Embracing Friendship: Our Transformative Journey with God

 

Summary

In our journey of faith, the essence of our relationship with God is not merely about following commands but engaging in a deep, conversational relationship with Him. This relationship is beautifully illustrated in Genesis, where God walks in the garden, seeking fellowship with Adam and Eve. This image of God walking among His creation signifies His desire for a personal and intimate connection with us. God is not distant; He is present, inviting us into a dialogue where we can speak and listen, fostering a friendship that transforms our lives.

The nature of this relationship is not consumerist. We are not merely recipients of God's blessings but active participants in His divine plan. Our role is to seek His face, not just for our benefit but to engage in a loving interaction that reflects His nature. This interaction is akin to the continual conversation with God that Brother Lawrence describes, where the sweetness of life is found in constant communion with the Divine.

Our relationship with God is also about understanding our identity as co-creators with Him. We are created in His image, endowed with the responsibility to exercise dominion under His guidance. This dominion is not about control but about stewardship, reflecting God's creative goodness in the world. As we grow in this relationship, God shapes our desires, aligning them with His will, empowering us to act in ways that fulfill His purposes.

The ultimate goal of this relationship is to live as friends of God, as Jesus describes in John 15. This friendship is not about servitude but about understanding and participating in God's work. It is a relationship where our desires and God's desires converge, leading to a life of creative goodness and fulfillment. As we engage in this intimate friendship, we become part of a community that reflects the Trinitarian nature of God, bringing healing and restoration to the brokenness of the world.

Key Takeaways:

- Conversational Relationship with God: Our relationship with God is meant to be a continuous dialogue, where we speak and listen, fostering a friendship that transforms us. This interaction is not for our pleasure but stems from a principle of love, reflecting God's desire for intimate fellowship. [07:46]

- Active Participation in God's Plan: We are not mere consumers of God's blessings but active participants in His divine plan. Our role is to seek His face and engage in a loving interaction that reflects His nature, moving beyond a consumerist mindset to one of active involvement. [06:35]

- Co-Creators with God: Created in God's image, we are endowed with the responsibility to exercise dominion under His guidance. This dominion is about stewardship, reflecting God's creative goodness in the world, and aligning our desires with His will. [16:44]

- Friendship with God: Jesus calls us friends, not servants, inviting us to understand and participate in His work. This friendship is about aligning our desires with God's, leading to a life of creative goodness and fulfillment, where our desires and God's desires converge. [24:02]

- Community and Restoration: Our relationship with God extends to a community that reflects the Trinitarian nature of God, bringing healing and restoration to the brokenness of the world. This communal life is an extension of our friendship with God, offering solutions to humanity's problems. [33:43]

Youtube Chapters:

[00:00] - Welcome
[01:33] - God Walking in the Garden
[03:07] - God's Presence and Our Response
[04:49] - The Shining Face of God
[05:55] - Fellowship with God
[06:35] - Our Role in the Relationship
[07:46] - Conversational Relationship
[09:12] - Humility and Seeking God
[10:34] - Living Before God's Face
[11:44] - Practicing God's Presence
[14:30] - Desires Aligned with God
[15:42] - Created for Dominion
[16:44] - Responsible Stewardship
[19:21] - Dwelling Place of God
[22:19] - Beyond Servitude
[24:02] - Friendship with God
[27:30] - Unique Individuals in God
[31:56] - Community and Trinitarian Life
[33:43] - Healing and Restoration

Study Guide

### Bible Study Discussion Guide

#### Bible Reading
1. Genesis 3:8 - "Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden."
2. John 15:15 - "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."
3. Psalm 27:8 - "My heart says of you, 'Seek his face!' Your face, Lord, I will seek."

#### Observation Questions
1. What does Genesis 3:8 reveal about God's desire for a relationship with humanity? How is this illustrated in the sermon? [01:33]
2. According to John 15:15, how does Jesus redefine the relationship between Him and His followers? What implications does this have for our understanding of friendship with God? [14:30]
3. In Psalm 27:8, what is the psalmist's response to God's invitation? How does this reflect the non-consumerist nature of our relationship with God as discussed in the sermon? [06:35]

#### Interpretation Questions
1. How does the image of God walking in the garden in Genesis 3:8 challenge the perception of God as distant or uninvolved? [01:33]
2. What does it mean to be a "friend" of God according to John 15:15, and how does this differ from being a servant? [24:02]
3. How does the sermon describe the role of humans as co-creators with God, and what responsibilities does this entail? [16:44]

