In The Know Part 1: Friendship and Secrets

Genesis 18:17-22 NKJV  And the LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing,  (18)  since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?  (19)  For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice, that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.”  (20)  And the LORD said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave,  (21)  I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know.”  (22)  Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the LORD.

• As I read this scripture I can’t help but remember that famous line from my favorite hymn… “And He walks with me, and He talks with me, and He tells me that I am His own”.
  • Here we see God literally walking with and talking with Abraham…
    • You see, over the past few weeks we have been talking about this subject of Religion and Relationship.
    • Abraham had religion, of course he did… He obeyed God, He worshiped God, he had traditions, and customs, and sacraments…
      • And that is not a bad thing, as James says, pure and undefiled religion is to take care of the widows and orphans and to keep yourself unstained from the world.
      • That “keep yourself unstained from the world” part is the part that most people don’t like when they talk about religion…
        • They don’t like that we strive to obey God, that we strive to be blameless and spotless… they don’t like that our ways are different from their ways, that our customs are different from their customs… they call us “religious” as if religion is a bad word.
      • But of course Abraham had a pure kind of religion, one that is exemplary.
    • But not ONLY religion, Religion AND Relationship.
      • Abraham was constantly talking with God, conversing with Him, not just saying a prayer into a void. God knew Abraham and Abraham knew God. He even changed Abraham’s name, a very personal thing to do. And because of that relationship, when Abraham had flaws and faults, there was many, Abraham was able to get back up and get back in line… because he knew God’s heart.
      • Sarah, it seems, did not have that strong of a relationship with God. She laughed at God, denying what He said was going to happen was going to happen… and she was rightfully rebuked for it. Sarah had religion, her husband would have lead her in it, but religion was not enough to believe the impossible, she also needed relationship.
• Now that brings us to where we are today, Abraham walking and talking with God.
  • Abraham has such a good relationship with the Lord He can’t just wave Him off, He needs to walk with Him as He goes.
    • When I was in Alamogordo New Mexico with Pastor Matt, Matt stayed with me at the airport until my flight boarded. Even though his flight was 5 hours latter and on the other side of the airport, he wanted to spend every moment he could with me, and I every moment I could with him. So he arrived at the airport 5 hours early just to spend an extra thirty minutes with me. That’s what friends do!

Genesis 18:16 NKJV  Then the men rose from there and looked toward Sodom, and Abraham went with them to send them on the way.

• Abraham had already received the promise from the Lord, here appearing in the flesh. They had dinned together, and talked together. But Abraham did not want to leave God’s side, even as God was leaving, Abraham wen with Him… That will preach right there.Let me say this again, it’s not the sermon this morning but somebody needs to hear it…God had already blessed Abraham, He had already spent time with Abraham, He had already been worshiped by Abraham, Abraham had already prepared a sacrifice for God… All these things had already happened… but for Abraham it was not enough… when God got up to leave, Abraham got up with Him.Yes you worship God at church, and you get blessed by God at church, and He gives you promises at church, and you make  your sacrifices to God at church… But when it is time for service to end, and the blessing comes in Hebrew, and you are dismissed from this place… are you all too happy to also leave the presence of God… or do you say “God, where are you going, because where you go I want to go, where you are I want to be… I just want to be with you?”Ok, that’s a whole ‘nother sermon in itself.
• Instead, today I want to talk about being in the know. God was walking with Abraham toward Sodom and said this line that really pops out to me…

Genesis 18:17 NKJV  And the LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing?”

• Abraham had such a good relationship with God that God did not want to hide things from Him… that is what I want to talk about this morning… that is what I want from our church, I want us to all have such a good relationship with God that He desires to share with us all that He is doing and about to do… So this sermon and the next one I will preach are all about being in the know.

• In the know, Friendship and Secrets.
  • In the know… Friendship and Secrets… Let’s pray.

