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