Before jumping into the topic at hand for this morning, which I look forward to discussing, partially because I can say, despite hearing thousands and thousands, uh, I- I think I can say thousands of thousands of ser- sermons in my life based on podcasts and, um, conferences and whatnot, I- I'm not sure I've ever heard a message on this topic, which is going to be astounding because it's such a simple topic, and you will get there in a minute. But before we do, I want to begin in Proverbs chapter four. Actually, we'll go to Proverbs four, but let's start in Proverbs three and we'll end up in Proverbs four. Because in summing up this week, the topic itself is a fre- is a fresh topic in the book of Proverbs that we haven't been discussing. But I want to begin by just kind of going back in a, in an aerial view of what we've discussed concerning wisdom. So obviously the whole book of Proverbs is about wisdom, but originally this final message was going to be a totally different sermon. It was going to be on the beatitudes of Proverbs. In fact, if you walk through the book of Proverbs, you're going to find eight distinct blesseds in the book, and I'm telling you that because why not go and have your own personal study on it? It's a blessed study for obvious reasons. Eight blesseds in the book. But I want to just share one with you, and the reason for it is I believe it really sums up everything we've been discussing. And also there's a visual that I would like to leave with you that is very important as we think about the practical application to what we've been discussing. In verse thirteen of chapter three, Solomon writes, blessed is the one who finds wisdom and the one who gets understanding. For the gain from her is better than gain from silver, and her profit better than gold. She is more precious than jewels and nothing you can desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand, and in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her. Those who hold her fast are called blessed. Father, one more time, we come to this book of Proverbs, and we ask for you to communicate your heart to us. I'm excited to... to recognize that you will speak, but I pray that we would have ears to hear and hearts to respond. Father, guide, guard, and use the words which will be spoken, all for the sake of your glory. Give us wisdom as we process what we hear. In Christ's name we pray, amen. I want you just to notice very, very briefly, and we're going to be very brief in this portion, I want you to notice what it said about wisdom, that if you have wisdom, you will be blessed. A- a- and, uh, you know, we, we use the term frequently, God bless you, but the reality is if God's blessing is a life being walked in wisdom, and we've already learned what is wisdom. Wisdom is ultimately not just something, it's someone. It's the Lord Jesus Christ, and we've been seeing that throughout our journey in Proverbs. So that right there is very clear, and it's going to come back to, uh, to to play here in a minute. And we see that not only is it a place of blessing, it's a place of life. She is a tree of life. This she is Lady Wisdom. And remember, throughout the book, and when you go study it throughout the book, we're talking about a father who says to his son, watch out, there are two relationships you can choose. You can either choose a relationship with Lady Folly, or you can choose a relationship with Lady Wisdom. And how and who you choose to pursue this relationship with is going to dictate everything, but you are blessed if you choose Lady Wisdom. She is better than diamonds. She's better than silver. She's better than any profit this world could give you. And then he says something interesting. Long life is in her right hand, and in her left hand are riches and honor. Now, I- I don't want to go on too much of a tangent, but I do just want to very briefly go to First Kings chapter three. First Kings chapter three. You're going to remember this story. The Lord asked Solomon what he wanted, and you remember what he asked for, right? He asked for wisdom. Begin in verse ten. It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this, and God said to him, because you have asked this and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the, the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, behold, I now do according to your word. Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind so that none like you has l- so, so that none like you has been before you, and none like you shall arise after you. I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that no other king shall compare with you all your days. And if you walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days. What I want you to notice in those verses is both the right hand and the left hand are mentioned. What's in the right hand in Proverbs chapter three? Long life. What's in the left hand? Riches and honor. How do those things come to be? Well, we know through wisdom. But notice, God is going to give him riches and honor. He said, I'm just going to go ahead and give you that. But the long life, and please, for us in Christ, this long life does not mean a long physical life, but for Solomon's day, it very much was a physical thing. If you walk in my ways, what does that mean to walk in his ways? It's simple. Apply the wisdom I'm gonna give you. That's it. If, if, if Solomon had just lived the book of Proverbs out, it would be a different story. But what was in the right hand? Long life. I want to ask you a little biblical trivia question. Let