• So back when I was growing up we used this phrase “In the know”….
  • I have no idea if people use that phrase now, but it means being in the inside circle… knowing what is going on… knowing the haps…
    • When you are “in the know” at your company, it means you are in on the decisions of the upper tiers of leadership, be it because you are a part of management, or because you have such a good relationship with management that they tell you what is going on… you are in the know.
    • When you are “in the know” with a group of people, it means that you are in the inner circle… I remember in high school there was always some kind of drama going on, but if you were friends with the people involved then you were “in the know” and being in the know was kind of like a higher status… Like “Oh you don’t know what’s going on with them? I don’t want to gossip so I can’t share… but… yeah, I am in the know”.
  • And friendship is where I want to stick with this morning, as we talk about being in the know with God… can we as Christians have the kind of relationship with God that we can be in the know, like Abraham was in the know.
    • Can we have the kind of relationship with God where God says “Shall I hide from [Church members name] what I am about to do?”
    • “Shall I hide from [A different Church members name] what I am about to do?”
    • “Shall I keep what I am about to do hidden from [a third name] what I am about to do? No, I will surely share it with them”
      • Don’t you want to know what God is doing church.
      • What God is doing with our nation…
      • What God is doing in our church.
      • What God is doing in your family.
      • What God is doing in your heart?
        • Don’t you want to know if judgment is coming, or blessings are on the way… don’t you want to hear the promises of God‽ Don’t you want to hear the corrections of God? Don’t you want to know God’s personal will and plans for your life‽
    • Is it possible church‽ Can we as Christians have that kind of relationship with God? Where He tells us what He is about to do? Can we be like Abraham and have that kind of relationship with God?
    •  I think we can, and it starts by being a friend of God.
      • That is our first point this morning, be a friend of God.

Point One – Be a Friend of God

Genesis 18:17-18 NKJV  And the LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing,  (18)  since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?

• As I was studying this passage, praying and pondering on what to preach, I kept thinking about being a friend of God.
  • The verse that immediately comes to mind when I read these verses is from John 15, where Jesus is talking to His disciples.

John 15:15 NKJV  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 things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.

• No longer do I call you servants, Jesus says, but I call you friends…
  • The nature of our relationship has changed… because before, you were servants… you did as you were told, and you didn’t ask questions.
  • The servant should not worry himself about what his master is up too, he should simply do what he is told and let the master take care of the rest…
    • But a friend, on the other hand, a friend is in the know.
    • A friend knows what his friend is doing and about to do.
• So church, if we want to have a relationship with God like Abraham did, a relationship where God tells us His plans, tells us what He is doing… then we need to be a friend of God.
  • In fact, Abraham is called a friend of God at least three times in scripture. 2 Chronicles 20:7, Isaiah 41:8, and James 2:23… let me read the reference in James to drive the point home.

James 2:23 NKJV  And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS ACCOUNTED TO HIM FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS.” And he was called the friend of God.

• If we want to be in the Know with God, like Abraham was in the know… then we need to be a friend of God, like Abraham was a friend of God.
  • Now, before I get any deeper into this point it is my duty as your pastor to correct the errors of American culture that seep into church culture… and a big one is this “Jesus is a friend of sinners”
    • NO! Jesus is NOT a friend of sinners.
    • Jesus loves sinners, Jesus died for sinners, Jesus is drawing sinners unto Him that they might be saved…
    • BUT JESUS IS NOT THEIR FRIEND!
      • Jesus is NOT a drunk, He is not a glutton, and He is not a friend of sinners! These were INSULTS thrown at Jesus.

Matthew 11:19 NKJV  The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’…

• Is the same breath they call Jesus a drunk and a glutton, they call Him a friend of sinners, but it is not so… otherwise that verse from John would not make sense.

John 15:15 NKJV  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 things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.

