A FRIEND OF GOD

TEXT: John 15:14-15
14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
 15  Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.

MESSAGE
When you think  of your best friend, what comes into your mind? He's a person whose company you enjoy, a person whom you are fond of, right? He's very importantly, our confidant. It's very common for men to have friends. But one thing that is beyond even our widest imagination is the friendship between man and God. Once upon a time God called a man his friend. That man was Abraham. God singled him out and blessed him (Isaiah 51:2). He was so blessed of God that in Him was all men to be blessed. In fact God literarily gave him the C of O of the Earth.

Apart from blessing him, God made Abraham His confidant. He didn't feel comfortable hiding his plans from Abraham (Gen 18:17). Now there's something about being God's confidant. He shows you His ways (I e. His mode of operation).  A man that knows the ways of God can operate like God and relate with God. He can work with God like Jesus (John 5:17); walk with God like Enoch (Gen 5:24) and talk with Gold like Abraham and Moses (Gen 17:1-22; 18:17-22; Exod 33:11-23). It was friendship that distinguished Moses from other Israelites. While others saw the works of God and marvelled, Moses was shown the ways of God because He was God's friend (Psalm 103:7). The Bible says, "The LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend" (Exod 33:11). It was on the premise of this intimate friendship that Moses could dare to ask for and receive the revelation of the way and glory of God (Exod 33:11-23)  which ordinarily is beyond finding and beyond asking (Rom 11:33)

Do you want to be a friend of God? Do you want to be that special confidant of God? Good News! You already are. Jesus who is God put in focus for man has already extended a hand of friendship. He says; "I have called you friends"(John 15:15). As usual, He says that he'd reveal His ways to us on the premise of this friendship. But the truth is that every friendship can either be maintained and improves on or broken. Jesus shows us the prerequisite for remaining God's friend. He says, "Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you" (John 15:14). Jesus is a clear communicator. He clearly shows us exactly what His commandment is: "This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you " (John 15:12). Walk in love and you shall remain God's friend. You shall know His ways and have the privilege of working, walking and talking with God.

PRAYERS
Thank God for bringing you into friendship with Him

Ask God for grace to walk in pure love towards all the brethren.

Ask God to reveal His ways to you and make it clearer

Tell God that you wish to intercede for others and ask Him to help you do it effectively by His Holy Spirit.

FURTHER STUDIES
John 15:12-17
Gen 17:1-22;
Gen 18:17-22;
Exod 33:11-23

Stay connected to God

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

GO IN THIS THY MIGHT

TEXT: Judges 6:14 And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee? MESSAGE: While Gideon was still sckeptic of ever being able to engage his oposition in battle God gave him the battle instruction. God already told him that His presence with Gideon will ensure his easy victory. But he added one very key instruction that ties up everything together. He said GO IN THIS THY MIGHT What might was the Lord talking about? This might God says is the presence of the Lord by which he will defeat the enemy as though they were just one man (Judges 6:16). The Lord was saying that he should advance against his opposition being strong in the Lord. We shall explore this phrase in a couple of days, but one thing that we must get today is that we must go in the strength of God alone. There is always a tendency to engage your challenges with other forms of strength. It is wrong to engage your challenge...
Read more

SEIZE THE MOMENT 2: HOW TO ESCAP JUDGEMENT

Image
TEXT: Luke 23:39-42   39  And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.  40  But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?  41  And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.  42  And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. MESSAGE The malefactor (as he is called in our text) is actually crucified and facing his last moments on earth, he seizes the moment. In one desperate cry he turned the course of his destiny. He is on the brink of everlasting torment in hell. But just before he falls into eternal doom, one sentence saves him. He calls to the Lord. He didn't have the time to weep over his sins and the consequence. He had an audacity of faith and dared to ask for life in paradise. Guess what? He g...
Read more

THE MANUAL FOR ETERNAL LIFE

TEXT: 2Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness MESSAGE Most people today, especially in this part of the world, buy appliances and never bother to go through the manual. The result is that they either soon damage the appliance or grossly under utilize it. Someone once bought a very expensive android tablet and all he could do with it was to make and receive calls. he ran everywhere to send e-mails. He spent hours at business centres trying to get his documents typed. Many other things he suffered because he never knew that his tablet could be used to solve all of those issues. In much the same way, when we receive eternal life into our spirits, it will be foolish of us to just assume that we know what to do with it. Just as the wisest thing anybody that bought an applicance would do is to check for the manufacturer's instruction in the manual, so also...
Read more