11 Becoming Best Friends With God

 

 

 

PURPOSE # 1

 

 

You Were Planned For God's Pleasure

 

 

 For God has planed them like strong

and graceful oaks for his own glory.

Isaiah 61:3

 

 

11 Becoming Best Friends with God

 

 

Since we were restored to friendship with

God by the death of his Son while we were

still his enemies, we will certainly be delivered

from eternal punishment by his life.

Romans 5:10

 

God wants to be your best friend.

Your relationship to God has many different aspects:

God is your Creator and Maker, Lord and Master,

Judge, Redeemer, Father, Savior, and much more.

Psalms 95:6; 136:3;

John 13:13; Jude 1:4;

1 John 3:1; Isaiah 33:22; 47:4;

Psalm 89:26

But the most shocking truth is this:

Almighty God yearns to be your Friend!

 

In Eden we see God's ideal relationship with us:

Adam and Eve enjoyed an intimate friendship with God.

There were no rituals, ceremonies, or religion—

just a simple loving relationship between God and the people he created.

Unhindered by guilt or fear,

Adam and Eve delighted in God, and he delighted in them.

 

We were made to live in God's continual presence,

but after the Fall, that ideal relationship was lost.

Only a few peoplein Old Testament times had

 the privilege 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.

Exodus 33:11, 17; 2 Cohronicles 20:7;

Isaiah 41:8; James 2:23;

Acts 13:22; Genesis 6:8; 5:22;

Job 29:4

 

Then Jesus changed the situation.

"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."

Romans 5:11

"All this is done by God, who through Christ

changed us from enemies into his friends."

2 Corinthians 5:18a

 

The old hymn says,

"What a friend we have in Jesus,"

but actually,

God invites us to enjoy friendship and fellowship

with all three persons of the Trinity:

our Father,

1 john 1:3

the Son,

1 Corinthians 1:9

and the Holy Spirit.

2 Corinthians 13:14

 

Jesus said,

"I no longer call you servants,

because a servant does not know

his master's business.

Instead, I have called you friends,

for everthing

that I learned from my Father

I have made known to you."

John 15:15

 

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

John 3:29

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.

 

"He is a God who is passionate

about his relationship with you."

Exodus 34:14

"He made the entire human race

and made the earth hospitable,

with plenty of time and space for living

so we could seek after God,

and not just grope around in the dark

but actually find him."

Acts 17;26-27

 

Knowing and loving God is our greatest privilege,

and being known and loved is God's greatest pleasure.

"If any want to boast, they should boast

that they know and understand me...

These are the things that please me."

Jeremiah 9:24

By looking at the lives of God's friends in the Bible,

we learn six secrets of friendship with God.

We will look at two secrets in this chapter

and four more in the next.

 

 

Becoming A Best Friend Of God

 

 

Through constant conversation.

Friendship with God is built

by sharing all your life experiences with him.

"Praying without ceasing"

1 Thessalonians 5:17

means conversing with God while shopping, driving,

working, or perfoming any other everyday tasks.

 

Everything you do can be "spending time with God"

if he is invited to be a part of it

and you stay aware of his presence.

What you normally do for yourself you begin doing for God,

whether it is eating, bathing, working,

relaxing, or taking out the trash.

"He rules everything

and is everywhere and is in everything."

Ephesians 4:6b

 

The Bible tells us to "pray all the time."

1 Thessalonians 5:17

One way is to use "breath prayers" throughout the day,

as many Christians have done for centuries.

"You are with me."

"I receive your grace,"

"I'm depending on you."

"I want to know you."

"I belong to you."

"Help me trust you."

You can also use a short phrase of Scripture:

"For me to live is Christ."

"You will never leave me."

"You are my God."

Just be sure that our motive is to honor God, not control him.

 

Practicing the presence of God is a skill,

a habit you can develop.

"God is with me and for me right now!"

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 the lifestyle of worship.

 

Through continual meditation.

A second way to establish a friendship with God is

by thinking about his Word throughout your day.

This is called meditaion,

and the Bible repeatedly urges us to meditate on who God is,

What he has done, and what he has said.

Psalms 23:4; 143:5; 145:5;

Joshua 1:8; Psalm 1:2

You can't love God unless you know him,

and you can't know him without knowing his Word.

The Bible says

God "revealed himself to Samuel through his word."

1 Samuel 3:21

God still uses that method today.

 

The more you meditate on God's Word,

the less you will have to worry about.

Job admitted,

"I have treasured the words of his mouth

more than my daily bread."

Job 23:12

David said,

"Oh, how I love your Law!

I meditate on it all day long."

Psalm 119:97

"They are constantly in my thoughts.

I cannot stop thinking about them."

Psalm 77:12

 

Friends share secrets,

and God will share his secrets with you

if you develop the habit of thinking about his Word

throughout the day.

God told Abraham his secrets, and he did the same

with Daniel, Paul, disciples, and other friends.

Genesis 18:17; Daniel 2:19;

1 Corinthians 2:7-10

 

The more time you spend reviewing what God has said,

the more you will understand the "secrets"

of this life that most people miss.

"Friendship with God is reserved

for those who reverence him.

With them alone he shares

the secrets of his promises."

Psalm 25:14

Prayer lets you speak to God;

meditation lets God speak to you.

Both are essential to becoming a friend of God.

 

 

 

 

DAY ELEVEN

Thinking About My Purpose

 

Point to Ponder: God wants to be my best friend.

 

Verse to Remember: "Friendship with God is reserved

for those who reverence him."

Psalm 25:14a

 

Question to Consider; What can I do to remind myself to think about God

and talk to him more often throughout the day?

 

 

p 85~91

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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