A good friend won't let you give in to your worst instincts, and God has given you the Holy Spirit as that friend who tells you the truth and calls you to turn curses into blessings.
Pastor TJ shows through the story of David, Joab, and Absalom that real friends are strong when we are weak, telling us the truth even when it costs them. When we feel alone in our pain, the Holy Spirit is the friend who is always present, always truthful, and who calls us to bless those who curse us rather than trade our destiny for our temporary feelings.
Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI
Point 1 of 7
Healing requires listening to truth instead of endlessly rehearsing our pain.
Pastor TJ shares how after being church hurt by a toxic senior pastor, he and his wife Britt kept circling back to the pain on their walks. Britt finally told him to stop, reminding him that nothing happened to him that didn't already happen to Jesus, and that he could rise the way Jesus rose. He argues that our culture's advice to keep talking about trauma can trap us into becoming victims rather than victors.
“Nothing has happened to you that didn't already happen to Jesus”
— TJ McConahay
Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI
Point 2 of 7
David's friends refused to let him give in to his bad instincts to spare Absalom.
Pastor TJ walks through 2 Samuel, describing how after David's sin with Bathsheba his life unraveled, his son Absalom led a rebellion, and David was cast out of his own kingdom. Even though David told his generals to be gentle with Absalom, they knew that could not stand and did not follow that instinct.
Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI
Point 3 of 7
A good friend will not let you give in to your bad instincts.
Pastor TJ illustrates the opposite with a story about his teenage friend Steve, whose bad instincts led them to spray each other with pepper spray in a Wendy's parking lot in front of his future mother-in-law, showing how bad friends encourage foolishness.
A story from life
Teenage story about accidentally pepper-spraying a friend, Steve, and himself
Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI
Point 4 of 7
A good friend is strong when you are weak, even doing the hard thing others cannot.
Pastor TJ describes Joab killing Absalom despite David's order to spare him, because he recognized evil had to be confronted for the kingdom's sake. He contrasts this with his friend Adam, who stayed calm and let God redeem a tense encounter with an aggressive police officer, ending in the officer asking for prayer.
“a good friend is strong when you are weak”
— TJ McConahay
A story from life
Story about a friend, Adam, staying calm during an aggressive police stop and praying for the officer
Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI
Point 5 of 7
A good friend will not let you trade your destiny for your temporary feelings.
Pastor TJ recounts Joab's bold confrontation of David in 2 Samuel 19, rebuking him for mourning Absalom instead of honoring the men who saved his kingdom, warning him it would cost him everything if he did not go out and encourage his troops.
“A good friend will not let you trade your destiny for your temporary”
— TJ McConahay
A story from life
Recent story about a difficult customer over custom football helmets and choosing to bless him
Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI
Point 6 of 7
We are called to turn curses into blessings rather than live by an economy of rage or vengeance.
Pastor TJ tells of an angry customer in his helmet-painting side business and how the Holy Spirit kept prompting him with 'bless those who curse you' until he sent the man more money than he asked for, and found relief instead of resentment. He ties this to Jesus on the cross asking the Father to forgive those who mocked Him.
Related passage
Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI
Point 7 of 7
You are never alone because the Holy Spirit is the friend who lives inside every believer.
Pastor TJ closes by countering the lie that some people have no good friend, insisting that the Holy Spirit always tells the truth and is present everywhere, so no one who has said yes to Jesus is ever truly alone.
“There's no place we can go where he is not, and there's no nothing he will do where he won't tell us the truth.”
— TJ McConahay
Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI
Take it into your week
Pastor TJ's charge is to become a Joab to the people around you, while trusting the Holy Spirit as the friend who never leaves.
Application
Thank the truth-tellers in your life
If someone has confronted you and been right, tell them thank you now, even by text, for being strong when you were weak and not letting you give in to your worst instincts.
Become a truth-teller to others
Tell the people in your life who are ready to destroy their future over temporary pain that if Jesus rose, they can rise too, even if it costs you something.
Bless those who curse you
Instead of living out of an economy of rage or vengeance, choose to return blessing for cursing this week, following Jesus' example on the cross.
Trust the Holy Spirit as your ever-present friend
If you feel you have no good friend, reject that lie and rely on the Holy Spirit who lives in every believer and always tells the truth.
Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI