Friends Indeed

Friends Indeed
John Ch15, vs. 12-17, Ephes. Ch 5 v.11
• In prosperity, our friends know us, in adversity, we know our friends.
• Never cut, what you can untie. (No reason to burn a bridge if you don’t have to)
• Friendship is more important in a marriage than romanticism.
• Fellowship should be a by-product of purpose.
• Everything in life works by relationship
• If people don’t increase you, they’ll eventually decrease you.
• Make it a goal to be a friend of your family.
• Find friendship with someone who will be a mentor.
• Find friendship with a peer.
• Find friendship with someone you can give back to.

Models – People who do what you do.
Mentors - People who coach you.
Heroes – People you look up to.
Peer – People on the same level as you.
Inner Circle – People closest to you.
Followers – People you lead.

What to look for in a “Friend Indeed” –

1. A genuine commitment to Christ.
2. Find people who know their purpose (keenly aware of their purpose)
3. Find people with self-acceptance (focus on self-development, not self-fulfillment)
4. They should have a forgiving spirit.
5. They must be faithful.
6. They should have purity (not perfect, purity is the effect of right motives in your heart.)
7. They should have respect for authority.

Be aware of what evil really is, evil is that that pulls you away from your purpose. The devil sends things into your life to dilute you or pollute you. Remember, faithfulness is a choice, not a gift, and stop blaming somebody else for your attitude.
Faithfulness – 1. Constancy 2. Loyalty 3. Submission

If the character of a man/woman is not clear to you, look at his/her friends. You are not just known by the company you keep, you’re known by the company you shun. If a man wants to move the world, he must first move himself.

Write out a faithful declaration.
Enlist an accountability partner.
Spend time with faithful people.
Select a model to follow.

Four Words

1. Attention - Exodus 3 verse 2
God will get your attention. He got Moses' attention with the burning bush, and he will get your attention. Your burning bush may be a loss of finances, lost relationships, sickness, etc.

2. Potential - God will only require seed that is in your hand. He will not require of you, what you do not already possess. Potential is always based on what you have not done. Staff your weaknesses. To define means to limit....he who defines you, controls you.

3. Intention - You have to live your life on purpose, for purpose, and with purpose. You must live with intentionality. What do you intentionally desire? Success is never an accident. Until you get a burden, you shall never have a vision.

4. Retention - The definition of retention is the ability to retain things in the mind.
Deuteronomy 8 verse 18
You're not blessed by what you get, you're blessed by what you keep. Always remember the Law of God, Honor of the Lord, and remember the Sabbath. If you do not retain the lesson, others will lose the blessing.

Let it marinate,
MD

The Doctrine of Serving

The Doctrine of Serving
Reference Scriptures-
Philippians Chapter 2, 1 Corinthians Chapter 2 vs. 12, Romans Chapter 12 vs.10-13, Isaiah 55 vs. 7-8, Ephesians Chapter 6 vs. 5-6

“YOU are HERE to ENRICH the WORLD, and YOU IMPOVERISH YOURSELF, if YOU FORGET THE ERRAND.” Woodrow Wilson

Good deeds lead to goodwill, and goodwill leads to openness to hear the good news. By doing good to and for others, you invite goodwill on yourself and your family. The more you serve others, the more fulfilling your life will be. See, we are given gifts to GIVE. They are ours; yet do not belong to us. We are only a conduit for the blessings of God; we are blessed to bless others. Some have the gift of song, the gift of writing, the gift of speaking, etc., but those gifts are only good if they are given. By giving your gifts to others, you are not only serving that person or persons, but also serving YOUR PURPOSE (we often time discover our purpose by doing a task).
We serve 3 types of people- those who are above us (managers, supervisors, etc.), those who are beside us (peers), and those who are below us (children, subordinates, etc.). When you serve, it brings you into maturity; selfishness is a sign of an immature spirit. Serving is not something that we do to get ahead, or to be recognized. You can’t buy blessings with serving, and you can’t buy your way into heaven by serving. Love must be our motivation for serving, to know God is to love him, to love God is to serve him. Don’t wait for an opportune time to serve, serve while you wait. Serving is the doorway to everything God wants to do in your life.

Four ways you can serve:
1. Find a need
2. Find someone or a vision to serve
3. Do something, use what you have where you are and do it now
4. Discover your gift

Five levels of serving:
1. By command
2. By invitation
3. To do good because you see a need
4. Willingly
5. Serving out of a spirit of generosity

God never called anybody that wasn’t already serving.

Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less.