WEBVTT

00:00:00.359 --> 00:00:07.900
Good morning. How y 'all doing today? All the

00:00:07.900 --> 00:00:10.900
people that messed up their clocks, you're going

00:00:10.900 --> 00:00:11.939
to show up right in the middle of the study,

00:00:11.980 --> 00:00:14.300
I think, right? Or is it the other way? I can't

00:00:14.300 --> 00:00:16.719
remember. Oh, they got here early, yeah. Well,

00:00:16.739 --> 00:00:18.179
for those of you that are here, I want to say

00:00:18.179 --> 00:00:20.039
welcome to all of you, and if you're watching

00:00:20.039 --> 00:00:22.500
online for the first time, or just because, welcome.

00:00:22.600 --> 00:00:24.079
We're so glad you're all here to worship with

00:00:24.079 --> 00:00:29.410
us here at Hosanna. As you can see, we've got

00:00:29.410 --> 00:00:36.509
a new pulpit. And I just wanted to give a thank

00:00:36.509 --> 00:00:38.829
you. This was a gift from Pastor Art over at

00:00:38.829 --> 00:00:41.250
Calvary Downey. And so we're very grateful for

00:00:41.250 --> 00:00:43.710
that and thank him for the support and whatnot.

00:00:43.869 --> 00:00:47.310
But today we are going to be talking about what

00:00:47.310 --> 00:00:51.450
being a friend of God is and how to maintain

00:00:51.450 --> 00:00:56.909
that friendship. See, what would you do? if you

00:00:56.909 --> 00:01:00.009
got a call from heaven and it said, hey, in a

00:01:00.009 --> 00:01:02.109
couple days, Jesus and a couple angels are going

00:01:02.109 --> 00:01:05.790
to show up. For many of us, we'd be like, oh

00:01:05.790 --> 00:01:10.150
my gosh, I got to clean. I've got to put in new

00:01:10.150 --> 00:01:13.950
flooring. I've got to repaint. Some of us might

00:01:13.950 --> 00:01:15.810
be, I have to completely remodel the bathroom

00:01:15.810 --> 00:01:20.670
because wow. But some, when you think about that,

00:01:20.730 --> 00:01:24.209
you're like, oh, I might have to throw away some

00:01:24.209 --> 00:01:27.750
magazines. clear the search history on my web

00:01:27.750 --> 00:01:31.290
browser. Others might be embarrassed for him

00:01:31.290 --> 00:01:33.469
to come and see what you really spend your money

00:01:33.469 --> 00:01:37.969
on. But would you be comfortable for him to just

00:01:37.969 --> 00:01:40.629
simply see how you live every day, how you start

00:01:40.629 --> 00:01:44.670
your day, how you end your day? What about parents?

00:01:45.670 --> 00:01:48.069
Would you be excited for him to come and see

00:01:48.069 --> 00:01:50.109
how you intentionally disciple your kids in the

00:01:50.109 --> 00:01:53.409
home? Certainly, there's no arguments with the

00:01:53.409 --> 00:01:55.879
spouse while he's over, right? We got to put

00:01:55.879 --> 00:01:59.000
on a good front. But what if the Lord wasn't

00:01:59.000 --> 00:02:01.299
just coming for a visit? What if he was moving

00:02:01.299 --> 00:02:05.739
in? How would you feel then? Would you be like,

00:02:05.840 --> 00:02:10.159
I'm uncomfortable, right? He's going to be there

00:02:10.159 --> 00:02:14.240
every day, chilling on the couch, watching you,

00:02:14.319 --> 00:02:17.659
listening to you, seeing how you act, what you

00:02:17.659 --> 00:02:21.659
do, how you behave. How did that make you feel?

00:02:22.460 --> 00:02:27.379
Worried? or blessed or excited. You know, as

00:02:27.379 --> 00:02:29.300
Christians, we talk about having a personal relationship

00:02:29.300 --> 00:02:32.939
with Jesus all the time. But for some Christians,

00:02:33.000 --> 00:02:36.039
unfortunately, they don't want it to be too personal.

00:02:37.159 --> 00:02:40.060
They're absolutely fine with him coming over

00:02:40.060 --> 00:02:44.219
once in a while or you going to visit him once

00:02:44.219 --> 00:02:47.659
a week at church. But beyond that, it's a little

00:02:47.659 --> 00:02:50.479
invasive, Lord. You're getting into my business

00:02:50.479 --> 00:02:55.060
too much. But those who are friends with the

00:02:55.060 --> 00:02:58.460
living God invite him into every area of their

00:02:58.460 --> 00:03:04.000
life. Every dark corner, every dirty room, you

00:03:04.000 --> 00:03:05.919
invite him in because you know he's going to

00:03:05.919 --> 00:03:09.719
do a work there. We also invite him in as friends

00:03:09.719 --> 00:03:12.400
because we understand he's long -suffering with

00:03:12.400 --> 00:03:14.800
us. He's patient, he's compassionate, he's caring.

00:03:15.960 --> 00:03:19.020
That he's not so much worried about us getting

00:03:19.020 --> 00:03:24.280
the outward stuff. cleaned up and ready, but

00:03:24.280 --> 00:03:25.939
he's going to do the work of cleaning up the

00:03:25.939 --> 00:03:28.939
inward, which is what's most important. You know,

00:03:28.939 --> 00:03:32.120
as believers, we are privileged to enjoy friendship

00:03:32.120 --> 00:03:34.039
with God, and that's what we're going to be talking

00:03:34.039 --> 00:03:36.419
about today, what that looks like, how to cultivate

00:03:36.419 --> 00:03:38.819
that through the story of Abraham in Genesis

00:03:38.819 --> 00:03:41.460
18. But first, we're going to pray, and then

00:03:41.460 --> 00:03:44.000
we're going to worship God. And I pray today

00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:46.960
that as we always acknowledge that God is Almighty

00:03:46.960 --> 00:03:50.259
Creator, He is transcendent perfection. He is

00:03:50.259 --> 00:03:53.280
ultimate good. He is all these things. Master,

00:03:53.520 --> 00:03:57.939
Lord. Jesus said to his disciples, I no longer

00:03:57.939 --> 00:04:01.460
call you servants. I've called you friends. And

00:04:01.460 --> 00:04:03.919
having a friendship with Jesus Christ is an amazing

00:04:03.919 --> 00:04:05.599
thing in our lives. And we just want to thank

00:04:05.599 --> 00:04:07.740
God for that. And so pray with me. Father God,

00:04:07.900 --> 00:04:11.500
we love you so much. God, we're so thankful that

00:04:11.500 --> 00:04:15.159
you desire to be in our life. God, we're so thankful

00:04:15.159 --> 00:04:20.199
that as your children, You want to have a friendship

00:04:20.199 --> 00:04:26.120
with us. Lord, a friendship that is real and

00:04:26.120 --> 00:04:30.720
open and honest. A friendship where we dialogue

00:04:30.720 --> 00:04:34.759
together and hang out together. To break bread

00:04:34.759 --> 00:04:38.500
together. And so, Lord, today as we learn from

00:04:38.500 --> 00:04:42.819
Abraham, just really what goes into cultivating

00:04:42.819 --> 00:04:45.680
that type of relationship. Lord, that we would

00:04:45.680 --> 00:04:48.750
be encouraged to do what we need to do. to draw

00:04:48.750 --> 00:04:52.089
closer to you in our friendship with you. God,

00:04:52.189 --> 00:04:54.990
we don't ever want to look at friendship as a

00:04:54.990 --> 00:04:58.350
way to devalue the supreme nature of who you

00:04:58.350 --> 00:05:02.089
are. But God, we want to understand what you

00:05:02.089 --> 00:05:04.170
meant when you said, I've called you friends.

00:05:04.889 --> 00:05:07.649
So Lord, bless us today. We praise you. We worship

00:05:07.649 --> 00:05:10.949
you. We glorify you. It's in Jesus' name we pray.

00:05:11.209 --> 00:05:14.290
Amen. All right, we are in Genesis chapter 18.

00:05:15.759 --> 00:05:17.579
And we're going to be looking at verses 1 through

00:05:17.579 --> 00:05:21.980
8 today. But springboarding off of our intro,

00:05:22.199 --> 00:05:25.480
you know, the idea of knowing God and being known

00:05:25.480 --> 00:05:28.339
by God, it's the greatest privilege a Christian

00:05:28.339 --> 00:05:31.060
could have. It is the greatest privilege. It's

00:05:31.060 --> 00:05:35.220
greater than fame, fortune, money, success, just

00:05:35.220 --> 00:05:39.079
being known by God and knowing him. It's a tremendous

00:05:39.079 --> 00:05:41.000
thing that we have the opportunity to do. And

00:05:41.000 --> 00:05:43.360
that's why it's part of our mission here at Hosanna

00:05:43.360 --> 00:05:44.980
where we say, know the truth, live the truth,

00:05:45.060 --> 00:05:47.480
share the truth. Knowing the truth, we put a

00:05:47.480 --> 00:05:49.759
great emphasis on studying the word of God verse

00:05:49.759 --> 00:05:51.500
by verse. And we go through all of that because

00:05:51.500 --> 00:05:54.240
knowing the truth means knowing the word of God.

00:05:54.300 --> 00:05:56.579
And the Bible tells us that Jesus is the word

00:05:56.579 --> 00:05:58.930
of God. So it's about knowing the Lord. It's

00:05:58.930 --> 00:06:01.009
all Jesus, everything, every problem. The answer

00:06:01.009 --> 00:06:04.350
is Jesus. I'm struggling with this, Jesus. He

00:06:04.350 --> 00:06:07.990
is everything. And so we want to study that and

00:06:07.990 --> 00:06:11.069
focus on that, but as we go through the word,

00:06:11.149 --> 00:06:14.709
we learn so much about him. We learn about his

00:06:14.709 --> 00:06:18.269
deity, right? We understand that his omniscience,

00:06:18.269 --> 00:06:23.550
his power, his holiness is immense. But God also

00:06:23.550 --> 00:06:26.920
wants us to know his friendship. He wants us

00:06:26.920 --> 00:06:31.220
to know him as a friend. And so in this scripture

00:06:31.220 --> 00:06:33.420
we're looking at today, Genesis 18, verse 1 and

00:06:33.420 --> 00:06:37.100
8, this is the foundational scriptures that lead

00:06:37.100 --> 00:06:39.800
to Abraham being called the friend of God in

00:06:39.800 --> 00:06:41.259
three different places throughout the Bible.

00:06:41.319 --> 00:06:43.459
And we're going to look at those later. But those

00:06:43.459 --> 00:06:46.480
references of Abraham was God's friend come from

00:06:46.480 --> 00:06:49.339
this story here and teach us much about what

00:06:49.339 --> 00:06:52.120
friendship with God is and how to cultivate it.

