YOU ARE MY FRIENDS – PART 1

In October of 1988, veteran sky-diver Frank Farnan jumped from a plane at about 13,000 feet above Clewiston, Florida. Eleven other parachutists made the jump to practice building a formation. But at 10,500 feet, something went wrong. One diver fell into Farnan and knocked him unconscious. Farnan's body tumbled out of control and dropped below the formation, gaining downward momentum as it fell faster than the rest of the group and farther away every second. Another veteran in the group, Eddie Turner and two other jumpers put their hands over their heads and pointed their bodies straight downward, becoming human missiles aimed at the body tumbling hundreds of feet below. At 15 seconds until impact with the ground and at an elevation of only 2,500 feet, the three jumpers reached Farnan's body. Turner grabbed a leg, pulled Farnan's rip cord and the unconscious jumper's chute opened. Turner had only a few seconds to save himself. Turner emerged from the event unhurt and Farnan ended up with only a few bruises. Not many will put their life on the line for a friend. Yet, according to John 15, Yeshua was willing to do even more than that for those He Loved. As the Father hath Loved Me, so have I Loved you: continue ye in My Love. If ye keep My Commandments, ye shall abide in My Love; even as I have kept My Father’s Commandments, and abide in His Love. These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is My Commandment, that ye love one another, as I have Loved you. Greater love hath no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are My friends, if ye do whatsoever I Command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what His Adonai doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of My Father I have made known unto you. -- John 15:9-15) If we are to be friends with Yeshua it is imperative that we first of all:

1 – Recognize Our Need
Loneliness is a growing problem in our society. A study done in America reported that the loneliest group in America are college students. That is surprising! Next on the list are divorced people, welfare recipients, single mothers, rural students, housewives and the elderly. To point out how lonely people can be, Charles Swindoll mentioned an ad in a Kansas newspaper. It read: [I will listen to you talk for 30 minutes without comment for 5 dollars.] Swindoll said, [Sounds like a hoax, doesn't it? But the person was serious. Did anybody call? You bet. It was not long before this individual was receiving 10 to 20 calls a day. The pain of loneliness was so sharp that some were willing to try anything for a half hour of companionship. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. -- Ecclesiastes 4:10. The fact of the matter is that we cannot make it through life on our own.

Loneliness is like a piano without keys,
like a violin without strings.
Loneliness is like a sanctuary without a congregation
or a choir where no one sings.
Loneliness is like a blade of grass
growing through a crack of cement.
Loneliness is like a camp ground
without a single tent.
Loneliness is like a mocking bird
that cannot sing a song.
Loneliness is a feeling
that one does not belong.
Loneliness is like a pansy in a corn field
hidden where no one can see.
I know all there is to know about loneliness
because it lives inside of me.

This person recognized their need, but did not know how to fill it. But many of us do not even realize how badly we are in need of friendship. We think we can just go through life, without the need to share, without the need to care for someone else and without the need to be cared for. But one day we will find out how badly we need a friend. YHVH designed us to be people who are in relationships with one another. In fact, Paul tells us: Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the Law of Moshiach. -- Galatians 6:2. The good news is that Yeshua does not intend for us to go through life on our own. He very clearly says, [You are My friends]. Walter Winchell said: [A friend is one who walks in when others walk out.] If this is an accurate definition of a friend, then Yeshua is a friend indeed. So first, we must recognize our need, the second step is to:

2 – Accept YHVH’s Offer:
YHVH's offer is an offer to be our Friend. Yeshua says to His disciples: …but I have called you friends… -- John 15:15. This is not the first time YHVH has offered His Friendship. And Adonai Spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle. -- Exodus 33:11. And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed YHVH and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of YHVH. -- James 2:23. Art not Thou our YHVH, Who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before Thy people Yisrael, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham Thy Friend for ever? -- 2 Chronicles 20:7. So Moses, Abraham and Yeshua' disciples were called YHVH's friend. But guess what? We can be YHVH's friend too, if we just accept His offer of Friendship. Now some offers are too good to be true. A lot of people have been ripped off by offers that are too good to be true. Kenneth Peart, 77, of Idaho Falls, Idaho, reported that he was cheated out of $12,700 by two telemarketing companies. A third firm, called and offered to come to his rescue. [They told me that if I sent them $600, they would get back the money I had lost], Peart told the News. [They said they knew some bad things happened to me with those other guys and they were going to help me out. Instead, he said, they helped him out of $600. I got really tired of all of these great offers people want to give me. But I know that when YHVH offers to be my Friend, He really means it. He is not offering something He will not deliver on. He has no ulterior motives behind His offer. YHVH really wants to be our friend. The question is: [What kind of friendship is YHVH offering us?] Yeshua says in verse 9 that He will Love us in the same way the Father Loves Him. Yeshua says in verse 11 that His Love will make our joy complete. Yeshua says in verse 15 that He will teach His friends everything He has learned from the Father. To put it simply, Yeshua is offering to us a Friendship that is complete, that is for real and that actually means that He will be there for us. We know this is true, because: YHVH paid the price to be our Friend. Yeshua said: There is no greater Love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. -- John 15:13. Yeshua did not just say it, anyone can say something. He did it; He gave His own Life as a sacrifice for us. With each nail that was driven into His Body and with every moment of suffering He experienced, He was offering to us a bond of Friendship. He was saying, [I am doing this for you.] He wants us to accept His Sacrifice and to become His Friends. We do that when we bow down to Him as Adonai and Saviour. After YHVH's offer is accepted there is another step we must take: we must...: