A Friend Called In Jesus

Heavenly Father, we give You praise, we give You honor, we give reverence to Your holy and devine name.
We lift Your name above every name Lord God and we sing praises to You in the highest.
We thank You Lord for all that we have and for all that we are.
We bless the name of Jesus. Thank you Lord for our salvation, for Your love, for the life that You have breathed into us.
Thank You for being a blessing to us all. In the name of Jesus.
Amen.

Our scriptures for this sermon are taken from the following:
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12; John 15:12-17; Psalm 31:11-14;
Psalm 38:11; Psalm 88:18; Proverbs 17:16;
Proverbs 18:24; Proverbs 27:10

What A Friend --- Jesus

Ecclesiates 4:9-12
The word given to Solomon Son of David
9} Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their work;
10} If one falls down, his friend can help him/(her) up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!
11} Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
but how can one keep warm alone?
12} Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves,
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Let us pause here in our walk with the Lord through His word to reflect on what a wonderful friend we have in Jesus.
Truly the Lord loves each and every one of us and cherishes us as His friends.
The word tells us that God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son,
that who ever believed in Him would not perish, but have eternal life. {John 3:16}
What a price to pay for someone you love. Yet the Lord Jesus Christ paid the price willingly.
Let us give the Lord praise and thanks for the sacrifice that He made so that we may be saved through Him.
Selah. Praise the Lord.

Section II of the Sermon - What A Friend We Have In Jesus

John 15:12-17 (The words of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ)
12} My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.
13} Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.
14} You are My friends if you do what I command.
15} I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business,
Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you to go and bear fruit ---- fruit that will last.
16} Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in My name.
17} This is My command; love each other.

Not a suggestion, not a good idea, not a decision to make.
The Lord says, "This is My command: Love each other."
Let us obey the command of the Lord.
Selah. Praise the Lord.

Psalm 31:11-13
11} Because of all my enemies, I am the utter contempt
of my neighbors; I am a dread to my friends --- those who see me
on the street flee from me.
12} I am forgotten by them as though I were dead; I have become like broken pottery.
13} For I hear the slander of many; there is terror on every side;
they conspire against me and plot to take my life.

Now you might assume from David's narrative that he is really really up against
a rock and a hard place.
But the word says; {Proverbs 18:24} A man of many companions may come to ruin,
But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
So even when your enemies and neighbors are against you;
Even as the writer says {Psalm 38:11}
My friends and companions avoid me because of my wounds;
My neighbors stay far away.
Even if times seem so bad that you feel as though {Psalm 88:18...}
...The darkness is my closest friend.
Even when we think all hope is lost and we don't have any one to turn to.
We must {Psalm 31:24} Be strong and take heart, all you who hope
in the Lord.
The writer says, {Psalm 31:14}
But I trust in You, O Lord; I say, You are my God.
15}My times are in Your hands...

There is a spiritual song that says:
What a friend we have in Jesus, all our grief and pain
to bear.
What a priviledge to carry everything to God in prayer.
The Lord has called us His friend {John 15:15}
When we fall down, we have a friend to help us
get back up again.
That friend is Jesus.
When others dread our company, when those who
see us on the street avoid us. When we are forgotten
by many. There is a friend who will never leave or forsake us.
That friend is Jesus.
The Lord and Savior Jesus Christ said,
{John 15:15} I no longer call you servants.... I have called you friends.

Do you have a friend in Jesus?
If your answer is anything but a definite yes, CLICK_HERE