Am I a Friend of God?

God loves you! What an incredible truth to remember as we jump back into our series today!

The creator of the universe loves you and cares about you! His love for you is proven in His mighty acts of compassion and grace… the greatest of all being the sending of His Son Jesus to die for our sins! God is TRULY WORTHY of our highest praise… we stand in awe of who He is and what He can do… and we fear Him… not in a scared sense… but in a reverent and respectful sense.

And today’s message… is going to be a bit more challenging… it is going to challenge our thinking and understanding of a particular Scripture.

How many remember the song that said, “I am a friend of God He calls me friend”

That song quotes the words of David from Psalm 8:4 that ask...

Psalm 8:4 NIV

4 what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?

The answer is then presented in the song and it simply says, “I am a friend of God.” And I am guessing this answer is based off Jesus’ words to His disciples found in John 15:14-15

John 15:14–15 NIV

14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.

Jesus presents an IF, THEN statement here. This statement was never mentioned in the song we used to see… and we need to be aware of what Jesus is saying. IF you do what I command… THEN you are my friends. SO… is Jesus sating that He is only friends with those who do His works for Him? It might surprise us that there is a condition in Scripture that determines your level of friendship with the Lord and it has everything to do with our fear of God. It has EVERYTHING to do with the DEPTH of your relationship with the Lord.

We are going to talk about what a true and proper relationship looks like in Christ. We are going to talk about what “friendship” with God truly means.

Our fellowship with God is restored the moment we call on the name of Jesus for salvation. But how deep we go in that fellowship with God… depends on the level of our pursuit of Him.

What we are talking about is… our level of intimacy with the Lord. Are we drawing close to Him? Are we desperate or hungry for Him? ARE WE CHOOSING TO ABIDE IN THE ONE WHO IS THE TRUE VINE OF LIFE?

What do vines have to with this? Back up in John 15:5-6

John 15:5–6 NIV

5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.

The ESV Bible uses the word abide instead of remain. What does this word abide mean?

Abide defined means to continue in a place… or in this case… in relationship with Jesus. It means to live in and dwell within that relationship.

Think about friendship you have with people. How are those friendships sustained and maintained?

These friendships require investment. You CARE for each other, you get to know one another. You spend time together. You laugh together, you cry together, you share stories and needs with one another.

Friendships DO NOT happen by accident… WE PURSUE THEM. AND… there are different levels of friendship.

I have many friends… at different levels. I have friends that I allow into my inner circle meaning I am comfortable sharing my hurts and struggles with them. I know they celebrate victories with me… and pray for me in hard times.

I also have friendships that do not share this level of trust and accountability. That trust and accountability is based off how well I know a person… and how well they know me.

Now… make no mistake… GOD KNOWS YOU. He knows the numbers of hairs on our heads. He created you. You are a product of His love and handiwork. You cannot hide from Him, you cannot go where He cannot find you.

So the question is NOT how well does God know you… the question is… HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW THE LORD?

How can a person claim to be a “friend” of God or Jesus… if they do not pursue Him… if they do not abide in Him… if they do not do what God commands?

I get it… it’s nice and fun to generalize and sing “He calls me friend” and pretend that all is well in our relationship… but where is our intimacy with the Lord? How deep does your relationship with the Lord go?

So this morning, we dive into what it means to be a friend of God… what it means to have an intimate relationship with the Lord and why it is so important.

Our fellowship with God MUST BE MORE THAN A CLAIM. 1 John 1:6-7 warns us that if we claim t have fellowship with the light (God) yet continue to walk in darkness… we lie and do not live out the truth! The key is walking in the light as HE is in the light. The key is ABIDING in the One who is the TRUE VINE.

Friendship With the Lord

So what does friendship with God… look like?

Psalm 25:14 helps to give us an answer.

Psalm 25:14 NIV

14 The Lord confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them.

First off, we see that God is willing and able to CONFIDE in those who FEAR Him. So before we talk about confiding… let’s talk about the condition presented - fearing the Lord.

Fearing the Lord moves us to draw closer to Him AND His Word. Fearing the Lord places God above ALL ELSE. Fearing the Lord reminds us that HE IS GOD, AND I (WE) ARE NOT. It puts God first.

