WEBVTT 00:01.516 --> 00:04.876 Welcome to the Valley Baptist Church sermon podcast. 00:04.876 --> 00:06.376 We're so glad you're here, 00:06.376 --> 00:08.336 and we hope this message inspires you, 00:08.336 --> 00:09.476 builds your faith, 00:09.476 --> 00:12.516 and moves you toward a deep relationship with God. 00:12.516 --> 00:15.596 Today, you'll find great insight into the Bible 00:15.596 --> 00:18.276 and learn how you can apply it straight to your life. 00:18.276 --> 00:21.116 So welcome and enjoy the message. 00:21.116 --> 00:22.116 If you have your Bible, 00:22.116 --> 00:26.236 please open it with me to Ecclesiastes chapter four 00:26.236 --> 00:31.376 in a message I'm calling Designed for Relationships. 00:32.144 --> 00:37.764 Now, the Bible makes very, very clear that all of us are designed for relationships. 00:38.004 --> 00:43.704 First of all, a relationship with God, but also a relationship with one another. 00:44.513 --> 00:51.753 You know, after God made Adam in the garden, he said, it is not good that man be alone. 00:51.933 --> 00:55.813 And we all experientially know that to certainly be true. 00:55.813 --> 00:57.433 But here's the problem. 00:58.453 --> 01:01.733 Sin destroys relationships. 01:02.688 --> 01:06.488 It destroys our relationship with God and with one another. 01:06.488 --> 01:10.528 You see, the nature of sin is that it always brings conflict. 01:10.988 --> 01:13.488 It always creates division. 01:13.748 --> 01:17.948 It brings division between us and God, and it brings division between us 01:17.948 --> 01:19.908 and each other. 01:19.908 --> 01:24.008 In Ecclesiastes chapter four, Solomon talks about the importance 01:24.328 --> 01:27.048 of having healthy relationships. 01:27.588 --> 01:31.348 You see, life is a team sport. 01:31.358 --> 01:34.358 We all need a team, but not just any team. 01:34.358 --> 01:41.558 We need a healthy team, a healthy team of people who are around us, who we live life with. 01:41.558 --> 01:50.638 Now, intuitively, we all know that. And so we try to build these teams, teams of people, of family and friends and all these people around us. 01:50.638 --> 01:58.718 But oftentimes because of sin, whether it's our sin or maybe it's their sin, the team is sabotaged. 01:58.718 --> 02:00.998 It is broken apart. 02:01.008 --> 02:09.728 Pat Riley, who coached the Lakers, is the head coach for them winning four NBA championships under his leadership. 02:09.728 --> 02:15.168 He talks about how the Lakers became NBA champions in 1980. 02:15.808 --> 02:19.528 In the very next year, they were thought to be unbeatable. 02:20.178 --> 02:24.478 But just a few weeks after the season began, Magic Johnson, their star player, 02:25.018 --> 02:27.938 tore some cartilage in his knee, and he was out for several months. 02:28.038 --> 02:32.878 And so everyone felt like their season was over, but the team, they rallied together, 02:33.038 --> 02:34.958 and they were playing their hearts out. 02:35.098 --> 02:37.118 And so fans and... 02:37.762 --> 02:42.542 the sports media started buzzing because they kept winning games without their star player. 02:42.662 --> 02:48.302 And so they started buzzing about what's this team going to be like when Magic Johnson returns? 02:49.322 --> 02:54.682 Well, Riley said that the team was upset by that because they thought, well, we're on top of our game. 02:54.682 --> 02:58.402 Why is all the attention on Magic Johnson, who's not even playing? 02:59.547 --> 03:04.487 Eventually, Johnson returned to the lineup, and everyone was buzzing about it. 03:04.567 --> 03:09.687 It sucked up all the attention for the Lakers, and his teammates resented it. 03:09.687 --> 03:17.487 The finger-pointed started, and what had been a very tight-knit team began to unravel. 03:17.485 --> 03:20.085 The Lakers never played the same again that season. 03:20.205 --> 03:23.285 They quickly got knocked out of the playoffs. 03:23.425 --> 03:24.645 The head coach was fired. 03:24.825 --> 03:25.885 Riley was promoted. 03:26.585 --> 03:30.665 And then Riley later said of that season, he said, 03:30.665 --> 03:37.785 Because of greed, pettiness, and resentment, we executed one of the fastest falls from grace in NBA history. 03:38.385 --> 03:41.805 It was the disease of me." 03:41.802 --> 03:51.742 You know, the disease of me will take down any person, any team, any organization, any family, and yes, any church. 03:51.742 --> 03:57.342 Now, the Bible's term for the disease of me is sin. 03:58.154 --> 04:04.074 Throughout the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon has been saying, vanity of vanities, all is vanity. 04:04.194 --> 04:07.014 He means life without God is empty. 04:07.454 --> 04:08.654 It has no meaning. 04:08.794 --> 04:10.053 It has no purpose. 04:10.054 --> 04:12.294 It has no real destination. 04:12.874 --> 04:15.954 You can try to grab hold of something, but it's like grasping for the wind. 04:16.214 --> 04:18.414 What you try to grab, you're left empty-handed. 04:19.282 --> 04:27.822 Now the conclusion that Solomon makes in this book is that having a relationship with God is the only thing that can bring a person fulfillment. 04:28.698 --> 04:39.638 But we also see from this chapter that living life with a great set of friends and a team of people around you also increases your level of fulfillment in life. 04:39.758 --> 04:41.938 Solomon begins in verse number four. 04:42.058 --> 04:48.818 He says, again, I saw that for every toil and every skillful work that a man is envied by his neighbor. 04:49.522 --> 04:52.182 This also is vanity and grasping for the wind. 04:52.182 --> 04:55.842 The fool folds his hands and consumes his own flesh. 04:56.122 --> 05:02.402 Better a handful with quietness than both hands full, together with toil and grasping for the wind. 05:02.422 --> 05:04.101 Here's our principle. 05:04.102 --> 05:08.642 Competition with one another creates pride or envy. 05:09.302 --> 05:12.142 Now, I'm not talking about friendly competition like in sports. 05:12.222 --> 05:13.462 I'm talking about life. 05:14.378 --> 05:23.018 In life, do you view people as opponents to beat and to conquer, or do you view people as people to love? 05:23.658 --> 05:31.598 Whenever we view people as opponents to beat, that causes pride if you're winning, and it causes envy if you're losing. 