← ArchiveProverbsSunday, August 14, 2016DateAugust 14, 2016Speaker—TextProverbs 3Passages in this sermonProverbs 31:26Proverbs 2511:28Proverbs 18:2415:57Proverbs 1720:37Proverbs 2728:13Matthew 1140:56James 2:2542:46James 443:09TranscriptMachine transcribed. Click any line to jump there.0:00Thank you. Thank you.0:30Thank you. Why can't we be friends?1:00Why can't we be friends? Today we are going to look at godly wisdom for our friendships. So we are continuing our journey in Proverbs as a church, a series we have called Summer Wisdom. And we know that wisdom is found in the Lord. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. So if you have your Bibles with you, and I hope you do, please turn to Proverbs chapter 3.1:26And we will be looking at several different verses this morning. But all of these verses have a key word in them and a key theme in them, and that is friendship. That is a good neighbor. Now, if you are here and you say, Pastor, I don't like people, so I don't need any friends, let me give you a word of advice. First, I'm going to give you medical advice, and then I'll give you biblical advice.1:55Here's your medical advice this morning. A recent study of nearly 1,500 people found this. Followed them for 10 years. Those that had a large network of friends outlived those with fewer friends by more than 20 years. By more than 20 years. Now, before you guys on Twitter and Facebook are thinking, may I have a million friends on Facebook, hold off on that thought, okay?2:19Another study found that women with breast cancer in a support group live twice as long as those not in a group, and they experience much less pain. Now, I do believe there are other factors in there, but it cannot be denied by the medical profession that friendship, that long-lasting, deep, connected friendships matter in your life physically.2:38Tasha Ho, associate professor of psychology at Humboldt State University, said this. People with social support, friendships, have fewer cardiovascular problems, immune problems, and lower levels of cortisol, a stress hormone. Are you getting the point here?3:08Another study in the medical journal said this. Drug use among young people is higher among those who say that they are lonely. Older, lonely people tend to have higher blood pressure, poorer sleep quality. They are more tense and anxious. We need friendships. We need friendships. And every verse that we look at is going to have the same common theme.3:35It's the word for neighbor and it's the word for friend. It's the Hebrew reah. The word's the same. So context dictates how we translate that. But every verse that we look at today is going to have the word neighbor or friend. Now, the Hebrew can also formulate it this way, that you are not a neighbor. It means an enemy. Which tells us that an enemy is someone who's not a friend. So God's word always pushes us into friendships, being a good neighbor.4:03So my question first is, do you have good, strong, biblical friendships? If not, my prayer for you is that you will find those in your life. My second question then is based off of that. If you do have friendships, are you a good friend? Are you a godly friend? Are you a Christ-centered friend? You say, well, pastor, how do I do that?4:32That's where God's word waters us this morning. Let's pray, Father, we need good friends in our life. Lord, we need good neighbors in our life. And Lord, we are thankful that there is a friend who sticks closer to a brother. And we thank you that you sent your son, Jesus Christ, that he ate and he dined with tax collectors and sinners. Lord, the world laughed at your son because they called him a friend of sinners.4:59And this morning, Lord, we thank you that your son is a friend to sinners. Lord, we know that friendship with the world is enmity, hate towards you. So, Father, may we have godly, Christ-centered, gospel-saturated friendships. And Lord, if we need more friendships in our life, Father, give us Christ-centered roots that we may reach out to people that need friends.5:20Lord, this is not just a medical issue. Father, we want so much deeper than that for our lives. We want not only healing of our bodies, but we want healing of our soul. And we know that that is found in friendship with your son, Jesus Christ. So, Lord, water us with your word this morning. Saturate us with your grace. Lord, may we find mercy.5:49And may we be imparted with wisdom for our friends, for our neighbors. And we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen and amen. Well, if you have your Bibles open already, turn to Proverbs 3, verse 29. Proverbs 3, verse 29. Now, remember, this sermon is focused around being a friend, being a neighbor, this word rea. So, if you have a pen with you or pencil, if you don't like to highlight in