Transcription downloaded from https://sermonarchive.gfcbremen.com/sermons/100062/jesus-our-best-friend/.

Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions.
Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt.


[0:00] Friend. There's really few sweeter words in the English language than the word friend. God gives us many gifts. Many, many gifts. But one of his most wonderful gifts is our friendships. And it's the nature of friendships that you don't talk about them very much.

[0:20] Um, lovers are always talking about how they love one another. And they're always talking about how, what their love is like. But friends aren't like that. You don't talk about your friendships in that way. Sometimes something terrible might happen. Say you're a soldier and you're trapped in a building and you have enemies all around and you're there with your buddy.

[0:44] And in that hour when there's virtually no hope for escape, you might say to your friend, you know, I really love you. Your friendship has meant the world to me. But other than that, we don't talk very much about friendship. We don't talk very much about our friendship with our friends.

[1:04] We give without thinking and we take without thinking. And in a lot of ways, that's the way friendship should be. But it's not okay when our best friend is Jesus Christ. It's not okay to take his friendship for granted. And so it's this morning. Our topic is Jesus, our best friend, Jesus, our best friend. And it is a happy topic. I want you to go away from here encouraged.

[1:34] That Jesus has befriended you. And it's not only that we're friends with him, but he's friends with us. Jesus Christ is the best friend a sinner could have. Jesus Christ is the best friend this sinner has. There's not a day that goes by that we don't reap great benefits from his friendship.

[1:57] Ryle gives us seven reasons why Jesus is the best friend that anyone can have. And so I want to go through those seven reasons today. And we just want to drink in Jesus, drink in what he is for us as our friend.

[2:12] And we want to appreciate his friendship more. Because if we appreciate his friendship, it's going to change the way we live. And it's going to change the way we pray, the way we make decisions, how we read our Bibles, how we go through trials.

[2:28] It's going to change the way we live. Well, let's turn in our Bibles to John chapter 15. John chapter 15.

[2:43] The idea of friendship is rarely used between God and man. It's there in a few places, but it's not one of the predominant ideas. But John 15 and verse 13, we run into this idea.

[2:58] And it comes from the words of Jesus himself. And that should be encouraging. John chapter 15 and verse 13. We'll read a couple of verses here and you can follow along as I read.

[3:14] Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business.

[3:29] Instead, I have called you friends. For everything that I learned from my Father, I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit.

[3:42] Fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. This is my command. Love each other. So how sweet those words must have been to Jesus' disciples.

[3:56] They were not used to being, they weren't accustomed to thinking themselves as Jesus' friend. They probably felt a real distance between themselves and their master a lot of the times.

[4:11] They were sinful and he was perfect. He was the master and they were the servant. They were failures in a lot of ways, but he never failed.

[4:25] But now at the end of Jesus' earthly ministry, he gathers them together in the upper room and he tells them a lot of things. And he tells them among all those wonderful things that we know he said there, that they're no longer servants, but they're friends.

[4:39] Servants are ignorant of what their master is up to and what their master is doing. Servants aren't privy to all the ideas of what the master is doing.

[4:50] But friends, on the other hand, friends have full access and they take their place right alongside the master, right alongside Jesus. So he's not only saying that to them.

[5:09] He's not only saying, you disciples, you're my friends. He's saying that to us where we are. As we learned on Wednesday night, when we come and we read his word, Jesus comes and speaks to us.

[5:23] And he means for us to hear this word. And so he met that word to the disciples and he met it for each one of you. You are Jesus' friend if you have trusted in him, if you're obeying his commands.

[5:40] And so this word is for you. And so whatever else is true in your relationships, in the world, you're a husband and you're a wife, you're a mother, you're a father, you're an employer, you're an employee, you're a coach, you're a student.

[5:55] Whatever is true of all of your relationships, this is true that if you've entrusted yourself to Jesus, then Jesus is your friend. Jesus is your best friend.

