Real Friends
February 10, 2019 • Apostle Bryan Meadows
Apostle Bryan Meadows: Covenant (The Road To The Altar)
From the First Date to the Altar
* Friendship is a tool of evangelism.
* People that have more friends in a church are more likely to be consistent in attendance.
* Everything that God does he does relationally. If you have an inability to have healthy relationships you have an inability to do what God has called you to do and be what God has called you to be.
* Real recognizes real. If you don’t have real friends you probably aren’t a real friend.
John 15:12-15 “This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knowers not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends…”
* This is a commandment this is NOT a suggestion. It is a spiritual law.
* Love should be the foundation of all interaction.
* Friendship is built around inconvenience. you cannot grow in your friendship without inconvenience.
* The number 3 of the number of divine protection
Levels of Relationship
1. Service: The first level of relationship, Jesus called them servants. Any Godly relationship starts with service. Friendship should be equal. You need a friend that can handle your weight. You should both have the strength to empower each other. If they won’t help you or minister to you they won’t be your friend. During friendship you’re trying to see can they minister to you. If they don’t have the capacity to pull you out of a low place why do you need to be their friend?
2. Friends:
3. Brothers:
A real relationship is not based on convenience, its based on covenant.
Your friends should challenge you to be like Christ even when you went to church.
- The purpose of friendship is fellowship.
- The more people you have around you putting pressure on the good parts of you, the faster you mature.
- God is relational (Genesis 1 & 2).
- Everyone in your circle is a manifestation and accumulation of your agreement. And if you don’t agree to pray until it breaks. Your actions will prove if you agree or don’t agree.
Three phases of a friendship:
1. The introduction - you are never introduced to the real person. They don’t always look that good, smell that good, etc. that’s why between the introduction and friendship you have to give time.
2. Conversation: the conversation should be consecrated
* Just because we talk doesn’t mean we are friends. Friendship is a covenant relationship. You don’t become friends with osmosis. You have to take a vow to become friends.
Proverbs 13:20
- Only hang around people that you aspire to be like in character.
- If your friends are foolish, your future is already known.
- Jealous toxifies a relationship. It erodes the integrity of a relationship.
- If they don’t inspire you to be better the enemy put them there.
Proverbs 22:24
- A friend’s character should be consistent.
- The consistency of a friend’s character gives you dependability.
- I can’t depend on you if you have low management skills.
- Friendship is a mature thing.
Proverbs 18:24
- Any good relationship, marriage before it gets to the altar begins with friendship.
Proverbs 19:6
- What is the motive of a friendship? Time exposes motive and intent in relationships. That's why with every relationship you have to take your time. Don’t let your heart create the pace of the relationship.
- What if the real friendship wasn’t based on what you wanted but based on what they needed?
Proverbs17:17
- It is during a friendship that you learn to love them in every season.
- A brother is made for your worst day, he is built for your humanity.
Matthew 28:10
* Christians can be very deep and spiritual but they have a hard time having friends.
* God doesn’t want you anointed and still lonely.
* There’s a difference between trust and love. You can love somebody you trust or be in love with someone you don’t trust.
* As Christians, we are called to love everybody, but we aren’t called to trust everybody.
* It is in the friendship stage that we build trust.
* Church is the training ground. If you can’t be consistent, make it to church, and make relationships with people who are supposed to love you by law how ill you do it elsewhere?
* God is taking you the long way so that it will last.
* It’s hard to be in a relationship with insecure people. Sin makes you insecure.
* Every relationship is not Godly.
* Friendship requires consecrated conversations. `
* Every good relationship begins with friendship. Marriage should be founded on friendship.
* Friendship filters out the perversion of intimacy. Yours have to stay in the friendship zone until their motives have been determined and purified.
* Dating doesn’t mean we exclusive.
* Sin breeds distrust.
