Are You a Friend of God?

The title of the sermon today is, Are You a Friend of God? Are you a friend of God?

And we could ask, would God say you are his friend? Remember the scripture in the bulletin in Abraham was called a friend of God. But let's lead up to that question by asking another question, to whom does the church of God belong? Does it belong to any corporate entity? Does it belong to your parents? Does it belong to any religious organization? Does it belong to any person? On the night before Jesus was crucified the next day, Jesus offered a heartfelt prayer in which he besieged the Father to keep believers in the Father's name. Let's note that in John 17, verse 11, this prayer that Jesus prayed the night that he was betrayed, the mock trial took place, and this heartfelt prayer that he offered up to the Father in John 17, verse 11.

And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to you, Holy Father, keep them through your own name, those whom you have given me, that they may be one as we are. Sometimes young people say things like, and older people too, believe me, I know, the church is or was my parents' church. I never believed those things in the first place. And some young and old, after leaving the church and going their own way, will say things like, I can have a relationship with God on my own terms. I don't have to do all those things that they do in the church. I can do it my way. It reminds me of the Frank Sinatra song, or my way, or there was an old country song during the 70s titled, Me and Jesus Got Our Own Thing Going. Don't need anybody to tell us what it's all about. They may say things like, we're all God's children. God loves everyone. And of course, one of the great themes in America today is toleration of all lifestyles. Choose whatever lifestyle we must love everybody, and everybody has equal rights. They can do all the things that they want to do. And of course, a lot of those things are in conflict with Scripture. So let's examine those two things. We're all God's children, and God loves everybody. Yes, we are all God's children by creation and physical birth. Adam and Eve were created, then they were blessed with the process of human reproduction and told to be fruitful and multiply throughout the earth. That's the best obeyed commandment in the Bible. Be fruitful, multiply, and replenish the earth. People have no problem with that, except in recent times, of course, how many babies have been aborted. They say since Roe v. Wade was passed, that's into the million, 60, 70 million, and now New York State has passed a law that even after a baby is born and is pronounced live and well, that the doctor can converse with the mother and determine whether this baby will live or die. And of course, in the President's State of the Union address, he asked Congress to pass a law that prevented that. Yes, God loves everyone. He loved us so much that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. And the son loved us so much that he gave his life. So we can say that we are all God's children by creation and physical birth, and we can say that God loves everyone.

But why did he create humans and set in motion family relationships and the way whereby we can live forever as sons and daughters in his eternal family? Now we're going to turn to John chapter 1, verse 12, and we'll see here a distinction between the sons of God and the daughters of God and the sons and daughters of God by physical birth and the sons and daughters of God by spiritual birth. In John 1, verse 12, But as many as received him Christ who came, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, to them that believe on his name which were born not of blood, not just of physical birth, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of men, but born of God. So there is a great distinction there. Yes, God loves everyone, and he created Adam and Eve and set in motion the reproductive process. So we see that there are sons and daughters of God by physical birth and sons and daughters of God by spiritual birth. Yet he loves those who are only, say only in quotes, those who are of physical birth only. Now we go back to the question of whose church is the church of God? What was the cost that God and Jesus gave to found the church? Now that answer is given in Acts 20, verse 28. Acts 20 and verse 28. In the afternoon session after lunch, we're going to have all church jeopardy. I'll ask the questions and you will respond, hopefully. Some of the answers are in this sermon today. In Acts 20 and verse 28, we see the price that was paid for the church. Whose church is it? I'll get there in a minute. In Acts 20 and verse 28.

Acts 20 and verse 28. Take ye therefore unto yourselves and to all the flock over which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to feed the church of God, which he has purchased with his own blood. God gave his only begotten son, the only begotten son gave his life. So now look at 1 Corinthians chapter 1 and verse 6. 1 Corinthians chapter 1 and verse 6. I'm sorry, 1 Corinthians chapter 6.

My wife doesn't understand why I have a dyslexic speech pattern, but in 1 Corinthians chapter 6 and verse 19. What know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which you have of God, and you are not your own. You wouldn't even have existence. Humanity would not have any existence of God and not created Adam and Eve and set in motion the process of human reproduction for the great purpose of bringing sons and daughters to glory in his family and in family relationships within that family in the kingdom of God. For you are bought with a price. What was the price? It was the blood of Jesus that we just read in Acts 20 verse 28. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit which are God's. So God and Christ gave all they could give to have a relationship with each one of us. God and Christ deeply desires to be your friend, to be my friend, and we can ask ourselves, do I deeply desire to be a friend of God? The title is, Are You a Friend of God? From the Garden of Eden to the present day, the voice of God cries out, I want to have a relationship with you, with you personally and individually. It's not just a church thing, it's not just a parent's thing, it is you individually and personally. I want you to be not just children by creation in the birth process, but to be my spiritual children. Once again, God and Christ gave all they could give. Untold numbers of people miss the opportunity to be a close friend of God because they confuse churchianity with true Christianity or with a real relationship with God.

