friendship with God

Friendship with God should be an integral point of aspiration for a Christian

FRIENDSHIP WITH GOD ……. download here……. FRIENDSHIP WITH GOD

SUNDAY 17, FEBRUARY 2019

Matt 6:5-15, 1 Chr 29:10-12, Ps 22:28, Ps 47:2,8; Dan 4:17, 25, 32

INTRODUCTION

Friendship with God should be an integral point of aspiration for a Christian who loves God and desires to make heaven his/her final abode after the sojourn here on earth. Matthew Henry observes, “God is a guest worth entreating.” If we covet God’s friendship, we should do everything we can to be hospitable toward Him, so that He is welcome in our lives and homes.

God is ready to dwell in the hearts of men if He is invited to be the Lord and savior of such a heart.

WHAT DOES THE SCRIPTURES SAY ABOUT FRIENDSHIP GENERALLY?

 FRIENDSHIP CANNOT BE SEPARATED FROM HOSPITALITY

Rom 16:1-2 MSG

Be sure to welcome our friend Phoebe in the way of the Master, with all the generous hospitality we Christians are famous for. I heartily endorse both her and her work. She’s a key representative of the church at Cenchrea. Help her out in whatever she asks. She deserves anything you can do for her. She’s helped many a person, including me.

As a Christian you must be generous not only with your money but also with your time, counsel and other blessings that God bestowed upon you and are at your disposal. Madam Phoebe’s generosity in the above scriptures had gone ahead of her to touch the heavens and speak on her behalf when she needed help the most. The commendation about her by Apostle Paul is of her generosity and friendliness towards all men. What will be your testimony when you would have long gone? May you be counted a worthy friend to both God and men.

FRIENDSHIP CANNOT BE SEPARATED FROM LOYALTY

Loyalty is naturally connected to friendship. It is one thing to be alive, it is another thing to live life well. To live well means to love God with all your heart and with all your soul and to love your neighbor as yourself. You should strive at all times to earn a reputation for living well in the sight of men but most importantly in the sight of God.

Pro 3:1-4 MSG

1-2 Good friend, don’t forget all I’ve taught you; take to heart my commands.

They’ll help you live a long, long time, a long life lived full and well.

3–4         Don’t lose your grip on Love and Loyalty. Tie them around your neck; carve their initials on your heart.

EARN A REPUTATION FOR LIVING WELL IN GOD’S EYES AND THE EYES OF THE PEOPLE.

Pro 18:24 MSG Friends come and friends go, but a true friend sticks by you like family.

Friends come and go especially as you move from one stage of life to another, your friends will change but a true friend will stick by you like family. May the Lord bring your way loyal friends that are like family.

Pro 19:4-7

4              Wealth attracts friends as honey draws flies, but poor people are avoided like a plague.

5              Perjury won’t go unpunished. Would you let a liar go free?

6              Lots of people flock around a generous person; everyone’s a friend to the philanthropist.

7              When you’re down on your luck, even your family avoids you— yes, even your best friends wish you’d get lost.

If they see you coming, they look the other way— out of sight, out of mind

 Perjury means lying under oath, avoid it like a plague! Strive to be the philanthropist with a generous mind that everyone will be attracted to.

ABRAHAM’S FRIENDSHIP WITH GOD WAS ACKNOWLEDGED THREE TIMES IN THE SCRIPTURES:

GOD HIMSELF SPEAKING THROUGH HIS PROPHET ISAIAH:

Isa 41: 8 “But you, Israel, are My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, The descendants of Abraham My friend.

9 You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, And called from its farthest regions, And said to you,

‘You are My servant, I have chosen you and have not cast you away:

10 Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’

 KING JEHOSHAPHAT WHEN HE WAS CONFRONTED WITH WAR BY MANY NATIONS:

2 Chro 20:5-7

5 Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court,

6 and said: “O Lord God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You?

7 Are You not our God, who drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel, and gave it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever?

APOSTLE JAMES WHEN HE WAS PROPOUNDING THAT A MAN IS JUSTIFIED BY WORKS AND NOT BY FAITH ONLY

3. Apostle James while he was explaining the subject of faith:

James 2:18-24

18 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.

24 You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.

 A man is justified by works and not by faith alone. There is no faith without works because your work is the spirit that energizes your faith to find expression.

HOW FRIENDSHIP WITH GOD DEVELOPS

While Apostle James was quoting in Jas 2:23 directly from Genesis chapter 15, however it was not exactly in Genesis 15 that Abraham eventually became the friend of God.

Gen 15:1-7

1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”

2 But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”

3 Then Abram said, “Look, you have given me no offspring; indeed, one born in my house is my heir!”

4 And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from YOUR OWN BODY shall be your heir.”

5 Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”

6 And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.

7 Then He said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it.”

 This passage is notable because this was the first place the issue of tithe was mentioned in the Bible. Abraham knew to do it because eternity is written in the hearts of men. God taught Abraham not to be too fixated on the methods available at the disposal of humans but to think outside the box. He is God almighty that can create a wellspring in the desert and cause a woman in Menopause to bring forth a healthy baby even in extreme old age. Don’t be too fixated on your problems and forget the mighty works of God that He is capable of doing again and again. Abraham believed God and it was accounted unto him as righteousness.

IN GEN 16 – MISINTERPRETATION OF VISION AND THE BIRTH OF MISTAKE ISHMAEL

It is possible that when Abram came to himself and out of the vision and shared with Mama Sarai, she would have thought to herself. I am already in menopause and God spoke to you and said:

Gen 15: 4 And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from YOUR OWN BODY shall be your heir.”

