FRIENDS

Here are some men that completely amaze me.

They all are outstanding men of God.  They lived

in different periods of time.  If you want to get 

theological, they lived in different so called dispensations.

Supposedly they did not have the advantages of the

Holy Spirit that is available to us today.  Yet, they

excelled as men of God.

"Enoch lived 365 years, walking in

close fellowship with God.  Then

one day he disappeared, because

God took him." 

(Genesis 5:24 NLT)

We don't know anything about Enoch's life.

He may never have preached a sermon, BUT,

Enoch lived is such close fellowship with God

that God out of love for Enoch simply took

him to heaven with out him even dying.

Then there is Abraham, 

God's friend.

""And so it happened just as the Scriptures

say: 'Abraham believed God, and God

counted him as righteous because of his 

faith.'  He was even called the friend of

God."

(James 2:23 NLT)

And David.

David was very human.  David messed up.

But if you will read through the life of David

and his writings in the Psalms you know that

David lived a life longing for God.

"But God removed Saul and replaced him

with David, a man about whom God said,

'I have found David son of Jesse, a man

after my own heart.  He will do everything

I want him to do.'"

(Acts 13:22 NLT)

And of course Elijah.

Elijah was used of God to perform a number

of miracles and when his time came God 

sent a fiery chariot to take him home to 

heaven.  But my point here as you can see

is that Elijah was just as human as you and I.

But God was first with him.

"The earnest prayer of a righteous person

has great power and produces wonderful

results.  Elijah was as human as we are,

and yet when he prayed earnestly that no

rain would fall, none fell for three and a 

half years!  Then, when he prayed again,

the sky sent down rain and the earth began

to yield its crops."

(James 5:16b - 18 NLT). 

If we were walking in as close a friendship

or fellowship with God as these guys were

we would be turning the world upside down

like the Apostles did.

We simply are too involved with the World

and the attitudes and affairs of this life.

We need to get into a real close friendship

with God.

"Come close to God, and God will come

close to you.  Wash your hands, you

sinners; purify you hearts, for your

loyalty is divided between God and 

the world."

(James 4:8 NLT)