1 Samuel 18:1-5, 19:1-5, 20:18-23
Unconditional Unity (1 Samuel 18:1-5)
It’s tough to find real Christ-Centered friends who love you, regardless of your past and current circumstances!
The essence of Christian friendship is companionship forged in the fire of two convictions: 1) Jesus alone can satisfy the soul and 2) his kingdom alone is worth living for. We see a strong friendship in which Jonathan, Saul’s son, loves his friend! It’s a friendship in which jealousy and self-seeking ambition are not to be found. In fact, the throne belonged to Jonathan, but I believe he knew it would go to David.
“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” Prov. 17:17
Affirming Advocate (1 Samuel 19:1-5)
Remember what Barnabas did for Paul? He took up for Paul! He was his advocate! (Acts 9:26-27) We’ve got to stop being people pleasers and agreeing with whomever we’re talking to! If someone says something about a friend, we need to kill gossip, and kill negativity! Gossip kills the Gospel! “Did you know what they did?” Oh, how we love to live in drama! Your response needs to be, “aren’t we all sinners! Aren’t we all in need of salvation! Look at what Christ has done in their life! I’d like for Christ to do that in me!” Wow, don’t kill the gospel with gossip! Fuel the Authority of Christ by being an advocate for God’s people!
Directs Away From Danger (1 Samuel 20:18-23)
A true friend warns of danger!
How do you know if you’re a Christ-Centered Friend?
- You Help Others Increase Joy in Christ.
- You Expose Sin. “Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.” (Proverbs 27:6)
We need friends to lovingly show us our sin. We need friends to help us see our blind spots. We need friends to speak with brutal honesty (Matthew 18:15) and with compassion (Galatians 6:1), telling us the truth about ourselves even when we don’t want to hear it (Ephesians 4:15).
- You Encourage Obedience to Christ. “Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.” (Hebrews 10:24)
En–courage–ment is giving courage and strength to others for the intimidating task before them. We cast a bigger vision for why their obedience matters for God’s kingdom. We affirm that their obedience glorifies God and counts for eternity. En- We are in this together. Ment- We were meant to do this. Courage- the application of God’s strength!
- You Bring Them to God During Weakness.
“Behold, some men were bringing on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they were seeking to bring him in and lay him before Jesus, but finding no way to bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the midst before Jesus.” (Luke 5:18–19)
You have true God-Centered friends when they rip up a roof so that you can be brought to Christ!
Walking through life in a God-belittling world, with our sin-ridden flesh, against a hell-bent enemy, is too hard to be attempted alone. Alone, we easily believe the lies of Satan. Alone, we buckle under the weight of our sin. Alone, we grow discouraged and weary. Like the paralytic, we need the help of other believers to carry us to God. We all get in a bad way!
So, how can we bring others to God? We listen to a brother or sister confess a hidden sin and wash her or him with the truth that Christ has cleansed her or him and made them whole. We can meet the practical needs of those enduring intense suffering in Jesus’s name. Or we can simply bring our friends to God in prayer, asking him to do greater things in their lives than we can do for them.
- You are a Friend for the Glory of God.
“Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31)