Jesus is My Best Friend

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Series that will take us to Easter Sunday.
FRAN - people will come to church on Easter more than any other time.
A lot of people have ideas about Jesus but they are not based on the Bible. They are based on tradition, culture, Christmas stories… movies.
1 Corinthians 2:1–2 The Message
1 You’ll remember, friends, that when I first came to you to let you in on God’s master stroke, I didn’t try to impress you with polished speeches and the latest philosophy. 2 I deliberately kept it plain and simple: first Jesus and who he is; then Jesus and what he did—Jesus crucified.
We are going to keep it simple. The phrase we will use is Jesus is…
Pray that we will come to know Jesus… open our eyes.
Today… Jesus is my best friend. He wants to relate to us personally.
Knick names - these indicate closeness. They are descriptive. It’s a guy thing. Baseball - always add a y to their name… Robbie… Billy… Bull - bull headed…
Jesus had a given name...
Matthew 1:21 NLT
21 And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
This was Jesus given name. Look at this…
Matthew 1:23 NLT
23 “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’ ”
This was a nickname for Jesus… it endears us to him and describes him.
Immanuel - God with us. The most unique characteristic about him was that Jesus was actually God with us.
You need to understand that Jesus is up close and personal with us…
Jesus Immanuel is actually....

Jesus understands

John 1:14 NLT
14 So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.
From birth to 30, Jesus lived life just like you and me. He was a person going though life. He was identifying with us and one of us. He worked as a carpenter. Before he preached, did any miracles… he lived life.
Hebrews 2:17–18 NLT
17 Therefore, it was necessary for him to be made in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Then he could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people. 18 Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested.
Because he went through everything that we went through - He understands.
If you have gone through cancer treatments… you understand what someone else is going through...
If you go through a divorce, you understand...
If you lose a loved one, you understand...
There is nothing in life that you or I will go through in this life that Jesus did not experience or that he will understand. That’s what he was doing during the first 30 years of his life.

He understands relationships.

Jesus had a family…
Mark 6:3 NLT
3 Then they scoffed, “He’s just a carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon. And his sisters live right here among us.” They were deeply offended and refused to believe in him.
He had brothers and sisters… when there is a bunch of kids, it’s active.
This did not mention Joseph… he may have died by this time.
He understood the dynamic of a big family.
He was tempted as all points just like us. He understand singleness. He even understands marriage because the Bible describes him as the groom and the church as the bride and we as the church are unfaithful to him every day.
He knows what it’s like to have friends that betray him.... Peter… Judas...
At one point, his natural brothers and sisters thought he was crazy…
Mark 3:21 NLT
21 When his family heard what was happening, they tried to take him away. “He’s out of his mind,” they said.
Imagine… his family did not even believe in him.

He understands life.

He understands what it’s like for you to have to get up and go to work in the morning. He worked probably from 12 to 30… 18 years. Most of the soft pictures of Jesus are not accurate. He was a builder… probably rough looking. He worked for his dad until his dad died and then he had to provide for his mom and his siblings.
He did this longer than he preached.
Jesus knew what it was like.
Hebrews 4:15 NIV
15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.

He understands pain.

He understood physical and emotional pain. Look at Isaiah…
Isaiah 53:3 NLT
3 He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.
He probably experienced this from early. His mom was an unmarried teenager when she became pregnant. I am more than sure he was picked on and made fun of.
Have you ever been bullied at school or on the playground? Jesus understands.
“a man of sorrows” - he may have cried himself to sleep at times...
“acquainted with deepest grief”
He understands...
Physical -
Isaiah 53:5 NLT
5 But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.
Jesus was physically tortured and killed for us.
Jesus qualifies to be...

My Best Friend

This is my desire today that you would come to know Jesus as your best friend.
Proverbs 18:24 NLT
24 There are “friends” who destroy each other, but a real friend sticks closer than a brother.
That friend is Jesus. He is my best friend.

1. Make Jesus your best friend.

Do that. Make him your best friend. Change your relationship status with Jesus. Make him your BFF.
Jesus talks about people who know hi as only a Sunday God and he has something to say about those...
Matthew 7:21–23 NLT
21 “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. 22 On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ 23 But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’
He wants you to have him as Your BFF. He wants you to know him up close and personal.
He thinks of you as friends…
John 15:15 NLT
15 I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me.
He calls us his friends. He doesn’t need servants…thats what the angels do.
If he understands life, then...

2. Talk to Him.

Stop praying formally… talk to Him. He is not some distant God. Prayer is a conversation with God.
ILL - kids texting all the time… FB all the time and putting stuff on there. Talk to Jesus about your life.
Jesus is seated on the throne talking to the Father on your behalf. When you talk to him, he remembers what is was like.
Hebrews 4:16 NIV
16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Because of Jesus we can come to God with confidence.
When you do, you will find mercy, grace and help. You will not get judgement.

3. Trust Him with your life.

Hand the controls of your life over to Him.
Heads bowed and eyes closed. Music beginning to play soft.
Some of you today need to change your relationship status today.
John 1:12 The Living Bible
11 Even in his own land and among his own people, the Jews, he was not accepted. Only a few would welcome and receive him. But to all who received him, he gave the right to become children of God. All they needed to do was to trust him to save them.
You invite him in. This means you repent from your life without him and turn towards him. People want something real.
pray sinners prayer
Now, here is what you need to do. Maybe you have received him before, but you need to commit to following the Lord, to make him your BFF.
Psalm 37:5 NLT
5 Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you.
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