me ask just these folks right here on the front row, and you're probably blessed that I'm not asking you, or fortunate, I should say, because maybe you don't know the answer, but a lot of you do. How old was Solomon when he died? Let me ask, uh, go ahead. You nailed it. Exactly. Raise your hand in this room if you're at least sixty years old. Danny, you are sixty. They're all older than Solomon when he died. They outlive the wisest man on Earth who was promised long life, if only he would do what he says. And he didn't. But I, I, I want to make a, a, a little point here. Now, for this point, I have to call a couple up. And originally I was going to call one couple, and then half the couple left. Thank you, Shelby. Nice job. Then I was going to call another couple, and then he decides to, like, mess up his knee. Come on, guys. So I'm going to have to go a little older, and they have no idea they're being called up, by the way. But Eric and Sophia, come on up here. Um, so I just need a couple, and I couldn't use my own wife. She's actually with a, a sick baby right now, um, but also I couldn't use her anyway, and you're going to see why, because I need to talk through this. So come on up, yeah. And very clearly, Sophia is gonna, um, gonna represent Lady Wisdom, and Eric is all of us, all right? So, if you don't mind, so you just put out your hands, and what we have represented, we have the left hand. What's in the left hand according to Proverbs three? Honor. Yes, the riches and honor, and in the, in the right hand, long life. Now, you don't have your arms out, brother, because you have to decide what to do with what she's got, you know? So we don't come bringing much, but here's the deal. Now, with this picture in place, chapter four, notice what verse five, picking up there, says. Get wisdom, get insight. Do not forget and do not turn away from the words of my mouth. Do not forsake her, and she will keep you. Love her, and she will guard you. The beginning of wisdom is this, get wisdom, and whatever you do, get, get insight. Now this verse, verse eight: prize her highly, and she will exalt you. She will honor you if you embrace her. Okay, so embrace your wife. Now, watch what happens here. Keep that position right there. And she's in a worship mode, right? She's like, this is good. Now, what I want you to see is when he embraces her, he gets it all. He has the left hand of riches and honor. He has the right hand of long life. And what's he going after? Is he going after her hand? Did he embrace her left hand? Did he embrace her right hand? No, he embraces her. In seeking wisdom itself, you get it all. But whenever you go for partial, the blessedness will not be there. We can go after so many things of life, but I'm telling you, it's simple. Go after her. Wisdom. Ultimately, the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you for giving us a visual that I believe will stick in our minds. You have a seat. And so this is the relationship we're invited into, and it's very powerful. I want to ask you a question. Are you going after something that God offers instead of God himself? Think about it. In your life, you, you, you see, okay, in Christ all these things, but are we going after things that are in Christ, but we're going after it without going after Christ? We're going after what we would call blessings. We're pursuing riches. We're pursuing honor. We're pursuing our health. And, and please, I am not preaching any prosperity gospel here. When I say riches, honor, health, ultimately what I'm talking about is a life which is lived well for the Lord Jesus. You're rich in every, with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ. You have not just a long life, you have an eternal life. I'm obviously referring to that which is in Christ. So with that being said, our challenge this week has been this, in the fear of the Lord, we find all these things. You don't have to go after, you don't have to, you don't have to go after all these things. We focus on the Lord, the fear of the Lord, the one who is wisdom. So with that said, I want to take the last twenty nine minutes, and I want to talk about this relationship. I'm not going to talk about the relationship, though, in the light of an intimate relationship, although that is also pictured. But there's another picture of a relationship that you can walk all the way through Proverbs. In fact, i- it's mentioned, I believe, eighteen times or so. We could say more than eighteen, just the the word isn't always referred to, but I want to talk about the subject of friendship. Friendship. Now, that might sound like, okay, a very simple, typical topic, but this is the topic I'm referring to that I literally never hear it as the focus of a sermon. Think about how many books you read, and I'm walking down here as a warning because I see two people that have their eyes partially shut. I'm coming towards you, one over there, and then we'll work back there, all right? So you can open your eyes beforehand, or you can choose for me to come. But as I talk about friendship, I'm walking towards you. All right, and I won't walk too close if you open your eyes in time. All right, friendship. You've read a lot of books on marriage, no doubt. You've read a lot of books on, uh, parenting, no doubt, if you're a parent. If you haven't, you've probably read none on parenting at this point. You, you see, we, we read books on a lot of relational subjects, but the reality is, when it comes to friendship, one of the most basic relationships of life, which also pictures our