Jesus was the greatest friend

JESUS WAS THE GREATEST FRIEND
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
The Unrivalled Friend BY SPURGEON
“A friend loves at all times and a brother is born for adversity.”
Proverbs 17:17
THERE is one thing about the usefulness of which all men are agreed, namely,
friendship. But most men are soonaware that counterfeits of friendship are
common as autumn leaves. Few men enjoy from others the highest and truest
form of friendship. The friendships of this world are hollow. They are as
unsubstantial as a dream, as soondissipated as a bubble, as light as
thistledown. Those airy compliments, those empty sentencesofpraise–how
glibly they fall from the lips–but how little have they to do with the heart! He
must be a fool, indeed, who believes that there is anything in the
complimentary affectionbut mere flattery or matter of form.
The loving cup means not love and the loud cheering of the toastmeans not
sincere fellowship. With very many, friendship sits very loosely–theycould
almost write as Horace Walpole does in one of his letters. He says he takes
everything very easily, “and if,” says he, “a friend should die, I drive down to
the St. James’s coffeehouse and bring home another,” doubtless as cordial
and enraptured with the new friend as with the old. Friends in this world are
too often like the bees which swarm around the plants while they are covered
with flowers and those flowers containnectar for their honey. But let
November send its biting frosts–the flowers are nipped and their friends, the
bees, forsake them. Swallow friendship lives out with us our summer, but
finds other loves in winter.
It has always beenso from of old, even until now. Ahithophel has deserted
David and Judas has sold his Lord. The greatestofkings who have been
fawned upon by their courtiers while in power, have been treated as if they
were but dogs in the time of their extremity. We say, as the poetof the
passions–
“King Darius, greatand good–
Desertedin his utmost need,
By those his former bounty fed.

On the cold ground exposedhe lies,
With not a friend to close his eyes.”
Of all friendship which is not basedon principle, we may saywith the
Prophet, “You are weighedin the balances and found wanting.”
But there is a higher friendship than this, by far, and it exists among
Christian men, among men of principle, among men of virtue where
professionis not all, but where there is real meaning in the words they use.
Damon and Pythias still have their followers among us. Jonathanand David
are not without their imitators. All hearts are not traitorous. Fidelity still
lingers among men. Where godliness builds her house, true friendship finds a
rest. Solomon, speaking not of the world’s sham friends, but of friends,
indeed, says, “A friend loves at all times.” Having once given his heart to his
chosencompanion, he clings to him in all weathers, fairor foul. He loves him
none the less because he becomes poor, or because his fame suffers an eclipse.
His friendship, like a lamp, shines the brighter, or is made more manifest
because ofthe darkness that surrounds it.
True friendship is not fed from the barn floor, or the wine vat. It is not like
the rainbow, dependent upon the sunshine. It is fixed as a rock and firm as
granite and smiles superior to wind and tempest. If we have friendship at all,
Brothers and Sisters, let this be the form it takes. Let us be willing to be
brought to the testof the wise man and, being tried, may we not be found
wanting. “A friend loves at all times.” But I am not about to talk of friendship
at all as it exists betweenman and man. I prefer to uplift the text into a still
higher sphere. There is a Friend, blessedforeverbe His name, who loves at all
times! There is a Brother, who, in an emphatic sense, was born for adversity!
That Friend is Jesus, the Friend of sinners! The Friend of man! The Brother
of our souls, born into this world that He might succorus in our adversities. I
shall take the text, then, and refer it to the Lord Jesus Christ. And unless time
should fail us, I shall then refer it to ourselves as in connectionwith the Lord
Jesus Christ, showing that we, also, ought to love Him even as He has loved us,
always and under all adversities.
1. First, then, IN REFERENCE TO THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. The
first sentence is, “a friend loves at all times,” and this leads us to
consider, first, the endurance of the love of Jesus Christ. My dear
Brethren, when we read “a friend loves at all times,” and refer that to
Christ, the sentence, full as it is, falls short of what we mean, for our
Lord Jesus is a Friend who loved us before there was any time! Before
time beganthe Lord Jesus Christ had enteredinto Covenant that He

would redeem a people unto Himself, who should show forth His
Father’s praise.
Before time began His prescienteye had foreseenthe creatures whom He
determined to redeem by blood. These He took to Himself by election–these
the Fatheralso gave to Him by Divine donation and upon these–as He saw
them in the glass ofthe future He setHis heart. Long before days began to be
counted, or moons to wax and wane, or suns to rise and set, JehovahJesus
had setapart a people to Himself whom He espousedunto Himself–whose
names He engravedupon His heart and upon His hands–that they might be
takeninto union with Himself forever and ever! Meditate on that love which
precededthe first rays of the morning and went forth to you before the
mountains were brought forth, or ever He had formed the earth and the
world. My Brothers and Sisters, you believe the doctrine of eternal love,
meditate, then, and let it be very sweetunto your hearts–
“Before Your hands had made
The sun to rule the day,
Or earth’s foundation laid,
Or fashioned Adam’s clay!
What thoughts of peace and mercy flowed
In your dear bosom, O my God!”
He loved you when time began, in the days before the Flood and in the far-off
periods–forthose promises which were spokenin love had reference to you as
well as to all the believing Seed. All the deeds of love which were workedas a
preface to His coming–allhad some bearing towards you as one of His people.
There never was a point in the antiquity of our world in which this Friend did
not love you! Every era of time has been a time of love. Love, like a silver
thread, runs adown the ages. Chiefly did He lay bare His love 1,800 years ago,
when down with joyful haste He sped to lie in the manger, and hang as a Babe
at the virgin’s breast. He proved His love to you to a degree surpassing
thought when, as a carpenter’s son He condescendedfor30 years to live in
obscurity, working out a perfectrighteousness foryou and then spent three
years of arduous toil, to be ended by a death of unutterable bitterness.
You had no being then, but He loved you and gave Himself for you. For you
the bloody sweatthat fell amidst the olives of Gethsemane. Foryou the
scourging and the crowning with thorns. For you the nails and spear, the
vinegar and lance. Foryou the cry of agony–the exceeding sorrow “evenunto
death.” He is a Friend that loved you in that darkestand most doleful hour
when your sins were laid upon Him and with their crushing weightpressed
Him down, as it were, in spirit, to the lowestHell. Beloved, having thus

redeemedyou, He loved you when time began with you. As soonas you were
born the eyes of His tenderness were fixed upon you. “When Ephraim was a
child, then I loved him.”
It was loving kindness which arrangedyour parents' native place and time of
birth. You came not into this world, as it were, by chance or as the young
ostrich bereft of a parent’s care–the Lord was your guardian. The Lord Jesus
Christ lookedupon you in your cradle and bade His angels keepwatch
around you. He would not let you die unconverted, though fierce diseases
waited around you to hurry you to Hell. And when you grew up to manhood
and ripened the follies of youth into the crimes of mature years, yet still He
loved you. O let your heart be humbled as you remember that if you ever fell
into blasphemy, He loved you as you cursedHim! That if you indulged in
Sabbath-breaking, He loved you when you despisedHis Day! That your
neglectedBible could not wean His heart from you! That your neglected
prayer closetcouldnot make Him ceaseHis affection!
Alas, to what an excess ofriot did some of His people run! But He loved them
notwithstanding all. He was a Friend that loved under the most provoking
circumstances–
“Loved when a wretch defiled with sin,
At war with Heaven, in league with Hell,
A slave to every lust obscene,
Who, living, lived but to rebel.”
When Justice would have said, “Let the rebel go, O Jesus. Be not bound any
longerby cords of love to such a wretch,” our ever faithful Redeemerwould
not castus away, but threw anotherband of Divine Grace around us and
loved us still. Considerwell, “His greatlove wherewithHe loved us, even
when we were dead in trespassesandsins.” I feel as if this were rather a
matter for you to think over in private, than for me thus hastily to introduce
to you in public. May the Holy Spirit, however, now bedew your hearts with
grateful drops of celestiallove as I remind you of the love at all times of this
best of friends.
You remember when you were constrained to seek Him, when your heart
beganto be wearyof its sin and to be alarmed at the doom that would surely
follow unpardoned transgression? It was His love that sowedthe first seeds of
desire and anxiety in your heart! You had never desiredHim if He had not
first desired you. There was never a goodthought towards Christ in any
human breastunless Christ first put it there. He drew you and then you began
to run after Him. But had He left you alone, your running would have been

from Him and never towards Him. It was a bitter time when we were seeking
the Savior, a time of anguish and sore travail. We recollectthe tears and
prayers that we poured out day and night, asking for mercy.
Jesus, our Friend, was loving to us then, taking delight in those penitential
tears, putting them into His bottle, telling the angels that we were praying and
making them string their harps afreshto sweetnotes of praise over sinners
that repented. He knew us, knew us in the gloom, in the thick darkness in
which we soughtafter God, if haply we might find Him. He was near the
Prodigal’s side when in all his rags and filth he was saying, “I will arise and go
to my Father,” and it was Jesus through whom we were introduced to the
Father’s bosom and receivedthe parental kiss and were made to sit down
where there was music and dancing, because the dead are alive and the lost
are found!
My Brethren, since that happy day, this Friend has loved us at all times. I
wish I could say that since that sacredhour when we first came to His feet,
and saw ourselves savedthrough Him, we had always walkedworthily of the
privileges we have received–butit has been very much the reverse. There have
been times in which we have honored Him, His Grace has abounded and our
holiness has been manifest. But alas, there have been other seasonsin which
we have backslidden, our hearts have grown cold, and we were on the road to
become like Nabalwhen his heart was turned to a stone within him. We have
been half persuaded, like Orpah, to go back to the land of idols and not like
Ruth, to cleave unto the Lord our God.
Our heart has played the harlot from the love of Christ, desiring the leeks and
garlic and onions of Egypt rather than the treasures of the land of promise.
But at such times when our piety has been at a low ebb, He has loved us still!
There has not been the slightest diminution in the affectionof Christ even
when our piety has been diminished. He does not set His clock by our watch,
or stint His love to the narrow measure of ours. I fear we have often gone
further than merely getting poor in Grace within–there have been times when
God’s people have even actually fallen into overt sin! Yes, and have descended
to sin grievously, too, and to dishonor the name of Christ. But herein is mercy,
even those actual and accursedsins of ours have not torn awaythe promise
from us, nor turned away the heart of Christ for His Beloved.
Sinned though we have, to our abounding sorrow–Iwas about to say, for if
there could be sorrow in Heaven we might eternally regretthat we have
sinned againstsuchlove and mercy–yet for all that, our Lord and Savior
would not castus off! Nor will He renounce us, come what may. Reflect, my
dear Friends, upon all the trying and changefulscenes through which you