05:31.698 --> 05:34.078 And in both cases, the end result is broken relationships. 05:35.067 --> 05:36.367 Now, there's two sides of envy. 05:36.527 --> 05:40.247 There's the person who's envying, and we're going to get to that person here in a moment. 05:40.687 --> 05:43.607 But there's also the person who's being envied. 05:43.807 --> 05:48.627 Solomon says, we work so hard to accomplish all of these things, and what do we get in return? 05:49.467 --> 05:50.912 We get envy. 05:50.913 --> 05:54.373 So he says, better is a handful with quietness 05:54.373 --> 05:57.033 than two handfuls with none. 05:57.033 --> 06:00.153 He's saying a quiet life filled with healthy, 06:00.153 --> 06:03.033 peaceful relationships is a whole lot better 06:03.033 --> 06:04.953 than a life full of all of these things, 06:04.953 --> 06:07.893 of access with broken relationships. 06:07.893 --> 06:11.953 I think Solomon is wanting us to pause 06:11.953 --> 06:13.333 and to ask ourselves the question, 06:13.333 --> 06:17.553 have I done anything to create envy in others? 06:18.031 --> 06:20.811 You know, some people want to create that. 06:21.191 --> 06:24.891 Some people will do anything to get ahead in life. 06:24.971 --> 06:26.571 They'll bulldoze their way to the top. 06:26.631 --> 06:29.431 It doesn't matter what it takes, who they have to throw under the bus. 06:29.971 --> 06:31.051 They're in it to win it. 06:31.691 --> 06:34.571 And then they wonder why they're so miserable and empty inside. 06:34.671 --> 06:38.291 It's because they've got this long trail of relationships in their way. 06:39.371 --> 06:43.471 The friend who they betrayed at work in order to get that promotion is now an enemy. 06:43.911 --> 06:47.431 And so, yeah, maybe they made some more money along the way, but at what cost? 06:47.571 --> 06:47.966 Right? 06:47.967 --> 06:49.286 At what cost? 06:49.287 --> 06:52.407 Solomon says, the main thing you've got in return is some envy. 06:52.547 --> 06:56.407 Your friends wish they had what you had, and they wish you didn't have it. 06:57.787 --> 07:04.287 So you think you're winning in life, but you've actually lost because you were playing the wrong game. 07:04.587 --> 07:06.527 You were shooting at the wrong target. 07:06.527 --> 07:11.527 Your goal was riches when your goal should have been relationships, right? 07:12.115 --> 07:14.035 We know that within the workforce, 07:14.035 --> 07:19.035 it's estimated that 75% of workers envy another coworker. 07:20.815 --> 07:23.235 Some suggest it's as high as 90%. 07:23.235 --> 07:26.735 So no wonder people are so miserable in the workplace, 07:26.735 --> 07:30.355 they don't have healthy relationships one with another. 07:30.355 --> 07:34.635 Now, why is envy so bad? 07:34.635 --> 07:39.675 Envy is bad because it's the opposite of love. 07:40.077 --> 07:48.777 love rejoices in the good fortune of others, envy dreams of their downfall. Now, sadly, 07:49.837 --> 07:54.817 many people in our culture would rather be envied than admired. And so they buy things they can't 07:54.817 --> 08:01.897 afford with money, you know, they don't have to impress people they don't even like. It's 08:02.116 --> 08:11.256 The disease of me. It's the desire to climb up to the top of the mountain that that friend is on, that co-worker is on, that neighbor is on, that family member is on. 08:11.456 --> 08:17.736 Knock them off the top of it so that I'm all alone up there on the top by myself. 08:17.736 --> 08:23.956 And you know what? That's exactly where envy will take you, to a place where you're all by yourself. 08:24.391 --> 08:27.611 lonely and empty inside. 08:27.611 --> 08:29.271 Solomon continues, verse seven, he says, 08:29.271 --> 08:34.271 "'Then I returned and saw that vanity under the sun. 08:34.331 --> 08:36.551 "'There's one alone without companion. 08:36.551 --> 08:38.811 "'He has neither son nor brother. 08:38.811 --> 08:40.571 "'Yet there's no end to all his labors.'" 08:40.571 --> 08:41.691 He just keeps working. 08:41.691 --> 08:43.611 "'Nor is his eye satisfied with riches.'" 08:43.611 --> 08:44.971 He can't have enough money. 08:44.971 --> 08:48.671 "'But he never asks, for whom do I toil 08:48.671 --> 08:49.971 "'and deprive myself of good?'' 08:49.971 --> 08:51.991 In other words, I have no one to share it with. 08:52.133 --> 08:55.673 It's also his vanity and a grave misfortune. 08:56.173 --> 08:57.812 Here's our principle. 08:57.813 --> 09:02.713 Isolation from others amplifies vanity and misery. 09:03.393 --> 09:08.273 Solomon's describing here the workaholic, the person whose life is all about work. 09:08.353 --> 09:11.233 No matter how much money he has, he's got to have some more. 09:11.853 --> 09:16.773 And so he accumulates all of this stuff, but he's all alone. 09:16.771 --> 09:18.351 He's got no one to share it with. 09:18.391 --> 09:19.471 He doesn't have a companion. 09:19.671 --> 09:20.550 He doesn't have a spouse. 09:20.551 --> 09:21.731 He doesn't have any kids. 09:22.331 --> 09:23.611 He has no real friends. 09:24.711 --> 09:26.591 You know, that is our culture. 09:27.571 --> 09:31.251 More and more people are living for work. 09:32.161 --> 09:34.761 How many rom-coms out there show this couple 09:34.761 --> 09:35.841 who falls in love? 09:35.841 --> 09:38.461 I mean, they look like the perfect couple. 09:38.461 --> 09:40.081 They're so good for one another, 09:40.081 --> 09:43.741 but one of them gets a dream job in another city, right? 09:43.741 --> 09:46.041 And so they end up breaking the sad news 09:46.041 --> 09:47.981 that they've got to move. 09:47.981 --> 09:50.841 And so they asked the other, won't you come with me? 09:50.841 --> 09:52.501 And the other person declines, why? 09:52.501 --> 09:54.781 They have the dream job where they're at. 09:54.781 --> 09:57.201 And so there's this breakup, there's this split. 09:57.201 --> 10:00.401 And the whole time Kelsey yelling at the screen, you idiot. 10:01.574 --> 10:04.814 You're choosing your dream job over your dream man. 10:04.914 --> 10:06.034 What are you doing, right? 10:07.534 --> 10:08.554 That's our culture. 10:09.194 --> 10:11.634 We value career over family. 10:11.634 --> 10:14.734 We value riches over relationships. 10:15.694 --> 10:19.714 Now, you don't actually have to be single to do that. 10:20.272 --> 10:27.272 Sadly, there are many moms and dads who subconsciously choose their job over their family. 