your Bible, just ignore this comment.6:19But if you are a note-taker and you like to write in your Bible, anytime you see the word friend or neighbor, circle that. Because there's going to be a key theme that Christ presses within us today. Proverbs 3, verse 29. First, we see this. Christ-centered neighbors foster, cultivate security. We are to be people who cultivate security. Verse 29, Proverbs 3.6:49Do not devise evil against your neighbor, for he dwells by you for safety's sake. So, do not devise evil against your rea, your neighbor. So, what's the difference between a neighbor and a friend? In Hebrew, it's the same. It's the same word. So, do not devise evil against your friend, because, for, he dwells for you. Why? For safety's sake. Are you a neighbor that fosters security?7:18I'm thinking of my neighbors, because one of the first things that happened when we moved in our house is, we did not build our house, they had finished building it, but they still gave us the option of adding accessories to our home. Now, of course, these accessories add money to your home. And one of the things that we had the option of purchasing was a storm shelter. They said, you know, we know your garage is already fixed, but don't worry, we can cut out a hole in your garage,7:44and we can put a stainless steel safe in your garage. And it has a hydraulic jack that, you know, if your house fell on you and you were underneath there, you could get out. And I'm thinking, but what happens if my car is on top of the, I don't know how that works. So if there's a tornado, I'm going to have to back my car out of the garage and then get in my storm shelter. So we didn't go with that route. But our neighbors have one.8:14And one of the first things they did was this. They said, look, if you are ever in need, if ever a storm comes your way, if there's a tornado in the area, we have a storm shelter, and you are welcome to get into our storm shelter. That's what it means, I believe, to be a neighbor that cultivates security. Now, how do we do that spiritually then? Are you a neighbor that creates stability in your neighborhood? Do you create hope, confidence, a place for safety for your community?8:43The word safety here can also mean trustworthiness. So do my neighbors know that if they come tell me something, that it's a safe place? That that's where it ends. Now, that's difficult, is it not? So conversely, those who dwell with evil, verse 29, for you who divides evil against your neighbor, for those who dwell with evil, breeds suspicion and instability.9:10So are you a neighbor that creates peace and security for your neighborhood? Or are you a neighbor that breeds discord and difficulty? Now, before you say, well, not me, every neighborhood has those people. Every neighborhood has the person that is going to foster difficulty. That if you let your grass grow three days too long, they're going to the homeowners association.9:37We're going to address that. The Bible addresses that. That's not what we should do, by the way. Are you the neighbor that brings peace and stability to your neighborhood? Are you the neighbor that if there's fighting turmoil around your area, that they come to you for peace because you're a peacemaker? Is that not what God's word wants for us to be people who cultivate security?10:05God has made us neighbors for a reason. I have no doubt when we moved here from Louisiana, a place that's on my heart this week for the flooding. And we lived in a flood zone. And ironically, the place that we lived in is not flooding right now. It's the places that were on higher ground that are flooding. But when we moved here from Louisiana, we just prayed, God, not only for a house, we didn't want to be homeless,10:34but God, put us in the neighborhood that you want us to. And now looking back, I have no doubts that God has put me as a neighbor in the exact neighborhood that he wanted me. And even if you didn't pray that prayer, you are not a neighbor by accident. You are a neighbor to your neighbors, not because you bought a house, but because the Lord put you there. So are you being influential for the gospel?11:04Christ-centered neighbors cultivate safety. They cultivate safety. You say, Pastor, well, then what does that look like? I don't have a storm shelter. I want to be people that brings peace to my neighbors. So look at verse 20, sorry, verse 8 of chapter 25. So Proverbs 25. We're going to be flipping a little bit. Just bear with me there. I will be flipping with you.11:32Proverbs 25, verse 8. Christ-centered neighbors cultivate security. Do not devise evil. Secondly, we do this. Verse 8, chapter 25. Do not hastily go to court. For what will you do in the end when your neighbor has put you to shame?11:57That's almost what God's way of saying, you know