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FRIENDSHIP
CHRISTIANITY OASIS
HAS PROVIDED YOU WITH THIS FRIENDSHIP STUDY. FRIENDSHIP
... THE BIBLE HAS MUCH TO SAY ABOUT FRIENDSHIP AND HOW
IMPORTANT IT IS TO HAVE FRIENDSHIPS.
LET US SEEK AND FIND THE TRUTH OF FRIENDSHIP IN THE BIBLE TOGETHER, SHALL WE?
I
would like to talk with you about FRIENDSHIP.
But
before we begin, I wanna take a few minutes to share a lil
something with ya from the book of Job ...
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Job 1:6-8
Now there was a day when the sons of God came to
present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came
also among them. And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence
comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said,
From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking
up and down in it. And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast
thou considered my servant Job, that there is none
like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man,
one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?
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We see
that satan (Which is an angel) came and stood in line with
all the other angels that report to God. When it was his
turn … God asked where he had been. He told God that he had
been going to and fro thru the earth and we all know what he
was doing. Looking for souls to devour.
God asked satan if he had considered how perfect His servant
Job was.
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Job 1:9-12
Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear
God for nought? Hast not thou made an hedge about him,
and about his house, and about all that he hath on
every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands,
and his substance is increased in the land. But put
forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and
he will curse thee to thy face. And the LORD said unto
Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only
upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went
forth from the presence of the LORD.
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Satan
said that the only reason Job was so obedient was cuz God
was protecting him and he had this perfect lil life. Satan
mocked God and said if you let me mess with Job … Your lil
human servant you are bragging on will curse you.
God believed in Job and allowed satan to bring tribulation
upon Job’s life but satan was not allowed to hurt Job
himself.
And mess with Job’s life he did … His livestock was stolen
and/or killed. His children were killed by their house
falling in on them. But, did Job Curse God?
NO ...
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Job 1:21-22
And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and
naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the
LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.
In all this … Job sinned not, nor charged God
foolishly.
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So
satan goes back to Heaven and stands in line with the other
angels and when it was his turn, God asked him again what he
thought about Job. Satan said yeah, well if you let me mess
with he himself, he will curse you. God told satan that he
could do this, but could not kill Job.
Satan placed boils on Job from his feet to the top of his
head. Even his wife told him to curse God ...
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Job 2:9-10
Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain
thine integrity? curse God, and die. But he said unto
her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women
speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of
God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did
not Job sin with his lips. |
Now
during these horrible trials … Job’s friends came to visit
and saw all that had happened and the horrific boils all
over Job and gave all this advice to Job and attempted to
condemn Job and make suggestions as to what Job may have
done wrong to receive these terrible trials and tribulation
when they had NO CLUE what was REALLY going on.
Job said …
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Job 16:20
My friends scorn me: but mine eye poureth out tears
unto God.
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Job 19:19
All my inward friends abhorred me: and they whom I
loved are turned against me. |
Can
you feel the PAIN and HURT in his words?
But
when the trials and tribulation was over …
God
came to make balance ...
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Job 32:3
Also against his three friends was his wrath kindled,
because they had found no answer, and yet had
condemned Job.
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In
fact … God made Job’s friends make a sacrifice and ask Job
to pray for them or God would deal with them for what they
had done to Job …
Then God rewarded Job and gave him twice as much as what was
taken.
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Job 42:10
And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he
prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice
as much as he had before.
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Let's
talk a lil bit about the story in Job just shared …
We know that satan seeks to capture us at every turn …
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1 Peter 5:8
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the
devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom
he may devour:
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Job
said we come into this world with nothing and we will leave
that way. That everything we get is from God so it is God’s
to give … And take. Paul echoes this …
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1 Timothy 6:7
For we brought nothing into this world, and it is
certain we can carry nothing out. |
This
is something we should all consider in our own lives. When
we lose things in our own lives from material items to homes
to husbands and wives … Yes, even our husbands and wives are
not OURS forever. Just as it is spoken in the marriage vows.
Till DEATH do us part. Death is not the end, but rather the
beginning ...
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Matthew 22:30
For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are
given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in
Heaven. |
Kinda
tough to understand this tho when we are experiencing it,
but if we place the TRUTH within our minds that we are just
sojourners here and that we do not really OWN anything or
anyone. We will be able to deal with it better.
