TRUE FRIENDSHIP

LOOKING AT WHAT A TRUE FRIENDSHIP IN THE BODY TODAY ENTAILS.

What David and Johnathon experienced as men is the highest form of friendship. What Yahusha gave His Disciples, that He laid down His life for His friends ... this is the highest form of spiritual friendship and love that is possible in life!

These types of relationships should be manifesting within your Fellowships, a fervent loving-relationship full of kindness and well-being for each other, no barriers.

THIS IS THE SIGN THAT YAHUSHA IS AMONG YOU : They will know you by the love you have for one another!

Achieving this goal takes a lot of personal discipline and understanding for others, by putting off your life for the benefit of others.

ARE YOU SEEING THIS HAPPENING?

DEFINITIONS: True friends are usually those who offer you support, improve your quality of life, promote self-confidence, provide honesty and unconditional love, and help you progress mentally. It often takes time and effort to foster deep, healthy friendships.

In both Testaments the ideas of friend and friendship involve three components: association, loyalty and affection.

There are also three levels of meaning:

* Friendship as association only ...

* Friendship as association plus loyalty; and

* Friendship as association plus loyalty plus affection.

What is ACTS 17:28?

"In him we live and move and have our being, as some of your own poets have even said, 'For we are indeed his offspring".

Yahusha wants us ... befriends us first, calls us His friends and has signified His friendship with us through His atoning sacrifice (John 15:13). SO IT IS CERTAINLY SCRIPTURAL TO CALL YAHUSHA OUR FRIEND BECAUSE HE FIRSTLY CALLS US HIS FRIENDS AND INVITES US TO CALL HIM OUR FRIEND AS WELL!

Carefully read JOHN 15 for it is a guide to knowing how to start entering into the behaviour of true and real friendship:

"1 I am the true vine, and My Father is the gardener. 2 Every branch in Me that bears no fruit He takes away. And every branch that bears fruit He prunes, so that it bears more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the Word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch is unable to bear fruit of itself, unless it remains in the vine, so neither you, unless you remain in Me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who remains in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit. Because without Me you are able to do nothing! 6 If anyone does not remain in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up. And they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.

7 If you remain in Me, and My Words remain in you, you shall ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you. 8 In this My Father is esteemed, that you bear much fruit, and you shall be My Disciples. 9 As the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you. Remain in My love. 10 If you Guard My Commands, you shall stay in My love, even as I have guarded My Father’s Commands and remain in His love. 11 These words I have spoken to you, so that My joy might be in you, and that your joy might be complete.

12 This is My command, that you love one another, as I have loved you. 13 No one has greater love than this: That one should lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, for all teachings which I heard from My Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should endure, so that whatever you ask the Father in My Name He might give you.

17 These words I command you, so that you love one another. 18 If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. But because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, for that reason the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they shall persecute you too. If they have Guarded My Word, they would guard yours too. 21 But all this they shall do to you because of My Name, because they do not know Him who sent Me.

22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 He who hates Me hates My Father as well. 24 If I did not do among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin. But now they have both seen and have hated both Me and My Father, 25 but ... that the Word might be concluded which was written in their Torah, ‘They hated Me without a cause.’ 26 And when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of the Truth, who comes from the Father, He will bear witness of Me, 27 but you also bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning".

NOW HERE COMES THE CLANGER ...

After discovering that Yahuah became Yahusha, walked on this earth, did things that no one else could do, gave us New Commandments which He wants us to behave ... OUR WHOLE EXISTENCE ON THIS EARTH IS TO HAVE THE BEHAVIOUR OF HIS COMMANDMENTS IN OUR LIVES. When we achieve this goal ... He said we are called His friends! So we can see by the above Scriptures and knowledge that Yahusha has been with us all along.

After His ministry He went to Heaven, took His rightful place on the Throne. We concede that Yahuah left His throne to become Yahusha - A MAN IN THE FLESH and the morphing of Yahuah into this flesh was called YAHUSHA: a new created being, with supernatural powers. When we understand this process (that Yahuah did) and the things Yahusha explained about the Father being in Him and He is in the Father and that they are one, it helps us to realise that YAHUAH BECAME YAHUSHA WHO IS NOW ALAHIM ON THE THRONE!

Once we have digested and exercised this knowledge, we realise that this Yahusha Alahim wants us to be His friend! ... How supernatural, how crushing, how amazing! Two thousand years ago He gave us this instruction. He wants us to be his friend!

After everything we’ve been and done, His love humbles us and shatters us to be called His friend. We feel we are so undeserving to take on this privilege ... but He said, 'No, I have paid the price for this love, so walk in it with dignity and love'.

Previously, I (Christopher) used to pray to Yahusha to get to the Father, but now with the understanding of Who Yahusha is, I really think He doesn't want us to call Him 'father' anymore. It’s been a hard switch over to go straight to Yahusha, my friend.

Not calling Him `father', but realising now that I am His friend, and am taking on this relationship most seriously. I want to do what He did for others in my daily walk. I want to have that man to man relationship as a friend, because Yahusha is alive!

It’s been a bit difficult adjusting my mindset to not calling Him father anymore. Sometimes I slip here and there, but to approach Him as friend is my complete desire that He is pleased with my behaviour.

WHAT A DELIGHT AND WHAT A PRIVILEGE! HE WANTS US ALL AS FRIENDS, NOT SLAVES. WHY? THE REASON BEING, THAT WE ARE HIS OFFSPRING (HIS CHILDREN).

LOTS OF LOVE AND BLESSINGS ON YOUR JOURNEY IN BECOMING YAHUSHA'S FRIEND.