John 15:15 (NLT) I no longer call you slaves, because a
master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told
you everything the Father told me.
I. Power
When electricity became available in remote rural areas, one
woman went to great trouble and expense to have electricity installed in her
home.
A few months after the wiring was installed and the power
was turned on; the power company noticed that the home didn’t use very much
power.
Fearing that there was a problem they sent a meter reader to
check on the matter.
The meter reader saw that the power was indeed working
properly and then asked the woman,
“Do you use your electricity?” The woman replied, “Of course
we do. We turn it on every night to see to light our lamps and then we turn it
off.” (I am a friend of God by Charlie Roberts – Sermon Central)
Imagine having all that power and only using it
sparingly. How like Christians of today
was this woman? She had access to 24/7
power and yet she tapped into it only long enough to light lamps once a
day. We too have 24/7 power available to
us and how often do we walk in our own strength and only call on God when
something “major” arises? How often do we
needlessly struggle in our daily lives waiting for Sunday to roll around so we
can be “refreshed”?
To experience God’s power we must experience His
presence. Electricity is powerful when
it is turned on; however, when the switch is set to off it is powerless. We are powerless when we are removed from the
presence of God. Remove the presence,
remove the power. It’s that simple.
Jesus said, “Apart from me you can do nothing.”(John 15:5)
II. God’s Presence = God’s Friendship
Exodus 33:12-19 (AMP) 12 Moses said to the Lord, “See, You
say to me, ‘Bring up this people,’ but You have not let me know whom You will
send with me. Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found
favor in My sight.’ 13 Now therefore, I pray you, if I have found favor in Your
sight, let me know Your ways so that I may know You [becoming more deeply and
intimately acquainted with You, recognizing and understanding Your ways more
clearly] and that I may find grace and favor in Your sight. And consider also,
that this nation is Your people.” 14 And the Lord said, “My presence shall go
with you, and I will give you rest [by bringing you and the people into the
promised land].” 15 And Moses said to Him, “If Your presence does not go [with
me], do not lead us up from here. 16 For how then can it be known that Your
people and I have found favor in Your sight? Is it not by Your going with us,
so that we are distinguished, Your people and I, from all the [other] people on
the face of the earth?”
17 The Lord said to Moses, “I will also do this thing that
you have asked; for you have found favor (lovingkindness, mercy) in My sight
and I have known you [personally] by name.” 18 Then Moses said, Please, show me
Your glory!” 19 And God said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and
I will proclaim the Name of the Lord before you; for I will be gracious to whom
I will be gracious, and will show compassion (lovingkindness) on whom I will
show compassion.”
God promised Moses that His presence would go with the
Israelites as they entered the Promise Land.
He told Moses that he (Moses) had found favor in His sight. God considered Moses His friend. We know this is true because in John 15:15
Jesus told his disciples that they were his friends because he shared his
thoughts and heart with them. God
brought Moses into the “know” as he lead the Israelites through the
wilderness.
God created all mankind to have a personal
relationship/friendship with Himself. In
Genesis we read that Adam and Eve walked with God in the cool of the evening.
They enjoyed close, intimate fellowship with God. He shared His thoughts with them, they felt
His presence every day, and they knew His voice.
God desires for us to have that same kind of relationship
with Him. Jesus came to earth to open
the way for us to have intimacy with the Father. God not only wants us to know His presence
but to experience His power continually.
III. Seeking and Finding
Jeremiah 29:13 (NIV) You will seek me and find me when you
seek me with all your heart.
Moses reminded God of His promise to be with him because God
had stopped allowing His presence to be felt by the Israelites because of their
rebellion. The people had stopped
seeking God and were relying on their own strength. They complained against God at every turn.
How many people behave like the Israelites? They attend church each week but don’t
experience His presence. Like having
electricity but not flipping the switch they rely on their past experience with
God and fail to grow. Our past
experiences are not intended to last us a lifetime; His mercies are new every
day.
Exodus 16:4a Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down
bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough
for that day.” Just as the Israelites
had to go out each day to gather manna, we need to seek God’s presence and His
power each day too. Yesterday’s manna is
old and stale today. God has fresh, new,
sweet manna for us each day.
One problem we see in our culture is that we want all the
blessings and privileges of the grownup life but we don’t want to invest the
energy, time, and hard work necessary to achieve them. College students expect to graduate from
college and then be set up in a home like/or better than the one their parents
have worked 20-40+ years to establish.
Debt is at an all-time high because instead of working hard
to get what we want our culture encourages us to borrow, get a credit card (or
5) and get what we want instantly.
This attitude has crept into the church as well. We want God’s presence and we want to be
called friends of God, but too many are unwilling to invest the time in seeking
God’s face and studying His Word.
Being a friend of God involves give and take. Moses talked with God daily, sometimes
hourly, even minute by minute at times.
Friendship is an investment. My
bff has lived hundreds of miles away for the past 9 years or so. We talk almost daily on the phone and if we
are not talking we are texting or Facebook IM’ing, Face Timing, or Skyping. We even use an app on our phones called Voxer
which works as a walkie-talkie. I know
we are pathetic right? Wrong, we are
friends and we love to spend time with each other. Since we cannot do it face-to-face, we invest
in any way we can find. Thank God for
technology!
We don’t need Facebook, Voxer, cell phones, texting, Skype, or
any other smart phone app to spend time with our BFF! Jesus is with us 24/7. God’s power and
presence are available to us 24/7. We
don’t have to wait until Sunday to get refreshed, we can have that refreshing
anytime, anywhere.
When we seek Him we will find Him!!!
You are a friend of God!
Keep in constant communication with Him and allow Him to be your friend
every day!