relationship with the Lord Jesus. Now, let me say that with a, a massive, if I can say, caveat or whatever, it's i- i- it's far more than that because that would be a disrespectful limitation of what that is, but he calls us friend. And in the book of Proverbs, we're going to find that there are characteristics of a friend that God wants demonstrated in our life. And I believe, now this is such a funny statement to make because it just sounds so simple. If we were better friends in the church, the house of God would operate as it's intended, first of all, and you're going to see what I mean by that in a minute, because we'll confront things that are off. But secondly, if we were better friends, we would have a church where iron is sharpening iron, where depression basically goes away, where anxiety is rarely even an issue. We would find that if we were what God calls us to be to one another, wow, things would actually start to function the way they're intended to function with wisdom. So what is the wisdom? What is the quality of a friendship that God wants us to have? I want to look at seven qualities in the next twenty five minutes, and it'll be fast. Seven qualities in friendship, and then we're going to close by looking at the ultimate friend. So for the first one, let's go to chapter seventeen uh of Proverbs. Proverbs chapter seventeen, for this first quality of friendship. There was a story, as you're turning there, there's a story of a farmer who had a lot of pesky crows that were bothering his crops in his field, and so he took his shotgun out there and, and took some, took some aim and killed a bunch of crows, but as he went to pick up his crows, he saw that their, uh, amicable parrot, their house parrot, was also shot and dead. And the kids were distraught and like, why did our parrot die with all the pesky crows? And the farmer looked at the kids and said, bad company. Well, I'll tell you what, a lot of lives are ruined by bad company. And the reality is, it's not that you might not be pursuing wisdom, but you want the quickest derailment of wisdom in your life? Do like Solomon, choose bad company. He chose about seven hundred of them, plus three hundred more of them, and you know what I'm talking about if you've read the story of Solomon. And so, what we find here in chapter seventeen is this first element of the quality of a friend. Verse seventeen. um, is where we're going to begin. Proverbs seventeen verse seventeen: A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. The first two elements of a friendship we're going to pull from this verse, and the first one is a friend is constant. A friend is constant. We see it very clearly. A friend loves at all times. And I, I just, as I thought about this, I thought through my life, um, and, and, you know, I used the word constant. I probably could have used the word consistent. I could have used somehow that my friend is just going to be there, but, eh, growing up, how many of you had a BFF? If you don't know what a BFF is, yeah, you, you, you probably still had one. Best friend forever. Eh, probably, how many of you guys ever, like, signed notes to your BFF, right? I had a BFF. Let me just tell you that my best friend forever I haven't talked to in fifteen years, okay? I showed up at his wedding, and literally since his wedding, we haven't. We're not on bad terms or anything, I'm just telling you that's how close our BFF relationship is. The point being is, as kids, we have these relationships where it's like, you're my best friend forever. Have you ever gone back and looked at pictures from your childhood? Like birthday parties, I mean, major events, and been like, who's this kid? Right? We don't even know who they are. Uh, well, the point is that a lot of times when we think about friendship, um, i- it's a very, it's a very fluid idea. It's a fluid thing, but biblical friendship, I love that it's starts out here in Proverbs with a friend loves at all times. Now, what that basically is telling us here, we're going to see the second half of it in a minute, but a friend's going to be there for you through all situations of life. A true friend is. And this is actually something that I've started to treasure in my life, to actually see who truly, not so much is a friend, but who truly am I a friend to? And I think that's the approach we need to take. Let's stop analyzing all of our friends. In fact, let's make sure we don't do that in this message, because then we're just going to probably harbor bitterness or resentment or unforgiveness, and all of those things lead us on another path, and you can see that in Proverbs too. But instead, let's ask about our own heart. To which friends are you constant? Just, this is only point number one. To which friends are you actually there when they need it? When there's loss in their life, when there's frustration, when there's confusion. I want you to see that there is a constant in a true friend. I won't go any further on that one because it'll kind of tie in later on. And the second half of the verse, notice it says a brother is born for adversity, or in the New Living Translation, a friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in times of need. This is interesting because it's completely opposite of the Luke fifteen story. You remember Luke fifteen when, when the younger brother goes and squanders his entire inheritance, right? And he has all this money, and he's got a bunch of friends when he has money, and then he uses up what he has, and he ends up going to a pigsty, and he just wants to eat