God, Our Friend | Tim Sheets

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the Apostle John often called the apostle of love provides an image of God that has been grossly distorted by Hell's Kingdom for thousands of years it's it's been distorted by humanism it's been distorted by in some cases religion education has distorted it reasonings of fallen man has distorted it who God is what what God does how he functions his ways is often expounded upon by those who don't even know him so I'd like to clear as best I can some of the distortion as one who has at least met the master he's my Savior he's my my lord I have been an active pursuit pursuer of God for years now other than Jesus as Savior I don't know I don't know anything greater to ponder than the promise here in John chapter 15 it challenges me and it it has four years it gives me hope it inspires me it resets my life and brings me focused there's there's something about the promise in this in this verse that that it just it resets me in my spirit my soul or my body it resets my emotions it has comforted me in difficult times times that that try the soul situations that have appeared like impossible was all it was possible and yet my God friends showed up to help turn things around my God friend came to assist me my God friend came to be an escort the Scriptures of course must be the foundation for any accurate description and the Apostle Paul he quoted what geez said of himself in Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 7 where he said behold I come and in the volume of of the book it is written of me to do your Will O God God's Word yes Bible the Bible it has 66 volumes 39 in the Old Testament and of course 27 in the new and every one of them described God as a friend in some way they describe our God from they describe they describe to us who he really is not not some conjecture or not someone's life experience or someone's opinion which is often even worse the New Living Bible reads this way jesus said I have come to do your Will O God as is written about me in the scriptures so let's go back in in time and see that from the very beginning God begins to reveal who he really is to us through his word and the Bible reveals two very very important things to know about God right from the start again it has been so distorted by humanism and and so misunderstood God wanted two things number one God wanted a family and number two God wanted friends think about that with me for a few minutes today the one who is loved wanted a family the one who is loved wanted friends I mean who was God's friend before man was made and and put upon the earth who did the timeless one spend his time with who did the joyful one enjoy life with when it was time for God to take some time off where did he go and with whom angels as doubtful because they are different kind of beings they are cause created beings they they fill a need they fill a cause they they were not made in God's image and likeness like we are that's not like God was lonely I don't mean that it's more that he had a longing and that's what was described in the scriptures because real love seeks expression and and two of the top expressions of real love is of course family or its friends the fact that God that God wanted family has seen in his description of heaven itself he could have described it all kinds of different ways he is he has quite creative but he he described it as home it's the eternal home of Father God with his family it's the home for his sons it's the home for his daughters heaven is our home heaven the place where God resides we are told that we have a place there we sing about it we have a home in heaven a place in heaven a place prepared for us that's the greek word monet and it means mountain chalet why because Mount Zion where God lives is a mountain with all kinds of mountain ranges and of course they go for 1500 miles in all directions what a great grandeur is seen there and on those mountain ranges around the highest mountain which is Mount Zion is a place he is preparing for his sons and his daughters and from every mountain or every part of the range we can always be able to look and see there's father's house it's home to this day we described when when there's a death of a believer we describe it as their home going they went home God wanted friends and he wanted family in the Old Testament we find that God had very few friends fact it was rare we are told of Enoch Enoch was God's friend and he he actually walked so close to God that one day God said to Enoch just come home with me and this man went to heaven having never died on this planet he was God's friend there's Abraham Abraham was was God's friend Abraham doesn't declare to us he wasn't a name-dropper Abraham didn't say he was God's friend God said Abraham is my friend and God told Abraham things that he told no one else on the planet at the time he even let his friend Abraham know he was going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah because of its perversion why did he let him know because Abraham had family there and God essentially said I cannot do that to my friend I'm gonna let him know and I know him well enough to know he's going to intercede he's gonna pray and that's exactly