have passedsince the time of your conversion. You have been rich, perhaps,
and increasedin goods–youwere tempted to forget your Lord, but He was a
friend who loved you at all times and He would not suffer your prosperity to
ruin you–He still made His love to dart with healing beams into your soul.
But you have been, also, very poor. The cupboard has been bare and you have
said, “Where shallI find money to supply my needs?” But Christ has not gone
awaybecause your suit was threadbare, or your house ill furnished. No, He
has been nearerthan ever, and if He revealedHimself to you in your
prosperity, much more in your adversity. You have found Him a faithful
Friend when all others were unfaithful–true when everyone else was a liar.
You have been sorelysick, sometimes, but He it was that made the pillow and
softenedthe bed of your affliction. It may be you have been slanderedand
those who loved you have passedyou by. Some ill word has been spokenin
which there was no truth, but it has sufficed to turn awaythe esteemof many–
your Lord has gone with you through shame and abuse and never, for a single
moment, has He even hinted that He only loved you because youwere held in
respectby men.
Ever faithful, evertrue has been this Friend who loves at all times. Ah, there
have been times, it may be with you, when you could gladly have thrown your
very self away, for you felt so empty, so good-for-nothing, so undeserving,
illdeserving, Hell-deserving. You felt more fit to die than to live. You could
hardly entertain a hope that any goodthing could ever spring from you–but
when you have leastesteemedyourself, His esteemofyou has been just the
same–whenyou were ready to die in a ditch, He has been ready to lift you to a
throne! When you felt yourself a castaway, youhave still been pressedto His
dear bosom, an objectof His peculiar regard.
Soon, very soon, your time will come to die. You shall pass through the valley
of death shade, but you need not fear, for the Friend that loves at all times will
be with you. That eminent servant of God, Jonathan Edwards, when he was at
his last, said, “Where is Jesus of Nazareth, my old and faithful Friend? I know
He will be with me now that I need His help,” and so He was, for that faithful
servant died triumphantly! You shall enquire in that last day for Jesus of
Nazarethand you shall hear Him say, “Here I am!” You shall find the death
shade vale lit up with supernal splendor–it shall be no death to you, but a
passing into EternalLife–because He who is the Resurrectionand the Life
shall be your Helper! Thus I have hastily run through the life of Christ’s love
from the beginning that had no beginning, down to the end that knows no
end–and in every case we see thatHe is a Friend that loves at all times.

Now, Brothers and Sisters, I shall vary the strain, though still keeping to the
same subject. Let us consider the reality of Christ’s love at all times. The text
says, “A friend loves at all times,” not professes to love, not talks of love, but
really does so. Now in Christ’s case, the love has become intensely practical.
His love has never been a thing of mere words or pretensions. His love has
actedout itself in mighty deeds and signs and wonders, worthy of a God such
as Heaven, itself, shall not sufficiently extol with all its goldenharps. See then,
Brethren, Christ has practically loved us at all times. It is not long ago that
you and I were slaves to sin. We wore the fetters, nor could we break them
from our wrists. We were held fast by evil passions and worldly habits and
there seemedno hope of liberty for us. Jesus lovedus at all times, but the love
did not let us lie prisoners any longer.
He came and paid the ransom price for us. In drops of blood from His own
heart He counted down the price of our redemption and by His Eternal Spirit
He broke every fetter from us and today His believing people rejoice in the
liberty wherewithChrist makes them free. See how practical His love was!He
did not leave the slave in his chains and let him remain a captive, but He loved
us right out of our prison into a sacredfreedom! Our Lord found us not long
ago standing at our trial. There we were, prisoners at the bar. We had nothing
to plead in our defense. The accuserstoodup to plead againstus and as he
laid many charges and heavy, we were not able to answerso much as one of
them. Our greatHigh Prieststoodthere and saw us thus arraigned as
prisoners at the bar. He loved us, but oh, how efficient was His love–he
became an Advocate for us–He did more, He stood in our place, stoodwhere
the felon ought to stand.
He suffered what was due to us and then, covering us with His perfect
righteousness, He said before the blaze of the ineffable Throne of Justice,
“Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? It is Christ that died,
yes, rather that has risen again.” He did not love the prisoner at the bar and
leave him there to be condemned–He loved him until as this day we stand
acquitted and there is, therefore, now no condemnation to them that are in
Christ Jesus. Believer, lift up your heart now and bless His name who has
done all this for you!
Our Lord, when He came in mercy to us, found us in the rags of our self-
righteousness andin the abject poverty of our natural condition. We were
houseless,fatherless.We were without spiritual bread. We were sick and sore,
we were as low and degraded as sin could make us. He loved us, but He did
not leave us where love found us. Ah, do you not remember how He washedus
in the fountain which flowed from His veins? How He wrapped us about with

the fair white linen which is the righteousness ofHis saints? How He gave us
bread to eatthat the world knows not of? How He supplied all our needs and
gave us a promise that whateverwe should ask in prayer, if we did but believe
His name, we should receive it?
We were aliens, but His love has made us citizens. We were far off, but His
love has brought us near. We were perishing, but His love has enriched us. We
were serfs, but His love has made us sons. We were condemned criminals, but
His love has made us “heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ.” I shall
not enlarge here, but I shall appealto the experience of every Believer. In
your needs, has not Christ always helped you? You have been in doubt which
way to take and you have gone to Him for guidance–did ever you go wrong
when you left it to Him? Your heart has been very heavy and you had no
friend that you could communicate with, but you have talkedwith Him and
have you not always found solace in pouring out your heart before Him?
When did He everfail you? When did you find His arm shortened, or His ear
heavy? Up to this moment has it been mere talk with Christ? No, you know it
has been most true and real love–andnow in the recollectionofit, I beseech
you give Him true and real praise–notthat of the head, only, or of the lips–but
of your whole spirit, soul and body as you consecrateyourselfafreshto Him.
See, then, Brothers and Sisters thegreatendurance of Christ’s love, and see
then, also, the reality of it.
By your patience I shall notice, in the next place, the Nature of the love of
Christ, accounting for its endurance and reality. The love of our goodFriend
to us sprang from the purest possible motives. He has nothing to gain by
loving us. Some friendship may be supposedto be tinged with a desire of self-
advantage, to which extent it is degradedand valueless. ButJesus Christ had
nothing to gain, and everything to lose. “ThoughHe was rich, yet for our
sakes He became poor.” The love He bears to His people was not a love which
sprang from anything in them. I have no doubt it had a reason, forChrist
never acts unreasonably, but that reasondid not lie in us. Love betweenus
and our fellows sometimes springs from personalbeauty, sometimes for traits
of characterwhich we admire and at other times from obligations which we
have incurred–but with Christ none of these things could avail.
There was no personalbeauty in any one of His elect. There were no traits of
characterin them that could enchant Him. There was very much, on the other
hand, that might have disgustedHim. He certainly was under no obligations
to us, for we had not a being, then, when His heart was setupon us! The love
of man to man is sustained by something drawn from the object of love, but
the love of Christ to us has its deep springs within Himself. As His own courts

maintain the grandeur of His Throne without drawing a revenue from the
creatures, so His own love maintains itself without drawing any motives and
reasons from us, and therefore, my Brothers and Sisters, you see why this love
is the same at all times. If it had to subsistupon us and what we do and what
we merit, ah, it would always be at the lowestconceivableebb! But since it
leaps up from the greatdeep of the Divine heart, it never changes!And, by
His Grace, it never shall!
Be it also remembered that Christ’s love was a wise love, not blind as ours
often is. He loved us knowing exactly what we were whom He loved. There is
nothing in the constitution of man that Jesus Christ had not perceived. There
is nothing in your individuality but what Christ had foreknown. Remember,
Christ loved His people before they began to sin, but not in the dark. He knew
exactly everything they would think, or do, or be–and if He resolvedto love
them at all, you may rest assuredHe never will change in that love, since
nothing fresh can ever occurto His Divine mind. Had He begun to love us and
we had deceivedand disappointed Him, He might have turned us out of
doors–but He knew right well that we should revolt–that we should backslide
and should provoke Him to jealousy. He loved us knowing all this and
therefore it is that His love abides and endures and shall even remain faithful
to the end.
Brothers and Sisters, the love of Christ is associatedcontinually with an
infinite degree of patience and pity. Our Lord knows that we are but dust and
like as a father pities his children, so He pities us. We are but short-tempered,
but our Lord is long-suffering. When He sees us sin, He says within Himself,
“Alas, poor souls, what folly in them thus to injure themselves.” He takes not
our cold words in umbrage, so as to put Himself in wrathful fume with it, but
He says, “Poorchild, how he hurts himself by this and how much he loses
thereby.” He even has a kind look for us when we sin, for He knows it is
blotted out through His own blood and He sees, rather, the mischief which it is
quite sure to bring to the poor soul, than the evil of the sin itself.
Jesus has infinite condescensionand patience and we cannot so provoke Him
as to turn Him from His purpose of Divine Grace. He is at all times ready to
pardon and never slow to be moved to forgiveness. Oh, the provocations of
men! But the patience of Christ reaches overthe mountains of our
provocationand drowns them all. I think one reasonwhy Christ is so constant
in His love and so patient with us is that He sees us as what we are to be. He
does not look at us merely as what we are today in Adam’s Fall–ruined and
lost–noras we are today, but partly delivered from indwelling sin. But He
remembers that we are to lie in His bosom forever, that we are to be exactly