00:06:52.180 --> 00:06:54.360
And so read with me in verse 1, Genesis chapter

00:06:54.360 --> 00:06:58.000
18. The Lord appeared to Abraham at the Oaks

00:06:58.000 --> 00:07:01.060
of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance

00:07:01.060 --> 00:07:05.100
of his tent during the heat of the day. Now,

00:07:05.160 --> 00:07:07.360
chronologically, we know that in the previous

00:07:07.360 --> 00:07:10.259
chapters where God showed up to Abraham again,

00:07:10.339 --> 00:07:13.769
renamed him. Abraham, renamed his wife Sarah,

00:07:14.069 --> 00:07:17.769
reiterated the covenant, added some details to

00:07:17.769 --> 00:07:20.709
that covenant, and then basically said, this

00:07:20.709 --> 00:07:22.550
is going to be the sign of that covenant, that

00:07:22.550 --> 00:07:24.769
you're going to be circumcised, and all the men

00:07:24.769 --> 00:07:26.990
will be circumcised, and this will be a sign

00:07:26.990 --> 00:07:30.069
in your people that you are people of the covenant,

00:07:30.149 --> 00:07:35.399
right? And so, It was at that time God told Abraham

00:07:35.399 --> 00:07:38.720
in verse 21 of Genesis 17 that your wife Sarah

00:07:38.720 --> 00:07:41.220
is going to give birth in a year. And that was

00:07:41.220 --> 00:07:43.980
the first time that was confirmed. And so, of

00:07:43.980 --> 00:07:45.860
course, Abraham laughed a little bit because

00:07:45.860 --> 00:07:48.480
he's like, really? Like, we're old. How's that

00:07:48.480 --> 00:07:50.939
going to happen? But God said, no, you know,

00:07:51.000 --> 00:07:54.160
this is going to happen. And so here in Genesis

00:07:54.160 --> 00:07:58.220
18, Sarah's not yet pregnant. And we all know

00:07:58.220 --> 00:08:02.009
how long it takes a baby to grow, right? Nine

00:08:02.009 --> 00:08:04.750
months, right? I was going to say public school,

00:08:04.870 --> 00:08:08.870
wow. Nine months, okay? So this is likely within

00:08:08.870 --> 00:08:11.670
three months of chapter 17. And so there hasn't

00:08:11.670 --> 00:08:13.769
been a whole lot of time since the circumcision,

00:08:13.810 --> 00:08:15.689
since the ratification of the covenant, since

00:08:15.689 --> 00:08:18.790
the renaming of these two. And so here we are,

00:08:18.889 --> 00:08:21.649
Abram's at home in the town of the place of Mamre,

00:08:21.689 --> 00:08:24.629
and it tells us that the Lord appeared. Now the

00:08:24.629 --> 00:08:27.370
word Lord there, it's in all caps in your Bible.

00:08:28.279 --> 00:08:30.519
That's the word Yahweh. That's that covenant

00:08:30.519 --> 00:08:33.480
name that we talk about where God identifies

00:08:33.480 --> 00:08:37.539
himself as Yahweh, the Lord God. That's to indicate

00:08:37.539 --> 00:08:41.399
the personal relationship that God has with us,

00:08:41.519 --> 00:08:43.320
right? Because there's a lot of different ways

00:08:43.320 --> 00:08:46.519
to view God, and one of them is that he is transcendently

00:08:46.519 --> 00:08:49.000
huge, awesome, and powerful, right? It's the

00:08:49.000 --> 00:08:52.019
God that created the universe with a word. But

00:08:52.019 --> 00:08:54.000
then there's this aspect of God where he's like,

00:08:54.120 --> 00:08:56.740
I want to have a personal relationship. with

00:08:56.740 --> 00:08:59.539
you, and that's this word Yahweh, and it tells

00:08:59.539 --> 00:09:02.299
us that he appeared. Now, there's good biblical

00:09:02.299 --> 00:09:04.700
reason to believe that the physical appearances

00:09:04.700 --> 00:09:08.279
of God in the Old Testament are indeed Christophanies.

00:09:08.750 --> 00:09:11.690
That word is simply a play on the word theophany,

00:09:11.809 --> 00:09:14.750
which means an appearance of God that is tangible

00:09:14.750 --> 00:09:17.269
to the human senses, right? We see a lot of those

00:09:17.269 --> 00:09:20.090
throughout the Old Testament, but the word Christophany

00:09:20.090 --> 00:09:22.710
is taking that a little bit further and narrowing

00:09:22.710 --> 00:09:25.090
the scope and saying that when we see a physical

00:09:25.090 --> 00:09:27.450
appearance of God in the Old Testament, it's

00:09:27.450 --> 00:09:29.870
specifically the appearance of God the Son, the

00:09:29.870 --> 00:09:32.350
second person of the Trinity, who we know as

00:09:32.350 --> 00:09:35.649
Jesus Christ after the incarnation. And there's

00:09:35.649 --> 00:09:38.009
a few reasons for that. In John 1, verse 18,

00:09:38.330 --> 00:09:42.309
it says, no one has ever seen God. The one and

00:09:42.309 --> 00:09:47.269
only Son, who is himself God, note that, and

00:09:47.269 --> 00:09:50.289
is at the Father's side, he has revealed him.

00:09:51.090 --> 00:09:54.009
So it's telling us the Son, who is also God,

00:09:54.129 --> 00:09:57.190
is the one who has revealed God the Father to

00:09:57.190 --> 00:10:01.429
us, right? We're able to see and interact, or

00:10:01.429 --> 00:10:03.389
the world was able to see and interact with God.

00:10:04.029 --> 00:10:05.950
Through the sun being manifest on the earth.

00:10:06.450 --> 00:10:09.929
Now in 1 Timothy 6 .16, it goes on speaking about

00:10:09.929 --> 00:10:13.210
God. It says, he alone is immortal and lives

00:10:13.210 --> 00:10:16.110
in unapproachable light whom no one has seen

00:10:16.110 --> 00:10:20.629
or can see. Now verses like this is what caused

00:10:20.629 --> 00:10:22.509
some of the cults to say Jesus couldn't possibly

00:10:22.509 --> 00:10:28.070
be God. Because if God can't be seen, we saw

00:10:28.070 --> 00:10:31.429
Jesus, then there's no way he could be God. Sounds

00:10:31.429 --> 00:10:34.230
logical, but here's the issue. When you put these

00:10:34.230 --> 00:10:36.990
verses together, we start to see a picture of

00:10:36.990 --> 00:10:40.190
the Trinitarian existence of God. We conclude

00:10:40.190 --> 00:10:43.309
from these two verses that Jesus, who is himself

00:10:43.309 --> 00:10:47.230
God, revealed God the Father, whom no one has

00:10:47.230 --> 00:10:51.080
seen or can see, to us. which basically means

00:10:51.080 --> 00:10:53.200
that when God appears physically in the Old Testament,

00:10:53.379 --> 00:10:55.779
there's good reason to say it's an appearance

00:10:55.779 --> 00:10:59.240
of God the Son. He is the part of the Trinity

00:10:59.240 --> 00:11:02.519
that has revealed himself physically in a way

00:11:02.519 --> 00:11:06.259
that we could perceive him. And so, again, people

00:11:06.259 --> 00:11:08.500
argue over this. Is it God? Is it not God? I

00:11:08.500 --> 00:11:10.279
personally do think this is an appearance of

00:11:10.279 --> 00:11:12.379
Jesus Christ pre -incarnate in the Old Testament.

00:11:13.230 --> 00:11:14.990
So he appears there at the Oaks of Mamre, and

00:11:14.990 --> 00:11:16.750
this is a location that is very important in

00:11:16.750 --> 00:11:18.950
the life of Abraham. If you remember back in

00:11:18.950 --> 00:11:21.429
Genesis 12 after the debacle in Egypt where he

00:11:21.429 --> 00:11:24.309
lied about his wife, it says that they then settled

00:11:24.309 --> 00:11:27.649
here in this place called Mamre where these oaks

00:11:27.649 --> 00:11:30.490
were. In Genesis 14, I'm sorry, that was Genesis

00:11:30.490 --> 00:11:33.850
13. In Genesis 14, it indicates that they stayed

00:11:33.850 --> 00:11:36.110
there a very long time. So this was a central

00:11:36.110 --> 00:11:40.000
home and base of operations for Abram. And it

00:11:40.000 --> 00:11:41.799
was the place where he ended up purchasing a

00:11:41.799 --> 00:11:44.480
field and a cave to be the burial site for his

00:11:44.480 --> 00:11:46.960
wife, burial site for himself, and the burial

00:11:46.960 --> 00:11:51.299
site for his son, Isaac. So, time and location,

00:11:51.580 --> 00:11:54.379
verse 2. He looked up and he saw three men standing

00:11:54.379 --> 00:11:57.659
near him. When he saw them, he ran from the entrance

00:11:57.659 --> 00:12:00.059
of the tent to meet them, bowed to the ground,

00:12:00.179 --> 00:12:02.279
and said, My Lord, if I have found favor with

00:12:02.279 --> 00:12:06.830
you, please do not go on past your servant. Now,

00:12:06.889 --> 00:12:11.990
did Abraham know who this visitor was at this

00:12:11.990 --> 00:12:15.009
point? We know that as we read later on into

00:12:15.009 --> 00:12:17.570
Genesis 18, obviously Abraham goes, oh, it's

00:12:17.570 --> 00:12:20.570
the Lord God, right? But here, did he know it

00:12:20.570 --> 00:12:24.350
was the Lord God? People argue about that too.

00:12:25.149 --> 00:12:28.909
It doesn't matter. Okay? It doesn't matter who

00:12:28.909 --> 00:12:32.230
it is. I personally do believe that Abraham knew

00:12:32.230 --> 00:12:34.309
it was the Lord God here, and there's a few indications

00:12:34.309 --> 00:12:38.470
for that. One, in Genesis 12 -7 and Genesis 17

00:12:38.470 --> 00:12:41.570
-1, God has already appeared to Abraham twice.

00:12:42.190 --> 00:12:46.149
So there's reason to say he recognized the visitor.

00:12:47.159 --> 00:12:49.980
There's other reasons beyond that too. We see

00:12:49.980 --> 00:12:52.539
that Abraham ran from the tent. He bowed to the

00:12:52.539 --> 00:12:56.039
ground, posture of worship. And then his insistence

00:12:56.039 --> 00:12:59.500
that they don't pass by, please stop, please

00:12:59.500 --> 00:13:02.340
stay, tells us that he recognized that these

00:13:02.340 --> 00:13:06.039
were very special guests. Verse one, it says

00:13:06.039 --> 00:13:08.740
the Lord God appeared. Verse two, it says he

00:13:08.740 --> 00:13:10.120
looked up and they were just standing there.

00:13:10.259 --> 00:13:12.860
Both of those words in the Hebrew are kind of,

00:13:12.860 --> 00:13:16.419
they carry a sense of suddenness, right? Or,

00:13:16.860 --> 00:13:20.559
Poof, the Lord appeared, right? So the idea is

00:13:20.559 --> 00:13:22.600
that people look at that and they go, you know,

00:13:22.659 --> 00:13:25.159
Abraham didn't hear them coming. He didn't see

00:13:25.159 --> 00:13:27.480
them coming. They were just there. And then later

00:13:27.480 --> 00:13:32.120
on in verse 9, these visitors call his wife Sarah

00:13:32.120 --> 00:13:35.019
by name without anybody telling them that Sarah

00:13:35.019 --> 00:13:38.700
was her name. And they used the new covenant

00:13:38.700 --> 00:13:41.039
name for Sarah instead of Sarai. And so those

00:13:41.039 --> 00:13:44.960
are reasons why I believe that Abram knew from

00:13:44.960 --> 00:13:47.100
the beginning, but it's possible he didn't. But

00:13:47.100 --> 00:13:49.480
again, it doesn't matter too much. If he didn't

00:13:49.480 --> 00:13:52.200
know it, it would explain Hebrews 13 too, which

00:13:52.200 --> 00:13:54.440
says, don't neglect to show hospitality, for

00:13:54.440 --> 00:13:56.980
by doing this, some have welcomed angels as guests

00:13:56.980 --> 00:13:59.940
without knowing it. There are people that look

00:13:59.940 --> 00:14:01.799
at that and they go, this is referring to this

00:14:01.799 --> 00:14:05.960
story in Genesis 18. The idea there is just be

00:14:05.960 --> 00:14:08.980
hospitable as a Christian, okay? So in verse

00:14:08.980 --> 00:14:12.399
four, Genesis 18, we move on. He says, let a

00:14:12.399 --> 00:14:14.220
little water be brought that you may wash your

00:14:14.220 --> 00:14:16.860
feet and rest yourselves under the tree. I will

00:14:16.860 --> 00:14:18.720
bring a bit of bread so that you may strengthen

00:14:18.720 --> 00:14:21.259
yourselves. This is why you have passed your

00:14:21.259 --> 00:14:25.720
servant's way. Later, you can continue on. Yes,

00:14:25.759 --> 00:14:28.980
they replied, do as you have said. So Abraham

00:14:28.980 --> 00:14:31.539
hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, quick,

00:14:31.860 --> 00:14:34.480
need three measures of fine flour and make bread.