We all place a great deal of importance on having friends, and so many people say, well, I want to be with my friends. That's where my friends are. I want to be with my friends. Now, all human beings crave and certainly need social interaction. They need companionship, they need friendship, they need interaction, one with another. No matter what the age is, whatever ethnic origin you're from, whatever sex you are, without relationships, life is empty, boring, and lonely. One of the great melodies in our society today is loneliness created by social media, which is an oxymoron within itself.

But with relationships, life and lives can be fulfilling, they can be exciting, but any relationship takes effort to nourish it and also to maintain it. Just think back in eternity. Let's put on your thinking caps and and try to think back in eternity at a point in which only two beings existed in eternity. God, the Father, and the Word.

That's the only relationship in the universe, when in fact the universe had not yet been created. God and Jesus Christ, the one who became Jesus Christ, had this relationship in eternity. Now look at this scripture in 2 Timothy chapter 1 and verse 8 to show you how old, I guess you would say, the plan of salvation really is in 2 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 8.

2 Timothy, I said it wrong, 2 Timothy chapter 1, 2 Timothy chapter 1 and verse 8. 2 Timothy chapter 1 verse 8. Be you not therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, Paul was in prison, this is one of the prison epistles, nor of me his prisoner, but be you partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose.

One of the greatest purposes of God, I talk about all the time, the great questions of life, does God exist, who is God, what is God, what is his purpose, who is man, what is man, what is his purpose? The purpose of God, according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ before the chronos, chronos is the Greek word here, before time began. Before there was a physical or even angelic creation, before time began, this great plan, that God and Christ's purpose. So let's note now in the Gospel of John, back in John 15, how deeply God wants to have a relationship with each one of us and wants to call us his friend.

Do you want to be a friend of God? Do you want to be, like Abraham was, called a friend of God? In John 15 verse 13, greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. I mean, that's, you give your life, that's all you can give. You gave it all. You are my friends, if you do whatsoever I command you.

Henceforth I call you not servants, for the servant knows not what his Lord does, but I call you friends, for all things that I've heard of my Father, I have made known unto you, no secrets in the plan of God that's laid open and bare and as plain as it can be, the truth of God, if one will just listen.

So many people miss the opportunity because they don't really want to know the truth. And I've gone down that road with the relatives and so on. They want to be sort of close to the stove, be get a little bit of warmth, but they don't really want to put their hands on the stove.

They don't want to really get in the kitchen and start cooking. They want to peer in and sort of look at it, but not really get involved. Like most relationships, there are conditions, there are conditions to having a relationship with God and Christ. And you look at that verse 14 once again, you are my friends, if you do whatsoever I command you. And Jesus cries out in Luke 646, you could write this down, it's a very important scripture, very short.

Jesus cries out in Luke 646, why I call you me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say. Why call you me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? You know, one of the great acid tests, if you want to know if a person is really seeking God and with the program, as I say just 1 John 2.4, it's, he who says he knows God and keeps not his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not any.

I mean, that is a great sorting kind of scripture. But even on social media platforms such as Facebook, those who are friended are generally those who share common values, have things in common, you want to have a relationship, but a relationship through texting and that kind of thing is really not the same as face-to-face.

Recently there was a television series titled God Friended Me. God friended me. When we could ask ourselves, has God friended you, and will you seek to be friended by God? Now human beings can be quite cruel, and one of the great issues of the times is cyberbullying. Some youngsters have committed suicide because of cyberbullying via social media. The leading cause, the second leading cause of death among people 30 years of age and younger is suicide.

Number one is automobile accidents, and a lot of people think that some of the automobile accidents are people committing suicide. But God will never unfriend you if you live according to His word and guidance. It is a lifetime and eternal relationship.

Yes, relationships matter. In fact, they are the core of human life and activity revolves around relationships.

Now of course, you could choose to be the hermit and retreat to the mountains and live in a cabin by yourself, and you could talk to the birds and interact with the animals there. That's not very exciting to me. The beginning point of a relationship with God in Christ is to a large degree a matter of faith. We're going to pursue this part of it quite a bit here. What is the first article of faith? The first article of faith is given in the Bible, Hebrews 11 and verse 6. Hebrews 11 and verse 6.

