Psalm 54 I Am A friend of God

Daily Bible Study for Monday September 12, 2016

By: Hanny Lynn Stearns

Fish N Loaves Ministries, Inc.

“Multiplying God’s Word Around The Globe”

Chapter Reading for Today: Please read in your Bible before proceeding. Note that most translations are considered paraphrases. The Young’s Literal Translation provides a more accurate translation since he is the one who authored a concordance. Others are helpful for seeing a different perspective, but we cannot always depend on their wording. I hope this is helpful to you. If you are studying in another version, that is fine. I am studying from the KJV, but for the purpose of this study, I will keep it with the New King James Version.

One final note: I will put the scripture in italics to differentiate from my own writing. I am adding red to the letters when it is Jesus talking – just like the Bible. Thank you.

Bible Gateway Verse of the Day

Philippians 4:4

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! 

Psalm 100:4

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,

and into His courts with praise.

Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.

Song: I Am a Friend of God   By: Israel Houghton

Psalm 54

I Am A Friend of God

In these short 6 verses we see a power packed message. Jesus Himself will be our example, as always, of who God is for us and who we are to Him. The people of God around the world must be reminded of their relationship with the Lord as Christians. What does it really mean to know God? Who is He for us and who are we to Him? We will find out more as we go in faith. Let’s pray…

Heavenly Father:

Thank You for Your word. It is by faith in Your word that we find out who You are (to us) and who we are in You. Father, I ask You to show us what this means today. Help us to see You more clearly through this study. Make it plain to us through Holy Spirit what it really means to be in a relationship with You. Lord, I ask You to use me to bring out exactly what You want said to the hearts of Your people in this lesson. Cause it to go around the world and reach lonely hearts everywhere. May it go out unhindered and unchecked by any outside force or my flesh. Father, I ask You now to give me the anointing and utterance to speak Your word boldly as I ought. I ask You to change our hearts and renew our minds by what we learn today. Father, we thank You for always watching over Your word to perform it in our lives when we apply it in faith. We purpose Lord to be doers of Your word and not forgetful hearers. Thank You in advance for changing us to make us more like Jesus every day. In Jesus mighty name. Amen!

When we look at what the Psalmist wrote in what is captured in 6 short verses, we see a picture that looks like this:

He went to God when trouble came his way. He knew that God could and would help. He had confidence in what the Lord would do to his enemies. He was committed to the Lord and willing to make sacrifices in his life because of his relationship with God. Finally, he remembered what the Lord had done for him in the past. Friends, this is bold confidence in the Lord. Can that be said of you? When you face a trial, what is your first response to the situation? Do you panic and cry out, “Oh I just don’t know what I am going to do!” Or do you go to God in confidence that He is your God who not only can help you but eagerly wants to help you out of any trouble you face? How well do you know Him?

When we ask people today if they are a Christian, a great number of them will quickly respond with a bold, “Yes, I am.” But when we look into the lives of many through our friendships or acquaintances with others who claim to be Christians, we see a lot of doubt and fear active in their lives. Why is this happening? Why don’t they know who God really is? Why don’t they realize what He can do for them? Have they forgotten things He has helped them with in the past? All of these questions bear attention. What is their relationship with Him really? The Bible was given to us so that we could know God. We could know His heart and His desire to help His people. This is why He had every word written. It is for our understanding.

Yet, in the real world of Christianity today, many are living more in the flesh than in the Spirit of God, and getting the results that a carnal (fleshy) life will bring – nothing good…

John 6:63

It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.

There was a man named in the gospel accounts of the Bible who knew the Lord. His name was Nathanael. When Jesus walked up to him and spoke, he knew in his spirit instantly that this was the Son of God. Let’s look further…

John 1

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. ⁴ In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. ⁵ And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

⁶ There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. ⁷ This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. ⁸ He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. ⁹ That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.

¹⁰ He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. ¹¹ He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. ¹² But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: ¹³ who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

¹⁴ And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

¹⁵ John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’”

¹⁶ And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. ¹⁷ For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

¹⁹ Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”

²⁰ He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”

²¹ And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?”

And he answered, “No.”

²² Then they said to him, “Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?”

²³ He said: “I am ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Make straight the way of the Lord,”’

as the prophet Isaiah said.”

²⁴ Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees. ²⁵ And they asked him, saying, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

²⁶ John answered them, saying, “I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know. ²⁷ It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.”