00:14:35.220 --> 00:14:37.720
Abraham ran to the herd and got a tender choice

00:14:37.720 --> 00:14:40.399
calf, and he gave it to a young man who hurried

00:14:40.399 --> 00:14:43.399
to prepare it. Then Abraham took curds and milk

00:14:43.399 --> 00:14:45.580
as well as the calf that he had prepared and

00:14:45.580 --> 00:14:48.539
set them before the men, and he served them as

00:14:48.539 --> 00:14:52.500
they ate under the tree. Now, those are the verses

00:14:52.500 --> 00:14:54.120
we're looking at today, and there's a lot in

00:14:54.120 --> 00:14:57.820
these verses that show us what it means to cultivate

00:14:57.820 --> 00:15:00.960
a friendship with God. Sharing a meal together

00:15:00.960 --> 00:15:03.899
is often a picture of unity, a picture of fellowship,

00:15:04.159 --> 00:15:07.320
a picture of friendship, right? The idea of breaking

00:15:07.320 --> 00:15:10.200
bread together. You know, we know that. Oftentimes

00:15:10.200 --> 00:15:11.779
when we're hanging out with friends and people

00:15:11.779 --> 00:15:13.299
we care about, like, hey, let's go get lunch.

00:15:13.340 --> 00:15:16.320
Let's go here. Let's go get some food. But in

00:15:16.320 --> 00:15:19.860
the Bible, we see that the idea of sitting around

00:15:19.860 --> 00:15:24.179
a meal showed significant times of unity and

00:15:24.179 --> 00:15:26.620
fellowship in the Bible. One we celebrated last

00:15:26.620 --> 00:15:29.279
week in communion was the Last Supper, where

00:15:29.279 --> 00:15:32.639
Jesus was having a meal with his disciples in

00:15:32.639 --> 00:15:34.500
the time where he was going to say, you know,

00:15:34.500 --> 00:15:36.220
hey, one of you is going to betray me, and da

00:15:36.220 --> 00:15:39.580
-da -da -da -da. In Book of Acts, as the church

00:15:39.580 --> 00:15:41.600
was growing, it says they broke bread together

00:15:41.600 --> 00:15:44.679
from house to house, eating their food joyfully,

00:15:44.679 --> 00:15:47.440
praising God. So again, we see this picture of

00:15:47.440 --> 00:15:51.129
fellowship and unity around meals. In the book

00:15:51.129 --> 00:15:53.549
of Acts, when the apostle Peter had the vision

00:15:53.549 --> 00:15:56.070
of the sheet that came down from heaven with

00:15:56.070 --> 00:15:58.009
all the foods clean and unclean on it, you remember

00:15:58.009 --> 00:16:00.909
that story? That was God using the concept of

00:16:00.909 --> 00:16:04.029
food and meals together to illustrate unity and

00:16:04.029 --> 00:16:06.789
fellowship with the Gentiles. Because there was

00:16:06.789 --> 00:16:10.190
men coming up to say, hey, Peter, our Gentile

00:16:10.190 --> 00:16:13.149
master Cornelius has an issue. Can you come talk

00:16:13.149 --> 00:16:16.860
to us? And Jesus saw this vision, or Peter saw

00:16:16.860 --> 00:16:19.480
this vision and was like, you gross. And God

00:16:19.480 --> 00:16:21.440
said, don't call unclean what I've called unclean,

00:16:21.440 --> 00:16:23.620
or what I've called clean, and then so on and

00:16:23.620 --> 00:16:27.779
so forth. And then our reunion with the Lord

00:16:27.779 --> 00:16:29.740
at the end of time when we are in heaven is called

00:16:29.740 --> 00:16:35.230
what? The marriage supper of the Lamb. And so

00:16:35.230 --> 00:16:37.129
all these pictures wrapped around the idea of

00:16:37.129 --> 00:16:39.809
having a meal together always show us unity,

00:16:39.990 --> 00:16:42.470
show us fellowship, show us reconciliation, show

00:16:42.470 --> 00:16:44.990
us the ideas of friendship and being together.

00:16:45.669 --> 00:16:47.870
And as I mentioned earlier, there's three times

00:16:47.870 --> 00:16:50.590
in Scripture where Abraham is called the friend

00:16:50.590 --> 00:16:53.470
of God that are really based out of the picture

00:16:53.470 --> 00:16:56.529
of what is going on here. In 2 Chronicles 20

00:16:56.529 --> 00:16:59.230
verse 7, it says, Are you not our God who drove

00:16:59.230 --> 00:17:01.889
out the inhabitants of this land before your

00:17:01.889 --> 00:17:04.299
people Israel? and who gave it forever to the

00:17:04.299 --> 00:17:08.039
descendants of Abraham, your friend. In Isaiah

00:17:08.039 --> 00:17:11.539
41 .8, it says, but you, Israel, my servant Jacob,

00:17:11.680 --> 00:17:14.900
whom I have chosen, descendant of Abraham, my

00:17:14.900 --> 00:17:19.099
friend. In James 2 .23, it says, and the scripture

00:17:19.099 --> 00:17:21.740
was fulfilled that says, Abraham believed God

00:17:21.740 --> 00:17:23.319
and it was credited to him as righteousness,

00:17:23.539 --> 00:17:27.880
and he was called God's friend. And then, of

00:17:27.880 --> 00:17:30.720
course, we have the scripture where Jesus was

00:17:30.720 --> 00:17:34.359
talking to his disciples in John 15, 15. He says,

00:17:34.400 --> 00:17:36.299
I do not call you servants anymore because a

00:17:36.299 --> 00:17:37.940
servant doesn't know what his master is doing.

00:17:38.039 --> 00:17:41.299
I have called you friends because I have made

00:17:41.299 --> 00:17:43.700
known to you everything I have heard from my

00:17:43.700 --> 00:17:48.200
Father. So the concept of being friends with

00:17:48.200 --> 00:17:51.299
Jesus, friends with God, it's a biblical concept.

00:17:51.720 --> 00:17:55.400
Now Abraham was very specially designated as

00:17:55.400 --> 00:17:58.160
a friend of God, but when we get to the New Testament,

00:17:58.220 --> 00:18:00.480
we see that Jesus is saying, all who believe

00:18:00.480 --> 00:18:03.839
in me, you're my friends. This doesn't diminish

00:18:03.839 --> 00:18:06.579
the fact that he's God and he's omnipotent and

00:18:06.579 --> 00:18:09.039
he's almighty. It doesn't diminish those things.

00:18:09.119 --> 00:18:11.200
It just shows us the side of the relationship

00:18:11.200 --> 00:18:14.299
and the side of who God is. Now, the word friend

00:18:14.299 --> 00:18:17.059
simply means a person you know well and regard

00:18:17.059 --> 00:18:20.720
with affection and trust. We all know what a

00:18:20.720 --> 00:18:23.359
friend is. Some of us sometimes have our own

00:18:23.359 --> 00:18:26.940
variations and definitions of friend. In high

00:18:26.940 --> 00:18:28.880
school, a friend was the homie who would take

00:18:28.880 --> 00:18:33.369
a bullet for you. I'm like, all right, please

00:18:33.369 --> 00:18:35.210
don't do that. I'd rather you be alive, you know.

00:18:35.250 --> 00:18:38.109
But, you know, we have these different definitions.

00:18:38.509 --> 00:18:40.329
A friend does this, doesn't do that, whatnot.

00:18:40.529 --> 00:18:44.289
But simply the idea of friend is that idea of

00:18:44.289 --> 00:18:47.670
someone who cares about you, someone who has

00:18:47.670 --> 00:18:51.170
a commitment to you. In the Old Testament, the

00:18:51.170 --> 00:18:53.549
central idea of friendship throughout the Old

00:18:53.549 --> 00:18:56.700
Testament was the idea of loyalty. That friendship

00:18:56.700 --> 00:18:59.519
meant you were loyal to someone else, that you

00:18:59.519 --> 00:19:01.980
were committed to them, that their interests

00:19:01.980 --> 00:19:04.380
were your interests, that their well -being was

00:19:04.380 --> 00:19:06.359
of great concern to you. This is what friendship

00:19:06.359 --> 00:19:09.519
was. And then we saw that spill over into sharing

00:19:09.519 --> 00:19:12.539
of one another's lives and one another's things.

00:19:12.759 --> 00:19:14.859
You get to the New Testament, it's the same idea.

00:19:15.759 --> 00:19:17.980
That this loyalty, this commitment is there.

00:19:18.099 --> 00:19:20.140
But the New Testament puts a greater emphasis

00:19:20.140 --> 00:19:22.859
on the idea of mutual sharing. What's mine is

00:19:22.859 --> 00:19:25.140
yours, what's yours is mine. The idea of sharing

00:19:25.140 --> 00:19:27.180
in each other's lives. Like, hey, let me get

00:19:27.180 --> 00:19:29.599
into the nitty gritty and the trenches of your

00:19:29.599 --> 00:19:31.680
life and you get involved in the trenches of

00:19:31.680 --> 00:19:33.539
my life and we encourage and support one another.

00:19:33.880 --> 00:19:36.650
This is all around the idea of friendship. In

00:19:36.650 --> 00:19:38.329
the New Testament, you often see people that

00:19:38.329 --> 00:19:41.529
were trusted by being entrusted with important

00:19:41.529 --> 00:19:43.490
errands or taking letters to different places,

00:19:43.589 --> 00:19:45.609
and so this was all wrapped up in this idea.

00:19:46.190 --> 00:19:49.029
So when we say being a friend of God, someone

00:19:49.029 --> 00:19:51.789
is a friend of God, what we mean is that God

00:19:51.789 --> 00:19:55.009
knows you well and regards you with affection

00:19:55.009 --> 00:19:59.869
and trust, and you know God well and regard him

00:19:59.869 --> 00:20:03.539
with affection and trust. Friendship with God

00:20:03.539 --> 00:20:07.039
sounds like an amazing thing, and it is. Who

00:20:07.039 --> 00:20:09.819
wouldn't want to sit on the couch with God and

00:20:09.819 --> 00:20:14.160
hang out and eat Funyuns or whatever and just,

00:20:14.180 --> 00:20:19.920
you know, talk, play video games, watch our favorite

00:20:19.920 --> 00:20:22.140
TV shows? I mean, and just like, what's up, dude?

