“Are You A Friend of God?”
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Notes
Transcript
As we begin our time in God’s word today, pray these words from Psalm 119:18 with me. “Open my eyes, that I might receive, wonderful truth from your word.”
<personal prayer>
I remember his name still to this day. His name was Matt Aurand. He had brown hair, wore classes, and was really good at playing the drums and soccer. He was the first true friend I ever had. We met in middle school, through soccer. Matt and I quickly became friends, and discovered that we had a mutual love of music, soccer, swimming, and the outdoors. When we moved to Memphis, TN from Norcross, Ga, it tore me up to move away from him. I could confide in Matt, talk to Matt about stuff.
I’ve had many friends over the course of my life. I’d like to think that I have, not just acquaintances, but friends, here in the congregation today.
But, there’s one man that stands out amongst the rest of them as a friend that’s always been there for me. I don’t say this to be flippant or to insult anyone in this room, but he’s someone that I can bare my soul to. He’s the only who will stick by me, because he’s promise to never leave me. He’s that the bible says sticks closer than a brother…which is awesome..because I’ve never had a brother! I’m sure you’ve guessed it by now, but the man in question is the Lord Jesus Christ. But, I’ve not always been the friend to Jesus that he is to me. In fact, this will be the topic of our study today, by asking this question, the title of the sermon. “Are you a friend of God?” We are going to examine God’s word today to get that answer, and as we do so, this is the lingering thought that I want us to consider, which is also our big idea.
Big idea: friendship with God is shown when we love each other and are obedient to Jesus commands.
Big idea: friendship with God is shown when we love each other and are obedient to Jesus commands.
The first thing we see about a friendship with Jesus today, from God’s word, is this:
1. The declaration regarding friendship.
1. The declaration regarding friendship.
Last week, in our time in God’s word, we studied the word “abide” or “remain”. It means to constantly say connected to something, to make your home with someone. Today, we see that word connected to something else. Love. I’m not going to give you a sermon on love today, but I would remind you that in Jesus day, there were numerous ways to tell someone you loved them. You could love someone like a brother, a family member. You could love someone with the sexual love between a man and a woman. Then there’s the unconditional love between two people. Loving them no matter what. That’s the kind of love described here, in verse 9, between God, Jesus, and us. It’s the word “agape” in the bible. It is unconditional affection between two people. But notice that Jesus makes a declaration as to what friendship with him looks like. It’s a friendship, based in love of Christ, that obeys his commands. The word “keeps” there has the imagery of someone who protects, watches over, guards, keeps a close eye to follow. And the word commands has the mental imagery of a superior officer in the military ordering someone of lower rank to do something. When they give you the order, you do it, no questions asked. But, WHY are we following his commands? Jesus declares WHAT friendship is marked by, but WHY are we doing what Jesus commands us to do?
One word: joy.
Jesus says this in verse 10.
John 15:11(CSB)
If you keep my commands you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.
Think of it this way: the more of Jesus you have in you by living for him, the more you abide in him, the more joy you will have in doing what he commands…even in the hard times, even in suffering. In fact, the bible tells us that Jesus himself considered it joy to be obedient, even in suffering. Hebrews 12:2 says this.
keeping our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
In other words, just as Jesus was obedient to the Father, which brought the Father joy, and brought Jesus joy because he was doing the will of the father by being obedient, when we obey, when we bear fruit in trials and hardships, when we are being pruned, as we talked about last week, we are going to count it joy as well. James 1:2-4 says it like this.
Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.
Let me give you this analogy, using one of my favorite animals on the plant, a dog. I love dogs. A well trained dog finds joy in doing what its master says. I’ve watched dogs, seemingly with a smile on their face, if they can have one, obey their owner by simply sitting on the pavement watching over his children. They aren’t doing anything big…just a simple task, watching over kids…but by obeying their master, by loving their master, they find great joy, even in the mundane and simple.
Our lives will be the same way, when we abide in and obey Jesus, even in the simple things. In fact, Jesus tells us that when we are faithful to obey in the small things, he will give us larger tasks and responsibilities to do, because we are obeying him in love.
But, we not only see the declaration regarding friendship in this passage, look with me next at the definition of friendship. The definition of friendship.
2. The definition of friendship.
2. The definition of friendship.
Jesus now takes us from the fade that if we keep his commands, that’s how we know we love him and what will bring us joy. Now, in these next few verses, he tells us what that command is, and how it plays out. What it looks like, how it is shown. Here’s the command, and its huge. John 15:12
“This is my command: Love one another as I have loved you.
