Do You Need a Best Friend?
Pastor Glenn Newton August 10, 2003
RO 5:6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for
the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good
man someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us
in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
RO 5:9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be
saved from God’s wrath through him! 10 For if, when we were God’s enemies, we
were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been
reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also
rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received
reconciliation.
Maybe you’ve experienced this same trama that I have in your life. As a Pastor’s kid, we
seemed to expect it after a while, but it didn’t make it any easier. Growing up, or maybe
even just recently, have you had to move away from your best Friend?
For some reason I have this one memory that just sticks out like a sore thumb..... My
brother and I were half-way through our 7th grade year, we were living in Forest Grove,
OR., and for 7th graders we were on top of the world. We were the one, two punch for
our 7th grade football team, my brother was the running back and I was the Quarterback,
and we went undefeated. We were making big plans you know..... We had made some
really good friends on the team.... and of coarse at the age of 13 or 14 all the sudden we
noticed there were girls in our school...... How does that happen anyway.... all the sudden
the lightbulb goes off and all the sudden girls matter?
You can guess what happened next. Family meeting. Were moving.... Where are we
moving too? Hick town USA....... they didn’t even have a football team for the 8th
grade.... some little logging town of under 1,000 people in Northern CA, Dorris, CA.
Look it up, you won’t hardly be able to find it.
When we moved, it took 3 1/2 to drive from where we lived in OR. to our new home... all
three kids cried the whole way. Why? We left our friends. I don’t know if you have a
story like that or not....but the truth is IT HURTS WHEN FRIENDS GO AWAY FOR
WHATEVER REASON.
This morning I want you to know that God wants to be your Best Friend. One of the best
things I’ve learned over the years.... no matter where I go.... He’s still there.
As I read this passage this morning, think about how much God loves You. In
fact, He demonstrated His Love for you and for me before we ever gave God a thought.
Listen.
Read verse by verse and explain. ^
Think about all the things that God represents to you. God is your Creator and Maker,
Lord and Master, Judge, Redeemer, Father, Savior, and much more. But the most
shocking truth is this: Almighty God yearns to be your Friend! Can you say THANK
YOU GOD!
Think with me about Adam and Eve, the ideal relationship that God had with these folks,
Adam and Eve enjoyed an intimate friendship with God. There were no rituals,
ceremonies, or religion -- just simple loving relationship between God and the people he
created. Adam and Eve were not hindered by guilt or fear, they delighted in God, and he
delighted in them.
The truth is we were made to live in God’s continual presence, but when sin entered the
world, that ideal relationship was lost. Very few people in the OT had the priviledge of
Friendship with God. Moses and Abraham were called “friends of God,” David was called
“a man after God’s own heart,” and Job, Enoch, and Noah had intimate friendships with
God. But Fear of God, not friendship, was more common in the Old Testament.
But Friends aren’t you glad for the New Testament?! Jesus showed up on the scene and
changed the whole situation, Amen?
Just as our Scripture tells us, When Christ died for us, redeemed us, when he paid
for our sins on the cross, the veil in the temple that symbolized our separation from God
was split in two from Top to Bottom, indicating that direct access to God was once again
available. Aren’t you glad that you can go right to God today through prayer?
In the Old Testament, the priests had to spend hours preparing to meet with God in the
Holy of Holies, we can now approach God anytime. The Word says, “Now we can
rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God -- all because of what our Lord
Jesus Christ has done for us in making us friends of God.”
Listen to the words of Christ, “I no longer call you servants, because a servant
does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for
everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.”
This is cool, listen. The word for Friend in this verse does not mean a casual acquaintance
but a close, trusted relationship. The same word is used to refer to the best man at a
wedding and a king’s inner circle of intimate, trusted friends. In royal courts, servants
must keep their distance from the king, but the inner circle of trusted friends enjoy close
contact, direct access, and confidential information.
Who do you tell your most inner secrets too? Who do you tell about your personal
problems? You see the lack of real, True friends is a real problem in our world today.
The truth is that many people don’t have a best friend they can share with. Many
husbands and wives wouldn’t consider their mate thier best friend...... Many people who
walk in and out of our church doors every week don’t have what they would consider a
close friend. You see Satan wants us to stay to ourselves.... He says today,.... just stay
where you comfortable and safe... that way you won’t get hurt.
