We know that Jesus is our friend. We sing, “What A Friend We Have In Jesus”. But have you ever thought that God desires a friend? I believe God wants a friend. Would you like to be a friend of God?
Abraham was a friend of God, 2 Chr 20:7, Jas 2:23. Moses was God’s friend. Ex 33:11, “the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend”.
This sermon is on how to be a friend of God.
God initiates the friendship.
Jesus shewed himself friendly to us. “A man that hath friends must show himself friendly”, Prov 18:24. He sticks closer than a brother. He said, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee”.
He laid down his life for us. “Greater love hath no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends”, Jn 15:13.
He befriended sinners. Lk 7:34 Jesus was known as the friend of publicans and sinners.
We must accept his friendship. Accept Jesus Christ. He doesn’t impose himself on anyone. After being saved,
We must maintain his friendship.
We must love him. Because he first loved us, 1 Jn 4:19. By this we can fulfill the first commandment. Lazarus was Jesus’s friend. Jn 11:11, “our friend Lazarus sleepeth”. Jesus loved Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, Jn 11:5. Mary anointed Jesus as a great act of her love for him. Jesus was a regular guest in their home.
John referred to himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved. He was lying on Jesus’s bosom at the last supper. Upon hearing that a one of the disciples would betray Jesus, John is the only one who didn’t ask, “Is it I”? He asked, “Who is it”? Jesus entrusted his own mother to John, Jn 19:26. He loved Jesus.
We must not love the world. “Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God”, Jas 4:4. Enoch walked with God and God took him. Noah walked with God and found grace in the eyes of the Lord. God spared him. They lived in a terribly ungodly world.
Abraham left home to be with God. Of Moses the Bible says, “Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt…”, Heb 11:25-26.
We must do what he commands. “Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you”, Jn 15:14. The way of faith is the way of obedience. God is not a taskmaster. He knows the right way and desires the benefits of the right way for us, just like a parent with a child.
We must hear his word. Mary sat at Jesus’s feet and heard his word, Lk 10:39. Jesu said, “But I have called you friends”, Jn 15:15, “for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you”. Jesus loves to reveal his truth to those who want to hear it.
We must speak with him. God spoke with Moses face to face. That is, Moses, as we know, spoke with him, as well. Prov 15:8, “the prayer of the upright is his delight”. It’s not just a matter of making requests. It’s a matter of communing with God, “as a man speaketh unto his friend”.
Conclusion: If you want to be a friend of God, or if you are already a friend of God, now you know what to do to befriend him or to improve your friendship with him. And if you aren’t yet saved, then receive Christ today and become a friend of God.