The Formula for Friendship

What is the formula for friendship this into Adrian Rogers. Ladies and gentlemen take care of God. You may have many acquaintances but I will say again, if you have on Jonathan light for your very rich wisdom tells that it's wrong to try to have because friendship must be cold and you can only cultivate a few review genuine need thank God for your friend Ludwig finding featuring truths of the state, pastor, teacher and author Adrian Rogers. A true friend is value and worth the fine. The Bible places a great emphasis upon friends but it also encourages us not to have too many of rather we are to consider friendships as an investment you invest time and energy, prayer and emotions into people we cannot fully invest in more than we can maintain first Samuel 18 provides a vignette of David and Jonathan and the fortune of their beautiful friendship. If you have your Bible turn there now as Adrian Rogers shares the formula for friendship verse one pass when you made an end of speaking up to Saul, that is when David had finished speaking to Saul and Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. And Saul took him that day. That is so big that they let him go no more home to his father's house. Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul.

That is because Jonathan loved David as he loved his own soul that literally means he loved him as he loved himself the word soul is a word for self and Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his garments, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girl.

Never underestimate the value of a true friend when you lose a real friend a little bit of you dies friends are valuable, valuable thing I don't have a lot of friends I have a lot of acquaintances but I do have some friends that I cannot begin to tell you what my friends mean to me. Thank God for friends. Thank God for the sanctifying power godly relationship in the Scripture that I have just read to you, we would find a strange thing happened. Saul is the king of Israel, but Saul is sinking lower and lower and lower and he is eaten up with jealousy and envy over David, but David is a man after God's own heart David as a youngster, but he has the anointing the spirit and power of God is upon and David is rising higher and higher and Saul now is by and Saul has decided that David must be slain, and Saul has brought all of his desires into one learning focus kill David kill David kill David and David though youngster is forced to flee for his life. He's hunted like a partridge on the mountainside like a wild animal. David lives in the rocks in the caves in the den.

David has to say goodbye to family goodbye to friends and goodbye fortunate goodbye to fame and goodbye to all of these things in hello to heart ache and hello to danger and hello to loneliness in hello to caves and suffering hunger. He's in the furnace of affliction that I've noticed that when God answers any man any woman any boy, any girl that somehow they seem to go through the furnace of affliction that seems to be a part of the making of a man of God but God did something for David. I pray God will do for you.

God gave David a friend and the name of that friend was Jonathan and what an influence illustrate the power. Jonathan was David in this day and in this age, ladies and gentlemen, take care of your friends.

Thank God for your friends. You may have many acquaintances but I want to say again, if you have on Jonathan life friend. You're very rich. Don't try to have a lot of friends. It's a mistake. Wisdom tells that it's wrong to try to have too many for because friendship must be cultivated and you can only cultivate a few real genuine deed be friends. Thank God for your acquaintances. Benjamin Franklin said, be slow in choosing a friend slower in changing thank God for your friends know when I was in the college and seminary. Some of the courses that I was taught in ministerial ethics and so forth. They said now don't have personal friends on your church for you. Sometimes ministers wives are told don't have a friend just be nice to everybody, but don't have a friend, ladies and gentlemen, that is poor advice, poor advice for any preacher for any preacher boy for any preacher's wife for any deacon for anybody to say that you could not have a plan, is to deny your humanity. Jesus himself had friend.

He chose 1212 there were that Trinity that Inner Cir., Peter James and John, and of those that was one friend was even closer, the beloved disciple, John.

There was Mary and Martha and Lazarus and Jesus spent time there because in his humanity. Even their Savior needed a friend of the sanctifying power of godly relationship. Now what is a friend, a regal true friend a Jonathan type friend. May I tell you several things that a real friend is notice the relationship of Jonathan and David and the first thing I want you to notice. Is this that it was a selfless friendship, a selfless friendship work if you will please in verse one and it came to pass when you made an end of speaking under Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David. Now watch this, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul, that is, he loved him as he loved himself. Their friendship was a selfless friendship. Jonathan love David as Jonathan love John and that tells me to begin with, that I cannot love anybody unless I first let me sometimes.