what the pigs have, but all his friends disappear. And then finally he'll come home to his dad, but we won't get to that part. The b- the the the the simple point ma- being made here is that a true friend is exactly opposite of that. It's actually when the circumstances become more adverse. That word adversity, um, with this root sorrow, which means en- i- i- it's where we get enemy from. So the idea is when the enemy is attacking, when things are going haywire, when when your life is up in smoke, through the smoke you're gonna see a friend that's just walking with you through it. If the first characteristic of a friend is they're constant, the second characteristic is that they are committed. They are committed. Let me ask you a question. Do circumstances dictate your commitment to someone? Do circumstances dictate your commitment to someone? I- I'm so thankful for the friend we have in Jesus. As we've sung many times in our life, what a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and grief to bear. What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer. I'm so thankful that we have a committed friend, but I want to ask, are are you, am I a committed friend? In other words, at the very moment where someone is being attacked by the enemy, please get this because this is Galatians chapter six verse one. Um, it's the same principle. In other words, when lives are being attacked by the enemy, when someone is, let's say, struggling even in their walk with Christ, when someone is making poor decisions, sometimes the easiest thing to do is to try to separate from them so that you're not associated with them. And we'll talk about associations later, because that's another subject altogether, but that's actually the very time that they need a committed friend. Now, we're going to see that a committed friend isn't just going to go along with their sin, but a committed friend is going to be there to walk with them and ultimately to ask them certain questions and bring them back to a point of restoration. So, we see a constancy, we see a commitment, but the third thing is in chapter eighteen verse twenty four, Another characteristic or quality of a friend. It says a man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. There's a friend who sticks closer than a brother. The third quality of a friend is true friends are going to be conscious. There's a consciousness of what is happening in the other person's life. Now, I said they're committed, and you might say, is this the same thing? No, it's not the same thing, because to be committed to someone, well, that's kind of the things that you evidently see, but here's the reality. You might think that you're a good friend because you say, when they go through something difficult, I'm there. But do you have a consciousness of what they're actually going through? So let me ask. In your local church, in the local fellowship where you gather, are you aware, intentionally aware, of the struggles of the heart of just those who are around you? Are you taking time to ask questions, to actually know what keeps them awake at night? To know who doesn't have safe treads on their car because they can't afford it. Maybe just a walk around the parking lot would tell you that story. To just be that one who intentionally says, I'm going to stick closer than a brother because I'm not there by obligation, I'm there by choice. And I'm gonna make sure that with those around me that I call friend, I know how to speak into their life, I know how to share into their life, but that takes intentionality. There's a consciousness to it. It doesn't happen because they're sharing it with you. Let me just be honest with you. I share very little with outside of my wife and my parents. I would say I, I just naturally share very little about things on my heart, unless you ask me, and if you ask me, I'll be very open. And it means so much to me when someone asks. I, I, I, I'll give you an example, but please understand I am not giving this example with any bit of, um, what's the word? Bitterness is not even the word, because it's not even that strong. Just like there's, like, sadness even, like there's nothing, like I'm just giving you an example, okay? So, like, don't read more into than necessary. But like this morning, I was so encouraged when, when Ben, when you came up and you started asking me about Bangladesh and wanting to know more details, or, or, or when John asked me many questions this week about very specific things in my life. Many of you have done this. I'm not just saying there are two people, I'm just giving examples of a couple that are sitting right here. These kinds of things where there's an intentionality to say, I want to be conscious of what you're walking through. I want to know how I can pray. Joyce never fails to ask how she can pray. Uh, the, the point being is that a true friend is someone who says, I hear what you're saying, but I need to know more than that. I want to know your heart. In order to do that, it will be a sacrifice of time. So I want to just ask you a little question right now. Don't answer out loud by any means, but just off that one point, not all seven, because you need all seven to be a true friend, okay, but off that one point. How many friends do you have at your local church, in your local fellowship? I'll guarantee you this, if all you're doing is meeting on a Sunday and that's it, and that's your only interaction with them, you're, that's hardly a friendship. How many friends, how many people are you being friends to? Now we're going