what Abraham did and judgment was avoided for family members because Abraham and God were friends amazingly we see that the Friends of God they're their extended families are even blessed by that friendship friends friends tell friends things they they tell no one else I would love to live in such a way that God would tell me things that only that he only tells I want to live that way and then there was Moses Moses and God became best friends as we saw a bit last week God said I'm gonna speak to everybody else with visions and I'm gonna I'm gonna speak to them through dreams but me and Moses are different I'm not going to talk to him that way with him I'm going to speak face-to-face as a man does with his friends we are we are friends so close that when we're together we don't even have to talk because Moses knows my ways so close that that God did Moses funeral so close that God came to earth and buried Moses God wanted family and he wanted friends but but they had to have a free will I mean you can't make someone be your friend you can be friendly you can cultivate friendship and of course we should do that but it's someone's own decision as to whether or not they're going to be friends so God wanted God wanted a free choice family he wanted a he wanted free choice friends and he was willing to go to the ultimate lengths to make it happen Jesus the Son of God lay down his life for his friends John 15:13 there is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends you're my friends if you do what I command I no longer call you slaves because a master doesn't confide in slaves now you are my friends since I've told you everything the father told me you didn't choose me I chose you and appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit so that the father will give you whatever you ask for using my name this is my command love one another these verses identify a love and a compassion that is the essence of who God really is there there is none as we sang about nor nor has there ever been one who even comes close to God's greatness whose power is constantly monitored constantly filtered constantly tempered by his unconditional love the finite human mind can't really comprehend unconditional love the tendency I think in most all of us is to think surely there must be some condition somewhere and yet no God's love is unconditional and John's message is so clear this God of unconditional love was not willing that any would perish that's why John starts in the first part of his book in Chapter three John 3:16 for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in him would not perish but have everlasting life the word perish is the greek word apple lia and means to ruin or it means to spoil it basically it basically means in the Greek language means to lose God wanted no one to lose he wanted every man woman boy and girl to be a part of his family he wanted he wanted them all to succeed he wanted them all to bear fruit he wanted them all to win and because of the cross we can we can win Jesus he died for our sins we know that and those who accept his sacrifice and will confess his sins find that he is faithful and he is just to forgive them the amazing truth of the Cross it's astounding really if Jesus has declared Lord sins are forgiven and we are reborn in the spirit and we are reborn into his family by choice ours the choice it's been done it's available there's a new beginning that no one should miss out on because if you do you perish you lose and that's the gospel in a nutshell you lose what life is all about you lose your purpose you don't just lose it here but you for ever God was not willing to allow that without giving you an option without giving you a choice so being born again is miraculous it's enlightening it's humbling awesome all inspiring and joyous all at the same time because when we are when we are born of God revelation floods us in the innermost part of our of our being that we are God's child I am his son or I am his daughter a special relationship with father is now available to begin first John 3:1 says behold what manner of love the father has bestowed on us that we could be called the children of God but something else that emotes acceptance and love occurs when kinship becomes friendship it's a tremendous message of the New Testament it is one of my very favorite things to ponder yes there is kinship but there is also friendship something that is not always true in families a family it does not always mean friendship kinship doesn't always mean friendship in fact there can be kinship and no friendship there can be friendship and ill-will there can be kinship and yet harm ridicule even hatred but now where God is concerned and amazingly the Godhead wants us to know the father wants us to know Holy Spirit wants us to know Jesus wants us to know they are our God friend our father friend our Holy Spirit friend our Lord friend the ramifications of that are absolutely astounding no harm no ridicule no bad we'll just unconditional love I'm so thankful today that I'm not just related to Jesus I'm his friend first Corinthians 3:16 says no you not that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you he repeats this in 2nd Corinthians 6:16 saying you are the Temple of the