Why You Need Godly Friends

(Psalm 119:57-64)



I. Introduction.
A. Orientation.

This morning

We saw call to be devoted to Christ.

To look to Him for salvation,

For strength,

But also because of love,

And a desire to be like Him.


B. Preview.

Lord has given Himself

That you might devote yourself to Him.

He has given you His Spirit,

And different things to strengthen you spiritually.

But there is one thing

That will either help

Or hinder

And that is the company you keep.


Godly friends can draw you closer to Lord,

But ungodly friends can undo it all.


You need to adopt the attitude of psalmist,
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Because this is attitude Lord wants you to have.


II. Sermon.
A. He begins by declaring

What is most precious to him in this world:

The LORD is my portion; I have promised to keep Your words (v. 57).


This is completely the opposite

From people of this world.

Their portion, their share,

What they expect to take away from this life,

Is what they get from this world.

Thats all they see,

All they strive for.

David writes, Deliver my soul from the wicked with Your sword, from men with
Your hand, O LORD, from men of the world, whose portion is in this life (Ps.
17:13-14).


But its different for you,

If youre a believer here this evening.

The Lord is your portion, your share, your inheritance,

What you expect to receive from life.

What you live for in this world.


This calls you to live differently,

To hold to a different standard.

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As the psalmist,

You have promised to keep His Words,

As we saw this morning,

To love and devote yourself to Him,

To do whats pleasing to Him:

To believe what He says,

To hold to His promises,

To tremble at His threats,

To obey all His commandments.


You took up this commission

When you responded to His call

To receive Jesus Christ

As your Savior and Lord.


B. To gain the power to do this,

You need to seek Gods favor

For His blessing

Not half-heartedly

As if it didnt matter whether He answered or not,

But with all your heart

To show the Lord

The truth of your sincerity.


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Again, the psalmist, I sought Your favor with all my heart; be gracious to me
according to Your word (v. 58).


If you ask for Gods blessing,

But dont really want it,

The Lord wont give it to you.

You truly desire it,

And desire it for His glory

Until you can,

Youre really not prepared to receive

What the Lord has to give.


But as you seek Him,

You also need to look to His promise

He prays that God would be gracious

According to His Word,

According to what He had promised.


When you ask for what He has promised

You can be sure you will receive it.

Make sure you anchor your prayers

Both by His Word,

And by your heart.

If you do this,

And ask in the name of Christ

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You wont fail to receive.


C. But there is something else:

Can you expect to be heard

If you allow sin in your life?

The psalmist writes, I considered my ways and turned my feet to Your
testimonies (v. 59).


Sometimes God doesnt give what you ask

Because of a sin youre not willing to repent of.

How can you ask with all your heart,

If your heart is divided?

God says through Isaiah,

Behold, the LORD'S hand is not so short that it cannot save; nor is His ear so dull
that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have made a separation between you and
your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not
hear (Isaiah 59:1-2).


Examine your life

To make sure there is nothing

That would hinder your prayers.

And where you find anything,

Turn your feet back

Into the paths of His commandments.


D. You need to do this without delay,

Without putting it off

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Until another day.

I hastened and did not delay to keep Your commandments (v. 60).


You may have good intentions

To reform your life,

But if they never become reality,

They wont do you any good.


If God is to hear you,

You must hurry and not delay

To put off every sin,

And to put on every duty.


Again, how can you seek Him

With your whole heart

If your heart is divided

Between Him and His enemy?


E. You must be willing to do this

Even if you are surrounded by those

Who would tempt you to do otherwise.

The cords of the wicked have encircled me, but I have not forgotten Your law (v.
61).


Again, the example of Eric Liddell comes to mind

And the pressure he was feeling

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From his country,

His team,

His coach,

The Athletic Committee,

The Prince of Wales

Even his Japanese captors

During WWII.


None of them appeared to be Christians

And so would be considered

Biblically speaking

Wicked men,

Enemies of God,

Children of wrath

Who live according to the prince of this world


They couldnt understand

Why Liddell wouldnt set his conscience aside

For what they considered a higher purpose.

There is nothing higher

Than obeying God.


The cords of the wicked encircled Liddell,

But he did not forget Gods Law,

Because He loved Jesus Christ
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And was devoted to Him.


Neither should you forget it,

Out of your love for Him.


F. Realizing what a treasure God had given him,

That it showed him

How to love and honor

The One who loved him,

When he would wake up

In the middle of the night,

The thought of all this

Would floods his mind and heart

To the point where he couldnt sleep

Until he rose and thanked the Lord

For giving him such a blessing,

At midnight I shall rise to give thanks to You because of Your righteous
ordinances (v. 62).