00:20:22.240 --> 00:20:23.480
What do you think about this? And oh, yeah, da

00:20:23.480 --> 00:20:25.619
-da -da. I mean, friendship, just that casual,

00:20:25.680 --> 00:20:28.359
open honesty that is there in a friendship. Who

00:20:28.359 --> 00:20:31.279
wouldn't want to do that? But when we consider,

00:20:31.829 --> 00:20:34.829
Here in Genesis 18, and we'll see this in next

00:20:34.829 --> 00:20:38.369
week's study, that God and these two angels are

00:20:38.369 --> 00:20:40.250
traveling through this area because they are

00:20:40.250 --> 00:20:43.269
on their way to Sodom, where these two angels

00:20:43.269 --> 00:20:46.309
are going to destroy Sodom in the cataclysm there.

00:20:46.450 --> 00:20:48.970
When we consider that God sees all, right? He

00:20:48.970 --> 00:20:53.309
judges sin and sinners. The idea of hanging out

00:20:53.309 --> 00:20:54.970
and being chummy -chummy with God can be a little

00:20:54.970 --> 00:20:57.450
intimidating. You know, it could be a little

00:20:57.450 --> 00:21:01.410
difficult to open up to him as a friend. And

00:21:01.410 --> 00:21:04.769
so what we do is we treat him like we would the

00:21:04.769 --> 00:21:07.170
CEO of the company that we don't know really

00:21:07.170 --> 00:21:10.130
well, but we know he's the boss. And so we respect

00:21:10.130 --> 00:21:13.210
his authority. We fear him, but we definitely

00:21:13.210 --> 00:21:14.890
don't want to go, you know, have a burger with

00:21:14.890 --> 00:21:17.369
him, right? There's a difference of relationship

00:21:17.369 --> 00:21:22.990
there. But our closest friends, our closest friends

00:21:22.990 --> 00:21:25.569
in our life, these are the people who accept

00:21:25.569 --> 00:21:28.549
us, right? These are the people that we could

00:21:28.549 --> 00:21:30.769
tell our darkest secrets to and they don't judge

00:21:30.769 --> 00:21:33.809
us. They might tell us we're stupid, but they

00:21:33.809 --> 00:21:36.849
still love you. They still accept you, right?

00:21:37.329 --> 00:21:39.250
These closest friends in our lives, the ones

00:21:39.250 --> 00:21:44.529
that will call us out on our stupidity. And they

00:21:44.529 --> 00:21:47.069
have the... right to do that, right? You've given

00:21:47.069 --> 00:21:49.410
them that right. You've let them in so they can

00:21:49.410 --> 00:21:51.289
call you out on stuff and you're not offended.

00:21:51.289 --> 00:21:53.549
You know that they do it because they care, because

00:21:53.549 --> 00:21:57.009
they love you. And they're often the first person

00:21:57.009 --> 00:22:00.690
you call when there's good news, right? You're

00:22:00.690 --> 00:22:03.710
closest, your best friend. When things are really

00:22:03.710 --> 00:22:05.529
difficult, they might be the first one you reach

00:22:05.529 --> 00:22:11.470
out to when you need support. And Jesus is those

00:22:11.470 --> 00:22:16.930
things to us. He's also the judge. He's also

00:22:16.930 --> 00:22:20.269
wholly transcendent in power. He's also flawlessly

00:22:20.269 --> 00:22:24.369
and perfectly good. And so sometimes when we

00:22:24.369 --> 00:22:27.210
focus on that part of him, it creates this situation

00:22:27.210 --> 00:22:29.730
where we don't want to let him in all the way.

00:22:29.789 --> 00:22:31.710
We don't want to tell him our darkest secrets

00:22:31.710 --> 00:22:34.970
as if he doesn't already know. We don't want

00:22:34.970 --> 00:22:38.130
to have the conversation with him. Right in the

00:22:38.130 --> 00:22:41.069
moment where we sinned, in the very second you're

00:22:41.069 --> 00:22:43.730
past the sin and you're like, my gosh, I feel

00:22:43.730 --> 00:22:47.069
terrible. And we don't want to talk to God right

00:22:47.069 --> 00:22:50.750
then and there. Because we feel like as the CEO,

00:22:50.890 --> 00:22:53.589
he's going to fire me. I'm going to be punished.

00:22:53.829 --> 00:22:58.910
I'm going to be chastised. And he's all those

00:22:58.910 --> 00:23:03.450
things. But Jesus said, I have called you friends.

00:23:05.609 --> 00:23:10.829
Jesus revealed to us the compassionate, patient,

00:23:11.230 --> 00:23:16.950
accepting, forgiving side of God. He revealed

00:23:16.950 --> 00:23:21.690
that to us. You see, in the Old Testament, there

00:23:21.690 --> 00:23:25.190
was no real friendship with God. God was unapproachable

00:23:25.190 --> 00:23:28.630
in his holiness. So unapproachable, there was

00:23:28.630 --> 00:23:31.730
one room where one guy could go into his presence

00:23:31.730 --> 00:23:36.259
one time a year. And if he wasn't, clean and

00:23:36.259 --> 00:23:39.019
pure and prayed up, he would be struck down dead

00:23:39.019 --> 00:23:41.740
because of God's perfect holiness. And so the

00:23:41.740 --> 00:23:44.380
relationship in the Old Testament was God is

00:23:44.380 --> 00:23:49.460
the big almighty guy. And so we have to do these

00:23:49.460 --> 00:23:51.960
sacrifices and we have to do all this stuff to

00:23:51.960 --> 00:23:54.920
make ourselves clean before him, but there was

00:23:54.920 --> 00:23:59.319
no concept of I'm just, I'm chilling in my tent

00:23:59.319 --> 00:24:01.539
hanging out with Jesus, hanging out with God.

00:24:02.569 --> 00:24:04.750
There was this aspect of his holiness which is

00:24:04.750 --> 00:24:08.009
appropriate. But by the time we get to the New

00:24:08.009 --> 00:24:10.470
Testament, we see Jesus revealing something else

00:24:10.470 --> 00:24:13.390
about God. Something else about God's nature.

00:24:13.450 --> 00:24:15.849
Something else about what God wants in a relationship

00:24:15.849 --> 00:24:19.069
with us. And really, after Christ came and died

00:24:19.069 --> 00:24:22.529
on the cross and was resurrected, what we see

00:24:22.529 --> 00:24:28.049
is a sight of God in his holiness and his majesty

00:24:28.049 --> 00:24:35.640
satisfied his own wrath. By sending his son to

00:24:35.640 --> 00:24:39.059
take the entire judgment for sin. To die on the

00:24:39.059 --> 00:24:44.640
cross in our place. So that through faith, simple

00:24:44.640 --> 00:24:49.259
belief, we can have relationship with him. Close,

00:24:49.279 --> 00:24:53.180
intimate relationship. When Jesus died on the

00:24:53.180 --> 00:24:55.180
cross, the veil was torn in two. The veil that

00:24:55.180 --> 00:24:58.200
separated that holy of holies from everybody

00:24:58.200 --> 00:25:01.519
else. That was God saying, everybody can come

00:25:01.519 --> 00:25:03.779
into my presence now. Through the blood of Christ.

00:25:06.019 --> 00:25:09.359
So without the Son, yeah, you'll get the holy

00:25:09.359 --> 00:25:14.819
justice of the Father. But with the Son, you

00:25:14.819 --> 00:25:17.180
get to enter into the tender love and the mercy

00:25:17.180 --> 00:25:22.779
and the grace that God has for us. And all of

00:25:22.779 --> 00:25:25.799
that, those terms of that relationship, if you

00:25:25.799 --> 00:25:28.299
will, are then sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise,

00:25:28.380 --> 00:25:32.200
Ephesians tells us. God puts his mark on your

00:25:32.200 --> 00:25:35.480
life. He says, you're mine. You're my child.

00:25:35.660 --> 00:25:40.259
I love you. I am God Almighty, but I'm also Yahweh.

00:25:43.200 --> 00:25:47.299
And for some of us, you know, if we asked ourselves

00:25:47.299 --> 00:25:51.480
the question, when it comes to my relationship

00:25:51.480 --> 00:25:54.119
with my spouse, right, we're friends. Like often

00:25:54.119 --> 00:25:56.319
spouses are like, yeah, we're best friends, right?

00:25:56.559 --> 00:25:58.740
We're friend number one to each other among other

00:25:58.740 --> 00:26:01.579
things. but sometimes you might have a close

00:26:01.579 --> 00:26:03.380
relationship with somebody you call your best

00:26:03.380 --> 00:26:06.599
friend. If you treated that friendship the way

00:26:06.599 --> 00:26:08.359
you treat your friendship with Jesus Christ,

00:26:08.660 --> 00:26:14.480
how would that friendship do? And it's been said

00:26:14.480 --> 00:26:18.619
before, but think about this. If you talked to

00:26:18.619 --> 00:26:23.880
your spouse once a week on Sunday, that's the

00:26:23.880 --> 00:26:26.539
day I talk to my spouse, but you didn't say a

00:26:26.539 --> 00:26:27.920
word to them the rest of the week, how would

00:26:27.920 --> 00:26:34.039
that go? Would it be harmonious? What if this?

00:26:35.279 --> 00:26:38.519
What if praising your spouse in the sense of

00:26:38.519 --> 00:26:40.539
like encouraging them, I love you so much and

00:26:40.539 --> 00:26:43.400
you're so beautiful or handsome and man, you're

00:26:43.400 --> 00:26:46.700
just it, you're my everything, right? Just lifting

00:26:46.700 --> 00:26:48.519
them up and telling them how much you love and

00:26:48.519 --> 00:26:51.619
adore them. If you only did that once a week,

00:26:51.740 --> 00:26:56.900
but you didn't do it any other time. Never compliment,

00:26:57.039 --> 00:26:59.740
never express to them how much you love them,

00:26:59.779 --> 00:27:02.880
how important they were to you. And some of you

00:27:02.880 --> 00:27:04.599
go, that would be dumb, but that's exactly what

00:27:04.599 --> 00:27:07.259
you do with Jesus. You come to church once a

00:27:07.259 --> 00:27:09.099
week and praise him and then you don't do it

00:27:09.099 --> 00:27:16.039
the rest of the week. So how do we develop this

00:27:16.039 --> 00:27:19.819
friendship with God? This friendship that Abraham

00:27:19.819 --> 00:27:24.039
had? Well, it begins obviously with being reconciled

00:27:24.039 --> 00:27:26.960
to God, right? Until you're reconciled to God,

00:27:27.019 --> 00:27:29.819
there is no friendship with God. Outside of being

00:27:29.819 --> 00:27:31.660
reconciled, that means that you've put your faith

00:27:31.660 --> 00:27:33.339
in Jesus Christ, you've put your faith in his

00:27:33.339 --> 00:27:35.759
sacrifice for you, his blood has washed you clean

00:27:35.759 --> 00:27:39.720
of sin, and now God sees you spotless, blameless.

00:27:40.079 --> 00:27:42.559
He says, you can come into my presence because

00:27:42.559 --> 00:27:46.420
there's no sin. That's what being reconciled

00:27:46.420 --> 00:27:49.319
is, and without that, you can't have a friendship

00:27:49.319 --> 00:27:51.119
with God because the Bible is very clear that

00:27:51.119 --> 00:27:54.279
outside of that, you're an enemy of God. that

00:27:54.279 --> 00:27:56.420
you're separated from God, that you're standing

00:27:56.420 --> 00:27:59.960
apart from God, and that's what sin does. The

00:27:59.960 --> 00:28:02.059
Bible says that we are all children of wrath

00:28:02.059 --> 00:28:05.660
by birth, that we're sinners, that we pursue

00:28:05.660 --> 00:28:07.700
our own means, our own wants, our own desires,

00:28:07.859 --> 00:28:11.200
and that sin alienates us from God. It separates

00:28:11.200 --> 00:28:15.500
us from him, all of humanity. And since this

00:28:15.500 --> 00:28:18.200
alienation from God due to sin is a universal

00:28:18.200 --> 00:28:22.750
problem, then the universal solution for everybody

00:28:22.750 --> 00:28:28.109
is reconciliation with God. When that happens,

00:28:28.150 --> 00:28:30.309
that's when that friendship with God happens.

