Goodmorning and welcome in everybody. Today, we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture from the book of our beloved Apostle James.
James 4:4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
The Christian life is about choosing who is going to be your friend. Either it will be the world, or it will be Jesus, but it cannot be both. Our relationship with the Lord is very similar to the relationship that a wife has towards her husband. In the Christian marriage the husband represents the Lord, and the wife represents the church. We, as the bride of Christ, want to serve Him in a loyal and faithful relationship, proving by our actions that He is our greatest love. If a wife, during her marriage, begins to develop all kinds of close and intimate relationships with other men, she provokes her husband to anger. It is a justified anger because after all, she married him, and made the decision to give herself to Him and forsake all others. This is what people do who profess to love Jesus, yet befriend the world. They commit adultery against God.
When we are buried by baptism, completely submerged into the name of Christ, all of our past sins such as fornication or adultery are completely washed away. At that point, we turn away from the world and its desires, to completely focus our loving eyes upon Him. Holy baptism, (for those who will hear it,) is our wedding day unto Him. Those who become Christian, but then turn their love and attention to the things of this world, such as an unfaithful wife, provoke God to anger.
Jeremiah 3:20 Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the LORD.
As a wife is called to love her husband and remain by his side, the bride of Christ is called to love Jesus and forsake all others. We must forsake everything that the world can offer out of love for our precious Lord.. We must abandon earthly desires. We must renounce anything that comes in between a perfectly loving relationship between us and Him, otherwise it’s committing adultery against Jesus. The Apostle John warns about misplaced love, when the heart becomes focused on worldly things rather than Christ.
1 John 2:15-17 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
When we do the will of God, we are proving how much we love Him from our hearts. We are called to love one another, but the first commandment is to love God. Love for Him must be the greatest love in our life, above and beyond love for a neighbor, a relative, or even a wife. A man of God must follow what he loves the most, Christ. Solomon loved his wives so much that he began to follow them rather than God.
1 Kings 11:4-9 For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father. Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon. And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods. And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the LORD God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice,
Being a friend of the world is to focus your heart on anything that may draw your attention away from perfect obedience to Christ. For some, it is money and earthly gain.
Matt 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
The love of money is so bad, it can ruin relationships, a marriage, and most of all, loyalty and love for Christ.
1 Timothy 6:8-10 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
Many people profess to be Christian, but to sincerely claim this, would mean that you really desire to follow and obey your best friend. Jesus defines perfectly who His true friends really are. His friends are those who serve Him by obedience to His commands.
John 15:14-15 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.
Genuine love for Christ will result in doing His will and becoming transformed from the world, into the heavenly. It is the proof of our love for Him.
Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Abraham showed God His loving friendship through perfect obedience to His will. He proved that his love for God was above all others, even his own son.
James 2:21-24 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
Just as a wife needs to prove her loyalty to her husband, we need to prove our faithfulness to Christ. He has to be our greatest love, above all others. Today I ask you, are you a friend of the world, or are you…..
…..God’s Friend.
Let’s think about these things for today, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody. ❤️
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Teufer Lake King James Bible Church 