The Disciples And The World
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The Disciples And The World
The Disciples And The World
INTRO:
The World....
Good:
creation
Jesus involved in creation
new earth
Bad:
sin
present world as opposed to the kingdom of Christ
always with the idea of worthlessness, evil, temptations, irregular desires
the people of this world, as opposed to those who seek the kingdom of God
they are subject to Satan, the ruler of this world
Michael Jackson, Heal The World, released in November of 1992 on the Dangerous album
Heal the world
Make it a better place
For you and for me, and the entire human race
specifically today..... bad for Christians...
-Research groups estimate the number of Christians killed each year as a direct result of their faith is as high as 8000.
-There are currently more than 100 countries who either restrict or are hostile to Christianity.
-More than 100 million Christians are currently suffering persecution around the globe.
As Jesus closes in on the end of his earthly ministry, he’s been teaching his disciples and preparing them to continue following Him once he returns to heaven. He’s been focusing on the church.... this new community of believers that will be known for their love for each other and their commitment to the teachings of Jesus.
and now, he’s going to tell them how the world will respond to this new community.
he’s preparing them for the persecution they will face.
he’s warning them of the coming hatred and animosity
in fact, in our passage today, we find some form of the word hate 8 times!
john 15:18-27
Jesus explains the reasons for the worlds hatred of the church and then tells the disciples how they are to face it.
BODY:
18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. 21 But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father also. 24 If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. 25 But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.’
26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. 27 And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.
CAN WE PRAY?
Why does the world hate Christians? in our passage we can find 5 reasons why...
the first one is this.... the world hates christians because…
The world hates Jesus. (vs. 18)
“if” is not expressing uncertainty here… it’s more like “if the world hates you… and trust me… it will.... know that it hated me first.”
This is a guarantee. If you’re following Christ, the world will respond to you they way it responded to him. Did the world hate Jesus?
literally hours after he spoke this sentence, he was arrested, tried for crimes he didn’t commit, mocked, beaten, whipped and finally executed as a criminal. Yes… the world hated Jesus.
since sin entered into humanity with Adam & Eve, every person who has ever been born, has been born with a bent toward rebellion against God.
everyone, including me.... including you
you see the world hates Jesus because the world stands in opposition to all that God is and all that God is doing.
brian, it seems like you’re saying it’s either one way of the other with no middle ground..... can’t we follow Jesus and still be like the world? still be liked by the world?
James 4:4 says there’s only 2 teams… and you can’t play for both...
4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
adulterous people… he wasn’t talking to them like this because they were cheating on their spouses.... he called them adulterous because they were cheating on their God by worshipping the world.
the world hates christians because the world hates Jesus.
Secondly, the world hates Christians because...
Jesus has called us out of the world. (vs. 19)
Christians are no longer part of the world… when you become a Christian, you take on a new identity… you are now part of the family of God.... a new citizen of a new kingdom
20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.
we’ve changed teams and our old team doesn’t like us anymore because now we stand opposed to them....
2003 NBA draft - lebron from Akron, OH… greatest prospect in a very long time.... was going to the cleveland cavaliers. and he promised to play until he won the cavaliers their first ever NBA championship.
7 years later, cleveland still had no championship and on July 8, 2010… on national television, Lebron announced he was taking his talents to south beach so that he could team up with Dwayne Wade and the miami heat where together they would win 2 championships.
cleveland didn’t just want to beat the miami heat whenever they played them… they hated lebron james for leaving… they burned his jerseys… even the mature, billionaire owner said awful things about lebron.
he changed teams… the city of cleveland believed this was the biggest betrayal in sports history.
if you’re a christian, you’ve changed teams… Jesus has called you out of the world and into his family..
this is difficult because some of our closest family, friends, coworkers, and neighbors have not changed teams. they’ve not been pulled out of darkness and into God’s light.
and there will come a time… IF you truly follow Jesus and His ways, that you will find yourself in opposition to someone you love....
by nature we want to fit in. we want to be loved and respected by the world.... but IF we are following Jesus, we will NOT fit it.
we are seeing this unfold in front of us almost daily in this country. Christians are faced with a decision… deny the Scriptures and be accepted, or uphold the Scriptures and be labeled as stupid, uneducated or worse.
unfortunately, the desire to be accepted by men has caused many to reject Jesus
if you’re not hated by the world, it very well may be because you have rejected the ways of Jesus in order to still be accepted by your old team
the world hates Christians because we are no longer part of the world
The world also hates christians because…
We serve the one the world hates. (vs. 20)
we follow and serve Jesus.... well… where did Jesus go? he went to the cross. you can’t follow a crucified savior and not expect to get your own cross.
if Jesus is your master, and he… who never sinned… died because of the world’s hatred… shouldn’t his servants… who have sinned.... expect something similar?
it’s not personal.... but you’re linked to Jesus and the world hates Jesus
40 and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. 41 Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.
