BECOMING GOD’S FRIEND

SERIES: LIVING A PURPOSE-DRIVEN LIFE

TEXT: JAMES 4:8

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal fulfilment, your peace of mind or even your happiness. It’s far greater than your family, your career or even your wildest dreams and ambitions.

If you want to know why you were placed on this planet, you must begin with God. You were born by His purpose and for His purpose.

The search for the purpose of life has puzzled people for thousands of years. That is because we typically begin at the wrong starting point-ourselves. You didn’t create yourself so there is no way you can tell yourself why you were created for! If you walk close to God, He will reveal to you your purpose!

You are as close to God as you choose to be. Like any friendship, you must work at developing your friendship with God, it won’t happen by accident. It takes desire, time and energy. If you want a deeper, more intimate connection with God, you must learn to honestly share your feelings with Him, trust Him when He asks you to do something, care about what He cares about and desire His friendship more than anything else.

MEN WHO WERE CLOSE FRIENDS OF GOD

Abraham-James 2:23, 2nd Chronicles 20:7, Isaiah 41:8.
Moses-Numbers 12:8. God revealed Himself to Moses. He talked to Moses not through dreams, visions but face to face-Numbers 12:6-8, Exodus 33:11.
Noah-Hebrews 11:7. God revealed Himself to Noah but not to the other people who were living in his time.
Job-Job 1:8-10. Job feared the Lord and at the end of his suffering God spoke to him word to word-Job 38-41.
Enoch-Genesis 5:21-24. Enoch walked with God and God decided that he would not die.

DEVELOPING FRIENDSHIP WITH GOD

You must choose to be honest with God.

You must have complete honesty-about your faults and feelings. God doesn’t expect you to be perfect but He expects complete honesty. Many a time our prayers are not answered because we do not admit that we are wrong. Adam and Eve refused to ask for forgiveness. In the Bible, the friends of God were honest about their feelings. Some even complained to God, accused God and even argued with God but it didn’t bother Him. God allowed Abraham to question and challenge Him over the destruction of the city of Sodom-Gen. 18:16-33. Job vented his bitterness on God and still he defended Job for being honest and rebuked Job’s friends for accusing him falsely. Moses was a friend of God too, he often complained to God but God did not break His relationship with him.

You must choose to obey God.

Every time you trust God’s wisdom and do whatever He says, even when you don’t understand it, you deepen your friendship with God. Our Lord Jesus Christ said “You are my friends if you do what I command”-John 15:14. We obey God, not out of duty or compulsion, but because we love Him and trust that He knows what is best for us.

You must choose to value what God values.

This is what friends do-they care about what is important to the other person. The more you become God’s friend, the more you will care about the things He cares about, grieve over the things that bring pleasure to Him.
The dearest thing to the heart of God is the death of His son. The second dearest thing is when we His children share that news with others.

You must desire friendship with God more than anything else.

David passionately desired to know God above all else. He used words like “longing, yearning, thirsting, hungering.” He craved God. He once said “one thing I desire, that I may dwell in your temple all days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in His temple-Psalm 27:4.
Apostle Paul passionately said “My desire is that I may know Him-Phil. 3:10.

CONCLUSION