what? You want to do that? You want to bring your neighbor to court? You want to bring them to the homeowners association? You want to bring discord? Go ahead. It's going to be for your shame, Christian. And then verse 9. Debate your case with your reah, your neighbor. Debate your case to your neighbor and do not disclose the secret to another.12:23Christ followers, we cultivate security in our neighbors, in our neighborhoods, that we build relationships where we can go to our neighbors and they can go to us. And when our grass is too high, they don't knock on our door and say, here's a letter from the homeowners association. They knock on our door and say, look, your grass is, there are rats coming out of your grass. Like, what's the deal?12:53One, you need to cut the grass. But we also say this, look, if I need to cut that for you, is there someone sick in your house? Have you been on vacation? Is there something I can do for you? And you say, well, I don't want to confront that person face to face. You don't have an option as a believer. As neighbors, we are to be Christ-centered and have those relationships where we can come to others and they can come to us and they can knock on our door and we talk face to face, not text to text, if that's what it takes, not Facebook to Facebook, but we talk face to13:22face, verse eight, we don't quickly go to court, but that we debate our case with our neighbors. That is security, to know that if I have wronged my neighbor, they can come to me and there's a safe relationship that they can say, Josh, I want you to know this. And it ends there. And if I have wronged them, then I clean my life up. And if I need to help them clean theirs up, or if they need to help me clean mine up, we13:51are in this together. That's what Christ-centered relationships look like. And he said, well, my neighbor is not a believer. We'll get there. But that doesn't mean, that doesn't give me a right not to act like a Christ follower. I believe a neighborhood that fosters security is like the neighborhood watch. I remember my grandmother and Casey's grandparents that just by the way the Lord ordained this, they both live in the same neighborhood in Laurel, Mississippi.14:20We never knew that until we started dating. They lived on the same street in Laurel, Mississippi, and we never knew that. And when we were young, we were creeped out by the same things, apparently, because when you go to my grandmother's house, there's a neighborhood watch sign. Maybe this is a Mississippi thing. Anyone ever seen the neighborhood watch sign? It looks like a, it looks like, um, Hamburglar. Remember the old Hamburglar, McDonald's? And, and that guy creeped me out.14:47Because it's, it's a little robber with black, and then it says, neighbors are watching, neighborhood watch. And so in the mind of a child, my first instinct is, their robbers are everywhere, right? And even, I, that sign is still there to this day, and it still gives me the shivers every time I pass it. But I think, though, God has called us to be neighborhood watch. And not physically, but even more so spiritually, that we now live not by the law of the land,15:14we live by a greater law, the law of the gospel, and that we are to take watch care over our neighbors. Are you a neighbor and a friend who is building security in your life? And you say, well, I don't know. Ask your friends today. Look, can you safely come to me and tell me things that are difficult? And expect an honest answer. Are we building Christ-centered relationships?15:44Christ-centered neighbors build security. Secondly, we see this. Christ-centered friends build constancy. So look at verse, I'm sorry, chapter 18 in Proverbs, chapter 18, verse 24. And this is a verse that many of you know well. Christ-centered friends build security. Christ-centered friends build constancy, dependability. Verse 24, chapter 18.16:15A man who has friends, Rhea, must himself be friendly. Now, just worldly wisdom here, if you're not a friendly person, you're not going to have friends. Right? And God wants you to be a friendly person. You might say, well, I'm just born this way. I'm grumpy. That's why in Christ, we are a new creation. Because Jesus can take your grumpy self and put joy in your heart.16:44Thank God he can take grumps and change them with his grace. A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. This is what God's worth saying. There are some, there are friends in our life, and then there are friends that are closer than brothers. Now, we're going to see the gospel implications shortly. But this, this is, these are what gospel-centered relationships do.17:16Gospel-centered relationships are relationships where when things get difficult and everyone leaves, you're still there. That's what a gospel-centered