06-25-06
Dr. Terry Fields
- Great service thus far. We baptized three folks today: Celia McMillan, Amber Porter, and David Schmauck.
- SERVANT sang one of their originals for special music today.
Proverbs
TODAY'S THEME IS FRIENDSHIP
- Bro. Terry gets his digs on Bro. Will for a while.
- Terry refers to the show "Friends" for a while.
- The older I get, outside my salvation and family, true friends are the most important things I have.
- God puts inside of us the desire to have true friends.
- Solomon talked a lot about friendships. He is the wisest man that has ever lived.
- I've never heard a sermon or had a class on how to have friends.
- Solomon says that you shouldn't have very many friends. He said it could be dangerous to have a lot of friends.
Proverbs 18:24 and more
- The first guy to win a million dollars from Regis Philbin found that he made a lot of friends fast.
- The longer you live, the more you value true friends.
1. How to make a friend?
2. How do you measure a friend?
3. How do you minister to a friend?
1. How do you make a friend?
- Proverbs 18:24b
- There is a friend that sticks closer than a friend.
- If you want to make a friend, first be a friend! Be friendly!
- The friendliest people make the most friends and the best friends.
- Friendship is all about choices.
- What god are you going to serve? You are going to serve someone. The god of sex, wealth, etc. Who are you going to serve.
- Who are you going to marry?
- Who are your true friends?
Proverbs 12:26
- A wise man is cautious in friendship. You will become like your friends!!!
- Dale Carnegie's "How to Win Friends and Influence People"
- Make friends! Don't try to get people to be interested in you.
- Dale's principle: "Get them talking about themselves."
- Just like Toby Keith sings.
- Study done in an Ivy League school. He had them right the initials of folks in the class you do not like. The folks who disliked most people were indeed the ones who were disliked most by others.
- Solomon says you should choose good friends.
- Those who know the Lord ought to have a few friends who do not know the Lord.
- Psalm 119:63
- Proverbs 12:26
- Students, the ones you hang out with are the very ones that can determine where you literally spend the rest of your life. There are people in hell today because those people chose to hang out with the wrong crowd last night.
- David's son Amnon was rebellious and twisted. 2 Samuel 13 - Amnon had a sinister friend Jonidab.
- "It is better to be alone than to be in bad company."
2. How do you measure a friend?
- Prov. 18:24b - closer than a brother.
- We can have friends that are so much closer to us than a family.
- What causes this to happen?
- 1. loyalty - like skin sticking to bone.
- that friend never lets your faults come between your friendship.
- We need to learn the art of overlooking people's faults.
- Bro. Terry talks about the fact that he has quirks and flaws as well as all of us.
- The reason a dog has so many friends is because he wags his tell instead of his tongue.
- If you knew what your so-called friends said about you behind your back, it would be eye-opening.
- Prov. 16:28
- 2. lasting - it stands the test of time and trouble.
- Do you still have a friend from high school and college? We tend to drift apart.
- We don't need fair-weather friends.
- Bro. Terry gives some cool definitions of a friend.
- A true friend is one who walks in your house when the whole world walks out.
- Chuck Colson's book "Born Again" - he sticks by his friend Mr. Nixon.
- 3. loving
- How do you know how many friends you have? Do just one thing: MAKE A BIG, BIG MISTAKE! You will then find out who your true friends are.
- Prov. 17:17
- Girls, don't have anything to do with a guy who dates you for what he gets out of it.
- A real friend wants what is best for you.
3. How do you minister to a friend?
- What kind of friend are you willing to be?
- Prov. 27:9
- A real friend will tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear.
- Prov. 27:6 - the wounds of a friend is better than the kisses of the enemy.
- Prov. 27:17 - friends sharpen one another.
- You don't sharpen iron with a stick of butter.
- God's family needs to stick together. Beware of jumping churches and friends. You are probably running from people who will tell you the truth. Let iron sharpen you.
CLOSING
- Do you have a real friend?
- Do you know who that friend is that sticks closer than a brother? Jesus!!!
- Bro. Terry says that today is speaking to two people: first, those who have made Jesus their friend by faith; second, those who have never seen Jesus as their friend!
- Will you say yes to the best friend you'll ever know!?
