Prov 18:24 “A man of too many friends comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”
•Instead of worrying about the amount of friends you have, focus on the quality of the friends you are choosing.
•Don’t rush it, be picky in your hunt, & don’t give up.
Intro:
One of the most important things a Christian in today’s world needs is a Godly community! Good friends will strengthen you, help you, love & support you, & keep you on the right path. We have the choice to decide who & what we surround ourselves with. Good influences or bad influences. Good fruit or bad fruit.
Picking Fruit:
Here’s a good example. It’s just like going to the supermarket. Imagine you are in the produce section browsing for some strawberries. You pick up each box carefully, turning it every which way, examining each single strawberry closely for any bad spots or mold. You don’t rush. You take as long as you need to ensure you find the perfect box of strawberries for you. Some times the store may not have any good ones. This doesn’t mean you just give in & buy the bad strawberries. Because then you will end up sitting at home eating bitter fruit that is a waste of your time & money. Instead, you wait however long it takes for the store to get a fresh load in. Then you can finally take your amazing strawberries home & enjoy their goodness. This is also how we should choose our friends. Go ahead & take your pick.
Good Fruit:
Prov 17:17 “A friend loves at all times, & a brother is born for adversity.”
•ALL times! The good & the bad. The easy & the difficult. No matter the situation, we are called to love!
•“Born for adversity” – This Part confused me a little at first, but it’s actually real simple. Every human is a child of God, making every single human siblings. Also, each one of us was created to help each other in difficult & troubling times.
•If we begin to look at life from this perspective how much nicer will you start treating strangers? Criminals? Unbelievers? That’s your family!
Prov 27:10 “Do not forsake your own friend or your father’s friend, & do not go to your brother’s house in the day of calamity; better is a neighbor who is near than a brother far away.”
•Never let your friends down! Be there when they need you.
•Choose friends you can rely on, trust, & that bear good fruits.
•“Neighbor who is near” someone who isn’t technically family, but is close to God.
•“Brother far away” someone who is blood related family, but far away from God.
•Invest your time & emotions in people who are going to help you grow closer to Christ, not lead you further from Him.
1 Sam 23:16 “Jonathan, Saul’s son, arose & went to David at Horesh, & encouraged him in God.”
•Choose friends that will encourage & motivate you to be closer to God.
Prov 27:17 “Iron sharpens iron, so as one man sharpens another.”
Prov 27:9 “Oil & perfume make the heart glad, so a man’s counsel is sweet to his friend.”
•Receiving advice from our friends & family can be a lot of help. God never intended for us to make every decision on our own.
•But make sure it is Godly advice from a person who is receiving their knowledge & wisdom from God.
•Then always check with God on your own to make sure that’s what He wants you to do.
1 Thess 5:11 “Therefore encourage one another & build up one another, just as you also are doing.”
Hebrew 10:24-25 “& let us consider how to stimulate one another to love & good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; & all the more as you see the day drawing near.”
Col 3:13 “bearing with one another, & forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.”
•We all make mistakes, we’re not perfect.
•This doesn’t give us a reason to completely abandon & end a friendship.
•Apologize, talk it out, & forgive.
Gal 6:2 “Bear one another’s burdens, & thereby fulfill the law of Christ.”
John 15:13 “Greater Love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends .”
Ruining Good Fruit:
What happens to a good piece of fruit if we put it with a bad piece of fruit? The infected fruit will rub off onto the good fruit, making both pieces bad fruit. This is the same with us Christians. If we allow ourselves to be around bad influences & people who are constantly sinning, it’s going to rub off on us, until eventually we are just like them. We have to be careful who we get close to in order to protect ourselves.
1 Cor 15:33 “Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company corrupts good morals.’”
Prov 13:20 “He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.”
Prov 12:26 “The righteous is a guide to his neighbor, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.”
Strawberry Patch:
One good strawberry is better then many bad ones, but how much better is many good strawberries. Having a Godly community will keep you planted firm in Christ & help you to grow.
Ps 133:1 “Behold, how good & how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!”
Eccl 4:9-12 “Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up. Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? & if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.”
Matt 18:20 “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.”
Rom 12:4-5 “For just as we have many members in one body & all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, & individually members one another.”
Sources: The Bible, New American Standard Bible, By The Lockman Foundation, Prov 18:24, Prov 17:17, Prov 27:10, 1 Sam 23:16, Prov 27:17, Prov 27:9, 1 Thess 5:11, Heb 10:24-25, Col 3:13, Gal 6:2, John 15:13, 1 Cor 15:33, Prov 13:20, Prov 12:26, Ps 133:1, Eccl 4:9-12, Matt 18:20, Rom 12:4-5.
Blessed Babe 