We learned about our need for understanding our purpose…that a life without purpose is a life without meaning. Perhaps you have struggled with your purpose or the meaning of your life. You can only find your meaning, your destiny for your life through a relationship with God. Any attempts to try to find it apart from God will result in frustration and failure.
2. Week 2:
i. We learned about the eternal perspective that we need in order to make sense of life. Often when our nose is so close to our problem we cannot see anything but our problems. But gaining an eternal perspective allows us to see that this life is a short weigh station in an eternal life…a life that will either be spent with God or away from God.
3. Week 3:
i. We began to uncover the first of the five purposes for which we were created. The first one, is the most important one and must be maintained as a priority. It is “We were planned for God’s pleasure.”
1. That is, we were created by God, planned by Him, to bring Him pleasure. This encompasses the concept of worship. God planted a need in us to worship Him. And we will only find satisfaction when we are worshipping Him. We may try substitutes, but they will fall short of the best God has for us.
2. We even learned last week about the nature of worship, how it is not just a Sunday morning activity, something you turn off when you leave these doors on Sunday afternoon and turn on the following Sunday morning when you come back through them.
3. In fact, we learned that our experience together in corporate worship is dependent upon our walk during the week with God.
2. Introduction
1. Comedian Yakov Smirnoff. When he first came to the United States from Russia he was not prepared for the incredible variety of instant products available in American grocery stores. He says, "On my first shopping trip, I saw powdered milk--you just add water, and you get milk. Then I saw powdered orange juice--you just add water, and you get orange juice. And then I saw baby powder, and I thought to my self, "What a country!"
2. Wouldn’t it be nice if we just met Jesus, added water (baptism) and we could instantly have a close, intimate relationship with Him?
i. However, closeness to God takes time and experience.
ii. I also find that I can be close to Him today and distant tomorrow!
3. Friendship with God
1. "And the scripture was fulfilled which says, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God" (Ja. 2:23).
2. In this text, there is something that cannot be found in any other passage in the Bible, and that is the expression: "Friend of God"--friend with a capital F.
3. Abraham was the ultimate friend of God
i. There was no one who was elevated to any higher degree in friendship to God than Abraham.
ii. God made sure that this unique label was recorded in scripture for all of us to read for generations to come.
iii. But when we read this unique label, do we wonder why he was given this title?
4. When we call someone a friend, we are saying something special about that person.
i. We are telling others and that person that they matter, that they are trusted, and that they are important to us.
ii. The term "friend" is somewhat intimate and conveys a sense of closeness, trust, and sharing.
iii. The great, almighty, ever-present and all-powerful, all-knowing God was the one who made this statement.
iv. This was not Abraham’s assessment of his relationship with God, nor how he thought about God.
v. It was a statement that God made about Abraham.
1. James was quoting from Isaiah 41. But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend; (RSV)
2. Did you see it. God is the one saying, “Abraham, my friend.”
5. How would it make you feel to hear God say that about you.
i. Larry, my friend. Bill, my friend. George, my friend. Lois, my friend.
ii. Imagine hearing God speak your name and identify you as His friend.
iii. Seems kind of impossible, doesn’t it.
6. Yet the concept of “Friendship with God” is foundational to understanding and fulfilling our first purpose (of the purpose driven life) of “God planned us for His pleasure.”
i. Most of us find it hard to believe that God delights in us.
ii. We have been taught that God is mad at us.
iii. Maybe you feel that way sometimes.
iv. You feel like God is going to smack you upside the head if you disobey one more time.
1. But God takes incredible joy in you.
2. He takes incredible pleasure in you.
3. I hope you can believe that today.
v. God is overjoyed when we respond to His love.
vi. He and all the angels in heaven rejoice with party celebration every time a person turns from sin (self-rule) to Christ (God rule).
4. What is a friend?
1. Most of us have had at least one friend in our lives.
i. But we have learned that friendships do not come easy.
ii. We have to work every day to cultivate a solid friendship with another.
iii. Whether we like to admit it or not, the requirements of a friendship are so demanding that most people have few friends.
1. In a article written by Henry Adams, he said, "to have one friend in life is much, two are rare, three are hardly possible."
b. Friends must agree
i. We have all met many, many people over the course of our lives to the present and, no doubt, we’ll meet many more in the future.
ii. However, only a comparative few have ever been, or ever will become, our close friends. Why?
iii. One of the most obvious reasons, and the first point is that of agreement.
iv. Think about it for a minute.
1. Our very best friends are those who agree with us on the greatest number of really important issues.
2. Friends think alike.
3. We can be on friendly terms with others – that is, having pleasant and warm conversation with them, enjoy seeing them from time to time – but our closest friends are those who think like us.
