"What is God looking for?"

Day 5: A Friend

Introduction:

Have you ever had a friend whose sole purpose in your relationship is to only "take" and never really "give." Surely friendship and true relationship is about give and take. I can't begin to count how many marriages I've seen that end in divorce because one, or both, had a mentality that this relationship exists to serve "my" needs, and when it can no longer meet those needs, it's time to call it quits. Or how many friendships end because one, or both, are just in the friendship to see what they can get out of it? The moment it stops serving them, they bail. That is not what true friendship is.

We can apply this to our friendship with God. Too often do we come into His presence, or read His word, looking for answers to life's problems, and not being too concerned with actually giving God the offering of our heart or lives. Now, don't get me wrong, a lot of people come to The Lord initially because they realize their great need for a savior (and we should never deviate from this reality). That is the fundamental precept of salvation, we are in desperate need of saving from our sin, and without Jesus, we would all die and go to hell. However, at some point, the Holy Spirit is calling us beyond just an "I need you, therefore I love you" mentality and into an "I love you, therefore I need you" mindset as it pertains to how we walk with God. At some point, we move on from just "receiving" from the Lord and start offering ourselves to Him as a living sacrifice.

Verses:

John 15:15 - No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.

Genesis 18:17 - Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing? (2nd Chron. 20:7, Abraham Your friend forever).

Exodus 33:11 - So The Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle.

Explanation:

If you read these passages and the surrounding verses, or if you are somewhat familiar with the stories of the disciples, Abraham, or Moses (or Joshua), you know that these individuals were not perfect. Far from it, we see many of them committing some pretty gnarly sins, and even walking away from, or denying God, a few times here and there. Nevertheless, God is committed to His relationship with them, and likewise to us. So much so that He calls us His friends.

This is a powerful revelation if we start to walk in it. Imagine, you are friends with the God of the universe. The one who spoke and suddenly light came forth from nothing and formed stars and planets, and animals and people. You don't really have to imagine this, because God has already set the record straight: We're His Friends!

So what does this mean, exactly? God isn't really looking for mindless robots who are guilted into following Him, or somehow being controlled, or forced into relationship with Him. Rather, He is looking for friends to engage with Him to carry out His kingdom. Of course, this comes through spending time with Him (notice a theme here?) but it also comes in engaging in dialogue with Him.

Briefly, I want to remind you that God has set things up so that we have influence in how He interacts with the world. Without getting too deep into this just look at the story surrounding Genesis 18:17 (verses 16-33). God approaches Abraham because He wants to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. Before He just sovereignly chooses to wipe this city off of the earth (which He could do and be justified -- He's God), He chooses to engage with Abraham and talk with Him about it. God even let's Abraham change His mind! This is a great example (one of many throughout scripture) of how we can interact with God. Ultimately we can partner with what He wants to do in the earth. Once you begin sharing the Gospel with others and ministering out of the place of resting in God, and having cultivated a personal relationship with Him, you realize that God's heart is for people to come to know Him, and you are partnering with Him to make that a reality. It truly is a great joy to give your life to God and to promote His Kingdom.

Activation:

It's tough to "activate" friendship. It's something that is just built over time and suddenly one day you realize, "Oh, I guess we're really good friends now." The important thing with building a friendship with God is of course spending time with Him. Another is, not letting your heart be offended by things you may not understand about God, or that you perceive God is causing.

This week, spend time reading these stories: Genesis 18:16-33; Exodus 33:1-24; John 15:1-27. I know this seems like a lot, but these are great examples of God's friendship with men. If you have to, spend two weeks reading these passages, but read all of them, and soon.

Rather than lead you in a prayer on this final day, I'd like to encourage you to pray on your own with God (perhaps using these prayer points below):

• Pray and ask that God would speak to you through His word more clearly than ever before (remembering that the problem is never on God's end but we can be so distracted by our offenses and hangups that we cannot accurately hear God through His word -- think of the Pharisees.. surely they knew God on an intellectual level, but when Jesus was right in front of them, they missed Him due to their hardened hearts).
• Pray that you will have interaction with Him, rather than just a one-way conversation, pray you will see God's power and might demonstrated through your life and watch as God transforms your life and the lives of those around you.
• Pray that God will give you insight into what is on His heart by memorizing scripture and sharing it with people when the time comes. Sometimes we may be in situations where we can minister to those closest to us by sharing God's word and what is on His heart. Allowing His heart to interrupt your world is a fundamental step to partnering with Him in what He's wanting to do on the earth. Remember how we ought to pray: On Earth as it is in Heaven!