Living God you're his house for God hath said I will dwell with them and walk with them and they they will be my my people he said in Colossians 1 and verse 17 Christ in you is your hope of glory what amazing statements concerning God's heart towards you and I he wants to dwell in us he wants to temple in us think about that for a few moments today this is incredible God who is all powerful God who is abundant in riches he can live anywhere he wants to live he can afford any paradise anywhere he can be anywhere he wants to be and I'm thankful humbled by the fact that of all the places where God could live he chose to live with me he chose to be with me it's hard to understand he's my friend his omnipresence included me he never leaves never forsakes always supernaturally constant that's what John is describing here the night before Christ was captured and beaten and tried before Pilate he said it supper one last time with his disciples and he makes this phenomenal statement I'm not going to call you your servants you're not servants your friends he said servants they don't know what their Lord is doing but you do because I've told you I've confided in you I've talked to you about it I've talked to you about the cross I've talked to you about my kingdom all my parables were about the kingdom I've talked to you about my work he said I've I've told you everything I've heard from the father I've revealed it to you they were friends they knew him they understood him they knew his nature they they there was constant communication one with the other they knew his ways which is a characteristic of real friends acquaintances don't know what real friends know it seems to me that there are a lot of people in our world today who are acquainted with Jesus but they don't know him they do not know his nature they don't know his ways they haven't pursued fellowship or aren't pursuing fellowship with him and sadly it is true in many Christians case some Christians hardly ever speak to him they are related to him but haven't pursued friendship and they need to know there is so much more kinship can become friendship and there's nothing quite like it now King David wrote the he wrote this about Moses in Psalms 103 and verse 7 said God made known his ways to Moses and his acts to the people of Israel the people of God they knew God's mighty acts they knew the mighty acts God could do indeed they lived in those acts as did Moses but it says Moses knew God's waise Moses knew God's character Moses knew how God thought about things he knew how God felt about things Moses didn't just know about God he knew God he communed with God he communicated with God face-to-face there was a relationship there there their heart their hearts were shared with one another Moses was more interested in who God was than what God could do for him his relationship with God had matured whenever I think about this I think about my my relationship with my grandfather Hinkel especially this time of the year I haven't talked about this in a few years but it it's been on my heart a little bit the last few days I've aspired to be like him in so many ways he was one of the greatest men that I ever knew he was a hard worker one of the hardest workers you'll ever find he's worked 50 years in a hardware store and then on the side he he did other other jobs to make ends meet we've kind of in a poor situation at the time in fact our family was very very poor I didn't know it at the time but we were but he he would raise plants and sell them in the spring and it and then when he was done with that he saw night crawlers he'd have Dutch and I outside at night with flashlights picking up night crawlers it was a great man a great Giver always giving something and he worked hard to provide for his family and and to make up the difference because my dad was evangelist we were just very very poor we had nothing and there would have been many many Christmases when I had nothing that's what I was thinking about when this came to mind there would have been Chris many Christmases we had to had nothing if it wasn't for for my my grandpa and of course my grandma too she was probably the one behind it the most I remembered this did me and Dutch were signed up for Little League baseball and so we go to the practices before the games you know a couple weeks before you go to practices we had no we had no shoes no baseball shoes we had no pants and we had no gloves no baseball glove so we're we're out there practicing and playing hard and of course me and Dutch were the best ones out there you know that but anyway when we're playing barehanded and one day I don't know why we're priced 6 or 7 years old but one day my grandpa came to pick us up after practice and he got there a little bit early it was bought in a little bit of it and he noticed and he said you you don't have gloves no we don't have baseball gloves well on the way home we got baseball gloves well let me see that bat we had found an old broken bat put it together with glue put screws on each side and taped it with electric tape that was the last of that we got a bat when I grew up and got a little older in time to to get a car it was grandpa that that came through when I was young little kid maybe 4 or 5 6 7 years old