Becoming a Friend of God

Becoming A Friend Of God

Pastor E. Keith Hassell

James 2:23 “And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’ And he was called the friend of God.”

I.                   One of the greatest blessings in life is true friend

A.               One who sticks with you no matter what you’ve done or who you are?

1.          Proverbs 18:24 “A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”

B.                One who you can share you greatest failures and your grandest dreams?

C.               One who doesn’t care what you look like first thing in the morning?

D.               One who is always there when you need them?

E.                One who stays with you when nobody else will?

1.          Proverbs 17:17 “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”

F.                One who extends mercy and grace rather than judgment?

G.               One who defends you from your enemies?

H.               One who will tell you the truth that you need to hear but don’t want to hear?

1.          Proverbs 27:6 “Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.”

I.                   One who’s influence makes you a much better person?

1.          Proverbs 27:17 “As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.”

J.                  One who will lay down their life for you?

II.                One of the greatest curses in life is a false friend

A.               We are hurt more by false friends than by true enemies.

1.          Psalm 41:9 “Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.”

2.          Zechariah 13:6 “And one will say to him, ‘What are these wounds between your arms?’ Then he will answer, ‘Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.’”

B.                Men often confuse “buddies” and women often confuse “girlfriends” with true friends

C.               Lovers often confuse their sweethearts with true friends

D.               False friends can look like true friends until the tests of life come

E.                False friends will deceive you by saying what you want them to say and doing what you want them to do all for the wrong reasons

F.                False friends will deny you behind your back

G.               False friends will betray you to your enemies

H.               False friends will leave you in your time of trouble

I.                   The butler was a false friend to Joseph

J.                  David was a false friend to Uriah, the husband of Bathsheba

K.               Judas was a false friend to Jesus, betraying Him with a kiss of friendship

III.             The Friend of God

A.               Abraham was the first man in the Bible to be called the friend of God

1.          Isaiah 41:8 “But you, Israel, are My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the descendants of Abraham My friend.”

B.                God spoke to Moses as a friend

1.          Exodus 33:1 “So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle.”

C.               Jesus called His twelve disciples “friends”

1.          John 15:15 “No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.”

D.               What characterized these men as “friends of God?”

1.          They believed God

2.          They chose God

3.          They obeyed God

4.          They walked with God

IV.            Will we be a friend of God?

A.               Anyone can claim to be a friend of God. The question is, does God call us His friend?

B.                Laying aside our claims, what is the evidence?

1.          Do we believe God?

a               Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”

2.          Have we chosen God over everything else?

a               James 4:4 “Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

3.          Do we obey God?

a               James 2:18-23 “But someone will say, ‘You have faith, and I have works.’ Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! 20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?  21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? 23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’ And he was called the friend of God.”

b              Obedience is the test of true friendship with God

1)                 John 15:14 “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.”

4.          Are we walking with God?

a               Walking with God means identifying ourselves with Him

b              Walking with God means a journey, not just an experience

c               Walking with God means allowing God to choose the direction for our life

d              Walking with God means embracing the pathways of God

e               Walking with God means following Him wherever He leads

f                Walking with God means staying with God through the mountains as well as the valleys

g               Walking with God means a willingness to know Him