Being God's Friend
By David J. Stewart
James 2:23, “And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.”
The Bible calls Abraham “the friend of God.” Wow, what an honor to be called God's friend! James 2:23 tells us that Abraham BELIEVED GOD. It begins by getting saved (Genesis 15:6). No unsaved person can become God's friend apart from becoming a born-again child of God. You need HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS!
Hebrews 11:6 tells us that faith pleases God. Although good works on the part of a believer are not required for salvation, they are required to please the Lord in our walk (Galatians 5:25). Jesus said in John 15:14, “Ye are My friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.” To be God's friend, then we must obey His Word. Believers who hold out on God and choose to hang on to their pet sins are not being a friend to God. Proverb 28:13, “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.”
The Bible is a precious book, quick (alive) and powerful (Hebrews 4:12), because the promises of God are certain and sure. 2nd Peter 1:4, “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious PROMISES: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”
Genesis 18:19 sheds some light on the matter as to WHY Abraham was called God's friend. Genesis 18:19, “For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.” A man who commands his household in the ways of the Lord is the friend of God. God said that he KNEW Abraham would do JUSTICE and JUDGMENT. God is a Friend of the righteous man who is the friend of God. Again, Jesus said in John 15:14, “Ye are My friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.”
We are living in perilous times as foretold in 2nd Timothy 3:1-5. The Rockefellers engineered feminism to brainwash women, just as Eve was brainwashed by the evil serpent (Satan—Revelation 20:2) in Genesis. Feminists promise happiness from divorce, fulfillment from rebellion, and life from abortion. Satan is a beautiful liar!
What Doth The Lord Require Of Thee?
I love Micah 6:8, “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” God wants us to DO JUSTLY, LOVE MERCY, and to WALK HUMBLY WITH HIM. In the following MP3 sermon titled, “What Doth The Lord Require Of Thee?,” Pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001) provides some practical and excellent definitions on what is means to be JUST, HUMBLE and to have MERCY.
Micah 6:8, “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” . . .
DO JUSTLY = Give everyone what is his (whether good or evil)
LOVE MERCY = Sit in the other fella's seat
WALK HUMBLY = Lower than
THY GOD = You're already savedIt's so simple and yet utterly profound. Those who truly walk with God will possess a burning fire inside their soul, as did Jeremiah (Jeremiah 17:9), to preach THE TRUTH. God says that wise men and women are soul-winners (Psalm 11:30). Although no one can be perfect, we ought to desire to be perfect, allowing God's Holy Spirit to live the Christian life through us, just as our heavenly Father is perfect. God only expects us to do our best with what He has given to us, while acknowledging Him in all our ways (Proverb 3:5-7), and applying Scriptural truths to our daily life.
Matthew 5:48, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” The Greek word for “perfect” in Matthew 5:48 is teleios, and is in the linear tense meaning, “be being perfect.” It means to be morally complete (in various applications of labor, growth, mental and moral character, et cetera). The Apostle Paul elaborates on this Scripture in 1st Corinthians 13:11, “When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” Christians simply need to grow up and live for God. Living by faith is for every Christian, not just a few.
Drawing Nigh Unto God
James 4:8, “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.”
The Bible commands every believer to draw nigh unto God. Of course, we were drawn nigh unto God for salvation by the blood of Jesus (Ephesians 2:13); but now as God's children the Bible tells us to draw near unto God by turning our laughter into sorrow, and our joy into heaviness. What does God mean? Psalm 126:5-6, “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” God is concerned about the souls of men. Psalm 97:10, “Ye that love the Lord, hate evil.”
Ecclesiastes 7:3, “Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.”
