I Have Called You Friends

John 15:12-17 these are some of the last words Jesus spoke before He died on the cross for us.
The impact of His words was not understood until many days later, but it was important for Him to
express them to the disciples before He departed. Within these 5 words is the key to our victory through
Christ Jesus our Lord. He has called us His friends. He will never leave us in the midst of our conflicts.
He will be there and see us through it all.
Love never allows you to be alone, fighting your battles by yourself. The Christian church is one
whose support helps the person who struggles to gain the victory through the Word of God. We are
commanded by the Lord Jesus to love one another as He loved us. Love is not selfish. It doesn’t pull to
itself, but reaches out to supply the needs of others. Love has no feelings, but is an action word that
goes beyond duty and ministers to others with kindness and caring that only Christ could show. He
loves us with an everlasting love. He commanded us to love others that same way.
Jesus told His disciples that he wasn’t calling them His servants; for a servant doesn’t know
what his master does. But the Lord calls us His friends: we are dear to Him and He shares with us
everything He is going to do in the earth by His Spirit. He communicates with us by way of the Spirit
of God. When our hearts are overwhelmed, or when we feel the need of the power of God in a greater
way, we can trust the Holy Spirit will give us the help we need to find the will of God and come
through each and every circumstance.
A friend is someone who is dear. They are a person who you can confide in and not worry about
how they perceive you, for they know that you will always love them and respect them. This is missing
in far too many relationships today. No one seems to want to cultivate that part that is necessary in
every relationship. When things don’t go the way we think it should, it is easy to blame the other of not
caring, or being unsympathetic of the other, but love knows love will always come through. Jesus loved
us so much He gave His all on Calvary for us. He sacrificed His moment of time on earth for a far more
eternal reason: to be able to save us! He looked beyond the crowd that was before Him that day and
saw us in 2009, being in need of a Savior and friend. He knew this day would come, a day we would be
looking for and calling out to a Savior to save us from our sins. The burdens people carry today have
only one answer: the Lord Jesus Christ. He knows what we need and He is the Prince of Peace, taking
our cares, our sins, our burdens, and every weakness in our character, and exchanging them for His
peace that passes all understanding. He enables the believer to stand in His presence whole, complete in
Him. He reaches out beyond all social circles and calls whosoever He will to Himself.
John 4:3 & 4 “He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee. And He must needs go
through Samaria.” Jesus was heading back to Galilee from Jerusalem. Instead of going north, He
went west, through Samaria, a place Jews did not frequent in those days. They did not agree with the
Samaritan religion, which mixed Judaism with worldly idols and religious beliefs. To the Jewish people
of that day, Samaritans were hopeless because they left the true worship of their fathers and added the
world to their worship services. But Jesus must needs go through Samaria. The journey wearied Jesus.
He was exhausted and tired in the hot morning sun. Sometimes our journey wearies us. But Jesus
pressed on, and when it was around noon time, He arrived at Jacobs well. There met Him a woman of
Samaria who came to draw water from the well. And Jesus struck up a conversation with her. He was
looking to speak to someone and there she was! She wasn’t Jewish. She didn’t pretend to be religious
or even moral. But she was there, in her need, in her lack, in her lost condition. Jesus looked beyond
everything that was contrary to His life. But He never condemned her or tried to change her to be like
Him: He spoke things that would help her find her way back to the Lord God of her father, Abraham.
Verse 7 all He said was “Give me to drink.” He opened the channel of dialogue by asking her
to do something for Him. This started a conversation that made her think she was in the presence of a
man who was willing to step outside of the conventional ways of religion and reach out to her in her
condition. She knew she wasn’t right with God. That was why she avoided the gathering of the others
earlier in the day at that well. She didn’t fit in. Did you ever feel that way, whether true or not? She
didn’t want to be something she wasn’t so it was easier for her to just steer clear of others so she
wouldn’t hear the questions of why she didn’t do this, that, or the other things they did. She didn’t want
to deal with the narrow looks, the sideway glances and the whispering of the gossipers. She also didn’t
want to be seen by those she respected and were disappointed in her choices. She thought it was better
to just go about her business alone. She would serve God her own way, pray her own way and be done
with others. But Jesus came her way that day, and nothing ever is the same once He comes on the
scene!
