends and, you know, maybe something in this sermon could help 56:03.280 --> 56:04.340 someone be a better friend. 56:04.500 --> 56:08.260 Help us to be good friends. Help us to be wise friends. Help us to be good counselors for our friends. 56:08.260 --> 56:12.900 Help us to tell our friends the truth. Help us to forgive our friends when they wrong us. 56:13.380 --> 56:18.540 But help us Lord to to do right by our friends Lord and pray that you just bless us. 56:18.540 --> 56:20.660 Help us to be friends here at this church. 56:21.140 --> 56:24.940 Lord that we get along with each other and when we do each other wrong that we would 56:25.500 --> 56:28.080 that we would ask for forgiveness from our friends. 56:28.080 --> 56:29.600 Lord, we ask you to forgive us, Lord, 56:29.600 --> 56:32.640 where we fall short in the things that we do 56:32.640 --> 56:34.640 when we're not friendly to you, Lord. 56:34.640 --> 56:36.980 Pray that you just forgive us for those things. 56:36.980 --> 56:38.480 Help us, Lord. 56:38.480 --> 56:40.460 I pray you take us home safely 56:40.460 --> 56:41.380 as we go our separate ways. 56:41.380 --> 56:42.500 In Jesus' name we pray, amen. 56:50.300 --> 56:54.540 All right, we'll close the service this evening with number 306. 56:55.580 --> 57:03.820 Number 306, Have Thine Own Way, Lord. Good. Alter call song. Every head bowed, every eyes closed. 57:04.540 --> 57:05.580 No, we don't do that here. 57:10.140 --> 57:14.300 306, Have Thine Own Way, Lord. All together on the first. 58:10.100 --> 58:11.100 Just now 59:30.400 --> 59:35.800 I might have skipped the verse, but we're going to end it there. Thank you very much. Let me end in prayer. Heavenly Father, Lord, 59:35.800 --> 59:42.160 thank you so much for the sermon today. Help us to be friends and be friendly, Lord, and to make proper 59:42.760 --> 59:45.760 friendships according to your Word. Pray in Jesus' name. Amen.