John Bevere - The Greatest Compliment a Human Can Receive
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Close friendship must be established on trust. Now, how is trust established? We keep our word with God; we do what God asks us to do. Way to go, you finished chapter 34! Let’s delve deeper into it. Moses is another man that God calls His friend in the Old Testament, and believe me, there are many other people I believe were God’s friends in that time. However, the lives of Abraham and Moses exemplify what it takes to have an intimate relationship—a friendship—with the Lord God of Heaven and Earth.
God made a statement about Moses in Exodus 33:11: «The Lord spoke to Moses face to face.» Yikes! We know it wasn’t actually like that; God’s glory was not literally in front of Moses’s face. God uses this term to express that He spoke intimately with Moses, as a man speaks to his friend. Oh my goodness! God speaking to you and me as we would speak to a friend—how cool is that? Then, in Numbers 12:7 and 8, God made this statement to Aaron and Miriam: «Of all my house, Moses is the one I trust; I speak to him face to face, clearly and not in riddles.» Wow! For God to say He trusts us—please stop and think about that! He said Moses is the one in the whole nation that He trusts the most. That’s why he’s closest to God.
You see, close friendship must be established on trust. Now, how is trust established? We keep our word with God; we do what God asks of us. Let me tell you four important things that build trust with God: number one, unconditional obedience—always doing what He asks of you; number two, absolute integrity—always keeping your word, not speaking deceitfully; number three, unwavering priority—always putting His desires first; and number four, knowing His heart—always choosing what is best for Him.
Now, let’s consider a hypothetical situation: You have a friend, and your friend has an opportunity to do something that you cannot attend. You look at your friend and genuinely say, «Go ahead, enjoy it; we’ll get together later.» But your friend responds, «You know, I’d rather spend time with you than go do that without you.» Doesn’t that warm your heart? I know I’ve experienced that with my wife before, and she has with me—what a way to create closer intimacy! Well, that’s exactly what God did with Moses. He said to Moses, amidst all the suffering and hardship in the wilderness, «Hey, go on down; I’ll send a choice angel with you to the Promised Land, but I’m not going.» He said, «I’m just not going, but I’ll send a choice angel with you.»
Moses replied, «If You don’t go with us, then I’m not going.» What Moses was saying was, «God, I would rather have You than Your blessings.» They waited for that land for 430 years, and Moses said, «If I have to have this land without You, I’ll take You in this desert—in this place of hardship—before accepting that land we’ve waited for for 400 years without You.» That is the heart Moses had for God, and that is why God said, «I trust him the most of anyone in My whole house.» God actually made an offer to Moses that was beneficial for him, but Moses chose to refuse it because his priority was to be close to God. Only the fear of God can give you the eyes to see that everything must be placed on His heart first.