00:28:30.470 --> 00:28:32.809
He becomes your Lord, yes. He becomes your master,

00:28:32.950 --> 00:28:37.029
yes. He becomes your savior, yes. But he also

00:28:37.029 --> 00:28:41.369
becomes your friend. And he wants that relationship

00:28:41.369 --> 00:28:43.289
to start building. And this is where the good

00:28:43.289 --> 00:28:45.269
news, right? This is where the gospel comes in.

00:28:46.029 --> 00:28:49.089
We tell someone that your creator, you're alienated

00:28:49.089 --> 00:28:51.109
from your creator by your own sin, breaking his

00:28:51.109 --> 00:28:54.869
law, right? But he paid the price for it. And

00:28:54.869 --> 00:28:56.950
you could have relationship with him, fellowship,

00:28:57.329 --> 00:28:59.289
unity. You could be forgiven of your sin. You

00:28:59.289 --> 00:29:01.849
could be able to enter into his presence now

00:29:01.849 --> 00:29:05.109
and forever. That's the gospel of Jesus Christ.

00:29:05.230 --> 00:29:07.470
And when a sinner believes and puts faith in

00:29:07.470 --> 00:29:10.809
that, that the only acceptable provision for

00:29:10.809 --> 00:29:14.099
their sin is Jesus Christ. When they believe

00:29:14.099 --> 00:29:18.720
that, like Abraham, the righteousness is credited

00:29:18.720 --> 00:29:20.980
to our account. And we talked about that in that

00:29:20.980 --> 00:29:24.500
Bible study in Genesis 15, where it says that

00:29:24.500 --> 00:29:27.859
Abram believed God and it was credited to him

00:29:27.859 --> 00:29:30.920
as righteousness. That we're saved by faith.

00:29:32.440 --> 00:29:34.660
I mean, right there, it's a pretty one -sided

00:29:34.660 --> 00:29:37.079
friendship. God did everything. All you have

00:29:37.079 --> 00:29:40.329
to do is go, I accept it, thanks. And then all

00:29:40.329 --> 00:29:43.529
the benefits of that are given to you. But God

00:29:43.529 --> 00:29:46.910
says, I want to do that. I chose to do that because

00:29:46.910 --> 00:29:50.730
I love you. Paul goes on to quote this verse

00:29:50.730 --> 00:29:53.930
in Genesis 15 twice when he's making the arguments

00:29:53.930 --> 00:29:56.549
that we're saved by faith, not by works. James

00:29:56.549 --> 00:29:58.490
quotes it in his letter where he says, look,

00:29:58.549 --> 00:30:01.829
genuine faith will always result in good works.

00:30:02.670 --> 00:30:06.430
Not perfect works, but good works. You see, there's

00:30:06.430 --> 00:30:09.849
a difference between the person who says, I want

00:30:09.849 --> 00:30:12.569
to please God. I want to be obedient to him.

00:30:13.269 --> 00:30:15.250
But I have this sin nature, and so I struggle,

00:30:15.289 --> 00:30:18.190
and sometimes I make the wrong decision intentionally.

00:30:19.190 --> 00:30:21.509
And I feel bad. I'm convicted, and God, please

00:30:21.509 --> 00:30:23.009
forgive me. There's a difference between that

00:30:23.009 --> 00:30:25.410
person and this other person who goes, I'm a

00:30:25.410 --> 00:30:28.410
Christian, but I'm living this lifestyle that

00:30:28.410 --> 00:30:31.289
is clearly contradictory to the Bible, and I

00:30:31.289 --> 00:30:35.210
don't care. It's okay for me to do this. I can

00:30:35.210 --> 00:30:37.750
live how I want. I can love who I want. I don't

00:30:37.750 --> 00:30:39.309
care what God's word says. There's a difference

00:30:39.309 --> 00:30:42.369
between these two people. One is saved and is

00:30:42.369 --> 00:30:45.890
going to have a life of good works. One is not

00:30:45.890 --> 00:30:48.650
saved. They're just saying so, and there's no

00:30:48.650 --> 00:30:52.450
good works in their life. There's no fruit. And

00:30:52.450 --> 00:30:55.690
so, friendship with God requires reconciliation.

00:30:56.509 --> 00:30:58.930
Next, friendship with God requires us to prioritize

00:30:58.930 --> 00:31:02.869
it and make ourselves available for it. Friendship

00:31:02.869 --> 00:31:05.150
takes an investment of time. We all know that.

00:31:06.539 --> 00:31:09.319
And it's no different with God. You see in these

00:31:09.319 --> 00:31:11.440
verses, we see Abraham was sitting at the door

00:31:11.440 --> 00:31:15.000
when these visitors arrived. We don't know why

00:31:15.000 --> 00:31:16.900
he was sitting at the door. He was just chilling

00:31:16.900 --> 00:31:18.579
at the door. It tells us it's in the heat of

00:31:18.579 --> 00:31:20.539
the day. Probably in the hottest part of the

00:31:20.539 --> 00:31:23.059
day is what that means. And these guests show

00:31:23.059 --> 00:31:26.160
up. And he wasn't too busy to spend time with

00:31:26.160 --> 00:31:29.579
them. He wasn't too busy. He wasn't working late.

00:31:29.619 --> 00:31:31.220
He wasn't sleeping in late. He wasn't rushing

00:31:31.220 --> 00:31:34.059
from one errand to the next to spend time with

00:31:34.059 --> 00:31:37.130
God. I personally believe Abraham knew it was

00:31:37.130 --> 00:31:41.710
the Lord. And so they show up and Abraham is

00:31:41.710 --> 00:31:46.049
immediately like, oh my gosh, you're here. I'm

00:31:46.049 --> 00:31:47.869
not doing anything else. The most important thing

00:31:47.869 --> 00:31:50.450
for me to do in this moment is to hang out with

00:31:50.450 --> 00:31:55.269
you. Now God's in our life 24 hours a day and

00:31:55.269 --> 00:31:57.750
yet so often we're like, I'm too busy. I'm too

00:31:57.750 --> 00:32:00.190
busy. Sorry I can't talk to you. Sorry I can't

00:32:00.190 --> 00:32:02.750
praise you. Sorry I can't read your word. Too

00:32:02.750 --> 00:32:05.829
busy, too busy, too busy. And you're not going

00:32:05.829 --> 00:32:07.309
to have a strong friendship with the Lord if

00:32:07.309 --> 00:32:09.549
you're too busy to invest in a friendship with

00:32:09.549 --> 00:32:12.670
the Lord. If you want to be a friend of God,

00:32:12.710 --> 00:32:15.750
you have to take the time to hang out with him.

00:32:17.210 --> 00:32:19.490
And when I say take the time, I mean prioritize

00:32:19.490 --> 00:32:23.490
it, right? If you're the type of person that

00:32:23.490 --> 00:32:27.130
says, I can't do anything unless I put things

00:32:27.130 --> 00:32:29.769
on my calendar, then put time with God on your

00:32:29.769 --> 00:32:33.750
calendar. If that doesn't work for you, whatever

00:32:33.750 --> 00:32:37.670
works for you, make it happen. That's how you

00:32:37.670 --> 00:32:41.890
cultivate a friendship with God. Yes, Abraham

00:32:41.890 --> 00:32:43.769
lived in a different culture than ours, right?

00:32:43.829 --> 00:32:45.829
He didn't have clocks and phones, but he was

00:32:45.829 --> 00:32:48.329
still the head of a very large family with large

00:32:48.329 --> 00:32:50.809
flocks. There was a lot of busyness going on,

00:32:50.869 --> 00:32:52.970
and it was the heat of the day. Maybe he was

00:32:52.970 --> 00:32:55.089
on lunch break. We don't know. But right there

00:32:55.089 --> 00:32:58.049
in the middle of the day, It doesn't matter.

00:32:58.130 --> 00:32:59.970
There's nothing more important than hanging out

00:32:59.970 --> 00:33:03.250
with God, prioritizing this moment. You'll grow

00:33:03.250 --> 00:33:06.470
in your relationship with God in line to how

00:33:06.470 --> 00:33:10.710
much time you spend with him. You don't spend

00:33:10.710 --> 00:33:13.490
a lot of time with God, your relationship's not

00:33:13.490 --> 00:33:16.289
going to grow very well. You prioritize relationship

00:33:16.289 --> 00:33:20.549
with God, your relationship will grow. There

00:33:20.549 --> 00:33:22.009
are some Christians that unfortunately, they

00:33:22.009 --> 00:33:26.779
spend more time with the world. That is actively

00:33:26.779 --> 00:33:29.940
and openly trying to draw you away from God.

00:33:30.839 --> 00:33:32.960
But they spend more time with that than they

00:33:32.960 --> 00:33:36.660
do with their creator who died for them. Now,

00:33:36.720 --> 00:33:41.460
the idea here is making it a priority. Salvation

00:33:41.460 --> 00:33:43.700
is by faith. Adoption of the family is through

00:33:43.700 --> 00:33:45.559
faith, right? This isn't about earning any of

00:33:45.559 --> 00:33:49.579
that. But a strong friendship with God doesn't

00:33:49.579 --> 00:33:53.930
happen without investing time into it. There's

00:33:53.930 --> 00:33:57.170
a little booklet called My Heart, Christ's Home

00:33:57.170 --> 00:33:59.710
that was written by Robert Boyd Munger. And in

00:33:59.710 --> 00:34:02.369
this book, he compares his heart to a home where

00:34:02.369 --> 00:34:04.410
Christ has been invited to dwell as a heavenly

00:34:04.410 --> 00:34:07.539
guest. He goes room by room showing how the Lord

00:34:07.539 --> 00:34:09.500
cleaned the dirty books off the shelves of the

00:34:09.500 --> 00:34:13.059
study, took down the filthy pictures. He shows

00:34:13.059 --> 00:34:15.300
how he cleaned the dining room of all his unhealthy

00:34:15.300 --> 00:34:18.159
appetites and desires. The drawing room was a

00:34:18.159 --> 00:34:20.179
comfortable room with a quiet atmosphere, and

00:34:20.179 --> 00:34:22.579
the Lord agreed to meet him there each morning

00:34:22.579 --> 00:34:27.079
for fellowship. At first, it was wonderful. As

00:34:27.079 --> 00:34:29.969
they met, The Lord would pull books off the shelf,

00:34:30.110 --> 00:34:32.329
open the scriptures, reveal to him what things

00:34:32.329 --> 00:34:35.050
meant. They would have this wonderful fellowship

00:34:35.050 --> 00:34:37.849
and commune together. But as the pressures of

00:34:37.849 --> 00:34:40.429
outside responsibilities grew, that time with

00:34:40.429 --> 00:34:44.150
the Lord got crowded out. Soon he was missing

00:34:44.150 --> 00:34:47.570
several days in a row. Then one morning as he

00:34:47.570 --> 00:34:49.090
was rushing out the door, he passed the drawing

00:34:49.090 --> 00:34:53.070
room and noticed that the door was ajar. Looking

00:34:53.070 --> 00:34:57.400
in, he saw the master sitting there alone. Grieved,

00:34:57.420 --> 00:35:00.840
he said, Master, have you been here all these

00:35:00.840 --> 00:35:04.980
mornings I've missed? Yes, said the Lord. I told

00:35:04.980 --> 00:35:06.800
you I would be here every morning to meet with

00:35:06.800 --> 00:35:10.260
you. Remember, I love you. I've redeemed you

00:35:10.260 --> 00:35:15.699
at great cost. I desire your fellowship. God

00:35:15.699 --> 00:35:20.280
wants to have a friendship with you. He wants

00:35:20.280 --> 00:35:24.019
to have that open back and forth hangout with

00:35:24.019 --> 00:35:29.489
you. He loves you. It's not I saved you, great,

00:35:29.570 --> 00:35:32.489
I'm busy taking care of the universe. He wants

00:35:32.489 --> 00:35:36.550
to sit with you. He wants to talk with you. He

00:35:36.550 --> 00:35:39.349
wants to share with you. And so you've got to

00:35:39.349 --> 00:35:42.269
prioritize that time. The next thing about cultivating

00:35:42.269 --> 00:35:44.630
a friendship with God, it requires being eager

00:35:44.630 --> 00:35:47.849
to be with him, right? Some of us are lackadaisical.