like He is, and to be partakers of His Glory. And as He sees us in the glass of
the future, as, by-and-by, to be His companions in the world of the perfect, He
passes by transgression, iniquity and sin, and like a true Friend He loves us at
all times.
I shall not wearythose who know this love. They need no gaudy sentencesor
eloquent periods to set it forth. Its sweetness lies in itself. You may drink such
wine as this out of any cup. He that knows the flavor of this Divine dainty asks
not that it be carvedthis way or that–he rejoices but to have it–for the
meditation upon it must be sweet. “A friend loves at all times.”
The next sentence ofthe text is, “and a brother is born for adversity.” That is
to say, a true brother comes out and shows his brotherhood in the time of the
trouble of the family. Now let every Believerin Jesus here catchthe meaning
of this with regard to Christ. Jesus Christ was born for you. “Unto us a Child
is born, unto us a Son is given.” But if at any one time more than another
Christ is peculiarly yours by birth, it is in the time of adversity. A Brother
born for adversity. Observe, that Christ was born, in the first place, for our
adversity–to deliver us from the greatadversity of the Fall. When our parents'
sin had blasted Eden and destroyedour hopes–whenthe summer of our joy
had turned into the winter of our discontent, then Christ was born in
Bethlehem’s manger that the race might be lifted up to hope–andHis electbe
elevatedto salvation.
He restored that which He took not away. He rebuilt that which He castnot
down. He had never come to be a Savior if we had not been lost. Becauseour
adversity was so great–therefore so greata Saviorwas required and so great a
Savior came!Our Lord is born for adversity because He has the peculiar art
of sympathizing with all in adversity. No other but He can claim that He has
ranged high and low through all the territories of grief–onlythis Jesus Christ
can justly make that claim. Every pang that ever rends a human heart has
first tried its keenedge on Him. It is not possible, even in the extremities of
anguish to which some are exposed, that any man can go beyond Christ in the
endurance of pain. Christ is crownedKing of Misery. He is the Emperor of
the domains of woe. He is able, therefore, to succorall such as are tempted
and tried, seeing He is compassedabout Himself, also, with a feeling of our
infirmities.
Look to him suffering on the tree. Look to Him throughout all His life of
shame and pain and you will see that He was born into adversity–and through
being born into it, was born to sympathize with our trials, having learned, as
the Captain of our salvation, to be made perfect in sympathy with those many
sons whom He brings to Glory. Brethren, the text means more than this,

however. Jesus Christis a Brother born for adversity because He always gives
His choicestPresenceto His saints when they are in tribulation. I know many
men will think that the Presence ofChrist with the sick and with the
depressedis mere fancy. Ah, blessedfancy! Such a fancy as makes them laugh
at pain and rejoice in deep distress and take joyfully the spoiling of their
goods. Truly a blessedfancy!
Let me declare my heart’s witness and assertthat if there is anything real
anywhere to the spiritual mind, the PresenceofChrist is intensely so. Though
we do not see His form bending over us, nor mark the lovely light of those eyes
that once were red with weeping. Though we touch not that hand which felt
the nails and hear no softfootfalls of the feet that were fastenedto the Cross,
yet are we inwardly as certainly conscious ofthe shadow of Christ falling
upon us as ever were His disciples when He stoodin the tempest-tossedvessel
and said to winds and waves, “Peace, be still.” Believe me, it is not
imagination, nor is it barely faith. It is faith that brings Him, but there is a
kind of spiritual sense that discovers His Presence andthat rejoices in the bliss
flowing from it. We speak what we know and testify what we have seenwhen
we say that He is a Brotherborn for adversity in very deed, most tenderly
revealing Himself to His people as He does not unto the world.
He is born for adversity, I think, in this sense, that you can hardly know Him
exceptthrough adversity. You may know Christ so as to be savedby Him by a
single act of faith, but for a full discoveryof His beauty it needs that you go
through the furnace. Those children of God whose grassypaths are always
newly mown and freshly smoothed learn comparatively but little fellowship
with Christ and have but slender knowledge ofHim. But they that do business
on great waters–thesesee the works of the Lord and His wonders in the deep–
and these know the love of Christ which passes knowledge. “Itis goodfor me
that I have been afflicted,” many can say, not only because ofthe restoring
effectof sorrow, but because their afflictions have actedlike windows to let
them gaze into the very heart of Christ and read His pity and understand His
Nature as they never could have done by other means. Furnace light is
memorably clear!Jesus is a Brother born for adversity because in the
glimmer of the world’s eventide, when all the lamps are going out–a Glory
shines around Him transforming midnight into day.
He is a Brother born for adversity, in the last place, because in adversity it is
that through His people’s patience He is glorified. I guarantee you the
sweetestsongs thatever come up from these lowlands to the Eternal Throne
are from sick beds. “They shall sing His high praises in the fires.” God’s
children are too often dumb when they have much of this world’s earth in sing

with all their hearts! Praise Him, you suffering ones, your praise will be
grateful to Him! Extol Him, you mourners–exchange by faith your sorrows
for hopes and bless His name who deserves to be praised!
II. Now, I shall leave this and only for a moment turn the text round to a
practicalpurpose by REFERRING IT TO THE CHRISTIAN. I hope that
what has been spokenhas been only the echo of the experience of the most of
you. You have found Jesus Christto be a true Brother and a blessedFriend.
Now let the same be true of you. He that would have friends must show
himself friendly. If Christ is such a Friend to us, what manner of people ought
we to be towards Him? So, Beloved, let us pray and labor to be friends that
love Christ at all times.
Alas, some professors seemto love Him at no time at all. They give Him lip
homage, but they refuse to give Him the exercise oftheir talents, or the
contribution of their substance. Theylove Him only with words that are but
air. They offer Him no sweetcane with money, neither do they fill Him with
the fat of their sacrifices. Suchpeople are windbag lovers and do nothing
substantial to prove their affection. Let it not be so with us. Let our love to
Christ be so true as to constrain us to make sacrificesforHim. Let us deny
ourselves that we may spreadabroad the knowledge ofHis Truth and never
be content unless in very deed and actwe are giving proofs of our love. We
ought to love Him at all times.
Alas, there are some that prosper in business who grow too greatto love their
Savior. They hold their heads too high to associate with His saints. Before
their wealth they were with His people–contentto worship with them when
they were in humble circumstances. Butthey have prospered in trade, they
have laid by a goodstore of wealth–andnow they feel half ashamedto attend
the conventicle that was once the very joy of their hearts. They must seek out
the world’s religion and they must worship after the world’s fashion, for they
must not be left behind in society!The people of God are not goodenough for
them, though they are kings and princes in Christ’s esteem, yet are they too
poor company for those that have risen so high in the world.
Alas, alas, that professedlovers of Jesus should rise too high to walk truthfully
and faithfully with Christ! It is no rise at all, but a lamentable fall! Let us
cling to Him in days of joy as wellas nights of grief and prove to all mankind
that there are no enchantments in this world that canwin our hearts away
from our Best-Beloved. We should love Jesus Christ at all times, that is to say,
in times when the Church seems dull and dead. Perhaps some of you are living
in a district just now where the ministry is painfully devoid of power. The
lamp burns very low in your sanctuary–the members worshipping are few

and zeal is altogetherdead. Do not desertthe Church. Do not flee away from
her in the time of her necessity. Keepto your postcome what may. Be the last
man to leave the sinking vessel, if sink she must. Resolve as a friend of Christ
to love Him at all times. And as a Brother born into that Church feel that
now, beyond all other times, in the seasonofadversity, you must adhere to
her.
It may happen that some here present may tomorrow be found in a workshop,
or in some other place where their business brings them, where some dear
child of God will be laughed at and ridiculed. That same man you would have
cheerfully claimedon the Sabbath as your Brother, you delighted to unite
your voice with him in prayer, but now, while he stands in the midst of a
ribald throng, will you claim him, or rather, claim Christ in him? They are
making cruel jokes, they are vexing his gracious spirit. Now it is possible that
a cowardlyfear may make you slink awayto the other end of the shop. But,
oh, if you remember that a friend loves at all times, you will take up this
man’s quarrel as being Christ’s quarrel, and you, as being a part of the body
of Christ, will be willing to share whatevercontumely may come upon your
fellow Christian and you will say, “If you mock him, you may also mock me,
for I, also, have been with Jesus ofNazarethand Him whom you scoffI
adore.”
O let us never, by the love that Christ has borne to us, keepback a Truth of
God because it may expose us to shame! Let us never be such cowards as to
compromise the Word of God because we may then live in silken ease and
delicacy. These are not times in which one single particle of Truth ought to be
repressed. Whateverthe Spirit of God and the Word of Godmay have taught
you, my Brethren, out with it for Christ’s sake and let it bring what it will to
you, bear that with joy. Since your Saviorbore far more for you, count it joy
to bear anything for Him. Be a brother born on purpose for adversity!
Do you expect to be carried to Heaven on a bed of ease? Do you reckonto win
the everlasting laurels without a conflict? What? Sirs, would you stand
beneath the waving banners of victory without having first endured the smoke
and the dust of battle? No, rather, with consecratedcourage follow in the
steps of your Master. Love Him at all times! Give up all for Him and then
shall you soonbe with Him in His Glory world without end. God grant a
blessing for Jesus'sake. Amen. PORTION OF SCRIPTURE READ BEFORE
SERMON–Proverbs 17.