We also been told it were not supposed to love ourselves. Let's food of course were supposed to love ourselves. Jesus said to love our neighbors as we love ourselves and fight me. The one my going to do to you. I do love my neighbor as I love myself as a matter of fact it is not until I have a healthy self-concept is not until I rest in Jesus is not until I am securing the Lord that I am free to love somebody else no longer do I feel vulnerable, no longer my afraid to give up something in me.

I can share me because I love me and therefore I can love someone else and as I read this passage of Scripture and I see about Jonathan if there was anybody who had a right to be jealous and envious of David.

It was Jonathan who was Jonathan.

Jonathan was the king's son Jonathan was heir to the throne. And yet there's not one speck of jealousy here.

The Bible says that Jonathan love David as he love his own soul. Their friendship was a selfless friendship. It was an unconditional friendship. You see there's a friend that stick is closer than a brother. The relationship with this friend is not based upon condition. If you have somebody who says I love you if they're not a friend partner somebody says I will love you when they are not a friend partner somebody who says I will love you on till midnight friend partner somebody who says I love you because they're not a friend of these have condition that real friendship is absolutely late conditional is selfless, it just simply says I love you. Thank God for friend like that, that loves with an unconditional love with a selfless love, but I want to notice something else about this friendship that David and Jonathan had not only was it a selfless friendship, but it was a spin past friendship.

Look again if you will please in verse three.

Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul. And what was a covenant was an immutable, changeable agreement I preached a while back on the blood covenant. I'm not certain whether I'll be without or not I'll see as the spirit moves me. Later on we get to the store and the provision but put it down, put it down clearly and plainly, this friendship as marked by the blood covenant was a stead fast friendship. It never wavered and you can go on a few chapters later turn.

For example, chapter 20 and look in verse 42, and you can see these men as they getting ready to part and from this time on that going to be separated because circumstances have separated these men that love the Lord and love one another, and Jonathan said to David, go in peace, for as much as we have sworn both of us in the name of the Lord saying the Lord be between me and the and between my seed and dry seed for ever and he arose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city. The thing that marks this relationship was. Not only was it selfless.

It was stated last else was against David that day and the Jeopardy is all. Jonathan was a friend. By the Bible says in Proverbs chapter 17 verse 17 a friend. Love at all time and a brother is born for adversity. You think you have some friends you want to find out if you really do make a mistake, make a mistake and see what happens. See who stands by you through thick and thin getting in trouble and difficulty adversity and you'll find out whether or not you have a friend you want to know whether your friend in a what you do when that person that you think your friend to has need of you. Proverbs chapter 27 verse 10 says thine own friend and by father's friend for say not that relationship was a selfless relationship that relationship was a stead fast relationship, but thirdly it was also a sacrificial relationship. A sacrificial friendship go back and look at our text, if you will again in verse four.

And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, this is for Samuel 18 for.

And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his garments, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girder, that is. Jonathan was willing to share at this particular point Jonathan had much David had little Jonathan had lived a life of royalty. David live the life of the ship, but here is Jonathan taking what he has and sharing it with his friend are real friend is costly, it cost to have friends, but it's worth there's no better investment us to show relationship, you may give without loving but you cannot love without giving look in chapter 20. In verse four. See what Jonathan said to David then said Jonathan under David whatsoever advise soul desire. I will even do it for the how do I have a friend for the piping whatsoever. So I see a selfless relationship based past relationship, or friend. Love that all time a sacrificial relationship, but I want to say there's another mark of a true friend. That is, it was a sanctifying relationship a sanctifying relationship. A sanctifying friendship as you read the chapters that follow after this covenant was made, you will find out that David was a better man for having a Jonathan and conversely reciprocation.

Jonathan was a better man for having a David a friend a true friend is a friend and makes you a better person are true friend is one who causes you to be better and because a friend is one who has a a sanctifying influence upon you somebody who makes you the Bible says in Proverbs chapter 27 in verse 17 as iron sharpens iron, so a man the sharpener the countenance of his friend.

You know what that means.

