Dharius Daniels - Do You Have Kingdom Friends?

In the Kingdom, friends are people who act like family should. Y’all missed it. I didn’t say they act like family acts, because sometimes family doesn’t act like family, but friends act like family should. Pastor, where’d you get that? The Bible! There is a friend that sticks closer than a brother. Come on, you have sisters that don’t share your last name, and brothers who might not even belong to your same race. Come on here! There is a friend that sticks closer than a brother. The text says that this kind of brother is born for adversity. Our text in Mark 2 is a powerful and profound picture of this truth. It exposes us to an incident in the life of Jesus that probably occurred at the house of Peter. The text says in verse number one, «A few days later, when Jesus entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home.» When I read this, Dr. Connor, it startled me, and it startled me because I know where Jesus is from, and it’s not Capernaum; it’s Nazareth. So why did Mark say when he returned home? Some historians suggest that Jesus made Capernaum at one point the epicenter of his ministry. Why? We’re not sure, but here’s a possibility: because of the familiarity and the resistance he faced in Nazareth. You see, at one point, he’s teaching in Nazareth, his hometown, and while he’s teaching the Word, people are saying, «Wait a minute! Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t that Joseph’s boy? Isn’t that Mary’s boy?» Are y’all ready for this? They were in a situation in that city where they couldn’t see him because they had seen him. Some people will never see past who you used to be, and those who are stuck in your history aren’t necessary for your destiny. Y’all missed that! So Jesus had enough sense to say, «I am not going to expend energy trying to convince people to see who have made the decision to stay blind.» Why am I going to keep trying to convince people to receive something they’ve decided they don’t want from me, when people in Capernaum are waiting on me? The people in Nazareth were rejecting and resisting him, and when he gets to Capernaum, the text says they are rushing in droves to get to him. There are people who are waiting on what you are trying to convince others to accept. Did you hear what I just said? So Jesus goes to Capernaum, and the same Jesus they rejected in Nazareth is the same one they run into in Capernaum. Yes, sir! Are y’all here? Yes, I said, are y’all here? The text says that droves of people are going to this one house which is probably Peter’s house where Jesus is at, and the text says there is this man who is paralyzed that needs to get to Jesus, but because he can’t walk, how’s he going to get there? The text reveals he has something that all of us need: he has what I’m calling Kingdom friends. The key word is «Kingdom,» because in culture, we throw the word «friendship» around loosely. We say, «That’s my friend, that’s my friend, hey friend!» Everybody’s a friend! But in the Kingdom, there is a very specific definition and description of friendship. Come on here! In the Kingdom, friends are people who act like family should. Y’all missed it! I didn’t say they act like family acts, because sometimes family doesn’t act like family, but friends act like family should. Pastor, where’d you get that? The Bible! There is a friend that sticks closer than a brother. Come on, you have sisters that don’t share your last name, and brothers who might not even belong to your same race. Come on here! There is a friend that sticks closer than a brother. The text says that this kind of brother is born for adversity; they are revealed when you are heavy. Y’all missed it! They missed it! They missed it! That kind of friend is not revealed when you’re light; they reveal themselves when it gets heavy, because they had to carry a grown man all the way to Jesus' house. The strength of a friendship is revealed in their willingness to carry you when things get heavy. I pray that God sends you some people who are not fair-weather friends, friends who won’t run when it gets heavy, friends who know they were assigned—not to everybody’s heaviness, but to yours. When you are in a vulnerable place, I won’t drop you. When you are in a vulnerable place, I won’t disappoint you. When you are in a vulnerable place, I won’t expose you; I’m going to carry you! Listen, when you get better spiritually, everything gets better. Spiritual life is not the only important part of your life; it is the most important part, because it affects every other important part. But you don’t get stronger spiritually by accident; it takes intentionality. You need to get fed, and you have to learn how to interpret, apply, and explain the Bible. The Bible is the blueprint for your best life. I’m going to tell you, Sunday is not enough to give you the tools you need to improve with the Bible. I want you to join me in my community called Bible U, where I help you take your understanding, application, and explanation of the Bible to another level. Wait a minute, but they not only carried him; the text says they carried him to the house where Jesus was.