friendship looks like. Verse 24, a man has friends and must himself be friendly, but there is a friend, a Christ-centered friend who sticks closer than a brother. And for those of us who have dysfunctional families, I'm thankful for that verse. Some of you say, well, I have a brother and sister that I will never have anyone as close17:45as that. Thank God for that. Some of you have family that you're just thinking, man, if God would just work in that, but it just, I pull my hair out. Know that there's a friend that sticks closer than a brother. And I think this is our struggle in gospel-centered friendships. We've lost the art of dependability. We have lost the art of gospel-saturated, deep relationships. Because we really now live in a world where our friends are built more online than in person.18:15We live in a world where we would rather sit and text each other in the same room than speak. And this is not a, this is youth, I'm not, I'm not calling you guys out. This is not just a you problem. This is a us problem. And youth, just between you and I, on our connect card, we ask, can I text you? We have, we have 70-year-olds in our church that text better than I do.18:44So that, you know, just know there's hope for this world. But we live in a world that tells us do not have deep gospel-centered relationships. We live in a world that says when the going gets tough, run. And that is not an option for those of us who follow Jesus Christ. We live in a world for those of us who follow Christ. God's word says, Josh, it's going to be difficult.19:13Pastor, you're going to struggle. But if you are to be a friend that looks like Christ, you will stick closer than a brother. When the earth shatters and the sky pours forth, you stay together. Are you dependable as a friend? And you say again, well, pastor, I don't know. That's a hard question to answer. No, it's an easy question to answer. It's a hard question for you to answer. Ask your friends if you're dependable. You know, I've had to, I've had to take a long, hard look in the mirror this week19:43as I've been praying over this sermon. Am I good friends? If I asked, and you all have friends in your mind thinking, if I ask this person, I know they're going to give me a good reference. Right? Some of you have those friends, you're like, yes, I nailed it. But if you take all of your friends, how about if you ask this person, hey, have I been a good friend to you? And give me an honest evaluation. And if I have not, if I left you in your time of need, forgive me.20:12Because I want to be a person that has Christ-centered friends. I want to be the neighbor. I want to be the friend that sticks closer than a brother. Because my Savior sticks closer to me in my time of need. We also see this about constancy and dependability in our life. Proverbs 17, 17. A friend, same word, reah.20:42A friend loves at all times. And a brother is born for adversity. I know what some of you are thinking. Pastor, if you had my friends, you know it's hard to love at all times. And I would say, yeah, but if your friend, if you had you as your friend, you would realize it is hard to love at all times. And yet, God sent his son that I could be lovable. Verse 17, a friend loves at all times.21:11That's dependability. When should we love? According to God's scripture, his holy word. When should we love? All times. There's no out. Not when you feel like it. Not on your good days. Not on Sundays. At all times. And a brother is born for adversity. That verse scares me. So, Lord, what you're telling us is that we are born for adversity. So that when we see a fire in our friend's life, we run to it.21:39Yes, because when Jesus Christ saw our sin, he died on the cross for us. Are you running to adversity? Are you loving at all times? Are you building consistency and dependability? I was thinking of how I could put this in words and make it make sense in our mind. And if you look up, if you're looking for a new car or even a used car, you can go online22:07now and you can look at dependability ratings. JP Power is known widely for their dependability ratings. I know U.S. News and report. You can pretty much go to any website and find dependability ratings. And they give you one star to five star, right? So I want a 1903 for Model T. Dependable or not? Probably not at this point in the game. But I began to think about that and say, Lord, if we had a Jesus Christ rating for our dependability22:34as friends, would you be a five star or one star? Because God's word tells us love at all times. There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. And we are to be that neighbor. We are to be that friend. Christ-centered neighbors build safety. Christ-centered friends are dependable. How dependable and reliable are you?23:04Five star, one star. Thank God that he gives us the grace. Thank God he gives us the grace. Not only are we to be safe as neighbors, not only are we to be dependable as Christ-centered friends, but we are to be honest. We are to be honest. Chapter 27, verse 6. Again, the word reah, chapter 27, verse 6. Proverbs says, faithful are the wounds of a friend, but kisses of an enemy are deceitful.23:33Let me give you some, let me give you some godly advice here. Here's another way to translate this verse. Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are profuse. So if you have someone in your life that just likes to excessively kiss you and it's not24:02your spouse, watch out, right? Watch out. That's just some practical biblical advice. If your neighbor's always trying to come kiss you, look at them and say, something's going on here. And how do we know that? This is on the cheek. This is PG. How do we know that's true? Think about in the life of our Savior. Who kissed him towards the end of his life?24:30Not his closest friend, but Judas. And this is what Proverbs is saying. Proverbs is saying that faithful are the wounds of a friend, but watch out for the one who's quick to kiss you. Watch out for that neighbor. Watch out for that friend. Why? Because they're not honest. Are you someone who speaks the truth in love with grace? We must be people who are known for our honesty in our lives.25:00So my question to you is this. Are you honest? You say, well, of course I'm honest. Let me ask you this then. Do you take pleasure in the hurts and wounds of others that you create? You might be looking at this verse. You might have highlighted it and said, look, pastor says I can hurt others. Faithful are the wounds. I'm going to hurt lots of people. No. What God's word says this though. Like surgery, surgery is painful, but surgery is designed for your healing.25:28So much more so are the wounds of someone who gives you criticism. It says, Josh, I know you're doing this, but it's not the right thing. I know right now it's going to hurt you, but a year from now, you're going to be so thankful because it's for your healing. Are you someone who delights in the wounds that you create? Are you someone that delights in the healing that you foster in your life? Are you honest? Are you honest?25:58Verse 5 of chapter 29, a couple of chapters over, says this about honesty. 29.5, a man who flatters his reah, his neighbor, his friend, spreads a net for his feet. A man who flatters his neighbor, spreads a net for his feet. So why is honesty important? Because flattery is different than encouragement. Flattery is not based on truth.26:29Encouragement is. Criticism is based upon truth, godly truth. That if you see me going off in the ditch, you say, pastor, you are drifting. And I know you might not like that, but I don't want you to go in the ditch. I want to help you. Flattery is this. Pastor, you're the best driver I've ever seen. Keep it up. Good job. And you know what's going to happen to me if you do that as a friend? I'm going to hurt myself.26:59And it's not only going to be my fault. You're going to be complicit. You're going to be in the ditch with me. May we not be people who flatter with our tongue. This is why the ninth commandment says that we shall not bear false witness. Said another way, we are not to lie. Said another way, we are to be honest. Said another way, we are not to flatter with our mouths against our neighbors. Said another way, we are not to gossip about them in our prayer meetings.27:26Lord, help us be honest. Because Christ-centered relationships are built upon honesty. Why must there be repentance before you and I can be saved? Because repentance is me coming to an honest place where I say, Lord, I am honest. I have sinned and I have fallen short of your glory. Because without an honest look in the mirror, there is no salvation.27:56Lord, help us be honest. Help us be dependable. Help us be secure. We also see this about godly neighbors. You say, pastor, there's more. There's a lot more. Proverbs 27, 9. Be a safe place for your neighbors. Be a dependable rock for your neighbors. Be an honest home for others. And then this. Give wise counsel.28:25Give wise counsel. 