The TRUTH is that many of us do in fact endure some pretty
tough trials and tribulation and we are being tested all the
time. The Lord leads many of these lost and troubled souls
to the Oasis and like Job … We should NEVER lack compassion
and understanding of what another soul may be going thru to
the point that we would condemn or ignore them because of
their resulting state of depression from their trials and
tribulations as Job was experiencing.
This is an interesting statement:
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Job 6:14
To him that is afflicted pity should be shewed from
his friend. |
Those
souls which are in the middle of trials and tribulation and
are so heavy burdened should receive pity … But we also know
that allowing others to wallow in pity for too long can
become a habit and thereby negatively affect our friend.
So where do we draw the line?
Is there a point where we feel we have done enough?
Well lemme ask you a question ... How much did God endure
from YOU and it appears that He never said ENOUGH and is
still kicking out that Grace and Love.
Let THAT be your answer.
I have some Scriptures about friendship that I would like to
share ...
Are
YOU a worthy friend? Are you friendly?
Let's define the FRUITS of being friendly, shall we?
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Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness,
temperance: against such there is no law.
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So if
you are not feeling these "fruits" when you encounter
others, it is NOT God making you feel the way you do.
David
and Jonathan shared this type of Friendship ...
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1 Samuel 18:3
Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he
loved him as his own soul.
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They
say that blood is thicker than water when referring to
someone choosing family over others. But, Jonathan even
turned on his own Dad for this friendship he shared with
David … Meaning that this type of friendship is “THICKER
THAN BLOOD” and “closer than a brother”
So a
TRUE friend is there for you in good times and bad happy and
sad.
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Proverbs 6:3
Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, when thou
art come into the hand of thy friend; go, humble
thyself, and make sure thy friend.
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If you
ever feel that you have done a friend wrong …
Do NOT
allow pride to overcome you. Instead humble yourself and
restore the friendship immediately ...
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Proverbs 27:6
Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of
an enemy are deceitful.
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This
means it is better to have a friend share TRUTH which may
hurt or set you free depending on your mindset than have
someone just tell you what you wanna hear with no care for
your well being.
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Proverbs 27:9
Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the
sweetness of a man's friend by hearty counsel.
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"Hearty Counsel" ... For one to have fellowship with a true
friend is some good stuff for the soul.
They say that Love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant …
What in the world does that mean?
It means that Love is oft times selfish and you can blind
yourself when you are in love cuz you do not wanna lose it.
But FRIENDSHIP within Love makes the two souls become one. So, much so
you can oft times sense what the other is thinking or
feeling. Many marriages are based on this friendship and
they are the ones that last thru the trials and tribulations
a relationship endures.
Did you know that Jesus calls those who follow Him … His
friends?
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John 15:14-15
Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant
knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you
friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father
I have made known unto you. |
If
Jesus found friendship to be so important that He would call
the relationship between us and Him … FRIENDS. Then true
friendship is the most important relationship we can have
and guess what … It is eternal.
So let us consider being friendly to those we encounter and
work at establishing stronger friendships with a foundation
based on UNCONDITIONAL LOVE.
And one more lil thing ...
When someone comes across your path and you see they are
angry, depressed or have any other negative emotion and you
try and talk with them but they just shun you. Do not become
angry yourself.
Grow thicker skin. They are not angry at you, they are
HURTING.
Do not ignore or condemn them.
Love One Another.
Remember that we have no clue at times what is going on in
another person's life that we encounter.
Lemme share a quick story:
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There was this man who was late for work. He was
behind this car that was going very slow and suddenly
stopped. He laid on the horn and cursed the driver
ahead of him, but the car ahead of him just sat still.
He jumped outta the car in his road rage state and
banged on the window of the car. But the driver would
not roll down the window. He grabbed the door handle
and threw open the door and said "what is your
problem" ... The woman driving the vehicle looked over
at him with tears in her eyes and an infant in her
arms and said ... I was rushing my baby to the
hospital cuz she had fever and she just died.
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Be
more understanding and realize we have NO idea what others
are enduring ... Or WHY.
Remember Job?
Remember what happened to his friends?
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Job 32:3
Also against his three friends was
His wrath
kindled, because they had found no answer, and
yet had condemned Job. |
You may find yourself asking that soul to pray for YOU one day.
Live and let Love
Love and let Live.
Take
care and have a SON-derful day.
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