my my grandfather played a game that probably most of you have played if you're a grandpa but he would put a coin in his hand and he'd always hide it and you got to pick the coin or the hand and you get the coin well he did this every time we were there and we were there a lot and he would always have a quarter nickel and we'll per quarter you get five ice cream cones we were good shape and but anyway if if he was talking saying goodbye and everything and leaving well we're little we're looking at his hands and we might even reach over and grab his hand and see if there's anything in and then he he knows and grandma's got to go around the house and find change because we got to play this game and he's got to play it and we get to keep the dying quarter or whatever it is years later I always go went down to Waverly area to deer hunt some of you probably heard the story a couple times but I would stay with them until they got so old that there really couldn't but would stay with Grandma and Grandpa will go deer hunting come in at night and then have about an hour and a half just to sit around talk with them and that did this for years so I'm sitting there one night and I begin to ask grandpa some questions about him and I had never done that I realized as I was getting older around 40 or so at the time probably that I had really a very shallow relationship with him I loved him but didn't really know who this guy who is this guy so I'm sitting there in a house that was a sauna he only had one eye he never turned it up a degree he just spun it he told me a good time he said I was raised and we'd go to bed and be so cold I promised myself I'd never be cold again he wasn't I said grandpa how'd you meet grandma I wanted to know he said oh let's say about 1930 I was at a dance a barn dance and he said I gave her a ride home she lived about three miles away from me he said I gave her a ride home on my mule then I said well okay I said what was your first job he said was shucking corn filling up bushel baskets and then he he said you know I'll be able to hay in and did that kind of farm work and then he said I I got the job but at the hardware store unloading railway railroad cars of lumber he said we have a way to get them you know machinery so we unloaded it by hand he said I I would unload railroad cars by hand I said by yourself he said yeah you just put him on your shoulder and then I said well what was the first car you ever never seen grandpa he said I was a Model T Ford and he said tell you something about that I saw it it was going uphill backwards it was it was being driven backwards up a hill and he said you know why is that I have no idea he said well there was no there was no in there there the boy or the gas was gravity-fed no injection fuel injection it was gravity-fed so he said if you go up you know know all the gas run the back here they run out of gas so they all drove him drove him uphill backwards then I said okay when did you become a Christian grandpa and he began to tell me how in 1940 he he gave his life to the Lord and and grandma interjected some things and said tell him the story telling your testimony Billy and come to find out grandpa was a real rascal that's what grandma called him I can define it I think but there was a revival meeting and and she kept saying go to the revival meeting go to the revival meeting and finally he he broke down and he he and he said he became under conviction these what they used to call when the Spirit of God come home drawn drawn him to repentance and he said I came under conviction but he said I fought it off and he said the next day then she asked me you're going to go to the revival meeting with me again and he gave in and he went and he said when they gave the altar call he said I decided I'm gonna give my heart to the Lord and he said he got up and he he said we're sending about three-quarters of the way back and he said I started to walk down towards that altar and he said I couldn't do it so about half way he said I just got down on my knees and I crawled to the altar I said you crawled all the way up to the older he said yeah I said why'd you do that he said on I wasn't worthy I wasn't worthy we gave his heart to the Lord he became an elder and he raised my mom and church and affected my destiny I said there in that old house that is a cabin actual cabin and walls are this thick and they've knocked out each side to put a bedroom it's tiny by setting that that house and I was looking at this old man his face is lined wrinkled with age got lifelines all over it saggy and I didn't want one thing grandpa had I didn't want anything from those old wrinkled hands I was too busy looking at his face it was carved with life life was carved in his face dark time were carved there but a lot of just good life was there I I didn't want anything in his hands I just wanted to know him I wanted to know who he was I wanted to to learn from his life I wanted to learn from his experience God has he has plenty in his hands for you his hands can do more for you than anybody else's hands can ever do but the real quest of life is to lift your eyes higher to see his face the real quest of life is to to really know him not about him him just know him not just a shallow