WEBVTT NOTE Podcast: Acts 29 Vancouver Episode: Friend of God Publishing Date: 2014-10-26T06:00:44-07:00 Podcast URL: https://acts29.ca Episode URL: https://acts29.ca/friend-of-god/ 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.000 I want to talk about friend of God. We sang it and want to talk about it. We sing the 00:00:07.180 --> 00:00:12.920 song I'm a Friend of God and it seems to come from a place where He's saying it and that 00:00:12.920 --> 00:00:19.920 is true. He does say it. But besides the high honor of hearing God say, well done good and 00:00:21.020 --> 00:00:27.440 faithful servant, which is something that we should aspire for, another highly prized 00:00:27.440 --> 00:00:34.440 phrase not often spoken in heaven is when God says, here stands a friend of God. It's 00:00:39.840 --> 00:00:45.240 not very often that you hear Him saying that in the Bible. He says that generally to us 00:00:45.240 --> 00:00:52.240 because that's coming from His heart. Think of it this way. The Creator and the God of 00:00:52.240 --> 00:00:58.920 the universe. The Creator and the God of the universe says He is my friend, that He sees 00:00:58.920 --> 00:01:03.720 me as a friend. That's what the Creator and the God of the universe says. And that's settled 00:01:03.720 --> 00:01:10.720 for eternity. Settled for eternity where He says I don't see you as anything but a son 00:01:11.320 --> 00:01:17.760 and a friend Jacob. That's settled for eternity. And Romans 8.38 says that there's nothing 00:01:17.760 --> 00:01:23.640 that will ever break that for the rest of eternity. Romans 8.38 says I'm absolutely 00:01:23.640 --> 00:01:30.640 convinced that nothing, I am absolutely convinced that nothing, nothing living or dead, nothing 00:01:32.060 --> 00:01:39.060 angelic or demonic, nothing like today or tomorrow, nothing high or low, nothing thinkable 00:01:40.280 --> 00:01:47.280 or unthinkable, not even sin it says in 8.36 and 8.37. No trouble you're going through. 00:01:48.160 --> 00:01:55.160 Not even sin. Absolutely nothing can get between me and God's love for me because of how Jesus 00:01:57.700 --> 00:02:04.700 has embraced me. So that is settled for eternity that I am a friend of God. He sees me that 00:02:05.080 --> 00:02:10.800 way. But besides the high honor of hearing, well done good and faithful servant which 00:02:10.800 --> 00:02:17.360 is a thing that some of us will hear and many of us should aspire to hear. Because we just 00:02:17.360 --> 00:02:21.360 assume that everybody who goes to heaven God will say well done good and faithful servant. 00:02:21.360 --> 00:02:26.520 No. To hear the words well done good and faithful servant make sure you're faithful and make 00:02:26.520 --> 00:02:33.000 sure that the life lived is the life that is good before Him. Because many of us will 00:02:33.000 --> 00:02:37.800 go to heaven because we are saved but it is another thing to hear the words well done 00:02:37.800 --> 00:02:42.880 good and faithful servant. But another phrase that you can aspire for that is highly prized 00:02:42.880 --> 00:02:48.160 in heaven or that is occasionally spoken in heaven is when God turns to someone and 00:02:48.160 --> 00:02:55.160 says there's a friend of mine. Because of the qualities and the ways you live here on 00:02:55.160 --> 00:03:02.160 earth He says there stands a friend. God said that about Abraham. In Isaiah 41 verse 8 and 00:03:02.720 --> 00:03:09.720 I think in 2 Chronicles 20 in both places God says of Abraham that here is my friend. 00:03:10.720 --> 00:03:17.720 Two more left. You usually do it in sevens. Isaiah 41, 8 Abraham was called a friend of 00:03:18.760 --> 00:03:25.760 God. 2 Chronicles 20 I think verse 7 I might be wrong. He calls Abraham a friend of God. 00:03:27.800 --> 00:03:33.940 So what we're going to look at today is what does it take to be called a friend of God? 00:03:33.940 --> 00:03:40.940 What does my life look like? What will my life look like if I say I'm a friend of God? 00:03:43.180 --> 00:03:48.540 What does it look like? And this is from how do we live here if we are supposed to live 00:03:48.540 --> 00:03:55.540 a life that personifies what it is to be a friend of God? So here's the first one guys. 00:03:55.540 --> 00:04:02.540 As a friend of God I must believe. I must entrust myself. I must rely on. I must be 00:04:09.180 --> 00:04:16.180 expectant. I must be persuaded of His goodness, His power and His faithfulness. How do we 00:04:17.860 --> 00:04:24.860 know that these are required qualities? Because it says in James 2, 23 that the scripture 00:04:25.740 --> 00:04:32.740 were fulfilled which says that Abraham believed, relied on, depended on, wholly trusted himself 00:04:33.700 --> 00:04:40.700 to God and it was reckoned to him as righteousness and he was called the friend of God. One of 00:04:41.700 --> 00:04:48.700 the requirements expected of you if you say you're a friend of God is are you illogically, 00:04:48.900 --> 00:04:55.900 desperately, recklessly and joyously dependent on Him. Let me say that again. I must be desperately 00:04:58.420 --> 00:05:05.420 as in gosh I can't live any other way. Recklessly as in come on Father let's jump off this cliff. 