An Amazing Life

By Bola Olivia Ogedengbe

If you are hungry to know God better and be considered by Him as His friend, this book is FOR you.

Who is a friend of God? One man, Abraham, bore the enviable title of 'friend of God' from the mouth of God Himself. And he enjoyed immense benefits as a result. Those benefits, detailed in the book are available today for you as you  choose to become a friend of God.

But how? How can you also enjoy such a depth of relationship? What was it in the man, imperfect though he was to warrant such an appellation?

With keen insight, the author takes us on an eye-opening meditation on the extraordinary life of Abraham to reveal why a mere man could be considered by God as a friend.

A book filled with hope, with clear insight and direction.

• You will discover simple, straightforward and powerful keys to building a strong relationship with God.
• You will learn  how to know God more deeply,
• you will enjoy greater intimacy with Him and
• experience a satisfying and delightful relationship with your heavenly Father.
• You will live an amazing life.

In this book, Pastor Bola Ogedengbe, author, pastor and veteran teacher of the Word  answers the simple question: what does it mean to have a relationship with God that God likes?'

Get your copy today.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Beautiful Books
• Release date: Jan 8, 2020
• ISBN: 9791095039228

Bola Olivia Ogedengbe

Bola Olivia Ogedengbe is Pastor of Abba House, Paris, long time Bible teacher and prophetic leader of The Theophilus Company ministry. She hosts two television programmes Passion pour Dieu (French) and Passion for God (English).  She is author of Reborn A New Identity, An Eye to the Crown, and in French 'Appelez à l'Existence' among others. She speaks five languages and was a conference interpreter and translator for more than twenty years. She has travelled to over 150 countries and is deeply passionate about global evangelism.

Book preview

An Amazing Life

The extraordinary life of a friend of God and how you can become one

Bola Olivia Ogedengbe

AN AMAZING LIFE

Copyright © 2019 Bola Olivia Ogedengbe

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New International Version. Used by permission.

Printed in France

ISBN: 9791095039181

First published: December 2019

OTHER BOOKS BY AUTHOR

Reborn, A New Identity

Reborn, 30 day devotional/Workbook

An Eye to the Crown

Le Feu de Dieu

Appelez à l'Existence

An Amazing Life Workbook

Introduction

There is something remarkable about youth - dreams. Given the right conditions, our minds soar to unimaginable heights. We envision great things for which we were made, remarkable things we are meant to achieve. As far back as I can remember I have always had great aspirations. I always felt I was supposed to live for something great. And there were dreams aplenty. But nothing prepared me for the stunning reality of what God had planned for me even before I knew Him. He wanted to make me His friend and does each one of us.

Indeed, an invitation to divine intimacy is an unimagined consequence of faith in Christ. Many come to the Lord in search of divine help. Many come looking for answers to existential questions. Others come in search of love. Friendship with God rarely features on our agenda. However, we heartily rejoice that we now have a friend in Jesus. He is undeniably a true Friend, one who knows us, loves us and understands us. It is an amazing truth, and many of us never go beyond it. Yet, it is only the beginning of something more. And that something is the point of this book. What is a friend?

What is a friend?

Friendship is defined as the state of being friends or of being friendly. A friend is ‘one attached to another by affection or esteem¹’. A friend is one who favours or supports someone or something.

Who is a friend of God?

First and foremost, a friend of God is one whom God sees as His friend, not one who sees God as their friend. What qualifies a human being to be a friend of God? Is it by meeting His needs and by taking care of Him? Is God in need of help as we often are from our friends? No. Rather, it is about holding Him in high esteem and having deep affection for Him. It is about favouring and supporting His cause. A friend of God is one whose life and conduct manifest their regard for Him and their commitment to His Person. He or she is the one who moves the heart of God through their devotion to Him.

God’s plan from the beginning

Divine friendship was God’s plan from the beginning. The first humans had a close relationship with God. They knew Him, were devoted to Him and communed with Him. Unfortunately, our first parents shunned the relationship. They suspected God of unholy intentions, betrayed Him and lost that friendship. Openness and transparency were replaced by suspicion and subterfuge. Enmity took the place of friendship. This is clear in the Genesis account.

And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? (Genesis 3:8-9).

We know the story. Intimacy and communion with God vanished, men drifted away from God and with each generation sunk deeper into rebellion. Yet men like Abraham and Moses, men like Enoch and Noah stood out among their contemporaries. They connected to the heart of God. Friendship speaks of harmony, agreement and good rapport. These men lived in harmony with God, despite their sometimes gross imperfections and personal failures. They had one quest—a single-minded pursuit of obedience to God’s purposes.

One man stands out among all in the biblical account as having received this magnificent testimony from God. God speaks of him as ‘my friend’. His name is Abraham. This patriarch was a man who walked with God, albeit imperfectly, as all humans do. We have much to learn from his relationship with God. Referring to him, God says through the prophet Isaiah to the people of Israel:

But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, you descendants of Abraham my friend… (Isaiah 41:8).

Surely of all the honours a human can receive, of all the awards, titles, degrees, encomiums, none can surpass this one. The apostle James also testifies thus:

And the scripture was fulfiled that says, Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness, and he was called God’s friend (James 2:23-24).

On one occasion, the Ammonites and Moabites, descendants of Lot by his two daughters, allied with the Meunites to launch an attack on Judah. The king, Jehoshaphat called the people to fast and pray. They came from every town in Judah, gathered before the Lord’s temple and Jehoshaphat cried out to God. Listen to him.