relationship of what can he do for me the Almighty one what can he do for me but the mature relationship of I want to know him I don't worry about what God can do for me I stopped that a long time ago I know it's plenty I'm pursuing in that friendship pursuit has taken me through the volumes of God's book time after time after time thousands and thousands and thousands of hours I want to know him I want to be more than an acquaintance with Christ Jesus I want more than kinship I want friendship it was 1976 I was working at a concrete company thinking about going to Bible School whether I should go or not it's 43 years ago Christian TV was just getting started and CBN the Christian Broadcasting Network Pat Robertson was was just getting started and it was televising The Full Gospel businessmen's can from California and I had never seen a Christian convention in a big arena ever before and I wanted to see this but being in in California naturally it was going to be coming on very very late at night but had to see it because Oral Roberts was going to be was gonna be preaching and I never heard him before so I was staying up and I was I was watching and when he got up and he began to preach a mantle to preach and anointing to preach came upon me I literally felt it I'll never forget he was he was preaching about Shadrach Meshach and and Abednego in the fiery furnace and suddenly a fourth man appeared in that that fiery furnace and then Oral Roberts said who is this fourth man and he began to declare who Jesus was in the volumes of the book and I remember standing to my feet I couldn't I couldn't stand I couldn't sit there I stood up I don't even remember standing but I just got up I've never heard anything like this before and it was like I could hear God's voice booming inside of me revealing my Savior friend through the volumes of the book and I stood there in rapt attention 43 years ago as a mantle came over me over my shoulders that I could literally feel hearing for the first time in Genesis he is the seed of the woman that has come to stomp the head of the serpent in Exodus he's the Passover lamb in Leviticus he's our high priest in numbers he's the pillar of fire by night and the cloudy pillar by day and Deuteronomy he's a prophet like unto Moses leading to supernatural deliverance and activating supernaturally God's promise in Joshua he's the captain of our salvation in judges he's the judge in the law giver in Ruth he's our kinsman redeemer in 1st and 2nd Samuel he's the trusted prophet in 1st Kings and 2nd kings and chronicles he is our reigning king in Ezra he's the rebuilder of the broken down walls of human lives in after he's our more to KI in job he's the everlasting Redeemer the dasie the Dayspring from on high in Psalms he's our Shepherd in proverbs and Ecclesiastes he's our wisdom in the the Song of Solomon he's our loving bridegroom in Isaiah he is Emmanuel the suffering servant and the Prince of Peace in Jeremiah he's the righteous branch in lamentations he is the weeping prophet in Ezekiel he's the wonderful four-faced man and Daniel he is the fourth man in that fiery furnace in Hosea he's the beautiful husband forever married to the backsliders in joy he's the Baptizer of the Holy Ghost and fire in Amos ease the burden bearer in Obadiah he is the Lord God mighty to save and Jonah is the great foreign missionary proclaiming forgiveness to all in Micha he's the messenger with beautiful feet in them and he's the Avenger of God's elect in Habakkuk he is God's avenges crying for revival revive thy works in the midst of the years old God in Zephaniah he's the restorer of the remnants heritage in Haggai he's the cleansing fountain in Zechariah is the fountain open for sin and for uncleanness in Malachi he's the son of righteousness rising with healing in his wings in Matthew he is the Christ the Son of the Living God in mark he's the miracle worker in Luke he's the son of man in John he's the door of salvation in acts he's the ascender he's descended Savior and the Baptizer in the Holy Spirit in Romans he's the justifier in first Corinthians he's the gifts of the Spirit and second Corinthians he's he's the triumphant one the triumphant one giving victory in Galatians he's our Liberty the one that sets us free from the curse of the law in Ephesians he's the head of the church in Philippi in Philippi in the Philippians he's he's the one who meets all your needs according to his riches in glory through Christ Jesus producing joy unspeakable and full of glory in Colossians he's the fullness of the Godhead bodily in 1st and 2nd Thessalonians he is our soon coming King who is going to descend from heaven with a shout with the voice of the Archangel with the trumpet of God he is the one that dead will rise first to meet and the one that those who are alive and remain on the earth will rise and meet in the air of his glorious appearing in first Timothy he's the mediator between God and and man in 2nd Timothy he's our stability in Philemon he's the friend that sticks closer than a brother that Solomon described in Titus he's the faithful pastor in Hebrews he's the one whose blood washes away sin in James he's the Great Physician in 1st Peter he's the chief Shepherd in 2nd Peter he's your purity and 1st John