27, 9. Oil and ointment and perfume delight the heart. And the sweetness of a man's friend gives delight by a hearty counsel. And the sweetness of a man's friend gives delight by a hearty counsel. Oil and ointment and perfume were expensive delicacies in the ancient world. But these were things that brought joy to those who had them.28:52It would be like some of you now. It would be the difference not having the sports package and the football package in about three weeks. It's like sweetness to our soul when the football comes. And for those of you who make cracks in the team I love, I'm just not going to engage. The Lord will deal with you. But you'll know this about me.29:21It's best for me just not to make jokes in the pulpit. One, there are a lot of people that can't take jokes. And two, there's just nothing good for that. So that's about the last you hear of football season. Unless we win the national championship and then, right? I'm not holding my breath. But football for some of us, and I'm in that camp, it brings joy to my soul. But how much greater does a sweet friendship bring joy to our hearts? It's like oil and ointment and perfume.29:51That's what wise counsel should be. So are you someone that offers wise counsel? Not worldly counsel, not smart counsel. There's a difference between offering smart counsel and offering godly counsel. To being friends that say, you know what? I know you're struggling, so I'm going to go home and pray for you. Not only am I going to pray and tell you that, but I'm going to pray right now. I'm going to pray for you. I'm going to pray over you because I know my Father hears me when I pray.30:18Lord, make us people who give wise counsel. And if your words are not wise, then your words are bitter. And here's a great way to describe that. Have you ever seen a child take something that was sour? And maybe this is just me being a bad father. But we have an 18-month-old at home, and our oldest four-year-old loves sour patch kids.30:43And so I said, I'm going to teach him this time. We bought the extra sour sour patch kids. And so as happens in our home, when the four-year-old gets something, the 18-month-old waddles up and she wants something. And so I give our oldest the sour patch kids, and he just downs them like they're nothing. I'm like, man, what's up with that? And then I give the youngest, the little girl, and she puts it in our mouth, and she makes this face.31:08Because it was bitter. It was sour. And you know what the loving dad in me did? Here, have another one. Right? So she didn't have to eat it. Discernment, that's her problem, not mine. And she had as many as she wanted because, you know, I can't say no.31:32She loved them. But the spiritual foundation of that is this. Are you giving counsel to others that is sweet to their soul? Or are you that sour taste in their mouth? We all have people in our life that we don't go to counsel because we know if I ask them something, it's going to be hard to take. And it's not going to be the right advice. And so do not go to those people.32:02In fact, be people who give wise, godly counsel. Pastor, where do we find that? The scriptures would make us wise into salvation. And the scriptures would say, if any of you lack wisdom, ask. And our Heavenly Father doesn't say, good luck. Too bad, but our Heavenly Father pours out upon us wisdom. So if we are not people of wise counsel, it is not our Heavenly Father's fault.32:28It's because we are not asking. Christ-centered friends have godly counsel. We also see this about Christ-centered wisdom. Verse 17 of chapter 27. As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend. As iron sharpens iron. Some of you men who have been to men's conferences, you grab onto that because that's one of your heart verses, right? Iron sharpens iron. Manly, we're going to sharpen each other.32:58But it's also for women. So iron sharpens iron. And as a man sharpens the countenance or the face of his friend. The word face is also the same word that's used in the face of a sword. So what Proverbs is saying here is there's a sword and there's a flint stone. And the flint is harder than the sword. And one hard rock, one hard piece of iron sharpens the other. That's what wise counsel does in our life.33:26So men, women, are you surrounding yourself with people who sharpen you? Are you surrounding yourself with those who dull you? And I think the biblical application here, one of those is this. If you have friends that haven't experienced a lot in their life, they're not going to be hardened in a way that is beneficial. We have people in here that have been hardened by life. And that's not a, you say, that's a bad thing. No, it's not because they have drunk deeply from the grace of Jesus Christ.33:54And so when I struggle in my life, if I have someone that in my life has passed away, I'm going to go to someone who's been through that. And I say, I know you've been hardened in my life. I know you've been through that. But I know Christ sustains you. Harden me. Sharpen me. I need wise counsel. Are you a Christ-centered friend who offers wise counsel? I'm not a sword by any stretch of the imagination, but if I were to channel the feelings of a sword,34:22I can't imagine that being sharpened and having metal flaked off of you would be a happy experience. Sometimes sharpening is not always the easiest thing to