J. C. Rowe, capable writer and renowned preacher of the
Word of God many years ago, had this to say about friendship. He said a genuine, true, and
tried friend, a genuine, true, and tried friend, is one of the
greatest blessings that any person can possibly have. He said, tell me not of riches,
affection is sweeter than gold. Tell me not of houses and lands,
friendship is better than land. Tell me not of the honor and
power of this world. True love is best of all. And he is indeed a poor, poor
man who has no friend. Who has no friend. You see, he
continued, this world is a lonely place. It is a sinful place and
I need a friend to love me. And this world is a dark place.
It gets darker and lonelier. And the brightest light is a
friend. And he continued, I am growing
old and weary and tired and weaker every day. And I desperately
need a friend to walk with me, to talk with me, to encourage
me. Because change and decay in all
around I see. O thou that changest not, abide
with me. A real faithful friend, faithful,
is scarce and rare. Oh, there are many who will eat
and drink with you. There are many who will share
the good times. There are many who will laugh
and play with you. But who will love me always? Who will never leave me? and never disown me, and never
forsake me, who will always love me with the same love no matter
what I do, no matter what I say, no matter
where I am. Is there such a friend? Is there such a friend who sticketh
closer than a brother? There's one that sticketh closer
than a brother. One who loves me with an everlasting
love, who loved me before I loved him, and much, much more than
I'll ever be able to love him. Well, I have such a friend. Did
you know that? I have a friend. And I want to
tell you about him tonight. If you turn to the Song of Solomon,
chapter 5, I have such a friend. In the Song of Solomon, chapter
5, beginning with verse 9, this is what the watchman said. The watchman said to the church, What is your beloved more than
another beloved? What is your friend more than
another friend? O thou fairest among women, what
is your beloved more than another beloved that thou dost so charge
us? Ah, she said, let me tell you
about him. Let me tell you about him. My beloved is white, pure, holy. without sin. And my beloved is
ruddy, he's strong, and he's a deliverer. And he's the cheapest
among ten thousand. He's the greatest of all. He's
the rose of Sharon. He's the lily of the valley.
He's the bright and morning star. He's the cheapest among ten thousand. God has given him a name above
every name. And his head, verse 11, is as
the most fine gold. He wears an everlasting crown. And it never comes off. He's
crowned from all eternity, and even in his weakest hour on the
cross, he's the king. His head is as the most fine
gold, and his locks are bushy and black as a raven. That's
his youth. everlasting youth. He never changes. Never, never changes. Never grows
old. And his eyes are there like the
eyes of a dove. Gentle. Nothing as gentle as
a dove. His eyes are as the eyes of a
dove by the rivers of water washed with milk. They're clear. There's
no deceit in his eye anywhere. No deceit. None whatsoever. No lies, no
hypocrisy, no deceit. They're clear, washed with milk.
And fitless hair, they're unchanging. You know, eyes tell a whole lot,
don't they? Windows of the soul, someone
called it. That's the reason he took so
long to describe Why did it take so much space to describe the
eyes of his beloved? They're gentle, compassionate,
affectionate. I look into your eyes and tell
if you love me. And they're clear, there's no
deceit, what he says he means. He means unchanging. They're fitly set and he'll never
change. He has an unchangeable love,
an everlasting love, an infinite love. Clear, crystal clear. And in his cheeks, verse 13,
are as a bed of spices, soft and comfortable as sweet flowers.
