Pastor Nate Prazuch, lead pastor at Christ the Word Church in Lakeville, Minnesota, exposits the Scriptures of the Bible verse by verse. Expository teaching and preaching sermons and classes are available here at the Exposit podcast.
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The Scholar Series is a battery of multi-week Bible classes focused on a deeper dive into Scripture using an expository approach.
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[00:00:20] Well, for the past few weeks we've been going through the upper room discourse in John 15, 14, 15, 16. It really goes through three, four chapters. And Jesus is talking to his disciples on the night that he's betrayed, on the last night of his life. And he's giving them instruction, he's giving them encouragement. And we can take a lot of these messages for ourselves because of what Jesus says in John 17 when he prays to his Father in the Garden of Gethsemane.
[00:00:47] He talks about not just the disciples, but those who will believe because of what the disciples will do. That's us. That's us. So we can take Jesus' words for our lives today, too.
[00:00:57] And so this upper room discourse is where we've been. And we're going to begin today. If you have your Bibles, please turn with me to John 15. We're going to be starting in verse 18.
[00:01:10] And this portion of Scripture bleeds into chapter 16, the first couple of verses. Because remember, the apostles didn't put the chapter numbers in or the verse numbers in.
[00:01:20] And that came much later. And so the thought here ends really in the first few verses of chapter 16.
[00:01:26] So I'll begin by reading in John 15, beginning in verse 18. And Jesus is speaking here. He says,
[00:01:35] If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own.
[00:01:44] But because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
[00:01:51] Remember the word that I said to you, a servant is not greater than his master.
[00:01:56] If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.
[00:02:00] If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.
[00:02:03] But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me.
[00:02:10] If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin.
[00:02:13] But now that they have no excuse for their sin, whoever hates me hates my father also.
[00:02:20] If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin.
[00:02:25] But now they have seen and hated both me and my father.
[00:02:29] But the word that is written in their law must be fulfilled.
[00:02:32] They hated me without cause.
[00:02:36] But when the helper comes, whom I will send to you from the father,
[00:02:41] the spirit of truth who proceeds from the father, he will bear witness about me.
[00:02:47] And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.
[00:02:51] I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away.
[00:02:55] They will put you out of the synagogues.
[00:02:57] Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God.
[00:03:03] And they will do these things because they have not known the father nor me.
[00:03:07] But I have said these things to you that when their hour comes,
[00:03:10] you may remember that I told them to you.
[00:03:15] This is the word of God.
[00:03:17] Let's pray.
[00:03:19] Dear Lord, we come before you this morning.
[00:03:22] We've met in prayer.
[00:03:25] We've met in fellowship.
[00:03:26] And we come now to hear from your word.
[00:03:30] Lord, speak to us in ways that we're not expecting.
[00:03:35] Help this not just be another regular service,
[00:03:38] but that it has benefits that are eternal,
[00:03:41] that we'll hear from the word of your son.
[00:03:46] Because your word is life.
[00:03:48] And it affects us.
[00:03:49] We've had great praise reports already this morning.
[00:03:51] We pray for more of those.
[00:03:54] But spirit guide us.
[00:03:55] Lord be with us.
[00:03:56] In Jesus' name we pray.
[00:03:57] Amen.
[00:04:00] In 2001, David Barrett, an Anglican priest and research professor at Cambridge University,
[00:04:07] after spending 40 years writing the World Christian Encyclopedia,
[00:04:11] can you imagine taking four decades to write an encyclopedia?
[00:04:14] He put together an exhaustive report about Christian martyrdom.
[00:04:19] Christian martyrdom, what's that?
[00:04:20] Well, it's when Christians are killed for being Christians.
[00:04:25] And according to Barrett in that report,
[00:04:28] since Jesus was crucified, an estimated 70 million Christians have been martyred.
[00:04:34] And it's probably a conservative number.
[00:04:38] Today, Christians are being killed for their faith at a rate of 400 per day on average.
