Acevedo - What does it mean to be a friend of God?

(Audio: English)

SUMMARY: The speaker talks about the importance of being a friend of God and what it means to be a follower of Christ. He emphasizes the need to move beyond just needing God for miracles and to develop intimacy with Him. He uses the example of Nicodemus, a Pharisee, who desires to get to know Jesus better. The speaker invites the audience to consider becoming followers of Christ and to pay attention to those who have already done so. Ultimately, becoming a follower of Christ begins with a desire to know Him better.

The passage discusses Nicodemus, a religious Pharisee who desired to get to know Jesus better. He realized that there was something about Jesus that could make his life better and complete. However, becoming a follower of Jesus requires taking risks, making sacrifices, and investing time. It also requires a listening and teachable heart as Jesus will have things to say to us when we come to him. The passage emphasizes the importance of having a personal relationship with Jesus beyond religious norms.

The passage discusses Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus and the concept of being born again. Jesus tells Nicodemus that his mental models and paradigms are distorted and that he must be born again in the spirit to see God's heart and reflect God's light in his own life. The passage also mentions the importance of becoming a follower of Jesus and living life without limits, fulfilling the purpose that God has for each individual's life. The author encourages the reader to come to Jesus and seek a relationship with him.

The last couple of weeks Pastor Greg has been showing us about prayer and coming to God with prayer, and the fact that, you know, the Lord knows what you need but the most interesting thing, He has…., remember what he said?, pastor Greg. The Lord has wired the world so that in order for us to get whatever it is that we need from God, we actually need to talk to him. So he’s arranged things, God has gone out of his way to force us to talk to Him if there’s anything that we need from Him.

Now, why would God go into that kind of trouble? You know, why would God go through all of the trouble to engineer life and circumstances just to get us to talk to him? Tonight I want us to talk about being friends of God essentially.