The idea of being a “friend of God” is something that I have longed for and striven toward for most of my life.

Do we ever get “jealous” of the attention given Jesus? Of course not – well – not that we would admit. In John 3, John the Baptist has been active on a mission for God, but ever since he baptized Jesus, Jesus is starting to get the attention. v26, his followers say, “that man, who was WITH you on the other side of the Jordan… well, he is baptizing and everyone is going to HIM”.

Such a real and funny incident. They meant well, they wanted the best for John. And John says, “a man can receive only what is given him from Heaven… I am not the Christ (I am) the friend who attends to the bridegroom… waits and listens for him and is full of joy when he hears (his) voice. The joy is mine and is now complete.”

A lot of wonderful truth there. When people forget my name and know and love Jesus, my joy is complete, my job is fulfilled.

John 15:15 – Jesus says, “I no longer call you servants… I have called you friends… I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit.” That usage of philos for “friend” is the same word John used. The idea of a friend of the bridegroom. The “groomsman”, if you will, had the job of 1) going to the potential bride and asking for her hand in marriage for the groom 2) to make arrangements for the wedding.

I am a friend of God

Abraham’s relationship with God caught my attention when I was a teenager trying to serve the Lord, Preach, and share Jesus.

In Isaiah 41:8, God calls Abraham his “friend”. In 2 Chronicles 20:7, Jehoshaphat prays, “are you not our God… of Abraham, your friend”

Why? How?

James 2:23 says “Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness, and he was called, ‘God’s Friend’”. James is explaining that, yes, “legally” our justification is by faith in the work of Christ, but it is shown, it is proven, by our actions. It isn’t either or, Salvation is by Faith, but the Works should follow and prove our faith.

Genesis 15, God had given Abram a promise, more than 20 years earlier of his blessing, a family, a land, blessing the world. But a lot had happened since then, Abram had failed the Lord in many ways, and the promise hadn’t come and Abram thought, “maybe I missed my chance, maybe the deal isn’t still on.” God takes him outside his tent, points to the stars in a cloudless night and says “If you can count the stars, you can count my fulfillment of my promise to you.”

Genesis 15:6 – “Abram believed God and he credited to him as righteousness”

And here, the true friendship begins to take flight. God says “I brought you from Us… to give you the Land” Friendship is in believing God, trusting, and doing what he says. Then in chapter 17 at 99, God changes his name from “exalted Father” Abram – to “Father of a Multitude” Abraham.

In Genesis 18, God reveals that fulfillment is coming for this 100 year old childless Father. And it is this interaction that has inspired me since I was a teenager. God promises the child, which is crazy by the way, he’s 100, wife is 90. But then in v17 The Lord (Jesus) and two angels are there and about to go down to Sodom and destroy it because of it’s wickedness and the three from Heaven have a conversation, “Should I hid this thing I’m about to do from Abraham?”

Abraham was close enough to God that IF God was going to move and he didn’t want Abraham to know, he would have to hide it. My prayer has been, “Lord I want to be close enough to you that if you move near me, you will have to hide it or I will know. My desire is for his desire, my mission for his mission, my passion be his passion.

Knowing God is always then about doing. Abraham was immediately then concerned about the people in Sodom, which to me is evidence of a shared heart of God. Even if God is bringing judgment, he isn’t happy about it, he desires repentance and blessing. Abraham intercedes for any who might be faithful / righteous. He finally gets down to “Lord if there are Ten, will you withhold judgment? The Lord agrees, but as it turns out, only four – Lot, his wife, and two daughters leave, and even his wife looked back.

But I want to be a close, perceptive friend of God.

And so back to John the Baptist in John 3:30. He says that as a friend – “He must increase, I must decrease… The one from above is above all. The one from earth speaks earthly things. The one from God speaks God’s words”. Then v35 “the Father loves the Son and has given all thing into his hands. The one who believes in the Son has eternal life, but the one who rejects the son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on them

I want to be a friend of God.

• A Friend hides IN the Son
• A Friend Tells about the Son
• A Friend Obeys the Son
• A Friend stays close to the Son so he hears the Father, points to the Son, and receives the blessing of the overflow of all that comes to the Son.

I just want to be a Friend of the Son.

Finishing with Abraham – Hebrews 11:8-10 tells us what a Friend does by Faith

• when called – obeyed and set out
• went through did not know where – Oh the Destination was WITH not Where – not a Place – the Destination is always WITH Jesus
• stayed a foreigner – this earth is not my home
• was an heir of the promise
• looked forward to the fulfillment in Heaven – a Friend of God isn’t a friend of the world – not even in the good sense, this earth is temporary

I want to be a Friend of God – Ultimately I want to just be “That Guy who told me about Jesus – Just a Friend of Jesus.