Whose Friend Are You??? A Word from THE WORD!!! #481

“This is my commandment,

That ye love one another,

as I have loved you.

13 Greater love hath no man than this,

that a man lay down his life for his friends.

14 Ye are my friends,

if ye do whatsoever I command you.

15 Henceforth I call you not servants;

for the servant knoweth not

what his lord doeth:

but I have called you friends;

for all things that I have heard of my Father

I have made known unto you…

… 17 These things I command you,

that ye love one another.

18 If the world hate you,

ye know that it hated me before it hated you.

19 If ye were of the world,

the world would love his own:

but because ye are not of the world,

but I have chosen you out of the world,

therefore the world hateth you.”   John 15:12-15 & 17-19

Jesus wants to be your friend, but it hinges on your hearing the voice of The Holy Spirit convicting us of sin, and calling us to the cross in repentance of our sin, and faith in Jesus’ substitutionary (in my place), atoning (making payment for my sin), sacrifice (the blood of Jesus that He shed for you and me on Calvary). Let’s see what the Apostle John had to say about us, Jesus and sin.

“If we say that we have fellowship with him,

and walk in darkness, we lie,

and do not the truth:

7 But if we walk in the light,

as he is in the light,

we have fellowship one with another,

and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son

cleanseth us from all sin.

8 If we say that we have no sin,

we deceive ourselves,

and the truth is not in us.

9 If we confess our sins,

he is faithful and just

to forgive us our sins,

and to cleanse us

from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:6-9

What we often fail to understand is that we must hear the voice of The Holy Spirit convicting us of sin; true salvation only comes when we respond to the voice of God’s Spirit calling us to repent of our sin, only by this work of God can we truly come to Jesus for deliverance from sin and its penalty; it’s the call of God, and when you hear it, I pray that you will hear and heed His call.  He may or may not come again.  As God tells us in Genesis 6!

God’s declaration before the flood is very clear!

“And the LORD said,

My spirit shall not always strive with man…”.  Genesis 6:3a

And more of Jesus’ words.

“The Jews then murmured at him,

because he said,

I am the bread which came down from heaven.

42 And they said, Is not this Jesus,

the son of Joseph,

whose father and mother we know?

how is it then that he saith,

I came down from heaven?

43 Jesus therefore answered and said unto them,

Murmur not among yourselves.

44 No man can come to me,

except the Father which hath sent me

draw him:

and I will raise him up

at the last day.

45 It is written in the prophets,

And they shall be all taught of God.

Every man therefore that hath heard,

and hath learned of the Father,

cometh unto me.

46 Not that any man hath seen the Father,

save he which is of God,

he hath seen the Father.

47 Verily, verily, I say unto you,

He that believeth on me

hath everlasting life.

48 I am that bread of life.”  John 6:41-47

(See verse 6:66 and you’ll find that even those who heard Him in person, didn’t like the hard things He said, and many of them walked away!  Will you walk away or will you bow before King Jesus as your Lord and Savior?). It’s your choice but choose wisely there is a test coming!

Even as Jesus faced opposition, when we belong to Him and decide to follow and obey Him, we will also face opposition; but He has promised to never leave us alone because He has called us “friend”!

“Seeing then that we have a great high priest,

that is passed into the heavens,

Jesus the Son of God,

let us hold fast our profession.

15 For we have not an high priest

which cannot be touched

with the feeling of our infirmities;

but was in all points tempted like as we are,

yet without sin.

16 Let us therefore come boldly

unto the throne of grace,

that we may obtain mercy,

and find grace to help

in time of need.”  Hebrews 4:14-16

Someone questioned me years ago about my relationship with Jesus, they simply said,

       “You talk about Jesus like He’s your best friend?”

I replied,

“He is my best friend!”

And, my friends, He is still my best friend—the One that I can run to; the One who is always beside me; the One who hears and sees my tears, my sorrows and lifts my soul in the trials that confront me (just like yours!) l.  So as the title asks, and I want to add to it, whose friend are you; and who IS your friend?  Do you know the greatest friend of all?  The One who died on Calvary to provide salvation for any and all who will come to Him in repentance of sin, and faith in His substitutionary, atoning sacrifice.  He is the greatest friend of all time, and He died to deliver you unto eternal life, from sin and hell.  Are you ready for a friend who loves you and will direct your steps and meet your every need—your needs that lead unto godliness, not what the world is pushing to lead men, women, boys and girls to hell.  And yes, hell is real.

And one last passage that reminds us that judgment is coming.

“And I saw a great white throne,

and him that sat on it,

from whose face the earth

and the heaven fled away;

and there was found no place for them.

12 And I saw the dead,

small and great,

stand before God;

and the books were opened:

and another book was opened,

which is the book of life:

and the dead were judged

out of those things which were written

in the books,

according to their works.

13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it;

and death and hell delivered up the dead

which were in them:

and they were judged every man

 according to their works.

14 And death and hell

were cast into the lake of fire.

This is the second death.

15 And whosoever was not found written

in the book of life

was cast into the lake of fire.”   Revelation 20:11-15

Jesus IS the only way to have your name written in “the book of life”!  Don’t wait until it’s one day too late.

I’ll leave you with what Jesus left as the way to salvation.

“For God so loved the world,

that he gave his only begotten Son,

that whosoever believeth in him

should not perish,

but have everlasting life.

17 For God sent not his Son into the world

to condemn the world;

but that the world through him

might be saved.

18 He that believeth on him

is not condemned:

but he that believeth not

is condemned already,

because he hath not believed

in the name of the only begotten

Son of God.

19 And this is the condemnation,

that light is come into the world,

and men loved darkness

rather than light,

because their deeds were evil.”  John 3:16-19

Amen and Amen!!!