Let's read it. Those who would come to God must first of all believe that He is, and He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Those who would come to God must first of all believe that He is. Is has to do with the verb to be, to exist. Who, those who would come to God must first of all believe that He exists.

And a child can be taught almost from the time he or she is born to have a relationship with God. They can be taught to pray to God, and although God is invisible, they can begin to relate to God. I know I began praying really in earnest along when I was 11 or 12 years old. Of course, I had begun to some degree even earlier than that as I saw the coffins come back from War of War II and attend some of those funerals, and the 21 gun salutes ringing as they shot over the caskets.

And then tornadoes swept through our community just a quarter of a mile from our house, killing grandparents on my mother's parents, maternal grandparents. Then my mother came down with cancer, and the Korean War was raging. And I wondered, well, is my daddy going to have to go? Probably not, because of a disability. And you begin to pray earnestly, and even from a child. See, Josiah, one of the great righteous kings of Israel from a child, he sought God. And you can seek God from the early days of your life. Parents can ask children, who made the stars? Who made the sun? Who made the moon? And they can answer, God did. And I remember walking across the Pasadena campus one night with a granddaughter in my arms. She was maybe two or three. And not often, you look up in the sky there in Pasadena and see the moon, but suddenly I looked up there and I said, oh, look at that beautiful half moon. She said, who broke it? And researchers have researched into the formation of attitudes toward learning and toward life in general. And to a large degree, they have concluded that our attitudes toward learning and life, to a large degree, is set by the age of six. Now, of course, you can change that, and people can be changed, and you can, of course, overcome. Your relationship with God should begin early in life. The point that most people miss is that God deeply desires to have a relationship with them. But, sadly, most people run away from their opportunity to have a close relationship with God or relationship at all. But a person must come to understand—this is so critical for all of us— a person must come to understand that first and foremost, our commitment is to God and Christ. It's a personal commitment.

The relationship should develop into a bond that cannot be broken by the actions of men or women. Now, before a person is baptized, we go over Luke 14. It says, He who would be my disciple must love less their parents, aunts, uncles, relatives—I'm paraphrasing— and yea, even on his own life. If he's not willing to do that, in other words, to surrender everything you have, he cannot be my disciple. So you have to make a commitment to be ruled by God or by man. See, that's the choice of the ages. That's the choice that was presented to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. It continues until this day, and you have the Scripture in Deuteronomy, choose this day. I said before you life and death, choose life. Our fleshly physical mind is always subject to satisfying the lust of the flesh, the pride of life, and the lust of the eyes. Those are the three temptations that Satan threw before Christ in Matthew 4 when he was led away into the wilderness and tried at the devil. When we baptize a person, we say up front, I am going to baptize you not into any organization or denomination of man. We make that very clear. So when all is said and done, a person must decide to have a relationship with God or go their own way. There are really only two choices. As a person grows older, regardless of the home life and environment that they have been reared in, their belief system will be challenged. We have so many. We talk about retention of our youth in the church.

And basically, right now, what growth we have in the church as far as new baptisms are coming from the church.

Now, we have hundreds of thousands of hits on the internet, and we send out thousands of pieces of literature, and it goes on and on. We have co-workers and donors that account for maybe 15% of our income, but they don't come to church. They don't call a minister and say, I want a visit. And our baptisms run about 150 a year. 150 a year. That in and of itself really does not keep up with those who are passing from us via death. So, it's so important that our youth be retained. As a person grows older, regardless, there's going to be a challenge. And especially when you go to college and get out there in what they call the real world, and even now, even now you are challenged by your peers, by teachers, by books, by documentaries, by so-called scholars, and the list goes on and on. There have been four main systems that have attempted to answer the great questions of life. Does God exist? Who is God? What is God? What is His purpose? Who is man? What is man? What is His purpose? Here are those four great systems. One is false religion, introduced by Satan the devil in the Garden of Eden, in which he told this great lie to Eve, you shall not surely die. The doctrine of the immortality of the soul is inextricably linked to virtually every false religion in the world.