It means dear friend that a real friend is going to put the angel in your life they going to make you sharp and keen and better and useful. They're not going to blot your influence. They're not going to dial your spirituality as iron sharpens iron, so I man shop in the countenance of his friend, and David's life was shot by Jonathan and Jonathan's life was shot by David will friend the best thing that could happen to you is that that's all God and so love you but you're always a better person when you leave the presence of (I tell you, with my friends. I am talking about these men that that I just mentioned. I'll not be in a hotel room, a motel room in a cottage in an automobile that long before they sharing with me some new truth of the Lord Jesus Christ thought to me about wonderful Savior and what he means to them and what he ought to mean to me.

Thank God for friends like that. Thank God for the site to find how godly relationship, but friend loves at all times will sharpen you as iron sharpens iron. Someone wrote this about his friend.

I love you not only for what you are, but what I am when I am with you I love you not only for what you have made of yourself, but for what you are making of me.

I love you for not closing your ears to the discords in me, but for adding to the music in me by worshipful listening. You have done it without a touch without a word without assignment. You have done it by just being your cell. Perhaps that is what being a friend mean after all, the key to those beautiful words as the first line I love you not only for what you are, but the one I am when I am with you. There's was a sanctifying relationship. Now I know enough about human nature, but I know what some of your thinking right now you're saying all I wish I had a friend like that I get to that in just a moment, let me taste something about a friend who has a sanctifying relationship.

Did you know that if it if you have a real friend there. Love you enough to confront you when you need to be confronted. The Bible says in Proverbs 27 verse six faithful are the wounds of a friend and met a beautiful verse faithful friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful, don't you think Dr. Franzen can put their arm around you and love you closer to the Lord and confront you when you need it.

Friend lives enough to confront you. The Bible says the other friend let's go back to what I started just a few moments ago is.

I wish I had a friend like that. I wish I had someone who would love me has Jonathan love David, I think, ladies and gentlemen. If you're thinking that way. That is probably your problem right there. You see, stop waiting for somebody to love you as Jonathan love David and find some David and love him as Jonathan love David.

Below are the Bible says in Proverbs chapter 18 verse 24. This is what it says it says a man that hath friend must show himself friendly man friends must show himself friendly.

The Bible says in Galatians chapter 6 and verse seven.

Be not deceived, God is not mocked. For whatsoever a man so that shall he also reap man if you will stop waiting to be lowered and lost somebody if you stop writing for somebody to give to you and give it to somebody and somebody had friend or somebody.

It may indeed be that you're going to find that person is a friend to you, he that hath friends must show himself friendly. Let me say there's one who did not wait for you love him before he loved you and his name is Jesus at all. If the law of Jonathan for David is but obtained reflection of the love of Jesus for you because Jesus loves you with a selfless love. Jesus loves you with a steadfast love. Jesus loves you what a sacrificial love. Jesus loves you what a sanctifying love. Indeed, plan we have in Jesus all the love that drew salvation's plan of grace down to man and told him I didn't go that God did Spain at Calvary.

Now the way to be a friend or somebody else is to love a person with a selfless love, but you can never love someone else and you love you and you can never really love you and do your loved by Jesus. Do you know him. Are you saying you want Jesus for friend, a Savior, a friend, a stick of closer than a brother. Well he says behold I stand at the door knock.

If any man will hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, he will be your friend. A friend if you letting father I pray here to that many will say an everlasting yes to Jesus Christ and trust him who is the friend of sinners. In Jesus name, amen. And if you prayed to receive Jesus Christ just now, let us celebrate with you ghetto I discovered Jesus page at the website. The financers there that you may need about your newfound faith. We have a response section where you can share your testimony or how this message is made a difference in your life. Simply go to LWF.org/radio and click the tab that says Discover Jesus if you've received Christ welcome to God's forever family.

We can't wait to hear from you today that you like to order a copy of this message in its entirety. You can call 1877 love God mentioned the title the formula for friendship. This message is also part of the insightful series live like a king for the complete collection all 12 powerful messages: 1877 love God will go online order it LWF.org/radio or you can write us at love worth finding box 38, 600 Memphis, TN 38183 you have a friend who loves you strengthens, helps, corrects, guides and sustains you more importantly, are you that kind friend, pray and ask God for the wisdom to maintain the relationships in your life and join us next time more Adrian Rogers right away whatever donors wrote recently.

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