4. Clashing minds, diverging opinions and preferences do not really make for close relationships.
5. But in the case of Abraham and his friendship with God. He was in total agreement with God.
v. The prophet Amos posed the rhetorical question:
1. Amos 3:3 Can two walk together, except they be agreed? (KJV)
2. The sense of the Hebrew text here is interesting.
a. The word agreed is from the Hebrew ya`ad (SHD 3259) which means to fix, appoint, assemble, meet, set, betroth; to meet, to meet by appointment, etc.
b. The sense is not simply two walking in a common direction because they agree to it, but rather two agreeing to and making an appointment to come together and from there set out on a journey to a destination together.
c. It is like saying to someone, I’ll meet you down at the Post Office and we can go to the restaurant from there.
vi. You and I enter into agreement with God when we make a decision to surrender our life agenda and let God be the ruler of our lives…when we receive Jesus Christ as our savior, we are making an agreement with God.
1. We are agreeing with God (confessing) that God is right, that He is God, and we aren’t.
c. Friends know loyalty and dependability
i. A second vital factor contributing to endearing friendships is that of loyalty and dependability.
ii. If you reflect on those people you count as your closest friends, it is those who have been loyal to you through thick and thin. I
iii. t is those who you can count upon when the chips are down.
iv. We’ve all heard and perhaps used the phrase fair-weather friend.
1. We use it of those people who are pleased to be our friends when everything is fine and going smoothly.
2. But, as soon as problems or troubles hit, they make themselves scarce.
3. Fair-weather friends behave as they do because they look for what they can get out of a relationship – rather than what they can give and put into it.
v. However, true friends are loyal and faithful to one another when the going is easy and when it gets tough:
1. True friends support each other.
2. True friends sacrifice for each other.
3. True friends are dependable – they’re always there when needed.
vi. On the evening of his death, Jesus Christ described the need for loyalty, dependability and sacrifice as a component of our friendship with him. Speaking to his disciples Jesus said:
1. John 15:13 13 Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. (RSV)
2. He was true to that statement. Christ showed us the ultimate gesture of friendship in laying down his life for us as a sacrifice for our sins. He practiced what he preached. He went all the way for us.
vii. Christ’s sacrifice for us, as his gesture of true friendship toward us, should evoke loyalty and dependability from us.
1. John 15:14 You are my friends if you do what I command you.
viii. Loyalty and dependability are really only made fully manifest when we are tested and tempted to go against these principles
1. Abraham believed God when God told him to do something.
a. He didn’t just say, “okay, God, I believe you.
b. Yea, okay, I’ll have a son. Okay, I should sacrifice him…” and then sit there and not follow through on God’s instructions.
c. Time after time, Abraham took action that was evidence of the fact that he believed God. His faith was more than intellectual assent. It was evidenced in action.
2. Let me read to you the passage from James in CONTEXT:
a. James 2 17In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 18But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. 19You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that–and shudder. 20You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless[1] ? 21Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,"[2] and he was called God’s friend”
3. First, notice that the word “works” in this whole passage is synonymous with “obedience”.
a. So when James says, "faith without works is dead," he means that faith without obedience is dead or false.
b. And said differently, Obedience is the evidence of professed faith.
4. Second, notice that James compares faith without obedience to the devil’s faith: "the devils also believe...."
a. Of course they do.
b. At one time, they all were angels.
c. Yes, do they ever believe.
i. But although they believe all God is and has said, they will not obey him.
ii. They have "faith without works."
5. Third, observe how James chastises believers who believe like the devils, professing faith without obedience and action to back it up.
a. He calls them fools..
d. Friends confide in one another.
i. One last aspect of what constitutes true friendship that we will consider is the ability of true friends to confide in one another.
ii. This point builds upon the previous two points.
1. Our closest friends are those in whom we can freely confide.
2. They are those to whom we can communicate our deepest feelings and convictions, knowing we have a supportive listener and that we won’t be betrayed.
3. With real friends we can discuss what is on our mind, we can share our joys, our observations, our plans, and even our sorrows and regrets. When there is deep and intense friendship, nothing needs to be held back.
iii. Jesus described this dimension of friendship.
1. John 15:15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. (RSV)
2. Friends confide in one another, and Christ considers us to be such good friends of his that he is able to confide in us and share all the plans, hopes and dreams he and the Father have for us and mankind.