[6:07] So, right now, we move into seven reasons why Jesus is our best friend. Why is Jesus the best friend? Because, number one, Jesus is a friend in need.

[6:22] Jesus is a friend in need. Now, the true test of any friendship isn't found in those hours when you're talking quietly and you're laughing and joking. And, you know, you're doing all of your favorite things.

[6:37] Friendship is really tested when one of the friends is in need. And, brothers and sisters, we were in great need. We were in desperate need.

[6:48] We were under the wrath of God. And we were as guilty as a child murderer on death row. We were as guilty as Bernie Madoff. We were terrified of death because we knew that once we died, we would face a God that was going to hold us accountable for what we've done and who we are.

[7:09] But Jesus was our friend. So, death was on our trail. It was like a bloodhound that's seeking its prey.

[7:22] And it had our scent and it would have had us trapped in a corner and torn us to pieces. And we were bankrupt. We were bankrupt before God. You've heard a lot about these houses.

[7:34] They call them, they're underwater. And that's not referring to the fact that they're flooded. But the fact that what they're worth is actually less than what is owed on them.

[7:47] So, they're underwater. They're worthless houses. At least to the people that own them. And the fact is that we owed God everything.

[7:58] And we didn't have a penny to our name. We were completely underwater. We owed God everything and our lives were worthless. Or we were shipwrecked.

[8:09] We were shipwrecked and we were drowning. And our lifeboat was gone. And our life preservers were gone. And we had nothing to recommend us to God. We had no reason for God to save us and rescue us.

[8:20] And so, we were down in the depths like Jonah. And he was down in the depths and the seaweed wrapped around him. But we had a friend that rescued us.

[8:33] We had a friend that rescued us. On my wall in my living room, there's a picture of a lady rowing a boat. And I won't tell you how we got it or anything like that.

[8:44] But there's this lady rowing a boat in these storm-thrashed waters. And you can see the waves are coming up. Her name is Grace Darling. She's a true historical figure.

[8:57] She lived in England in the 19th century. And her father ran a lighthouse on the North Sea. On a tiny island in the middle of the North Sea. So, it's cold.

[9:08] It's stormy. It's dark. And on September in 1838, a cruise ship, one of the first luxury liners, the Farfisher, was sailing through the North Sea with 45 passengers.

[9:25] And they crashed into a massive rock in this fierce storm, when a fierce storm blew up. And the ship splintered into pieces. And the rowboats were gone.

[9:37] The ship was, for the most part, completely sunk. Grace Darling was 22 years old. And she was a slight, small girl.

[9:48] She'd never been out in the ocean like that, in those conditions. But she and her father rowed out over a mile into the ocean with a storm blowing all around.

[9:59] And they rowed up to the passengers. There was only nine of them left. And they were just holding on to these rocks. And the waves and the wind are blowing on them. And her father jumped onto the rocks and tried to organize the passengers.

[10:12] And meanwhile, the waves are trying to crush the rowboat into the rocks. And it was so powerful that, under normal circumstances, it would have taken four men to hold this boat into place and to keep it from being crushed against the rocks.

[10:27] But somehow she was able to do it. And they were able to rescue the nine passengers in this huge weather, the horrible weather. And overnight, she became this Victorian hero, heroine.

[10:43] She was a legend. And people came and visited her. And she died a few years later because she was sickly. And all the pressure of the publicity and the bad weather and everything like that, she finally became so sick and she died.

[11:00] Well, Grace Darling is a small picture, a very vague and a very bad picture in a lot of ways of what we have in Jesus. We were in deadly need. We were about to drown.

[11:12] And the winds and the waves were howling all around us. But Jesus came for us. He came and He sacrificed His safety and His comfort for our good.

[11:25] So Jesus is a friend in need. He's a friend in need because we were in desperate need and He came and saved us. Why is Jesus our best friend? Number two, because He's a friend in deed.