10:28.252 --> 10:30.072 Dad's gone at work all the time. 10:30.132 --> 10:31.772 He says, well, I'm doing this for you guys. 10:31.872 --> 10:35.592 Well, as if his family needs riches more than they need him. 10:36.872 --> 10:44.192 I've been with a lot of people as they died, nearing death, and oftentimes they have some regrets. 10:44.192 --> 10:48.932 And I have yet to hear a person say, you know, I wish I'd spent more time at the office, Pastor. 10:49.972 --> 10:50.992 I wish I'd made some more money. 10:51.032 --> 10:52.052 I could have had a bigger house. 10:52.112 --> 10:53.612 I could have had some nicer cars. 10:53.692 --> 10:54.191 No, no, no. 10:54.192 --> 10:56.172 Their regrets are never related to riches. 10:56.912 --> 10:59.972 They're always related to relationships. 11:00.552 --> 11:03.212 They regret the broken relationships of their life, 11:03.472 --> 11:05.932 the relationships that they maybe neglected. 11:06.112 --> 11:08.272 And so they say, I should have said sorry. 11:09.310 --> 11:11.910 I should have been there more. 11:12.710 --> 11:15.970 Men, your boys, they need you desperately. 11:16.450 --> 11:18.810 Your little girls, they need you desperately. 11:19.030 --> 11:20.790 Your wife, she needs you. 11:21.270 --> 11:25.470 Now, I know that God calls us to work hard as men and to provide for our families, 11:25.470 --> 11:27.770 and that's a big, weighty responsibility. 11:28.190 --> 11:31.710 But God also calls us to be present with our families. 11:32.260 --> 11:35.340 And God would never call us to do something that's impossible. 11:35.460 --> 11:40.640 So if he's called us to provide, and he has, and if he's called us to be present with our families, and he has, 11:40.960 --> 11:42.720 then there must be a way to do both. 11:43.920 --> 11:49.100 Solomon says this man who works himself to death, he works himself into isolation, 11:49.340 --> 11:54.960 for him, life is especially vain, and it's a grave misfortune. 11:55.760 --> 12:00.340 Now in verse number 9, Solomon gets to some more positive things. 12:01.336 --> 12:07.436 things he wants to say to us about the incredible blessing of actually having true friendship. 12:07.636 --> 12:17.636 He says, 12:21.485 --> 12:24.085 Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. 12:24.145 --> 12:25.845 But how can one be warm alone? 12:26.205 --> 12:33.345 Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him, and a threefold cord is not quickly broken. 12:33.505 --> 12:34.585 Here's our principle. 12:36.405 --> 12:41.945 Interdependence with one another provides strength and resilience in life. 12:42.781 --> 12:51.161 Now, that is just a fancy way of saying we need some good friends, some friends, some people in our lives that we can truly count on. 12:51.821 --> 12:55.001 Let me ask you, do you need other people? 12:56.001 --> 13:01.701 You may be tempted to say no, but whether you want to admit it or not, you do need other people and they need you. 13:02.061 --> 13:03.961 That's God's design. 13:03.961 --> 13:07.301 We are creatures of community. 13:07.300 --> 13:14.200 So Solomon says two are better than one because they can get a whole lot more work done than they can alone. 13:14.740 --> 13:20.660 Whenever we work alongside another person, there's this synergy that takes place, isn't there? 13:21.080 --> 13:27.220 Suddenly what we're accomplishing together doesn't seem to add to what's being done. 13:27.320 --> 13:28.400 It seems to multiply. 13:28.560 --> 13:31.300 Somehow one plus one starts equaling three. 13:31.300 --> 13:34.440 The sum is greater than the parts. 13:35.633 --> 13:39.593 I think Valley Baptist Church has seen that through the years with co-pastors. 13:39.693 --> 13:44.373 My dad and Pastor Phil, they served right alongside each other for nearly 40 years, 13:44.453 --> 13:47.253 and their results can only be measured someday in heaven. 13:47.993 --> 13:52.033 A team of pastors is much more effective than a solo pastor. 13:52.559 --> 13:59.739 They just are. There's a synergy that happens. God designed us to be on a team, to work together. 14:00.599 --> 14:05.619 Solomon says in verse number 10, if they fall, one will lift up his companion, 14:05.759 --> 14:10.519 but woe to him who's alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up. 14:11.712 --> 14:16.412 You know, we're all going to fall at some point in life. 14:16.892 --> 14:22.252 Now, someone might push us down, or we might fall just of our own stupid decisions. 14:23.152 --> 14:28.552 You know, my dad used to say, whether someone shoots you in the foot or you shoot yourself, it still hurts. 14:28.932 --> 14:34.072 So whether you fall on your own or someone helps you fall, either way, it still hurts. 14:34.152 --> 14:35.472 We live in a broken world. 14:35.752 --> 14:37.152 We are sinners. 14:37.952 --> 14:40.272 So we're going to fall down financially. 14:41.108 --> 14:44.508 emotionally, sometimes even morally. 14:45.368 --> 14:48.868 So let me ask you, when you fall flat on your face, 14:48.928 --> 14:53.348 do you have some people around you who pick you up, dust you off, clean you up a little bit? 14:54.288 --> 15:00.808 You know, one of my favorite stories in the Bible is when some friends put their paralyzed friend on a stretcher. 15:00.802 --> 15:06.442 They each take a corner of that stretcher and they lift their friend up and they carry their friend to Jesus. 15:06.622 --> 15:09.422 And once they get to the house where they know that Jesus is in, 15:09.582 --> 15:12.562 they can't make their way inside because the house is packed. 15:13.162 --> 15:16.362 And the crowd is spilling out to the outside. 15:16.482 --> 15:17.341 And so what do they do? 15:17.342 --> 15:18.402 Well, they don't go home. 15:18.642 --> 15:19.842 They're getting their friend to Jesus. 15:20.042 --> 15:23.362 They climb up and hoist their friend up on the roof. 15:23.522 --> 15:27.202 They rip a hole in the roof and they lower their friend down to Jesus. 15:28.544 --> 15:33.704 And most of the time when we think about that story, we think about how Jesus told this man who was paralyzed, 15:33.864 --> 15:35.784 he said, your sins are forgiven you. 15:36.024 --> 15:40.384 And in order to show everyone that he had the power to forgive this man's sin, he said, 15:40.444 --> 15:44.024 take up your bed, rise and walk and go home. 15:44.104 --> 15:45.283 And the man got up. 15:45.284 --> 15:48.184 He was healed by the hand of our Lord. 15:48.224 --> 15:49.344 And we're amazed by that. 15:49.344 --> 15:52.264 But my question is, what about that man's friends? 