Jesus Has Called Us Friends (June 24, 2024)

The speaker reflects on the words of Jesus Christ and emphasizes the importance of having a personal and intimate relationship with Him. They discuss the difference between transactional relationships and true friendship, highlighting Jesus' declaration that we are His friends if we follow His commandments. The speaker expresses gratitude for the genuine friendships within their community and emphasizes the transparency and guidance that comes from a relationship with Jesus. They caution against relationships that are based on manipulation or hidden agendas, emphasizing the importance of open communication and trust. Let us consider the words of Jesus Christ, with the intent to mirror him, to conform to the image of Jesus, and to feast upon his Word, which is being taken this morning from St. John's, chapter 15, verses 9 through 16. And those verses read as follows, As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Continue in my love. If you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love, even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is my commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you. A greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends, if you do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants, for the servants know not what his Lord does. But I have called you friends, for all the things that I've heard of my Father I have made known unto you. You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you and ordained you, that you should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatsoever you shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. This morning I specifically draw your attention to verse 14, which states again, you are my friends, if you do whatsoever I command you. And from that verse, the thought comes this morning with a declaration that Jesus has called us friends. Jesus has called us friends. He said, you are my friends, if you do whatsoever I command you. Since the advent of COVID-19 in 2020, and our transition, our steady transition out of the pandemic, there have been multiple instances for me to reflect upon and to realize what a friend that I have in Christ Jesus. And the hymn leads us to this sweet spot in our spiritual journey, that sweet spot of our wonderful relationship with him. And I'm reminded of the lyrics this morning, what a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear, what a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer, oh what peace we often forfeit, oh what needless pain we bear, all because, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer. Family, as good as the lyrics are written, as good as the melody flows, I come back to the world this morning, I come back to the truth, who we know is in Christ Jesus, and wrestled with the question over the last week. I know what the psalm sings, but another verse, if you will, came to mind, and the verse was the question, can the Lord Jesus sing a hymn about Avery? Can the Lord Jesus in his melody sing what a friend we have in Avery? It's about a personal reflection and a personal introspection about, can Jesus say that Avery is my friend? I believe that the chapter that we are focusing on this morning, chapter 15 of the Gospel of John, that text that we've already read, it brings comfort to every believer, as it has brought comfort to me, every believer who has been filled with the Holy Spirit, with the victory, and with the praise, that the Lord Jesus is calling us this morning, his friends, you are my friends, if you do whatsoever I command you. Family, I am so grateful and thankful this morning that my relationship with him has nothing to do with a pyramid network or a policy scheme. I'm grateful and thankful that my relationship with Christ Jesus is intimate and direct and personal and very, very, very, very real. There are opportunities, yes, there are opportunities to lose sight of the truth who we know is in Christ Jesus. And we can lose sight of the fact, the reality, that Jesus is calling us his friends. And we can do so because typically in the average relationship, the relationships that we have with others, the nature, the tenor, the tone of those relationships are often only transactional in nature. Often as we look around and we survey our relationship with those who we go to work with and school with and church with, it's really a relationship too often influenced by quid pro quo, something for something. It's not often the case, glory be unto the most high God, that we find individuals who are genuinely looking out for our best interest or for our well-being. There are times, we know this, we see this, we feel this, there are so many wounds. People in our circles of family and friends that have been unfortunately battered with the circumstances of life. There's so many people who are surrounding us in our families, in our communities, that are broken by shattered trust. That they feel either entitled to the point and degree that they won't give or in their minds they are incapable of doing so for fear of being used again. And it's a jacked up situation and it's the reality of where we often find ourselves. In fact, should we evaluate and take inventory of our relationships with our various circles of family and friends? It begs the question, on both sides of the equation, whether the relationship is based on true friendship or simply another opportunity that just did a convenient hook up. But it's a jacked up situation. But Jesus is saying to us you are my friend. And I'm sure too, hallelujah, that we have all experienced that person or group of people that have been in our lives only because they knew that they could get something from us. That's why they're there. You can call them and offer to take them to lunch but they don't do the same for you. You can call and you can check on them but they never call to check on you. You can remember their birthday