- they didn’t have a problem necessarily with the apostles… they had a problem with the Jesus the apostles were preaching about. they couldn’t get to the King, so they went after the King’s servants.
and check it out.... the apostles thought it was an honor to be beaten for the name of Jesus their king
Willie feeling a connection with Jesus because he experienced something that his King experienced.
many professing Christians never experience any hatred from the world because they don’t actually serve the King
the world hates christians because we serve the ONE the world hates
the worlds hates Christians because...
The world does not know God. (vs. 21)
i’ve always found it strange when Christians are surprised when non-christians sin… or when christians expect non-christians to act like christians.
jesus is reminding us here.... the world doesn’t know God. don’t you remember what you were like before you met him?
don’t be surprised when the world around you acts in opposition to God and His ways… they don’t know him… and people tend to hate things they don’t understand
but christians are to be different.... look at the verse again… the world will do all these things to you on account of MY NAME!
the world’s hatred comes on those who actually live for Jesus
the world doesn’t hate undercover christians… they’re not a threat to the way the world wants to live
BUT WHEN IT’S OBVIOUS THAT A CHRISTIANS KNOWS GOD AND LIVES FOR THE NAME OF JESUS, THE WORLD WILL HATE THAT CHRISTIAN BECAUSE THE WOLD DOES NOT KNOW GOD…
finally, the world hates christians because...
Jesus exposed the world’s guilt. (vs. 22-25)
when Jesus came into the world… he entered a place that was pitch black because of sin.... and he shone so bright.... that there was no longer any hiding place for sin.
all the sin, shame and evil was shown for what it was… jesus made what was hidden visible
he exposed the evil in people’s hearts
and all the people that thought they were pretty good, came face to face with their sin… and they hated Jesus for it
no one wants to be bad on their own. you remember this from your teenage years.... (me & Gregg)
so YES… the world hates Christians.. and Jesus wanted to warn his disciples, and US, about the coming hatred.... but he also wants us to know how to respond to that hatred...
How should Christians respond to the world’s hatred?
Love all the people and tell them about Jesus!
this is very hard for us.
we want to tell our family members who love us about jesus
we want to tell our sweet neighbor about jesus
we might even talk to a kind stranger we sit next to on a plane about jesus
but to the person who hates us because we’re Christians, we’re supposed to love and tell them about jesus????
we aren’t left to accomplish this huge task on our own… God has sent us the Holy Spirit to be our helper.
read vs. 26-27
Pastor Matt Carter said, “The Spirit of God will be sent from the throne of God to empower the people of God to witness about the Son of God.”
the holy spirit empowers us to speak the truth about jesus.
15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,
when we speak the truth about jesus, we are to do it with love.... we are to speak it in a loving way. in a gentle way.... in a way that if the person we are sharing with rejects the message of truth, we still have a good relationship with them so we can have another conversation about the truth of Jesus in the future
yes… we must be honest about sin, but honesty about sin begins with us being honest about our own sin
often times, we are ok with pointing out the sins of others… letting them know they’re wrong and that they need Jesus
if we speak with people but are unwilling to be honest about our own need for salvation and grace, then we will just sound arrogant and hypocritical.
letting a person know that we were once walking in rebellion against God and that only by his grace and love were we able to recognize our sin and need for a savior… and even still today, that only by his grace and love can we even begin to live for him and be obedient to him....
when you’re thinking about speaking the truth of Jesus to someone, before you open your mouth… ask God to give you honest, truthful words along with a warm and gentle attitude toward that person
and then… be ok with rejection… no one likes rejection, but remember… it’s not personal
in fact, when we experience rejection we find fellowship with Jesus.... we can better identify with jesus… because he was rejected.
CONCLUSION:
The question for us today, after reading this passage, is “why do we spend so much time, money and effort trying to be like the world?”
this passage demands a decision.... it lets us know that becoming a christian isn’t an easy decision where not a lot is going to change.... but the call to follow jesus is the call to come and die
15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
let us pray...
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