15:53.804 --> 15:57.344 I'll tell you what, every man needs some friends like that. 15:58.008 --> 16:06.648 Every woman needs some sisters like that who, if they fall down, they can't quite get themselves back to Jesus on their own. 16:06.688 --> 16:08.327 They're too wounded. 16:08.328 --> 16:09.407 They're too weak. 16:09.408 --> 16:10.888 Friends who say, we got you. 16:11.308 --> 16:14.088 And they lift you up and they carry you back to Jesus. 16:14.228 --> 16:16.528 Let me ask you, do you have some friends like that? 16:18.443 --> 16:23.503 We all need to have some brothers and sisters around us who will get us to Jesus, 16:23.623 --> 16:28.403 who will carry us to Jesus when we're lying flat on the mat of life. 16:29.683 --> 16:33.763 The other question is this, and it may be a little sharper for you today. 16:34.903 --> 16:39.223 Are you a friend like that to someone else? 16:40.938 --> 16:44.818 Where if they fall down, you're going to be right there to carry them to Jesus. 16:44.978 --> 16:49.158 Proverbs says, in order to have friends, you must first be friendly. 16:49.978 --> 16:53.178 Are you a friend to others that they need? 16:53.578 --> 16:57.658 Solomon says in verse number 11, he says, if two lie down, they're going to keep warm. 16:57.658 --> 17:00.838 But how can one be warm when they're alone? 17:02.048 --> 17:08.468 Now, I am blessed beyond measure with some amazing friends in our church family, 17:08.608 --> 17:12.208 men of God who I know if I ever fell down, they would carry me to Jesus. 17:13.540 --> 17:17.060 But my best friend in all the world, and it's not even close, is my wife, Kelsey. 17:17.500 --> 17:18.880 She's my greatest companion. 17:19.600 --> 17:21.700 She is my best friend. 17:22.740 --> 17:28.860 And Kelsey tells me that her favorite part of the day, and I don't know if she's being honest or not, 17:28.920 --> 17:35.980 but she routinely, my favorite part of the day is when we lie down at night to go to sleep and we snuggle, right? 17:37.020 --> 17:38.360 Oh, I got to, oh. 17:38.880 --> 17:41.000 I was waiting for that all morning long. 17:41.320 --> 17:42.480 Finally got one. 17:44.185 --> 17:48.805 Now, there's not much snuggling as summer approaches, though, because I sweat. 17:51.025 --> 17:59.005 But when it turns cold, we both enjoy pressing our bodies close to one another in order to stay warm, right? 18:00.005 --> 18:03.925 Now, neither one of us like cold feet, but that's another story altogether. 18:04.925 --> 18:06.425 My point is this. 18:06.425 --> 18:10.445 A close friend brings warmth. 18:12.333 --> 18:16.373 Not just physical warmth, not just emotional warmth, 18:16.373 --> 18:19.213 but spiritual warmth. 18:19.213 --> 18:20.713 Now, if you take a hot fire 18:20.713 --> 18:23.373 and it's got all these hot red coals 18:23.373 --> 18:24.773 and you take one of those coals 18:24.773 --> 18:25.813 and you pull it out of the fire 18:25.813 --> 18:27.413 and you set it all by itself, 18:27.413 --> 18:31.493 it will not take long before that coal turns cold. 18:31.493 --> 18:32.893 But you take that same coal 18:32.893 --> 18:34.653 and you stick it back in that hot fire, 18:34.653 --> 18:36.653 it's gonna turn red hot once again. 18:36.653 --> 18:39.373 And that's how you and I are spiritually. 18:39.367 --> 18:41.007 We heat up spiritually. 18:41.187 --> 18:46.227 We're on fire for the Lord when we're in close proximity to someone else who's on fire for the Lord. 18:47.107 --> 18:48.247 I talk with people. 18:49.487 --> 18:54.487 Occasionally he'll say, you know, Pastor, he said, I have this, I have a great relationship with the Lord. 18:54.607 --> 18:56.627 I don't really need to go to church. 18:57.927 --> 19:00.207 I'll be honest, it's hard for me to believe that. 19:01.658 --> 19:11.618 But even if you do, I can promise you it's not what it would be if you would just simply welcome some brothers and sisters into close proximity within your life. 19:11.778 --> 19:13.038 It'd go to a whole new level. 19:13.038 --> 19:22.458 And it's not what it should be for those friends, potential hypothetical friends, because you would bring something to them and encourage them in their walk with the Lord. 19:23.005 --> 19:23.884 Now, why is that? 19:23.885 --> 19:25.325 It's because we need each other. 19:25.705 --> 19:27.265 That's how Jesus designed us. 19:27.325 --> 19:28.845 We are people of community. 19:29.385 --> 19:36.025 The Bible speaks about how the church is called the body of Christ. 19:36.585 --> 19:38.505 We're a body compared to a body. 19:38.645 --> 19:40.165 And we all have different parts, right? 19:40.205 --> 19:42.385 We play different parts, every member of the body. 19:42.585 --> 19:43.624 We've got bones. 19:43.625 --> 19:44.524 We've got muscles. 19:44.525 --> 19:45.344 We have ligaments. 19:45.345 --> 19:46.164 We have tendons. 19:46.165 --> 19:48.325 We have hands and feet and eyes and ears. 19:48.505 --> 19:49.805 We've got all these different parts. 19:49.905 --> 19:52.145 And every part is needed, isn't it? 19:53.448 --> 20:00.368 Let me ask you, have you ever, the middle of the night, it's dark and you're walking and you stubbed your toe on something? 20:01.248 --> 20:04.008 I mean, most of the time I never think about my big toe. 20:04.008 --> 20:05.141 No. 20:05.142 --> 20:07.342 I never, you know, it's just there. 20:07.342 --> 20:08.482 But the moment I stub it, 20:08.482 --> 20:11.062 all I can think about is my big toe. 20:11.062 --> 20:14.222 Suddenly something that seemed unimportant to me, 20:14.222 --> 20:18.102 now I realize is vitally important for my balance 20:18.102 --> 20:20.662 and how I walk and things of that nature. 20:20.662 --> 20:22.562 Every part of the body is needed. 20:22.562 --> 20:23.842 You may not feel like you're needed. 20:23.842 --> 20:26.182 I could promise you you're needed. 20:26.182 --> 20:29.642 We are designed as a church family to work 20:29.642 --> 20:32.242 in coordination one with another. 