Lying down, leaning upon his breast is like lying down in
a bed of sweet-smelling flowers in the cool of the evening. And
his lips are like lilies dropping sweet-smelling myrrh. Grace flows
from his lips. Grace flows from his lips. He
doesn't sell anything, he gives it, doesn't he? Always gracious,
gracious, gracious. And his hands are as gold rings
set with a burl. He's generous. Just keeps giving. He just keeps giving. Just keeps
giving. His belly is as bright ivory
overlaid with sapphires. That's the real compassion that
comes forth from within. He truly, genuinely loves me. He's my friend. He comes from
deep within, and His legs, His strength, are as pillars of marble,
unshakable, set upon sockets of fine gold. His countenance
is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars, and His mouth is most
sweet. Yea, He's altogether. If I've left anything out, He's
altogether. Everything about Him and of Him
and from Him and He's just altogether lovely. Altogether lovely. And this is my beloved, and this
is my friend. This is my friend. I've just
introduced you to my friend. That's my friend. He's my beloved,
and he's my friend. Oh, daughters of Jerusalem. Now,
first of all, When I think of my Lord Jesus Christ, my friend, I hear this saying all my life,
well, a friend in need is a friend indeed. Well, he's my friend
in need. My need. My need. I'm the neediest creature on
earth. There's nothing I can add to him, my friend. I'm the
one in need. I'm a sinner. And there's no
need like that of a sinner. I'm naked. I'm sick, diseased. I'm bankrupt. In fact, I'm not
only bankrupt, I'm in deep debt. I'm full of leprosy. I'm cut
off. I'm cast out. And yet He loves
me. He commended His love toward
us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
He loved me. He came into this world to save
a fellow like me, a sinner. I'm not only a sinner, but I'm
a sinner under the judgment of God Almighty. Did you know that?
I'm in jail. I'm not on probation. I'm in
prison already. I've been committed to the prison
house of the damned and the doomed by the wrath of God, by the righteousness
of God, by the law of God. And yet He loved me and He undertook
to set me free. He came down here and he said,
deliver him from going down into the pit. I am the ransom. I am the, you talk about in need.
And then I'm not only a sinner and under the judgment of God,
but I'm a poor dying creature. The plague of sin is in my blood. It's in my blood. One of my dear
friends, was here this morning to hear me preach. I don't know
whether she's here tonight, I don't see her, but she wouldn't mind
me telling this. But she was all smiles this morning,
looked so good and healthy. I said, you look different from
that time I saw you over in the hospital when you was so sick
and right on the edge of eternity and about to die. I said, you
look a lot better today. And she said, yes. And she said
a certain loved one of mine said he didn't want to ever see me
like that again. And I said, but he will. Because we got that river to
cross yet. I remember when you were lying
down in the hospital with a heart attack, Cecil. hurt my heart
to see you, but I'm, God lets me live, I'll see you like that
again. And this time, you're not going to recover. Now let's
face it, folks, let's quit playing games. Let's quit playing games. We're dying creatures, did you
know that? We're dying creatures, John, we're dying creatures now. And I'm a dying creature. The
plague's in my blood. Do you understand that? It's
in my blood. It's in my blood. The instrument
of death is already prepared. Each hour, I draw nearer and
nearer to the cold grave. Is that clear? Every hour. And denying, it's not gonna change
it. It's appointed unto me and wants
to die. But because of my friend, death
is gained. It's not loss, it's gain. Because
my friend came to abolish death and bring life and immortality
to life through the gospel, my friend. My friend said, because
I live, you're going to live. Don't be afraid. Though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil. Thou
art with me. Thou art with me. I tell you,
A faith that won't let you face reality is not a real faith. Is that right? Now let's face
it. A faith that will not let you, and a friend, is there such
a one, is there such a friend who is with me in my need, cleanses
me from my sin, delivers me from the judgment of God, and holds
my hand through that deep, dark floodwaters of death, and will
take me out on the other side clothed in his likeness, conformed
to his image. That's my friend. I can trust
him too, Richard. I can trust him. I can trust
him. I can't trust the flesh, but
I can trust him. And then he's my friend indeed.
Yes, he is in my need and indeed. And my friends, the true extent
of friendship is not in words, it's in deeds. Do you understand
that? Our Lord kept rebuking us. Love not in word only, but
in deed. In deed. Don't tell me what you feel,
what you wish, what you think, what you hope. Like Riles said,
don't weary me with flowery thoughts. Let me see your love. Let me
see it. And the doing and dying of our
Lord Jesus Christ is proof of His love for me. He proved it.
He proved it. Never has the world ever seen
such love, such kindness, such self-denial, such sacrifice upon
an object of affection. He didn't love me in word only.
