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  NEEDED: TRUE FRIENDS
  by Theodore Epp
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Summary: The sermon emphasizes the importance of true friendship and
support during difficult times, as illustrated by Job's experience.

Topics: "True Friendship", "Support in Suffering"
Scripture References: Job 2:11

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DESCRIPTION
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Theodore Epp emphasizes the significance of true friendship in times of
distress, using the story of Job and his friends as a cautionary tale.
While Job's friends initially showed up in silence, their lack of
support during his suffering highlighted their failure to provide the
comfort he needed. Job's moment of despair, where he cursed the day of
his birth but did not curse God, illustrates the struggle between doubt
and faith. Epp challenges us to reflect on our own friendships and
whether we truly support those in need or inadvertently add to their
burdens. The sermon concludes with the reminder that 'A friend loveth at
all times' (Proverbs 17:17).

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CONTENT
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Job 2:11-3:5

Friends can be very valuable. The right kind of friends can help us over
the difficult spots in life. But the quality of friendship expressed by
these three men left much to be desired.

When they saw Job's plight, they were shocked. They hardly knew what to
think. The man whom they had known as the greatest man in their part of
the world was ill and sitting on an ash heap. They were silent for seven
days, having no comfort to give him. They said nothing, and apparently
Job said nothing in all that time. But Satan kept up the pressure, and
finally at the end of the seven days Job opened his mouth and cursed the
day he was born.

In the wake of all these combined losses, now had come the crowning loss
--he began to doubt that God really cared about him. This was a most
crucial moment in Job's experience. He cursed the day of his birth, but
he did not curse God. He doubted God's care, but he did not lose faith
that God existed.

This was when his friends should have helped him. This was when they
should have encouraged him, but they did not.

Are we friends to those in need? Do we stand by fellow believers when
they experience times of difficulty and stress? Or do we find someone in
difficulty and add to their troubles?

"A friend loveth at all times" (Prov. 17:17).

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Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/theodore-epp/needed-true-friends/
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