Have You Heard About Jesus Lyrics
Verse 1
Have you heard about Jesus,
who died on Calvary.
He died for you and me,
He died to setmen free.
Chorus
You can callHim everyday,
even when you can't find your way.
He'll be there to supply your needs,
He's the only true friend indeed;
He's the greatestfriend of all, have you heard'
He's the greatestfriend of all, have you heard'
Verse 2
Have you heard about Jesus,
you cansee He's always there.
Through the times of all your burdens,
He's the only one who cares.
Chorus
Bridge
He's the greatest,have you heard'
Vamp 1
Sopranos
He'll be your friend until the end,
have you heard'
He's always near so don't you fear,
have you heard'
Altos
Yes, Jesus loves you,
have you heard'

Tenors
What a friend we have in Jesus,
have you heard'
Ending
He's the greatestfriend of all,
have you heard'
https://www.a-z-music-
lyrics.com/song/?lyrics=Have%20You%20Heard%20About%20Jesus&artist
=GMWA%20Mass%20Choir
• /contributors/brian-atwood-profile-1807?ref=SermonDetailsViewall
Sermons
7 Ways Jesus Is The BestFriend You Could Ever Have Series
Contributed by Brian Atwood on Apr 13, 2006 /contributors/brian-
atwood-profile-1807?ref=SermonDetails
basedon 218 ratings (rate this sermon)
| 114,909views
Scripture: John 11:1-44, Job10:1-9
Denomination: Baptist
Summary: 7 Ways Jesus is the best friend you could ever have.
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I hope you have enjoyed our celebrationthus far but there’s one more part of
the celebrationwe want to observe – and that is – reading about the
resurrectionfrom the Word of God, the Bible.

Central to the messageofEasteris the story of the resurrectionof Christ from
the grave. But this Easterwe’re going to back track in the life of Christ and
tell the story of someone else Jesus resurrectedbefore His owndeath and
resurrection. We’re going to do this because we needto see that Easter, and
the resurrectionof Jesus, is about all of us. Jesus rose from the dead because
He wants every one of us to have eternallife.
The man whom Jesus resurrectedin the Scripture we’re going to read from
today was named Lazarus and the Bible says he was a friend of Jesus. I want
to talk to you today about Jesus being your friend.
Jesus wants to be your friend - but of course, friendship is a two-waystreet so
you have to make a decisionon whether or not you want to be Jesus’friend.
Lazarus had made that decisionand from a chapter in his life I want you to
see
7 Ways Jesus is the BestFriend You Could Ever Have
The first wayJesus is the best friend you could ever have is
1 – He wants to perfect you – not pamper you.
Like any goodfriend, Jesus wants you to be the "best you" that you can
possibly be. A goodfriend doesn’tjust think of your short-term success;he or
she thinks of your long-term happiness. Let me show you what I’m talking
about by beginning our narrative.
John 11:1-2 (CEV) A man by the name of Lazarus was sick in the village of
Bethany. He had two sisters, Maryand Martha. This was the same Mary who
later poured perfume on the Lord’s head and wiped his feet with her hair.
3The sisters senta message to the Lord and told him that his goodfriend
Lazarus was sick.
4When Jesus heardthis, he said, "His sicknesswon’tend in death. It will
bring glory to God and his Son."
If Jesus loved Lazarus so much, why did he let him getsick? And of course, he
died. Jesus didn’t say that Lazarus wouldn’t die – He simply saidthat death
wouldn’t be the end! That’s some greatnews we’ll get to in a few minutes. But
the question for now is, "Why did Jesus let His goodfriend Lazarus getsick
and die?"
Have you ever asked, "Whydoes God allow suffering and injustice, pain and
sorrow? If God is a God of love why do bad things happen to goodpeople?"
Have you questioned God and said, "God, If you love me, why have you
allowedbad things to happen to me?"

Yes, Jesus could have prevented "his goodfriend Lazarus" from getting sick.
He could even have healedhim from where He was. But He deliberately chose
not to. Jesus had something even better for his goodfriend!
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Jesus usedthe resurrectionof Lazarus from death as concrete evidence that
there is life after death! He used this miracle to prove that death is not the end
of it all, that, if you, like Lazarus, will place your faith in Him, you will have
abundant life here on earth and eternal life foreverwith God in heaven!
Here’s an illustration from nature. You’ve probably always figured that a
possum was a dumb animal. You hardly ever see one exceptwhen its dead on
the road. There’s a joke that goes, "Whydid the chickencross the road? To
show the possum that it could be done."
But in spite of the bad press, possums actually are smart, at leastin one area.
Did you know that a possumwon’t go into a hole in the ground if there’s only
one setof tracks outside the hole? They know that something is still in there.
But if there’s a set of tracks leading in and another set of tracks leading back
out, the possum isn’t afraid to enter the hole.
The messageofEasteris that we can enter the grave - we don’t have to fear
death because not only are there a set of tracks heading into Jesus’tomb - but
there is also a set of tracks heading back out!
Sicknessand death were bad things to happen to Lazarus and his family - but
resurrectionwas a better thing!
The secondwaythis story illustrates that Jesus is the best friend you could
ever have is
2 – He laid His life on the line for you.
5Jesus lovedMartha and her sisterand brother. 6But he stayedwhere he was
for two more days. 7Then he said to his disciples, "Now we will go back to
Judea."
8"Teacher,"they said, "the people there want to stone you to death! Why do
you want to go back?"
9Jesus answered, "Aren’t there twelve hours in eachday? If you walk during
the day, you will have light from the sun, and you won’t stumble. 10Butif you
walk during the night, you will stumble, because you don’t have any light."
11Thenhe told them, "Our friend Lazarus is asleep, and I am going there to
wake him up."

The disciples were afraid for Jesus’safety. Theyknew that Christ’s enemies
were looking for an opportunity to kill Him. Why would Jesus risk this by
going back to the vicinity of Jerusalem?
There’s only one reason. He was willing to lay His life on the line for His
friends!
The GoodNews is that Jesus not only did this for Lazarus and Martha and
Mary – He did it for us also!He hung betweenheaven and earth, between
God and man, betweengoodand evil – on Skull Hill, the literal meaning of
Golgotha, the summit outside of Jerusalemon which they crucified Christ, so
named because it resembleda skull - certainly a fitting name for a place with
the atmosphere of death. On Skull Hill Jesus was making a public statement
for all the world to see and hear: "I am giving my life for my friends!" In fact,
the Bible says,
John 15:13 (NCV) The greatestlove a person can show is to die for his friends.
At the yard sale for missions here at the church yesterdayI saw some stuff I
didn’t realize my wife had donated. I didn’t buy anything back yesterday but
I remembered one church yard sale where I did. Sometimes my wife thinks
I’m not interested in something just because it has collecteddust in the closet
for ten years. Go figure.
My point is, I have been knownto buy something back that once belongedto
me.
That’s what Jesus was doing on the cross. Jesuscreatedyou. And then sin
separatedyou from Him. On the cross He was paying the price to buy you
back. He laid His life on the line for you.
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The third way Jesus is the greatestfriend you could ever have is
3 – He initiates the opportunity for friendship.
When Jesus told his disciples why He was going back, even in spite of the
danger to His life,
12Theyreplied, "Lord, if he is asleep, he will get better." (The insinuation
probably was, "perhaps we don’t really have to go back and endangerour
lives.")13Jesusreallymeant that Lazarus was dead, but they thought he was
talking only about sleep.
14ThenJesus told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead!

15I am glad that I wasn’tthere, because now you will have a chance to put
your faith in me. Let’s go to him."
16Thomas, whosenickname was "Twin," saidto the other disciples, "Come
on. Let’s go, so we can die with him."
Jesus gives us the chance to put our faith in Him. He left heaven, became
human, died for your sins, and then conquered death for you – all in an
attempt to show you how interestedHe is in being your friend. He took the
initiative!
Don’t you like to have friends who take the initiative? You can tell they really
love you because you’re not the only one always picking up the phone or
starting the conversation. You’re not the only one trying to gettogether. Jesus
wants to be your friend so badly that He took the first step.
But there’s more!
The 4th way Jesus is the best friend you could ever have is
4 – His promises will getyou through difficult times.
17WhenJesus gotto Bethany, he found that Lazarus had already been in the
tomb four days. 18Bethanywas only about two miles from Jerusalem, 19and
many people had come from the city to comfort Martha and Mary because
their brother had died.
20WhenMartha heard that Jesus had arrived, she went out to meet him, but
Mary stayed in the house. 21Martha saidto Jesus, "Lord, if you had been
here, my brother would not have died. 22Yeteven now I know that God will
do anything you ask."
23Jesustold her, "Your brother will live again!"
The greatestcomfortJesus couldgive his grieving sisters was the promise of
resurrection. "Your brother will live again!"
There isn’t a greaterpromise in the universe than knowing that you canlive
forever!
I read last week that babies born now, in the early part of the 21stCentury,
can expectto live to be 150 years old! Because ofthe advancements in health
care – the first grandchild Deb and I are expecting this fall might possibly live
to be a century and a half old! That’s amazing!
Want to know something even more amazing? You can live forever because of
the promise Jesus has made to you!
But there’s more!