²⁸ These things were done in Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

²⁹ The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰ This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ ³¹ I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.”

³² And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. ³³ I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴ And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”

³⁵ Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. ³⁶ And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God!”

³⁷ The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. ³⁸ Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, “What do you seek?”

They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), “where are You staying?”

³⁹ He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour).

⁴⁰ One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. ⁴¹ He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated, the Christ). ⁴² And he brought him to Jesus.

Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, “You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas” (which is translated, A Stone).

⁴³ The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, “Follow Me.” ⁴⁴ Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. ⁴⁵ Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

⁴⁶ And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”

⁴⁷ Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!”

⁴⁸ Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?”

Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”

⁴⁹ Nathanael answered and said to Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”

⁵⁰ Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” ⁵¹ And He said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”

When John saw Jesus, he knew immediately it was Jesus – the Son of the Most High. The One he had been testifying about had arrived in the flesh. There was no mistaking Jesus. Then, as Jesus began to call the 12 selected men to follow Him closely and learn from Him, He approached Nathanael. What a glorious moment that must have been - for Jesus and for Nathanael. In a scene from the movie, “The Gospel of John,” we see Nathanael sitting under a fig tree weaving something around his hand. 

What was significant about the scene is that Nathanael knew God. He drew close to the Lord in prayer. The fig tree for him was a place where he could be alone and commune with the Lord. There, Jesus saw Him, in the spirit, as the Father revealed it to Him.

Having a close relationship with the Lord is what Christianity is all about. The 12 disciples would be called to leave everything they knew – family, friends and businesses to follow Jesus in ministry. They would become intimate friends with the Lord of lords and the King of kings. What an honor and a privilege to be called to be a close intimate friend of Jesus! 

How many people would recognize the Lord and who He is if He walked into their living room right now? Only those that know Him in the spirit would respond the way Nathanael did. He knew instantly that it was Jesus – Rabbi – Son of the Most High God. Why? Because long before Jesus every showed up in the flesh, Nathanael spent time with Him in the privacy of his place of worship and prayer. He was no stranger to God. 

How did you become friends with people you know and now call close friends? What did you do to get to know them so well that you know what their favorite things are? How do you know what they like and don’t like? How did you get to that point in your relationship with them? The answer is obvious. You spend time with them. You talked to them and shared your heart. The more you got to know each other, the more intimately you shared the inner details of your lives with one another. As time went on you came to a point where you could finish a sentence they started because you knew exactly what they would say. This is a sign of a real intimate friendship isn’t it?

Friends, it is no different with the Lord. Just because we cannot see Him in the flesh (yet) does not mean we cannot have a very intimate relationship with Him. The Holy Spirit reveals Him to us, and we have a responsibility to respond to that revelation. Will we take the opportunity to get to know the Savior? Or will we walk in the other direction showing no interest? Peter knew who the Lord was. He didn’t understand it on his own. Holy Spirit revealed it to him as well…

Matthew 16:13-17

¹³ When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”

¹⁴ So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

¹⁵ He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

¹⁶ Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

¹⁷ Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.

And there is another person who knew the Lord so intimately that he finally got to go be with Him in heaven. Let’s look…

2 Kings 2:11

¹¹ Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

First of all can you even begin to imagine how this must have blessed the Lord’s heart? To have somebody on the earth who loved Him so much that he finally said in essence, “Elijah, come on up and be with me now.” Oh glory to God! That’s what we could call an intimate friendship! Hallelujah! Elijah had yet to see the Lord, yet he loved Him and knew Him intimately. Now let’s go a little further back in time. This was nearer to the beginning of creation and when it all started with mankind…

Genesis 5:22-24

²² After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. ²³ So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. ²⁴ And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.

Back in a time when people were living up to 800-900 years, we had a man who walked with God long enough to prove his love for him so much that he was taken up to heaven to be directly in the presence of the Lord! Glory to God! What an honor! What a privilege! Everybody gets a chance to be that close with God. It’s true. Those men were nothing special above anyone else. 

The difference between them and the vast majority of people on the planet is that they found out about God, and they wanted to be “His friend.” They wanted to be close to Him, honor Him and be led by Him. Because they responded positively to the Lord’s invitation to “Come and see” so to speak, they became so close to the Lord that He wanted them to come up to heaven where He could really be close to them and bless them to the max! Hallelujah!