00:05:06.020 --> 00:05:11.820 Illogically as in this doesn't make sense but it makes so much sense and joyously as 00:05:11.820 --> 00:05:18.820 in yeah and you jump off. That is what it looks like to believe. That is what it looks 00:05:23.060 --> 00:05:28.940 like to believe. Desperately as in but I want a son. You said you'll give me a son. Recklessly 00:05:28.940 --> 00:05:35.420 as in I'm going to sleep with, what's her name? Sarah. I'm going to sleep with Sarah 00:05:35.420 --> 00:05:42.420 even though she's 90. Illogically as in I know I'm important and my body does not work 00:05:43.300 --> 00:05:50.300 and joyously as in Sarah you can begin calling me Abraham from now on even in the marketplace. 00:05:54.540 --> 00:06:00.660 This is a quality that should stand out if you're a friend of God and it shall be credited 00:06:00.660 --> 00:06:04.980 to you not just as righteousness alone but you shall be called a friend of God because 00:06:04.980 --> 00:06:11.980 a friend of God believes, relies, depends on, leans back on, is expectant and is persuaded 00:06:13.100 --> 00:06:20.100 of God's goodness, of God's power, of God's faithfulness. That'll show that you're a 00:06:21.740 --> 00:06:28.740 friend of God. Here's another one. As a friend of God I must love obedience to his commands. 00:06:28.740 --> 00:06:35.740 As a friend of God I must love, not submit to, I must love obedience to his commands 00:06:37.940 --> 00:06:44.940 and I must dread offending or hurting the father I love. I must love obeying his commands, 00:06:46.700 --> 00:06:52.500 not I must submit to his commands, not I must, you know there's this verse in the Bible 00:06:52.500 --> 00:06:59.500 which has always bothered me which is such a cool verse. It says, if you were obedient 00:06:59.500 --> 00:07:04.500 and willing you would have eaten the good of the land. Not if you were obedient you 00:07:04.500 --> 00:07:07.500 would have eaten the good of the land, not if you were willing you would have eaten the 00:07:07.500 --> 00:07:14.500 good of the land, if you had been obedient and willing. And willingness and obedience 00:07:14.500 --> 00:07:19.500 comes when you begin to love the one who is obedient and willing. And you love the one 00:07:19.500 --> 00:07:26.500 whose command you're obeying. So as a friend of God I must love obedience to his commands 00:07:27.860 --> 00:07:34.260 and I must dread offending the father I love. I must dread offending or hurting the father 00:07:34.260 --> 00:07:38.860 I love. Wouldn't you do that for a good friend? Usually with good friends we are willing to 00:07:38.860 --> 00:07:44.700 do what they ask us to do because of our friendship and we dread offending them. When Derek and 00:07:44.700 --> 00:07:48.220 I were traveling at one point there was a time when I was hoping he could come with 00:07:48.220 --> 00:07:52.580 me somewhere and then the others told him, the airline told him no he can't and stuff 00:07:52.580 --> 00:07:56.260 like that. I felt very bad. I called him two, three times, sent him text messages. By the 00:07:56.260 --> 00:08:01.940 way, sending, calling Derek is an expensive proposition because his telephone, his phone, 00:08:01.940 --> 00:08:07.060 his mobile is still a long distance number. So every time you call him you pay 35 cents 00:08:07.060 --> 00:08:08.060 a minute. 00:08:08.060 --> 00:08:15.060 This message is sponsored by Fido. Yeah, so you dread offending people you love. It's 00:08:30.500 --> 00:08:35.540 not a dread that comes out of fear but it's just you don't want to offend or grieve someone 00:08:36.540 --> 00:08:43.540 you love. And so that's another sign of a friend. And John 15, 14 says, you are my friends. 00:08:43.540 --> 00:08:47.780 This is Jesus speaking and he says it so plainly. Some of these, you know, that's the difference 00:08:47.780 --> 00:08:53.420 between Jesus and Paul. Jesus could say something very plainly in one short sentence. Paul would 00:08:53.420 --> 00:09:00.420 say the same thing in very, very long sentences. So John 15 verse 14 says, you are my friends 00:09:00.660 --> 00:09:07.660 if you do what I command. Wow. As a friend of God, I'm a friend of God if I do what he 00:09:10.980 --> 00:09:16.980 commands. God sees me as a friend but to behave as a friend of God here on earth I must do 00:09:16.980 --> 00:09:23.980 what he commands. Another scripture that talks about friendship is Psalm 25, 14 and depending 00:09:24.540 --> 00:09:31.540 on the version, ESV puts it this way, the friendship of the Lord is for those who fear 00:09:33.340 --> 00:09:40.340 him. The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him. The friendship of the Lord一次 