The 5th way Jesus is the best friend you could ever have is
5 – He offers you eternallife for believing in Him.
How does Jesus offereternal life to you? What’s the catch?
When Jesus told Martha of the resurrectionof her brother, here’s how she
responded.
24Martha answered, "Iknow that he will be raised to life on the lastday,
when all the dead are raised." 25Jesus thensaid, "I am the one who raises the
dead to life! Everyone who has faith in me will live, even if they die. 26And
everyone who lives because offaith in me will never really die. Do you believe
this?"
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27"Yes, Lord!" she replied. "I believe that you are Christ, the Son of God.
You are the one we hoped would come into the world."
28After Martha said this, she went and privately said to her sister Mary, "The
Teacheris here, and he wants to see you." 29As soonas Mary heard this, she
got up and went out to Jesus.
Jesus didn’t merely say that there is life after death - He said He is the One
who provides that life!
A Philadelphia legal firm sent flowers to an associatein Baltimore upon the
opening of a new office building. Through some mix-up, the banner on the
flowers read, "DeepestSympathy." When the florist was informed of the
mistake, he let out a shriek, and exclaimed, "Then the flowers that went to the
funeral said, "Congratulations onyour new location!"
That’s what death is - it is simply , moving to a new location. If you have
placed your faith in Christ - after you experiece physicaldeath you will enjoy
eternal life!
You couldn’t possibly have a better friend than One who offers you eternal
life!
Why would He make this offer?
That leads us to the 6th way Jesus is the greatestfriend you could ever have.
6 – Jesus loves you.

I remember 25 years ago when my mother died from cancer. Her last words
to me before her death were, "I love you son."
Deb and I have been married 29 years next month and I still enjoy hearing
her say, "I love you Brian."
It’s goodto be loved. God createdyou to be loved. There’s nothing to compare
with loving and being loved. And God is the source of love.
Look at how much Jesus loves His friends.
30He was still outside the village where Martha had gone to meet him.
31Manypeople had come to comfort Mary, and when they saw her quickly
leave the house, they thought she was going out to the tomb to cry. So they
followedher.
32Marywent to where Jesus was. Thenas soonas she saw him, she knelt at
his feetand said, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have
died."
33WhenJesus saw that Mary and the people with her were crying, he was
terribly upset 34and asked, "Where have you put his body?" They replied,
"Lord, come and you will see."
35Jesusstartedcrying, 36andthe people said, "SEE HOW MUCH HE
LOVED Lazarus."
37Some ofthem said, "He gives sight to the blind. Why couldn’t he have kept
Lazarus from dying?"
The Greek wordfor love used in verse 35, talking about how much Jesus
loved Lazarus, is phileo, brotherly love, friendship love.
I reiterate what the Bible says on this subject,
John 15:13 (NCV) The greatestlove a person can show is to die for his friends.
Jesus proved how very much He wants to be your friend by dying in your
place on the cross on Skull Hill.
The Bible says we are all sinners.
Romans 3:23 (CEV) All of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory.

And sin has a horrible price tag.
Romans 6:23 (NLT) For the wagesofsin is death, but the free gift of God is
eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Jesus loves you so much that He took the penalty of your sin for you!
And the final way this story of the resurrectionof Lazarus illustrates how
Jesus is the best friend you could ever have is
7 – Jesus is the only One who cantruly set you free.
After the conversationwith Lazarus’ sisters
38Jesuswas stillterribly upset. So he went to the tomb, which was a cave with
a stone rolled againstthe entrance. 39Thenhe told the people to roll the stone
away. But Martha said, "Lord, you know that Lazarus has been dead four
days, and there will be a bad smell."
40Jesusreplied, "Didn’t I tell you that if you had faith, you would see the
glory of God?"
41After the stone had been rolled aside, Jesus lookedup toward heavenand
prayed, "Father, I thank you for answering my prayer. 42I know that you
always answermy prayers. But I said this, so that the people here would
believe that you sent me."
43WhenJesus had finished praying, he shouted, "Lazarus, come out!" 44The
man who had been dead came out. His hands and feet were wrapped with
strips of burial cloth, and a cloth coveredhis face.
Like Lazarus, your only hope againstdeath, physical and eternal, is faith in
Jesus.
Man could roll the stone awaybut only Jesus could issue the command for the
dead to rise to new life.
You may have tried many things in your life to find true freedom. Some of the
things you have tried may have even been religious. But true freedom doesn’t
come from religion – it comes from a relationship – a personalrelationship
with the greatestfriend that you could ever have – Jesus.
You begin that relationship by making a faith commitment to Jesus. You need
to tell Jesus that you believe in Him and that you appreciate what He did for
you on the cross and what He did for you by rising from the grave.
We want to give you that opportunity today. Would you please bow your
heads in prayer with me?

If you want to begin that personalrelationship with Christ today, if you want
to be setfree, if you want to have abundant life here and eternal life hereafter,
I want to ask you to pray this prayer silently in your heart and mind right
now,
"DearGod, I realize that you love me and want to be my friend. TodayI want
to ask you to forgive all my sins and let me begin a personalfriendship with
Jesus today. Thank you for giving your life on the cross to prove your love for
me Jesus – and to prove how much you want to be my friend. I want to live for
you. Help me learn more about you."
While our heads are still bowedin reverence to God, maybe there’s someone
here today that would like to renew their commitment to Jesus.
I want to ask you to pray this prayer silently in your heart and mind right
now,
"Father, forgive me for not placing as much importance on our relationship
togetheras I should have. I know that you have done so very much for me and
I want to ask you to help me to a consistentfriendship with you. Help me to
overcome the bad things that have happened and to realize that you have
better things for me if I will trust in you."
Is Jesus our best friend?
One way to answerthis would be: being Jesus’friend is not going to help you
much. There is only one person in the whole Bible whom Jesus addressesas
friend: “Friend, do what you came to do”, Jesus told Judas when he came to
betray him (Matthew 26:50).
Nobody describes Jesus as his friend
Nowhere in the Bible anybody describes Jesus as his friend. There is one
instance in which Jesus is describedas the “friend of tax collectors and sinner”
(Matthew 11:19). This is Jesus quoting the words of the generalpublic. He
certainly does not deny that it is true. But it is very telling that there is not a

single instance that we read of any of these tax collectors orsinners, or even
the disciples of Jesus, calling Jesus friend.
Jesus is our Lord
When people really come to know Jesus, they are overwhelmed by who He is.
They do not address Him as friend. Much more important than having Jesus
as friend, is having Jesus as Lord. Hundreds of times in the New Testament
He is called‘Lord’. So it is very clearthat we first of all relate to Jesus as our
Lord. He is the King, we are the servants. He commands, we obey.
A condition to our friendship
There is one passagein which the Lord Jesus calls his disciples his friends:
“You are myfriends if you do whatI command you. No longer do I call you
servants, for the servantdoes not know whathis masteris doing;butI have
called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have madeknown
to you” (John 15:14,15).
Jesus calls us here his friends in the sense that He has no secrets forus. He has
told us everything that the Father in heaven wanted Him to tell us. At the
same time, there is a condition to our friendship with Jesus:we have to do
what He commands us! Yes, we are friends, but we are in no way equals.
He is the best friend imaginable
What about ‘best friend’? In as far as it is permitted to speak about Jesus as
our friend, He certainly is the best friend imaginable. “Greater love has no one
than this, that someone lay down hislife for his friends”, Jesus told us (John
15:13). And that is what He did. So yes, he is the bestfriend we have. “Whata
friend we have in Jesus” therefore is an appropriate song to celebrate Jesus’
love for us.
At the same time, the witness of the Bible suggeststhat when Jesus tells us:
“You are my friends”, our best answeris: “Thank you, Lord!”
https://www.biblword.net/jesus-best-friend/
Lesson8: Jesus is my SpecialBestFriend
DearFriend,

Jesus is my Saviorand my Lord; He is also my specialBestFriend! Perhaps
you are thinking, "Why do you saythat Jesus is your specialBestFriend?" I
was hoping that you would ask that question! Let me tell you why He is my
specialBestFriend.
Jesus is my specialBestFriend because He knows me better than anyone else.
He is God, and He knows all about me. He even knows my thoughts!
I am very important to Jesus!I may not be important to some people, but
Jesus really cares forme. He even knows how many hairs I have on my head.
He has them all numbered! He said, "…the very hairs of your head are all
numbered" (Matthew 10:30).
A best friend is one who loves you just the way you are, and yet helps you to
be all you can be. Jesus is my specialBestFriend because no one has ever
loved me as He does. He loved me so much that He gave His life for me. And
He loves me today just as much as He did then. Jesus said, "Greaterlove has
no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13).
The Lord Jesus loves me just the way I am, but He loves me too much to leave
me the way I am. He is living in me and He is making me more like Himself
day-by-day. He knows about my faults, but He loves me, and He will never
take His love away from me.
Jesus is my specialBestFriend because He wants only what is best for me. He
will guide me in making decisions if I will ask for His help and trust Him.
In His Word, the Bible, the Lord Jesus tells me the things I should do, like
obeying my parents and teachers. He also tells me things I should not do, like
telling lies and saying hurtful things to others.
What about things that are not mentioned in the Bible? In this case I should
ask, "WouldJesus like to see me do this?" If I think that He would not like to
see me do it, I must NOT do it!
My SpecialFriend
by Amanda Rawlings
A third-grade teachergave her class anassignmentto write a report about a
"specialperson." Amanda wanted to tell her classmatesaboutJesus, so she
chose Jesus as her"specialperson." She was able to read her report to the
class. Here is what Amanda wrote:
He is specialbecauseHe is God's Son Jesus. He is specialbecause He is always
there when I need Him.