have someone look in your life and say, Josh, how are you loving your wife this week? And don't lie to me because I know. Because I want you to love your wife in a way that God wants you to love your wife. Friend, have you been praying like you should?34:52And I want to give you an out that if you haven't, I'm going to pray for you, that you can pray and pour into his mercy, that we may sharpen each other. Are you someone that offers wise counsel? Christ-centered friendships are safe. They are dependable. They are honest. They sharpen with wise counsel. And lastly, you say, Pastor, there's more. Yes, there's more. Thank God. 27, verse 6. Sorry, verse 17.35:24Iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend. And then we see this. I'll get it right. 25, 17. 25, 17. Christ-centered neighbors are considerate. Now, some of you have bad manners. God's going to deal with you in a second. Christ-centered neighbors are considerate.35:53So, Pastor, how do you know? 25, 17. Seldom set foot in your neighbor's house, lest he become weary of you and hate you. Some of you are like, thank you. I'm going to record this for my neighbor. Seldom set foot in your neighbor's house, lest he become weary of you and hate you. What is a biblical, what is a spiritual application?36:22Do not be an inconsiderate neighbor. If your neighbor sleeps in, don't mow your grass at 6 in the morning. And you say, well, it's going to inconvenience me. I'm going to have to do it at a more inconvenient time. You know what? It is better to inconvenience yourself and share Jesus Christ with your neighbor than for you to make them mad and them hate you. Because if your neighbor hates you, how are they going to hear the saving message of Christ in your mouth?36:50They're going to hate your Savior because of us. Be considerate. And you say, well, pastor, I struggle with manners. I'm just inconsiderate. We can help you with that. We can. Come by the office. We'll give you manner books. If there are things that you just struggle with, we can offer you wise counsel. But some of us don't have those, we don't have those considerate filters in our life.37:17And that's when other friends who are wise can help you along. Look what God's word says, though. It does not say never set foot in your neighbor's house. We have a mandate to make disciples of all nations. And you know where my nation begins? Next door. You know where your nation begins? Next door.37:47Next door. If we have not shared Jesus Christ with our neighborhood, how dare us hop a flight to Antarctica to share Jesus if we have not given the gift of salvation and brought it next door and said, listen, friend, I love you. This is going to be difficult because you're going to have to look at your sin face to face. But I want you to know that our Savior is greater than your sin. May we be Christ-centered neighbors. And lastly, I want to share this verse.38:17I just could not help but share this verse. Chapter 26, verse 17. Again, this rea, this neighbor. Be considerate, friends. He who passes by and meddles in a quarrel, not his own, is like one who takes a dog by the ears. Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death is the man who deceives his neighbor and says,38:42man, I was only joking. I was only joking. This proverb only makes sense if we know something about dogs in the ancient culture. If you come to my house and rub the ears of my dog, you have a best friend of your life. He loves his ears. He's a pug. He just loves people. People and food. Those are his two categories. That's it. But these dogs, especially because dogs were seen unclean in the Jewish culture, were feral.39:12And so for you to grab a dog in the ancient Near East, these, I guess the most modern context would be jackals or hyenas, was a sure bite and a sure struggle. So how foolish would it be for me to go to a rabid dog and grab his ears and say, you're so cute. And then to get bit and to get hurt by that.39:39We do the same thing when we hurt our neighbors and hurt our friends. And then we couch it in this. But you know what? I was just joking. You know what? It was just sarcasm. God's word no longer gives you an out with that. Verse 19, this is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, I were only joking. Now, does this mean that we can't be pranksters? No.40:09No. But if you are joking and pranking someone for their harm, shame on us for not being considerate. Shame on us for grabbing the ears of that dog. Shame on us for hurting anyone for the sake of Jesus Christ, if we can help it. Christ-centered friends are considerate. Be considerate of your neighbors. Christ-centered friends are safe and they are dependable.40:39They give wise counsel and they are honest. And you say, well, pastor, why does this even matter? I'm glad