to see that all of this plays into a reflection of the person of Jesus Christ, which is where it all comes to its peak value. This is what he does towards us. There's more. Um, let me just read this, uh, Hebrews thirteen five. You don't need to go there, but keep your life free from love of money and be content with what you have, for he has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. We have the Lord Jesus, who is one who sticks closer and who is very aware of everything we walk through. But number four, let's go to chapter twenty six, Chapter twenty six of Proverbs, and we'll read verses eighteen and nineteen. I'm gonna read it from the NLT, and I'll tell you why, because the ESV translates it neighbor, but, uh, this is the same word that's been being used for friends, so I'll read it from NLT. Just as damaging as a madman shooting a deadly weapon is someone who lies to a friend and then says, I was only joking. Look at chapter twenty five verse twenty. Singing cheerful songs to a person with a heavy heart is like taking someone's coat in cold weather or pouring vinegar in a wound. And one more, chapter twenty seven, verse fourteen. Singing cheerful songs to a person with a heavy heart is like taking someone's coat. Okay, I'm sorry, that is, I was reading the exact same verse again. My apologies on that one. Twenty seven fourteen: Whoever blesses his neighbor with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, will be counted as cursing. We all have those friends. I'm the opposite. I love mornings, and this is a characteristic and trait of friendship I have had to learn. Right, Hudson? When you guys traveling with me, there were many times that my spirit in the morning was not met with such a spirit in the morning, and I had to learn that the Lord has created us in different way. But this fourth element of friendship is consideration, or to be considerate. Now, when I say consideration, the ultimate example of a friend is the Lord Jesus Christ. And what I love watching the Lord Jesus as he walks through different lives in his time on earth is how he met people where they were. He he didn't do like, like, like this one verse vividly puts pouring vinegar on an open wound, um, taking someone's coat in cold weather. He didn't come to make the hurt more hurting. Now, sometimes it might seem at some point in the conversation like that happened. I'll give you an example, John four. Uh, first of all, Jesus was already at the well, right, to meet. So it's not about the woman at the well, it's about the man at the well, and the woman comes to see the man at the well. But when she comes to see the man at the well, what I love with the Lord Jesus is he meets her so gently at the place where she's at. He doesn't come in with this accusatory tone, and even after the opening conversation, it might seem like he's being kind of intense because he says, go call your husband. But again, what is he doing? He wants her to know, I know everything about you, but I love you still. And you need to know that I see you all the way through, and despite everything you've done and who you think you are, I know really who you are, and I really know what I'm going to do for you, and this is what I want you to know, my love. But I love that consideration. If you skip forward seven chapters, you'd come to John eleven. and in John eleven, what what happens there? Lazarus gets sick. Well, how is Lazarus described? He's described as the one whom Jesus loves. And then he, he says, my f- uh, our friend, or my, my friend Lazarus. Now, that's interesting because when Jesus heard that he was sick, he stayed where he was two more days. That doesn't seem very much like the kind of friendship we would want at that point. But what does Jesus do when he shows up to Bethany and shows up at the grave of Lazarus? I want you to note he doesn't walk in on some kind of high horse and say, guys, get over it. Have you not seen what I've done? Like Jairus's daughter, huh? Clue. Uh, did you notice how, like, I can calm the sea? I mean, like, you really think I can't get a guy back out of the grave? He doesn't do that, does he? That's pouring vinegar on a wound. That's taking someone's coat in cold weather. But instead, what does he do? He meets privately with Martha, talks with Mary, and then he goes to weeping. Now, I know his weeping was a weeping of, of a- there's anger, frustration, and the sense of, uh, more going on there and the, the unbelief. But don't miss, he didn't start by saying it's not a big deal. He started by entering into their big deal and then showing himself. I seriously struggle with this aspect of friendship. I'll tell you an example of what I mean by it, and please, this is genuinely a struggle. I'm not giving it to you as an illustration, somehow trying to suggest to you backdoor method of like, I hope you're getting this. No, no, no, this is just... Sometimes when you see the pain of one person and then you see the pain of another person, you know what we do? We compare the pain. We say, come on, it's not that big of a deal, like, so, you know, you lost your job, you live in America, there's a lot more, and I mean, even if you can't find one, every fast food restaurant is hiring right now. You can provide for your family until then, you know, just just do it. Work hard, do eighty hours a week, that's what most of the world does anyway. Yeah. We can have that attitude. We can be absolutely focused on a judgmental comparison type attitude instead of what a friend does. And what a friend does is they meet the other