Being a True Friend (cont'd)

When you are choosing close friends...
1. Look for those who will HELP YOU TO BE WISE.
Look for people who will challenge you to progress in life and desire to build a friendship with them.A friend that can correct you privately and praise you publicly.
2. Look for those who will SHARE YOUR BURDENS.
Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ (Gal.6:2). A friend that can be counted on in a crisis and whom you can share your struggles with and will love, support and help you.
3. Look for those who will HELP YOU GROW SPIRITUALLY.
Friends who give spiritual encouragement and will pray for you and lift you up spiritually, not causing you to stray away from God.



Pursue friendships with people who have a strong relationship with God and know His word. To attract these true friends, you must first be a true friend and be attractive as a person. A man who has friends must himself be friendly (Prov.18:24).

The art of SOUL-WINNING
Jesus-style...
1. Bless the lost.
2. Fellowship with them.
3. Meet their needs, pray for them.
4. Then preach the gospel of the kingdom to them.

In other words... we need to win them over as friends and then win them to the Lord.

How to be a true friend to others?
-Serve one another.
-Be generous and giving to others.
-Esteem others better than yourself.
-Be interested in other people.
-Encouraging others.
-Appreciate others and being thankful to them.
-Smile all the time. =D
-Love your neighbor as yourself.

Be a true friend and find one as well!
Do not be deceived: Evil company corrupts good habits (1Cor.15:33)

Life and Light

Light is 'revelation, illumination, understanding or wisdom.' In Him was life and the life was the light of men (John1:4) It means God has life, but to be God you have to be uncreated while men are created. God created mankind, which is spirit being and it is according to His image (outwardly) and likeness (inwardly). The image means the physical state while likeness is spirituality, in which we are able to worship Him and have His presence, and moral likeness,i.e. standard of holiness.

God created male first was not because men are better than women but because of purpose that God has given to it. Men often confuse between roles and purpose. Roles depend on culture, that is the society, what they perceive the culture wants them to be. Purpose, however, is determined by God.

God is a God of purpose. Purpose = potential. The purpose of a thing determines its potential and the potential of a thing reveals its purpose. Where purpose is unknown, abuse is inevitable.

What then are the purposes of God?
1. Adam was created from the ground.
Foundational things God wants man to do, i.e. to have vision and dreams which are based on the foundation which is Jesus.
2. Adam was put in the garden that represents God's presence manifested on Earth.
The first thing God gave to man was His presence!
3. Adam was given instructions and information about the tree in the midst of the garden.
Man is responsible to communicate and to teach.
4. Adam was given work to tend (cultivate to bring about fruitfulness or productivity) the garden.
5. Adam was asked to keep or to protect.
6. Adam was asked to name the animals.
Man takes the leadership role (ownership) over them.

The general purpose is then for man to spread the life of God, His presence, moral standards (10 Commandments) throughout the Earth with a helper, i.e. women.

Be the salt of the Earth and the light of the world. Shine for Jesus!

Being a True Friend

CG Sermon
Thursday, 26 June 2008

The greatest Christian witness to the world is a Christian friend. Real friendships, however, are never accidental. They are made, developed, planned and cultivated.

There are two different kinds of friends, i.e. casual and close friends. Casual friends are the result of circumstances like you go to school, work together and live next door to each other. Close friends, on the contrary, are the result of choice. You can't be close friends with everybody so you have to be selective because then it will have a deep impact on your life. Therefore, we need to carefully select who we call our friends (Prov.12:26).


Selecting friends is just like selecting wine, huh?

Some people we need to avoid as close friends are:
1. Lazy people (Prov.15:19)
2. Angry people (Eccl.7:9)
3. Immoral people (1Cor.5:9)
4. Greedy people (Prov.1:10-19)
5. Unbelievers (2Cor.6:14)
Although the Bible says we are to love everyone but that does not make everyone our close friends.