00:09:40.420 --> 00:09:43.460 for those who fear him. And we talked about this long ago and we talked about the fear 00:09:43.460 --> 00:09:47.780 of the Lord. We said the fear of the Lord is born out of love and it is the dread offending 00:09:47.780 --> 00:09:52.380 the father you love. The fear of the Lord is the dread offending the father you love 00:09:52.380 --> 00:09:57.340 in the New Testament. Not in the New Testament, it has ever been so, but we see it with New 00:09:57.340 --> 00:10:04.340 Testament glasses. So that's the second one. Here's another one. Guys, as a friend of God, 00:10:05.820 --> 00:10:11.860 I must love Him through all times, especially during times of adversity. As a friend of 00:10:11.860 --> 00:10:18.860 God, I must love Him through all times, especially through times of adversity. In the New Testament, 00:10:22.700 --> 00:10:29.700 Proverbs 17, 17, it says, a friend loves at all times and a brother is born for adversity. 00:10:34.380 --> 00:10:41.380 Proverbs 17, 17. My friendship with God, His is never tested. He laid down His life. He 00:10:41.540 --> 00:10:46.380 said, you lay down your life for your friends and He did. But my friendship with God is 00:10:46.380 --> 00:10:52.060 tested in terms of how I am through hard times, through times of adversity. Because as a friend 00:10:52.060 --> 00:10:58.500 of God, I must love Him through all times. So the question is, is His presence, is His 00:10:58.500 --> 00:11:05.500 grace, is His truth, is His peace, is His love manifest in my life when hard times and adversity 00:11:06.820 --> 00:11:13.820 try to distance and choke? I will never leave you or forsake you out of my life. Have you 00:11:13.820 --> 00:11:20.820 and I come to a place now where there is no upsetedness where adverse circumstances hit? 00:11:24.860 --> 00:11:31.860 Where we've stopped using words like, why is God doing this to me? Where we've stopped 00:11:32.500 --> 00:11:38.580 saying, where is God? Where we've stopped saying, how come none of your promises are 00:11:38.580 --> 00:11:45.580 working? You're not faithful. Has it ceased? Is it an immediate turning towards God in 00:11:52.980 --> 00:11:59.420 adversity or is there a difficulty approaching Him because things are not working out? And 00:11:59.420 --> 00:12:04.140 when things don't work out, there's sometimes this tendency of many things not working out. 00:12:04.140 --> 00:12:11.140 That's an old trick of the enemy where when he sometimes attacks, he attacks in multiple 00:12:11.300 --> 00:12:18.300 blows to see if the person can completely crumble. So one needs to ask where you're 00:12:23.180 --> 00:12:30.180 at. Will looking at my life show that my elder brother does all things well? When looking 00:12:30.340 --> 00:12:37.340 at my life, will my life show that my elder brother does all things well? Because a friend 00:12:40.700 --> 00:12:46.380 loves at all times and a brother is born for adversity. We always put that on God or between 00:12:46.380 --> 00:12:51.060 our relationship with each other, but turn it on yourself. Are you and I able to love 00:12:51.060 --> 00:12:57.100 Him at all times because that's who a friend of God is, especially through adversity? Another 00:12:57.100 --> 00:13:03.460 scripture says in Proverbs 18-24, there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. 00:13:03.460 --> 00:13:10.180 Why does it always have to be God? Why can't it be you now? You and Him, not Him and you. 00:13:10.180 --> 00:13:14.520 We always think of Him as the one who sticks closer than a brother. Why not, since you 00:13:14.520 --> 00:13:19.900 want to be a friend of God, why not turn it around? Though you slay me, yet will I praise 00:13:19.900 --> 00:13:26.900 you. Though the victory shall not blossom, yet will I rejoice and do cartwheels. Why 00:13:28.100 --> 00:13:35.100 not turn it on yourself? I want to be a friend of God on earth. I want to, but these are 00:13:35.260 --> 00:13:42.260 things that are sometimes required. Here's another one. As a friend of God, I must seek, 00:13:45.820 --> 00:13:52.820 discover and know what the Father is doing. As a friend of God, I must seek, discover 00:13:52.820 --> 00:13:59.820 and know what the Father is doing. Very important distinction of someone who is a friend. Guys, 00:14:02.820 --> 00:14:09.820 remember this. God is first looking for friends, not servants. God is first looking for friends, 00:14:12.260 --> 00:14:19.260 not servants. Servanthood is very important in the kingdom, but servanthood is not important 00:14:19.260 --> 00:14:24.300 in the kingdom. Servanthood is very important in the kingdom, but servanthood can be rooted 00:14:24.300 --> 00:14:31.180 in bland and risk-free bliss of Ksirassara. Let me say that again. Servanthood is vital 00:14:31.180 --> 00:14:38.180 in the kingdom, but servanthood can be rooted in the bland and risk-free bliss of Ksirassara. 