20:33.442 --> 20:38.802 A couple months back, my knee started hurting me, and so I've been trying to 20:39.668 --> 20:40.868 help that situation. 20:40.868 --> 20:44.868 I've been learning about the importance of strengthening all of the muscles 20:44.868 --> 20:49.068 from the hip down to the toes of my leg 20:49.068 --> 20:54.168 in order to strengthen all the muscles around that knee that is experiencing pain. 20:54.168 --> 20:55.368 Why? 20:55.368 --> 20:59.768 Well, you strengthen all those muscles properly to help properly align 20:59.768 --> 21:05.868 and properly absorb the weight as I walk 21:05.868 --> 21:08.548 to take the brunt force off of the pain. 21:09.200 --> 21:17.420 As we move through life, we desperately need each other to absorb the weight that we carry. 21:18.060 --> 21:19.400 It's just how it works. 21:19.400 --> 21:28.020 You know, there's an old saying that a shared joy is a double joy, and a shared sorrow is half a sorrow. 21:29.281 --> 21:31.241 And that is so true in life. 21:31.241 --> 21:36.161 I mean, what use is it to hit a hole in one on the golf course if you're by yourself, right? 21:36.901 --> 21:38.701 I mean, that's like a nightmare. 21:38.821 --> 21:42.881 No one's going to believe you for one, but the other thing is who are you going to high five, right? 21:43.061 --> 21:50.761 There there's amplified celebration and joy when we share our experience of joy with another person. 21:51.081 --> 21:54.201 Now, grief is exactly the opposite. 21:55.758 --> 22:00.298 Whenever we mourn with those who mourn, we cut the pain down. 22:01.018 --> 22:03.538 It's like a spiritual pain reliever. 22:03.918 --> 22:05.438 It helps lessen it. 22:05.818 --> 22:07.638 It's a shared load. 22:08.258 --> 22:10.778 It takes some of that pain from your brother or your sister. 22:11.878 --> 22:18.278 I heard about a child, a little girl, who had a friend whose mom had just died. 22:19.265 --> 22:23.365 And so she asked her mom, can I go over to my friend's house to see my friend? 22:23.445 --> 22:26.145 And she let her go, and she was gone for a little while. 22:26.245 --> 22:29.645 And when she came home, her mom asked her, well, what did you tell your friend? 22:29.765 --> 22:30.985 What did you say to your friend? 22:31.965 --> 22:33.704 And she said nothing. 22:33.705 --> 22:36.005 I just sat with her and helped her cry. 22:38.545 --> 22:42.905 Sometimes we just need a friend to sit with and help us cry, don't we? 22:44.932 --> 22:47.472 The night my dad was diagnosed with terminal cancer, 22:47.472 --> 22:49.892 before I had a chance to drive to Santa Barbara 22:49.892 --> 22:53.592 and to the hospital where he was at, 22:53.592 --> 22:58.072 I was taking my trash down to the curb, if I remember right. 22:58.072 --> 22:59.592 I was outside for some reason, 22:59.592 --> 23:03.912 and I noticed a truck parked in front of our house 23:03.912 --> 23:04.751 there on the curb. 23:04.752 --> 23:07.672 It was one of my best friends since high school, 23:07.672 --> 23:10.712 my dear brother, Josh Shirley, was sitting in his truck, 23:10.712 --> 23:12.112 and he had heard 23:12.100 --> 23:18.680 about the diagnosis, and I think he drove just to be close, and he was in his truck sitting there, 23:18.700 --> 23:23.740 and he was just praying. So I went over to the truck, and I opened the door, and I got in, 23:23.800 --> 23:27.800 and I sat down, and I don't recall everything he said to me. I don't recall the prayer that 23:27.800 --> 23:32.420 he prayed over me, but I do recall being able to cry with my brother. 23:33.346 --> 23:37.806 And God used that little moment that might have seemed insignificant to him. 23:37.846 --> 23:38.665 I don't really know. 23:38.666 --> 23:44.906 God used it to warm me at a time I needed to be warmed, to strengthen me at a time I needed strength 23:44.906 --> 23:51.226 to face all that I was being called to face, to help lead our church in the way I was being asked to lead us. 23:51.226 --> 23:58.186 We need one another to rejoice in the good times, to grieve in the hard times. 23:58.743 --> 24:01.563 In verse number 12, Solomon says, 24:01.563 --> 24:04.123 The one may be overpowered by another. 24:04.523 --> 24:09.563 Two can withstand him, and a threefold cord is not easily broken. 24:10.363 --> 24:15.283 He's saying we're stronger and safer together. 24:16.063 --> 24:20.123 Because at times we fall down and we need someone to lift us up. 24:20.323 --> 24:25.023 Other times we are cold and we need someone to help warm us up. 24:25.083 --> 24:28.303 But there are times when we come under attack. 24:29.827 --> 24:32.586 Opposition. 24:32.587 --> 24:36.847 The devil is called the accuser of the brethren. 24:38.787 --> 24:42.607 He's throwing accusations at the church, 24:42.647 --> 24:46.747 and you are fooling yourself if you think that somehow you're going to be immune 24:46.747 --> 24:48.027 from the attacks of the enemy. 24:48.127 --> 24:49.626 You're not. 24:49.627 --> 24:55.607 And whenever we're attacked, we better not be alone because we are vulnerable. 24:56.101 --> 25:02.121 when we're alone. It's the lone wildebeest that gets eaten by the lion, isn't it? We need a team 25:02.121 --> 25:09.081 of brothers and a team of sisters who are fighting the same battle that we are. Because in many ways, 25:09.241 --> 25:16.661 life is a battle, isn't it? We are, as Christians, we know we're in a spiritual battle. There's a 25:16.661 --> 25:22.341 cosmic war that is taking place. And do you know what happens in war? People are attacked. 25:22.341 --> 25:23.572 People are killed. 25:23.573 --> 25:27.713 Sometimes people are wounded and they fall and they need help. 25:27.853 --> 25:30.853 The Bible says the devil prowls around like a roaring lion. 25:31.073 --> 25:33.613 He's seeking whom he may devour. 25:33.713 --> 25:34.792 He's looking for you. 25:34.793 --> 25:36.173 He's trying to take you down. 25:36.693 --> 25:42.013 The Bible also says the devil, he's shooting these fiery arrows, these fiery darts at us. 25:42.013 --> 25:43.173 He's trying to hit us. 25:44.073 --> 25:47.373 We need one another to help withstand his attacks. 25:47.373 --> 25:48.593 In the ancient world. 25:49.612 --> 25:53.532 When soldiers were under attack in battle 25:53.532 --> 25:55.392 and arrows were flying their way, 25:55.392 --> 25:56.351 do you know what they would do? 25:56.352 --> 25:57.872 They would hit their knees 25:57.872 --> 26:00.392 and they would link their shields together 26:00.392 --> 26:03.692 and form one giant shield of protection. 