• Jesus is talking to His disciples here and says “No longer do I call you servants, but I call you friends…” does this language not imply that He was not calling them friends before, that He has changed how He sees them… no longer seeing them as merely servants, of course they are still servants of Christ… but no longer does He see them as merely servants, now He calls them friends… and as Friends He will show them what He is doing.
  • No, Jesus is not a friend of sinners. He is a savior to sinners, He is a hero for sinners, He loves sinners… but He is not their friend.
  • Being a friend of God, being a friend of Jesus is an honored and special title… it is a special relationship…
    • He is more than just acquaintance, though many Christians stop their relationship there.
    • He is more than a Master, certainly He is our Master… but He is more than that, even though some Christians even stop their relationship there.
    • Church, hear this, our relationship with Christ is even more than family… though He is certainly family…
      • Christ is OUR FRIEND… and proverbs 18 says THAT MEANS SOMETHING more than even family.

Proverbs 18:24 NKJV  A man who has friends must himself be friendly, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

• Christ is a friend who will stick closer to you than a brother will… no matter the adversity, no matter the issue… Jesus is the friend who will never leave or forsake you… even when family flees, Christ is there!
  • There are people in this church who lost family over their faith, they know exactly what I am talking about… brothers leave, parents abandon… but Christ stick with us.
• Jesus friend of SAINTS… that’s my King! Now the question must be practically asked… how do we, like Abraham, like the disciples… how do we become friends of God?
  • Well, as that verse in proverbs says, “A man whose has friends must himself be friendly”
    • Let me ask you, are you friendly with Jesus?
      • Do you talk with Him every day… not just praying out a list of requests… do you talk with Him? Do you share your heart with Him. Do you cry on His shoulder? Do you jump for joy alongside Him?
        • Are you friendly with Him?
          • Do you laugh with Him? Do you hang out with Him?
      • When He writes you letters, do you read them? Do you respond to them?
        • What kind of man receives 66 letters from their closest friend and doesn’t read them.
          • Binding them in leather, leaving them on a shelf, and then listening to a guy talk about the letters once a week for 45 minutes hardly seems like the friendly thing to do…
          • No a friend would READ those letter! And respond to those letter, and cherish those letters.
    • Worship, yes, praise, yes, sacrifice tithes and offerings, yes… but BE FRIENDLY with Jesus all week long… And not only that… but John tells us exactly what Jesus friends do… let’s go back to that no longer servants verse, but read just one verse before it.

John 15:14-15 NKJV  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 things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.

• I know we harp on obedience a lot at this church, but for good reason… I want you to be friends of God! Truly His friend… and that means you MUST obey whatever Christ commands us to.
  • And listen, when your friend asks you to do something, it should not feel burdensome… how much more when that friend is Jesus.
    • This isn’t about legalism… it is about friendship… and when my friend Jesus, who is also my Master and Lord Jesus, asks me to do something… rather, when He commands me to do something, it is not difficult for me to do it.
  • I want you guys, church, to get to place in your relationship with Christ that when He ask you to do something that you just do it.
    • If He tells you to give up that TV show, to stop hanging out with that person, to stop going to that place… when He tells you to fix your attitude, or to be more charitable… when He tells you to give up that addiction… that your answer would be “Of course Lord”.
      • Now I understand living that out can be a battle in the flesh, but let it not be a battle in the mind… set in your mind, set in your heart today that you will obey the Lord… and if your flesh rebels, then let your mind and your spirit put it back in it’s place time and time again.
    • Just obey Jesus… We are Christians, is that not what we are called to do.
      • And then watch as your relationship with Christ grows… as you are friendly with Him, as proverbs says, and as you obey Him as John says… watch as Christ becomes more than Lord and Master, watch as He becomes friend!
        • And once He becomes friend… well then He begins to share with you all that He is doing… that brings me to point two this morning. Your friend Tells You What He is Doing.

Point Two – Your Friend Tells You What He is Doing.

Genesis 18:17-19 NKJV  And the LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing,  (18)  since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?  (19)  For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice, that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.”

John 15:15 NKJV  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 things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.