How did Jesus love us? How has Jesus show us this? The answer is in verse 13.
No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends.
Jesus laid down his life for us. His friends…but it’s really bigger than that! Romans 5:8-10 tells us something that really tells us the extent of Christ’s love for us.
But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. How much more then, since we have now been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from wrath. For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life.
And to lay down your life for your friends means that you put aside, you place to the side, you sacrifice, the needs and wants wants that you have in order to love and serve your friends, just as Jesus did. The word “lay down” has the mental imagery of laying a dead body into the ground. So, when we live for Jesus, we are to die to ourselves, our wants, needs, and desires, and put others first. In fact, you could even think of Joy in life, the obedience in laying down your life, like this:
Jesus, Others, You.
Jesus, Others, You.
See, the supreme test of love is to give all, everything, for all humans, whether they love you or not. To give your life for the sake of the gospel, so that, whether friend of foe, all would come to know Jesus, that is the truest display of love. So, who is a friend of God? It is the one that obeys God, to the point of ignoring what you want in life. To put it even more poignantly, it is to do the opposite of what the world tells you to do. James, the half-brother of Jesus, says it like this in James 4:4.
You adulterous people! Don’t you know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? So whoever wants to be the friend of the world becomes the enemy of God.
In other words, church, here’s what God’s word is telling us this morning. That a true friend of God, someone that truly loves Jesus, is someone who isn’t a friend to the world and the things of the world…in fact, you can’t be a friend of the world and love God at the same time! With Jesus, it’s either him or them!
Think of what would happen if more churches would grasp that to love everyone is to be a friend of God. More churches would be filled with Jesus-loving people, we would treat each other as friends and family instead of “church members” or a member of an organization, and the kingdom of God would expand!
But notice there’s a key word here, as we get ready to move to our final point. Jesus says “you are my friend if you DO what I command you.
You are my friends if you do what I command you.
Do. Action. As a former Sunday School teacher of mine would say:
Love is positive action.
Love is positive action.
True friendship, true obedience, truly living and abiding in Jesus, is marked by action. It’s not jut saying your a friend, its actually living it.
And as we live as friends of God, something amazing is going to happen. This morning, we are answering the question “are you a friend of God”, with the big idea that friendship with God is shown when we love each other and are obedient to Jesus commands. We’ve seen the declaration regarding friendship and the definition of friendship, lastly, let’s look at the delight IN friendship. The delight IN friendship.
3. The delight in friendship.
3. The delight in friendship.
A good friend is hard to come by. Someone who treats you as their equal, and isn’t in the friendship for what they can “get out of you.” This is why Jesus says that he doesn’t call the disciples “servants” anymore, but instead, calls them friends. Where a servant isn’t entitled to know everything that’s going on in the life of the master, a true friend should have access to every area of our lives, to be able to hold us accountable, to be able to pray for us, to counsel us, or just be there. Where a servant is viewed as someone who is forced to do the will of the master, a friend is a companion who is loved like a family member, there in good times and bad. Proverbs 27:17 describes friendship as to people who sharpen each other, to make each other stronger. It says :
Iron sharpens iron,
and one person sharpens another.
To be a friend of Jesus is to know what he’s thinking, what he wants you to do, what he’s going to do, what his will our lives is. Jesus tells us something that’s even more amazing. We didn’t pick him, he picked us. If anyone has ever played a sport where teams were picked, and you were always the last to be picked, you know how rotten it feels. Yet, Jesus tells us in this passage that he WANTED you as his friend. He didn’t choose you because of who you were, or your background, or your smarts. He chose you for one reason, because he knew you would do something for him. He knew, when he chose us, we would bear fruit for him, that we would stick with him, and the ultimately, when we would ask for things, it would be for the benefit of his kingdom. So, how do we produce Jesus fruit? We obey his commandment to spread his gospel. His gospel is that Jesus died for our sins according to scripture, he was buried, and that he rose on the 3rd day, to give us eternal life. And produce fruit by continually being obedient to his word, even when its tough. You ask for things, in being obedient to him, and he will give it to you. And the entire basis for his command is simple: love one another. A great to know if you love Jesus is whether or not you are able to love other humans, even when they don’t love you back, when they are different than you, or when they even hate you.
So, what’s the answer to the question? Are you a friend of God? here’s the answer: you know you’re a friend of God when you desire to show others God’s love and to be obedient to Jesus commands.
Every friendship has a starting point. A defining of the relationship. How do you become a friend of God? You must first love Jesus and have a relationship with him. And you can do that at anytime, simply by knowing your abc’s.
<gospel presentation>
<invitation>