Matt. 11:16-19 JESUS: THE FRIEND OF SINNERS Intro: It has been said that a dog is man's best friend.

It doesn't seem to matter what you do to your dog, he just keeps on loving you just the same. There are times when I am on the outs with everyone in our home, but that little dog of ours will come and remind me that she still cares. If you had a million dollars and a dog, you would have a million so-called friends and a dog. If you lose the million dollars and have nothing left, those million friends would also be gone, but you would still have the dog. He doesn't care about money, titles, position or privilege. All he asks is for the privilege of being near his master. If you speak his name, you make his day. If you pet him on the head, he thinks he is in dog heaven. His love is unselfish and undying. He is as constant in his love as the sun is in its course across he heavens. I suppose it is true that among all the animals in God's vast creation, there is no greater friend to mankind than the dog. Sadly, most men do not experience that kind of devotion in their human friendships. Here is what some have said regarding human friendships:

I. Jn. 15:12-13 A REAL FRIEND SACRIFICES 12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. 13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. 14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. 15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. John 15:12-15 A. Perhaps you have had a friend for which you would do anything. Or, perhaps you have been fortunate enough to have a friend that would do anything for you. If so, then be glad, for a friend of that degree is a rare thing! B. These verses teach us the truth that Jesus loved us so much that He was willing to die in our place on the cross. Even when were His enemies and lost in sin, He still willingly died for us, Rom. 8:7; Rom. 5:6-8. C. (Ill. Many think they need a friend with money, or power, or prestige, or influence, or a million other things the world places its hopes on. In truth, the sinner needs a friend who can save him from his sins and keep him out of Hell. Jesus, and Jesus alone, is that Friend! A thousand others could have died, but none other could have paid the sinner's due! Jesus died so that sinners might live in Him! The righteous died for the unrighteous. Jesus proved that He was and is the sinner's best Friend!)

II. Pro. 17:17 A REAL FRIEND LOVES A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. Pro. 17:17 A. One characteristic of true human friendship is an undyinglove that unaffected by problems, misunderstandings or harsh words. It is a love that transcends all these things and continues to function as if nothing ever happened. A love like this between two human friends is almost nonexistent! B. Jesus, on the other hand, displays this kind of love without wavering! Notice His promise in Jeremiah 31:3, "Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love." Notice that the term of this love is eternity. There is nothing which man can do that can alter the love of God for him. Even though we are undeserving and horribly flawed at our best, He loves us with an unchanging, everlasting love! Ill. Rom. 8:31-39. C. Jesus is a real Friend because He loves us unconditionally. He places no limits on His great love for man. If you remember nothing from any sermon you ever hear in this church, remember this, "God loves you!"

III. Pro. 18:24 A REAL FRIEND IS STEADFAST A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. Prov 18:24 A. I suppose there have been times when we have all been betrayed by someone we thought to be our friend. It is never pleasant and the pain never really goes completely away from our hearts. But, what a joy it is to find a friend that doesn't turn and walk away from us when we have hard times, or when we down. B. Jesus is a steadfast Friend. There will never come a day when He isn't there beside us to keep us, guide us and to comfort us. He is a Friend that sticketh closer than a brother! (Ill. Jesus knows our hurts and He knows how to comfort us in our trying times - Heb. 4:15-16.) C. Besides being steadfast in comforting us in times of sorrow, Jesus has given us His word that He will forever be with us until our journey has ended. Heb. 13:5; Matt. 28:20. What's more, He has send unto us the Holy Spirit who performs a wonderful comforting ministry in our lives, John 14:16-18.

IV. Mt. 11:19; Lk. 19:7 A REAL FRIEND ACCEPTS The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children. Matt 11:19 And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner. Luke 19:7 A. In these 2 passages, people were concerned that Jesus, who they perceived to be a holy man, was spending His time hanging out with people of a disreputable character. Thank God for those people who are willing to love you, warts and all. I have always been of the opinion that folk can just take me as I am or they can go on their way. It is a great thing to find a true friend that loves you just as you are. B. This is one of the greatest aspects of having Jesus for a friend. He loves you just like you are. He doesn't ask you to change before He will love you. He just loves you - Psa. 103:14. C. This truth offers no excuse to the person who wants to live a sinful live. Jesus expects His children to live clean and do the best they can by His grace. However, when we fail, and we will, He doesn't throw is aside and look for a new friend. He does what a friend should do, He reaches down to us in our time of need and reminds us that He still loves us and that He still cares. D. He loves us in spite of our failures! We never have to earn His love. According to the Scriptures, we are "accepted in the Beloved", Eph. 1:6. (Ill. This term means that we "fit in." In our selves, we are sinful and dirty. We could never hope to be worthy of coming into the presence of God. But in Jesus, we "fit in." We are declared righteous and we are accepted by God, just as we are! That is an incredible thing!) V. Pro. 27:6 A REAL FRIEND OFFERS CORRECTION Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. Pro. 27:6 A. Rare is the friend who will come to you face to face to tell you when you have made a mistake. A friend who will come to you in love and will tell you that you are wrong is a friend indeed! It is no friend who will allow you to go on in evil and not say anything for fear of hurting your feelings. Real friends will reach out in their love for their friends. B. Jesus is a friend who will correct you when you are wrong! (Ill. Hebrews 12:6-11)

VI. Matt. 26:50 A REAL FRIEND FORGIVES And Jesus said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then came they, and laid hands on Jesus, and took him. Matt 26:50 A. In any friendship, it is inevitable that there will be times when feelings will be hurt. Blessed is that friend who has the power for forgive and to forget. When old wounds are allowed to lie open and fester, then disease is always the result. A genuine friend may be hurt and offended, but he will quickly put it behind him in favor of peace and unity. By the way, anyone who refuses to forgive is no friend, but is an enemy for they will, by their hateful spirit, destroy both themselves and you. B. Thank God, Jesus is a friend who forgives! How many times have we crossed the line and gone where God has forbidden us? How many times have we, like the Prodigal, smelling of the world, dirty with the filth of sin, turned back to Jesus and with a repentant heart told Him how wrong we were? When we did, we did not find an enemy. Instead, we found a Friend. We found One who loved us in spite of our wanderings and One who was ready to stand up in our behalf and plead our case before the bar of Heaven. Thank God! Jesus is a Friend who forgives - 1 John 1:7-2:1. C. Let no saint fear to return home. When He does, he find a forgiving Friend in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ!

VII. John 15:15 A REAL FRIEND IS OPEN Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. John 15:15 A. There are few friends with which you can share your deepest secrets without fear of them being spread around like leaves from an autumn tree. It is a blessing, however, when you find that friend with whom you can be open and honest. B. Jesus is such a Friend! You can tell Him any thing and He will never betray your confidence - 1 Pet. 5:7. You can lay any burden off onto His shoulders without fear that He will mock you or run to tell another - Matt.. 11:28. C. His Friendship is a 2 way street. Just as longs for you to confide in Him, He is willing to share His truths with you. He has a will for your life and He will lead you into that truth when you are willing to walk with him as with a friend, John 13:16. Can you honestly say that you have an open relationship with the Lord Jesus?

Yes, Jesus is the sinner's Friend. But, to what extent that is true in your life is up to you. I invite you, this evening, to come before the Lord and seek to be His Friend, He is already yours.