00:35:48.010 --> 00:35:52.030
Eh, I'll spend time with God. And we don't understand.

00:35:53.519 --> 00:35:55.619
How much God wants to be with us and how good

00:35:55.619 --> 00:35:57.380
it is for us to be with him. In verses three,

00:35:57.500 --> 00:36:00.079
we see this eagerness in Abraham. My Lord, if

00:36:00.079 --> 00:36:02.400
I found favor with you, please don't go on past

00:36:02.400 --> 00:36:05.739
your servant. Let a little water be brought that

00:36:05.739 --> 00:36:07.579
you may wash your feet and rest yourselves under

00:36:07.579 --> 00:36:09.920
the tree. I will bring a bit of bread so that

00:36:09.920 --> 00:36:12.619
you may strengthen yourselves. This is why you've

00:36:12.619 --> 00:36:19.300
passed this way. Later you can continue on. Abraham's

00:36:19.300 --> 00:36:22.199
going, I'm so glad you're here. I want you to

00:36:22.199 --> 00:36:26.429
be here. Please stay. In fact, let me make it

00:36:26.429 --> 00:36:28.429
welcoming and comfortable for you to stay here.

00:36:28.550 --> 00:36:32.750
I want you to be here. He's eager. And the idea

00:36:32.750 --> 00:36:36.929
is that he's being hospitable towards God. Hospitality

00:36:36.929 --> 00:36:39.289
is simply the idea of making someone feel welcome

00:36:39.289 --> 00:36:43.809
and comfortable with you in your place. Verse

00:36:43.809 --> 00:36:46.289
6, so Abram hurried into the tent and said to

00:36:46.289 --> 00:36:49.360
Sarah, quick. Knead three measures of fine flour

00:36:49.360 --> 00:36:52.420
and make bread. Abraham ran to the herd and got

00:36:52.420 --> 00:36:54.460
a tender choice calf. He gave it to a young man

00:36:54.460 --> 00:36:58.079
who hurried to prepare it. Did you see any words

00:36:58.079 --> 00:37:00.980
here that might indicate a little bit of excitement

00:37:00.980 --> 00:37:03.920
and enthusiasm and eagerness on Abraham's part?

00:37:04.900 --> 00:37:08.679
Hurried, ran, ran quick, you know, all this stuff.

00:37:08.840 --> 00:37:10.920
And keep in mind, this dude's 99 years old right

00:37:10.920 --> 00:37:14.860
now. And it's noon in Israel. If you've ever

00:37:14.860 --> 00:37:19.559
been to Israel, like, It's hot. It's hot like

00:37:19.559 --> 00:37:22.139
at eight in the morning. You get to noon and

00:37:22.139 --> 00:37:24.099
you're like, oh my gosh, no wonder it's a desert

00:37:24.099 --> 00:37:26.219
in so many places here. Everything's just burned

00:37:26.219 --> 00:37:28.400
up. Now it is God's land and holy land and it

00:37:28.400 --> 00:37:32.420
is land of milk and honey, right? But the heat,

00:37:32.440 --> 00:37:35.880
wow, is oppressive. And so this is where Abraham

00:37:35.880 --> 00:37:38.579
is at and he's running, running, running, running,

00:37:38.579 --> 00:37:44.019
running, running. It didn't matter that it was

00:37:44.019 --> 00:37:46.920
the middle of the day. It didn't matter that

00:37:46.920 --> 00:37:50.739
he was old. He wanted to make his guests comfortable.

00:37:51.940 --> 00:37:54.239
He wanted his guests to know he was glad they

00:37:54.239 --> 00:37:57.940
were there. How's your enthusiasm and eagerness

00:37:57.940 --> 00:38:02.900
to have Jesus over? Has it died down a little

00:38:02.900 --> 00:38:06.260
bit over the years? Eh, you know, if I get to

00:38:06.260 --> 00:38:12.380
it. Oh, man, it's, and I'm going to put somebody

00:38:12.380 --> 00:38:15.719
on blast here, I'm sure, but. It's a Sunday and

00:38:15.719 --> 00:38:18.659
I just woke up a little late. I'm not gonna go

00:38:18.659 --> 00:38:23.539
to church. I'm just gonna watch it online. This,

00:38:25.199 --> 00:38:28.159
right? But there's eagerness. The eagerness isn't

00:38:28.159 --> 00:38:30.460
there anymore, right? I'm excited to get up and

00:38:30.460 --> 00:38:32.719
go to church. I'm excited to see my family. Oh

00:38:32.719 --> 00:38:34.559
my gosh, Lord, I know you've given me gifts.

00:38:34.619 --> 00:38:36.940
I'm excited to share with somebody. Lord, do

00:38:36.940 --> 00:38:38.139
you have a word of knowledge for me, a word of

00:38:38.139 --> 00:38:40.610
prophecy? Can I pray with someone? Right? We

00:38:40.610 --> 00:38:42.650
saw Rick up here and just, I've talked to John

00:38:42.650 --> 00:38:44.269
and others that have gone up to Altadena and

00:38:44.269 --> 00:38:48.210
they're just like, the prayer, the opportunity

00:38:48.210 --> 00:38:54.869
to pray for people is so holy, so amazing. We

00:38:54.869 --> 00:38:59.230
get to do that here. And yet sometimes, I don't

00:38:59.230 --> 00:39:01.869
feel like going to church. And that's just one

00:39:01.869 --> 00:39:05.619
day. What about getting up to do your quiet time

00:39:05.619 --> 00:39:08.219
or your devotions? What about putting on worship

00:39:08.219 --> 00:39:10.239
and when you're driving from place to place instead

00:39:10.239 --> 00:39:13.579
of some of the other things? The other things

00:39:13.579 --> 00:39:16.420
aren't bad, but do you find yourself listening

00:39:16.420 --> 00:39:19.659
to everything but worship exclusively? You know,

00:39:19.659 --> 00:39:22.059
these types of things are the idea of like, God,

00:39:22.079 --> 00:39:24.699
I want you to be present and comfortable in my

00:39:24.699 --> 00:39:26.760
life. I don't want things in my life that show

00:39:26.760 --> 00:39:32.389
you that I'm holding you out. He's eager. But

00:39:32.389 --> 00:39:37.650
sometimes that enthusiasm dies down. The idea

00:39:37.650 --> 00:39:40.030
would be like, you know, guests would come over

00:39:40.030 --> 00:39:43.969
and you used to clean the bathroom. But now you're

00:39:43.969 --> 00:39:46.389
like, look, it's my bathroom, deal with it. If

00:39:46.389 --> 00:39:47.650
you don't like my bathroom, don't come over.

00:39:48.250 --> 00:39:53.690
Right? That's how I've always been. I've used

00:39:53.690 --> 00:39:56.269
to think, I'm like, I'm so hospitable. Because

00:39:56.269 --> 00:40:00.210
I would be like, my door's open. It used to frustrate

00:40:00.210 --> 00:40:01.849
some of my roommates because I'm like, leave

00:40:01.849 --> 00:40:03.369
the front door open. And I would tell everybody

00:40:03.369 --> 00:40:05.530
that were my friends, come over whenever you

00:40:05.530 --> 00:40:07.630
want. Even if I'm not here, you want to stop

00:40:07.630 --> 00:40:09.449
by and get some milk out of the fridge, go for

00:40:09.449 --> 00:40:14.050
it, right? And I'm like, oh, hospitality. But

00:40:14.050 --> 00:40:18.030
then the house is thrashed. I'm comfortable in

00:40:18.030 --> 00:40:20.969
it. But other people aren't comfortable in it.

00:40:21.610 --> 00:40:23.710
And then as the year's been going on, I've had

00:40:23.710 --> 00:40:26.070
people come into my life that, you know, are

00:40:26.070 --> 00:40:28.809
showing me and teaching me and exampling the

00:40:28.809 --> 00:40:32.530
importance of hospitality, right? There are times

00:40:32.530 --> 00:40:34.289
people come over the house and I'm like, please

00:40:34.289 --> 00:40:38.730
don't go into the bathroom. You might not come

00:40:38.730 --> 00:40:43.690
out, right? Please. And it's not hospitality

00:40:43.690 --> 00:40:47.309
to say, it's my house, deal with it. If you don't

00:40:47.309 --> 00:40:49.010
like how I live, don't come, right? That's not

00:40:49.010 --> 00:40:53.829
hospitality. That's self -focused. Abraham's

00:40:53.829 --> 00:40:55.550
eager hospitality, we see it's all about his

00:40:55.550 --> 00:40:58.070
guests, right? So often we look at our time with

00:40:58.070 --> 00:40:59.929
the Lord through the lens of what it's going

00:40:59.929 --> 00:41:05.510
to do for us, right? Quiet time, devotion, worship.

00:41:06.889 --> 00:41:09.050
What is it going to do for me? I know it's good

00:41:09.050 --> 00:41:11.969
for me. I know it's healthy for me. But we're

00:41:11.969 --> 00:41:13.690
looking at it exclusively from the lens of what

00:41:13.690 --> 00:41:15.610
it's going to do for us. What about looking at

00:41:15.610 --> 00:41:18.860
the time hanging out with Jesus? Through the

00:41:18.860 --> 00:41:22.920
lens of what it does for him. He wants to hang

00:41:22.920 --> 00:41:25.719
out with you. He's eager to hang out with you.

00:41:25.860 --> 00:41:28.820
He's blessed, pleased, excited, happy to hang

00:41:28.820 --> 00:41:31.380
out with you. What about saying, Jesus, I want

00:41:31.380 --> 00:41:32.880
to hang out with you just because I know you

00:41:32.880 --> 00:41:37.519
love it so much. And yes, we get blessing from

00:41:37.519 --> 00:41:39.699
it, but when we focus on that alone, sometimes

00:41:39.699 --> 00:41:42.559
we're like, oh, I don't need it. And we leave

00:41:42.559 --> 00:41:46.300
him sitting alone in the drawing room waiting

00:41:46.300 --> 00:41:49.510
for us to show up. Now, if you've lost your eagerness

00:41:49.510 --> 00:41:52.750
to make time to prepare your heart for the Lord

00:41:52.750 --> 00:41:55.590
and all that, just remind yourself, it's not

00:41:55.590 --> 00:42:00.869
just for you. It's for him too. It's for him

00:42:00.869 --> 00:42:03.969
too. He wants to hang out with you because he

00:42:03.969 --> 00:42:07.650
loves you. He's eager to hang out with you. He

00:42:07.650 --> 00:42:12.309
can't wait. And it's worth the effort on our

00:42:12.309 --> 00:42:16.519
part to make that time. Friendship with God,

00:42:16.619 --> 00:42:20.119
it costs time. It costs intentionality and being

00:42:20.119 --> 00:42:23.679
available, and it also costs materially. This

00:42:23.679 --> 00:42:25.139
is part of that friendship. You see, Abraham

00:42:25.139 --> 00:42:28.139
said here, guys, please don't go. Let me go get

00:42:28.139 --> 00:42:32.659
a bit of bread. Bit of bread. Then he runs in

00:42:32.659 --> 00:42:35.099
and he tells his wife, quick, make three measures

00:42:35.099 --> 00:42:37.639
of flour and make some bread. Do you have any

00:42:37.639 --> 00:42:41.460
idea how much three measures of flour is? I did

00:42:41.460 --> 00:42:44.690
the math. Okay. It's five to eight gallons of

00:42:44.690 --> 00:42:48.889
flour, which results in 25 to 40 loaves of bread.

