BECOMING A FRIEND OF GOD
Introduction
There is simple advice that intending couples receive from experienced men and women who have been married for a long time. That advice is "Make sure you are marrying your friend". Meaning you are sure you love the person and the person loves you, the love is not one-sided, but with mutual respect, enthusiasm and zeal.
Such advice has its foundation from the Lord, whom the bible described as a "Friend who sticks closer than a brother" (Proverbs 18:24). The love of the Lord is already settled. He does not change, He is the same yesterday, today and forever, No break, No sabbatical and No holiday. Jesus Christ is the greatest friend you can have. His love is not based on your beauty, riches or possessions. He loved you before He created you. He came to the earth to make the ultimate sacrifice to prove His love for you.
All that is left is for you to accept the love of God and walk in this knowledge and walk in the knowledge of this unconditional love and continue to the end of your journey. To become a friend of the Almighty God requires a lot of things, but the most important are the following:
1. A decision to believe God and accept His Son as Lord
2. A decision to know God and what He created you to do
3. A decision to Love the Lord and obey His word and instructions
3. A decision to develop your spirit man to hear from the Spirit God
4. A decision to walk in the spirit
5. A decision to hate sin and love righteousness
6. A decision to love your neighbours.
7. A decision to fulfil your purpose in life.
8. A decision to do the work of God
To be a friend of God is one of the most difficult things to achieve on earth because the devil will surely rise against the person with a rage. They told Jesus that his mother and brethren are looking for Him and replied to them saying "Who are my mother and brethren"? Following that, He replied that the people with Him here are His mother and brethren. The people were surprised and did not understand His speech, so He had to step-it down. He says, those who hear my word and do the will of my father in heaven, they are my mother and brethren.
It is the same and says to them, how can you say you love Me and will not obey my words? Those that love Me obey my Words, He says to them. Another group of people came to Him and says, Lord, we want to follow You where ever you go, and He gave them the two conditions for their request. First, He says to them "If any man come to me and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children and brethren, and sisters, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple - Luke 14:26.
The Lord is saying, "If you cannot deny yourself, your position, class in society and possessions, you will not go far with me. God is Spirit and you need to develop your spirit man and become spiritual to flow freely with God. Your mind needs to be focused on spiritual things and not carnal, for carnality leads to death.
Secondly, He says "Whosoever does not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be m,y disciple" - Luke 14:27. He wanted them to understand there will be cross to carry, there will be persecution and all kinds of trial that the devil will throw at them, but whosoever dips his hands in the plough and turns back is not worthy of Me. He told them to consider the price of coming after Him and becoming His friends and disciples. If you will build a tower, will you not sit down and count the cost of the building, so you don't start what you cannot finish.
He told the young rich man to sell all he had and give to the poor, after which he can come and follow Him, but he refused. He walked away sorrowful because he had much possession and his heart was resting on his great wealth. It's amazing that after warning His disciples of the cross of trouble, rejection and persecution, which will come their way, and which should not hinder their service to God, He also warned the rich and wealthy who desire to be His followers, disciples and friends to sell their possession and give to the poor, then come to Him as they are - Empty of weights and encumbrances.
In Luke 14:33, He says " In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple. Becoming a disciple and friend of God requires giving up everything you achieved with your strength and starting afresh with the Lord. And the real secret of this is that whatever you acquire from that time, Will be invested towards heaven, where your heart is. No carnal mind can invest resources into heavenly account.
Friends of God
First, true friends of Jesus will obey Him. Jesus said, "You are My friends if you do whatever I command you" (John 15:14). If you are not obeying Him, then you have no right to claim that you are His friend. God is looking for consistency and regularity in your life. If you are really a friend of Jesus, then you will obey Him.
Friends of God love what He loves. They hate sin with perfect hatred speak peace and practice loving kindness to all men. They sacrifice their time and resources for the things of God and receive divine acceptance. They pray and fast for the progress of people and society. In rendering spiritual sacrifices, they are able to unravel mysteries and become a channel for the blessing of many.