I talk to Him a lot. My specialPersonis nice and forgiving. He came to be
specialto me when I went to church and learned about Him.
I felt evenmore love for Him when I read my Bible in my room. I chose Jesus
as my specialPersonbecauseHe is the most important Personin my life.
I always put Him first in my life. I always trust Him to lead my path. If I am
ever in trouble, He can always help me.
I really love Him and He loves me even more. I cannotimagine ever living
without Him. I never go to bed alone, I never am alone because Jesusis always
there.
Have you ever felt like you are alone? Have you ever been afraid? You don't
have to be afraid and you don't have to feel alone because Jesusis always
there. He is truly my specialBestFriend!
Jesus is my specialBestFriend because He always has time for me. I can talk
to Him at any time. I cantalk to Him in any place. No one cares for me like
Jesus. He wants me to come to Him about everything that concerns me.
Jesus is my specialBestFriend because He is always the same. In the past I
have had friends, and somehow they changedand we were no longerfriends.
But Jesus neverchanges!The Bible says, "Jesus Christthe same yesterday,
and today, and forever" (Hebrews 13:8).
The Lord Jesus is always the same wonderful Personwho loves me with all
His heart. He is always there to listen to me, to help me, to encourage me. He
is truly the best Friend I could ever have.
Jesus and I are "BestFriends forever," but I must never forget who He is. He
is my Savior, My Lord, and my God, and I treat Him with respectand
reverence. I do not call Him "the Man upstairs."
Being a child of God is the most wonderful thing in all the world, but let me
tell you a secret:Your life here on earth as a child of God will not always be
easy. Jesus said,
"In the world you shall have tribulation [many troubles]; but be of good
cheer;I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).
I will have many trials and troubles as I travel to my home in Heaven, but I do
not need to be afraid. The Lord wants me to remember three things:

Jesus is always for me
Jesus has all power in Heaven and in the earth, and He is always for His
believers. Every moment, there on the throne, He is thinking about me. He
wants me to tell Him everything that concerns me. He wants me to bring all
my problems and burdens to Him. He wants me to tell Him all that is on my
heart.
Jesus is always with me
The Lord Jesus Himself is in Heaven, seatedat the right hand of God the
Father, but He also lives in the hearts of His believers by His Spirit. The
apostle Paul said, "Christ lives in me!" You and I can saythis too. Jesus
promised that He will never leave us. He said, "I will never leave you, nor
forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5b).
Since Jesus is always with me, I must ask myself some questions:Is the Lord
Jesus pleasedwhenI am around those who are using bad language? No, He is
not.
Is Jesus pleasedwhenI am watching a TV show or movie with bad stuff in it?
No, He is not. Does Jesus enjoylistening to music that has dirty words in it?
No, He does not.
This means that I must not hang around those who use bad language. I must
not watchbad stuff, and I must not listen to music with dirty words.
Wherever I go, the Lord Jesus goes withme. Whatever I watch, the Lord
Jesus watchesit with me. Whatever I listen to, the Lord Jesus listens to it also.
If I truly love the Lord Jesus, I will not want to do anything that displeases
Him.
I can always enjoyJesus
Jesus is not a "force";He is a Person!He wants me to love and appreciate
Him. He wants me to enjoy Him, the waybest friends enjoy eachother.
The way to enjoy a person is to love that person. The more you love Jesus, the
more you will enjoy Him. When you fall in love with Jesus, you will be a
happy child of God.
The Lord Jesus is the most wonderful Personin all the universe. God tells me
to rejoice in Him—who He is and what He has done for me. No matter what
happens, I canalways rejoice in Him. The Bible says, "Rejoicein the Lord
always…" (Philippians 4:4).
http://ubdavid.org/kids-world/best-friends1/best-friends1_8.html

Jesus As A Friend
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"https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+15%3A15&version=
ESV"John15:15 ESV / 1,293 helpful votes
No longer do I call you servants, for the servantdoes not know what his
master is doing; but I have calledyou friends, for all that I have heard from
my FatherI have made known to you.
John 15:13 ESV / 1,113 helpful votes
Greaterlove has no one than this, that someone laydown his life for his
friends.
Proverbs 17:17 ESV / 991 helpful votes
A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.
A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks
closerthan a brother.
James 2:23 ESV / 732 helpful votes
And the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was
counted to him as righteousness”—andhe was calleda friend of God.
Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.
John 15:14 ESV / 612 helpful votes
You are my friends if you do what I command you.
One who is righteous is a guide to his neighbor, but the wayof the wicked
leads them astray.

Proverbs 22:24-25 ESV/ 478 helpful votes
Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man,
lest you learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare.
You adulterous people!Do you not know that friendship with the world is
enmity with God? Therefore whoeverwishes to be a friend of the world makes
himself an enemy of God.
1 Corinthians 15:33 ESV / 450 helpful votes
Do not be deceived: “Badcompany ruins good morals.”
A dishonest man spreads strife, and a whisperer separatesclosefriends.
Oil and perfume make the heart glad, and the sweetnessofa friend comes
from his earnestcounsel.
Whoeverwalks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will
suffer harm.
Proverbs 27:5-6 ESV / 397 helpful votes
Betteris open rebuke than hidden love. Faithful are the wounds of a friend;
profuse are the kisses ofan enemy.
Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses ofan enemy.
John 15:12-15 ESV/ 369 helpful votes
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longerdo I call
you servants, for the servantdoes not know what his masteris doing; but I
have calledyou friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made
known to you.
Job 2:11 ESV / 364 helpful votes
Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him,
they came eachfrom his ownplace, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite,
and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment togetherto come to
show him sympathy and comfort him.

1 Samuel 18:1-3 ESV / 359 helpful votes
As soonas he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathanwas knit to
the soulof David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. And Saul took him
that day and would not let him return to his father's house. Then Jonathan
made a covenantwith David, because he loved him as his ownsoul.
2 Kings 2:2 ESV / 354 helpful votes
And Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stayhere, for the Lord has sent me as far as
Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not
leave you.” So they went down to Bethel.
Matthew 11:28 ESV / 350 helpful votes
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you
sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Romans 5:8 ESV / 336 helpful votes
But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died
for us.
1 John 3:1 ESV / 311 helpful votes
See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called
children of God; and so we are. The reasonwhy the world does not know us is
that it did not know him.
Revelation3:20 ESV / 305 helpful votes
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the
door, I will come in to him and eatwith him, and he with me.
Whoevercovers an offense seekslove, but he who repeats a matter separates
close friends.
Luke 6:31 ESV / 286 helpful votes
And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.
Exodus 33:11 ESV / 285 helpful votes
Thus the Lord used to speak to Mosesface to face, as a man speaks to his
friend. When Mosesturned againinto the camp, his assistantJoshua the son
of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.

Many a man proclaims his own steadfastlove, but a faithful man who can
find?
If we confess oursins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
He who loves purity of heart, and whose speechis gracious, willhave the king
as his friend.
Ecclesiastes4:9-10 ESV/ 253 helpful votes
Two are better than one, because they have a goodreward for their toil. Forif
they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls
and has not another to lift him up!
Ecclesiastes4:9-12 ESV/ 248 helpful votes
Two are better than one, because they have a goodreward for their toil. Forif
they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls
and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keepwarm,
but how canone keepwarm alone? And though a man might prevail against
one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly
broken.
The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A
glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors andsinners!’
Hebrews 12:2 ESV / 236 helpful votes
Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecterof our faith, who for the joy that
was setbefore him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seatedat the
right hand of the throne of God.
Ruth 1:16-17 ESV / 231 helpful votes
But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you.
For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people
shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there
will I be buried. May the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but
death parts me from you.”

For if while we were enemies we were reconciledto God by the death of his
Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
Jesus saidto him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to
the Fatherexcept through me.
Hebrews 4:15 ESV / 220 helpful votes
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our
weaknesses, but one who in every respecthas been tempted as we are, yet
without sin.
Philippians 2:1-30 ESV / 214 helpful votes
So if there is any encouragementin Christ, any comfort from love, any
participation in the Spirit, any affectionand sympathy, complete my joy by
being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accordand of one
mind. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more
significant than yourselves. Let eachof you look not only to his own interests,
but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is
yours in Christ Jesus, ...
2 Samuel 1:26 ESV / 198 helpful votes
I am distressedfor you, my brother Jonathan; very pleasanthave you been to
me; your love to me was extraordinary, surpassing the love of women.
Isaiah53:5 ESV / 197 helpful votes
But he was wounded for our transgressions;he was crushedfor our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisementthat brought us peace, and with his stripes we
are healed.
Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am
with you always, to the end of the age.”
Acts 4:12 ESV / 195 helpful votes
And there is salvationin no one else, for there is no other name under heaven
given among men by which we must be saved.”
Colossians 3:12-14 ESV/ 193 helpful votes
Put on then, as God's chosenones, holy and beloved, compassionatehearts,
kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if

one has a complaint againstanother, forgiving eachother; as the Lord has
forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which
binds everything togetherin perfect harmony.
Ephesians 5:2 ESV / 193 helpful votes
And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant
offering and sacrifice to God.
Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing
honor.
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have
loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that
you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
A wise man is full of strength, and a man of knowledge enhanceshis might,
Peace Ileave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give
to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longerdo I call
you servants, for the servantdoes not know what his masteris doing; but I
have calledyou friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made
known to you.
“ForGod so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes
in him should not perish but have eternal life.
The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A
glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors andsinners!’ Yet wisdom is
justified by her deeds.”