IF that fear is lacking, it will show up in our pursuit of Him… we will pursue other things over God. We will allow other things to become more important. We will make excuses as to why our fellowship with God is lacking. We will compromise our walk for what WE WANT instead of what God commands.

God WILL NOT CONFIDE in such situations. Why? Because there is a distance here… God sees the lack of pursuit…

Scripture makes clear that God confides in those who are CLOSE to Him… He confides in those who put Him first.

The Hebrew word used here is defined as counsel. Confidentiality is at the heart of this term. Some translations use the word “secret” instead of confides.

So the essence here is God shares His secrets and counsel with those who fear Him.

This means… God withholds this counsel from those who do not fear Him. And I don’t know so much if it is God withholding… as much as it is people not listening…

Think about it… who do you share your “secrets” with? Those you call an acquaintance or those you consider a friend? Look at how the ESV translates Psalm 25:14

Psalm 25:14 ESV

14 The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant.

Here’s the hard truth and the bottom line: God is not everyone’s friend.

Oof. That one kind of hurts. But we need to realize something today… this is NOT due to a lack of God pursuing us… but it has everything to do with our lack… of pursuing Him.

GOD WANTS TO BE YOUR FRIEND.

In fact, the word friend doesn’t do justice regarding the relationship God wants to have with you. How do we know this?

Because of what He has done. Our choice to sin created a separation with God that we could not overcome on our own. God’s presence cannot dwell where there is sin.

So God moved on our behalf. John 3:16 tells us

John 3:16 NIV

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Romans 5:8 gives us this important detail:

Romans 5:8 NIV

8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

God has gone the distance to give us the opportunity to be forgiven of our sins and to enter into relationship with Him. He is your heavenly Father, He is the great I Am. He is MORE THAN A FRIEND… He is our GOD.

He knows us… AND WE CAN KNOW HIM. And the deeper we go in our relationship with Him, the more He reveals to us. The more we study and listen and apply His Word to our lives, the better we will know His will and plan for our lives.

Romans 12:2 is a Scripture I bring up often… and for good reason. It is A Scripture that talks about a change that needs to happen in the life of the believer.

Romans 12:2 NIV

2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Too often, believers continue to conform to the pattern of the world while expecting God to move powerfully in their lives. The problem is… they have yet to break free.

The passage makes clear that God wants to renew your mind and such will result in powerful transformation!

But we cannot have this… without considering the verse that comes before this.

Romans 12:1 NIV

1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.

A living sacrifice is one that GIVES ALL TO THE LORD. A living sacrifice is a wholehearted pursuit of God that becomes true and proper worship.

IF you desire to be a friend of God, it begins by engaging in a wholehearted, lifelong pursuit of the One who gave His Son for you.

In that pursuit… God will confide in you, He will renew your mind, He will reveal His will. He draws closer to those who draw close to Him.

AND… in that relationship… we find LIFE. In that relationship we receive something that can ONLY come from remaining or abiding in the true vine.

Friendship that Brings Life

When it comes to friends, these are people we have relationships with that enhance our lives.

In some way or another, they are a blessing to you, and you are a blessing to them. This relationship is VALUED and it shows. Friends have each other’s backs, they are there for one another, and they care for one another.

Have you ever been caught in a one-sided friendship? It’s not much fun is it...

The person you call “friend” is a constant taker… but not much of a giver. It seems the relationship is based off what they can get from you instead of what you do for each other.

These kind of relationships… drain us. And typically, they do not last long. We end up cutting ties with those who constantly take.

The friendships that last… last for a reason. Because these relationships enhance our lives.

When it comes to our relationship with Jesus… Jesus is offering us something that cannot be found in this world.

The enemy… who is a large influencer in this world, comes only to steal, to kill and to destroy. But John 10:10 tells us that Christ has come that we might have what? “LIFE MORE ABUNDANTLY.”

Jesus has come to give us life… not old life… not life according to the world… but life that can ONLY come from God! We experience this life as we abide in the giver of life.

Going back to John 15, Jesus uses the illustration of a vine and branches. He identifies Himself as “the true vine” and His followers the branches.

What does the vine do for the branch? IT PROVIDES THE BRANCH WITH LIFE! All that the branch needs to survive comes from what? THE VINE.