26:03.692 --> 26:05.272 That's what we need. 26:05.272 --> 26:07.232 Whenever we're under attack, 26:07.232 --> 26:10.232 we better have some brothers and sisters who are close by 26:10.232 --> 26:13.432 who we can kneel with and interlock our shields of faith 26:13.432 --> 26:15.712 and prayer to the Lord. 26:16.932 --> 26:23.452 Now, earlier in the message, I said and cautioned us against competing with one another. 26:24.312 --> 26:28.032 But I'll be honest, I'm a competitive person. 26:28.412 --> 26:29.612 I like to win. 26:29.912 --> 26:30.811 I hate losing. 26:30.812 --> 26:45.492 And so what I have begun learning how to do is to properly channel all of my competitive juices that I have to properly channel that competition. 26:46.970 --> 26:50.170 Because the truth is, we're not to compete with other people. 26:51.010 --> 26:53.070 Because we're on the same team with people. 26:53.270 --> 26:55.210 We have believers, there's unbelievers. 26:55.430 --> 26:57.230 But our unbelievers, they're not the enemy. 26:58.390 --> 26:59.710 They're prisoners of war. 26:59.850 --> 27:01.790 They need to be loved and rescued. 27:01.930 --> 27:03.330 They need to hear about Jesus. 27:03.530 --> 27:05.370 We're not in competition with them. 27:06.710 --> 27:10.070 Oh, but we do have an enemy who we compete with. 27:10.983 --> 27:22.903 In fact, I believe that every sport that our kids partake in is ultimately to help build in them the strength and the skills necessary to compete with this great enemy. 27:23.263 --> 27:25.243 His name is Satan. 27:26.483 --> 27:28.243 And he's the father of lies. 27:28.683 --> 27:33.083 And he tries to rule in darkness in all of his schemes. 27:33.303 --> 27:35.163 We're an ultimate competition with him. 27:35.163 --> 27:36.923 And it's not a friendly competition. 27:38.323 --> 27:40.163 It's a bloody war. 27:41.425 --> 27:45.085 that takes so many casualties, 27:45.085 --> 27:47.725 the ramifications of this spiritual war 27:47.725 --> 27:51.665 that all of us are in have eternal consequences. 27:51.665 --> 27:54.305 We dare not fight it alone. 27:54.305 --> 27:55.885 We dare not fight it alone. 27:57.365 --> 28:01.305 Now, because we don't need to be alone, 28:01.305 --> 28:02.545 we all need a team. 28:03.447 --> 28:07.467 And as Christians, here's how God has worked this out. 28:07.987 --> 28:12.567 All of us make up a team of teams. 28:13.167 --> 28:16.447 Our ultimate team, the big team, is the kingdom of God. 28:16.547 --> 28:17.907 That is the church universal. 28:18.047 --> 28:19.087 That's God's team. 28:19.727 --> 28:24.067 But within God's team, there's some smaller teams that we're part of, or we should be part of. 28:24.878 --> 28:28.478 Every family in our church is a team. 28:28.478 --> 28:30.578 I'm part of Team Spratlin. 28:30.578 --> 28:31.978 Every life group in our church, 28:31.978 --> 28:33.258 we've got hundreds of life groups, 28:33.258 --> 28:35.298 every life group is a team. 28:35.298 --> 28:40.298 Every local church in our city, we are different teams. 28:41.118 --> 28:42.298 Our ministries are teams. 28:42.298 --> 28:44.658 As Christians, we're all part of some teams 28:44.658 --> 28:46.938 that together make up God's team. 28:48.158 --> 28:51.377 Here's the problem. 28:51.378 --> 28:53.138 If you never show up to practice, 28:55.287 --> 28:57.527 It's not good. 28:57.527 --> 29:01.167 If you never run out on the field with your team, 29:01.167 --> 29:03.487 if your team's charging the enemy and you're left behind, 29:03.487 --> 29:04.787 that's not good. 29:04.787 --> 29:07.807 Or maybe if you try to run out on the field all by yourself 29:07.807 --> 29:10.167 and you leave, you're not with your team. 29:10.167 --> 29:12.387 That also is not good. 29:12.387 --> 29:15.387 If that takes place, you don't really 29:15.387 --> 29:17.367 experience the benefits of the team, 29:17.367 --> 29:19.527 and your team doesn't experience the benefits of you. 29:21.157 --> 29:28.457 Now, in verse number 13, Solomon ends the chapter by warning about the fleeting nature of popularity 29:28.457 --> 29:32.297 and the danger of having these fair-weather friends. 29:32.297 --> 29:33.677 He says in verse 13, 29:45.524 --> 29:48.384 I saw all the living who walk under the sun. 29:48.524 --> 29:52.024 They were with the second youth who stands in his place. 29:52.384 --> 29:55.784 There was no end of all people over whom he was made king, 29:55.864 --> 29:58.964 yet those who come afterward will not rejoice in him. 29:59.684 --> 30:03.264 Surely this also is vanity and grasping for the wind. 30:03.304 --> 30:06.904 Now, we don't have time to fully unpack these verses 30:06.904 --> 30:09.144 because it's a little bit complicated. 30:09.144 --> 30:12.344 There's some disagreement a little bit about what is being said, 30:12.444 --> 30:14.144 but I think... 30:14.144 --> 30:20.764 Solomon's being autobiographical here remember he's a king so he's applying it 30:20.764 --> 30:26.124 to his situation he's saying when a young man becomes king and he begins 30:26.124 --> 30:29.604 ruling he could do no wrong he's the young king there's all this hope there's 30:29.604 --> 30:35.184 up to all this optimism but the next generation comes along and they see him 30:35.184 --> 30:38.384 as the establishment 30:37.651 --> 30:42.171 And his rise to fame comes crashing down as quickly as it began. 30:42.331 --> 30:47.431 And so Solomon is saying there's a vast difference between friendship and popularity. 30:48.931 --> 30:51.111 Solomon was made king as a young man. 30:51.191 --> 30:52.431 He was loved. 30:53.111 --> 31:02.891 But now as an old man, I think it's dawning on him that he never took the time to cultivate true friendship within his life. 31:02.891 --> 31:07.631 And now he doesn't have any brothers to count on in his time of need. 31:10.135 --> 31:12.915 Maybe you feel that way today. 31:14.195 --> 31:17.895 Like you've had a whole lot of friends along the way, 31:19.815 --> 31:21.755 but you wonder where are they now? 31:23.195 --> 31:25.174 Where are they now? 31:25.175 --> 31:28.375 Proverbs 18 24 says, 31:28.375 --> 31:32.615 there's a friend who sticks closer than a brother. 