00:14:38.780 --> 00:14:45.780 Whatever will be, will be. The future's not ours to decide. Join me now. Ksirassara. This 00:14:49.420 --> 00:14:56.420 is the role of a servant. Don't believe me, Jesus actually said it. John 15 verse 14 and 00:14:57.940 --> 00:15:04.940 15. He said, no longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master 00:15:05.220 --> 00:15:12.220 is doing, but I have called you friends for all that I have heard from my Father I have 00:15:13.220 --> 00:15:20.220 made known to you. So to walk around saying whatever God does let him do is the role of 00:15:22.940 --> 00:15:28.140 a servant and it's vitally important because whatever God says we should do. But God first 00:15:28.140 --> 00:15:34.220 wants friends, not servants. And so we need to understand that that is a distinction of 00:15:34.220 --> 00:15:39.860 friendship. And so withdraw yourself from this Ksirassara attitude because it's bland, 00:15:39.860 --> 00:15:46.860 it's sluggish and it's risk-free. Risk-free. Guys, Isaiah 55, 8 which says my thoughts 00:15:51.820 --> 00:15:57.460 are higher than your thoughts, my ways are higher than your ways, must collide with 00:15:57.460 --> 00:16:03.620 Proverbs 25, 2 which says it is the privilege of God to conceal a matter, but it is the 00:16:03.620 --> 00:16:10.620 privilege of kings to reveal it. It should collide and when it collides that's when 00:16:10.620 --> 00:16:17.620 the supernatural acts of God are generated. Do you see now why God in Genesis 18, 24 says 00:16:22.620 --> 00:16:29.620 to the angels that are with him, should I not tell Abraham what I am going to do? He's 00:16:30.380 --> 00:16:36.100 waiting to go and judge Sodom and Gomorrah and he's standing there and he hasn't told 00:16:36.100 --> 00:16:40.820 anybody and he's outside the oaks of Mamre and he's standing there and he's thinking 00:16:40.820 --> 00:16:46.540 and he says it aloud, should I hide from Abraham what I'm going to do? It goes back to what 00:16:46.540 --> 00:16:50.820 Jesus is saying that I don't treat you as servants anymore. Servants do not know what 00:16:50.820 --> 00:16:54.900 their master is going to do, but I treat you as friends and I have revealed to you what 00:16:54.900 --> 00:17:01.900 the father knows. This is what was behind God's yearning in Genesis 18, 17. Guys will 00:17:03.020 --> 00:17:10.020 you go tell your secrets to strangers? Will you go tell your secrets to acquaintances? 00:17:10.260 --> 00:17:16.900 Will you go tell your secrets to ones who are fair weather friends? You will only tell 00:17:16.900 --> 00:17:23.900 that which are deep things that you want to, to friends because you know they have come 00:17:24.900 --> 00:17:30.540 to a place in relationship with you where they can be trusted. To only step up when 00:17:30.540 --> 00:17:37.140 you ask them to step up, but otherwise to keep a matter. God is looking for friends 00:17:37.140 --> 00:17:44.140 and to be a friend you have to walk in this distinct characteristic of beginning to seek, 00:17:45.140 --> 00:17:51.180 discover and know the will of God instead of walking in the bliss of Kessera. Kessera 00:17:51.180 --> 00:17:57.660 is Latin right? Not Greek. Okay. Well I just thought I knew something in Greek and now 00:17:57.660 --> 00:18:04.660 it turns out to be Latin. Or maybe it's French. Spanish? This could split the church, let's 00:18:12.220 --> 00:18:19.220 move on. Guys the next thing is as a friend of God I must be a friend of God. I must be 00:18:22.180 --> 00:18:29.180 present to draw near. I must present to draw near. I must present to draw near. I must 00:18:35.660 --> 00:18:42.660 seek to speak face to face. So how many Googled Kessera by now? No one? That's very good. 00:18:42.660 --> 00:18:49.660 This is a church that knows how to behave. And I must knit my heart to his in intimacy. 00:19:02.340 --> 00:19:09.340 Three things that so distinguish friendship. I mean this is such a no brainer. That I must 00:19:10.340 --> 00:19:17.340 present to draw near. James chapter 4 verse 8 draw near to God and he will draw near to 00:19:21.380 --> 00:19:28.380 you. Isn't that how friends are? Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. It's 00:19:28.380 --> 00:19:35.380 a very nature of friends. Try doing that. Draw near to God and he will draw near to 00:19:35.620 --> 00:19:42.620 you. Spanish. Like I said this might just. Okay moving on. Draw near to God and he will 00:19:54.740 --> 00:20:01.740 draw near to you. Derek come back to the teaching. Draw near to God and he will draw near to 00:20:01.740 --> 00:20:08.740 you. Guys why am I stuck there? You guys are distracting me. Guys press in. Press in 00:20:10.460 --> 00:20:17.460 to draw near. This is a sign of friendship. The next one is in Exodus 33 11. And Moses 00:20:20.140 --> 00:20:27.140 the Lord would speak to Moses face to face as he speaks to a friend. Gosh man. Exodus 00:20:28.140 --> 00:20:35.140 33 11. And the Lord would speak to Moses face to face. Remember that word Panim which we 00:20:35.300 --> 00:20:41.820 talked about long ago. Which is a face to face speaking. And the odd thing is the word 00:20:41.820 --> 00:20:48.820 presence and face to face have the same meaning. So Exodus 33 11 the Lord would speak to Moses 00:20:49.940 --> 00:20:56.940 face to face as one speaks with a friend. And then 1 Samuel 18 1. It's David speaking 00:20:57.140 --> 00:21:02.220 to David and Jonathan and it says there as soon as he had finished speaking to Saul the 00:21:02.220 --> 00:21:09.220 soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. 