June 11, 2023 · John 15:14–15

Friendship With Christ

You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.

“He's very clear that we will have friends in the world. Paul talks about other cultures; he says not to just ditch everyone who's not a Christian. But the reality is: are you a friend of the world, or are you a friend of Jesus? It's one or the other. Because if you love Jesus, then you have to recognize the world hates him. Now, "the world" to me is a spiritual force — the spiritual beings in the spiritual world, and also the spirit that lives within people that's anti-God. So it doesn't mean God hates every single person. What it means is that the spirit of the world which they're buying into, he hates, and it is at enmity with you. And you have to realize that we have enemies. The enemy isn't your friend next door. The enemy is the spirit at work in the world that is working in them and through them and on them, and that means we have to stand up against these forces. There are powers in the heavenly places that are working against you. The cosmos. The world is at war. I think sometimes we forget that. There's literally an enemy that's trying to attack, that's seeking to destroy the church, that's seeking to put your faith down, and putting your faith down doesn't mean killing it, or making you worship Satan, by the way. He'd love you to do that. But it's as simple as: I love Jesus, but really I love my Netflix more. I love Jesus, but really I'm more obsessed with my bands. I love Jesus, but really it's business and finance. Friendship with the world means giving it all to that thing rather than to Jesus. Are you willing to make Jesus the top priority? And are you willing to turn your back on the powers that work against you? Jesus is your real friend.”