A Friend worth Having
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Welcome
Welcome
What’s up INDE?!
Welcome back!
This summer has flown by! Many of you went with us to Camp, served locally, and even served nationally and internationally this summer!
I also see a few new faces in her as well! We’re so Glad that you’re here!!
Tonight i want to start by reading from Revelation 3 to set the stage for what we’re going to be talking about. And no, we’re not talking about the end of the world...
Intro
Intro
20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.
Every new year, brings about a ton of new emotions. For some there is excitement! for others there is anxiety. Some of you are looking forward to new challenges, others are overwhelmed. and hear me say that All of those emotions are perfectly normal. One of the biggest reasons why people are afraid of new things isn’t because of the change itself, but because of the unknowns that come with it.
it’s when we are in these places of fear and uncertainty that we find out who our friends are.
We figure out if we really were as good at judging a person’s character as we thought we were.
Illustration
Illustration
(what if you have to choose between two people who wanted to go to dinner)
the first person is very warm and takes a genuine interest in others, listens attentively, and is fun to be with. Those who develop a friendship with him want it to last a lifetime.
In contrast, the second person is difficult and demanding. He keeps most of his friends (if you could call them that) at a distance. The only time he calls is when he wants something from you. He's unpredictable emotionally and you never quite know where you stand with him. He wields considerable influence, but if it weren't for his power he probably wouldn't have any friends at all.
If you're like most people, you'd rather have dinner with the first person.
Here’s my first question tonight
Who is God like in your mind - the first person or the second?
Unfortunately many people have a distorted view of God's character. To them, he's much like the second person-distant and uncaring. Although he is powerful, he can't be counted on. The only real benefit in knowing him comes from occasional answers to prayer.
No wonder people have a hard time relating to him! Who would want to cultivate a friendship like that?
Tonight, If your view of God has been been colored in this way, by mistaken assumptions and errored ideas, i want you to know that God longs to establish a close, intimate friendship with you.
Let this one truth sink in:
Let this one truth sink in:
God is a Friend worth having,
God is a Friend worth having,
but Let’s take God out of the equation for a minute. If i were to ask you for the ingredients for building healthy friendships with someone, what would you say? (Give Time for responses)
Ingredients for Building Relationships with another person?
Meeting the Person
Spending time together
Continuing sharing experiences together over time
One of the biggest obstacles i see standing in the way of people beginning or deepening their relationship with God is that they don’t think they know where to start.
Well there are two things for us to consider.
The ingredients are the same.
Meeting the Person (Time)
Spending time together (Communication)
Continuing sharing experiences together over time (Experiences)
It’s never one sided with God. It may be from your end, but never His.
Let me show you what i mean
Let me show you what i mean
First off, Let’s look at:
First off, Let’s look at:
Why we can have a personal relationship with God?
Why we can have a personal relationship with God?
God has chosen us
God has chosen us
in keeping with the ingredients that we defined. Let’s start with Time.
John 15:16
16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.
Why is it significant that Jesus said “I chose you?”
You’ll hear a bunch of different words when it comes to your relationship with God. Being born again, trusting in Christ, being saved… so forth and so on. All of these are correct, and awesome! But it’s important for us to understand that we didn’t start this conversation, God did.
Because of His great love for you, He has sought you out. Specifically, intentionally, and for a purpose!
In this verse, Jesus is telling His followers that their choice was a response, not an initiative. They didn’t start this. He did.
God wants to spend time with us
God wants to spend time with us
Revelation 3:20
20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.
What does it mean when Jesus says that He wants to eat with you?
The number 1 place where relationships are deepened is around the dinner table. When we go out with friends, there’s food. When we take someone on a date, there’s food. When we as parents want for our kids to let down their guard and talk to us about what they’re struggling with, there’s food.
Jesus wants to have intimate conversations with you about your ups and downs, your Victories and your defeats. Because He Cares.
