Go to content
Main menu:
(FAITHFUL)
PROV. 27:6
SEPTEMBER, 1995
FAITHFUL ARE THE WOUNDS OF A FRIEND, BUT, THE KISSES OF AN ENEMY
ARE DECEITFUL
SUBJECT - I'M NOT HERE TO BE YOUR FRIEND, I'M HERE TO TELL YOU THE
TRUTH
PLAY/DOWNLOAD THIS MESSAGE
Whoa !!! Let's look at that again. Faithful are the wounds of a
friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. Can that be right??
Maybe it's a misprint. Maybe it should read, faithful are the kisses of
a friend, but the wounds of a enemy are ... No, that can't be right.
What's going on here?? Is this some kind of joke? Sad to say, no it
isn't. What this scripture is telling us, is a truth, that keeps
millions of people from going to hell. It is a truth, that we all need
to practice, and be aware of, in our everyday lives.
Let's look at the first part of this scripture. Faithful are the
wounds of a friend. The first word is FAITHFUL. We relate being
faithful, with being someone, or some thing (usually living), that we
can trust in. In the case of things, we are talking about pets, like
dogs, cats and such. A faithful pet, will always be there, when you
want them. They may be out in the neighborhood, or somewhere in the
house, where you can't see them. But, if you call, or whistle for them,
they will stop what they are doing, and run to your side. Some of
them, will always stay where they can see you, and you, them. A good
dog, for instance, will guard the house, and let you know if something
isn't right. They have been known to risk their lives, to protect the
kids of their house. One dog, went into a burning house, to pull its
master out of the house. Another dog, stayed in a burning house, with
its master, and died with him, rather than leave his side. This is the
faithfulness of animals. Sometimes, these animals, do this, in spite
of being woefully mistreated by their owners. If a person, can find a
human friend like that, they would have found someone that is more
precious than gold.
The rest of that first part says, 'THE WOUNDS OF A FRIEND.' Now,
when we think of wounds, we think of hurting. We think of, pain. We
think of something that is not pleasant. We think of something, that
we associate with an enemy, doing to us. It is almost inconceivable,
to think that of a friend, especially a faithful friend, doing anything
to us, that would cause us pain, or discomfort. The two, just don't go
together. Or do they???
Picture, if you will, a man going down a road, and passing an
alley, and seeing a man with a gun, lurking in the shadows, waiting for
some unsuspecting soul, to venture in there, so he could presumably rob
them or worse. Then, imagine that this man's best friend comes along,
and says to him, that he is going to take a shortcut through this
alley, to get to his girlfriend's house. Now, if this man, is best
friends with the other man, wouldn't he warn him of the danger that is
lurking in the alley??? I certainly hope so. That is being a friend.
We should do that, not only to our best friends, but to anybody.
However, what if the man's friend, didn't believe him, and said, 'I'm
going down that alley, no matter what you say', and starts down the
alley. Well the faithful friend, might have to use force, or may even
have to knock him out, to keep him from going in there. Here, is the
case of a friend, going so far, as to hurting his friend, in order to
keep him from losing his money, or worse, his life. Seems to me, that
this is a true friend. A friend that will risk their relationship with
you, if it means saving your life.
Now, let's look at an enemy. Here is a person, that means you
nothing but harm. Everytime they see you, they are trying to hurt or
destroy you. With an enemy, you know where they are coming from, and
what to expect. They are the type, that you know, not to turn your back
on. However, not all enemies will be overt, in their hate for you.
There are those, that will be deceitful, and slowly draw you in, then watch as
you begin to fall. They know how to gain your trust, then use it to
destroy you. 'THE KISSES OF AN ENEMY', is what the Bible calls it. Take
the scenario above. The man, sees his friend, getting ready to go into
the alley, and pats him on the back and says, 'Yeah, that's a good
idea. You can save a lot of time, by going that way.' The man goes in,
and gets robbed, or killed. By not telling his friend, of the danger in
the alley, this man, has proven not to be a friend, but rather an
enemy.
The message of the scripture then, is, many times, people that are
true friends, will have to hurt you, in order to help you. While an
enemy, may pat you on the back, and tell you everything is ok, while
leading you to destruction.
Today, there are many people, that are Christians, that are on the
road to destruction, and other Christians, are trying to tell them,
that they are in danger, but they don't want to believe it. They like
doing things, that will lead them to hell, and they don't want anyone
telling them that. They say, 'You are supposed to be my friend, my
brother, yet you are here trying to judge me. Get out of my life, I
don't want to see you again.' Then they go to another Christian, and he
tells them, 'There's nothing wrong with what you are doing. God
understands. He loves you. You are alright.' This type of thing also
happens when a Christian, tries to tell a sinner that they need to get
saved, or they will go to hell. In both instances, the truth, is not
pleasant to hear. But, if a person is a true friend, they will tell the
truth, even if it hurts. Alcoholics Anonymous has a way of getting
people to come in for treatment. They call it 'tough love.' The
alcoholic, is destroying his or her life, and tries to fool themselves,
in to thinking they don't have a problem. Well, AA, tells the friends
and relatives, to confront the person, and tell them point blank, 'You
are a drunk, and if you don't go and get help, we are going to leave
you.' What are they doing? They are trying to get this person, to
realize that they have a serious problem, that could destroy them. It
seems unfair, it hurts, but it is necessary, to save them.
In Ezekiel 33:1-7, the prophet tells how God has told him to
deliver a message to His people. That there are appointed people, that
are set in the position of watchmen, whose responsibility it is, to
watch for danger, and warn the people, so as to allow them to do what
is necessary to escape. God says, that if the watchman sees the danger,
and warns the people, and they don't listen, then their blood will be
on their own heads. However, God says, if the watchman sees the
danger, but doesn't warn the people, then their blood will be on the
watchman's hands.
The watchman(men) today, is the Church. And in the Church, the
head person, is the pastor. Yet, in far too many Churches, the
watchman, is failing his job. He has blinded himself to the truth. He
sees the danger, the curse (sword) that God has sent to our nation, but
he tries to blame it on other forces, like whites, Republicans, the
rich, and a myriad of other causes. But, what he doesn't do, is tell
his people that the real problem, is the sin, that this nation is
engulfed in.
Abortion, fornication, adultery, homosexuality, witchcraft
(including psychics and astrology), hate, drunkenness, idolatry and on
and on it goes. All of these are sins that put man in danger of
judgement from God. Yet, in far too many Churches, the
pastors, remain quiet. In (1 Cor. 5:1-5), a Church was actually
bragging about one of their members, that was committing incest.
Everybody knew about it. Paul told them to cast that person out, before
he corrupted the whole Church. Let me ask you something. How much
trash, is going on in your Church? What is the pastor doing about it??
If he is cracking down on everyone involved, and preaching about it
from the pulpit, then he is doing his job as a true friend. If,
however, he is overlooking it, or making light of it, then even though
you may want to consider him a friend, he is patting you on the back,
and leading you straight to hell. He is the enemy. The same thing is
true, when they address the situations in this nation. If he calls it
anything but the results of sin, he is the enemy. If, you think that I
will compromise the gospel, to be your friend, FORGET IT. I will call
it, the way God sees it. I'd rather be God's friend, than yours, if I
have to lie to make you feel good.
***********************************************************************
TRACT LIST
NEWSLETTERS
TAPE LIST
HOME PAGE