What a Friend we Have in Jesus!

To have friendship with anyone - you must be in a relationship with them, that is, you must know them and be known by them, and you must share a mutual affection towards one another.

Good friends are hard to find. Most people only make 40 friends in their whole life, and of those less than 10 will be close friends. in fact some studies show that we make less than 5 close personal friendships (excluding our spouse) in our entire life.

Your 455 facebook friends dont count as actual friendships im afraid.

Friends are incredibly valuable. What makes them so precious is that a good friend is friends with you without a personal agenda ie: They are not using you for a personal gain, they dont want anything from you except just to be your friend.

quotes pg 157

A friendship that should never have happened

one of my favorite childhood movies is the Fox and the Hound. its a story of two natural enemies a Fox and a fox hound who experienced a miracle, instead of remaining enemies became the best of friends.

A fox and a hound being friends - that amazing.

Another similar more recent film is Bolt - a dog and a cat - mortal enemies become best friends.

But do you want to know what the most unlikely friendship ever was? its between a fox and a hound, or a dog and a cat:

Its between a Holy God and Sinful man.

Ephesians 2:3 KJV 1900

3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

2 Corinthians 6:14 KJV 1900

14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

God and Man and Friendship. 3 words which should be impossible to put in a sentence together.

Yet by a miracle has become a reality.

Colossians 1:21 KJV 1900

21 And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled

“So, How did the two of you become friends?”

Well its a long story, but in the short version: I was so close to Fire that clothes were catching on fire, and then Jesus came and plucked me out of that inferno.

Zechariah 3:1–2 KJV 1900

1 And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. 2 And the Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; Even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?

So did you choose him to be your friend? No, not at all. He chose me.

John 15:16 KJV 1900

16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

Thats amazing. You know we may wonder that if our “friend” knew us, and i mean even the thoughts that may run through our minds, or the temptations that we face, will they still be our friends?

Well God knows absolutely everything about you, There is not a thought in your head that God does not know.

Psalm 139:2 KJV 1900

2 Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, Thou understandest my thought afar off.

God knows everything about you!!!

Luke 12:7 KJV 1900

7 But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.

and despite this fact, He chose you to be His friend.

Friendship with God

Whats it like being friends with God?

Well what would it be like being friends with: someone loving like Mother Teresa? Or someone rich like Rockafella, or someone powerful like Donald trump, or someone talneted like Elivis Presley or someone wise like Warren Weirsbe?

Well being friends with God is like being friends with all these people, without their flaws and failures, multiplied by infinity.

He is my forever friend.

Bad freinds

Sometimes He seems to hurt us, but thats only because He is not willing to lie to us and so His harsh rebukes, though painful are good and trustworthy.

Proverbs 27:6 KJV 1900

6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend; But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

But there is one more thing: Before you were friends with God and enjoyed His peace and fellowship, you used to be friends with some very bad powers and principalities.

Where God works to bring out the absolute best ion you, these old fiends worked to bring out the worst in you.

Where God worked to raise your standard of morality and holiness, they worked to lower your morals and make you unrighteous.

Where God works to Holy and pure, they worked to tempt you to be evil and wicked.

Who is this they? Well these principalities and rules are simply called the World. And God wants to make something very clear about our friendship with with:

James 4:4 KJV 1900

4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

We are friends with who we choose to be friends: Pick your friends wisely.

How do you know if you are friends with the world?

Well thats easy, We are natural emulators, we copy. we pick us traits from whoever we hang out with and spend time with.

In fact research shows that our personality is the combination of our 5 most associated relationships. ie: you are the merger of your 5 best friends.

So to find out if you are friends with the world we just have to ask: Arte you conforming to the pattern of the World?

Romans 12:2 KJV 1900

2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Let me tell you about the world, the world is not your friend, and the world has done nothing for you.

But Jesus is your friend, how do i know this?

John 15:13 KJV 1900

13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

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