Jesus Never Fails Part 3

Jesus says in Matthew 28:20, “I am with you always even to the end of the age.” This promise describes the commitment Jesus makes to his disciples; to walk in friendship with them forever. Proverbs 18:24 says, “There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” It is impossible for Jesus to fail. He can’t fail as a Savior. He can’t fail as a Deliverer. He can’t fail as a Great High Priest. He can’t fail as a friend! We won’t trust someone who we think has failed us. It is important to understand that he is committed to walking in friendship with us every hour of every day. I want to look at a story that reveals how Jesus is committed to his friendships and how he never ceases to be a friend.
It is interesting to note that in the entire Old Testament, only two people are called friends of God. Yet, the New Testament reveals that every Christian can walk in friendship with Jesus!

How Jesus Treats His Friends:
John 11: 1-16

1. He is committed to his friends because of love.

“The sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.” John 11:3,5

“Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.” John 13:1

Do you know that the measure of the Father’s love for you is found in how he loves Jesus? John 15:9; 17:23

2. He hears the cries of his friends.

“When he heard this Jesus said….” John 11:4

It is important to bear in mind that he won’t always respond exactly how we expect him to.

“Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.” John 11:6

3. He is patient with his friends.
“Then he said to his disciples, ‘Let us go back to Judea.’ ‘But Rabbi,’ they said, ‘a short while ago the Jews tried to stone you, and yet you are going back there?'” John 11:7-9

Patience creates an atmosphere that is safe to be vulnerable and weak. The disciples, like us, showed their ignorance at times. Yet, they trusted Jesus to respond in love.

4. He pursues his friends to help them.
“After he had said this, he went on to tell them, ‘Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.’ ” John 11:11

I Samuel 23:15-17

Time + Trust + Transparency = a friendship that is going deeper.

We are all very much like Lazarus, for his name means, “One whom God helps.” Jesus is committed to helping us in every aspect of our life and yet, he too yearns for friendship with us. How does this happen?

John 15:13-15