Ep2: Who Are Your Real Friends

Hey what's up next gen, I'm Landen, this is episode 1, who are your real friends?

Now, before we start and before every episode now, we are going to start with prayer. I know that this can be awkward for some of you, maybe a little bit uncomfortable, depending on where you are. You may or may not feel comfortable doing it. So, but for those of you who do feel comfortable, please bow your heads and let's say prayer. Dear God, we've just come to you today to help.

people see you through me. And I really hope that whoever is listening to this, they will find out who their real friends are, who should they be hanging out with. And I hope that this new year, this new podcast will bring joy to the world. And I just pray that this podcast will really start with something new for me and for the people listening too.

I thank you and amen. Um, so we are officially going to get started now. So I'm going to talk about first about how I've struggled with friendships in the past. And I'm sure most of you have to where, you know, you have that one friend that you think, you know, and you guys might be friends for a few years and then things just fizzle out.

I did have a friend like that and for the sake of his privacy we're gonna call him Bob and Bob was a really really good friend he taught me how to play football and I got really really good in about six months and he taught me almost everything that he knew about it. This was about sixth grade I'm a freshman right now and um basically Bob

When seventh grade is eighth grade hit, he found a group that he liked more than me. We met during young life and, and if you, and for those of you who don't know, young life is a small group type of thing, Christian, and he was a part of it. And this was a, that I liked a lot. And I think that we were friends for this entire year.

And then he started hanging out with another group and that group, I didn't really know anyone and they're like, I've heard of them, but I never really wanted to be their friend. You know, some of them were, you know, drugs, alcohol parties all the time. And I just didn't want to be a part of that. Some people might call me boring for doing that, but.

you know, it's never been something that I get really looked forward to or wanted to do really. So that is why I ended up kind of fizzling out with him and why the friendship came to a close and it's been months and months since I've texted him or communicated with him for that matter. But

on the brighter side, he did stop going to young life for a little while there, which kind of hurt me. I feel like people coming closer to Jesus is one of my main life goals, which I will get to in a little bit where I actually have done that for someone. And I really think that, excuse me, how

this affected my life and seeing the world as rainbows and unicorns you know so yeah this did hurt but you know you find new friends and you have to evolve and move on from what you're doing and maybe he just at the end of the day wasn't really a friend that you know was

in my life and um I feel like God has a plan for for me so whatever that that is you know and I'm not too sure what that is I don't even know if that was a big part of it.

Or maybe he'll bring back into my life again, I have no idea. But that was just a story about how I have circled with friends in general and hanging out with the right people. But as I said before, on the brighter side though, excuse me.

my friend who for his piracy we'll call him Jake. Okay so right now and basically throughout 7th, 8th, and freshman year now we've all kind of been friends we've had this like four person group that like we're all really close

And three of us went to church. Two of us went to the same church, including me. And the other went to another Christian church. And the friend who wasn't Christian, we ended up figuring out how he can go with the friend who went to a different church. How he was, how he was a part of, you know, like this other church. And the friend who didn't really know Christ that well, he was a bit closer with the other one.

We all helped me get closer to Jesus and then so I did is I took him to more like a fun service to get him acclimated just a little bit to that environment. I also really

Wanted him to come to a couple of like the Small group at our church not not in young life, but it's a small group at our church It's really cool play. It's really really cool. Um, and he came to One or two of those but then he's already going to church every single week with another friend of mine Which is just truly amazing. He's one of the very few people that I've helped

bring closer to Christ that I know about. I'm so glad that, and he's still going to church now, which is just wonderful and great. So yeah, it's just been a really great experience. That really brings us to one of our main verse talking points, John 15, 13. Greater love has no one than this, to lay one's life for one's friends. So what does this mean for us?

Well, what it means for us is basically what it says. Rare love has no one than this to lay down one's life for one's friends. Now, what can that teach us? Now, I'm not telling you to, you know, go jump in front of a bullet before it shoots your friend. I'm really not saying that. I'm more just saying. How can you be a impact on that person's life?

Because if you really think about it, that story with Kenny, I'm not saying that I laid my life down at all, but I saved his life.

me and my friends saved his life and that you know changed mine changed their life changed how we view each other as friends it changed us forever so that doesn't just make an impact on us it makes an impact on the people around him how he acts at school makes a huge difference if you have like really really close friends that aren't Christians

But if you are, and to anyone who isn't Christian watching this, that is totally, totally fine. And I really hope that you can turn towards the kingdom of God. And that's why in the first place, I made this podcast.

but I just really hope that whoever is listening to this will figure out who they need to be talking to to get to church. If you go to a church, tell your friends about it. Churches do stuff all the time, especially for high school. High school students, middle school, I bet.

and they have events all the time. Please, please, please tell your friends to go to them. I know it can be scary. Trust me. When I was in 6th grade, I was as shy as can be. Like, I promise you.