Philippians 4:19 ESV / 175 helpful votes
And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in
Christ Jesus.
1 Corinthians 13:1-13 ESV / 173 helpful votes
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy
gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand
all mysteries and all knowledge, andif I have all faith, so as to remove
mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give awayall I have, and if I
deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gainnothing. Love is
patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogantor rude. It
does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; ...
Ephesians 2:10 ESV / 172 helpful votes
For we are his workmanship, createdin Christ Jesus for goodworks, which
God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewalof your
mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good
and acceptable andperfect.
And Jonathanmade David swearagainby his love for him, for he loved him
as he loved his own soul.
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in
the Dispersion:Greetings.
I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
2 Peter1:1 ESV / 167 helpful votes
Simeon Peter, a servantand apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have
obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness ofour God
and SaviorJesus Christ:
1 Peter3:15 ESV / 167 helpful votes
But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to
make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reasonfor the hope that is in
you; yet do it with gentleness andrespect,

Listen to advice and acceptinstruction, that you may gain wisdom in the
future.
And David said, “I will deal loyally with Hanun the son of Nahash, as his
father dealt loyally with me.” So David sent by his servants to console him
concerning his father. And David's servants came into the land of the
Ammonites.
Stay with me; do not be afraid, for he who seeksmy life seeks yourlife. With
me you shall be in safekeeping.”
You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go
and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whateveryou ask the
Father in my name, he may give it to you.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made knownto God.
I have thought it necessaryto send to you Epaphroditus my brother and
fellow workerand fellow soldier, and your messengerand minister to my
need,
2 Samuel 15:32-37 ESV/ 159 helpful votes
While David was coming to the summit, where God was worshiped, behold,
Hushai the Archite came to meet him with his coattorn and dirt on his head.
David said to him, “If you go on with me, you will be a burden to me. But if
you return to the city and say to Absalom, ‘I will be your servant, O king; as I
have been your father's servant in time past, so now I will be your servant,’
then you will defeat for me the counselof Ahithophel. Are not Zadok and
Abiathar the priests with you there? So whateveryou hear from the king's
house, tell it to Zadok and Abiathar the priests. Behold, their two sons are
with them there, Ahimaaz, Zadok's son, and Jonathan, Abiathar's son, and by
them you shall send to me everything you hear.” ...

2 Chronicles 20:7 ESV / 157 helpful votes
Did you not, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people
Israel, and give it foreverto the descendants of Abraham your friend?
2 Timothy 1:1 ESV / 156 helpful votes
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of
the life that is in Christ Jesus,
Galatians 2:20 ESV / 156 helpful votes
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longerI who live, but Christ who
lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Sonof God,
who loved me and gave himself for me.
Romans 8:1-39 ESV / 156 helpful votes
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
For the law of the Spirit of life has setyou free in Christ Jesus from the law of
sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakenedby the flesh, could
not do. By sending his ownSon in the likeness ofsinful flesh and for sin, he
condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law
might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to
the Spirit. Forthose who live according to the flesh set their minds on the
things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit settheir minds
on the things of the Spirit. ...
Colossians 4:14 ESV / 155 helpful votes
Luke the beloved physician greets you, as does Demas.
Revelation1:1 ESV / 154 helpful votes
The revelationof Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants
the things that must soontake place. He made it known by sending his angel
to his servant John,
2 Timothy 1:2-4 ESV / 154 helpful votes
To Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father
and Christ Jesus our Lord. I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors,
with a clearconscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night
and day. As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with
joy.
Colossians 4:7 ESV / 154 helpful votes
Tychicus will tell you all about my activities. He is a beloved brother and
faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord.

I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”
Surely he has borne our griefs and carriedour sorrows;yet we esteemedhim
stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one
another.”
2 Corinthians 2:12-13 ESV / 149 helpful votes
When I came to Troas to preach the gospelofChrist, even though a door was
opened for me in the Lord, my spirit was not at restbecause I did not find my
brother Titus there. So I took leave of them and went on to Macedonia.
And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you
were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our
God.
Romans 16:3-5 ESV / 147 helpful votes
GreetPrisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who riskedtheir
necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but all the churches of the
Gentiles give thanks as well. Greet also the church in their house. Greetmy
beloved Epaenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in Asia.
Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greaterthan his
master.’ If they persecutedme, they will also persecute you. If they kept my
word, they will also keepyours.
But I sayto you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannotbear them now.
Rejoice with those who rejoice, weepwith those who weep.

Jeremiah29:11 ESV / 140 helpful votes
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and
not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Luke 15:1-2 ESV / 139 helpful votes
Now the tax collectors andsinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the
Pharisees andthe scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and
eats with them.”
Then Jonathan saidto David, “Go in peace, becausewe have sworn both of us
in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘The Lord shall be betweenme and you, and
betweenmy offspring and your offspring, forever.’” And he rose and
departed, and Jonathanwent into the city.
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoeverloves has
been born of God and knows God.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed
away;behold, the new has come.
For the devious person is an abomination to the Lord, but the upright are in
his confidence.
Psalm23:1-6 ESV / 129 helpful votes
A Psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me
lie down in greenpastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my
soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness forhis name's sake. Eventhough I
walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fearno evil, for you are
with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table
before me in the presence ofmy enemies;you anoint my head with oil; my cup
overflows. ...
2 Timothy 3:16 ESV / 120 helpful votes
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof,
for correction, and for training in righteousness,

No temptation has overtakenyou that is not common to man. God is faithful,
and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the
temptation he will also provide the way of escape, thatyou may be able to
endure it.
For the wages ofsin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ
Jesus our Lord.
But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of
Abraham, my friend;
Psalm41:9 ESV / 116 helpful votes Helpful NotHelpful
Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel
againstme.
https://www.openbible.info/topics/jesus_as_a_friend
The BestFriend We Can Ever Have: Jesus Christ
John 15:9-16
Sermon by Rick Crandall
GraysonBaptist Church - August 18, 2013
*Friends are great. In the third grade, my best friend was Zach Smith. We
caught all the old-westbank robbers together, killed all the bad Indians
together, won World War II all over againby ourselves, exploredthe jungle in
the woods behind my house, and rode our bicycles all the wayinto space.
ADVERTISEMENT
*We were best friends. But by the grace ofGod, we can have an infinitely
better friend, and His name is Jesus Christ. If you don't know a single soul in
this room right now, you can still walk out of here today with the best friend
you will ever have. Are you friends with Jesus?
1. Pleaseknow that this is God's greatestdesire for our lives.

*The God of the universe loves you so much that He wants to be your friend
forever! Jesus talkedabout His love for us in vs. 9, where He said: "As the
Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.
*Canyou imagine how much God the Fatherloves His Son Jesus Christ?
There's no way for us to comprehend that love. And yet, Jesus says that's how
much He loves us! Amazing!
*And the Lord's desire is for us to be His friends forever. After Jesus spoke all
of these words to His disciples, He beganto pray to His Father in Heaven. And
John 17 tells us that:
1. Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: "Father, the
hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You,
2. as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal
life to as many as You have given Him.
3. And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and
Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
*Later on in His prayer, Jesus said:
20. I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me
through their word;
21. that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they
also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.
22. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one
just as We are one:
23. I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that
the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have
loved Me.
24. Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I
am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved
Me before the foundation of the world."
*God's greatestdesire for us is that we would live togetherwith Him forever
as His friends in Heaven. Jesus loves us. But how can we measure His love?
[1] We measure it by the distance He came for us.
*Love goes the distance, and nobody went farther for us than Jesus Christ.
We have to keepthis passageofScripture in perspective. Jesus was just a few
hours away from the cross. But the very fact that He was having a
conversationwith humans like us is amazing.

*Rememberhow the Apostle John beganHis Gospel. John1:1-4 calls Jesus
"the Word". And there John said:
1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God.
2. He was in the beginning with God.
3. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made
that was made.
4. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
*Godthe Son Jesus Christwas one with the Heavenly Fatherin all eternity
past. But Jesus came to earth and became a man, because love goes the
distance for us.
*MaxLucado noticed an example of Jesus going the distance very early in the
Lord's ministry. We find the story in John chapter 2, just after Jesus started
calling His disciples. And they walked90 miles from Jericho to Cana to go to a
wedding.
*MaxLucado asked:"Why did Jesus go to the wedding? The answeris found
in John 2:2: 'Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding.'"
*And Lucado gave this insight: "Jesus wasn'tinvited because he was a
celebrity. He wasn't one yet. The invitation wasn't motivated by his miracles.
He hadn't performed any yet. Why did they invite him? I suppose they liked
him. Big deal? I think so. I think it's significant that common folk in a little
town enjoyed being with Jesus.
-I think it's noteworthy that the Almighty didn't act high and mighty.
-The Holy One wasn't holier-than-thou.
-The One who knew it all wasn't a know-it-all.
-The One who made the stars didn't keephis head in them.
-The One who owns all the stuff on earth never strutted it."
*Then Maxmade much of the fact that Jesus is the kind of personyou want to
be around, not puffed up or proud or arrogant, even though He could have
been. And Max said: "Jesus couldhave been all of these (things), but he
wasn't. His purpose was not to show off, but to show up. He went to great
pains to be as human as the guy down the street. He didn't need to study, but
still went to the synagogue.He had no need for income, but still workedin the
workshop. He had known the fellowshipof angels and heard the harps of
heaven. Yet still went to parties thrown by tax collectors. And upon His

