I Want To Be God's Friend

James 2:23 23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.

2 Chronicles 20:7 7 Art not thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever?

Isaiah 41:8 8 But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, The seed of Abraham my friend.

INTRODUCTION:

I find an interesting word in these verses. The word “friend.” Now, we all need friends, but it is the context of the the word friend that I find interesting here. It’s not talking about someone like Jonadab; 2 Samuel 13:3 But Amnon had a friend, whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah David’s brother: and Jonadab was a very subtil man. He of course counseled Amnon on how to force his own sister which in the end led to Amnon’s death. It is talking about someone like David and Jonathon, Paul and Timothy, Elijah and Elisha, or John and Jesus. A friendship where both parties mutually benefit.

What an amazing thing when you think about the wording the Bible uses in these verses. God desires those He can call His friend. Can you imagine God is sitting on His throne in Heaven, and waves one of the angels over, “Do you see that man there? The one with cane and gray hair. That’ s Abraham, and let me tell you, Abraham is My friend.”

Now one thing that happens when you have a friend is you will drop in on them from time to time. Likewise, they will drop in on you. You will share things such as needs, burdens, heart aches, desires, and dreams with your friend. In the same way God will drop in on us and we rejoice when He does, maybe in car, maybe in the prayer closet. Maybe it’s at church with our brothers and sisters in Christ through a song or a testimony. Regardless of when and where the fact is that He does “drop in on us” from time to time. Likewise should do the same to Him. There should be a regular time when we pray and talk to Him, but sometimes we should just drop by so to speak at a random time.

When we think of someone who is, “a friend of God” too often our minds translate the that phrase to mean, “one who is perfect and never fails or comes short.” The truth is that none of us are ever going to be “that guy.” We could go through Abrahams life and see multiple failures. Not believing God, Hagar and Ishmael Genesis 16, lies about his relationship with his wife saying she was his sister Genesis 12:10-20, Genesis 20. So we don’t have to be perfect to be God’s friend. However, in Abrahams life we can see how we can be His friend.

Obviously, God felt the need of friend, because He referred to Abraham as a friend. Jesus even spoke of friends. He called His disciples His friends in Luke 12:4 4 And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. We are to be His Disciples, therefore we are to be His friends. He again speaks of friends in John 15:14 14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.

In the Bible we find friend 47 times, friends 49 times, friendly 3 times, friendship 2 times. 101 times a form of the word friend is used. Obviously God places a high value on friendship. I believe He considers it essential to have friends.

With that this in mind I want to preach on I Want to Be God’s Friend.

FRIEND:

1. One who is attached to another by affection; one who entertains for another sentiments of esteem, respect and affection, which lead him to desire his company, and to seek to promote his happiness and prosperity; opposed to foe or enemy.

2. One not hostile; opposed to an enemy in war.

3. One reconciled after enmity.

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I. A Man

God is not looking for a robot. He is looking for a man! He wants, “someone who is attached to Him by affection!”

Genesis 11:27 27 Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot.

Genesis 11:29 29 And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram’s wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah.

Genesis 17:17 17 Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?

Genesis 17:5 5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.

Genesis 25:8 8 Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people.

Abraham was not some magically created being, that had some mystical power that gave him the ability to be God’s friend. He was just a man that went through things in his life like anyone else. God changed things in life and he simply followed God because he was friend.

God doesn’t want some mindless robot that walks around like they are being controlled by a teenager playing 1980’s arcade game. He wants a friend - a man, a woman, a boy, a girl - that will sell out to Him because they love Him, will want to spend time with Him, and will seek to promote His happiness and prosperity.

II. An Obedient Man

Genesis 12:1–4 1 Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. 4 So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.

Genesis 22:1–3 1 And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. 2 And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. 3 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.

Genesis 22:10 10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.

The Bible is very plain about obedience. We could go to many places in the Bible about obedience, but we really only have to hear what Jesus said in,

John 14:15 15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

John 15:14 14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.

III. Not A Perfect Man

Genesis 12:2–3 2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

Genesis 16:1–2 1 Now Sarai Abram’s wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar. 2 And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.

Genesis 17:15–17 15 And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. 16 And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her. 17 Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?

Does this mean that Abraham was not God’s friend? Not at all.

David said, Psalm 103:10–14 10 He hath not dealt with us after our sins; Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. 11 For as the heaven is high above the earth, So great is his mercy toward them that fear him. 12 As far as the east is from the west, So far hath he removed our transgressions from us. 13 Like as a father pitieth his children, So the Lord pitieth them that fear him. 14 For he knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are dust.

This is not a license to sin.

Romans 6:15–16 15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. 16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

IV. Faithful Man

FAITHFUL

1. Firm in adherence to the truth and to the duties of religion.

2. Firmly adhering to duty; of true fidelity; loyal; true to allegiance; as a faithful subject.

Speaking to Isaac, God said, Genesis 26:5 5 Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

Going back to our last point, God knows we are never going to be sinless. But He does expect us to be faithful.

Proverbs 24:16 16 For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: But the wicked shall fall into mischief.

The emphasis I want to draw here is the “riseth up again.” When we fail, don’t quit! Get back up, get back in the fight, and keep going for the glory of God.

Again, not a license to sin, we should never willingly sin! In fact it is the exact opposite. We get back up because we want to never commit that sin again.

That is the faithfulness! Standing in the gap, making up the hedge. Following the leadership of the Lord. Going where He commands. Doing what He commands, when and how He commands.

CLOSING:

We all need friends. I believe even God needs/wants friends. Abraham was a man that God called His friend. The qualities we have looked at are some of the things that made Abraham a friend of God.

I. A Man not a robot, just a man

II. An Obedient Man

III. Not A Perfect Man

IV. A Faithful Man

Johnson Oatman 1922

I’ll Be A Friend To Jesus

2 The world may turn against Him, I’ll love Him to the end, And while on earth I’m living, My Lord shall have a friend.

3 I’ll do what He may bid me; I’ll go where He may send; I’ll try each flying moment To prove that I’m His friend.

Chorus: I’ll be a friend to Jesus, My life for Him I’ll spend; I’ll be a friend to Jesus, Until my years shall end.