Another system that is attempted to answer the great questions of life is philosophy. How many millions of books have been written on philosophy? Philosophers have attempted to answer the great questions of life through human reasoning, apart from God for the most part. Then the God of the day is science. Science and scientists have attempted to answer the great questions of life, including how the universe came into existence, how life forms developed, and how they, quote, so-called, evolved. And of course, there are a lot of truths, and science has discovered many wonderful things. But the revolution that we are entering into now, this technological revolution that we're on the cusp of and will bring a world that we have never known. There will be no privacy. Everybody will know. Everybody is everything. There will be hardly any place to hide. Your cell phone is connected to a database, and you've read about what's going on with Facebook and the divulging of information. A lot of the websites you go to now say, we employ cookies. Do you accept the cookies? You get the full benefit of the website. You have to agree to get these cookies, and there's nothing secret. So now we get back to the faith issue. What takes more faith? To believe that the universe and all that is therein came into existence through the process of chance? God challenged Job with this very question. Look at Job 38. Did the universe come into existence through chance? Job 38. Here from Job 38, we can determine that the angelic realm was created before the physical realm by a process of deduction. Job 38.

See, Job was wanting God to speak to him. Elihu got his attention in chapter 33, and then we look at 38.1. Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Gird up now your loins like a man, for I will demand of you an answer. You answer me, Job. Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if you know, and if you have understanding. Who hath laid the measures thereof? If you know, or who has stretched the line upon it? Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened, or who laid the cornerstone thereof? When the morning stars refer to created sons of God by creation, the angelic realm, when the morning stars sang for joy together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy. So by that, by a process of deduction, you know that the angelic realm was created before the physical realm, and the morning stars sang for joy when they saw that. Of course, God created the earth for human habitation. Let's take a brief so-called scientific look at why the earth is tilted on its axis. The earth is tilted on its axis. Of course, the earth is rotating on its axis, and it's revolving around the sun. So you have rotation on the axis, revolving around the sun. The earth's tilt is 23.5 degrees. It's varied a degree or two over generations, according to science. The reason for this is our moon, which serves to stabilize the rotation of our planet. The moon serves to stabilize the rotation of our planet. Now, did the moon just accidentally appear up there, or was there a creator who did that? Well, the theory of how the moon was created by scientists, let me give you the theory.

Astronomers theorized that over 4.5 billion years ago, an object about the size of Mars collided with the earth to create a tilted axis. So the earth is tilted because this body collided with the earth. This is called the giant impact theory. Prior to this, the axis was straight at 180 degrees. The earth was upright until this collision took place. The theory holds that as Theia collided with the earth, the mantle and elements flew into space, creating the materials for the moon.

Now, this is scientific.

Scientists named Theia, after the Greek god, Titan. That's what science, okay, the earth at one time was just straight on its axis, and then this collision hit, tilted it, and then the debris from this axis flew out into space and created the moon. And by the way, the moon is that which accounts for the stabilization of the earth tilted at 23.5 degrees.

Now, I could read all of this, but what takes more faith? To believe in the great creator god, or to believe that the creation is a part of some kind of process of physical laws and chemical laws coming together. And eventually from this, you have the intricate universe and also the marvel of the human body, and it just goes on and on. So I ask you what requires more faith? Scientists will speak of laws of physics and chemistry and a host of other elements that must be present for the physical world and life to come into existence. Now, remember that first article of faith? What is it? Hebrews 11.6. Those who would come to God must, first of all, believe that he is.

And then even after that discussion, there remains the question of where did matter and the laws come from. We can then easily see that much of what science postulates is based on quantum leaps and assumptions. Give me a break! Something the size of Mars collided with the Earth, made it tilt on its axis 23.5 degrees. The debris from that flew off into space, created the Moon, and the Moon stabilizes the Earth because of the gravitational pull. I just read this from Job 38, what God said, that he did it. So it seems to me it requires more faith to believe in a godless world than to believe in a great creator God. I believe that the greatest proof of God is, first of all, revelation, and then going hand in glove with that revelation where God reveals himself to us through through the words of the Bible, making that clear in 1 Corinthians 2 verses 10 and 11, what knows the things of man except through the things of man, but what knows the things of God except through the Spirit of God. But even if I didn't believe in revelation, if you have any common sense, which is rare among some, how would I accept that the physical creation of life just came through a matter of time and chance? Now Hebrews 11.3 gives us the answer of how the material world was created. It was created from that which is not seen. He spoke and it was done. God, through the Word, brought it into existence. So now let's take a step back and get back to our central theme of a friend of God. If God exists, and he declares that he does, and just common sense would dictate that he does, would he have a way of communicating with the ones he created to become his sons and daughters? Now in the scriptures, in the Old Testament especially, we read of numerous theophanies. The word theophany means God appearance, where God appeared to men, to men and women, and God now speaks to us through his revealed Word. God speaks to us through his Word. Look at Hebrews chapter 1 and verse 1. Hebrews 1 and verse 1.