He loved me indeed. Indeed. He loved me so much that
way back yonder before the world began, he established himself
as my surety, the guarantor of the covenant, my redeemer from
all eternity. As the wrath of God hung over
a wicked world, the Lord Jesus Christ stood for me in that hour.
Yes, he did. He was my friend. And then he
took my nature, the form of a servant. Though he was rich, he became
poor. He took upon himself the likeness
of sinful flesh, even the form of a servant, became obedient
unto death, even the death of the cross. He suffered the just for the
unjust, even was separated from his Father,
bearing my shame and guilt and sin, and was buried and rose
again. And he was exalted to heaven
and sat down at the right hand of God, my friend and forerunner,
my intercessor, and his very presence pleased for me. Amazing
love, how can it be that thou, my God, should die for me? Amazing
grace, how sweet the sound. Never was ever one so high who
stooped so low but my friend. Never was one so rich and became
so poor he had nowhere even to lay his head. Never has one ever
been required to pay such a price. Never was there ever such a friend
as my friend. This is my friend. Think about
it. And then he's a powerful friend.
You know, real, actual power to help and to relieve, I don't
possess. I just don't possess it at all.
I see a friend in debt, and I'd like to just deliver him from
all of his burdens, but I can't do it. I just can't do it. And I see a friend suffering.
I've seen some of you suffering, and your body wracked with pain,
I can't make the pain go away. Just can't make it go away. Have
you experienced that before? Watched one of your loved ones,
you know, and you thought, oh, if I could just make that pain go away,
which I can't do that. And I see a friend dying, and
I think, oh, if I could just help him. Or see someone weeping
and crying over a terrible loss. I can't dry his tears. I just
don't have the power. My friend does. My friend does. He has all power in heaven and
earth. He can bail out the bankrupt.
He can relieve the suffering. He can give hope and life to
the dying. And he can wipe all tears from
their eyes. He's my friend. He's able to
do all that he promised. He's able to save to the uttermost
them that come to God by Him. He's able to keep me from falling.
He's able to keep that which I've committed to Him against
that day. He's able to present me faultless
before the presence of the Father with exceeding glory. And then
He's able to raise my vile body. He's able, you know why? Because
of who He is, what He did, and where He is now. That's my friend. I wish everybody here knew my
friend. And I'll tell you this, he's
a loving, affectionate friend. Paul said, true love beareth
all things. Beareth all things. Bears up
under all things. Never folds. Bears up under all
things. True love believeth all things.
hopeth all things, endureth all things, and never faileth. I
wish I knew something about that kind of love in him. But I know something about that
kind of love in him because he said, I'll never leave you. I'll never, never, never, ever
leave you. I'll never forsake you. Have
you had friends to leave you? He won't. Have you had friends
to forget you? He never will. Have you had friends
who disappointed you and you disappointed them? He never will. He never will. Have you had friends
to criticize you and find fault with you? He never will. He prays
for you. He never does. There's no love like His love.
One of the writers said, it's love that passes knowledge. passes
understanding. That's the love of Christ. And
you know something? He's a wise friend. Our friendship
is well-meaning, but it's so often blind. Did you know that?
I'll just fit this to myself here. So often we err in our
counsel and advice that we give, don't we? We err. But he never
errs. You can believe everything he
says and act on it. He never errs. We do now. Sometimes, meaning well, but
we err in our counseling, in our advice, and with our children,
we either overindulge or we're too harsh. That's right. We chasten when we ought to encourage,
and we encourage when we ought to rebuke. We're not very wise,
are we? I know. Because we're so limited
in our understanding. But my friend is all wise. He never makes a mistake. Never,
never, never. We make bad investments and we
lead others to make bad investments. We walk the wrong path and we
take others with us. How unwise we are. But not my
master. Not my master. Not my master. He says all things, all things
work together for good to them who love Him and who are called
according to His purpose. That's right. He gives or withholds
nothing that's not for my good. I can be confident of that, just
as confident of that as He is in glory. He never will give
me anything or withhold anything from me that's not for my good.
Never. You can't say that about anybody
on this earth. Even your beloved wife can't
say that about you because you're limited in your understanding.
