Avalon Church

UNCERTAIN: I am a Friend WITH God | PART 6

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Friendship God means that God is not just for us… he is with us. But what does “God with us” look like in our daily lives?

Series: UNCERTAIN: Discovering Who We are Through Difficult Times,
Speaker: Pastor Don Dodge,
Scripture: Ephesians 1:6-8, John 15:12-16, Joshua 1:5, Psalm 34:17-18, Isaiah 41:8-10, Matthew 1:23, John 1:14, Matthew 18:12, Mark 4:34, Matthew 28:19-20, Revelation 3:20, Revelation 21:3-4, Psalm 23, John 15:12-14, John 15:15-16, Isaiah 7:14,
Video: https://www.facebook.com/avalonchurch/live,
Sermon page: https://www.avalonchurch.org/sermons/uncertain-i-am-a-friend-with-god-part-6/,
Sermon Notes: 2020-05-03_uncertain-part-6_sermon-notes.pdf,
Discussion Questions: 2020-05-04_uncertain-part-6_discussion-questions.pdf,
Notes:
Good morning, Avalon Church.
Make sure you grab your communion elements for later.

So, our series called “Uncertain.”

But it’s the subtitle that is most important,

…Discovering Who We Are THROUGH Difficult Times.

You see,

…It’s IN the difficult times that we are moldable.

…when we’re most open to change.

I hope these have been helpful messages.

Our identity is found “in Christ,”

It’s in him that we truly find abundant life

And experience hope no matter what we go through.

And we are going through it, right now,

Aren’t we?

Which is what we’re talking about today.

Today’s message it titled,

“I am a friend WITH God.”

…Not just a friend ‘OF’ God.”

We’re going to focus on a specific aspect of that friendship,

…That God is with us.

And to begin,

I want to share my best experience of friendship.

I want to share a story about a friend named Ronnie.

Ronnie
I was in 10th grade when I finally heard,
…Really heard the invitation to follow Jesus,

I was all in.

There was an 11th grader in the youth group.

His name was Ronnie.

We quickly became best friends.

2 years later, we went to PBAU together

 
…Lived in the same dorm.
…Had the same major.

We became known as the “Ronnie and Donnie Show!”

We were inseparable.

He truly was one of the greatest gifts God ever gave me.

My relationship with Jesus,

Me being a pastor,

All of it was shaped with Ronnie.

I got married in college and Ronnie was my best man.

He graduated from college a year before I did

And moved back to Lakeland about 4 hours away.

It was toward the end of my final year in college

that my wife unexpectedly died.

It was after midnight on March 3.

I have no idea how the word got out so late at night,

…But at 10am that morning,

…Ronnie and my youth pastor were there

to pick me up and take me home.

4 hours each way,

Just so I wouldn’t have to be alone.

That’s true friendship,

He was WITH me.

A couple nights later, Ronnie brought 4 or 5 other friends over.

We grieved together and wept for a bit.

Then we started sharing stories.

And for the next hour we laughed like I have rarely laughed since.

It was such an incredible time of healing.

Being with my friends during the worst moment of my life.
“Being With.”
We
I was told once,
“Jesus is not our friend; he’s our King.”

Half of that is true.

The other… so wrong.

Jesus is our king.

And he is our truest friend.

Being a friend doesn’t minimize his glory,

It magnifies it.

…It shows his immeasurable love and

…grace, which he has freely given us. That he has lavished upon us. –Ephesians 1:6-8 (NIV)

 
Lavish

That’s a word of adoration.

It’s a word of love.

It’s a “friend-kind-of-word.”

Devotional
Let’s do something a bit different today.
Rather than a sermon,

…Let’s make today more like a devotional.

There are so many amazing Scriptures

about God being with us.

Let’s listen to how God speaks to us through his Word.

Maybe you’ll want to grab a notebook

to write down the verse numbers
and read them later.

Because we’re going to be all over the place.

Buty let’s start with Jesus’ words about friendship.

Before going to the cross,

Here’s what he said to his followers.

12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. –John 15:12-14 (NIV)

Jesus gives us a command.

Love the way I love you.

But then he explains, that the greatest way to love someone

is to lay down your life for them.

But… But people lay their life down for kings.

…NOT the other way around.

And that week,

King Jesus did just that.

“You are my friends,” He said.

You are my family,

…Not because of power or authority,

…But because of love.

That’s what I command.

And he continues…

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. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you… –John 15:15-16 (NIV)

Kings usually have servants.

But the ultimate relationship our king desires with us,

…is friendship.

And what does friendship look like to Jesus,

…To God in the flesh?
 