Hebrews 1 verse 1, God, who in sundry times and in different manners spoke in times past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, who is called the Word of God. He is the living Word of God.

So God now speaks to us through his revealed Word. So let's look at 2 Corinthians 2 and verse 10. 2 Corinthians 2 and verse 10.

When I just read from my notes and don't try to get ahead of myself and without looking at them, I don't have as much dyslexia. In 1 Corinthians chapter 2 and verse 10.

But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit, for the Spirit searches all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of man, he save the Spirit of man, which is in him? We can think, we can reason, we can put two and two together, we can determine if we believe that some large astral object collided with the earth and tilted the earth on its axis and the pieces flew off and created the moon and the moon now stabilizes the earth. We can believe, do we want to believe that theory? I don't think. Well, what man knows the things of man save the Spirit of man, which is within him? Even so, the things of God knows no man, but by the Spirit of God. Now we've received not the Spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God, that we might know the things that are freely given to us by God. So we have in our laps a sure word of prophecy, as Peter calls it in 2 Peter chapter 1 verses 19 through 20. We have a more sure word of prophecy. We have the Bible. We have before us the Word of God. And in turn, God speaks to us through his Word. Look at Psalm 119. If you want to overcome most any problem you want to name, get on your knees and begin in Psalm 119 and say, Father in heaven, make this Psalm my prayer unto you, and you hide the Word of God in your heart. In Psalm 119, and look at verse 9, Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to your word. With my whole heart have I sought you, O let me not wander from your commandments. Your word have a head in my heart that I might not sin against you. And it talks about in Hebrews how God has written his laws on our inward parts. So God has communicated to us through his word and spirit. The two convicting agents are the Word of God and the Spirit of God. Now, we can also talk to God. How do you have a relationship if you don't talk to the person that you're trying to have a relationship with? So look at Hebrews 13. Hebrews 13. Communication is two ways.

In Hebrews 13, By him therefore that is by Christ let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually. That is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name. But to do good and communicate forget not, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. So communication with our Heavenly Father. We can converse with our Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus Christ, 24-7, every day. 365 year round. We can have a universal wireless connection with the greatest and most loving, caring being in the whole universe. He is our Father, Jesus Christ. We speak of Christ being our elder brother. See, he is the first born. The Scripture very say, it says it very clearly, he is the first born among many brethren. Jesus Christ now sits on the right hand of God. Look at Romans 8-17. Romans 8-17, what you have to look forward to. In Romans 8-17, I think people just read over this verse or just gloss over it. And if children then heirs, heirs of God, if you're heir of God, you inherit something that he is. And God is spirit. And Jesus Christ, what became the Son of God by the resurrection of the dead, returned as a glorious radiant spirit, being now sitting on the right hand of God the Father in the Father's throne. And if God then heirs, heirs of God, and join heirs with Christ, heirs of God, and join heirs with Christ, the you. Join heirs with Christ is so be that by that we suffer with him that we may be also glorified together. The most important relationship we can ever develop is our relationship with our Creator Father and with the one who loved us so much that he gave his life, the only begotten Son, so that we could receive the earnest of the Spirit and upon resurrection be born into the family of God. Look at verse 15 here in Romans 8. Verse 15, For we have not received the Spirit of bondage again to fear, but we have received the Spirit of, and that Greek word therefore is translated the Old King James adoption, is wayotheia. It literally means a son, placing as a son. But we have received the Spirit of sonship. The Spirit of sonship, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

So is God your friend?

God and Christ gave all they could give so that we might be reconciled to God, that we might have a network. We talk about networks of relationships. How many friends are on your network?

We can create a network of relationships that will last for eternity.

When we're in the family of God, no one will ever be unfriended.

Three times in Scripture, Abraham is called the friend of God. I'll read two of those places, one of which is in the bulletin. Isaiah 41.8. But you, Israel, art my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham, my friend. In James 2.23, in the Scripture was fulfilled, which said, Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness, and he was called the friend of God. There can be no greater relationship than to be called the friend of God. So what about you and I? Would God say of each one of us today, and put your name in the blank, Mary, Elizabeth, John, Matt, Joe, Don, you are my friend, and he was called a friend of God.

So what about you and I? And I ask once again, are you a friend of God? If not, let's seek his face with all our diligence and become a friend, a friend of God, and you'll never be unfriended.