Sarai may well have concluded that: God meant that YOUR SEED (which is possible through any other woman) and presented Hagar her maid in an attempt to help God fulfill His words. Abraham concurred and the encounter produced Ishmael.

IN GEN 17 – GOD CAME THROUGH FOR THEM DESPITE THEIR MISTAKE

God had to come again to Abram as Almighty God. He appeared as the El-Shaddai and all-knowing God that is bigger than all human mistakes especially that committed by Abram and Sarai in Gen 16, and asked him to walk before Him and be blameless.

1. God renewed His covenant with Abram, and the sign of the covenant was to be circumcision of all male by him and in his household.
2. God changed his name and by extension changed his nature from Abram – Exalted father to Abraham – father of many nations.
3. God also changed the name of Sarai to Sarah – princess and mother of nations.
4. Then God renewed His promise of a son by Sarah to Abraham, but he still laughed in unbelief. God promised to do a new thing different from his mistake – Ishmael.

Gen 17: 17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?”

19 Then God said: “NO, SARAH YOUR WIFE SHALL BEAR YOU A SON, AND YOU SHALL CALL HIS NAME ISAAC; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him.

 Friendship is a journey. Abraham did not really believe God in Genesis 15 but it was still counted unto him as righteousness.  God had to deal with Abraham’s unbelief while setting him on the path to be His friend. He answered Abraham’s concern and yearnings on Ishmael with His promises of blessing him and making him great in order to shatter the “unbelief” of Abram. God further renewed  His earlier promise of giving Abraham a son from his own loins through his aged wife Sarah. After this encounter, Abraham hurriedly went ahead and circumcised all the males of his household and himself at 99 years old and Ishmael at 13 years old, thus ending every unbelief and cancelling every doubt in his heart.

Today, God demands a circumcision of the heart of ALL men. Both young and old to be circumcised in reverence before Him Jer 4:3, Rom 2: 28

 Gen 18 – God showed up physically different from the dream and vision pattern Abraham was accustomed to – still on this same subject without revealing His identity under the Terebinth trees of Mamre. This encounter was necessary because God also needed to deal with Sarah’s unbelief in order for His plans to come to full manifestation. She needed to come to a point of brokenness and conviction. The generous and hospitable heart of Abraham still spoke for him when he unknowingly entertained angels and God in the form of men.

 God’s method of friendship that He wants all believers to adopt is exemplified by His interactions with Abraham in the Bible. Abraham and Sarah were not in that state of true friendship with God until after He dealt with the “limiting unbelief” in their hearts. It was only after then God disclosed His plan of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah because God has chosen, known, tested, tried and taken Abraham through the highest form of examination and is now qualified to be called His friend.

A FEW “LESSONS FOR FRIENDS” FROM THESE PASSAGES:

1. In any friendship or partnership – (relationship friendship, marriage friendship, business friendship) no matter how great your individual faith is, if you are not in agreement with your spouse, your joint desire/goal will not be achieved.
2. You don’t hide what you are doing from a friend, but if your so-called friend is hiding something from you, re-examine the relationship whether indeed you are friends. Friendship is a two-way street – John 15:15
3. Similarly, it appears impossible for God to overrule the faith of a partner in a friendly relationship, rather, he would do all to get the unbelieving partner on board. If you are not in agreement or alignment with your partner, achieving a set goal will almost take forever to be achieved.
4. Once God have spoken good concerning you, you are the architect of your fortune and determinant of your blessing
5. Friendship takes time to cultivate and develop.

 Furthermore one requirement of friendship with God and even with men here on earth is hospitality. A hospitable host makes a guest feel welcome and comfortable. In Heb 13:1-2, the writer of the book of Hebrew was directly referring to Abraham’s encounter with God in Gen 18. From the scriptures under reference, we see that Abraham demonstrates several ingredients of hospitality and we shall consider a few of them.

ABRAHAM’s DEMONSTRATION OF SOME INGREDIENTS OF HOSPITALITY:

 EAGERNESS OF HOSPITALITY Gen 18:1 — Despite being an aged man of 100 years and being under the harsh climate condition, Abraham “ran from the tent door” to meet these men and earnestly entreated them to stay. When they agreed, he “hurried into the tent” and told Sarah, “quickly, make some bread”; then “he ran to the herd”, selected a calf and gave it to the servant who “hurried” to prepare it. All of these hurried activities show how eager Abraham was to fellowship with his heavenly guests.

 EFFORTS OF HOSPITALITY:

There is a spontaneous aspect to good relationship, but it also requires effort. One is also struck by the effort Abraham put into his hospitality. He didn’t walk but he ran to get everything going to make preparation for his guests.  

 EXPENSE OF HOSPITALITY:

Abraham’s friendship with God was not cheap. He spared no expense to entertain his heavenly visitors. Hospitality is expensive. Spending time with God costs money, time, energy etc. On one occasion, King David wanted to purchase the site of the threshing floor of a man named Araunah as a place to offer burnt offerings; however, Araunah offered it to the king for free. King David blatantly refused that he would not offer unto his God what does not cost him something!!  1 Kings 24:24

CONCLUSION:

Friendship with God begins by being reconciled to Him through faith in Christ. It requires being available for the relationship and being hospitable toward the Lord Eph. 2:1-3; 4:18; Rom. 8:7, 1 Cor. 2:14; 2 Cor. 4:4. Accept him today and begin a journey of friendship with the Lord to enjoy true peace Jer. 8:11; 23:17