Grace Fellowship Church Pastor/Teacher Jim Rickard Tuesday, August 31,

Doxology Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; Praise Him, all creatures here below; Praise Him above, ye heavenly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.— Amen.

Memory Verse John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.”

John 15:15 XI. Slavery vs. Friendship.

4. “For all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.”

6) Knowing the will of God is a tremendous privilege; with it comes great responsibility.

a) Knowing God’s plan and will means you need to be a part of it and align yourself to it. (Voluntarily be His servant to accomplish His will.)

b) Do not get in the way of or frustrate His will in any given situation.

c) If you know His will, you operate in conjunction with His will and you do not get in the way of His will. (See the story of Balaam, Numbers 22-24)

7) Knowing His heart as His friend, you take on the heart of being His bond- servant.

John 15:15, “I no longer designate you all bond- servants, for the bond-servant does not know what his master is doing. To the contrary, I have designated you all friends (loved ones). For everything I heard from My Father I have begun to make known to you all.”

Principles: 1) Jesus declared that His followers were His friends, not merely His servants (DOULOS).

a) The positive believer is more than a servant of God, (i.e., one who ignorantly obeys orders under fear of punishment), rather, he is a friend, and one who knows the Lord’s will and follows Him out of love and desire.

2) The difference between DOULOS and PHILOS:

2) The difference between DOULOS and PHILOS: DOULOS is ignorance;

2) The difference between DOULOS and PHILOS: DOULOS is ignorance; PHILOS is cognisance.

Ignorance leads to reversionism.

Ignorance leads to reversionism. Cognisance leads to supergrace.

3) Our friendship with God is based on hearing Him by means of His Word, Bible Doctrine resident within your soul.

4) When you have His Word resident in your soul and then faith rest, trust, and rely upon it, you will be a friend of God.

5) Being subservient is not the intent or the qualification for friendship.

a) Having the same type of thinking as Christ is the qualification for friendship. Cf. Rom 12:16; 15:5-6; 1 Cor 1:10; Phil 2:2

6) The Lord elevated His disciples to a higher position, than that of servants.

A servant is not told his master’s mind, purpose, or plans; a friend knows his friend intimately.

7) Friends inform each other and trust each other. Those who treasure Jesus’ Words and abide in His love are His friends.

8) In the N.T., the supreme example of a friend was Jesus.

8) In the N.T., the supreme example of a friend was Jesus. a) His love crosses all cultural boundaries.

b) To the Jews He represented one who loved His disciples, as He loved Himself.

b) To the Jews He represented one who loved His disciples, as He loved Himself. c) To the Gentiles He was the one who laid down His life for His friends.

9) Christians will always be the Lord’s servants, but when they love as He commanded, He shares with them as friends.

Grace Fellowship Church Tuesday, August 31, 2010 Tape # Friendship with God, Part 9 Upper Room Discourse, Part 409 John 15:15; Rom 12:16; 15:5-6; 1 Cor 1:10; Phil 2:1-4 Grace Fellowship Church Tuesday, August 31, 2010 Tape # Friendship with God, Part 9 Upper Room Discourse, Part 409 John 15:15; Rom 12:16; 15:5-6; 1 Cor 1:10; Phil 2:1-4 James H. Rickard Bible Ministries 2010