#### Application Questions
1. Reflect on your current relationship with God. How can you cultivate a more conversational relationship with Him, similar to the one described in the sermon? [07:46]
2. In what ways can you actively participate in God's plan rather than just being a consumer of His blessings? Consider specific actions you can take this week. [06:35]
3. How can you practice stewardship in your daily life, reflecting God's creative goodness in the world? Identify one area where you can improve. [16:44]
4. Think about a time when your desires aligned with God's desires. How did this impact your life, and how can you seek to align your desires with His more consistently? [24:02]
5. Consider your role within your community. How can you contribute to healing and restoration, reflecting the Trinitarian nature of God? [33:43]
6. What steps can you take to seek God's face more earnestly, as encouraged in Psalm 27:8? How might this change your approach to prayer and worship? [06:35]
7. Identify a specific area in your life where you feel distant from God. What practical steps can you take to invite His presence into that area? [10:34]

Devotional

I'm ready to provide the 5-day devotional based on the instructions given. Here it is:

Day 1: Conversational Relationship with God
In our journey of faith, the essence of our relationship with God is not merely about following commands but engaging in a deep, conversational relationship with Him. This relationship is beautifully illustrated in Genesis, where God walks in the garden, seeking fellowship with Adam and Eve. This image of God walking among His creation signifies His desire for a personal and intimate connection with us. God is not distant; He is present, inviting us into a dialogue where we can speak and listen, fostering a friendship that transforms our lives. This interaction is not for our pleasure but stems from a principle of love, reflecting God's desire for intimate fellowship. [07:46]

"And the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, 'Samuel! Samuel!' And Samuel said, 'Speak, for your servant hears.'" (1 Samuel 3:10, ESV)

Reflection: Think of a moment today when you can pause and listen for God's voice. How can you create space in your day for a conversation with Him?


Day 2: Active Participation in God's Plan
Our relationship with God is not consumerist. We are not merely recipients of God's blessings but active participants in His divine plan. Our role is to seek His face, not just for our benefit but to engage in a loving interaction that reflects His nature. This interaction is akin to the continual conversation with God that Brother Lawrence describes, where the sweetness of life is found in constant communion with the Divine. Moving beyond a consumerist mindset to one of active involvement allows us to truly reflect God's nature in our lives. [06:35]

"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:10, ESV)

Reflection: Identify one way you can actively participate in God's plan today. How can you move from being a consumer of blessings to a contributor to His work?


Day 3: Co-Creators with God
Understanding our identity as co-creators with God is crucial. We are created in His image, endowed with the responsibility to exercise dominion under His guidance. This dominion is not about control but about stewardship, reflecting God's creative goodness in the world. As we grow in this relationship, God shapes our desires, aligning them with His will, empowering us to act in ways that fulfill His purposes. This stewardship is a reflection of God's creative goodness, and it calls us to align our desires with His will. [16:44]

"And God blessed them. And God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.'" (Genesis 1:28, ESV)

Reflection: Consider an area of your life where you can practice stewardship. How can you reflect God's creative goodness in your actions today?


Day 4: Friendship with God
The ultimate goal of our relationship with God is to live as friends of God, as Jesus describes in John 15. This friendship is not about servitude but about understanding and participating in God's work. It is a relationship where our desires and God's desires converge, leading to a life of creative goodness and fulfillment. As we engage in this intimate friendship, we become part of a community that reflects the Trinitarian nature of God, bringing healing and restoration to the brokenness of the world. [24:02]

"No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you." (John 15:15, ESV)

Reflection: Reflect on your relationship with God. How can you deepen your friendship with Him today, moving beyond servitude to a partnership in His work?


Day 5: Community and Restoration
Our relationship with God extends to a community that reflects the Trinitarian nature of God, bringing healing and restoration to the brokenness of the world. This communal life is an extension of our friendship with God, offering solutions to humanity's problems. As we live in this community, we are called to bring healing and restoration, reflecting the love and unity of the Trinity. [33:43]

"So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone." (Ephesians 2:19-20, ESV)

Reflection: Think of a way you can contribute to your community today. How can you be a source of healing and restoration in the lives of those around you?

