Level Four Friendship
Jerry Leachman has ministered for the last thirty years in Washington, DC. Among his many ministries, he served as chaplain for the Redskins and as a minister to national media broadcasters in DC. He and his wife Holly recently moved to Colorado west of Pueblo. Pete and Jerry have been lifelong friends ever since they worked together at a Christian school shortly after Pete graduated from Auburn and Jerry from Alabama. Jerry considers Pete as a “Level 4 Franchise Player Friend.”
According to the Word of God there will come a day when men’s hearts fail them because of fear. As men of God in the spiritual battle, we must look unto our commander in Chief. God never honors fear, he always honors faith. According to Isaiah 40:10-15 and 26-31: “Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.
11. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.
12. Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?
13. Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his counsellor hath taught him?
14. With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding?
15. Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.”
26. Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.
27. Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God?
28. Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.
29. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. 30. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and”“the young men shall utterly fall:
31. But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”
God encourages us to look up into the heavens for the heavens declare the handiwork of the Lord. A famous image from the Hubble Telescope is of the Sombrero Galaxy 38 million light years away. This is one of billions of galaxies that have been discovered. Who are we compared to the vastness of God’s created universe? There is a picture from the Voyager spacecraft as it left the solar system. The picture shows a pale blue-green dot in a stream of sunlight. This little speck of dust is an image of the earth taken from the vantage point from the heavenlies. Who is man that thou O Lord, art mindful of him?
According to John 1, all things were made by him and for him. Revelation says that Jesus Christ is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. One of the last words of Jesus before his crucifixion was, “I call you my friends.” He offered us friendship. There are four levels of friendship. The first level is an acquaintance. This is someone you see every day between classes at school or at the water cooler at work.
Level 2 friendship is a team member. These are the ones you work with in pursuit of a common goal. The next Level 3 is a social friend with whom you seek discretionary time. You agree to meet together. You can share some information with them and then they’ll fill in the blanks. They don’t need a lot of explanation.
A lever four friend is a “franchise player” friend. This is a person who’s committed and can never be traded. He’s always in the game and has a covenant commitment to a mutual relationship. Most men are “users.” They say of a relationship “what’s in it for me?” Users treat their “friends” nicely because they think they can use you to get something they want. However, a level four friend according to the Word is “a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” He always has your back and will never forsake you. You can fake friendship, but you can’t fake showing up.
The central teaching of Christianity is friendship. Christianity is a true friendship “relationship” with our Lord Jesus Christ. Every godly trait is a characteristic of a world class godly friend. These are friends who don’t flame out. These are men who cross the finish line with you. The first characteristic of a franchise friend is that they “buffet evil in your life.” They warn you of things that you can’t see in your blind spots. Thank God for a friend who will reprove you and correct you…one who’s excited about making you successful as a man of God. If you surround yourself with wise friends, then you’ll learn wisdom.
When tragedy hits, most men are completely alone. Franchise friends will never leave you or forsake you. Jerry recalls that four years ago, he had an appointment on Capital Hill and was feeling woozy with heartburn and light headed. He called his wife and told her he was taking some antacid before his appointment. She dropped everything at a conference she was attending. When she met him, he slumped to the floor. He passed out so she rushed him to the hospital. He heard the Lord say, “calm your spirit.” As he came in and out of consciousness, he heard the doctors say, “he’s so calm.” He doesn’t recall losing consciousness but the doctors told him that he had a massive heart attack. His heart stopped twice but they brought him back. Jerry remembers thinking that he would die that day. He didn’t think about his worldly accomplishments. He was totally alone. All he could say was, “Jesus.” Then he remembers seeing a light and felt a shock that felt like being hit by a torpedo. His medical team said that this was when they shocked him to get his heart restarted. When he woke up there were two people in his room, his wife “smoking hot Holly,” and Dan Roberts his friend from childhood. He had sat by Jerry’s bed for three days and three nights without eating in constant prayer. That’s a level four franchise player. What kind of friend are you? Do you have a friend like that? A level four friend will stay by your side during a crisis situation.
If you have a lifelong friend, call them and meet with them. This is a friendship like David and Jonathan. Level four friends are generational. They give their lives for the grandchildren of their franchise friend. Never let time, distance, or money come between you and your level four friend.
Jerry said to his mentor that his heart felt like it was cooling off. His friend said, “pray that God will warm it up.” You need to be a world class friend in order to have level four friends. The Lord will bless you with level four friends if your prayer is “Lord light my heart afire to be a level four friend.” Start with your family. Write down your level four friends. The first one is your wife. You honor them privately and publicly. Two of Jerry’s are his first son Josh and his daughter Eugenia. Another is his younger son Tucker. Pete is also one of Jerry’s franchise friends. Another is his friend Dan Roberts who stood by his side.
A few weeks after his heart attack ordeal when his children visited him, Jerry told them that he thought he would die that day. That’s when he realized that the only thing that really matters is “only Jesus.” The best level four friend is Jesus Christ.
Psalm 24:7-9 says, ““Lift up your head, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. 8. Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. 9. Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.”
What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear… What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer.
May we ever live to the praise of the glory of His grace!
Your brother in Christ,
Michael