AND… with that life… the vine gives the branch the ability to do what? To produce fruit.

As Jesus says in John 15:5… the branch that does not remain in Christ can do nothing… it can no longer produce the fruit of the vine.

IF we desire to produce fruit for God’s Kingdom, we must remain or abide in Jesus!

And as we continue along this train of thought, there is something else that needs to be emphasized.

If we are not careful, we can begin to slip into a legalistic mindset regarding all of this. This mindset moves us to think that we earn friendship with God by doing what He tells us to do.

Church, if this is where we land then we have missed it. Its not about earning, its about abiding in His love. ALL OF THIS is because we LOVE JESUS.

We keep His commands because we love Him.

We follow His ways because we love Him.

We abide in Christ because we love Him.

And never forget that the love within this relationship was first displayed through Christ as He gave His life on the cross.

Look at Jesus’ words in John 15:9

John 15:9 NIV

9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.

God has SO MUCH IN STORE for those who take this to heart. He has incredible things in store for those who remain in His love.

But what about those who do not take this command… seriously? Well, one-sided relationships don’t typically go so well. John 15:2 tells us that God, the gardener, cuts off every branch that does not bar fruit.

And before someone begins to think this as heartless the reality is… those who are not producing fruit for the kingdom have cut themselves off from the vine long ago.

So how can a person make a turn around in this area? If a person finds that their relationship with God is not what it needs to be, what can be done about it? How do we get back to abiding in Christ?

Closing Point: Stop Playing Games with God.

In our efforts to restore our fear of the Lord, we have to be willing to be real with ourselves and stop playing games with faith.

Too often, God is nothing but a fixer in our life.

Believers tend to keep God tucked away in the corner until they need His help with something. They call on Him to come “fix” whatever the broken situation is.

God certainly cares about our hardships and He helps us along the way. But hear these next words, church: God doesn’t want to be your fixer… He wants to be your Father… your heavenly Father.

Whats the difference between a fixer and our heavenly father?

This Father is someone we trust, someone we listen to. This Father is someone who guides us, protects us, provides for us. This Father LOVES US beyond measure. In fact, if we were honest, if we would listen to this Father more often, we may not find ourselves in worldly trouble in the first place!

So let’s get back to the IF, THEN statement we began with from Jesus. He said in John 15:14 that IF we do what He has commanded, THEN we are His friends.

The motive in ALL of this is LOVE, not legalism. Christ came to set us free from legalistic tendencies… from believing that salvation is something earned.

We have been saved by grace and in response, we follow the words of Jesus… not because we have to… BUT BECAUSE WE LOVE HIM.

These words of Jesus were spoken during the last supper. This was a very intimate time between Jesus and His disciples. He was sharing some very deep truths and thoughts with those who had been faithful to follow Him.

But… do you know who wasn’t there at this time? Judas. Judas had already left to betray Jesus.

We need to take note of this… those at the table were friends of Jesus because they REMAINED in Him. Judas struggled to get it… his heart was not in the right place. He literally walked with Jesus but failed to follow Him.

Let’s not foll ourselves like Judas did. Let’s not play games with God.

Instead, let’s choose to draw close to Him. Let’s choose to passionately pursue the One who gave His life for us.

How close are you to the Lord today? I’m not asking you to sum up your daily Christian disciplines… I’m asking how close is your heart to the Lord?

Do you find yourself abiding in Christ… or only calling on Him in times of need? Are you following His commands and bearing fruit for the kingdom, or are you doing your own thing?

Hod deep is your relationship with Him?

If it is only as deep as attending church once a week, we have some work to do. God wants your heart… those who fear Him, are friends with Him. Remember Psalm 25:14

Psalm 25:14 ESV

14 The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant.

Today, lets makes the choice to get our relationship back online with Him.

This happens in two steps.

First we repent and remove the distractions. First we say sorry to the Lord and ask for His help in getting our priorities back online.

Second, we give Him our heart. Out of love and adoration, we give God… everything! Not just today, but each and every day. We surrender all that we are, we become living sacrifices, we acknowledge His love for us by abiding in Jesus Christ.

If you would like to take those two steps, stand with me as we pray.