Quotes

"The nature of our relationship to God, how are we to live in that relationship, what is our part, what God does, and how that makes us able to become increasingly like our heart says we should be and like God wants us to be. So we're addressing this question in connection with the phrase hearing God, but hearing God is simply a short way of talking about a conversational relationship with God. And we want to try to say as clearly as we can what that is like so that we can live in it to the greatest advantage of our spiritual growth in Christlikeness." [00:00:12]

"One of the most heartwarming scriptures to me is the picture in Genesis 3 where it talks about Adam and Eve heard the sound of God walking in the garden. You have to pause a moment to think about what that tells you about God. God walking in the garden. What was he doing? What was he doing? Well, he was enjoying his creation and he was coming to visit. Now God as he shows up in the early chapters of Genesis, turns out to be a very chatty God." [00:01:11]

"You see, what emerges here is not only God's interest in our lives, but the space that he gives us. He does not stand over us. He gives us opportunity to work and be on our own. He gave Adam and Eve distance, but he came to visit. And I don't know how you handle that question. Adam, where are you? But you might try thinking, I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. That by his choice, God didn't know where Adam was." [00:02:43]

"We want to understand that it is one where God is both available but gives us the option of turning away. And practically speaking now for our studies together here, we need to come to grips with that option and think about how it is exercised. God comes. God walks in our midst. He's there. As Jesus said, the kingdom of heaven is in your midst. The kingdom of God is in your midst. The kingdom of God is just God acting. He's everywhere. But you don't always see him, and yet he does show up." [00:03:56]

"And so there is an area here where we realize that our relationship to God is not a consumerist relationship. It's not a consumerist relationship. It's not a consumerist relationship. Religion, as Christianity understands it, isn't a consumer relation. We don't consume the merits of Christ. We don't consume the services of the church. We don't. We are participants. We are not spectators. We are in the game, and the game is producing the greatest creative goodness possible." [00:07:01]

"We were meant to live in a fellowship that is, at least for the beginning, to be described as a conversational relationship with God. There are some wonderful words from Brother Lawrence. There is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and delightful than that of a continual conversation with God. Those only can comprehend it who practice and experience it, yet I do not advise you to do it. from that motive, it is not pleasure that we ought to seek in this exercise, but let us do it from a principle of love and because God would have us do it." [00:07:54]

"That really means to see ourselves realistically before God as dependent upon His goodness and as an expression of His goodness. The verse there in 2 Chronicles says, if my people, not everyone, my people, who are those, the ones who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray, seek my face, turn from their wicked ways, then I will come. I will remove the distance. I will come. I will hear them. I will forgive them. I will heal." [00:09:43]

"God's intent for each of us is that we should grow to the point to where he can empower us to do what we want. Now, there's a lot of work on our wanter before we get there. And that's what it goes on in the relationship as we walk with God, listening and hearing moment by moment, day by day as we grow. Now, if you will, I want to go back and lay a more scriptural foundation for all of this." [00:14:30]

"And you can turn there if you want. You don't need to. I think you recognize it. This is the point of creation. What are we created for? And we are created to have dominion under God. Dominion under God. And that passage is a little insight into the community that is God before creation and during creation. We call it the Trinity, of course. And the wording there is, let us make human beings. In our likeness. Now, he never, or God never said that about anything else." [00:15:17]

"Now that helps us understand the intimate relationship with God because when we start talking about hearing God and receiving guidance. We are very likely to lose the main point about friendship, and that is that communicating with God is not always or primarily a matter of being told what to do. And for many people, they cannot progress in their relationship with God because they're just thinking in terms of being told what to do. Now, being in the will of God requires that you go beyond that." [00:21:47]

"Now that fits in with Jesus' statement about you are my friends because you know what I'm doing. I call you my friends because you understand what's going on. That's the picture of a co -worker, not of a servant who stands around waiting to be told what to do. Your wants and your desires are important in God's plan for you. And in general, in human relations also, things are beginning to be what they ought to be if you have people who don't need to be told." [00:24:50]

"And as we do that, of course, we always have the larger framework, the community, the work of the fellowship that we're in, as a part of our lives, so we don't just go off in a corner and do something creative. We are people who live in community, and we delight in other people, and so the friendship spreads, and we find our fulfillment in our relationships to other people. And that moves us toward the Trinitarian nature of human community that we will have to speak more of later on today, because the Trinity actually turns out to be the model of life as it is intended to be in human existence." [00:31:35]

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Transcript
What was the most surprising thing in this sermon?
Were there any personal stories shared?