he's everlasting love in 2nd John he's the turn of that brotherly love and third John he's the one that calls us you to prosper and be in health as your soul prospers in Jude he is the Lord coming with 10,000 of his Saints in Revelation he is the king of kings and Lord of lords he is the first he is the last the beginning and the end he is the keeper of creation and he is the creator of it all he's the architect of the universe and the manager of the universe he always was always is and always will be he's unmoved he's unchangeable he's undefeated he was bruised and yet brought healing he was pierced in an east pain he was persecuted and yet brought freedom he was dead and brought life he is risen and brings power he reigns and he brings peace the world can't understand him armies can't defeat him schools schools can explain him and leaders can't ignore him Herod couldn't kill him Pharisees couldn't confuse him Nero couldn't crush him Hitler couldn't silence him the new age can't explain him away he is light he has loved his life he is Lord he is goodness he is kindness he as gentleness and greatness personified he is holy he is righteous he is mighty is powerful he's pure he he is his - is matchless he's my Redeemer my Savior my guide my my peace my joy my comfort my lord and my friend who sticks closer than a brother my Savior friend who never leaves nor forsake no I don't worry I don't worry what God can do for me oh I know it's plenty but like Moses I want to see his face not his hands if you want to be a success in every area of life see God's face there'll be plenty in these hands those who do will find they have more than they will ever need and some old this old song probably none of you even know but I was raised in it it it says friendship with Jesus fellowship divine Oh what blessed sweet communion Jesus is a friend of mine this one my grandpa and grandma would have heard oh I want to see him look upon his face there to sing forever of his saving grace on the streets of glory let me lift my voice cares all past home at last ever to rejoice the verses their sermons and themselves you raise it a little bit as I journey through the land singing as I go pointing souls to Calvary to the crimson flow many arrows pierce my soul from without within but my Lord leads me on through him I will win when in service for my Lord dark may be the night but I'll cling more close to him he will give me night Satan's snares may vex my soul turn my thoughts aside but my Lord goes ahead leads what air be tied when before me billows rise from the my knee deep then my lord directs my life he does safely keep and he leads me gently on through the world below he's a real friend to me oh I love him so oh I want to see him look upon his face there to sing forever of his saving grace on the streets of glory let me lift my voice cares all past home at last ever to rejoice singers and musicians come before us sing what a friend we have in Jesus Oh our sins and griefs to bear what a privilege everything to God in prayer Oh what peace we often forfeit Oh what needless pain we bear oh because we do not carry everything to God in prayer have we trials and temptations is there trouble where anywhere we should never be discouraged take it to the Lord in prayer can we find a friend so faithful who will all our sorrows share Jesus knows our every weakness take it to the Lord in prayer are we weak and heavy laden cumbered with a load of care precious Savior still our refuge take it to the Lord in prayer do thy friends despise forsake you take it to the Lord and prayer in his arms you'll take and shield you thou will find a solace there stand if you will you might be gone through some very difficult times I don't know every situation I just know that there's somebody that cares I just know that we have a god that really loves you and it's unconditional I just I just know that over the years and decades he has proven so many times to me I'll be there I'll be there I'm there and the good times I'm there in the bad times I'm just there you're more than kin to me we can be friends I want to help you [Music] life hands us a lot of different things some we just we can't make sense of on our own oftentimes it looks impossible or possibly it's in the area even physically a disease or whatever how do we get through that how do we get through the broken times we have a friend that sticks closer than a brother but he's more than just a friend he's our God friends he could handle it as we sing if you need prayer today for whatever reason just come and line the altar and we're gonna we're gonna pray for you and trust that our God friends gonna touch you an unconditional love we'll come and surround you the supernatural peace only he provides can't be yours whatever it is however tough it may be for you come and that's experienced our God friend today and his love and his care for us
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Channel: Oasis Church
Views: 2,144
Rating: 5 out of 5
Keywords: the oasis church, tim sheets, dr. tim sheets, oasiswired, oasis church, middletown ohio
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Length: 49min 24sec (2964 seconds)
Published: Tue Jan 08 2019
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