[11:40] Indeed. Indeed. Now, the heart of any friendship, like I said before, is when you're just sitting around and you're not doing anything. I mean, those are the best times when you're sitting there with your best friend or your best girlfriend and you're talking and you're chatting.

[11:59] But those are the things that make a friendship hum. But we don't know how deep a friendship is until the friend does something wonderful for us.

[12:10] We don't know the depth of a friendship without deeds. And so let's say I'm stranded on the road and it's a dark December night. And you can imagine it. The snow is blowing and it's freezing cold.

[12:21] And my car is dead on the side of the road. And I only have enough battery in my cell phone to make one phone call. And I call you. So will you get out of your house and bundle up and drive out in very dangerous weather and pick me up and help me out?

[12:39] And then when you get there, will you say, oh, think nothing of it. Don't think nothing of it. And if you do that, if you don't hold it over my head, but you love me and you put yourself out for me.

[12:55] That's when I know that you're a friend of mine, a good friend of mine. So there we were. We've already described our situation. We're in desperate darkness.

[13:06] We're out in the cold. We're hopeless and alone. And we called on Jesus and he saved us. He saved us. And he left his warm house, his exuberant father that loved him and all the angels that waited on him hand and foot, I'm sure.

[13:24] And he was rich beyond imagination. But yet, though he was rich, yet for our sakes, he became poor. And so he went out into the night and he was like the shepherd that was seeking the lost sheep.

[13:39] And so he walked this lonely road all by himself. He walked this road. And at the end of the road, there was a cross. And he climbed on that cross for us.

[13:50] And he took the sin that we were carrying. He was pierced for our transgressions. The punishment that brought us peace was upon him. We all like sheep have gone astray.

[14:02] Each of us has turned to his own way. And the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. So we were bankrupt and he paid our debt. We were broken and sick.

[14:14] And he healed us and he made us whole. And we were separated from God. God was way over here and we were way over there. We had no relationship with him.

[14:25] But Jesus brought us together. And we were a slave to sin. And Jesus broke the chains. And so he did all that on the cross. All of his work for our good was done on the cross.

[14:39] And so he carried our sin in his own flesh. And he healed our sickness by burying our infirmities. And he freed us from the slavery of sin by dying to sin.

[14:55] So have you ever had a friend like that? Have you ever had a friend like that? Not in the human arena. We don't have friends like that. I've had good friends in my life.

[15:07] But I've never had a friend that could or would have done anything like that for me. And so Jesus was right. There is no greater love than this. For a man to lay down his life for his friends.

[15:21] And so Jesus was laying down his life for his friends. And Jesus was a friend indeed. Indeed. Because of what he did on the cross for us.

[15:33] So why is Jesus our best friend? And this is where I'm going to ask you to participate. Why is Jesus our best friend? Because he's a mighty and powerful friend.

[15:46] So we have a lot of friends that are like us. You know? If you come and ask me for help, there's a little bit I can do. But I don't have a lot of resources.

[15:57] I don't have a lot of ability and power to help you. But Jesus doesn't have that problem. We have big problems. Big problems that other people can't help us with.

[16:09] We have problems that are too deep. That are too hard. We are guilty before God. And even after God has pardoned us, we have indwelling sin that is in our heart that no man can take care of.

[16:24] But Jesus doesn't have that problem of being weak. He's omnipotent. So kings have power. And presidents have power. And political leaders have power.

[16:36] But Jesus is the king of kings. And the lord of lords. And the rulers of the earth are like dust on the scale. They don't count. They don't count when you compare to him.

[16:48] So there's nothing before him. And so now I want to ask you, how has Jesus been or is a powerful friend for you?

[17:00] How has Jesus shown himself powerful for you? You don't have to speak specifically, but you can if you want. But in general, how has Jesus been a powerful friend?

[17:10] I can take everything in the world. For example. No matter how distraught I am. No matter how far down the ladder I am.