You might pick up and take her and move somewhere and it's a
big, bad mistake. You see what I'm saying? But
he never makes a mistake. All that he does happens at the
right time, too. And the right way. To the right
one. That's right. And he gives me
just as much health and just as much pain as I need, Charlie.
He does, doesn't he? just as much as I need, just
exactly what I need. I've never felt the pain that
he didn't determine in his all-wise decree that I needed. It's good
for me, David said, that I've been afflicted. I've learned
your statutes. He mixes my sorrow with joy so that I don't ever
have too much of either. He mixes my failure with success
so that he might make me what he wants me to be. He fills my eyes with tears when
I need it and my heart with joy when I despair. What a friend
we have in Jesus. He calls on me to carry a cross
and then he carries it for me. That's right. He manages all
my affairs in wisdom and truth even while I'm bumbling them. He has prepared for me a home
and a place and will one day come and take me away in such
love and splendor and glory that I'll spend all the days of eternity
thanking Him, thanking Him for every rock and stone and every
dark cloud and every raindrop and every hurt and every trial
and every blessing. because he's so wise. That's
my friend. That's what I mean when I say
trust the Lord. Trust Him. Trust Him. Put no
trust in horses and the strength of men. Put no trust in any of
these things. Don't put any trust in your government
or your leaders or anyone else. No confidence in the flesh. There's
just one you can trust, and that's my friend, the one I'm telling
you about. You can trust him. And you know something about
him? You say, well, who am I, preacher? Well, hold on. My friend
is no respecter of persons. He has friends of every station
in life. He has friends who are kings
like David and paupers like Lazarus. And he loves them both the same. Loves them both the same. Cares
just as much for one as he does the other. He can't love any
other way but perfectly. He has prophets like Moses and
slaves like Onesimus. He has women like Eunice and
Lois and harlots like Rahab. He calls them friends. He has religious bigots like
Solitarsis and thieves on crosses. Why not you? And why not me? Huh? And then I'll tell you this
about him. He has friends of every age.
Came along and called out old Abraham when he was 75 years
old. 75 years old. Had been messing
around with idols all his life with his daddy. And my Lord came
by and said, Abraham, you're my friend. That's what he called
him. He's a friend of God. You know
what Scripture says? Abraham's God's friend. He spake
to him as a friend. But then he's got, he's got young
people like Timothy. And I say to our dear young people
here, you listen to your pastor. And don't you, don't you demand of God any type of experience. You just pray unto God for revelation
of his person. And you walk in the light that
he gives you, step by step. Don't give God any deadlines.
Just walk in the light God gives you, and he'll give you more.
And be true and faithful to the light you have. And rest and
trust and hope in the Lord. And wait on the Lord. Wait on
the Lord for a revelation of His mercy and His love. Right? For the Lord said of Timothy
through Paul, He said, here's Timothy, a grown man now. Timothy,
the sidekick and helper of Paul, his aid in the gospel. And Timothy's
probably 30 years old now, 25 or 30, somewhere like that. He's
a preacher of the gospel too. And Paul said to him, he said,
Timothy, I knew your mother and your grandmother, Eunice and
Lois, and they were faithful to teach you the scriptures.
And from a child, from a little boy, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 years
old, from a little child, thou hast known in your head, as well
as your heart, the scriptures that are able to make you wise
unto salvation. So what I'm saying to our boys
and girls here, as you sit in Miss Sheila's class, and as you
sit in Miss Terry's class, and as you sit in Miss Mahan's class,
and as you sit in Bob Coffey's class, and as you sit in Ron's
class, and then you come and sit in my class, be patient. Listen to the Word of God. And
learn the Word of God. And walk in the light God gives
you. And one day, one day, by His grace, And like I said, don't
give God any deadlines. Don't set any targets for the
Lord. He'll do what He will, when He will, with whom He will.
And one of these days, by His grace, I guarantee you, He'll
speak peace and joy to your heart. And you'll know whom you have
believed. That's right. But don't feel
that you have to make a profession of it. Salvation's not down here.
Salvation's not in here. Salvation's in Christ. If he's
your friend now, he'll always be your friend. And you have
no other friend like him. You see, he has friends of every
age. Suffer the little ones to come
unto me and forbid them not. Such is the kingdom of heaven.
