The Best Friend You Will Ever Have - Part 2

Club MTV intensified The Charles Stanley for Friday, November 19 reflect the character of Christ to others. Evaluate relationships in light of your connection to the best man you'll ever have. Jesus will think about the life of Jesus for a moment Jesus didn't spend most of his time with great throngs of people. Jesus invested most of his time with a handful of fellows that he made his friends. He was a friend to everyone of you. See if you look to see what Jesus said in the Gospels.

He was always instructing all those how to relate to other people and how to develop friendships and he continuously said with a lovely child, which is the basis of real, true friendship.

Now when you not think about Jesus Christ being our friend most of us realize that he's our Savior, Lord mastering God on a daily basis.

How many of us really and truly think about relate to Jesus Christ as our friend.

So I want to do in this message. I want you to discover three things I wanted to discover. First of all what a friend Jesus Christ is to you. Secondly, I want you to discover. Is there anyone to whom you are this kind of friend 1/3 thing. You may discover is there anyone that you have a relationship with that you could call a genuine friend based on the qualities of true genuine friendship that is, what kind of friend is Jesus. What kind of friend are you and to whom are you that kind of friend is there anyone that you can call. He is my real friend. She is my real friend is there anyone how many of us have true genuine friends that we can say now when you're really and truly need a true friend. Genuine friend that's my friend, where watermarks of true friendship. Number one the marks of true friendship. First of all, let's look at them from Jesus point of view, then let's relate them to each other. He loves you just the way you are. Jesus loves you just the way you are. He knows everything there is to know about you, and at the same time he loves you fully and completely, he will never stop loving you, no matter what you do, you can never do anything to alter his love for you is always a continuing unalterable law. He doesn't love you for what you do and sees loving you for what you failed to do. He just loves you for being the person that you are is a second quality found in him.

That's this the Jesus Christ accepts me, he accepts us just the way we are Jesus, except to the just the way you are, but now watch this.

Not only does he accept you the way you are but he's not satisfied, allowing you to be less than he knows you are capable of being.

And so what is he do he urges you he motivates you he prods you to become the total person that you want you when you see a true friend wants the best for you, are true friend want you to mature a true friend want you to become everything you capable of becoming a true friend is looking out for your best interest and a true friend is going to respond and react to you in your best interest is 1/3 characteristic is found in Jesus. That is, he understands you fully. You see, the reason he understands her so well is because wherever we've been with Tim Tatian trial Hartigan burden. He's already been there. He's Artie been where we've been and you see he understands in a way that is encouraging and uplifting and is it not true that all of us need somebody who fully understands and doesn't try to explain everything and sort it all out and give us a bunch of solutions but who just is willing to accept this as we are lovingly and understand why we are where we are at this point in our life and is not trying to make us over in the horrific trying to get us to match up to their expectations, but just understands true friendship is able to be understanding no matter what the support characteristic that is Jesus Christ.

You can be totally open and honest about everything.

Let me ask you this. Is there anybody today who is your friend with whom you can be absolutely totally open and honest with them.

If a friend like that. Well is the fifth. He's committed to you as a friend I think about this Jesus Christ is committed to use a friend.

He will never disappoint you, or you may get disappointed but it will be because he disappointed you. Your expectations were not been exactly what wisdom and love will provide Jesus will disappoint you.

He'll never let you down he'll never leave you.

The Bible says he'll never forsake you the 23rd Psalm is a beautiful affirmation of his walk with us what you see is something about Jesus. That's better than just having a friend. The walk was because the Bible says he not only is my Savior, my lord.

The Bible says he's your life. You see that kind of friendship takes developing time talking, listening, loving, understanding always so busy doing our thing. They were too busy to develop loving friendships and relationships.

Jesus is committed to us.

Is there anyone you that committed to is there anyone that committed to you that you can rely upon. Next he is open and transparent to us at all times. God is not to keep any secrets about himself that you and I need to know he's willing to open himself and you see, think about what he did.

He ate with those disciples. He sailed with them on the Sea of Galilee.

He laughed with them.