00:42:50.550 --> 00:42:53.510
Let me go get a bit of bread for you. Honey,

00:42:53.650 --> 00:43:00.710
make enough for an army. That was an investment

00:43:00.710 --> 00:43:04.429
on his part. That was the resources. That was

00:43:04.429 --> 00:43:06.170
stuff he gave. Then he went out and got the choice

00:43:06.170 --> 00:43:09.829
calf, right? Not the lame calf. Not the calf

00:43:09.829 --> 00:43:12.780
with a gimpy limp. Let's use that one. No. the

00:43:12.780 --> 00:43:16.500
choice one, the valuable one, but his guests

00:43:16.500 --> 00:43:19.679
were worth it. You see, eager hospitality with

00:43:19.679 --> 00:43:23.059
God is that idea that, Lord, not only do I want

00:43:23.059 --> 00:43:24.579
to spend time with you and I know you want to

00:43:24.579 --> 00:43:27.940
spend time with me, but everything I have is

00:43:27.940 --> 00:43:34.159
yours. So spending my resources on you and what

00:43:34.159 --> 00:43:37.260
you want and what you're doing, especially when

00:43:37.260 --> 00:43:39.920
it's time for us to be together, is the most...

00:43:40.529 --> 00:43:42.110
valuable thing you could spend your time and

00:43:42.110 --> 00:43:46.469
money on. Right? Sometimes God might be speaking

00:43:46.469 --> 00:43:48.969
to us and is like, hey, you need to get a new

00:43:48.969 --> 00:43:52.269
Bible. That one you got, you've read it very

00:43:52.269 --> 00:43:55.030
well. And you're like, but then I won't be able

00:43:55.030 --> 00:44:02.010
to go to Starbucks. Excuse me? You know, God

00:44:02.010 --> 00:44:05.250
might be saying, hey, there's opportunities to

00:44:05.250 --> 00:44:08.260
serve or to invest. Sometimes your church says

00:44:08.260 --> 00:44:10.019
there's needs here in your church or there's

00:44:10.019 --> 00:44:11.820
missionaries who want to support and things we

00:44:11.820 --> 00:44:16.099
want to support and it's like, well, you know,

00:44:16.139 --> 00:44:18.500
I might not be able to get that thing that I've

00:44:18.500 --> 00:44:20.099
been wanting to get. Now, there's nothing wrong

00:44:20.099 --> 00:44:23.400
with getting the thing. God doesn't care if you

00:44:23.400 --> 00:44:27.019
buy a boat or not. What he cares is if you're

00:44:27.019 --> 00:44:28.880
stingy with what he's given you so that you can

00:44:28.880 --> 00:44:30.920
go get what you want instead of doing what he

00:44:30.920 --> 00:44:33.360
wants. That's where this idea of generosity and

00:44:33.360 --> 00:44:34.679
giving comes in, but that's a whole different

00:44:34.679 --> 00:44:37.469
Bible study. The idea is in our friendship with

00:44:37.469 --> 00:44:39.550
God, when we say, God, all I have is yours. I

00:44:39.550 --> 00:44:41.289
just want to bless you. I want you to know how

00:44:41.289 --> 00:44:44.030
important you are to me, and I prioritize you

00:44:44.030 --> 00:44:45.929
and your kingdom and your will with all that

00:44:45.929 --> 00:44:48.989
I have. The idea is as you're sitting on that

00:44:48.989 --> 00:44:50.610
couch with God, he could look at you and he goes,

00:44:50.690 --> 00:44:52.969
I knew I could trust you with what's mine. I

00:44:52.969 --> 00:44:54.690
knew I could trust you with my resources. Well

00:44:54.690 --> 00:45:01.329
done. Lastly, friendship with God requires obedience.

00:45:02.190 --> 00:45:06.690
Duh. Genesis 18 comes right after Genesis 17

00:45:06.690 --> 00:45:10.489
where Abraham was obedient to God's call. Circumcise

00:45:10.489 --> 00:45:14.590
everybody. Now in John 14, 21, it says the one

00:45:14.590 --> 00:45:17.530
who has my commands and keeps them is the one

00:45:17.530 --> 00:45:20.309
who loves me. And the one who loves me will be

00:45:20.309 --> 00:45:23.389
loved by my father. I also love him and reveal

00:45:23.389 --> 00:45:26.369
myself to him. A couple verses later in John

00:45:26.369 --> 00:45:30.449
14, 23, Jesus said, if anyone loves me, he will

00:45:30.449 --> 00:45:34.030
keep my word. My father will love him. And we

00:45:34.030 --> 00:45:36.449
will come to him and make our home with him.

00:45:38.050 --> 00:45:42.230
You see, Jesus wants to move in. He wants to

00:45:42.230 --> 00:45:47.030
move in. And he says, if you love me, you'll

00:45:47.030 --> 00:45:50.710
keep my word. Now, some of us are going, ah,

00:45:50.750 --> 00:45:52.590
that's impossible. We can't be perfect. He's

00:45:52.590 --> 00:45:56.269
not saying be perfect. As I said earlier, there's

00:45:56.269 --> 00:45:58.429
a difference between the person who goes, God,

00:45:58.550 --> 00:46:00.530
I want to keep your word and I strive towards

00:46:00.530 --> 00:46:02.530
that and I study and I read and sometimes I stumble

00:46:02.530 --> 00:46:05.010
and fall and I'm so sorry. There's a difference

00:46:05.010 --> 00:46:06.590
between that person and this person who goes,

00:46:06.670 --> 00:46:08.369
I know the Bible says I shouldn't do that, but

00:46:08.369 --> 00:46:10.750
I don't care. But I go to church once a week.

00:46:12.889 --> 00:46:14.489
There's a difference between those two people.

00:46:15.250 --> 00:46:18.829
One demonstrates love, one doesn't. Abraham's

00:46:18.829 --> 00:46:20.949
obedience in the circumcision, it wasn't an easy

00:46:20.949 --> 00:46:24.820
thing to do. They were grown men. It was a painful

00:46:24.820 --> 00:46:28.320
process, possibly ridiculed by others, right?

00:46:28.619 --> 00:46:30.860
People in the air, why are you doing that? That's

00:46:30.860 --> 00:46:34.900
weird. Maybe it didn't make sense to him, but

00:46:34.900 --> 00:46:39.059
he did it. He did it. He obeyed. And then, of

00:46:39.059 --> 00:46:41.659
course, in Genesis 22, we have the ultimate obedience

00:46:41.659 --> 00:46:43.619
where Isaac is finally there, the son of the

00:46:43.619 --> 00:46:46.739
promise, right? Through him, the whole world's

00:46:46.739 --> 00:46:48.340
going to be blessed. And then one day God says,

00:46:48.460 --> 00:46:49.880
yeah, take him up on the mountain and sacrifice

00:46:49.880 --> 00:46:56.679
him. Abraham's faith was so solid. His relationship

00:46:56.679 --> 00:46:59.400
with God was so close. He understood his God

00:46:59.400 --> 00:47:02.780
so intently that Hebrews tells us Abraham's conclusion

00:47:02.780 --> 00:47:05.139
was, well, that he's going to raise him from

00:47:05.139 --> 00:47:08.900
the dead. Because God made promises, and I know

00:47:08.900 --> 00:47:11.559
my God so well, that if he told me to sacrifice

00:47:11.559 --> 00:47:15.260
my son, and that meant kill him, that he's going

00:47:15.260 --> 00:47:16.840
to raise him from the dead because there's no

00:47:16.840 --> 00:47:18.920
way his promises could come true if my son is

00:47:18.920 --> 00:47:24.150
dead. Faith. But that came from him knowing his

00:47:24.150 --> 00:47:28.190
God. He knew God. He knew the promises that God

00:47:28.190 --> 00:47:34.309
makes. He doesn't break them. He knew. Cultivating

00:47:34.309 --> 00:47:36.590
friendship with God means proactively growing

00:47:36.590 --> 00:47:42.670
in obedience to him. Proactively. He may be asking

00:47:42.670 --> 00:47:46.050
you to break off a relationship that you're in

00:47:46.050 --> 00:47:49.050
right now. It could be a friendship. It could

00:47:49.050 --> 00:47:53.010
be a romantic relationship. But it's a hindrance

00:47:53.010 --> 00:47:57.510
to your relationship with him. Obey. You'll be

00:47:57.510 --> 00:48:01.690
better for it. Maybe he's putting his finger

00:48:01.690 --> 00:48:05.550
on that sin that you love. And he's going, this

00:48:05.550 --> 00:48:10.610
needs to go now. And we go, but no, no conversation.

00:48:10.809 --> 00:48:14.150
This needs to go now. Just obey. We're friends,

00:48:14.289 --> 00:48:19.699
right? That means loyalty, right? You say you

00:48:19.699 --> 00:48:23.320
love me. I love you too. But this needs to go.

00:48:25.460 --> 00:48:28.840
Being a friend means commitment. It means loyalty.

00:48:29.119 --> 00:48:32.239
And it means obedience to him. And then at the

00:48:32.239 --> 00:48:34.059
end of verse 8, the conclusion of this matter

00:48:34.059 --> 00:48:37.960
is they ate under the tree. They shared a meal

00:48:37.960 --> 00:48:39.960
together. They broke bread together. They enjoyed

00:48:39.960 --> 00:48:42.800
each other's company for the sake of the company.

00:48:42.940 --> 00:48:47.739
There was no agenda. Right? Oh my gosh, I'm going

00:48:47.739 --> 00:48:49.820
to commit to my quiet times and my devotions

00:48:49.820 --> 00:48:52.820
because I want God to bless this thing or do

00:48:52.820 --> 00:48:57.880
this thing for me. That's not how it works. They

00:48:57.880 --> 00:48:59.900
had fellowship and unity and friendship for the

00:48:59.900 --> 00:49:04.440
sake of it. Now, I've said this a couple times,

00:49:04.679 --> 00:49:07.559
but please hear this. God wants a friendship

00:49:07.559 --> 00:49:18.280
with you. He wants that honest, open, informal,

00:49:18.400 --> 00:49:21.579
just hanging out relationship. Yeah, he's also

00:49:21.579 --> 00:49:26.179
your master and your Lord and your God, but he

00:49:26.179 --> 00:49:31.360
wants to hang out with you. A few weeks ago or

00:49:31.360 --> 00:49:33.639
a month ago or something, I was out talking with

00:49:33.639 --> 00:49:35.820
some good friends and we were talking about the

00:49:35.820 --> 00:49:38.420
idea of like walking with God, how we repent

00:49:38.420 --> 00:49:40.659
and when we repent and how God deals with that.

