Good Friends Prov. 18:24 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO

Good friends are essential to a good Christian life.  Conversely, bad friends can ruin your Christian life.  Be diligent to make good friends of God’s people.  The good friends you want are:

Godly – Job 42:10, despite the rough treatment by Job’s friends through his whole ordeal, Job prayed for his friends.  You want friends who’ll pray for you through thick and thin.  Mk 5:19 the man who had the devils cast out of him was unashamed to tell his friends about Jesus.  You want friends who are unashamed to tell others about Jesus.

Friendly – Prov 18:24 a man that hath friends must shew himself friendly.  The best friends are those who put as much effort into the friendship as you do.  Those are good friends to have.

Wise – Prov 13:20 he that walketh with wise men shall be wise.  Their wisdom rubs off on you, in the same way that the foolishness of fools rubs off on their friends.  Prov 27:9 ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness of a man’s friend by hearty counsel.  Your friends should be a source of improvement for you.  Prov 27:17 Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.  Just being around good friends keeps you sharp.

Faithful – Prov 17:17 a friend loveth at all times.  Good friends aren’t fair weather friends.  Prov 18:24 a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.  They say that blood is thicker than water to describe the close bond of close relatives.  Good friends are closer than that.  1 Sam 18:1 the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.  What a friend.

Truthful – Prov 27:6 faithful are the wounds of a friend.  A friend will wound you if the wound will help you.  Just like a surgeon wounds you to help you, so will a good friend.  Prov 28:23 he that rebuketh a man afterwards shall find more favour than he that flattereth with the tongue.  When you need a rebuke, you want a friend who will give it to you, rather than a pat on the back.  You can get the encouragement you need after you address the problem.

Respectful – Prov 27:10 good friends are friends your father would like, too.  And they will be respectful to your dad.  Too many young people hide their friends from their parents because their parents wouldn’t approve and their friends wouldn’t like their parents.

Confidential – Prov 17:9 he that covereth a transgression seeketh love; but he that repeateth a matter separateth very friends.  Good friends are friends in whom you can safely confide.

Conclusion: friends like these are the kinds of friends you want to have in your life.