[17:24] No matter how weak I am. He is there. Amen. Exactly. Is there any problem that's too hard for Jesus? No, there's not a problem too hard for Jesus.

[17:36] What else? There. There. Hard. You know, he judges it correctly. Nobody will see them there. Yeah.

[17:49] I hadn't thought of that. But Jesus has power of insight. Power to know exactly the right thing to say to us and the right way to look at us.

[18:01] What else? Steve. His true transforming power. Does it truly change from the inside out?

[18:12] Okay. Jesus has converting power. And if, you know, you look in the world of psychology and psychiatry, and they have all sorts of theories and solutions and ways that they're going to help people with their problems.

[18:27] And you know why there's so many of them? Because none of them work. And Jesus has the ability to reach into someone's heart and actually change them from the inside out to give them a new heart.

[18:42] Jesus has converting power. What else, Jim? Joe said it best, Jason. He said, when the Lord preaches questions, he said, I now know you can do all things.

[18:53] No plan of yours can be thwarted. We might not know his plans, but we're not there to question God's work and trust and obey. Right. The catechism questions ask, what can God do?

[19:09] And the answer is, God does all his holy will. He does all his holy will. Anything that God wants to do, he can do. There's nothing too hard.

[19:21] And no plan of his can be thwarted. Cindy. He actually wants to take our burdens upon himself. And you know why the person can't tell him to do that. Right.

[19:33] That's well put. I mean, we have problems that we carry, but Jesus carries them with us. Amen. Dale. I kind of long ago, I was thinking that as we go through life, we have people that have power to do certain things for us.

[19:53] We may not know how to fix a car that somebody else does, but the relationship is in the thing. And so, just like, as soon as you want... We're actually going to get to that in a little bit.

[20:07] Jesus is more than power and might. He's love and affection, too. I mean, we don't have a genie in the bottle. We have a God that is powerful and that is our friend.

[20:18] Do you have enemies? Do you have enemies that are stronger than you are? Why are you still here?

[20:30] Why are you a Christian to this day? And the answer is that Jesus has power to preserve you. From Satan and the world and even the gorillas in your own heart that are trying to overthrow you.

[20:47] Hebrews 7.25 says, He is able to save to the uttermost all that come to God by Him. He's able to save completely. There's not a doubt that those who come to God by Him, He will save them.

[21:01] Or John 10.28 says this, I give them eternal life and they shall never perish. No one can snatch them out of my hand. So, Satan and all the demons of hell could be standing right in front of you, trying to overthrow you, and they could not.

[21:20] They could not snatch you from Jesus' hand. Because Jesus has broken them. He has overpowered them. They were the strong men that held you. And Jesus came and He destroyed their power.

[21:34] So, they're broken enemies. They're like dogs on a leash. They're like beggars at the sovereign throne. We see that in Job. They have to ask permission before they can do anything. So, this world and Satan, they're nothing compared to our best friend.

[21:50] Because Jesus has overcome the world. And our sin is strong, but Jesus is stronger. Jesus took our body of sin, Romans 6 says, and He nailed it to the cross.

[22:03] So, He took all of our sinfulness, and He nailed it to the cross, and there it hangs. It's crucified. It's a crucified enemy. And so, there's no one, and there's nothing, that can snatch you from His hand.

[22:18] And so, Paul says, No, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, neither angels, nor demons, neither the present, nor the future, nor any powers, neither height, nor depth, nor anything else, in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus, our Lord.

[22:39] And so, we sing, in Christ alone, the song, the third verse says this, There's no guilt in life, no fear in death. This is the power of Christ in me.

[22:52] From life's first cry to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny. No power of hell, no scheme of man can ever pluck me from His hand. Till He returns, or calls me home, here in the power of Christ, I'll stand.

[23:07] So why are we standing? Because we're standing in the power of our best friend. So Jesus Christ is a powerful friend. Why is Jesus Christ the best friend?