shoulders rested the challenge of redeeming creation, but He still took time to
walk ninety miles from Jericho to Cana to go to a wedding." (1)
*And Jesus came all the wayfrom Heaven to earth for us, because He loves
us.
-We measure the Lord's love by the distance He came for us.
[2] And we can measure it by His death on the cross for us.
*Jesus talkedaboutHis death in vs. 13, where He said: "Greaterlove has no
one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends." Jesus Christlaid
down His life for us. Let that sink in more than ever today. Jesus died on the
cross to pay the debt for our sins. And that was the only way this debt could
be paid. There is no other way. And Jesus was willing to die, because ofHis
love for us. So Max Lucado also said: "Nails didn't hold God to the cross. --
Love did." (2)
*The God of the universe loves us so much that He wants to be our friend!
-Are you friends with Jesus? -- This is God's greatestdesire for our lives.
2. And it is our greatestdecision.
[1] We must decide to turn to Jesus Christ.
*The Lord shows us what this turning involves in vs. 10. There Jesus said: "If
you keepMy commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept
My Father's commandments and abide in His love." And in vs. 12, "This is
My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." And in vs.
14, "You are My friends if you do whatever I command you."
*If we are really going to be God's friend.
-We have to turn awayfrom sin.
-We have to turn awayfrom selfishness.
-We have to turn toward obeying God and loving other people.
*This does not mean we won't struggle with temptation, and sometimes we
will stumble. James Dobsonhelps us understand with a story about a
missionary in Africa. This missionary was returning to his hut late one
afternoon, and as he went in the door, he spotted a huge python on the floor.
African python snakes canexceed20 feetin length.
*The missionary ran back to his truck and got his .45-caliberpistol, but
unfortunately, he only had one bullet in the chamber and no extra
ammunition. So he took carefulaim and shot that snake in the head. The

snake was mortally wounded, but it did not die quickly. Instead, it beganto
frantically thrash around on the floor.
*The missionary ran back out into the yard, where he could hear furniture
breaking and lamps crashing. Finally, all was quiet, and the man cautiously
went back in. He found the snake dead, but his hut was a wreck. In its dying
moments, the python had unleashed all its wrath and poweron everything in
sight.
*Later, the missionary saw a connectionwith that spiritual serpent named
Satan. He has already been mortally wounded by the death and resurrection
of Jesus Christ. But he is still thrashing around like that python. And
sometimes he smashes into us. (3)
*We may struggle, and we may stumble. But in the end, we will have victory,
if we have turned our life over to the Lord Jesus Christ.
*Godwants to be our Friend. But we must decide to turn to Jesus Christ.
[2] And decide to trust Him.
*This truth flows out of what Jesus saidin vs. 13:"Greaterlove has no one
than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends."
*Do I really believe that Jesus loves me?
-Do I really believe that He died on the cross forme?
-Do I really trust that Jesus alone canforgive my sins?
*Do I trust that He will meet my needs?
-That He will keep on loving me?
-That He will stay with me?
*Once I was walking on one of the trails in Kiroli Park up in WestMonroe.
And I saw a messagecarvedinto the side of a big oak tree. It said, "Joeyloves
Amy." It had been there for a long, long time.
*And I wondered if Joeystill loved Amy, but I don't have to wonder about
Jesus!
-I know that He loves me.
-I know that He loves you.
-And we ought to trust Him.
*In Jeremiah31:3, the Lord spoke to His prophet about the love He has for
His people. There the Lord said: "Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting
love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you."

*Hebrews 13:5 says this to Christians: "Let your conduct be without
covetousness,and be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has
said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.'''
*We don't have to wonder about Jesus!
-He will always love us.
-He will never leave us.
-And we ought to trust Him.
*Godwants to be our Friend. But we must decide to trust in Jesus Christ.
[3] And decide to talk to Him.
*This is part of the lessonin vs. 16, where Jesus told His followers:"You did
not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and
bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whateveryou ask the
Father in My name He may give you."
*Friends talk to eachother, and God surely wants us to talk to Him. He wants
us to bring all of our needs to Him. And we start by bringing our greatest
needs to Him:
-The need for forgiveness.
-The need for eternallife.
-The need for a personalrelationship with God.
*So Romans 10:6-13 says:
6. . . The righteousness offaith speaks in this way, "Do not sayin your heart,
'Who will ascendinto heaven?''' (that is, to bring Christ down from above)
7. or, "'Who will descendinto the abyss?'''(that is, to bring Christ up from
the dead).
8. But what does it say? "The word is near you, even in your mouth and in
your heart'' (that is, the word of faith which we preach):
9. that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your
heart that God has raisedHim from the dead, you will be saved.
10. For with the heart one believes to righteousness, andwith the mouth
confessionis made to salvation.
11. For the Scripture says, "Whoeverbelieves onHim will not be put to
shame.''
12. For there is no distinction betweenJew and Greek, forthe same Lord over
all is rich to all who callupon Him.

13. For "whoevercalls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.''
*Godwants to be our friend. But we have to turn to Him, trust in Him, and
talk to Him. God is not going to force us to do these things. We must make the
choice. The decisionis up to us. Are you friends with Jesus? --This is our
greatestdecision.
3. And it's our greatestdelight.
*As Jesus saidin vs. 11: "These things I have spokento you, that My joy may
remain in you, and that your joy may be full."
*Our greatestfriend Jesus Christis the author of everlasting, overflowing joy
in our hearts. But notice that the joy only comes when we tune in to what
Jesus has to say to us. Again in vs. 11:"These things I have spokento you,
that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full."
*Where are we going to find joy in this often crazy, heartbreaking world?
[1] When we listen to Jesus, we canfind joy in the help He gives.
*Verse 12 speaks to us about this help, because here Jesus said:"This is My
commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." Here we see
love, and love helps. Love lends a helping hand. It can come through
Christians who love us or through the Hand of God as He uses His angels, His
Word, and His power. We can find joy in the help Jesus gives.
[2] And in the honor He gives to us.
*Verse 15 speaks to us about this honor, because here Jesus said: "No longer
do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing;
but I have calledyou friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I
have made known to you."
*Church: It's an honor to be a servant of God. But what a promotion we see
here. Jesus always moves us up to better things! We canfind joy in the honor
Jesus gives to us.
[3] And in the eternal home He gives to us.
*Verse 16 reminds us that the things we have in Jesus will last forever. Here
Jesus tells His followers:"You did not choose Me, but I chose you and
appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should
remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you."
*When it comes to fruit, I like bananas. But my problem is that the bananas in
the store are almost always green. And I just cannot eatgreenbananas, so I
always have to wait.

*And then comes the day when that banana is just right. But you have to eat it
right then, because thatbanana is only going to stay ripe for about 15
minutes. After that it starts to get mushy and brown. But the fruit Jesus is
talking about in vs. 16 is going to remain, not just for 15 minutes or 15 years.
The fruit Jesus is talking about will last forever! And the fruit is people like
you and me, -- people that we help leadto Jesus Christ. And the life they find
in Him will last forever. What a joy! What a delight!
*When Christian author, JoshMcDowellwas going to seminary in California,
his father went home to be with the Lord. And Josh's thoughts turned to his
mother who had died years before. Joshwas not sure of his mom's salvation,
and he got depressed, thinking that she might have been lost. Was she a
Christian or not? That question obsessedJosh. And he prayed: "Lord,
somehow give me the answerso I can getback to normal. I've just gotto
know."
*It seemedlike an impossible request. Two days later, Joshdrove out to the
ocean. He walkedto the end of a pier to be alone. But there sat an old woman
in a lawn-chair, fishing. "Where's your home originally?" she asked.
"Michigan-- Union City," Joshreplied. "Nobody's heard of it. I tell people
it's a suburb of." "Battle Creek,"interrupted the woman. -- "I had a cousin
from there.
*Did you know the McDowellfamily?" she asked. Joshwas stunned and
answered, "Yes, I'm JoshMcDowell!" "I can't believe it," said the woman.
"I'm a cousin to your mother."
*"Do you remember anything at all about my mother's spiritual life?" asked
Josh. "Why sure. -- Your mom and I were just girls, teenagers, whena tent
revival came to town. It was the fourth night. We both went forward to accept
Christ." Joshshouted, "Praise God!" (4)
*He was delighted!
-Delighted To know that his mom and dad were together.
-Delighted that he would spend eternity with them.
-Delighted about the help He got from God.
-And delighted about His BestFriend Jesus Christ.
CONCLUSION:
*You can walk out of here today with the bestfriend you will ever have. Just
call on the Lord to save you. You can do that in a moment when we go to God
in prayer.

*And if Jesus is already your bestfriend, praise God! And do everything you
can to help more people know the Lord.
*Would you please bow for prayer.
(1) "When God Whispers Your Name" by Max Lucado -
www.crosswalk.com/devotionals/upwords/upwords-week-of-november-18-
24.html
(2) Quote by Max Lucado (Original source unknown)
(3) "When God Doesn'tMake Sense"by James Dobson - pp. 194-195
(4) "Our Daily Bread" - Found on Sermonillustrations.com- Topic:Prayer
Answered
https://sermons.faithlife.com/sermons/123004-the-best-friend-we-can-ever-
have:-jesus-christ
My GreatestFriendIs Jesus – Hymn
By BP-Pub-1
- October10, 2019
0
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Author: N. E. Setser, pub.
My greatestfriend is Jesus;
He left the throne of God,
This world of sorrow entered,
To save me by His blood.

Jesus was the greatest friend

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