Verses 9-12 “Then saith the woman of Samaria unto Him, How is it that thou, being a Jew,
asketh drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? For the Jews have no dealings with the
Samaritans. Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that
saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of Him, and He would have given thee
living water. The woman saith unto Him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is
deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob,
which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?” He had
piqued her interest and opened up a channel within her that she had kept covered from everyone else.
But it was her intense longing for knowing the true God that stirred her and drew her into this
conversation.
Verses 13 & 14 “Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall
thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the
water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” Jesus
had something to give her that can come through no other means than by His Spirit. He was drawing
her into a friendship with Himself that she would never be the same after.
Verse 15 “The woman saith unto Him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither
come hither to draw.” She was hooked. She wanted what He said he had. But Jesus doesn’t lead us
into something without first removing the thing that destroys us. Verse 16 “Jesus saith unto her, Go,
call thy husband, and come hither.” He came to the point of her need: the place she was hiding from
others and didn’t want to speak of. It was her sin that separated her from society and an experience with
God. Many religious people would have hammered her on this point, trying to change her behavior
before changing her heart. But Jesus begins first in the heart; then our behavior will automatically
change. This is where many backslidden Christians are. They try to change on the outside, can’t do it,
and then say the Lord made them that way and make a mockery of the cross Jesus hung on. I am
convinced that you can have a transformation of life. The Bible tells us we can. I have experienced it in
my own life. But we can never have this change until the Lord Jesus, by His Spirit, changes our heart.
This can only happen when you and I turn to Him with all our hearts.
Verses 17-20 “The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her,
Thou hast well said, I have no husband. For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now
hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly. The woman saith unto Him, Sir, I perceive that
thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the
place where men ought to worship.” How did He take her from confession to worship with just those
few words? He is the Master at opening people’s hearts and bringing them to a place of worship. It is a
dear place that only those who have entered can know anything about. On the surface, it seemed that
looking for love in all the wrong places was her problem, but on further examination it was her desire
to worship and love God that was missing in her life. Without the love of God in her she was as a ship
without a rudder. Her direction was misplaced and she had lost her bearings in life: morally, and
spiritually. She was drifting on the sea of life with no direction, until now.
Verse 21-24 Jesus began explaining the way of true worship. We miss it , thinking we have to
join a certain church or organization. Don’t get me wrong: I do believe in being a member of a church.
I am a strong church-man. Building the kingdom of God in this earth demands no less than a total
commitment to a local assembly. But first things first. We must be born again and walk with Jesus
Christ personally. He is the Savior, you know. These verses explain that God is a Spirit and they that
worship Him must worship in Spirit and truth.
Verses 25 & 26 “The woman saith unto Him, I know the Messias cometh, which is called
Christ: when He is come, He will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am
He.” Jesus made a statement that very few heard in the Bible: He is the Messiah. He revealed Himself
to her in such a deep way that answered all her doubts and caused her faith to be born in truth. From
that moment she would now be His.
Verses 27-30 she went into the city and told all the men that she had found the Messiah! She
told everyone about this man called Jesus Christ. And the Bible says that all the men came out of the
city and heard Him for themselves. Verses 39-42 says they believed on Him there. They heard His
Word and believed for themselves. There is nothing like a first- hand experience with the Lord that
changes us into His image and satisfies our souls!
What about you? Did you ever open your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ and ask Him to forgive
your sins and cleanse you from all the unrighteousness in you? He is offering you His salvation today,
as a friend who cares for your soul. I urge you to take the time today and turn to Him with all your
heart and soul. The Bible says the day you seek Him with all your heart, you shall be found of Him, for
He is not very far from every one of us!
If our church can pray for you and encourage you, please don’t hesitate to call us at 860-489-
4137, or write to us at PO Box 1201. We are the Full Gospel Lighthouse Church, 624 Torringford West
Street in Torrington , CT 06790. May God richly bless you and your family today.
Rev. Daniel Bossidy