BAR-2012-05
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Anything precious to us requires maintenance. Cars, boats, houses, relationships, and electronic devices: all need regular upkeep and care. God has given to us the greatest privilege in life, to be His Friends. But we have to maintain that precious relationship.
Have you ever thought about what it means to “Friend God”? Being God’s friend is an incredible relationship to have. Up until Jesus opened the door for all believers, there was only one person ever called God’s Friend; and that is who we are learning about today.
Abraham: the Friend of God
Last week, we opened to a statement God Himself made about Abraham in Genesis 18:19. In that verse, God expressed a wonderful confidence in Abraham, the man that God Almighty had called to Himself, and chosen to be the Father of the Jewish nation.
Abraham was one of the most intriguing people from the ancient past. From the most distant days, just a couple of hundred years after the Global Flood of Noah’s time, we find Abraham in the pages of Scripture.
Abraham was living in a tent, earning his living as a shepherd over 4,000 years ago.
But unlike the countless thousands and the multiplied millions, and eventually billions of others who have lived over the centuries: God immortalized Abraham by choosing to tell us that Abraham became the very Friend of God.
God’s Word Only Calls Abraham the Friend of God
There is only one man in history that the Bible calls the Friend of God, and does so three times (II Chr. 20:7; Isaiah 41:8; James 2:23). In the Old Testament world friendship had a deeper meaning than it has become in modern times (as in acquaintance), rather friendship spoke of ‘unity in thought and purpose’.
In II Chronicles 20:7 (NKJV) King Jehoshaphat wrote:
Are You not our God, who drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel, and gave it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend (lit., “one who loves”)forever?
In Isaiah 41:8 (NKJV) God as He was speaking, says:
“But you, Israel, are my servant,
Jacob whom I have chosen,
The descendants of Abraham My friend.
Abraham was all of those and more. Please stand with me as we read these words, and hear the voice of God speaking to us, recorded in His Word:
James 2:17-26
Slides
Check Out All The Sermons In The Series
You can find all the sermons and short clips from this series, Camp Barakel 2012 here
Looking To Study The Bible Like Dr. Barnett?
Dr. Barnett has curated an Amazon page with a large collection of resources he uses in his study of God’s Word. You can check it out here.