Lord, the God of our ancestors, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you. Did you not, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? (2 Ch 20:6).

He pointed out to the Lord that He Himself had given Israel that land. Furthermore, He had forbidden Israel, on their way into the Promised Land, from attacking the Ammonites and the Moabites. And the Israelites had left them alone. Now the same people were repaying them with evil. But notice he draws God’s attention to whom he and his people were, the ‘descendants of Abraham your friend’. As for their opponents, they were the descendants of Lot who went away from Jehovah to dwell in Sodom.

The covenant between God and Abraham was an everlasting covenant. Everyone who is in Christ has a share in it. The ‘seed’ of Abraham through whom the nations will be blessed is none other than Christ Himself. So Abraham stands out as an example and a father. If you are in Christ, you are a child of Abraham. Abraham was a remarkable man of strong faith, extraordinary courage, and resilience. He was imperfect, but he was devoted. We want to know why God called him a friend and what we can emulate in his lifestyle that will give the Father pleasure.

We are indebted also to Moses, a man to whom God spoke face to face as a man speaks to a friend. From him, we learn about holy desire for God. These men dwelt in the hallowed heights of communion with God.

Who among our sinful race can be worthy of the friendship of Jehovah? Only His Grace can make it possible for any man to walk with God in high companionship.²

Charles Spurgeon

The apostles enjoyed that grace. These men and the women who followed them and ministered to the Lord’s needs walked with the incarnate Christ daily for three years. The apostle John leaned on his breast, showing the closeness between Jesus and His disciples. Jesus also had one friend called Lazarus whom He had raised from the dead. Lazarus’ earlier claim to fame was that he was a friend of the Lord as were his two sisters. The man Jesus embodied the intimacy the Father desires with His creation. The 15th chapter of John has many references to this state of friendship between Jesus and His disciples. This chapter offers clear direction on what it takes to be a friend of God. Can I hope to be a friend of God? Absolutely.

Restoration to friendship in Christ

And to those hallowed heights and far beyond we are called to ascend under the New Covenant. When a person turns from their past wickedness, becomes a follower of Jesus and enters the kingdom, they receive the ability to commune with God. They have ‘passed from death to life’, they are ‘forgiven’, they are ‘justified’ and, they are ‘reconciled with God’ or as the NLT puts it, they are ‘restored to friendship’.

For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son… (Romans 5:10).

We used to be enemies of God. Jesus, through His death on the cross, effected our reconciliation. What happens when you are reconciled to a person to whom you used to be an enemy? You cease to be an enemy; you become a friend. At the very least, the dispute, discord, disagreement that was a hindrance to true friendship is removed and you can now move ahead and build a solid friendship. That is the condition of the born-again person. He is restored to a state of friendship with God. The New Living Translation of the above Scripture says:

For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son (Romans 5:10 NLT).

Because of Christ Jesus that enmity has now been removed, and the friendship restored. We must be in awe as we seek to live out the fullness of this friendship. There are two extremes among believers that we need to avoid. Some glibly call God their Friend while barely communing with Him; while others deem it sheer blasphemy to reduce the Divine Being to a condition of friendship with a vile, unworthy human such as they. The truth is infinitely lovelier.

The truth is that we were saved to become friends of God. Yet we can live like faithful friends or like fair-weather friends. We can revel in our new relationship with God and the fact that we are precious to God, without ever asking ourselves if God is precious to us. This new positioning in redemption, obtained by the blood of Jesus—what have we done about it? We cannot be satisfied with our judicial status. It must become your daily experience; your heart and conduct must reflect your relationship with God. God must like what He sees in you.

Consider Abraham

True friendship is one of the sweetest things on the face of the earth and is very beneficial for both parties. The question is, ‘what was it about Abraham that God liked’? Relationship with God is enjoyable; it is profitable, not an inconvenience imposed on mankind in exchange for escaping hell. It is not a relationship between equals and does not altogether parallel human friendships. The truth of the matter is that divine friendship is offered to us for our good. And every believer should normally live for nothing else. However, we live in a fallen world where the things of God are alien to us.

So we must cry out for a heart that wants the right things, intimacy with God and friendship with God. To spur you on to holy desire, we shall begin by looking at the impact Abraham’s friendship with God had on his life. Every good thing God desires from us is a fruit of a good thing He had previously given to us. God showed Abraham great kindness and we shall see how God treated His friend. As we dwell on the different areas in which God’s friendship with Abraham shined forth, let it stir you up to greater expectation in your friendship with God. And in part two we shall seek to elucidate the character traits, the conduct, and the attitude towards God that made a mere man be called a friend of God.

BOOK ONE - AN EXTRAORDINARY LIFE

Preface

Ten generations from the flood, evil had once again gained dominance in the minds of men and in the earth. Here and there, righteous men still lived, but most, unfortunately, had regressed into idolatry. Yet God’s plan to redeem mankind was still in motion. So, centuries before Calvary, God found the man through whose descendants the Messiah would come. He found a man who would be true to His covenant. He tested his loyalty, and he was not found wanting. And God blessed him.

As we think about Abraham’s friendship with God, we cannot but be moved by the substantial benefits it brought to Abraham’s existence. The Most High God revealed Himself to Abraham, he chose to follow and his story was forever changed. Challenges, difficulties, victories, joy awaited him and in all of it, he remained true to God and God to him. Despite the complexities of his existence, his life was marked at every turn by divine favour and blessing. God took good care of His friend. The prophet Isaiah speaking for God left this testimony:

Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the Lord: Look to the rock from which you