Have you ever had this kind of experience?

Youre so excited about something

Thats going to happen the next day,

Or something you just received

That you cant sleep,

Or if you do happen to fall asleep
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And wake up at night,

It immediately comes to mind

Dumping adrenaline into your system

So that youre suddenly wide awake.


Thats the kind of excitement

The psalmist had in Gods Law,

And the kind you should have as well,

When you come to understand

What the Lord has given you

In Jesus Christ and His Laws.


G. But now, as I said before,

There was a danger he was keenly aware of,

And that you should be as well,

One that so often can undo

Everything the Lord is seeking

To do in your life: bad company.

Paul writes, Do not be deceived, bad company corrupts good morals (1 Cor.
15:33).


So often we think

That were strong enough to resist

The influence others have on us

Others might be susceptible
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But it wont happen to me.


If thats what you think,

Youre the one most likely to fall.

Solomon writes, Pride goes before destruction,

And a haughty spirit before stumbling (Prov. 16:18).

Many have thought the same was true of them

And yet have fallen away from the Lord.


But the psalmist was no fool.

He knew what Gods Word said

And trusted it more than his own heart

He knew his own heart

Was as the Lord said,

More deceitful than all else and . . . desperately sick (Jer. 17:9).


And so instead of picking his friends

Based on their popularity,

Or how much fun they were to be around,

Or how good they made him feel,

Or how they made him look,

He choose his on the basis of their godly character,

I am a companion of all those who fear You, and of those who keep Your
precepts (v. 63).


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Isnt this the same thing David did

To help him govern Gods people

In a way honoring to Him?

As we read in our call to worship,

I will set no worthless thing before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall
away; it shall not fasten its grip on me. A perverse heart shall depart from me; I
will know no evil. Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, him I will destroy;
no one who has a haughty look and an arrogant heart will I endure. My eyes
shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me; he who
walks in a blameless way is the one who will minister to me. He who practices
deceit shall not dwell within my house; he who speaks falsehood shall not
maintain his position before me (Ps. 101:3-7).


Paul also warns of an unequal yoke,

Of being in close relationships

With the children of this world

That we are to come out from them and be separate (2 Cor. 6:17).


If you want to love the Lord more,

And be more devoted to Him,

You need to seek godly friends

Those who fear the Lord

And turn from evil

Who dont follow the immoral practices of this world

But who have instead set their hearts

To keep His commandments.


This is the kind of man or woman

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Those of you who are single

Should seek for a spouse.


Sadly, this kind of companion

Is increasingly hard to find,

But they are still around

By Gods grace.


H. The fact that they are,

And that there are so many other blessings,

Moves the psalmist to desire even more strongly

To obey the Lord,

The earth is full of Your lovingkindness, O LORD; teach me Your statutes (v.
64).


Again, all these blessings

Should have the same effect on you

To strengthen your desire

To Gods will

And to do it.


I. And so, do you want to live a life

Thats honoring to the Lord?

The kind of life

Youll have wanted to have lived

When you finally stand before Him
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On the Day of His Judgment?


Then apply what youve learned

Over the past several days.


1. Fix your eyes on Jesus,

Take Him to be your only portion in life,

The only thing you will take out of this world.


2. Look to Him daily for His strength

That He might strengthen the Spirits work in your heart.

Seek Him with all your heart,

Knowing that if you really dont want

What youre asking for,

He wont give it to you.


3. Make Him your Hero

Grow in your love for Him,

Be excited by the fact

That youre His child

And have the opportunity to serve Him in this world.

The more you do,

The more youll strengthen

Your resolve to be like Him.


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4. Devote yourself to Him and His Word

Dont leave room for any compromise in your life,

Even if you are pressured by those around you,

Even if the whole church should abandon Him.

If you find any in your life

Repent and make straight paths for your feet

Without delay.


5. Use the gifts He has given you

To bring glory to Him and not to yourself.


6. And finally,

Dont forget about the very real danger

That ungodly friends pose to you

They can derail your walk with the Lord

Faster than anything else

Especially, if they happen to be of the opposite gender.

The book of Proverbs is full of warnings

Against the adulterous woman.

Parents, thats why youre careful

Whom you let your children spend time with,

And children, this is why you should be careful

Especially after you grow up

And begin making these choices for yourself

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To make sure you choose the best kind of friends

Those who fear God, and keep His commandments.


7. Remember that the outcome of your life

Largely depends on what you do with it.

If you want to honor the Lord,

Then this is what you must do. Amen.


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