If you look at John Chapter 15, all of us love that chapter, right? That's a chapter that start with saying I am the true wine and my father.
He's the wine dresser and you are the branches, right? When you look through that chapter, when we come to verses 14 and 15, listen, you. This is what Jesus told, told them you are my friends, if you do whatever I command you, no longer do I call you servants for a servant does not know what his master is doing for, but I have called you friends for all things that I have heard from my father. I have made known to you. So, when Jesus called his total disciples originally.
Jesus himself is like knowledge ING that they were at the status of the servants because they did not understand things of God much, and when Jesus had to walk with them, talk to them, teach them constantly, be in dialogue with them and impart fresh revelation after fresh revelation into their life for.
Almost three years when Jesus tells us this in John Chapter 15, this is just a week or two before his crucifiction are you with?
So how long Jesus went with his disciples? 3 1/2 years. So almost 3 1/2 years. It took for them to change their traditional thinking.
All of us struggled with our traditional thinking too, right? So, it took them almost 3 1/2 years, even when Jesus himself was teaching them to change their traditional thinking because they always looked at themselves as servants, servant servants, and prior to his crucifixion, about two weeks before his crucifixion, he is having a dialogue with his disciples.
And you're telling you you're no longer servants.
You guys didn't know that I changed your status. You know, you are my friends. And they couldn't understand that. They look at Jesus and said how can we be your friends? You are up there, and we are down here. You are moving in the supernatural all the time and we are still struggling with our natural tendencies. So how can we be your friends?
But Jesus said that's not what makes you my friend, but it's what I have done for you that makes you my friend.
Hallelujah. Are you with me? Amen. It's not what we do for Jesus that makes us friends of Jesus. But it's what Gray he has done for us that makes us his friends. Amen. And then Jesus said, but you didn't, in case you didn't know that. Do you realize it yet? You notice that?
It will be. I have heard from my father. I have shared it with.
Amen. If you don't go and share things with your strangers. Are you with me? Amen. Now, sometimes, you know, like you were. Just like, like when we just came back couple of weeks ago from from this long mission trip. Sometimes you are sitting in the plane, you know, like 10 hours, 12 hours in one stretch. And I was, in fact, I was.
Thinking I wish I knew this man who was sitting next to me so I could, I could strike a conversation with him. I'm not a person who go and start a conversation with a stranger. That's not a good quality for a pastor, but I am. I am little timid. OK, so. So, I don't just go and start a conversation with anybody. And I was thinking many times, multiple times.
I thought I wish I knew this man so we could talk about something because he's staring at that screen. I'm staring at that screen and then I get bored. Then I close my eyes, then I try to sleep and then I look at the screen. Then I wear it bored. And you know, you know why? Because we don't share things with strangers.
Can you imagine? God chooses to share things with you.
Amen. Hallelujah. And then a couple of my weeks ago, in one of my messages I shared with you that God actually wanted to share things with us. He wanted to show us things we want. He want us to hear his voice. He want us to understand what is going on in his mind and Amen. And. But we cannot understand the mind of Christ.
We cannot understand the mind of God. There's only one way we can get in there at this.
Little bit, that's when he elevate us to the status of his friends. Amen. So, you have to strike your friendship with God. You have to strike a friendship with Jesus, tend to somebody and say you need to strike your friendship with Jesus.
Are you?
Did you talk to him today?
Did you talk to him this week? Amen. Did you wait for him to talk to you?
You know, Amen. See, Jesus said that's that's the definition of our friend. That you don't mind definition of a friend. That's his definition of a friend. Jesus said if you truly have a friend, you share everything with that friend. And that's what I did. That's why I kept you tagging me tagging along for 3 1/2 years with me.
So that I can share everything that is in my heart with you and now you know everything that I know. Thank God he did that. That's why we have a New Testament. That's why we have the Gospels. He he didn't do that. He kept everything in his heart and and just died on the.
And say OK, I have done what I you know I came into the world.
For we would not have the New Testament.
He took time to share everything with them and you know the first gospel that was written was the Gospel of Mark. And it is completely the recollection of apostrophe ITER.
A bunch of Peter because Mark was a nephew of apostle Peter. So Peter shared a little mark and mark.
Straight down and and that was the first gospel. So, everything that we have in the Bible is because Jesus chose to share things with his disciples, and he elevated them to the level of friends. Amen. Hallelujah. Can I show you another thing? Another words. Another words that.
Often strike me as in Matthew chapter 28 You know another famous chapter in the New Testament, Matthew chapter 28.
If you look at the Matthew Chapter 28, you will see a big difference in how the status changes or changed in history. First of all, in Martin Chapter 28 and verse 7/7 this is Jesus, not Jesus, the Angel. Alright. Speaking to Mary Magdalene and this is what the Angel told her. Go quickly and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead. And indeed he is going before you into Galilee there you will see him before I have told you so. To the to the Angel.
They are still disciples, they're just still followers of Christ, right? But look at that same chapter in verse 10. This is Jesus talking to Mary Magdalene and this is what Jesus said. Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee.
And there they will see me. You see what happened? You see the elevation in in our status when they started following Jesus, they were just servants. And then Jesus made them his friends. But then when Jesus went to the cross and died and resurrected as the flesh born. Hello. Are you with me?
Hey man, when he resurrected as the first born of resurrection, guess what? We became our older brother. So today, you know who is Jesus? Jesus is my savior. Jesus is my master. Jesus is my friend and Jesus is also my older brother.
Are you with me? Amen. Then apostle Paul became a Christian.
He ordered a Jewish thinking. We know that prior to his conversion, but after he got converted, he got many direct revelations from Jesus Christ and Church completely changed him and equipped him to write 2/3 of the New Testament. And when he got when he got that revelation, he fully understood.
The church as a family of God. Listen, every household of faith is a household of God, and every house has a.
Are you with me? A man. That's why we pray. Our father, who art in heaven. Now look at this. That's why Jesus told us. I will never leave you as orphans. Why? Because you are part of his family.
Hallelujah, you have a father. I mean, sometimes we sing that beautiful song. I have a father in me who knows my name. OK, maybe we'll sing that song at the end of our service. What a beautiful song that is. So, you are a household of faith. When we became a member of the church named Gateway Christian Center, you became member of a household of Faith and when you became a household of faith, you also became a household of God because this church is a household of God. This is a family of God on Earth and as a member of the Household of God, you have a father and you can call upon that Father. So, calling him my father or or we will look at it later.
And even in the Book of Romans, Apostle Paul again told us call him ABBA father, you know, and because that that we have that spirit in us, I will touch on that later. OK, so, so you have to call him about Father, not God Almighty. Not Adonai, not Lord Yahweh, because of our Messianic Jewish influence in our Christian thinking. Today I see a lot of Christians now praying. I don't I I don't. I no, no, no, no. That's a lower, lower level of addressing God. You have gone past that.
God is not just your man's master. God is your father. Amen. So, when you, when you play play, ABBA. Father, call him ABBA father. Amen. So, let's say, say that statement one more time. Lord's prayer. Our father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Pray thy prayer until it dawns in your heart. It settles in your heart that God is your father. Amen.