• Your Friend Tells You What He or She is Doing… that is a point that I think we all instinctively understand…
  • If you are moving across the country, who do you tell?
    • Well you don’t tell the guy in the check outline at Hy-Vee…
    • You don’t tell that guy you meet briefly at the coffee shop last week.
    • NO! You tell your friends.
      • In fact, if someone moved across the country without telling you, and you THOUGHT you were friends… and you found out after the fact… wouldn’t that hurt?
        • I think we have all experienced that kind of pain before… the “oh, I guess we were not as close as I thought we were.”
        • You guys know that feeling… it is a feeling we experience because we KNOW that friends don’t do things without tell their friends.
          • I myself have gotten in trouble for this, because sometimes I am not the best communicator, and I forget to communicate things with people and they get hurt… because they are like “Why did you not tell me? I thought we were friends”… it is certainly not intentional y’all…
          • Fortunately for us, God is a much better communicator and infinitely more faithful.
• God tells His friends what He is doing… But why? Why does God tells us what He is doing?
  • I think there are at LEAST three major reasons why God would tell us what He is doing.
• THREE REASON GOD TELL’S US WHAT HE IS DOING
  1) He Does Not Withhold Good From His Friends
  2) He is a Generational God
  3) He Want’s You to Intercede

First lets talk about God not withholding good from His friends.

Psalms 84:11 NKJV  For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold From those who walk uprightly.

Proverbs 3:32 NKJV  For the perverse person is an abomination to the LORD, But His secret counsel is with the upright.

• Put those verses together with our key verses from Genesis this morning:
  • “Shall I withhold from Abraham what I am about to do? NO! I will not withhold any good thing from Abraham, for he walks uprightly, he is my friend!”
• Guys, can I tell you how great it is to walk uprightly with my friend Jesus?
  • Nothing puts anxiety to sleep like knowing what God is going to do.
  • Nothing melts your fears away like knowing that God is in control, and that He is not hiding it from You.
  • Nothing brings quit the same encouragement as knowing that God really does love me and really does STILL have good things in store for my future.
    • And not only that, yes God is Just, yes God has wrath… but I know that I am not the subject of that wrath, nor will I be caught up in it… for I will be beside Him, talking with Him about it.
  • God was about to bring JUDGMENT down on Sodom and He says “Let me talk to my friend about it”.
    • God may one day bring judgment down on America, but you better believe He is going to talk to His friends about it first.
    • God may bring Judgment down in your workplace, or your neighborhood, or even your extended family… but if you are His friend… He is going to talk to you about it first…
  • He is not going to withhold that information from you if you walk uprightly, if you obey His commands, if you are His friend… You are in the know!
• Secondly, God is a generational God. He Tell’s Us What He is Doing Because He is a Generational God.
• Genesis 18:17-19 NKJV  And the LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing,  (18)  since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?  (19)  For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice, that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.”
• Listen church, God loves your children more than you love your children.
  • God loves your children every bit as much as He loves you.
    • And God is not content with just YOU being saved… He want’s your whole family to be saved… He want’s your Whole family in heaven… your children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren… until He comes back.
  • God says “I am not going to withhold anything from Abraham because I want him to teach his children about me, about my ways, about what I have done, what I am doing and what I will do”.
    • God is going to tell you what He is doing and will do so that you can tell your children.
      • Don’t let your conversations with your children only be about Bluey and Bingo… Mario and Zelda…
        • If God gives you a revelation, tell your children!
        • If God gives you a word, tell your kids!
          • Teach your kids… preach to your kids… PROPHESY to your kids…
          • So that when God does it, they can see and say “Truly God reigns and rules! I have seen with my own eyes the goodness of the Lord”.
    • You know one thing that makes me SICK as a pastor… when I meet people and try to talk to them about Jesus and they say “Oh yeah, I am not super religious, but my dad Is a pastor”
      • What‽
        • “Well I don’t go to church, but my grandfather was a bishop”
      • Huh‽
        • Well I don’t got to church, but I grew up Methodism/Lutheran/Baptist/Pentecostal
  • Wait a minute! WHAT JUST ONE MINUTE NOW!
    • You grew up in the church and NEVER saw God moving, never saw His promises fulfilled?
    • Your dad was a pastor and you never saw anything so miraculous happen that you could not deny Christ for the rest of your life?
    • Your grandpa was a bishop and never prophesied over your life with such heavenly accuracy that the word has stuck with you since childhood?
      • If your daddy is a pastor, YOU SHOULD KNOW GOD.
      • If your grandaddy is a bishop, YOU SHOULD KNOW GOD.
      • If you grew up going to church, YOU SHOULD KNOW GOD!
        • See God want’s to share with you, adults, what He is doing, so you can share what He is doing to your children and they will see it happen and live in AWE of who God is!

Deuteronomy 11:18-21 NKJV  “Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.  (19)  You shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.  (20)  And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates,  (21)  that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers to give them, like the days of the heavens above the earth.

• Genesis 18:17-19 NKJV  And the LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing,  (18)  since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?  (19)  For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice, that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.”
• Church we talk to our kids about God, what He is doing and what He will do.
  • We tell them about the prophecies.
  • We rejoice when they come true.
  • As the Lord leads, we prophesy over them.
    • And they get to see it with their own eyes.
  • Not lonely that, but the context of Genesis 18 is the judgment of Sodom.
    • We tell our kids about the judgment of God.
      • Sometimes we watch as people our kids once knew turn away from God and their life falls apart, their marriages fall apart, their family falls apart, we have even seen people end up in prison after turning from God, entering into sin, and provoking God into wrath.
        • When that happens we tell our kids “This is what happens when you turn away from God… here, kids is the wrath of God, know it and fear Him… fear Him enough to never want this for you and your own family when you grow up”.
  • “Well pastor that is some heavy stuff to talk to your kids about.”
    • I agree! But I would rather talk to my 7 year old daughter about the consequences of sin now, then wait until she finds out herself the hard way.
• See, God tells me what He is doing because I am His friend, and I tell my kids what He is doing, because I am their dad… then my kids get to know God and believe in God on their own…
  • So when my kids grow up it is not “I don’t go to church, but my dad is a pastor”.
  • It becomes “I go to church because I have known God since I was just a little kid, I have watched as God worked through my parents life… I watched the miracles, and the promises, and prophecies, and the judgments… and I KNOW THAT IT IS ALL TRUE. I have seen it with my own two eyes!”
• So the first reason God tells His friends what He is doing is because He does not withhold good things, the second reason is because He is a generational God… and the third is because He want’s us to intercede…
  • And that is what the message will be about next week. That God actually is inviting us to intercede for what He is about to do… to be a part of the process, co-heirs… we will talk about that next week.
  • But for now, let’s conclude this message, as friends, amen?

Conclusion

Hosea 14:9 NKJV  Who is wise? Let him understand these things. Who is prudent? Let him know them. For the ways of the LORD are right; The righteous walk in them, But transgressors stumble in them.

Psalms 107:43 NKJV  Whoever is wise will observe these things, And they will understand the lovingkindness of the LORD.

• If you are righteous, made so not by your own strength but by the blood of Christ, and if you are wise… with wisdom given by the Lord… then you should have understanding of the Lord’s ways… the Lords plans… what He is doing and what He is about to do.
  • If you are righteous and wise, gifts from God, then you should also be “In the Know”.
    • But I want to address anyone here who struggles with “hearing” God.
    • Maybe you have never heard the spoken voice of God.
    • Maybe you have a hard time hearing the still small voice of God.
    • Maybe you have never been given a prophecy directly from God…
      • Can I encourage you that you can still be wise, you can still be “In the know”.
      • You have the word of God, read it, and teach it to your kids.
      • You have the ability to pray to God, to rest in God, to be friendly with God.
      • Continue walking uprightly, you may not feel like Abraham walking with God right now… you may not identify with the lyrics of “In the Garden” walking and talking with Christ…
      • But you can still be His friend… you can still learn from His word… you can still be given knowledge from these pages… and this is the promise for you this morning:

Matthew 25:29 NKJVa  ‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance…

• Gospel Call

Join us this Sunday at either 8:30AM or 10:30AM for worship followed by this message from the Word of God. Christian Life Church of Cedar Rapids. 2808 Schaeffer DR SW, Cedar Rapids, IA 52404. www.CedarRapidsChurch.com