American has gone to hell. God is angry about our nation's love for sin, wickedness, and rebellious attitudes. We've even named Las Vegas, SIN CITY! God is angry with the wicked EVERY DAY (Psalm 7:11). God will not bless this wicked nation! If you want to be God's friend, then you need to be angry over sin as is God. You need to be sorrowful about the deplorable spiritual condition of America. God cares about the way people live. That's the last thing most believers care about. God cares about soul-winning. That is the last thing most believers care about (Philippians 2:21). If you are God's friend, then you will come out of the world and live holy for God. James 4:4 teaches that anyone who befriends the world is God's enemy. If you're helping the sinful world, then you are pulling on the same rope as the Devil.
I heard a young woman say publicly that she had tried numerous times to audition for the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders, and that she knew it was God's will for her. May I say, she is a liar. God's Holy Spirit NEVER leads us to go against the Scriptures. 1st Timothy 2:9 commands women to wear MODEST clothing; not skimpy panties, exposing your thighs and breasts publicly, kicking your legs in the air and doing the splits with your crotch flashing at everyone. It is heathendom and brings the wrath of God. The average person today is insensitive toward this important moral issue, including professed Christians. Ephesians 4:19, “Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.”
God is Sad and Brokenhearted Over Sin and the Unsaved
James 4:7-11 further elaborates on Matthew 5:48, on what it means to grow up for God and be perfect . . .
James 4:7-11, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.”
Turning our laughter into sorrow, having a burden over lost souls and the wicked condition of this sin-cursed world. If you want to be God's friend, then you need to take Christ's yoke and burden upon you...
Matthew 11:28-30, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Notice that Christ does have a BURDEN. His burden is over the lost souls of mankind. Thankfully, Jesus said His yoke is easy, and His burden is light, because Jesus shoulders the weight of the burden. He just wants us to get into the yoke with Him, and learn of Him, working together to get men saved (Matthew 28:19-20).
I read in the news recently that Hindus are now drinking a Cow Urine Soft Drink to unite their Hindu faith. That's Satan at work! God never intended for people to drink urine.
As Christians, we should care about the individual as much as the group. I realized when I started this website that most people would go away angry or laughing, but I didn't make this website for them. I made this website with God's help and guidance to reach out to the INDIVIDUAL. It's that one person in a hundred that I am here to help by Gods grace.
“Without concern we're not Christlike. Without concern we're not Christlike. Ah, watch yourself. ... Now your greatest need as a Christian, and of every Christian, is a concern for lost and dying people. Without concern we're not Christlike. You have no claim to Christlikeness unless you're concerned about others. Without concern we're not obeying the Scriptures.”
—Pastor Lee Roberson (1909-2007), from the needful sermon, The Revival America Needs | Download
This website is very unique.
You learn a lot about a person when you work together with them, pulling the same yoke. A “yoke” is a piece of wood placed across the shoulders of two animals, such as oxen, to pull a load of work, such as a plow. It is easier for two oxen to pull a workload than one. Jesus needs our help to get men saved. God is omnipotent and can do anything; but because of His holiness and character he cannot and will not force anyone to get saved. Those who teach forced salvation, such as Calvinists, are filthy liars, woefully ignorant of the Scriptures. Every human being has been given a freewill by God to choose for them self whether to receive or to reject Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God.
Christ Died, That's History. Christ Died for Me, That's Salvation!
1st Corinthians 3:7-11,
1st Corinthians 3:7-11, “So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building. According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”
In today's rotten society, men are prosecuted for disciplining, commanding and ruling over their families.
Unchristlike Christians hate conflict more than they hate evil.
Psalm 34:18, “The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.”
Psalm 51:17, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”
Isaiah 57:15, “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.”
Isaiah 66:2, “For all those things hath mine hand made, and those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.”
A Happy Thought for Christians
The Promise of Eternal Life
The Bible tells us that salvation comes only to those who enter through the DOOR into Heaven. John 10:1, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.” This door is the STRAIGHT GATE which leadeth unto life...
Matthew 7:13-14, “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”
This website has been created in Jesus' name—the name above every other name (Philippians 2:9-10).
James 5:11, "Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy."
Using the internet to bring truth and Christ to a lost world!
“It is the only happy life to live for the
salvation of souls.”
—Pastor Dwight L. Moody