The day that Jesus arrived on the scene in Galilee, he found Philip who went to Nathanael. As Jesus had begun to call His disciples, they inquired of Him to see where He was staying. He responded by saying, “Come and see.” And they did. They dropped everything and went after Him. Then Jesus found Philip and invited him to follow Him. The next thing we know, Philip is running to Nathanael to invite him to “Come and see” the Messiah. Nathanael had a question. “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip invited him to come and see for himself. And he did. The minute Jesus saw him, He knew that this was a man who loved God.

Just like Enoch and Elijah, Nathanael was no stranger to the Lord. So when he appeared before him in the flesh, his spirit inside responded to the Holy Spirit who revealed to him that this was indeed the long awaited for Messiah. We notice that there was no wishy washy response to Jesus, was there? After he asked Jesus how He knew him, the answer would make it plain. Nathanael knew that he knew who Jesus was. Like Peter, like Enoch and like Elijah, all these men knew the Lord.

How did they get to that point? By spending time with Him. Our Psalmist in today’s chapter makes it clear that he knew who his Lord was. Peter knew. All of these men had a revelation of who the Lord was. Then they had an opportunity to respond to that revelation. But there was a group who did not recognize the Lord even when He stood right in front of them. Their eyes were completely blinded. Let’s look…

Matthew 26:57-68

⁵⁷ And those who had laid hold of Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled. ⁵⁸ But Peter followed Him at a distance to the high priest’s courtyard. And he went in and sat with the servants to see the end.

⁵⁹ Now the chief priests, the elders, and all the council sought false testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, ⁶⁰ but found none. Even though many false witnesses came forward, they found none. But at last two false witnesses came forward ⁶¹ and said, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.’”

⁶² And the high priest arose and said to Him, “Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?” ⁶³ But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest answered and said to Him, “I put You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!”

⁶⁴ Jesus said to him, “It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

⁶⁵ Then the high priest tore his clothes, saying, “He has spoken blasphemy! What further need do we have of witnesses? Look, now you have heard His blasphemy! ⁶⁶ What do you think?”

They answered and said, “He is deserving of death.”

⁶⁷ Then they spat in His face and beat Him; and others struck Him with the palms of their hands, ⁶⁸ saying, “Prophesy to us, Christ! Who is the one who struck You?”

Do you see how they used the name of God as if they knew Him? Yet when His Son was standing right in front of them, they did not even recognize Him. And Jesus even confirmed to them out loud who He is. Look at this…

Romans 1:18-21

¹⁸ For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, ¹⁹ because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. ²⁰ For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, ²¹ because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

Anybody who really knew God in the spirit would certainly recognize Him in the flesh. But the high priest had a heart that was darkened. He didn’t know the “living God” whose name he used to place Jesus under an oath to respond to his piercing question. When he heard the truth, he became furious. Jesus went through several trials the day He was to be crucified. He went from one to the next to be examined and cross examined. It is quite interesting to study all the “trials” He went through before making His way to Calvary. That’s another teaching in itself.

  

Next, Jesus would be taken before the governor, Pontius Pilate to be questioned further about who He was. He asked the Lord, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And Jesus gave him a straight answer too. “It is as you say” was His reply. These men were no friend of God, it is plain to see. Even the one who knew Him and that He was the Savior – Peter, denied Him at that point. He turned his back on his one True Friend, and later wept bitterly over his betrayal. At least Peter realized who He was. And even though he had denied Jesus in the crucible of the most defining moment of his life, he would later come to his spiritual senses because Jesus knew him and loved him. Jesus had prayed for his precious friend…

Luke 22:32

But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.”

How’s that for friendship? When Jesus needed Peter’s support the most, he failed Him – quite miserably in fact. But Jesus, the One True Friend, had compassion and mercy on His friend Peter. He knew by revelation from the Father in heaven that Peter would fail. But Jesus knew the Father well enough to know that He would have to pray His friend through this great trial. It was a terrible time for Peter. When asked if he was associated with Jesus, he cowered in fear and denied Him. But in his heart, he knew that Jesus was the Son of God, just like we looked at a few moments ago. He wanted to follow Jesus, but he had a “fear of man” issue that needed to be dealt with before he could step into the calling the Lord had placed on his life.  

