Transcription
I take a test this morning from Proverbs chapter 18 verse 24. Proverbs chapter 18 verse 24. Contemporary English version says, "Some friends don't help, but a true friend is closer than your own family." Every one of us, in our journey in life, we need friends. The quality of relationship you have can actually influence a lot of things that will happen in your journey in life. Relationships are powerful, and your choice is a brand Tracy that would tell us that your choice of people to associate with will have more impact on what you become. Your choice of people will have more impact on what you become than any other single factor. And the scriptures to buttress that position, every relationship can either be a breach or a wall. It will either hinder you or it will connect you to different destinations in your journey of life.
It is a common saying that when God wants to bless you, one of the things he does when he wants to bless you in life is to send a good friend and a good relationship to you. No wonder in the Proverbs, one of the proverbs will tell us that the most precious gift a man can receive in life is a good wife. He's a good wife. When God wants to bless you, he will send you a good friend. It will bless you with a good relationship with someone that is going to provide a good relationship with you. And then, in the same vein, when the enemy wants to cause you pain and trouble, he will deny you of a right and rewarding relationship. Where it is already existing, the devil will come from time to time to sow discord in order to cut you off from that person that is actually a blessing to your life and possibly a partner in destiny. To make matters worse, the devil will also, in the second part of his agenda in relationships, will do everything possible to connect you with the wrong person, with the wrong person, someone he already knows ahead of time is going to bring you pain, is going to bring you constant damage and setbacks. So relationships are very, very key.
But thank God that we have, we have always seen very good relationships in different capacities, as friends, in marriage, family relationship, even within the body of Christ, relationships that have really made so much positive impact in the lives of people. And some biblical examples of individuals who demonstrated the attribute of a true friend, a true friend. We see in a woman called Ruth, and she exhibited this towards her mother-in-law, Naomi. We see in the life of a man called Jonathan, expressing very deep love for towards the man called David. We see our brother in the faith, Apostle Peter, expressing so much love and loyalty to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In first Samuel chapter 18 verse 1, first Samuel 18 verse 1, the Bible says, "The soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved David as his own soul." As his own soul. Both of a true being friend.
So many things, as we shared with you, the different versions of Proverbs 18:24, that I am who people who pretend to be friends. So many, it wasn't as much as it is now. As this present generation is getting more and more artificial, it's also manifested in the realm of relationships. And so we see people moving forward only to discover that certain people they thought were really with them and for them, were never ever with them. But we have always had, and we still have, men and women in different dimensions that relate as true friends.
So what are the attributes? Seven of them. Number one, a true friend will have genuine care and concern for you. The first way you will know a genuine friend is that he or she will have genuine care and concern for you. They always have your interest at heart. That's what separates them from the crowd. The crowd could sometimes have your interests at heart, especially when they also stand to benefit from whatever is of interest to you. But a true friend will always have your interest at heart, such as Jonathan exhibited towards David at all times. Your success gives them joy. A true friend can never be envious of your promotion. No matter how God continues to promote and lift you and power, bless you, it only makes a true friend happier. A true friend celebrates every good thing, every major positive thing that happens in your life. Your success is their success. Your victory is your victory. Your promotion gives them so much joy. And because people close to them have realized this, the day you have a major breakthrough, they begin to call your friend, that friend to congratulate him, because they already know, they already know that that true friend has a sincere heart for you. So when they hear the news of your promotion, of someone's promotion, because they know he has such a good heart for you, they're already calling him to also congratulate him. Congrats. So we hear that they will say, "Unna, un nadong, you know, you people have been promoted." He's not the one promoted, but because they know the kind of heart he has for that person, so they see that person's promotion as his own promotion. Your success gives them joy. On the reverse, your pain gives them a lot of concern. You may not know it, they are constantly trying to find out how far, how far with whatever is an issue in your life. They may not tell you all the time, but they are consistently trying to find out and possibly do something about it.
Number two, the second major attribute of a genuine friend is their love and friendship with you is unconditional. Yes, their love for you, their friendship with you is unconditional. It sometimes, it takes time, it takes a lot of years for this to be proven, because after many years, things have played out, you will discover that certain people you always thought really loved you were there for a reason, and once that reason is eventually out of the equation, they cut you off, and you won't believe it. But when you are blessed with a genuine friend, their love for you, their friendship with you is unconditional. They love you as a person, not for what you have, not for what you have. Your physical attraction is not the basis of their love for you. Your physical look, sorry, it's not the basis of your love for you, or the position you occupy. They are not fair-weather friends. They are not good-time friends. They are not good-time frames. They are sincerely attracted to you, and as such, when things are rough with you, they are still there. When things are off, they are there. No amount of adverse situation around your life can separate them away from you. It's impossible. Sometimes it will look like they have taken some distance. No way, it's not going to last. After some time, they will be back because it's flowing from the heart. No amount of adverse situation, things like barrenness, a husband that can put away his wife because after 10 years, 15, 20 years, there's no child. That man is not the kind. He doesn't, he never loved her. He never loved her. Issues like barrenness, issues like poverty, no male child, affliction, prolonged or severe illness. These are the things that prove the love, the true love of anybody for you. So when anybody separates, you know, even in marriage, for reasons like this, you know that that man never loved that woman, and that woman never loved that man. Even when you failed to do for them something that was within your power to do, they may be disappointed, they may be unhappy, but they will still love you. They will still remain committed to you. For a while, they may just stay away, away forever, because love will pull them back. And that talks, this, you know, shows us a lot about the power of unconditional love, love without strings attached, love. Yes, your love for someone is not based on what the person would do for you in return. You simply love them, and you want nothing more than their happiness.
Number three, a genuine friend will go the extra mile to support or honor you with their physical presence. A genuine friend will go the extra mile to support or honor you with their physical presence, with their physical presence. They are always readily available and supportive in times of need, in times of grief. They are the ones that will keep on coming to your house in times of grief, times of bereavement, in times of trouble, in times of affliction, in times of trouble, in times of affliction. They go the extra mile. They go the extra mile. They are the ones that will travel from any part of the world in order to be with you at a significant time in your life, not because they have money to burn. When you look at how much it's going to cost them for a return ticket, you know, for that international trip, they have to be out of work for two to three weeks just to be with you at that time. It's not because everything is well off with them, but their love for you is so strong that they believe they have to physically be with you at that time. Like Elijah to Elijah, they are ready to follow you anywhere, including a very far place or a very remote area, such as your village.
And number four, their friendship with you is beyond boundaries. Their friendship with you is beyond boundaries. Their friendship with you has no geographical boundary. Even when you have relocated to a very far location or a different country, they will still keep in touch with you regularly. Your closeness is still there, especially in those times where we have very good communication channels. Relationship is still very strong and close. And the true depth of friendship is often recognized when there is nothing officially binding the two of you together. Sometimes you think two people are too close, no, it's just because they were in the same church. Let one change, maybe one gets married, most of the husband's church, and you discover that after a year, they are no longer relating. Sometimes you think they are so close, it's because they are walking in the same office. It's because they live on the same street. Let there be a separation for a while, and you observe that they are no longer related. But when it's genuine, the kind of friendship we are talking about, after separating or graduating from school, you are still close to that, to that old schoolmate. After separating from the same office, the same neighborhood, even the same church, you are still close to that person. Those are, these are signs of deep and strong-rooted friendship.