31:34.815 --> 31:36.315 Do you have a friend like that? 31:37.535 --> 31:39.975 We all need a friend. 31:40.544 --> 31:45.724 like that. You know, maybe today you don't feel like you have a friend like that. 31:46.924 --> 31:52.744 If that's the case, I want to introduce you to someone who'd be the greatest friend you can ever 31:52.744 --> 31:59.364 have, and his name is Jesus. You know, when you read the Gospels, one of the great accusations 31:59.364 --> 32:04.504 against Jesus by the religious elite and the establishment of that time was that Jesus, 32:04.804 --> 32:09.144 he's a friend of sinners. And you know what? That's great news for us because we're all sinners. 32:11.813 --> 32:13.032 He's a friend of sinners. 32:13.033 --> 32:15.873 Jesus said, it's the sick who need a physician. 32:16.493 --> 32:18.753 It's the broken who need to be healed. 32:19.573 --> 32:23.973 And so I want to ask you, are you broken? 32:26.133 --> 32:29.573 Maybe you're not quite willing to say I'm broken at this point. 32:29.673 --> 32:30.873 Maybe you say I'm wounded. 32:31.713 --> 32:35.640 Okay. 32:35.641 --> 32:40.721 You know, Jesus is the only one who can heal the deepest wounds of life. 32:41.701 --> 32:44.341 Maybe you've been hurt by a friend, you've been betrayed by a spouse. 32:44.461 --> 32:51.161 I want to invite you to find a perfect friend in the Lord Jesus who loves you so very much. 32:53.528 --> 32:58.388 In the early 1900s, there was a man named Charles Weigel who was an evangelist. 32:58.508 --> 33:01.868 He would share the gospel in various cities. 33:02.048 --> 33:05.008 And one evening after he came home from one of his trips, 33:05.128 --> 33:07.888 it was sort of like a mission trip where he told people about Jesus. 33:08.168 --> 33:12.868 He got home that night and he saw all of his stuff was cleared out of the house. 33:14.082 --> 33:18.382 And there was a letter there from his wife and she said, I've been a fool. 33:19.302 --> 33:21.642 I've given up so much for us to be in ministry. 33:21.822 --> 33:24.422 And she went on to say that she had left him. 33:25.562 --> 33:28.702 That wrecked Charles Weigel. 33:30.653 --> 33:35.633 Not only did it wreck his life, but it really wrecked his ministry at that time 33:35.633 --> 33:38.893 because he was an evangelist and he was divorced. 33:39.213 --> 33:41.293 And so that came with a lot of problems. 33:41.533 --> 33:44.593 And so some of his closest friends, they even abandoned him. 33:44.753 --> 33:46.093 He felt so deserted. 33:48.001 --> 33:53.301 Two years later, he received word that his wife, who had left him, had passed away. 33:54.281 --> 34:00.401 Without any friends to turn to, he just felt so very alone in that dark moment. 34:00.401 --> 34:05.801 So he went over to the piano, and he began to play a simple melody, 34:06.041 --> 34:08.741 and he composed the song that many know today. 34:09.621 --> 34:14.901 It's called, No One Ever Cared for Me Like Jesus. 34:16.501 --> 34:17.801 And that is so true. 34:18.393 --> 34:20.113 No one has ever cared for you like Jesus. 34:20.693 --> 34:24.413 I don't know what history of relationships you have in your past. 34:24.493 --> 34:28.053 Maybe there's a string of broken relationships behind you. 34:28.853 --> 34:32.473 Maybe you were betrayed by the one person who was supposed to love you the most. 34:32.713 --> 34:37.453 They betrayed you, and they left you a wound so deep that you think, 34:37.673 --> 34:38.933 I can never move on. 34:38.933 --> 34:44.973 Listen, no one ever cared for me like Jesus. 34:45.933 --> 34:47.433 That is the story of my life. 34:47.673 --> 34:51.633 That's the story of so many of our lives who have found a friend in Jesus. 34:51.773 --> 34:54.433 If you'll simply call upon Jesus in faith, 34:55.113 --> 34:58.933 you'll receive a friend today. 35:00.698 --> 35:06.118 If you just admit your sin, you admit your need, you admit your wounds, 35:06.258 --> 35:09.858 you are transparent with Him about your pain, all of those things, 35:09.938 --> 35:13.798 whether it's loneliness or pride or envy, whatever it might be, 35:13.858 --> 35:17.258 if you just come to the Lord and you cry out to Jesus in faith, 35:18.598 --> 35:22.758 not only will Jesus become your Savior today and your King, 35:22.758 --> 35:25.978 He'll also become your friend. 35:28.188 --> 35:31.448 Let's bow together in an attitude of prayer, both here and at Olive Drive. 35:33.348 --> 35:39.868 This morning, we've talked about having true friends. 35:41.648 --> 35:44.628 But maybe you come to church. 35:47.088 --> 35:53.148 And right now you're reflecting on how you come to church, but you don't have any friends in church. 35:55.812 --> 35:59.292 If that's the case, then that's a red flag. 36:00.112 --> 36:02.392 Alarm bells should be going off. 36:03.572 --> 36:06.292 Something's wrong because this is not God's design. 36:08.652 --> 36:10.192 So here's what I want you to do. 36:11.032 --> 36:12.452 I want you to talk to God about it. 36:13.252 --> 36:15.191 Tell Him how you feel. 36:15.192 --> 36:19.572 Tell Him your need for some brothers or your need for some sisters. 36:21.072 --> 36:23.572 And then I want you to make a commitment that, 36:25.478 --> 36:26.878 to become a friend to someone. 36:28.658 --> 36:29.738 Because they need you. 36:30.358 --> 36:33.418 You may not even know who they are yet. 36:34.158 --> 36:36.138 You may not even know their name at this moment, 36:36.238 --> 36:37.438 but they need you, and guess what? 36:37.518 --> 36:39.957 You need them. 36:39.958 --> 36:42.958 You may need to join a life group in order to do that. 36:43.018 --> 36:46.178 That's one of the easiest ways at Valley Baptist Church 36:46.178 --> 36:49.418 to gather a team of people around you who will love you, 36:49.538 --> 36:51.938 who will be there for you, thick and thin. 36:52.118 --> 36:53.338 They're going to be there for you. 36:53.338 --> 36:55.358 That's through our life group ministry. 36:57.524 --> 37:00.184 We were designed for relationships. 37:00.364 --> 37:02.963 But here's the deal. 37:02.964 --> 37:08.544 Our relationships with one another that we've been designed for, that's actually secondary. 37:09.804 --> 37:15.204 The primary relationship we've been designed for is a relationship with God. 37:16.044 --> 37:17.684 The one who made us. 37:19.164 --> 37:22.717 Think about that. 37:22.718 --> 37:27.058 The incredible detail, the incredible creativity. 