¶Theme: A friend in need is a friend indeed ….

¶Text: Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (NIV) “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.”

¶Message:
Who is a friend? a person with whom one has a bond of mutual affection, typically one exclusive of sexual or family relations.

About the theme/ Meaning: This is a proverb that says a true friend is someone who helps you when you are in trouble rather than leaving you to fend for yourself.

¶God values friendship because it is spoken to many times in the Bible: example of these are in:
1)- Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (NIV) “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.”
2)- Luke 10:1 (NIV) After this, the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go.

¶Honesty. Of all the traits a good friend could have, honesty is certainly among the most important. An honest friend is someone who can and will tell you the truth instead of lying to you to keep you happy or placate you. A good friend will tell you the truth even if it’s hard, because he/ she loves you.

¶4 Levels – (The four stages are) :
1) Acquaintance, 2) Peer friend, 3) Close Friend, and 4) Best friend.

* Acquaintance is a person one knows slightly, but who is not a close friend.

* Peer friend is someone at your own level. … Peer comes from the Latin par which means equal.

* Close Friend is somebody who you can talk to about everything, who makes you feel comfortable without fear of judgement.
– A “close friend” can also be someone who is always there for you, who cares about your well-being.

* Best friend is a person’s closest and dearest friend.
– A best friend is someone who is there for you through thick and thin. It’s someone who listens and understands you. Someone you can call anytime about anything you feel you need to ‘tell’ or ‘vent’.
– It’s someone who will stand up for you in the times when you need him/ her most, keep your secrets close, and someone you can trust with your life.
– They will support you in any decision you make even if it’s hard for them. It’s someone who is there for you as much as they can be and does and says whatever they can to life up your mood in down times.

¶Qualities Of A True Friend:
They’ll always be honest with you. …They love you for yourself. …They give more than they take. …They compromise. …They forgive you even without an apology. …They believe in you. …They make time for you. …They are respectful of you.

¶Case Studies:
1)-Gospel: Mark 2:1-12
The gospel story of four men who broke the roof, and let down their paralyzed friend to see Jesus. Jesus then healed the crippled man. These four friends couldn’t get to Jesus through the front door because of the crowds of people inside and outside the house, so these four friends had to be imaginative and persistent.

2)-The Good Samaritan -Luke 10:25-37

3)-Show me your friend, and I will tell you who you are: Jonathan/ David are very good examples of this  -> 1 Sam 18 *v3 “It was not just  spiritual bond it became covenantal for, ‘Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul.”

4)-Jesus call us friends according to John 15:15 “I do not call you servants any longer…but I have called you friends.” He demonstrated this by laying down His live for us according to John 15:13.
-> Though a friend of sinners but He hates sin (s)
-> Friendship with him is still conditional according to John 15:14 “you are my friends if you do what I command you.”

¶In Conclusion, friendship is all about the unconditional love of God, kindness, compassion, and integrity. Our Lord JESUS Christ is therefore the best Friend you can ever have: He is loving, kind, compassionate, and full of integrity; He has never failed, and He will never fail. Be intimate with Him, lay your problems at His feet, cast your burden unto Him, for He cares for you (1 Pet 5:7); He is a Friend in need and a Friend indeed. Lean on Him, learn from Him, emulate Him, and let Him be your Role Model, and it shall continue to be well with you.

¶Prayers:
– Thank You Jesus for calling me Your friend
– Forgive all my shortcomings esp where I have not fulfilled my role as the friend You’ve called me to be.
– Help me to be indeed that friend You have called me to be: to be united with You, and never fail You in Your mighty Name I pray. AMEN.