[23:24] This is where we pick up what Dale said. Because Jesus is a loving and affectionate friend. This is the best of all worlds.

[23:35] This is the best thing that we can have. We don't only have a friend that has all power. He spoke, and a million, a billion galaxies stood forth.

[23:47] And every one of those galaxies has billions of stars, and He knows every one of their names, and He calls them by name. And He not only controls the stars, He controls all the cells in my body, all the atoms that are in this whole world, in the universe.

[24:04] He controls them all. And Jesus stared down Satan, and the host of hell on the cross, and He defeated them.

[24:15] He resisted sin to the death. And so Jesus has omnipotent power, but He's also loving, affectionate, gentle, and patient.

[24:27] So He's not all might and strength. That's not the only way that we think of Him. He's gentle and kind. He speaks in the winds of the hurricane, the psalm says.

[24:39] But, you know, remember Elijah, I think it was, he was put in a little rock, and God spoke in a still, small voice. So He's the lion, and He's the lamb, at the same time.

[24:54] So He's gentle and affectionate. And let me ask you again, how has Jesus shown Himself to be gentle and affectionate and loving and caring towards you?

[25:07] And some of these things are going to be repeated, but think with me, how has Jesus been gentle and affectionate and loving towards you? He forgives my sins, especially the ones like, and that's the whole world of us.

[25:24] Right. Jesus is patient in dealing with our sins. Have you ever been going along and your Christian life's humming along, and yeah, there's a few sins that maybe you struggle with every now and then, but things seem to be, on the whole, going okay.

[25:44] And you're starting to think, wow, I'm really getting somewhere. This is what I was meant to be. And you read a verse in the Bible, and God takes that double-edged sword, and He sticks it straight into your heart, and He splits you open, and He says, look at this.

[26:03] Look at this idol that I found here. And He says, for example, you're enslaved to the approval of others.

[26:15] You're a people pleaser at the very core of who you are. And most of your goodness that you think is so good, you've been doing for the wrong reason. And so like Nathan said to David, you're the man.

[26:28] God's Spirit says to us, you're the man. You're guilty. And so you're devastated. You didn't know this was an idol. And you start repenting, and you beg God to save you from this idol.

[26:41] And then you think back, how long has that idol been in my heart, and I didn't think anything of it. And the whole time, the whole time, God was looking at it right in the face.

[26:55] And there was an abomination in our own heart. And he never showed it to us. He was taking care of other problems. He was dealing with other sins.

[27:06] And all the while, patiently dealing with us. And that breaks your heart all over again, doesn't it? To realize that you were an idolater, and Jesus has been so patient.

[27:18] He hasn't forsaken you. He was a merciful and slow to anger while he worked through other things. So how else has Jesus been patient, affectionate, loving, caring towards you?

[27:32] So you're in the same vein. He does. He fails. Yeah. Thank God He does.

[27:44] Because we're all smoldering wicks, aren't we? And we're all little faith people. How else has Jesus been affectionate and gentle and patient with you?

[27:56] I entered prayer, Jason. Through my heart surgery, a lot of cards, phone calls, visits. People tell me they're praying for me. And the Lord answered in prayer.

[28:07] Yeah. And to think like every good thing that we have, every comfort that we have, it finds its source not in the person and the person that wrote the card, but in the God of grace that puts grace into people's lives and makes them comfort.

[28:25] So we comfort one another because the God of all comfort has comforted us. What else? There? There's going to be a time for all of us when we're, most likely, we're all going to be in the hospital and the doctor's going to write 72 hours and that's how much time we have.

[28:49] And Jesus comes to us in that hour. Dave. as people of the world we have been thinking of everything.

[29:02] Mm-hmm. Yeah. I think of that country song that the guy sings thank God for unanswered prayer. And how many times have we prayed and prayed and asked for things that we thought everyone's like, oh my, he knows the country song.