It will change your life, though. It will change your life. If you ask your friend to go to church, he's never been to church. It will change you and your friend's lives. Which brings me to our

another verse called Romans 15 7 which says this, Accept one another then just as Christ accepts you in order to bring praise to God. That aligns perfectly with what I'm telling you. Just as Christ accepted you in order to bring praise to God. Find people around you. Find people that you can bring to Christ in order to bring praise to God.

Again, it will change your life. It's in the Bible. It will change your life. So going back to more of a sensitive topic on

who you should be close with. Brings us to another verse 1 Corinthians 5 11th. But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister, but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slandered, a drunkard or a swindler. Do not even eat with such people.

sorry for any type of person who's watching this i don't like those words but it's in the bible you have to experience truth so that's why i'm telling you sexually immoral who do you know that is sexually immoral really

think about it who do you know that is greedy I feel like all of us can be greedy and I feel like the word greedy is associated a lot with money which don't get me wrong is but what I'm saying is greedy could just mean you know being just the center of attention and always wanting it a drunkard or a swindler if you're if you're with someone who drinks

who's drunk all the time, who's a teen who drinks, that is not good. Do not be anywhere near them. I've had people who have gone to parties and yeah, it's hard.

And to be honest, I don't really know how to tell you to say no, we're not friends anymore. I really don't. But what I'm saying is you have to find the right people and that will lead you closer to Christ. Proverbs 18.24, one who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin. But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

but one who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin. Someone who doesn't, who has unreliable, going back to the other verse, sexually immoral, greedy, and idolater, or slandered, a drunkard, or a swindler, is unreliable. Okay? So one who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin. But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Now some of you are probably thinking, well, I don't really have like that friend that I can really go to find one, get really, really close to them. Do you know what a really good place to do that is? Church. Church is a really, really good place to do that because it brings you closer to friends. My church is quite large, actually.

But, you know, we have small groups. I only associate half of my life with those people, I would say. I'm also on the experience team there. Like I do lyrics and sound for the band. And I associate myself with those people. Let me, so according to a 2021 survey data, the average person in America has between three and five close friends.

three and five, that's it. Now I'm not saying that you're going to be that. I'm not saying that you're going to be more. I'm not saying that you're going to be less than that. But I think it's really important that you at least have one, have one really, really close friend, especially who shares Jesus Christ and that journey with you. It is extremely important. Let me check my time here. We got about 20 minutes now. If you find that person don't let them go either. There are actually studies that actually say this also. If you have a friendship that lasts seven years it will last a lifetime according to most people. Seven years that's it. It will last a lifetime.

Now some of you, I know I have a few who I grew up with in elementary school and I've known them for seven years. And some of them, guess what, I don't hang out with anymore. Some of them I hang out with a ton, like my neighbor. He goes to a different church where he's still a Christian. He went to the same elementary school as me for every single year.

And I met him on the first day of kindergarten and we still know each other and we still talk almost all the time. Which is kind of crazy. Now, I wanted to give me a moment and let me pull up a verse really quick. This is Isaiah 54 1. Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back, lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes, for you will spread out to the right and to the left, garrisonants will dispossess nations and settle in their desolate cities. Now what does that mean for you? What does that mean for you? Enlarge the place of your tent is basically saying to gathered community which in upcoming episodes I will be talking about a topic and I'm gonna name the episode there's only one thing that you can't do in heaven now spoiler the one thing that you can't do in heaven is bring people to it. You have to do that on earth. You can't talk to people on earth and heaven. You can't. You can see them. You can be with them. And I truly believe that your spirit, you will be able to see your family, but you will not be able to talk to them. This is a story that many of you probably know. Who has ever heard of Meshach, Shadrach and Abednego?

They were three men who refused to worship a golden idol created by King Nebuchadnezzar. Despite being thrown into a fiery furnace, they were miraculously unharmed. The king saw a fourth figure in the fire.

Jesus God and when they emerged without damage he praised their God and agreed that no one should speak against him that it's a story a shortened story of that it's pretty amazing what you will do if you have a friend group or just a friend

that knows Jesus, knows God, knows the Holy Spirit, again, it will change your life. It will change your life.

Well, thank you for listening to the podcast. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Please leave feedback in the comments. Follow the show on Spotify and I really hope that you guys enjoyed it. And I hope that this brought some new light to your friendships at school, at work, wherever. I'm going to end with prayer and yeah, here we go.

Jesus, we come to you today to really just pray that who our friends are, who our true friends are, will be revealed to us. And we pray that you will also reveal to us who we should try to bring into your kingdom. Because that is one of the greatest gifts that you have given us is voice.

a voice so we can talk to people, socialize, have community with people. And I really hope that you will bring whoever is listening to this podcast great joy throughout their week. And I pray that they will bring someone closer to you, Lord. I pray that in Jesus name. Amen.

Well, thanks guys for tuning in next time for an interview with one of my best friends ever. We've known each other since we were out of the womb, who I believe had a real life encounter with Jesus. Have a good week. Thank you for