He talked with them. He fellowship with him. He had all kinds of friends, but those were his intimate friends, and Jesus knew how to be a friend and he was open and transparent. And remember that he was a man who lived with these men and I can imagine the Jesus put his arm around him and I can imagine that oftentimes as they brought to him personally and probably their hardships and frustrations that they were going through things that and understand how many times he must've said to them, understand, I know how you feel. I understand why you feel the way you do. I want you to know that it's going to be all right. He loved them. He laughed with them. He experienced all kinds of common mundane ordinary Monday morning kind of things with those apostles.

He was their friend and he was open to open and transparent part of the heart, the things we hide because we know will be rejected. While we hide emotions that we like to express because we are afraid that somebody else will not be able to accept our emotions. Let me ask you this is last time you ever said to someone as a friend. I just want you know, and I really love you are sent to a lady.

I just really love you know some people have a hard time with her.

I said different him on Monday he and I were riding along and I was think about all the good times we had things we experience together and just welling up in my heart was his overabundance of love and I just sent him you know I really love you. I could tell all the sudden he was a little bit uncomfortable email thought is the pastor. What is he will now or what is expected of me was I didn't know what he felt and you sound not sure he understood what he felt because he was not used to the man saying to him out of his heart. I really love you. He was slightly uncomfortable until I didn't say anything outside is that the conversation droplets on the dawned on him what I had done was expressed more on his true feelings to him.

Men need to hug each other. Women need to hug each other and express love. You see, we don't say what we feel, for fear of being misunderstood so what we just have to learn to be open and transparent. I don't mean you should go around telling everything that you've ever heard, seen, fell or desired in life. That's not the issue. The issue is that you not just be open and transparent. When somebody says I want you know I really love you. Do you feel uncomfortable that Zachary emotional balance for the moment you sense a wonderful feeling of warmth when they say that is this something securing about somebody saying you are just really love you. This is someone that you are really like. I don't know why but I just tell you I love you just gets deeper and deeper all the time.

What would you say to a man if he came on tell you that. Would you think, what's he looking for anyway. You know the problem is we build walls and we there anybody to try to tunnel through the crossover. It but you see, had a Jesus start this passage.

This is my commandment that you love one another and loving means accepting and being open and transparent and trusting and trustworthy.

It speaks of commitment. Let's move on. Likewise, Jesus encourages us to have other relationships you see. While he says in his word weird to worship no other God without ever worship anybody else but Jesus wants us to have loving relationships of the people that is why the Bible says that Jesus is jealous. That does not mean he is jealous.

The way that would be jealous of each other. That means a holy jealousy for our good. He doesn't want us worshiping anything or anybody but himself.

And that's right, but he wants us to have loving relationships with other people. For example, he says to a man I want you to love your wife. Just like I love the whole body of Christ and you know why he wants us to develop relationships like that because you say, he said, but this shall all men know that you are my disciples, that you have love one to another, and the more you and I love the Lord Jesus Christ, the more we can level the people because you seem to know him is to loving and to love him is to become equipped to love other people in a deep abiding fulfilling level. The truth is, if you and I go through life and the only thing we had to surface relationships.

What is that due. I don't believe there's a man, a woman who wants to have severe surface relationship with her husband or wife. But a deep ever growing abiding relationship that is a friendship as well as a husband wife relationship how many children would sell their parents. I just wish my dad would be my friend and I wanted you think about it. Do you have friends that you won't trust to have all the relationships you see, sometimes the reason we destroy of possible friendship as we stifle it we want to grab that person hold them all into ourselves you to be only my friend. No, not even Jesus did that. You see, true friends can trust other relationships are true friend doesn't stifle and choke all of the relationship are true friendship is trustworthy, then Jesus is continuously making gestures of love toward us. That's what a true friend does you see a true friend is sensitive not only to your needs, but your wants. When's the last time as a man you picked up something you bought a friend something because you heard him say one of these days I'd like to have a need so and so it may not have been very expensive but you sought your member did you bought it and you gave it to them for no other reason than the fact he's your friend and friends are usually looking for ways to express their love and their friendship.