Friends of Jesus obey Him because His words are the words of life. They are the instruction unto a fulfilled life, and unto power with God. Obedience to the word of God comes natural to a child, as it is between a son from his father. We are babies in the Lord and not men. Men can disregard the instruction of their father, but children and babies do not.
When you are the friend of God, studying His word and meditating on them becomes your moment by moment connection, just as faith is. This word of life shall not depart from your mouth day and night comes alive in your heart and you look forward to bible study, prayer and witnessing Christ to others.
Another work that friends of God do is Soul-winning. Sharing the Good News of salvation and winning souls becomes of a necessity to you. It is there in your spirit and you cannot ignore or resist the fire. If you are born again, and do not witness Christ to people and you are not bothered about it, something is wrong with your position in Christ. This reason is simple. You know that anyone without Christ will have eternity in hell and that is not the will of God for people.
Friends of God are Intercessors. They pray for the good of 'Jerusalem'. The church, family and friends. They pray for the work of God, Evangelism, mission and church planting, the manifestation of God's power to save, heal and deliver people from the bondage of darkness. Intercessors see their work as a priviledge to serve the Lord and they are not bothered whether the Pastor is aware of their prayer effort or not, they are servants of the Lord.
Friends of God are Mindful of the following:
Pride
There is a tendency to become proud because of what God is using you to do in the lives of other people, so you must remember that God hates pride and treats proud people at arm's length. Be careful to be confident without being proud. Pride of achievement is a dangerous trap to bring men of God down. It is bad pride, which comes from thinking you are better than others and results in arrogance – many great men and women have fallen because of pride.
As you climb the spiritual ladder, it is important to remain humble, never look down on others or reach a point where you begin to think of yourself more highly than those around you. Pride is a silent but powerful enemy that can hinder you or bring you to downfall.
Losing focus
Why do some people start well and later fall in life? What are the specific things that confused them or shifted their direction? It is called losing focus. Losing focus is taking your eyes off Jesus to other things like yourself, money and power.
If you’re aiming for eternity, you can’t allow yourself to be distracted by anyone or thing. One other factor that distract is the opposite sex, especially agents of satan on assignment to bring the person down. Man children of God have ended up marrying agents of darkness sent by the devil to bring them down as wives and husbands. No wonder many have lost focus, and instead of the gospel, they are focused on being charismatic and popular, others are chasing money and contracts like unbelievers.
Lack of discipline
Discipline is one of the keys to spiritual growth. A spiritual person should be ready to endure hardship for the sake of eternity. He should forsake the ways of flesh and deny himself fleshly enjoyment and indulgence. The lack of discipline or self-control is a sign the journey to the supernatural will be hard.
In order to obtain what you want, you should be willing to suffer a little for a while and to sacrifice food and pleasure to get what you desire. No one can win the fight of the enemy without discipline. He comes to tempt you first and if you fall to his temptation, he attacks the person to bring him or her down. Without self-discipline, the enemy can easily take-out a disciple of Christ, God forbid.
The Glory that follows are:
The glory that follows friends of God are many. Knowing God is a personal decision. The benefits are inexhaustive and limitless. When you become a friend of God, many things will fall in place for you on their own accord. Also, there will be obstacles and attacks to keep you focused on God and grow your faith in Him.
Some of the blessings include:
1. God will restore double for all your troubles – Zechariah 9:12
2. God will defend you – Zechariah 9:15
3. Curses will turn into blessings, don't be afraid, let your hands be strong – Zechariah 8:13
4. Whatever foundation you lay….your hands will finish it – Zechariah 4:9
5. God fights for you and all those who war against you shall be put to shame – Zechariah 10:5
6. God will bring you through those difficult days which were sent to test and refine you – and when you call on Him, He will answer you - Zechariah 13:9
Conclusion
Becoming a friend of God will demand all of you changing for the better, but once you make that turn and focus on the Lord, your life will experience the difference that man cannot give you.
When we know God and obey Him we will be strong and do exploits in the kingdom. His grace is renewed every morning and His grace will open doors of abundant goodness unto you.
Shalom
FIRE...
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