1 00:21:11.220 --> 00:21:18.220 Samuel 18 1. So these are three things that characterize a friend of God. And the beautiful 00:21:19.100 --> 00:21:23.420 thing is tomorrow you can increase in it and day after you can increase some more. So that 00:21:23.420 --> 00:21:30.420 one day in the corridors of heaven they'll say. God will say to his angels or whoever 00:21:31.700 --> 00:21:37.700 or between the trinity where he says oh there goes a friend of mine. There goes a friend 00:21:37.700 --> 00:21:44.700 of mine. One man he talks about like that Abraham. There goes Abraham my friend. This 00:21:44.700 --> 00:21:51.700 is not some kind of a crown we wear. This is satisfying the heart of God. Yeah it's 00:21:56.980 --> 00:22:01.460 easy to say oh we don't want a crown like that. We just want to be humble servants. 00:22:01.460 --> 00:22:08.460 Well do what God asks. That's what's important. God says I want friends first not servants. 00:22:09.460 --> 00:22:15.380 This is not about wearing a crown. This is about satisfying the heart of God. He is most 00:22:15.380 --> 00:22:19.340 glorified when you are most satisfied and I would suggest to you friendship with him 00:22:19.340 --> 00:22:26.340 can be very satisfying. Next one. As a friend of God I must love purity. As a friend of 00:22:26.340 --> 00:22:33.340 God I must love purity. As a friend of God I must love purity. I also must be a man whose 00:22:38.500 --> 00:22:44.500 speech is full of grace. Ah difficult now eh suddenly. These other things were a little 00:22:44.500 --> 00:22:48.620 easier. Now we are getting into the nitty gritty of things. As a friend of God I must 00:22:48.620 --> 00:22:55.620 love purity and I must be a man whose speech is full of grace. As a friend of God I must 00:22:56.780 --> 00:23:03.780 love purity. Proverbs 22 verse 11. He who loves purity of heart and whose speech is 00:23:03.820 --> 00:23:10.820 gracious will have the king as his friend. He who loves purity of heart and whose speech 00:23:12.300 --> 00:23:19.300 is gracious will have the king as his friend. You can see why the speech full of grace is 00:23:20.300 --> 00:23:26.700 important guys. In James chapter 3 verse 2 it says if any man offend not in word the 00:23:26.700 --> 00:23:33.700 same is a perfect man who knows how to bridle his whole body. What an odd scripture eh that 00:23:34.780 --> 00:23:40.460 if I knew how to speak perfectly I would be a perfect man. Just imagine that. We can do 00:23:40.460 --> 00:23:47.460 a whole teaching on that. But it says and I love the King James in this. If any man 00:23:49.300 --> 00:23:56.300 offend not in word the same is a perfect man who can now bridle his entire body. James 00:24:00.220 --> 00:24:07.220 chapter 3 verse 2. If any man offend not in word as in his speech is perfect. His speech 00:24:07.220 --> 00:24:14.220 is perfect. Yeah crazy eh can't even imagine that. That's why if you could spend the rest 00:24:19.060 --> 00:24:26.060 of your life speaking in tongues you'd be a perfect person but the problem is no one 00:24:26.460 --> 00:24:33.460 would understand you. So that's why it won't work. So that's why it won't work. So that's 00:24:37.740 --> 00:24:44.740 why. This guy called Jim Downing was asked this question. Why is it that so few men finish 00:24:48.580 --> 00:24:55.580 well? Men and women. So Jim Downing was asked why is it that so few men finish Christian 00:24:56.980 --> 00:25:03.980 the Christian race well? Why is it that so few men finish well? And his answer was I've 00:25:04.980 --> 00:25:11.980 been trying to memorize this one. They learn the possibility of being fruitful without 00:25:12.620 --> 00:25:19.620 being pure. And they begin to believe that purity doesn't matter. Eventually they become 00:25:21.260 --> 00:25:28.260 like rotting they become like trees rotting inside that are toppled by a storm. Let me 00:25:28.820 --> 00:25:34.060 say that again. Why is it that so few men finish well? And his answer was they learn 00:25:34.060 --> 00:25:41.060 the possibility of being fruitful without being pure. And they begin to believe that 00:25:42.500 --> 00:25:49.500 purity doesn't matter. Eventually they become like trees rotting inside that are toppled 00:25:51.180 --> 00:25:58.180 over by a storm. And isn't that what is happening with leaders? Where you can become fruitful 