friends | KOINONIA ART

Friends are pointers to your destination. If the friends you are surrounded with are those with no clear destination in life, it is best you change them, else you will become like them.

Friendship has a lot of influence on one’s destiny. A Destiny unfulfilled is as a result of an association unchecked.

Godly friendships are pointers to a profitable future. Any association that doesn’t have the kingdom as its focus has nothing to offer.

“Every violent thug is despised by the Lord, but every tender lover finds friendship with God, and will hear his intimate secrets” – Proverbs 3:32.

The aforementioned text shows what friendship is all about in God. Abraham was a friend of God and because of his faithfulness and loyalty to the friendship, God never hid anything from him.

The first friend that a man must have should be God. Only God can reveal to you, certain secrets needed for your success in life.

Moses was a friend of God and because of his loyalty to the Friendship, God released some of the deepest covenant secrets, some of which are still relevant in this generation.

Anyone who despises God’s kind of friendship is regarded as a thug.

A thug is a person who no regards for things that are important. A thug is an aggressive person who does not cherish the blessings that God has given to him.

In the body today, there are several ‘thug’ Christians. They live lawlessly, without a consciousness of their relationship with God.

Let us look back at our scripture,

“But a tender lover finds”,

The word “finds” is a very important word in the abovementioned text.

It connotes a strong longing and desire for God. It means to relentlessly seek after the things of God. A tender lover desires intimate friendship with God. Such a believer would cheerfully walk in obedience to the laws and principles of God’s kingdom.

If you desire the friendship of God, you must be ready to walk in God’s instructions. Loyalty in your friendship with God will cause the favor of God to surround you.

“Sweet friendships refresh the soul and awaken our hearts with joy, for good friends are like the anointing oil that yields the fragrant incense of God’s presence.” – Proverbs 27:9.

Along with our friendship with God, we must be careful in the friendships and associations we maintain in our personal space.

The kind of friends you have here on Earth will determine the kind of relationship you will have with God. Any association that will not remind you of the principles and laws of the kingdom is not meant to exist in your personal life.

In the path of destiny, God gives you the power to choose your friend that can either make your destiny or mar your destiny.

The kind of friendship you belong to determines what kind of secrets God can give to you. Kingdom Friendship creates an atmosphere of God’s presence around you.

Kingdom Associations create godly atmosphere in your life.

“He appointed the Twelve, whom he named apostles. He wanted them to be continually at his side as his friends, and so that he could send them out to preach 15 and have authority to heal the sick and to cast out demons.” – Mark 3:14-15 (TPT).

Jesus did not just want them to become his disciples; He wanted to impart them with spiritual values that will enable them to stand out in whatever they do.

Kingdom friendship produces kingdom values.

“Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.” – Daniel 3:16-17.

Kingdom friends are resolute in Kingdom principles and laws.

The three Hebrew boys in the highlighted text, collectively refused to bow to Nebuchadnezzar’s graven image.

Your close associations go a long way in affecting your life decisions.

Kingdom friendship keeps you strong in times of trials and tribulations, kingdom friendship are important.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused to yield to the King’s command, because what he was telling them to do, was against the tenets of God’s covenant.

When you have such friends as the three Hebrew boys, they will guide you. They will help you find alignment to God.

Kingdom friendship helps you to view things with the lens of the Kingdom.

Prayer and fasting becomes a norm; Mental and Spiritual transformation takes place when one is surrounded by Kingdom friends.

Because Jesus was friends with the Apostles, they were able to align easily with kingdom.

When you have godly friends, the burdens of the kingdom become light and the yoke becomes easy to bear.

Kingdom friends help shape our views and perspectives to become aligned with the kingdom.

Who are your friends?

This sermon was written by GreenHills Emmanuel.

Friendship is a word that has no absolute definition. Instead, its meaning is based on how an individual views it.

However, two things are necessary concepts regarding the meaning of friendship.

They are Mutuality and Voluntariness.

By Voluntariness, I mean that friendship is not compelled. It exists between two or more persons who come together to become acquainted out of the choice made out of their own free will.

By mutuality, I mean that friendship is also reciprocal. It is an action experienced and practiced by the parties involved.

Why do people engage in friendship?

The reason for this question would give way to the types of friendships.

According to Aristotle, there are 3 types of friendships as depicted in Book VIII of the Nicomachean Ethics. They include:

. Friendships of Utility
. Friendships of Pleasure
. Friendships of the good

Friendships of utility are often characterized by the colloquial, ” _scratch my back and I will scratch yours.”_

This is the kind of friendship that exists between you and someone useful to you in some way. For instance, possibly you’re friends with the intelligent guy in your classroom because he helps you out in solving maths assignments, and in return, you gift him nice clothes and shoes.

This sort of friendship is usually temporary.

Friendships of Pleasure exist between persons who find fun and delight in the company of each other.

Often, friends of this type are regarded as “entertainment pals”, people with whom you do social activities like playing snooker and soccer games.

Friends in this category hang out because they share common pleasures and hobbies.

This friendship can easily end when the activity that brought them together no longer exists.

Friendship of the Good: This is the most perfect of all types of friendship. It takes a long time to build and is not easily broken.

Aristotle considered this type as “brotherly love.”

In this perfect level of friendship, there is no intent to gain anything from the other. Rather the focus is on how one can fulfill the other’s wishes.

These are friendships based on a mutual admiration of each other’s qualities.
People who have a handful of this type of friends in their lives are truly blessed.

How can one maintain good friendships?

Be Loyal: Loyal friends support each other in good and bad times. One doesn’t backbite and tear down the other.

Openness: Good friends don’t keep unhealthy secrets.

Acknowledge the differences in others: Bear in mind that everyone has a unique personality. It is important to understand the 4 personality traits dominant in people – Sanguine, Choleric, Melancholic, and Phlegmatic.

Knowing the personalities in people makes you able to accommodate them and their excesses.

Love, Trust, and Respect: These are other ingredients needed in maintaining a perfect friendship. Friends who respect each other apologize when one offends the other. Similarly, respect will make you not cross your friend’s boundary.

Love and respect your friends without an underlying intent.

Ultimately, good friends are rare gems.

A friend will tell you what you want to hear but it takes only a _good friend_ to tell you what you need to hear.

Where does your friendship fall under?