Each of the other is an amazing house, self-centered and selfish. We are when's the last time you ever did anything that was an expression of true genuine love the listen can you imagine all the things Jesus did was a parcel that a minuet bought a lot of things I can imagine all the think distal tidbits of great wisdom that he would drop. And then there is Mary and Martha, and Lazarus sitting in their home and talking with them around the table.

Did you know when the best ways to develop a friendship is by eating together is the intimacy is built on the closeness of relationship. The begins of closeness in the spirit. I'm simply saying and prodding your mind to think for just a few moments.

Isn't it strange how distant we are when we think we are so close. When the sun is little positive he gets on his father's lap and arming you know he rides hobbyhorse it with him and he does all, thanks.

He wrestles with at the gets a certain age. What is the shakes is your that kid wants. He wants the same hug.

He wants the same affection because he needs it, and the truth is, all of us needed, but I wanted we don't send out verbal and bodily messages don't touch me.

Don't get too close to me.

You may find out something about me out. I want you to find it, don't touch me when loving, weeping, hugging, touching, telling, sharing, openness, transparency, commitment, acceptance, all of that is part of building a loving relationship and then Jesus Christ is an inspiring, comforting listener.

Someone is said that the beginning of love is listening.

Let me ask you something. Is there anyone that you can sit down with and unburden your heart you know we need to learn to do is we learned need to learn to lock our on the person who is speaking. So we are here with our spirit, exactly what they say is that you may hear with your ears, but if you looking over yonder somewhere while I'm talking the will.

All I know you think about a thousand different things and then unproven. Ask a question you can answer is C. Say something about Jesus the listener. He never interrupts. He listens wholeheartedly.

He doesn't jump in the criticize James chapter 1 says if any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God gives to all men liberally, and ablated not. That means don't come back and select the 14th time you asked me for the know a friend listens you know sometimes we carry on conversations that are never complete. Somebody says I saw John yesterday and the person doesn't say anything. The conversation is never complete. You don't build relationships by one way conversation you build relationships by completing the conversation. I saw John yesterday. How was he fine completes the circle but how many wives that I talked to my husband. He grunts does not relationship does not friendship that's insensitivity is see Jesus is a great list only ask a question, do you have anyone you can share your heart with news that kind of a listener when you talking you have their undivided attention. Not only had they locked their eyes on you for the moment the whole world revolves around you because there listening deep down inside and let me ask you this, when someone is talking to you. How do you listen do you listen very busily or do you listen intently, remembering that it may be the only person that when the trust that with then there's one last thing is the kind of friend, Jesus is he laid down his life for you.

2000 years ago on the cross he died for your friendship. That's the ultimate test. He's a greater love has no man than this, they laid in his life for his friends. You inoculate in our lives for our friends and giving of our time and a lot of other things.

He lay down his life ultimately to develop an internal friendship with you they will never cease and I want to ask you what do you give up to develop friendships with others. What are you willing to forsake you ligament your desires, your plan, you will never sake. Something that you like to do in order to develop a friendship with someone else or are we harassed and covered so much selfishness that we keep the walls built up and we go through life missing out on these friendship.

I will challenge my friend to develop friendships, but let me ask you this how many of you know in your heart without a shadow of a doubt that you enter into a relationship with Jesus Christ. You see, the moment you trust him as your personal savior is what happens. He begins a development of a relationship with you a friendship in last for eternity. And you know how you contribute to the relationship. The Bible says by lovingly obeying him how we do that loving one another. We develop our part of the friendship by loving obedience. He develops his part of the friendship in a thousand ways that none of us will ever be able to fathom slight if you've never trusted Jesus Christ as your personal savior you don't have them as a friend. You only have them as a judge, but if you will trust him by asking him to forgive you of your sin and accepting his death on the cross as payment for your sin in that moment you begin a friendship that he'll work at the Rev. and you my friend will be blessed for eternity. Thank you for listening to hard to admit best friend you'll ever have.

If you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley more in touch ministries and started wagging his podcast is a presentation of intense ministry