[29:18] Well, that's what I think of. I'm sorry. How many times have we asked and asked for things and God said no? And then five years later we're like, whew, thank goodness God didn't give me that because I didn't know what I was talking about.

[29:37] God is, he's not indulgent, is he? He's wise and he's very, you know, he's very good to us in that way.

[29:49] How about, quickly, he received sinners. All of you, if you've been saved, you came to Jesus with nothing to recommend for yourself and you were like Christian in Pilgrim's Progress.

[30:03] You were dirty, you were filthy, you had a huge burden on your back and help came and help pulled you in and help saved you and that's a picture of Jesus Christ and he gave you a place to eat and a place, he forgave you, he received you, he washed away your sins and he doesn't hold them against us.

[30:28] They're gone and he received sinners. Why is Jesus Christ the best friend that a sinner can have?

[30:40] I'm not sure what number we're on but Jesus is unfailing. Jesus is unfailing. We have failed him. We've talked about that. We've failed him but he has never failed us.

[30:51] Think of Peter. He denies Jesus three times. One is to a servant girl who's a nobody. One, the last time, is with curses and swearing.

[31:03] But, yeah, Peter failed Jesus but Jesus never failed Peter. And a few hours after that, Jesus took Peter's sin and he owned that sin before the wrath of God.

[31:17] And then a few days later or a week or so later, not sure, Jesus went on a walk with Peter and he restored him. See, Peter had failed Jesus but Jesus' friendship had never failed.

[31:30] And so, we probably have all had a lot of experiences like that where we fail him. We sin, don't we? But, he's a friend still.

[31:43] He's not fickle. This is what, listen to what Ryle says. There's no fickleness about him. Those he loves, he loves to the very end. Those he loves, he loves to the very end.

[31:54] And brothers and sisters, what's the very end for you? What's the very end for you? Well, Christian sister and Christian brother, there's not going to be an end for you.

[32:07] You're going to live forever and ever and ever and Jesus will still be your friend. So, we get lasting friendship when we get Jesus.

[32:20] So, this afternoon, I'm going to the nursing home and people that used to be someone, people that used to be someone in the community, people that had lots of friends and lots of family are there and many of them are alone.

[32:37] and sort of the way life is. People die and friends change and life sweeps people apart and friendships and marriages and all sorts of relationships are broken apart.

[32:52] But, Jesus never leaves his friends. He never leaves his friends. We can never fall apart, have a falling out with him where he won't restore us.

[33:03] Two of my favorite authors are J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, the authors of Lord of the Rings and the Chronicles of Narnia. And they were best of friends for years and years and years.

[33:14] But, probably the last 15 to 20 years of Lewis' life, they never talked to one another. They grew apart. They loved each other. They cared for each other.

[33:25] But, they grew apart. There was sin in their lives, in both of their lives. And so, their friendship fell apart. And that makes me sad to think about. But, Jesus doesn't have that problem.

[33:39] He never fails. He never sins against us. His love is perfect. And it's unfailing love. And we'll never grow apart from him. We're only going to grow closer to him. So, our friendship with Jesus is only going to get better and better and better.

[33:56] As we grow in grace and as we age with him, our friendship will age and it will become better and better. So, when I was growing up, I had three best friends.

[34:09] And they all moved away. And I'm not talking just friends. These were my best friends. And one moved to South Carolina and one moved to Crown Point and one moved to Claypool or somewhere around there.

[34:22] And those aren't terrible distances, but, at the time, I'm a boy and they might as well move to China because I couldn't go with them. our friendship couldn't go on.

[34:33] But Jesus doesn't have that problem. He's unfailing. He goes everywhere with his people. And someone has said that. He goes everywhere with his people. If God calls you to Mexico to be a missionary, Jesus goes with you.

[34:48] And if God calls you and takes you to a different college, a different job, where you don't know anyone, he follows you into your cubicle, he follows you into your dorm room, and he's your friend there.