And that's what I say to you. I'm going to be faithful to tell
you the truth about God, and your daddies and mommas are going
to be faithful to witness to you the truth of God, and you're
going to come here and hear the gospel of Christ, and in God's
own time, in God's own time, for God's own glory and for your
good, the Lord will show you all these things." He said, our
Lord said to His disciples, these were grown men that had been
with Him for three years. And He sat them down one day
and He said, I've got many things to say to you that you're not
able to bear. I've got some things to tell
you that you couldn't even understand if I told them to you. But I'm
going to tell you. My Spirit's coming and He'll
tell you. And He'll take the things of mine and show them
to you. And that's what I'm saying. Oh, brother man, we've got to
drive for a decision. You drive, I'll preach. We've got to get people to commit. Well, you just go ahead and do
that. I'm going to wait on the Lord to bring them to Himself. And I'll tell you this, when
He brings them, they'll come. I'm not worried. Are you? Don't worry. He's my friend.
He's my friend. And my friend's never failed
yet, Charlie. He's never failed. And you know something? He's
got friends of every temperament. Some are plain men like Isaac,
and some are mighty indeed like Moses, and some are fervent like
the Apostle Peter, and some are gentle like John. Some are unknown
like the woman with the issue. What do they call her? Somebody?
And some turn the world upside down like Paul. And some are careful and troubled
and cumbered about like Martha. Some just sit at his feet like
Mary. But they're his friends. He didn't say Martha wasn't his
friend. He might have rebuked her, but she was his friend.
I know that. He loved her. He loved her just as much as
he loved Mary. Some as wise as Solomon and some as foolish as
Lot. But thank God my friendship with
Christ doesn't depend on what I'm like. And the amazing thing is, in
closing, he has friends of every nation and tongue and tribe and
kindred, Jews and Gentiles, Greeks and Romans. He has a people in
all the world. And he's given us the privilege
of telling them about himself. There was two little boys sitting on the front steps of a ghetto
home, old run-down apartment building, barefooted and dirty,
and one of them about ten and one of them about six, sitting
there with their arms around each other, their old smudged,
dirty faces and long hair, handing me down clothes and looking out over the street.
And a big, long car drove up. Big, long Lincoln. With the Continentals. I have to call that tire on the
back, Gerald. Back on the back. Big, shiny, new. One of them looked at that and
said, whoo-wee, look at that. Look at that. And when the men
stopped the car, they just got up spellbound and they went over
there and they touched it. Look at that. And the little one walked around
and looked at it. And this man got out of the car and came around
and he said, you boys like my car? Yes sir, we like that car. That's the prettiest car I've
ever seen in my life. That's a fine car. He looked at him and said, you
want to go for a ride in it? Would you take us for a ride
in your car? Yeah, I'll take you for a ride. Get in the back
seat. They got in the back seat and they sat down in that, sunk
down in that plush velour, you know. He's driving down the street. Ooh, they had to say, this is
a nice car. Nicest car we've ever seen. I bet it cost a lot
of money. Man said, well, to be honest,
it didn't cost me anything. Didn't cost you nothing? No,
it didn't cost me a thing. How come? He said, my brother
gave it to me. Your brother gave you this car?
Yeah, my brother gave it to me. Free for nothing? Free for nothing.
Just gave it to you? Just come up to you and gave
it to you? Free for nothing? That's right, my brother gave
me the car, it didn't cost me a thing, he gave it to me. You
know what he said? I know what I would have said.
But you know what he said? That little 10-year-old looked
at that man and said, boy, I wish I could be a brother like that.
That's different, isn't it? I wish I could be a brother like
that. That's what I'm saying. I tell
you about my friends, and it doesn't alter the thing at all. That's my friend. But I wish
I could be a friend like that. Don't you? Well, let's shoot
at it. Maybe by His grace, someday we
will. All right, I want you to sing
Number 470, Mike. You'll come and lead us. This
song is such a good song to follow this message I brought you. The
title of it is, He's My Friend. Number 470. Let's stand while
we sing.