37:27.378 --> 37:30.538 He has made us and He loves us. 37:34.478 --> 37:37.918 Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. 37:38.098 --> 37:41.378 No one comes to the Father except through me. 37:42.678 --> 37:46.318 I want to invite you today to get to know God the Father. 37:48.605 --> 37:49.885 who loves us and made us. 37:50.545 --> 37:52.605 And the only way you're going to get to know him 37:52.605 --> 37:54.685 is through his son, Jesus. 37:56.145 --> 37:59.145 You see, sin has caused this great divide 37:59.145 --> 38:00.265 between us and God. 38:00.545 --> 38:03.025 We know he exists logically. 38:03.365 --> 38:05.925 We can make conclusions through reason 38:05.925 --> 38:07.565 that there is a God, nothing, 38:07.985 --> 38:09.425 all this didn't come from nothing. 38:09.425 --> 38:12.585 There is a cause that's outside of the universe. 38:12.945 --> 38:14.425 We can make that conclusion, 38:14.585 --> 38:15.605 but we still don't know him. 38:16.685 --> 38:17.784 Why? 38:17.785 --> 38:19.890 Our sins. 38:19.891 --> 38:22.491 Jesus came to bridge the gap. 38:23.711 --> 38:26.891 He became man so He can grab hold of us, 38:27.011 --> 38:29.751 and He is God so He can grab hold of God. 38:29.751 --> 38:33.431 And He pulls us together through the cross and the resurrection 38:33.431 --> 38:37.771 so that we can be joined in a relationship with God. 38:38.731 --> 38:41.811 I want to invite you to experience that today. 38:42.131 --> 38:45.631 And it's only experienced through Jesus. 38:47.617 --> 38:50.217 Just a moment, I'm going to pray. 38:50.217 --> 38:52.957 And as soon as I pray at both campuses, 38:52.957 --> 38:55.157 we're gonna stand to our feet. 38:55.157 --> 38:56.377 We're gonna have some music playing, 38:56.377 --> 38:58.297 a song's gonna be sung. 38:58.297 --> 38:59.577 And this is our time to respond. 38:59.577 --> 39:03.257 We're gonna have pastors and other leaders here at the front 39:03.257 --> 39:06.157 and we're just gonna ask you to step out 39:06.157 --> 39:08.677 and come as God leads. 39:08.677 --> 39:10.117 You walk down one of these aisles, 39:10.117 --> 39:12.717 walk down one of these staircases, 39:12.717 --> 39:14.457 you take one of these leaders by the hand 39:14.457 --> 39:15.296 and you say, you know what? 39:15.297 --> 39:16.837 I wanna give my life to Jesus. 39:18.059 --> 39:19.259 I need a friend in Jesus. 39:19.599 --> 39:20.679 I need to be forgiven. 39:21.519 --> 39:22.759 I need peace in my life. 39:22.819 --> 39:23.939 I need real life. 39:24.839 --> 39:27.358 I need hope. 39:27.359 --> 39:30.319 You let them know what your need is, 39:30.339 --> 39:32.599 and you allow God to meet you right where you're at, 39:32.659 --> 39:34.838 and I promise you, 39:34.839 --> 39:37.519 you'll make a friend today like you've never had before. 39:38.900 --> 39:42.720 Maybe you want to come and say, I want to be baptized like others were baptized today, 39:42.800 --> 39:46.000 or join our church family, or maybe you want to come to these steps 39:46.000 --> 39:50.160 and pour out your heart to the Lord on behalf of a friend who's hurting, 39:51.540 --> 39:55.360 a friend who's wounded, a friend who's lying flat on the mat, 39:56.560 --> 39:59.700 a friend maybe who needs to be carried by you to Jesus, 40:00.280 --> 40:03.080 and you want to pour out your heart to the Lord for them. 40:03.180 --> 40:06.360 Maybe you want to pray for a friend you do not yet have. 40:08.043 --> 40:14.323 However God leads, let's just respond in a way that would please Him. 40:15.243 --> 40:15.862 Let's pray. 40:15.863 --> 40:20.783 Father, thank You for loving us even when we did not love You. 40:21.583 --> 40:25.063 Thank You that while we were sinners, Christ died for us. 40:25.463 --> 40:30.583 Thank You for pursuing us, that because of our sin, there was enmity. 40:30.583 --> 40:36.783 We were enemies of Yours because we've rebelled against You and committed high treason. 40:38.755 --> 40:47.295 Thank you, Lord, that you came for us, to rescue us, to find us. 40:49.595 --> 40:53.255 Lord, I pray that you do a special work in the hearts of those listening, 40:53.955 --> 40:55.715 those who need you, those who need a friend. 40:56.835 --> 40:57.955 May you be their friend. 40:58.595 --> 41:01.775 May they find friends in our church family and beyond. 41:03.832 --> 41:07.672 Lord, I pray that our church family would not just be a friendly church. 41:07.792 --> 41:09.492 We would be a church of friends. 41:12.192 --> 41:15.552 It wouldn't be just surface layer, that it would be deep. 41:19.372 --> 41:21.972 Lord, there's some people that need friends like that today. 41:22.072 --> 41:23.812 I pray, Lord, that you'd give them that. 41:25.415 --> 41:28.675 There are others, Lord, who need to become that for some people. 41:28.935 --> 41:35.155 Lord, would you give them the courage and the faith and the prompting to be that for someone else. 41:36.015 --> 41:37.895 We need you so very much, Lord. 41:38.015 --> 41:39.615 We ask, we give this time to you. 41:39.695 --> 41:40.695 We ask that you would work. 41:41.095 --> 41:43.675 Draw people to yourself, I pray in Jesus' name. 41:43.815 --> 41:45.124 Amen. 41:45.125 --> 41:46.185 Thanks for listening today. 41:46.525 --> 41:48.005 We hope you enjoyed this message. 41:48.265 --> 41:51.385 And if you did, we would be so grateful if you left us a review. 41:52.045 --> 41:54.145 Also, go ahead and subscribe to the podcast 41:54.145 --> 41:57.005 if you would like to be notified when a new sermon is released. 41:57.605 --> 42:00.725 If you feel the Lord calling you to take the next step in faith 42:00.725 --> 42:04.625 through salvation, service, or giving, don't wait. 42:05.257 --> 42:08.337 reach out to us by texting podcast to 88988. 42:08.697 --> 42:10.977 That's podcast to 88988 42:10.977 --> 42:13.917 or connect with us on one of our social media platforms. 42:14.657 --> 42:17.657 You can also visit our website, valleybaptist.org 42:17.657 --> 42:19.677 to find even more great resources. 42:20.377 --> 42:22.037 No matter where you are in your journey, 42:22.597 --> 42:23.836 know that we love you. 42:23.837 --> 42:24.997 We're praying for you 42:24.997 --> 42:27.997 and we can't wait to see what God will do in your life.