00:25:58.220 --> 00:26:04.220 because the ministry is going well. The results are great. The church is increasing. Signs, 00:26:04.220 --> 00:26:09.660 wonders and miracles are happening. People like you. Financially you're doing well. 00:26:09.660 --> 00:26:15.100 Your family seems pretty well painted at least on magazine covers. But at the end of the 00:26:15.100 --> 00:26:19.700 day you are finding yourself fruitful and you're letting go of purity. And the inside 00:26:19.700 --> 00:26:26.700 is rotting. And when the inside rots eventually in a storm the tree topples. So Jim Downing 00:26:28.380 --> 00:26:32.220 as a friend of God I must love purity. He who loves purity of heart and whose speech 00:26:32.220 --> 00:26:37.260 is gracious will have the king as his friend. Doesn't matter whether you're a leader of 00:26:37.260 --> 00:26:44.260 a big church or a small church like this. Doesn't matter if you're a man of God of great importance 00:26:44.700 --> 00:26:49.260 or absolutely no importance. Purity is vital. Because otherwise the storm will eventually 00:26:49.260 --> 00:26:55.260 topple you. And me. I take this to heart like crazy. Guys so what are we talking about? 00:26:55.260 --> 00:27:02.260 Purity of life in words, in thoughts, in imagination. I was listening to someone say this last 00:27:04.140 --> 00:27:08.860 week that I wouldn't be tempted if it wasn't for the fact that I didn't think a certain 00:27:08.860 --> 00:27:15.860 way and imagine a certain way. I cannot be tempted if it wasn't for the fact that I think 00:27:15.860 --> 00:27:22.860 a certain way and imagine a certain way. Where a thought is introduced and I begin to ponder 00:27:23.340 --> 00:27:30.340 on it and I begin to imagine. And once I begin to imagine now I can be taken till sin conceives 00:27:31.740 --> 00:27:36.780 and gives birth to. It's like a fish that's going towards a bait. Sin conceives and then 00:27:36.780 --> 00:27:43.780 gives birth to death. But it starts in here man. So purity in words, in thoughts, in imaginations, 00:27:44.820 --> 00:27:51.820 in action, in sex, what we consume and what we output. I'm talking about food, drink, 00:27:52.460 --> 00:27:59.460 what we see, what we hear and what we output. Here's another one. As a friend of God I must 00:28:03.380 --> 00:28:10.380 not be deceived by the slanderer or the deceiver or the devil. As a friend of God I must not 00:28:10.600 --> 00:28:17.600 be deceived by the slanderer, the deceiver or the devil. Proverbs 16, 28 the second 00:28:18.600 --> 00:28:25.600 part of it says, a slanderer separates intimate friends. A slanderer separates intimate friends. 00:28:30.560 --> 00:28:36.760 Proverbs 16, 28 the second half. So as a friend of God I must not be deceived by the slanderer 00:28:36.760 --> 00:28:43.200 or the deceiver or the devil. Guys know this that it is when truth is resisted that the 00:28:43.200 --> 00:28:50.200 deceiver steps in and delusion follows. Let me say it again. This is very true eh. It 00:28:51.680 --> 00:28:58.680 is when truth is resisted that the deceiver has room to step in and delusion follows. 00:29:00.880 --> 00:29:07.880 Isn't this what happens in the parable where when the seed of truth falls on rocky soil 00:29:08.880 --> 00:29:15.880 of the heart the birds come and devour or dispose of it. That's what happens in the 00:29:16.880 --> 00:29:23.880 parable. So when truth is resisted or not easily accepted now it creates room for the 00:29:25.400 --> 00:29:32.400 deceiver to fly in and dispossess you of the truth and thereafter as it says in 1st Thessalonians 00:29:32.920 --> 00:29:39.920 a delusion follows. So one of the smart ways to be free of delusion is to be willing to 00:29:42.280 --> 00:29:49.280 receive truth. I fear sometimes that when I resist truth or you resist truth that is 00:29:52.520 --> 00:29:59.200 spoken here or shape your own version of the truth you think you are being loyal to God's 00:29:59.280 --> 00:30:05.160 ways when you may be actually walking in dim vision. See I can preach this and not go home 00:30:05.160 --> 00:30:12.160 and practice it and the moment I do that what is happening is I need to be afraid that I 00:30:12.160 --> 00:30:17.840 am not working with the truth that I am beginning to shape my own version of the truth. I am 00:30:17.840 --> 00:30:22.640 a hearer but not a doer. See these are the ways we deal with the truth eh. Either we 00:30:22.640 --> 00:30:29.560 resist it because it doesn't fit our paradigm or we shape it so that it mixes with what 00:30:29.560 --> 00:30:36.560 we know so that it can be palatable or we hear it but we don't practice it. And when 00:30:36.720 --> 00:30:41.360 any of these things happen the deceiver has room to now come into my life and dispossess 00:30:41.360 --> 00:30:47.960 me of the truth that I spoke or I taught or you spoke and you taught and he now has the 00:30:47.960 --> 00:30:53.440 ability to fly in and dispossess