3. He says that all that he has heard of the Father, he has made known to us.
4. Now, depending on the degree of our friendship with others, we tend to hold back certain information.
5. Be Honest with God. (remember, friendships are genuine!)
a. God expects honesty.
b. He does not want me to sugar coat the way I feel about life, myself or about Him.
c. Time and again the Bible shows how God’s friends related to Him honestly.
d. They complained to Him, pestered Him and argued with Him.
e. The Psalms show example after example of David baring his soul before God, showing his deepest emotions.
f. God does not view our honesty as audacity; He views it as authenticity.
g. The truth is, we NEED to bare our souls to God.
h. He knows our deepest hurts and feelings.
i. He knows that we sometimes are mad at Him.
j. Tell Him so. “God, I am really angry with how this worked out. I feel as if you let me down. I am feeling really bad about this.”
k. It seems pretty weird talking to God that way, but isn’t that what friends do? We tell each other when we hurt, when we feel let down.
l. Give God the opportunity to answer. Stay open to a reply. It might be something simple like a chance encounter with someone or as normal as His word jumping off the page of the bible at you.
6. There are very few people we share everything with. Only our closest friends get that kind of treatment.
7. But Christ is demonstrating here that he considers us his closest and most sympathetic friends.
8. Just as God through Christ extends friendship to us through His willingness to confide in us, so we must return that friendship to Him by confiding in Him.
9. We are to spend time talking to Him, pouring out our hearts to Him, and telling Him of our every need and desire.
iv. (1 Thess 5:17) “Pray continually”
1. God wants to talk to you and listen to your needs.
2. Practicing the presence of God (Brother Lawrence) was about recognizing God everywhere and in everything you do. Being aware of His constant presence.
5. Get to know Your friend by learning about Him:
i. The bible says that “God revealed himself to Samuel through His word.” (1 Sa 3:21)
ii. He still does that today.
iii. We learn about God’s methods, His ways.
1. Oftentimes we read the Bible with a mind toward studying it. That is good. But there is another way to read it as well.
2. That is to read it like one would read a letter from a friend.
3. Ask yourself the question when reading the bible devotionally, “What is God saying TO ME?”
4. This isn’t easy for some of us to do.
a. I read from Psalm 40 this week.
b. “You lifted my feet out of the mire”
c. And as I read it, I remembered how God had taken me out of a lifestyle of self-destructive sin and placed me on level ground.
d. And so I used that moment to thank Him. To worship Him.
e. It was a time of reflection upon God’s love and concern for me.
5. Personalize the bible…by reading your own name into what you are reading, “For God so loved Bob that he gave his only begotten son, so that Bob would not perish but have everlasting life.” Jn 3:16.
iv. This concept can revolutionize your life.
1. I have known people who have been Christians for years, who pray regularly, who love selflessly…and who did not know that they could hear God speak to them.
2. What a shame. That is like being “deaf” in a hearing relationship. It would be tragic to not hear God’s voice, because He is constantly speaking to us, telling us of His love, and reassuring you and I concerning His will and plan for our lives.
6. You are as close to God as you choose to be."
i. It is Your choice
1. When I feel distant from God I would blame others…such as the interruptions of life for the reason why I am not spending time with God..
2. I would make that the reason why I felt like God wasn’t close to me..
3. The reality, of course, is that others are not responsible for how close I am to God.
4. I am wholly responsible for my walk with God.
5. Other people may help me in my Christian walk - they can provide support, encouragement and even chastening - but I alone am responsible for maintaining a close relationship with God.
6. When I feel He is distant, I can be assured that I am the one pulling away from Him.
7. He has promised to never leave me nor forsake me, yet I leave and forsake Him all the time.
8. What a loving God I serve that He is patient when I run from Him!
ii. Are you running from God? Are you pushing Him away?
1. Ask yourself why.
iii. We need to desire friendship with God above all else
1. Hunger, thirst, crave, long for God.
2. Develop a passion for God.
3. Pain is the fuel of passion. It energizes us to change what we normally won’t.
a. CS Lewis “Pain is God’s megaphone.”
b. It is God’s way of arousing us from spiritual lethargy.
c. God wants more than anything for you to have a relationship with Him. He will do whatever it takes to draw you to Him. Including, giving up His most treasured person…His only Son, Jesus.
4. God’s passion for you is incredible. The move “The Passion” is not just about God’s suffering.
a. It is about God’s passion for you and me.
b. It is about His love for you and me.
c. He wants you to know how much He cares about you.
5. So why don’t we delight in God?
1. Because we have lost sight of his passion and love for us.
i. The PASSION of God for us is demonstrated in the sufferings of Christ. That is God’s burning passion for us. To love us. To give Himself to us.
ii. For us to respond. To stop running. To come and be his children again.
iii. To be his friends.
6. Won’t you make a choice to be God’s friend today? He wants you. He doesn’t want you as His enemy. That is why He sent Jesus to take away the animosity and to take God’s wrath.
