You got a friend in me!

Start the sermon with the song “You got a friend in me.”

John 15:15  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. 

INTRODUCTION

What I want to talk to you about this morning is just one question: How can we hear from God? But there is another question that goes right along with this: And this question will uncover your heart before God.

It is the question of motivation, a question that will dig into the possibility for real relationship. And It is this: Why hear from God?

What is our motivation in wanting to hear God’s voice? Why do we even care?

Well the answer is very simple: Friendship, God wants our friendship.

Now I know people who talk about how God is their buddy and that God and them just all and all. And then I know people who want you think that because God is so holy we do not have the right to talk to Him like we do with our friends.

Now this is what I want you to know there’s no way a mere mortal can fully relate to the limitless God of the Universe.

The friendship which God has called us to is never a friendship where we are buddies in a casual or irreverent sort of way.

God is always God and we are always human. And God always needs to be seen in our hearts as the Great King.

We call this concept of God’s loftiness the doctrine of transcendence. this mean that God is superior and unequal and we always need to keep this in mind when we approach Him.

Psa 97:9  For you, O LORD, are supreme over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods. 

But on the other hand, there’s a doctrine of immanence. this means that God is close to us. He is near. He is relational.

Matt 1:23  “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.’” 

When you think about this it can get confusing because they seem opposite of each other. But they actually are not. Because God is transcendent and Immanent. He is the great King and God with us.

We must never forget his greatness, but we must never forget about the blood of Jesus which is why we are never to keep our distance.

(show the picture of JF Kennedy playing in the president office.}

This is a classic picture of John F. Kennedy jr. playing in his father office. His father is the president of United States. His father is working in the oval office and leaders around the world are waiting in line to meet the president of the United States John F. Kennedy.

John F. Kennedy jr. is around 3 or 4 year old and he is playing in his father’s office. He is under his father’s desk just playing away. He is very happy to be near his father and His father is very happy that his child is in his office.

This is a perfect example of those to doctrines, John F. Kennedy is the most powerful man on the earth and here his child is very comfortable there with his father.

There is power in father’s position and character but there is still that closeness with his child.

So it is from those two characteristics that the Father invites us into a relationship with Him.

We understand that

Rev_1:8  “I am the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end,” says the Lord God. “I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come—the Almighty One.”

But yet He is also that Great Shepherd

Psa 23:1  A psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I have all that I need. 

Psa 23:2  He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. 

Psa 23:3  He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name. 

Psa 23:4  Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. 

Psa 23:5  You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings. 

Psa 23:6  Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the LORD forever. 

We should always keep it in our mind the greatness of God but yet that He is friend that is closer than a brother.

So God is inviting us into friendship. And that friendship is the different in our prayer life.

So let’s look at those questions one more time.

How can we hear from God? And

What is our motivation in wanting to hear God’s voice?

In our Text this morning

John 15:15  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. 

This is such a wonderful truth for us. Look at it: God the great God of the universal calls us His friend.

Jesus has opens the door to establish a deep level of friendship with us. Jesus came so we might have a right relationship with the Father.

And a big part of that relationship involves communication.

So Why hear from God? Look at John 15:15 again Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me.

Communication, Prayer.

There are three hard cold truths that will answer the question also about our motivation for want to hear from God.

1. GOD DOES NOT SPEAK TO ROBOT.

This is what I mean: God didn’t create us to just be mindlessly obey His commands.

We have a soul, mind, heart and a will. We are free will people. That is the way God created us.

Think about his a car. we push on the gas petal to speed up, the brake to stop. We give the machine a order and it obey us.

some of us today have cars that talk back to us. I am talking about the GPS. I have a love-hate relationship with my GPS. The woman’s voice in my get me sometimes. Her voice is kinda up tee. Kinda think she know everything and I know nothing.

I am very directional challege and I use the GPS all the time. And then I still get lost. And the other day and thought I heard her sigh with disgust at me. I am recalculating.

God didn’t create us to be like a robots instead He created us to be His children.

There is no line we must walk or maze we must go thru to get to talk with God.

He invites us to come and talk to Him anything and all the time.

We can play like it was in His office under His desk.

James 2:23  And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God. 

In Gen. 18 Abraham has this conversation with God.

Gen 18:22  And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD. 

Gen 18:23  And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? 

Abraham set a pattern here, He stood before the Lord, and He drew near.

If you want to hear from God You must stop what you are doing and draw near to God.

This conversation was very strange because Abraham knew that God would never do wrong.

Abraham felt the need to talk to his friend and remind Him about righteous and Holy He is.

He went from 50 people to righteous to 10 people being righteous.

That is the type of conversation that God want to have with us.

We know that God doesn’t destroy wicked cities today but God justice still exist today.

We need to have conversation with God like this: Really Lord I know there is a place called hell. And there are people who have turned from your face. Lord will they spend eternity in hell. Is that what your justice look like. If so God please , I desperately pray for my unsaved family member and friends, please Lord let them hear the gospel,let them open the heart to Jesus. thank you for always being merciful and showing your grace.

That type of prayer is not a robot prayer. We are not just merely taking orders from God, we are talking with Him about His actions and character. We are seeking to understand Him and we are seeking on behalf of others.

God doesn’t change His mind because of our prayers but He is inviting us into the process with Him.

This is where God brings understanding to our hearts and minds. We are not robots instead we have a true friendship with God.

2. GOD SPEAKS TO PEOPLE

the second truth that shows what a friendship with God is like is a straightforward truth. God speak to people..

Open your mind up here. God Speaks to people!

God spoke to people in the Bible. And He still speaking to people today.

When we look at the scripture. It’s easy to see that God spoke to people. God spoke to Adam and Eve in the cool of the day. God spoke to Noah, Moses, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and the list go on and on.

God cares for people and He is constantly speaking to people, always inviting them to draw a step closer to Him.

But the question is how does God speak? I think we have this idea that God spoke to people in the bible with this big booming voice.

So there was no way they could miss His voice.

In 1 Kings 19 This is a story about Elijah in the wilderness and It shows us that God sometimes choose to speak to us in a small still voice.

Elijah is running for his life and he tired and discouraged and he run into a cave and it there in that cave that God speak to him.

God asked Elijah what he was doing in the cave. And Elijah tells him I am the only one left all the prophets are dead and they are chasing after me.

God tell him to go out and stand on the edge of the cave. Elijah does and there is a strong wind that come and God is not in the wind, then Earthquake, God is not in the Earthquake, then a fire and God is not in the fire But after the fire there was a still small voice.

I believe God still speak to us inside to our hearts.

John 16:12  I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. 

John 16:13  Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. 

3. GOD SPEAKS TO FRIENDS

There is two scriptures I want to share and then I am closing:

Exodus 33:11  And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend.

James 2:23  And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. 

God was a friend to Moses and Abraham, if we don’t get that we will not be able to communicate with God.

The only time that we will talk to God is when we are in trouble or when we have got a big decision to make, or when we want something from Him.

God wants to be your friend. He wants to talk to us every day.

Friendship with God is an awesome privilege but it is also an awesome responsibility, one we are not you are to take lightly.

If we are disciples of Jesus, then we are friends of God.

Jesus laid down His life for His friends even when we betray Him, even when we sin.

Friendship with God is at the core of the gospel message.

Rom 5:10  For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. 

Rom 5:11  So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.