in their point of need, and they walk with them to the person of Jesus Christ. That's why I love the character of Andrew in scripture. Every time you see Andrew, what's he doing? John one, he's bringing his brother to Jesus. John six, he's bringing a little boy to Jesus. John twelve, he's bringing the Greeks to Jesus. Every time you see Andrew, he's bringing people to Jesus. But let me tell you, if you're going to bring someone to Jesus, there's a journey. A lot of us just want to jump right in and say, get with it. But I'm thankful that my Savior didn't do that. I'm thankful he doesn't do that with me, but he gently, as a friend, walks me to the point of seeing what he wants me to see. So there's a consideration. There's three more things, and I don't need to say much on them, but chapter twenty seven, verses five and six. Twenty seven, five and six. Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Faithful are the wounds of a friend, profuse are the kisses of an enemy. I don't think we need to say much about this because we've actually talked quite a bit about it, but a true friend is going to have clarity, or they're going to be clear with their other, with their friends. Eh, I, I, I had a great conversation, and you know who you are, um, last night, um, and we were talking about friendship. And we've also, I- I've alluded to this when we were talking about, um, correction, and then also when I was talking about evangelism, but if you remember, we talked about who are the people that you thought you loved, but you actually hated. Well, let me ask you, who do you call your friend, but you're refusing to be clear about the gospel with them? Who do you call your friend, but you refuse to address sin? Now, let me make this clear. The first sin that needs to be addressed is sin in your own life. And even when I address sin in someone else's life, let me tell you how I do it, because every time I can do it the same way, and I wish I couldn't do it the same way, but I can do it the same way. Every time I address sin in someone's else's life, I let them know where it is in my life. Because the root of every single thing I see in myself, and that's not, doesn't take too much effort to see it. If you need help, just read Matthew chapter five and Jesus will help you get to the root really fast. But that said, if I'm going to be a true friend, am I not going to warn? If I actually believe the word of God, if I actually believe the gospel, so now I just believe our friend count went down drastically. Can guarantee you that all my friends on Facebook are not my true friends, because I can guarantee you that I do not clearly address with them what the truth of God's word says, as I see it being played out in lives. So what does that actually mean? Well, it means you're going to lose a lot of people that you used to call your friend, and not because you're not being a friend, but because you are being a friend. Does that make sense? And so I want to challenge us. Are we being friends? Are we actually being godly friends to those around us, both, both in Christ and those that are outside? Are we walking in the way the Word of God has clearly shown us to walk? The next thing is this, it's not just that they're clear and open rebuke, but notice, faithful are the wounds of a friend. They're not just clear, but they're also candid. They're candid. What do I mean by that? It's not honesty that tears down, but it's that which is to warn, to heal, and to build. Let me say that any person that simply addresses sin but is not willing to walk with the person to restoration or to repentance is not a true friend. So there's many that will correct, but are you willing to be along with them in the journey? Are you willing to patiently endure? Are you willing to be associated with them? Are you willing to maybe be misunderstood? Aren't you thankful that the Lord Jesus is willing to walk with us in this journey of sanctification? He is our sanctification, but in that journey of conforming us into the image of Jesus Christ, there are so many times that I wonder, and I even say to the Lord, why would you want to be associated with me? But he says, you are my friend. Now, granted, much more than that, but not less than that. And so we see there's candidness. But the final thing is this, chapter twenty seven verse seventeen. Twenty seven seventeen, probably the most well-known verse, or one of the most well-known verses in Proverbs, right up there. Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another. Or, as the NLT puts it, as iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend. This leads us to the true discovery of friendship. And what is that discovery? Go back to verse nine. Oil and perfume make the heart glad, and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel. This is beautiful. So the last thing that a friend will do is a friend does not just address things, a friend is going to be a counselor. And this is vital because what does it bring us back to? It brings us back to wisdom. But notice what it said in verse nine of chapter twenty seven. I- it said that there is sweetness in his counsel. Now you've got to know something about sweetness in order to just appreciate what Solomon is, or or what's being communicated in this verse, a- a- and think about this. Sweetness in that day was not something that you added to a food, like you didn't, like they didn't have processed sugar back then. To have sweetness, it was something that you discovered. You discovered it in something. You discovered it in figs, you