you asked. Why do we need friendships? Why do we need to be good neighbors? Because in Matthew 11, 19, we see this about our Savior, Jesus Christ. And the reason we can worship today is because of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Here's what's said about our Lord. The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said, look, he is a glutton and a wine-bibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners, but wisdom is justified by her children.41:09Our Savior came to this world and he befriended those that most of us would say, you know what? I'm not grabbing that dog by the ears, that tax collector, that neighbor that no one wants to deal with, that friend that's a liar and a cheat.41:29Look, that man, he drinks, he's a wine-bibber, he's a glutton, he eats too much. Jesus took the chance of being known as someone who was a friend to the worst, that he might save those. Why does friendship matter? I love that old hymn we sang on a Wednesday night, if you were there with us.41:57What a friend we have in Jesus, all of our sins and griefs to bear. What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer. Oh, what sin and pain we forfeit. Oh, what needless pain we bear. All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer. Jesus Christ desires to be your friend.42:25Are you a friend of him? And you say, well, of course, everyone's a friend of God. No, hold up. That's not what the Bible says. God's word does not say that everyone is a child of God. And God's word does not say that everyone is a friend of Jesus. James 2.25 says of Abraham. Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness sake. And he was called a friend of God.42:53Abraham was called a friend of God because he had righteousness. And he said, well, how do I gain righteousness then? How do we have that? James 4 says again, do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore, anyone who wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Therefore, anyone who wants to be a friend of the world has enmity with God.43:22How do we become righteous? Well, the Bible says that you begin not righteous. You don't begin as a child of God. You begin as an enemy of God. That we are born into sin. We were born with a disposition of sin. We were born with a pattern of sin. And we were born the people who like to sin. And not only do we like to sin, you do and I do sin. And because of that, the Bible says we have fallen short of the glory of God.43:52And what we earn for our sin, the wages, is death. It is destruction. It is a broken relationship. And that is why Jesus Christ came. He came because Josh was a sinner. And Jesus Christ came to say, you know what? It's worth having a reputation as someone who dines with sinners. And to die on the cross for his sins. And to offer the free gift of salvation to anyone who believes.44:20And that is what our Savior did. So to be a friend of Christ is to say, Lord, I've sinned. Not just, I don't just say that with my mouth, but I believe I've sinned. You don't have to convince me I've sinned, by the way. That we have sinned. And Lord, you are the answer. I repent, meaning I have turned away from my sin. And I am looking to the cross to get cleaned up. If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.44:49Behold, old things have passed, new have come. Lord, I can't do it on my own. But I know Christ did for my sake. Are you a godly friend? The Bible condemns us and says, do not be a friend of the world. But Proverbs says, be a friend to the world. That they might see Jesus Christ in us. If you have a neighbor this morning, do they know Jesus? If they don't, I pray that we will fill this altar.45:18We will fill our pews with tears and say, Lord, we are going to weep over our neighborhood. Can you imagine if every single neighbor represented in this place was saved? Believed? What our community would look like. And then we would say, Lord, give us more. Can you imagine if we poured out our hearts daily for the burdens of those who do not believe? Those who can't pray for themselves because they cannot pray to a heavenly father that they do not acknowledge. But that's where you and I come in because we can pray for them.45:48And our Savior hears us. Have you given your life to Jesus? Can he call you friend? And can you call him friend? What a friend we have in Jesus. Who will all your burdens bear? Neighbor, are you a good friend? Are you honest? Are you safe? Are you secure and dependable? Are you someone who offers wise counsel? And lastly, are you someone who is considerate?46:16Pastor, why do we need to be these things? We do so for the sake of Jesus Christ. Let's pray. Let's pray.← Previous in ProverbsSunday, August 7, 2016Next in Proverbs →Sunday, August 21, 2016More sermons on Proverbs →
