Pastor Teacher
Robert R. McLaughlin
Sunday January 11, 2015
One of the true tests of love is that: Do you think of them when they are gone?
When I think of Ray Almeida Sr., I think of someone who was a selfless, caring, humble and a faithful friend who led me and taught me what a real man was.
One of the main principles about having a true friend like Ray was that you could relax around and that you didn't have to hide the real you.
As a true friend, Ray was the type of individual that you didn't have to compete with, because true friends don't compete with you.
Your true friends, which is what Ray was, also will guard your privacy.
Cicero said, “A friend is, as it were, a second self”.
Aristotle asked a question, “What is a friend?” And then he answered by, saying, “A single soul dwelling in two bodies”!
PRO 27:10, "Do not forsake your own friend or your father's friend.”,
The principle of friends and how very fortunate we are to have them
Godly Friends Give Good Advice PRO 12:26 .
The godly give good advice to their friends; the wicked lead them astray.
Gossip separates best friends PRO 16:28.
PRO 16:28, A perverse man spreads strife, And a slanderer separates intimate friends.
A troublemaker plants seeds of strife; gossip separates the best of friends.
A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need. Faithful friends are a rare treasure PRO 18:24.
There are friends who destroy each other, but a real friend sticks closer than a brother.
Reliable Friends are Hard to Find Proverbs 20:6 Many will say they are loyal friends, but who can find one who is truly reliable? (NLT)
Purity and Integrity Gain the friendship of Kings Proverbs 22:11
Whoever loves a pure heart and gracious speech will have the king as a friend.
The Wrong Friends Can Have a Negative Influence as Proverbs 22:25 states as being identified with angry people or associate with hot‑tempered people.
PRO 27:5-6, Better is open rebuke Than love that is concealed. Better than hidden love! Wounds from a sincere friend are better than many kisses from an enemy.
Counsel from a Friend is Pleasing PRO 27:9
The heartfelt counsel of a friend is as sweet as perfume and incense. (NLT) Friends shape and sharpen one another
PRO 27:17 As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend. (NLT) True Friends Strengthen and Help Each other succeed. = ECC 4:9-12.
If one person falls, the other can reach out and in trouble . But someone who falls alone is just real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm.
But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back‑to‑back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple‑braided cord is not easily broken. (NLT) = Friendship is Marked by Sacrifice.
JOH 15:1315 There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for ones friends.
You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn't confide in his slaves.
Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. (NLT) The Lord is a Friend to the Godly PRO 3:32
Such wicked people are detestable to the LORD, but he offers his friendship to the godly. (NLT) Believers Enjoy Friendship with God ROM 5:10
For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we are still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son.
Friendship with the World Makes You an Enemy of God JAM 4:4
You adulterers! Don't you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God.
David and Jonathan (1SA 18:1‑3), David and Abiathar (1SA 22:23) David and Nahash (2SA 10:2) David and Hushai (2SA 15:32) Elijah and Elisha (2KI 2:2)
Job's Friends (JOB 2:11) Ruth and Naomi (Ruth 1:16‑17) Pauls Ministry Friends (ROM 16:3‑5 2CO 2:12‑13; PHI 2:25;