The book of Exodus could be nicknamed, “the Lord speaks to Moses.” If you’ve spent some time in Exodus you know what I’m talking about. Just about every new chapter opens with, “And the Lord said to Moses.” In fact, did you know that the phrase is used around 65 times in Exodus? That’s a lot of Holy banter between the Lord and Moses. On Mount Sinai alone they talked for 40 days as the Lord is giving Moses tons of info on how the Israelite nation shall live. You know what’s funny about talking to somebody a lot? You usually get to know each other very well and then, well, you become friends.
We see this morning another of the very candid conversations between the Lord and Moses. What a treat to be able to witness the very words of God as He speaks with Moses. Do you ever really stop and think about what a miracle the Bible is? You and I can both hold the very Words of God and can read them anytime we want! That my friends is a miracle. The Bible is the most underutilized tool in the world today. The Words of God have untold power to change lives, remove misery, instill peace and as a result change the world by changing one life at a time. All you need to do is pick it up, read it, and receive the blessing.
Speaking of conversations, we see in chapter 33 that the talk goes a little deeper. God speaks and Moses asks questions. Folks, when I hear Moses question God it makes me quake in my boots. This was a special relationship indeed. One that Moses was so comfortable in that He felt he could really open up to God and reverently be himself. And as a result of this relationship that was built, we come to our key verse for the day.
“Thus, the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.” Exodus 33:11a
This is an amazing verse. The level of comfort between God and Moses was amazing and it should amaze us. In fact, it brings up a hard question. Does God see you as a friend?
Tough question indeed. You know friendship is not something that is just given freely. It has to be earned. Earned over time. You cannot think about friendship with God without simply thinking about friendship itself. Let’s look at a few foundational elements of friendship that are basic to all friendships. As a result, we’ll be able to better understand what it means to be called a friend of God.
1) Trust. No friendship can exist without trust. Period. Have you ever had a friend that lied to you or betrayed you? What happened? More than likely if one or both parties didn’t confess and ask forgiveness the relationship died. You see trust is the backbone of relationships. Friendship is based on trust.
So, if you are to be friends with God you must address trust. You never have to question God in this area. God is truth and can never tell a lie or go against the pure truth that He is. So that only leaves you and me that can be untrustworthy in the friendship. Can God trust you? Do you do what you tell Him you will do? Is your word good to God? Our purpose is to be obedient to God’s call in our lives and if He can’t trust you then the friendship will forever be stalled, waiting on trust.
2) Time. Friends spend time together. The more time spent together, the more the relationship will grow. I think that today society gets marriage a little backwards. Sure, there’s a husband and a wife but ultimately, it’s a friendship. I consider Margie my absolute best friend. We talk, we laugh, we play, we cry, we pray, we worship, we goof, we travel and most importantly we serve God. All together. Just yesterday we had the most fabulously mundane day together. We went to Costco and then the grocery store. We just shopped and enjoyed the day together. Time.
So how much quality time do you spend with God. I can already see this getting weird for some of you. You say, “Dan, it’s God not a real person, how am I supposed to go to the movies with God?” Great question. God probably doesn’t enjoy the movies like you do but I do know that God passionately wants to spend alot of time with you. One of my favorite quotes is from Dale Carnegie’s book, “How to Win Friends and Influence People.” “You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.” Instead of thinking that God should do all the things that you want to do, why don’t you spend more time doing the things that God wants to do? Spend time with Him in His Word daily. Seriously, every day. His Holy Word is a love letter to you, and He would love to sit with you and share this beautiful time. What about prayer? Does your prayer life entail a quick 2 minute prayer of “asks” as you drive to work yelling at the bad drivers around you? You can do better. Don’t think of prayer as just clasping your hands and reciting some textbooky words to God. Actually talk to God. Sometimes I will just “zone out” during the day and talk to God. I’ll close my eyes, lean back and just daydream with God. Let my mind and His Will wander through time together. (Margie calls it a catnap but I'm praying!) What about spending time with Him while serving Him? How do you serve Him? By serving others. Get outside of yourself and get into somebody else’s life. You’d be surprised how small your problems will seem after you get into somebody else’s. This list can go on forever, but folks, if you’re not spending a lot of time with God, the friendship will be stagnant and long for more “time.”
3) Honesty. If a friend does something harmfully dishonest to me, I expect for them to come to me, confess it and ask for my forgiveness. I should do the same. There might not be anything harder on this planet, but folks, you know it’s the only way to salvage a friendship when dishonesty happens. I’ve been on both sides of this fence and even though it’s tremendously difficult to confess and ask forgiveness, it’s amazing to see the power of honesty heal broken relationships.
Is God any different? We are sinners before God. We cannot ever hope to be perfect before Him. So, what do you do when you let God down? What do you do when you sin against Him and are dishonest in dealing with it? Folks, there might not be anything more important in being a friend of God than being absolutely honest with Him. You can’t afford not to. When you sin against God, no matter how insignificant you think it might be, you have to talk to Him about it. As a friend if you let it fester it will only quickly get worse. Confess to God what you’ve done and then ask His forgiveness. He is rich in mercy and forgiveness, but He can’t forgive if you don’t ask. Daily confession to Jesus is vital if you long for a blessed friendship with God.
4) Love. The world loves love. The Beatles said All You Need is Love, Huey Lewis talks about the Power of Love and The Eagles sing about the Best of Your Love. Love is one of the single biggest gifts that God has bestowed upon mankind. And without it, friendships cannot exist. There must be love. And what is the root of love. Putting others first. I mean how can you truly love others when you’re stuck on yourself? It just doesn’t work. When you put your friends first in true love, that friendship will be something special indeed.
So, what about God? Does God come first in your life. I know, I know, “Dan you shouldn’t ask such hard questions, they make me feel guilty.” Well, where does He fit in today? It’s easy to say that you love God but the proof’s in the pudding. Our Pastor told a story the other day about when he and his wife were interviewing at our church. During the interview they were asking about his personal prayer life. As he got ready to answer they said, “hold on, we don’t want to hear from you, we want to hear about your prayer life from your wife.” You see it’s not about what we think, it’s about what can be seen in us from others. If I were to ask the people in your life if you truly love God, what would they say? There’s an old saying that goes, “if you got arrested for being a follower of Jesus, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” Does your love of God show? A deep friendship with Him is built upon love.
Folks, Moses was considered a friend of God. What a lofty, beautiful description. That is my goal and I pray that it is yours as well. Trust, time, honesty and love are the foundations of friendship. God gives these to us freely, simply give them back to God and you will indeed encounter a day when God will call you friend.
May God’s rich blessings fall upon you like soft rain.
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