How many know that when we face trials, our weaknesses will be brought out and placed on full display? Before Peter could really be used by the Lord, he had to be healed of this “fear of man” issue. He was going to have to face many people who would threaten him and give him grief over this man named Jesus. He was going to learn in the most intense of moments that he needed to get past this and really begin to trust in the Best Friend he would ever have – in this life and the next.

Next, we see that Jesus proceeded to the cross, taking the place of Barabbas. Though Barabbas was an evil man, Jesus was going to step in and become his best Friend that day. He is a friend of sinners…

 Luke 7:18-35

¹⁸ Then the disciples of John reported to him concerning all these things. ¹⁹ And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to Jesus, saying, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?”

²⁰ When the men had come to Him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to You, saying, ‘Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?’” ²¹ And that very hour He cured many of infirmities, afflictions, and evil spirits; and to many blind He gave sight.

²² Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them. ²³ And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”

²⁴ When the messengers of John had departed, He began to speak to the multitudes concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? ²⁵ But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed those who are gorgeously appareled and live in luxury are in kings’ courts. ²⁶ But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet. ²⁷ This is he of whom it is written:

‘Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way before You.’

²⁸ For I say to you, among those born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

²⁹ And when all the people heard Him, even the tax collectors justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John. ³⁰ But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.

³¹ And the Lord said, “To what then shall I liken the men of this generation, and what are they like? ³² They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, saying:

‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we mourned to you, and you did not weep.’

³³ For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ ³⁴ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ ³⁵ But wisdom is justified by all her children.”

Folks, the only real friend we will ever have is Jesus! We can have friends in this life and some of them may be quite faithful and lasting. But in the end they will never be as faithful as the True Friend we have in Jesus. Being His friend is the best relationship to be a part of. To be invited into His circle of friends is the most “elite” calling we will ever receive. Some will be called to be the President of the United States or other foreign countries. Many will have high callings in this life. But none will ever compare to the high calling we have in Christ Jesus. He is a friend to the friendless. He is there when no one else is. He can comfort like no earthly friend can. He will share in our tears and sorrows. After all, He bore our sorrows so we could have joy.

Just yesterday at church we gathered around a fellow member who had just seen her only son pass away. This was much too soon, as she is not even an old lady – maybe in her 60’s. We hugged on her and prayed for her. As we began I started to cry very deeply for her. It was as if I was feeling her pain. A few moments later in the restroom the Lord spoke to my heart. He said, “Hanny, that is what I do when someone mourns.” I felt His heart in a way I never had before. He was crying right along with that sweet lady. This only served to draw me closer to Jesus and make me love Him even more. How sweet, tender and compassionate He really is. When the Bible says to mourn with those who mourn, He really means it. He does. He cried when Lazarus had passed away from this life. He is very tender hearted.

Who wouldn’t want a friend like this? In summary, to truly know God, like our Psalmist today and those we mentioned in our study, is to love and trust Him. It is to have confidence in who He is and what He can do for us – His friends – aka, His children. When we choose to walk with God and be called His friend, then we are willing to uphold our side of the friendship by making some commitments to Him. We become willing to sacrifice some things for Him – because He sacrificed everything for us. As we remember our only true Friend and what He has done for us in the past, we should have an unshakable confidence in Him for what we need presently. To know Him is to love Him. Do you know Jesus – really?  

Questions:

What stands out the most to you about the Psalmists’ attitude toward the Lord in his prayer?

In what ways has Jesus shown Himself as a friend to you?

Have you cowered in fear when it came to proving your devotion to the Lord? Explain in detail and take it to the Lord in prayer.

Have you been willing to make some sacrifices for your Best Friend Jesus?

What will you do differently as a result of this study?

Who can you share this with?

There are three main points to consider from today’s study…

To know God is to love Him

True friendship with Jesus requires eliminating all fears

Jesus is a friend to anyone who will receive Him

                        Let’s pray…

Heavenly Father,

Thank You for calling me a friend of God. I love You Lord and I want to walk with You all the days of my life. Father, I ask You to forgive me for the times I turned and walked away in fear. I ask You to help me to know You more so I can know that in a close relationship with You I will never have anything to fear. Thank You for being there for me in my most difficult trials. Show me what I can sacrifice for You to show You my love and commitment to You. I thank You in advance for the answers to this prayer in Jesus wonderful name. Amen.

Have you been a faithful friend to Jesus?

And God Said… You fill in the blanks.

John 15:13

Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.

John 15:15

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.