00:49:40.699 --> 00:49:42.659
We were talking about this whole thing and then

00:49:42.659 --> 00:49:45.639
God gave me this illustration and I want to share

00:49:45.639 --> 00:49:48.550
it with you. And the illustration started this

00:49:48.550 --> 00:49:50.030
way, it just came to my mind, like the Christian

00:49:50.030 --> 00:49:53.789
life is like sitting on a couch with Jesus, your

00:49:53.789 --> 00:49:58.170
shoulder to shoulder, talking, sharing, telling

00:49:58.170 --> 00:50:00.750
each other stories about what's happened. Jesus

00:50:00.750 --> 00:50:02.309
is like, oh yeah, this is what this means. Wow,

00:50:02.389 --> 00:50:03.949
I had a question about, right? Just this wonderful

00:50:03.949 --> 00:50:08.250
fellowship with him. Maybe you guys are just

00:50:08.250 --> 00:50:10.429
doing other things, just hanging out, enjoying

00:50:10.429 --> 00:50:13.329
each other's company. Maybe watching your favorite

00:50:13.329 --> 00:50:17.000
shows on TV. that are approved by Jesus, right?

00:50:18.800 --> 00:50:21.219
But as you're sitting there watching TV, you

00:50:21.219 --> 00:50:23.480
scroll past something that you know you shouldn't

00:50:23.480 --> 00:50:29.119
watch. And you hesitate. And you're suddenly

00:50:29.119 --> 00:50:34.500
aware of the presence of Jesus sitting right

00:50:34.500 --> 00:50:37.400
next to you. But now it's not that buddy you

00:50:37.400 --> 00:50:42.860
were hanging out with, it's that judge. And you

00:50:42.860 --> 00:50:47.780
think, I shouldn't watch this. And Jesus says,

00:50:47.960 --> 00:50:53.199
yep. But you don't make eye contact with him

00:50:53.199 --> 00:50:55.440
because you can't do that. And you hit play anyways.

00:50:57.880 --> 00:50:59.739
And then as you're watching this thing, Jesus

00:50:59.739 --> 00:51:02.920
fades from your mind. Feels like you're on the

00:51:02.920 --> 00:51:06.320
couch alone, isolated. No one's around, so you're

00:51:06.320 --> 00:51:08.320
hidden in your sin, right? Nobody can see what's

00:51:08.320 --> 00:51:12.170
going on. He's sitting right there. But in the

00:51:12.170 --> 00:51:13.869
midst of your sin, you forget about it for a

00:51:13.869 --> 00:51:20.230
moment. When the show is over, you stop. And

00:51:20.230 --> 00:51:21.869
you can see Jesus in your peripheral vision.

00:51:22.409 --> 00:51:27.789
He's looking at you. And he has a sad look on

00:51:27.789 --> 00:51:32.690
his face. A little bit of hurt. But there's no

00:51:32.690 --> 00:51:34.750
anger. There's no judgment. There's just understanding.

00:51:39.289 --> 00:51:43.309
And you can't look at him. No way. How can you

00:51:43.309 --> 00:51:46.869
look at him after what you just did? I can't

00:51:46.869 --> 00:51:49.510
make eye contact with him, but he's right there.

00:51:50.210 --> 00:51:57.250
He's still looking at me. And he says, hey. Taps

00:51:57.250 --> 00:52:00.190
you on the shoulder very gently. Hey. Hey, can

00:52:00.190 --> 00:52:05.869
you look at me? And we say loudly, I can't. No,

00:52:05.969 --> 00:52:08.789
I'm ashamed. I don't want to talk to you right

00:52:08.789 --> 00:52:12.960
now. Do you know what I just did? He's like,

00:52:13.039 --> 00:52:17.599
yeah, sitting right here. Look at me. And he

00:52:17.599 --> 00:52:21.320
persists. So eventually we slowly turn to face

00:52:21.320 --> 00:52:22.900
him, but we don't lift our eyes up. We can't

00:52:22.900 --> 00:52:25.400
make eye contact. That's too convicting. And

00:52:25.400 --> 00:52:27.199
so our eyes stay down, but as our eyes turn to

00:52:27.199 --> 00:52:29.940
look at him, what we notice again is the wounds

00:52:29.940 --> 00:52:38.650
in his hands. And they're never so obvious to

00:52:38.650 --> 00:52:40.389
us than they are in times like this, are they?

00:52:42.630 --> 00:52:46.590
Finally, finally we look up, we make eye contact,

00:52:46.690 --> 00:52:49.829
and we see that there's just compassion there.

00:52:50.590 --> 00:52:56.690
He's not angry with us. Instead, there's moist

00:52:56.690 --> 00:53:01.750
tears about to fall from his eyes. Because he

00:53:01.750 --> 00:53:06.590
knows what the sin does to us. And we look at

00:53:06.590 --> 00:53:08.190
him and we finally say, Lord, I know I shouldn't

00:53:08.190 --> 00:53:13.829
have done that. And he says, I know. And we say,

00:53:13.869 --> 00:53:19.309
but Lord, I did it anyways. I'm so sorry. And

00:53:19.309 --> 00:53:23.849
he goes, I know. And then we might say things

00:53:23.849 --> 00:53:25.929
like, Lord, I hate myself. Why do I keep doing

00:53:25.929 --> 00:53:29.309
this? I deserve punishment, Lord. I deserve punishment

00:53:29.309 --> 00:53:35.110
over this. And he goes, I know. And then we say,

00:53:35.170 --> 00:53:44.030
so do it. Leave. Kick me out. Punish me. I sinned

00:53:44.030 --> 00:53:49.750
against you, Lord. And then he says, I did, as

00:53:49.750 --> 00:53:53.809
he points to the wounds in his hand. Our gaze

00:53:53.809 --> 00:53:57.190
drops again. We look down at our lap, ashamed,

00:53:57.309 --> 00:54:01.730
incredibly aware of how unworthy we are to be

00:54:01.730 --> 00:54:05.530
there with him. And then we feel a soft tap on

00:54:05.530 --> 00:54:10.130
our shoulder. And we look up again, and he says

00:54:10.130 --> 00:54:12.949
the same thing he says every single time in this

00:54:12.949 --> 00:54:21.389
moment. He goes, hey, want to hang out? But Jesus,

00:54:21.510 --> 00:54:24.590
I just, I know, I paid for that. Let's hang out.

00:54:26.730 --> 00:54:32.030
But, come on, let's just hang out. Every single

00:54:32.030 --> 00:54:35.929
time it happens. Jesus again is gonna say, I

00:54:35.929 --> 00:54:41.190
paid for that. So you wanna hang out? Let's sit,

00:54:41.210 --> 00:54:47.230
let's talk. Let's spend time together. That is

00:54:47.230 --> 00:54:52.690
the cure to sin. Jesus. Him, what he did, being

00:54:52.690 --> 00:54:56.010
close to him. And the more we say yes when he

00:54:56.010 --> 00:54:59.329
says, you wanna hang out? The more we're gonna.

00:54:59.929 --> 00:55:02.349
Say no to the temptations when they come. We're

00:55:02.349 --> 00:55:04.869
never going to be perfect in this life. But we're

00:55:04.869 --> 00:55:08.289
all striving to develop that obedience with God.

00:55:10.110 --> 00:55:12.010
And our life isn't one where he's in the other

00:55:12.010 --> 00:55:13.550
room unaware of what we're doing. He's sitting

00:55:13.550 --> 00:55:17.929
right there. And he's always saying, let's hang

00:55:17.929 --> 00:55:23.469
out. Let's talk. Let's share. And sin is the

00:55:23.469 --> 00:55:25.630
thing that shuts us off and says, no, I cannot

00:55:25.630 --> 00:55:31.880
have fellowship with you. And that's a lie. Because

00:55:31.880 --> 00:55:34.780
if you turn to him, he already knows you sinned.

00:55:36.340 --> 00:55:38.300
We acknowledge our sin. He says, I already paid

00:55:38.300 --> 00:55:42.519
for it. And then he says, I paid for it. It's

00:55:42.519 --> 00:55:48.260
gone. Let's hang out. Father, we thank you so

00:55:48.260 --> 00:55:55.320
much for who you are, what you've done, and what

00:55:55.320 --> 00:55:59.050
you're doing. Father, we're so grateful that

00:55:59.050 --> 00:56:06.570
you sent your son to reveal yourself to us. That

00:56:06.570 --> 00:56:10.210
we would understand that, yes, you are God Almighty.

00:56:11.869 --> 00:56:14.650
Your wrath against sin is completely and absolutely

00:56:14.650 --> 00:56:20.090
justified. And that, God, there is nothing we

00:56:20.090 --> 00:56:24.650
can do to make ourselves right to be able to

00:56:24.650 --> 00:56:31.840
stand in your presence. And yet God, when you

00:56:31.840 --> 00:56:36.300
came to this earth, clothed yourself in frail

00:56:36.300 --> 00:56:44.239
humanity. You revealed to us another side of

00:56:44.239 --> 00:56:52.039
yourself. Compassion. Patience. Love. Care. Concern.

00:56:54.800 --> 00:57:00.000
A love that would sacrifice itself on the altar

00:57:00.000 --> 00:57:05.119
of atonement, that we'd be able to have friendship

00:57:05.119 --> 00:57:10.280
with you. And God, we're so unworthy of that.

00:57:12.739 --> 00:57:14.659
God, I just pray, Lord, that you would give us

00:57:14.659 --> 00:57:21.139
strength. Help us, Jesus, to not run away from

00:57:21.139 --> 00:57:23.139
the friendship, which is the very thing that's

00:57:23.139 --> 00:57:26.039
going to help us in our time of weakness. but

00:57:26.039 --> 00:57:28.199
instead, Lord, to cling to you, to call out to

00:57:28.199 --> 00:57:31.980
you. God, if we're Christians, we've put our

00:57:31.980 --> 00:57:33.780
faith in you, we've trusted you, and we've received

00:57:33.780 --> 00:57:37.079
that free gift of salvation, but God, we want

00:57:37.079 --> 00:57:39.420
to invest in that friendship now. We want to

00:57:39.420 --> 00:57:44.539
make time, make priority. We want to be hospitable

00:57:44.539 --> 00:57:48.000
so that, Lord, we could just say, you're comfortable.

00:57:48.139 --> 00:57:52.019
I know you're comfortable in my life, but Lord,

00:57:52.079 --> 00:57:56.099
it's not us that cleans the house. you're the

00:57:56.099 --> 00:57:59.519
one who came in and cleaned it all out and then

00:57:59.519 --> 00:58:01.260
sat down at the couch and said, let's hang out.

00:58:03.699 --> 00:58:08.179
Lord, may we hang out with you more. Understanding

00:58:08.179 --> 00:58:12.219
that that is the very thing that we need in the

00:58:12.219 --> 00:58:18.059
moment of our sin. May we respond to you. In

00:58:18.059 --> 00:58:21.940
our victories, may we share with you. In our

00:58:21.940 --> 00:58:24.599
day -to -day, may we just... talk to you about

00:58:24.599 --> 00:58:28.119
everything that's happening. God, to have an

00:58:28.119 --> 00:58:32.820
open, honest friendship with you really does

00:58:32.820 --> 00:58:37.500
change so much. We thank you, Jesus. We love

00:58:37.500 --> 00:58:42.760
you. It's in your name we pray. Amen. All right,

00:58:42.780 --> 00:58:45.559
church, well, let's spend a moment praising God

00:58:45.559 --> 00:58:48.539
because he loves it. Amen.