Not only does God want to be your Best friend.... We need each other... We need
to share our lives together.... and I’m so excited about how our church is going to meet
this need.... through our Fellowship groups that are meeting weekly.... I challenge you to
get involved.... Don’t allow yourself to be isolated anylonger... See what God want to do
as we share our lives together.
Do you need a Friend? Hey, You have come to the right place this morning! Not only
Does God want a intimate Friendship with you, but we have a church full of people who
are commiting themselves to building new friendships.
What does it mean when God wants me as a Friend? I want to share two secrets to
building a strong Friendship with God. Are you ready?
BECOMING A BEST FRIEND OF GOD.
Through constant conversation.
You will never grow a close relationship with God by just attending church once a week
or even having a daily quiet time. Friendship with God is built by sharing ALL your life
experiences with him.
Yes, it is important to have that daily devotional time with God, but he wants more
than an appointment in your schedule. He wants to be included in every activity, every
conservation, every problem, and even in your thoughts. You can carry on a continuous,
open-ended conversation with him throughout your day, talking with him about whatever
you are doing or thinking at that moment.
“Praying witout ceasing” means conversing with God while you go about your
everyday tasks.
The classic book on learning how to develop a constant convesation with God is
“Practicing the Presense of God.” It was written in the 17th century by Brother Laqrence,
a humble cook in a French monastery. Brother Lawerence was able to turn even the most
commonplace things, like preparing meals and washing dishes, into acts of praise and
communion with God. The key to friendship with God, he said, is “not changing what
you do, but changing your attitude toward what you do. What you normally do for
yourself you begin doing for God, whether it is eating, working, relaxing or taking out the
trash.
Today we often feel like we must “get away” from our daily routine in order to
worship God, but that is only because we haven’t learned to practice his presence all the
time. In the Garden of Eden, worship was not an event to attend, but an ongoing attitude,
Adam and Eve were in constant communion with God. God is with us all the time, we
don’t have to go somewhere to find Him, He is right where you are today, right now.
Another of Brother Lawrence’s helpful ideas was to pray shorter conversational prayers
continually through the day rather than trying to pray long sessions of complex prayers. If
you have ever tried to pray for more than five minutes, you understand that it’s not easy to
maintain focus
In our age of attention deficit, this 450 year old suggestion to keep it simple seems to be
relevant for our day.
How is it possible to pray all the time? Just choose simple sentence prayers or a
phrase that can be repeated to Jesus in one breath: Thank You Jesus for being with me.
Thank You Jesus for giving me Grace. I’m depending on You. I want to know you
better. I belong to you. Help me to trust you more.
Another way is to use short phrases from Scripture: “For me to live is Christ.”
“You will never leave me.” “You are my God.” Pray this way as often as you can, and it
will begin to be rooted in your heart... Always remember that your motive in prayer is to
honor God, not control Him.
If you will practice this constant communication with God, you will strengthen your
friendship with God. Is this easy to do? No. Do you always feel God’s presence when
you do this? No.
Let me say this, If you are seeking an experience of his presence through all of this,
you have missed the point. We don’t praise God to Feel good, but to Do Good. Your
goal is not a feeling, but a continual awareness of the reality that God is always present.
That is a lifestyle of Worship.
The Second Key to Becoming a Best Friend with God, is Through continual meditation.
What’s this mean? This means thinking about God’s Word throughout your day.
The Bible urges us to meditate on who God is, what he has done, and what he has said.
It is impossible to be God’s friend apart from knowing what he says. You can’t
love God unless you know him, and you can’t know him without knowing His Word. The
Bible says God “revealed himeself to Samauel through his word.” God still uses that
method today.
Obviously you cannot spend all day studying the Bible, but you can think about it
throughout the day, recalling verses you have read or memorized and then thinking about
them in your mind.... What’s this mean, how does that apply to me?
Many people think meditation is for monks, or for New Age religions, but it’s a skill we
can learn to help us in our relationship with God.
The truth is you already know how to meditate. How many of you have faced a problem
of some sort in the last couple of weeks? You have thought about your problem, your
dilemma, over and over in your mind... how will this work out? What can I do to fix this?
Guess what that is called? Worry. When you concentrate on your problems, you are
meditating on your worry’s...... But when you switch your attention from your problems
to God’s Word, we call that meditation. The more you meditate on God’s Word, the less
you will have to worry about... right?
Building Friendships with God...... How? Through constant conversation, through
constant meditation on His Word. Do you need a Friend..... the awesome truth is God
desires to be you best friend. Will you let Him?