me of it and now what follows guys this is true of 00:30:53.440 --> 00:31:00.440 everything eh. A vacuum begs to be occupied and when you are dispossessed of the truth 00:31:01.640 --> 00:31:08.640 delusion follows and I fear that for me and sometimes I fear that for you and the greater 00:31:09.160 --> 00:31:16.160 the exposure to the truth the greater your responsibility. So I am not going to be afraid 00:31:18.960 --> 00:31:22.480 and sometimes the feelings get in the way but remember guys your feelings are not God 00:31:22.480 --> 00:31:29.480 God is God. Your feelings are not God God is God. Your thoughts and feelings do not 00:31:30.780 --> 00:31:35.800 define the truth. The word of God defines the truth. Your thoughts and your feelings 00:31:35.800 --> 00:31:40.280 this is how I think. Sorry doesn't matter what you think your thoughts and feelings 00:31:40.280 --> 00:31:47.280 do not define the truth. The word of God defines the truth. 00:31:47.960 --> 00:31:54.960 Two more and we are done. Guys as a friend of God I must know that friendship with the 00:32:00.240 --> 00:32:07.240 world as in its way of thinking its prime time TV programs its philosophies its standards 00:32:07.240 --> 00:32:14.240 as a friend of God I must know that friendship with the world will result either in conformity 00:32:16.040 --> 00:32:23.040 with the world or in adulteration of my life making me an enemy of God gosh where did that 00:32:23.760 --> 00:32:30.760 one come from? That came from James chapter 4 verse 4 where it says you adulterers it 00:32:31.760 --> 00:32:38.760 actually says you adulteresses because we are the bride of Christ you adulteresses do 00:32:39.080 --> 00:32:44.800 you not know that friendship with the world is hostility towards God therefore whoever 00:32:44.800 --> 00:32:51.800 wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God wow and the thing is because 00:32:51.800 --> 00:32:58.800 of the inundation of the world into our living rooms into our lives on a daily basis much 00:33:02.280 --> 00:33:08.120 of it through prime time TV. Blessed are you if you don't own a television set and even 00:33:08.120 --> 00:33:14.520 more blessed are you if you own a television set and know how to not watch it. That's even 00:33:14.520 --> 00:33:21.520 tougher eh? So blessed are you but more blessed are you if you have one and do not watch it. 00:33:21.800 --> 00:33:28.800 Oh you are in deep deep trouble. Thou aren't blessed if thou hast a TV and watch it baseball. 00:33:36.560 --> 00:33:43.560 Yeah. Silence in the gallery. I almost pictured this when I was writing that there will be 00:33:43.560 --> 00:33:50.560 a voice from that end of the room saying exactly what you said and I don't know he's gotten 00:33:53.000 --> 00:34:00.000 better over the years but what you know. So as a friend of God I must know that friendship 00:34:00.120 --> 00:34:05.120 with the world its way of thinking its prime time TV its philosophy its standards. Guys 00:34:05.120 --> 00:34:12.120 see jokes about sex and homosexuality hardly bother us anymore. Watching something on TV 00:34:14.360 --> 00:34:21.360 where there's an adulterous relationship or stuff like that doesn't bother us anymore. 00:34:23.280 --> 00:34:30.280 It doesn't do we are not we don't react like lot in Sodom. It doesn't grieve us. It's become 00:34:31.440 --> 00:34:36.520 such a normal thing for us we can watch it without even feeling a thing because it's 00:34:36.520 --> 00:34:43.520 become such a normal part of life. Good for you then. Very good for you because you are 00:34:43.560 --> 00:34:46.640 watching it. Because I'm finding that when I see stuff like this it doesn't bother me 00:34:46.640 --> 00:34:53.640 and it's like I've gotten used to it. Very good if you haven't got it. Let me rephrase 00:34:55.640 --> 00:35:01.640 it this way. I am not bothered like it by it like I used to be bothered before. Because 00:35:01.640 --> 00:35:08.640 it's become like ah but this is life. And so what happens is this is life has the phrase 00:35:09.600 --> 00:35:16.400 this is life the reason I use it is because obviously the way I think has been contaminated 00:35:16.400 --> 00:35:22.920 or adulterated by the standards of the world. So there is the distinction between Goshen 00:35:22.920 --> 00:35:29.600 and the rest of Egypt is becoming very thin. And so if you still are offended by it good 00:35:29.600 --> 00:35:36.600 you preserved yourself better than I have. So may our thinking and may our standards 00:35:37.520 --> 00:35:44.000 once again be lifted up because to be friends with the world is to be an enemy of God. And 00:35:44.000 --> 00:35:48.840 I don't know who wrote this line. I think it's John Piper I'm not sure. But he said 00:35:48.840 --> 00:35:54.760 it's not the banquet of the wicked. It's not the banquet of the wicked that dulls our appetite 00:35:54.760 --> 00:36:01.760 for God. It's nibbling at the table of the world. It's not the banquet of the wicked 00:36:02.760 --> 00:36:09.680 that dulls our appetite for God. As in we know enough not to sit at a banqueting table 00:36:09.680 --> 00:36:15.720 that the enemy spreads. But what dulls our appetite for God is the nibbling at the table 00:36:15.720 --> 00:36:22.240 of the world. Yesterday I went for an engagement thing and so I kept nibbling at little things. 