He says it right here;

…Sharing with you my deepest secrets.

…Choosing friendship with you before you even chose me.

To Abraham, to his children,

To Moses, to Joshua,

The message was the same…

I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. –Joshua 1:5 (NIV)

Wherever you are,

I am with you.

Whatever you go through,

I will go through it with you.

You are not alone.

The Psalmist declares,

17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. 18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. –Psalm 34:17-18 (NIV)

God is close to us.

He listens to us.
He is with us.

When the Jews were facing exile

And the end of everything they knew,

God told them,

…You descendants of my friend, Abraham…

Do not fear, for I am with you;
Do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you… --Isaiah 41:8-10 (NIV)

You are scared.

You are facing a troubling and unknown future.

I am with you.

I will walk with you through the struggle.

I know you want it to end now.

Trust me in the unknown.
I am with you.

In fact, that is what the name Immanuel means.

“God with us.”

When Isaiah made that prophecy that we quote each Christmas, that…

14 … The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God with us’). –Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:23 (NIV)

God was affirming that his promised Messiah

Would truly be “God with us!”

Jesus is “God with us.”

That’s the definition of Incarnation.
 
14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. –John 1:14 (NIV)
 
God become human.
His glory became flesh and dwelt among us.

He walked with us.

Invited us to follow him,
And find life in him.

And what does “God being with us” look like?

What does friendship with Jesus look like?

12… leaving the ninety-nine to go to look for the one that wandered off? –Matthew 18:12.

It’s leaving the comfort and security of home

to pursue others and love on them

…and invite them to come home with you.

… To talk with you.

But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything. –Mark 4:34 (NIV)

It’s Jesus patiently explaining over and over

…How his kingdom is the exact opposite

of anything they expected,

…and allowing them the time to process and change.

The Great Commission,

where we get Avalon Church’s Mission Statement to

GO and GROW TOGETHER

…And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. –Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV)

“Go and Grow Together.”

Jesus says that surely he is with us, always,

To the very end of this age

…Through Coronaviruses,

…And layoffs,
…And wars,
…And tragedies,

Through it all, I will be with you each step of the way.

Of that, you can be certain.

And in the age to come?

After this age is over?

That’s when we feast together at his banquet table.

To all those who have heard my voice and opened the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. --Revelation 3:20

As we have been imitating through Communion for 2,000 years,

There will be a day when we sit at the table of the King,

Feasting together,

…Not as servants,

…But as friends,

…Made possible because the greatest friend

displayed the greatest love when he laid down his life for us.

And that banquet will happen

when heaven and earth are re-united,

…A new heaven a new earth,

And we will hear a loud voice from the throne of God saying

Words that describe what eternity will be like…

3…Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ u or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” --Revelation 21:

We will be his people.

And God himself with be with us.

God desires friendship.

Being together.

Walking together.

Growing us.

And transforming us into a people of maturity…

…Who experience life, and peace,

and wholeness in Jesus’ name.

Like my experience with Ronnie

before he, too, passed away,

…Genuine friendships are always transformative.

You cannot remain stagnant in a friendship.

You cannot remain the same.

I didn’t.

Application: So What?
That’s why it’s so critical to grow your relationship with God.
Mutually pursuing him as he continually pursues you.

Choosing to be with him

as he continually chooses to be with you.

I want to give you an action step that you can either

Do on your own or with your life group this week.

I want you to spend some time in a very famous Psalm this week,

Psalm 23.

You know, “The Lord is my shepherd.”

Every single line of this Psalm reveals

a new and different attribute of God’s relationship with us.

I encourage you to read the Psalm several times this week.

And, as you read,

…Write how the Psalm says that

God cares for you and shows love to you.

And then write down examples

How this is true in your own life.

For instance,

“The Lord is my shepherd, I have all I need.”

So… God is my provider.

Write that down.

Then list some specific ways he provides for you.

Maybe it’s a job.

Or the ability to work.
Food. Housing.

Maybe he’s provided a safe place while you look for a job.

Or medical care for you or a loved one.

The list is endless for this one attribute.

It might take you a couple of days to get through the whole Psalm,

But it will be worth it.

You will begin to recognize God’s love

in new and fresh ways,

Who’s willing to do that with me?

Closing and Challenge
I want to close in prayer,
But I also want to offer you an opportunity.

Maybe you don’t experience God as a friend.

Maybe you haven’t chosen to follow Jesus

as your King and Lord and Friend.

He is inviting you to do that today.

Right now.

IF that is your desire,

As I pray,

Make this prayer your prayer.

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Avalon ChurchBy Pastor Don Dodge
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