God will never leave us
God will never leave us
Hebrews 13:5
5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
but how do you respond to that? How do you response to God’s promise that He will never leave you?
Do you believe Him? If so, that’s awesome!
But maybe you struggle. You struggle because there have been people in your life that have told you that they’d never leave you, but they did.
I can’t heal those wounds that you carry, But I can say this. He’s never left me.
At some point, every person in my life either has, or will let me down. I am able to live with that, because my Hope isn’t in them. It’s in Him. And He’s here to stay.
Maybe that’s hard to believe. But He’s given me evidence. He’s worked hard to show me how much He loves me.
Maybe that’s hard to believe. But He’s given me evidence. He’s worked hard to show me how much He loves me.
How?
How?
What God has given us to Establish this Relationship.
What God has given us to Establish this Relationship.
He Gave His Son
He Gave His Son
John 3:16
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
I have two son’s, and i’ll be honest. I couldn’t give them up for you. I love you, but not that much.
but What did God really even accomplish for us through giving His son?
Well to be direct, We’re all broke. We’re all misfits, who can’t do right on our own. We think the wrong thoughts, and we do the wrong things.
This Sin caused a kind of Road Block that prevents us from being able to be in community with God.
He decided that this had to be handled.
Because of the way that the world was broken by the Sinful person. A Sinless Jesus had to come, live, die, and be resurrected to buy the forgiveness that each one of us want more than anything!
Without Jesus, we have no Hope.
That’s why we follow Him. Because spending our lives following anyone, or anything, else is like jumping out of a plane without a parachute.
Adrenaline, fun, fear, and then a sudden stop.
God gave us Jesus, so that we have hope. Even if our lives feel like a plane falling from the sky, We have Jesus as our parachute.
He also Gave us His book
He also Gave us His book
Matthew 4:4
4 But he answered, “It is written, “ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”
Why is the Bible so important for our relationship with God?
because the Bible is God’s love letter to us!
It’s crazy to think that even in a world that is constantly trying to disprove its Godly authorship, that it’s survived for thousands of years.
Not only that, but the way that is was written by more than 40 authors over three continents, copied into numerous languages, and the sheer number of copies that have been found all across the world. The There is NO DENYING that this book has supernatural power. If it didn’t, then kings of old would have been able to rid the world of God’s word, but they couldn’t
I can honestly say that I am stronger, and my life is smoother when I am consistently reading my Bible.
Finally,
He gave us His Spirit
He gave us His Spirit
John 16:13-14
13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.
14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
What does the Holy Spirit do for us?
When we are saved, We not only come to Christ, but He comes to us as the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit serves as the “Helper” in our daily lives! That guidance and peace that we can’t seem to explain, but it’s there.
Closing:
Closing:
If we’re going to make it through this life, we have to accept that we can’t do it alone, no matter how hard we try.
The Awesome part is that we don’t have too.
The one person in all of creation that can help us through the trials and the storms that this world throws at us is Jesus.
He’s a friend worth Having. and thank God that He thinks you are too.
He wants to meet you, spent time with you, and share experiences with you.
He’s given the evidence, He’s given the way.
Now, What will you do?
Now, What will you do?
Will you follow Jesus, and find the one friend worth having?
Or will you continue to befriend a world that has no Hope?
I’m going to pray, then we’re going to sing a song about Abiding in Christ. This basically means finding safety in Him. As I pray and we sing, I invite any of you who are struggling to come and to Pray. Maybe it’s for help with a tough situation. Maybe it’s to recommit your life to Jesus. Or maybe you’ve never surrendered your life to Him. You want this friend i keep talking about, but don’t know what to do. You can come and pray for God to forgive you of your sins, and ask him to be the Lord of your life. Admitting that you no longer want to be who you were, but want a new life rooted in Him! If you need someone to pray with you for any of these things, please grab one of the adults in the room. They’d be happy to pray with you!
Pray