but they won't even send you a text when your birthday comes around. You know, I find it, personally, as an example, you know, in Tallahassee, there were three tornadoes that touched down. And I'm so glad to those of you who called and you checked on us. But I can also tell you about the demo people who since May 10th, 2024, who have never called, who have never called at all. Since May 10th, never called, never checked, never sent an email. But thank you. Thank you for this wonderful family. Thank you for being friendly. The person who has friends, that's the person who has shown himself, shown herself to being friendly. Thank you for being friendly. Thank you for showing with consistency that you care, hallelujah, and all that you do to strengthen and support and undergird this part of the body of Christ. Thank you for what you do to edify, hallelujah, so many others in your sphere of influence. And I pray that each of you know that this family, hallelujah, this part of the body of Christ, without question, is built and rooted in the bonds of true friendship. The Lord Jesus teaches us that our connection is built on friendship. Again, he says, you are my friends. If you do whatsoever, I command you. Here, we see Jesus establishing that he considers us not as servants. We're not slaves. We are not subjects. We are not just do people. But Jesus called us his friends. You are my friends. And as his friends, he's already made the call because he chose us. We didn't choose him, but he chose us. And without us having to do anything except just receive him, we're saved by grace and through faith. And it's not of ourselves, hallelujah, lest any person should boast, but it is the gift of God. The gift doesn't cost us anything because Jesus paid it all. You are my friends. Our relationship with him is not based on a master-servant relationship or an employer-employee type relationship. You know, when you work for someone, hallelujah, when you've got to report to someone, they may not tell you why you're doing what you are doing. And that's the whole aspect of being a servant or being an employee. You just do what they're telling you to do. Just do as I say do. That's what comes with the job and with the position and often with the title. But as reflected in our text this morning, our Lord Jesus emphasized with great distinction and clarity to his 11 disciples that were with him. Judas has already departed to betray him because the time was at hand, hallelujah, that he was meeting his destiny through the cross. But here he tells his 11 disciples henceforth, hallelujah, I call you not servants, for the servant knows not what his Lord does, but I have called you friends. All things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you, hallelujah, hallelujah, I've made known unto you. You're my friends. You're not slaves. You're people of value, hallelujah. As I close, family, as I close, I want to share with you that the Lord Jesus is teaching us that true friendship is based on transparency. It's not based on trickeration, but it's based on transparency. Jesus ain't hiding nothing. He's keeping it real. And through the Holy Spirit, our connection to him allows us to be guided into all truth. The Holy Spirit is showing us, thank you Holy Ghost, things to come, the augmented intelligence, the real AI, hallelujah, this morning, and through the real AI, the Holy Spirit, the Father is showing us things to come. Our relationship to him through Christ, it just ain't transactional. It's beyond just money, hallelujah. It's beyond the proverbial source seed concept. It's beyond all of that, and check this, hallelujah, if someone is asking you to give anything but won't tell you why you should give, that ain't your friend, hallelujah. I don't want to hurt nobody's feelings, but they're keeping it, hallelujah, what their intent and their purpose is, hallelujah. That ain't your friend. If they say, I'm raising the money for this purpose, and then they switch it up on the back end, that ain't your friend. If someone is asking you to give anything, but they refuse to open up the books about how the money's being spent, that ain't your friend. They're treating you like a slave. They are treating you like you ain't nobody, hallelujah. The family, anyone who dares to ask you for money, but throw downs on you when you inquire about where the money going, hallelujah, that's a pyramid scheme. That is not Godly. That ain't reflective of a true friendship, hallelujah. That's slavery. That ain't friendship. That's a master-slave mentality. It reflects the ungodly lordship over God's precious people. That ain't love, and as I said before, if it ain't love, it ain't God because God is love, and love never fails. Love never fails. Family, precious people of God all over the world, the time is at hand. That's Revelation 1 and 3 again. The time is at hand, and our relationship as the sons and the daughters of the Most High God, that relationship has already been purchased, and it's been purchased by the blood of the crucified one, the matchless Lamb of God who gave his life, hallelujah. Nobody took his life from him, but he gave his life. No greater love than this, that the Lord Jesus laid down his life for us, and we don't have to show anything to receive the blessings of Jesus Christ because it is the gift, the gift of eternal life. He's given it to us freely, hallelujah. Jesus paid it all, and we are saved by grace through faith, and that not of ourselves. Again, it is a gift. It is the gift of God. None of works, not of sowing the seed, not anything that we can boast about. I'm so glad that on that old rugged cross, he put his life where his mouth is. He showed us that greater love, greater love, greater love, greater love has no man than this, that a man laid down his life for his friends, and today he continues to call out to each of us, and as he does, he says, you are my friends. If you do whatsoever, I command you. Amen.