MY BEST FRIEND
Friendfluence #6
Pastor Dennis Clanton
Woodland Church
Sunday, November 5, 2023
(James 2:23, NLT) “And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God.”
1. I CAN KNOW GOD.
(Psalm 145:3, CEV) “You are wonderful, Lord, and you deserve all praise, because you are much greater than anyone can understand.”
(Romans 1:20, NLT) “For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature.”
a. I CAN KNOW GOD THROUGH JESUS.
(Hebrews 1:1–2, NIV) “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.”
b. I CAN KNOW GOD THROUGH THE BIBLE.
(John 20:30–31, NLT) “The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book. But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.”
GOD REVEALS HIMSELF TO US.
(Jeremiah 9:23–24, NLT) “This is what the Lord says: “Don’t let the wise boast in their wisdom, or the powerful boast in their power, or the rich boast in their riches. But those who wish to boast should boast in this alone: that they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord who demonstrates unfailing love and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth, and that I delight in these things. I, the Lord, have spoken!”
2. I CAN PROVE GOD’S FRIENDSHIP.
(2 Corinthians 5:20, Message) “We’re Christ’s representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between them. We’re speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he’s already a friend with you.”
a. BY WHAT HE DID FOR YOU AND ME.
(John 15:13, NLT) “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
b. HE TAKES ME INTO HIS CONFIDENCE.
(John 15:15, NLT) “You are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me.”
c. LOVE AS JESUS LOVED.
(John 15:12–14, NLT) “This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.”
d. BY THE INTIMACY OF PRAYER.
“True prayer is nothing but love.” – Augustine
(Luke 3:21, NLT) “As he was praying, the heavens opened.”
(1 John 5:14–15, GN) “We have courage in God’s presence, because we are sure that he hears us if we ask him for anything that is according to his will. He hears us whenever we ask him; and since we know this is true, we know also that he gives us what we ask from him.”
GROWTHWORK
This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.
-Shakespeare, Hamlet
1. Who am I?
(Galatians 3:28, NLT) “For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. … There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
2. Who do I love?
(Mark 12:30–31, NLT) “And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”
3. What am I supposed to do?
(Galatians 5:18–26, Message) “Why don’t you choose to be led by the Spirit and so escape the erratic compulsions of a law-dominated existence? It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community. I could go on. This isn’t the first time I have warned you, you know. If you use your freedom this way, you will not inherit God’s kingdom. But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely. Legalism is helpless in bringing this about; it only gets in the way. Among those who belong to Christ, everything connected with getting our own way and mindlessly responding to what everyone else calls necessities is killed off for good—crucified. Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives. That means we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us is an original.”