2. How to be a Friend of God

3. Only one person in the Bible is called “a friend of God”
How to be a Friend of God
Only one person in the Bible
is called “a friend of God”
Who is it?

4. Only one person in the Bible is called “a friend of God”
How to be a Friend of God
Only one person in the Bible
is called “a friend of God”
‘And so it happened
just as the Scriptures say:
“Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” 
He was even called the friend of God.’
James 2:23 NLT

5. Yes, we can be God’s friends, too!
How to be a Friend of God
Yes, we can be God’s friends, too!
‘All who put their faith in Christ, share the same blessings Abraham received because of his faith’
Galatians 3:9 NLT

6. How to be a Friend of God Hebrews 11:8-19 NLT
8 It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going.

7. How to be a Friend of God
9 And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise.  10 Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.

8. How to be a Friend of God
11 It was by faith that even Sarah was able to have a child, though she was barren and was too old. She believed that God would keep his promise. 12 And so a whole nation came from this one man who was as good as dead—a nation with so many people that, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore, there is no way to count them.

9. How to be a Friend of God
13 All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth.

10. How to be a Friend of God
14 Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own. 15 If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back. 16 But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

11. How to be a Friend of God
17 It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, 18 even though God had told him, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.”

12. How to be a Friend of God
19 Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead.
Hebrews 11:8-19 NLT

13. Abraham Went Where God Sent
It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents.

14. Gladys Aylward

15. Jackie Pullinger

16. Abraham Believed What God Said
5 Then the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!”
6 And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith.
Genesis 15:5-6 NLT

17. Abraham Believed What God Said
The only promise
Abraham saw fulfilled
in his lifetime
was the promise of a son

18. Abraham Believed What God Said
That’s Faith!
Forsaking
All I
Trust
Him

19. Take God at His Word! For God so loved the world… John 3:16
Believe on the Lord Jesus… Acts 16:31
If you confess with your mouth… Rom.10:9
Let not your heart be troubled… Jn.14:1-6
Seek first the Kingdom of God… Mt.6:33
My God shall supply all your need…Phil.4:19
If we confess our sins… 1 Jn.1:9
I will never leave you… Heb.13:5-6
If you who are evil… Lk.11:13

20. Abraham Did What God Asked
‘It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him…Abraham assumed that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead.’
Hebrews 11:17,19 NLT

21. Abraham Did What God Asked

22. How Can I Become a Friend of God?
I can go where God sends
I can believe what God says
I can do what God asks