00:36:22.240 --> 00:36:25.840 When I got home there was lots of dinner but I didn't feel like eating it so I had to wait 00:36:25.840 --> 00:36:32.440 till 11.30 before I felt hungry. But there was no need for that example. The point being 00:36:32.440 --> 00:36:39.440 guys that that's how this works. That's how this works. So let us demolish altars of sinning 00:36:41.720 --> 00:36:47.820 that we have set up in our lives and homes. Let us demolish altars of sinning that we 00:36:47.820 --> 00:36:54.820 have set up in our lives and our homes. One of the things that I know that I'm not going 00:36:55.840 --> 00:37:01.840 to do, I've started doing and want to continue is like drastically reduce what I watch on 00:37:01.840 --> 00:37:08.840 TV. Drastically. Because when I was writing this I was thinking to myself boy you don't 00:37:11.000 --> 00:37:17.520 react with any, not shock. Nothing in you rises up against some of the things that are 00:37:17.520 --> 00:37:22.280 happening. You take it as common place. And why? Because that's what you hear and see 00:37:22.420 --> 00:37:29.420 and you get used to it. You know there's this canal in Chennai, India called the Buckingham 00:37:29.700 --> 00:37:36.700 Canal. Beautiful name. But all the sewage of Chennai goes into that canal. And so when 00:37:38.440 --> 00:37:43.840 you land there and it's right next to the railway, central railway station there. When 00:37:43.840 --> 00:37:50.240 you land there and you step out of the train, man it's an overpowering smell. But if you 00:37:50.240 --> 00:37:55.360 keep walking there a couple of days you get so used to that smell that you don't even 00:37:55.360 --> 00:38:02.360 realize that it stinks that much. Odd how these things work. Last point. As a friend 00:38:09.200 --> 00:38:16.200 of God I must lean on the friend who will always be with me and grow me into an Abraham 00:38:17.200 --> 00:38:24.200 like friend of God. As a friend of God, boo. As a friend of God I must lean on the friend 00:38:29.200 --> 00:38:35.200 who will always be with me and grow me into an Abraham like friend of God. Who are we 00:38:35.200 --> 00:38:40.200 talking about? The wonderful Holy Spirit. In John 14, 16 depending on which version 00:38:41.000 --> 00:38:47.600 you're reading it says, I will talk to the Father and in some versions it says he will 00:38:47.600 --> 00:38:52.560 provide you another friend. In some versions it says advocate. In another version it says 00:38:52.560 --> 00:38:58.800 helper. But John 14, 16 I will talk to the Father and he will provide you another friend, 00:38:58.800 --> 00:39:04.360 advocate or helper so that you will always have someone with you. This friend is the 00:39:04.360 --> 00:39:10.520 spirit of truth. So here's a cool thing. That God has given me a friend who can help 00:39:10.520 --> 00:39:17.520 me become a friend of God. How nuts is that? God has given me a friend who can help me 00:39:17.560 --> 00:39:22.260 become a friend of God. Who can help me become an Abraham like friend or even slightly better 00:39:22.260 --> 00:39:29.260 than him. Or maybe really better than him. I'm a friend of God. That if you say that 00:39:29.260 --> 00:39:36.260 statement then these things have to become now part of our life. Yeah? Bless you guys. 00:39:36.260 --> 00:39:43.260 It's been a good Sunday man. Yeah, it was fun. Thanks guys. You know we need to put 00:39:45.260 --> 00:39:50.260 up some of these things. Like put up this Chantel thing, put up this Diana thing and 00:39:50.260 --> 00:39:57.260 put up the what's her name? Rhonda thing. Yeah, those are the things that we need to 00:39:57.260 --> 00:40:04.260 put up. Yeah, those are the things we have to put up. So, should I? Yeah, we need the 00:40:08.500 --> 00:40:15.500 construction thingy to do that. Vane? So Father we bless you. It's been a wonderful morning. 00:40:18.180 --> 00:40:24.580 The odd thing is Father your spirit orchestrates the morning and then we end up doing the things 00:40:24.580 --> 00:40:31.580 that you want and then you are glorified and when you are glorified we are satisfied. 00:40:32.260 --> 00:40:37.260 And the great thing is there's no limit to it. There will never be a time when we would 00:40:37.260 --> 00:40:43.660 have plumbed the ultimate depths of glorifying you. Even when we are in heaven it will continue. 00:40:43.660 --> 00:40:49.580 So thank you. We bless you Father. Father next week just so the people here remember 00:40:49.580 --> 00:40:55.740 we are meeting at 10.20 Father. It's so enjoyable.