[35:01] And so, if God calls you to water and fire and tribulation and martyrdom, Jesus walks with you through all those things, through the deep waters, through the fire.

[35:14] And if God calls you to the hospital and you are dying of cancer, Jesus is still a friend and he takes his seat at your bedside and he sits with you to the very end.

[35:29] And then when God calls you to glory and you leave your body and you leave your spouse and you leave all of your friends behind, Jesus goes with you. And Jesus goes with you before the throne of God and God looks you over and Jesus says, this one is mine.

[35:49] This one is my friend. And God accepts us because of what Jesus has done for us. He's that kind of friend. He's absolutely unfailing.

[36:00] There's no place, there's no time where he will leave us. So Jesus is our best friend. We're going to have to skip a few points and come to the end.

[36:13] Jesus is our best friend. He's unfailing, he's unchanging, he's loving, he's affectionate, he's patient, he's powerful. So he's a friend in need, he's a friend in deed, and Jesus Christ is the best friend that any of us can ever have.

[36:30] So we have one point of application and that's this. If Jesus Christ is your best friend, live like he's your best friend. Live like Jesus Christ is your best friend.

[36:42] Now suppose your best friend or suppose your best friends with Bill Gates and you're not just acquaintances, you're best friends, you've known each other for years.

[36:54] One of your children, one of your son's name is Billy and you play golf with Bill every Thursday and you've known each other for a long time and now suppose you fall on hard times.

[37:09] You get taken in some scam or something, I don't know. You lose your job, you lose your house, you lose your savings and there you are, you're living in a cardboard box in Seattle, in downtown Seattle because that's where Microsoft is.

[37:25] That's why. And Bill is a good friend and he offers you a job and he offers you a job managing a division of Microsoft but you refuse because you don't think he's serious about it, you don't trust him in that.

[37:40] And so there you are on the streets and you're begging and you're washing windshields and you're stealing to eat and the whole while you're telling everyone that your best friend is Bill Gates.

[37:55] Would they have any reason to believe you? Are you really living like your best friend is Bill Gates? And you would say, well I'd never do that.

[38:07] I mean that's absurd. If Bill Gates was my best friend I wouldn't be in a box. I wouldn't be stealing. But that's how we live so much of the time.

[38:21] We act like Jesus isn't our best friend. We act like what he says we can't take seriously. We can't believe him. And so we walk in spiritual poverty because we won't act.

[38:37] We won't take our best friend at his word and we won't ask Jesus for help. And very often it is like that with us. But it shouldn't be that way.

[38:50] And so what I want to just have you guys take with you is meditate and think about how Jesus is your best friend and believe it and act like it and you'll bring glory and honor to him.

[39:05] Jesus is the best, the most wonderful, gracious, loving friend that any one of us can ever have. And so let's walk with him and let's act like he's our best friend and let's take him at his word.

[39:17] Jesus is more willing to help us than we are willing to ask him of it. So let's pray and ask God that we would be better friends of Jesus. Our Heavenly Father, we we stand amazed at your grace.

[39:37] We stand amazed at the very fact that you would take pleasure in us, that you would forgive us, that you would love us and befriend us.

[39:51] And Father, I pray that you would you would forgive us for our sin of unbelief, for living in spiritual poverty when Jesus Christ is our best friend, for holding on to sin when we have such a good friend that can rescue us from the sin, when we have idols in our heart that we hold to and we trust in that we sacrifice for and live for while Jesus Christ is sitting on the sideline of our heart.

[40:28] And Lord Jesus, I just pray that you would take your rightful place in our heart, that you would help us to tear every idol from your throne. And will you help us to be encouraged and comforted and humbled by who you are for us and that is our best friend.

[40:49] Will you help us to be better friends of you, that we would treat you the way that we would want to be treated. And it's in Jesus' name.

[41:00]  Amen.