discovered it in honey, you discovered it in what, a- a- and you you can you can look into this in the cooking of that day, but, but when they're using the word sweetness, sweetness was not something added. Sweetness was a discovery. And where is the discovery of the sweetness of friendship? It's in counsel. And I want us just to recognize we have been focused on wisdom all week, and if we're asking the Lord for wisdom, he tells us in James one five he's going to give it, but is he only giving us wisdom for ourself? No, he's giving us wisdom so that as we walk alongside others, we can point them back to the word of God. We can walk in wisdom as he is wisdom. And isn't it interesting that when you wa- when when you look at at various, um, various listings in scripture, for instance, the gifts of the Holy Spirit in uh, i- i- in First Corinthians, what's the first gift listed? The gift of wisdom. Or or or in Luke two fifty two, when Jesus Christ is growing up, right? A- and, and the Lord Jesus, he, he grew in what? He grew in wisdom, in stature, in favor with God and man. Wisdom, that, that, that primary element. I want to ask you, is wisdom the primary element in our friendships? Is wisdom that sweetness to every true relationship you have? Or is your relationship built on the activities you do? Is your relationship built on, on, on maybe just, uh, the proximity of earthly relationship that you are? And what is it built on? Let me challenge you. For those that you would call your true friend, let wisdom be the foundation. Embrace her, hold her tightly, because when that happens in a relationship, the rest will come with it. But when wisdom is left out, you're going to have the kind of friends that we see in scripture that lead others astray. We're going to find ourselves on a pathway of destruction. We're going to find ourselves on a pathway of a wasted life. How many have friends today that... what characterizes your friendship? Well, ultimately, a life that has no value for eternity. And so I close with these verses from John chapter fifteen. John fifteen verses twelve through fifteen. Turn there. I still have a few sleepy heads. They're actually over here now. I'm pointing at you. I love you, and I won't look at you. Because you'll have your eye open very soon. Or eyes. Both of them were closed, actually, not just one. I know you're tired. It's Thursday. And I'll tell you, the young people have a little bit more of an excuse. Supposedly the doors lock at eleven thirty, but I'll tell you, I didn't get back to my room till after midnight, so some of these guys are quite tired. But let's finish strong. It's ten o'clock, I'm going to go till ten oh three, so we'll be done very soon. John chapter fifteen, verses twelve to fifteen. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father, I have made known to you. That's a beautiful counsel, that's a beautiful wisdom of God that we have been given in the Lord Jesus Christ. All that was given from his Father, he has made known to us. And now what does he say? I will never leave you or forsake you. I will walk with you. I will be committed. And what do I mean by that? Philippians one six, He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. If you want to see an example of the friendship that we are to emulate and to exemplify before others, it is exactly that of the Lord Jesus Christ. Aren't you thankful that the Holy Spirit in our life doesn't just let us live in sin comfortably? I'm thankful for that. Why? Because he loves us enough to say, that's the pathway of destruction, that's the pathway of waste. So take an inventory of your relationships, even as you go back to your local church, your local community, a- and ask, can I even call myself a friend? Are these things actually true in my life? Am I even conscious of what what's going on? Do I stick with them? Do I walk with them in their difficult times? Do I show up when no one else is showing up? Do I actually speak out when I see what's what's what's not of Christ? Do I give godly counsel? And I believe that as we show ourselves to be true friends, what we're going to see is change happening in the local body that ultimately glorifies God and shows forth Lady Wisdom, the true wisdom of God, who is the Lord Jesus Christ. Take all the things that you've heard this week and ask the Lord, where would you have me begin? What is the next step in all of this? Don't be overwhelmed, because I'll tell you, I certainly can feel overwhelmed thinking, oh, that and that and that and that, and I'm convicted. But remember this, the Lord walks with us. We have a friend in Jesus. He's not there to overwhelm us. He's not there to pour vinegar on an open wound, but rather he's there to show us the next step. Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, the wisdom of God. What is his son's name? Jesus. And he, promise, he will direct, if I can put the word all, all of your paths. Let's pray. Father, thank you for the Lord Jesus, and thank you for him being our wisdom. This is not about all of us trying to be wiser people, but rather it's about us surrendering, submitting to the one who is wisdom, the one who is the truest friend, the one who sticks closer than a brother, the one who deserves all of our awe and reverence, the one in whom we fear, and thus we are blessed. So, Lord, may we never get over the reality that we found a friend in Jesus, and he's everything to me. We commit ourselves into his care, and we pray that our lives would greatly glorify him as we go from here. This we pray in Jesus' name, amen.