[00:04:44] And if you're a member of the clergy anywhere in the world,
[00:04:47] the likelihood that you'll be killed for your faith is about 1 in 50.
[00:04:54] In the 20th century, more Christians were killed.
[00:04:57] Because they were Christians, then the previous 19 centuries combined.
[00:05:05] Persecution is real.
[00:05:07] And it's happening today.
[00:05:08] We might be insulated by it because of where we live, but it's happening today.
[00:05:15] Real people die every day because of the fact that they confess Jesus Christ as Lord.
[00:05:21] In this country, we think that we're persecuted when the wrong Republican or Democrat gets elected
[00:05:27] or something like that, but we have it pretty good.
[00:05:31] We really do have it pretty good in this country.
[00:05:33] We're very blessed even though we feel persecuted at times.
[00:05:37] We might have a different definition of persecution than the people overseas who are being killed for it.
[00:05:44] We have to count our blessings.
[00:05:45] Just because we're not being burnt at the stake for our faith here in this country, at least not yet,
[00:05:50] it does not mean that we never will face that.
[00:05:54] The average lifespan of a nation, in the Western culture at least,
[00:05:59] is about 250 years.
[00:06:02] And America's 250th birthday is in a couple years.
[00:06:07] We don't know what the future holds.
[00:06:09] We don't know what the future holds.
[00:06:11] And so, neither do these disciples here on this night where Jesus is speaking to them.
[00:06:15] And that's why he's encouraging them because they're confused.
[00:06:18] He seems to know more than they do and he's putting them at ease.
[00:06:21] But he's giving them the truth, even though it might hurt.
[00:06:26] Look back to verse 18.
[00:06:28] Jesus says,
[00:06:29] If the world hates you, and really in the translation it could say,
[00:06:32] Since the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.
[00:06:38] If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own.
[00:06:40] But because you're not of the world, but I chose you out of the world,
[00:06:48] therefore the world hates you.
[00:06:51] Remember the word that I said to you,
[00:06:52] A servant is not greater than his master.
[00:06:54] He said this to them a few chapters ago when he was washing their feet.
[00:06:57] He says,
[00:06:57] If I'm washing your feet, don't think you're any better.
[00:06:59] You should be washing feet too.
[00:07:02] He says here,
[00:07:03] A servant is not greater than his master.
[00:07:04] If they persecuted me, should you expect any less?
[00:07:09] If you're taking notes, your first note here says,
[00:07:12] You can't love the ways of the world and also love Christ.
[00:07:16] You can't do it.
[00:07:17] You can't ride two horses.
[00:07:19] You can't serve two masters.
[00:07:21] The Bible talks about this.
[00:07:24] It's easy to find out where someone's treasure is,
[00:07:27] where their heart is.
[00:07:28] Where your heart is, that's where your treasure is.
[00:07:31] You can't have your heart in two places.
[00:07:33] You can't love the things of the world and also love Christ.
[00:07:36] You can't be devoted to the things of the world and also be devoted to Christ.
[00:07:40] I can't be devoted and love my wife and also be devoted to another woman.
[00:07:45] That's not how it works.
[00:07:48] The world says things like,
[00:07:50] Love yourself.
[00:07:52] Elevate yourself.
[00:07:52] It's all about you.
[00:07:54] Follow your heart.
[00:07:55] Your heart.
[00:07:57] Christ says,
[00:07:58] Deny yourself.
[00:08:00] Christ says,
[00:08:00] Come die with me.
[00:08:03] Come pick up your cross.
[00:08:05] The world hates that message.
[00:08:07] That's not the world's message.
[00:08:08] The world's message is about you.
[00:08:11] It's all about you.
[00:08:12] It's all about me.
[00:08:13] Number one.
[00:08:16] The world hates Christians because the world hates Christ.
[00:08:19] That's what Jesus is telling us here.
[00:08:20] They hated me before they hated you.
[00:08:23] When we say the world, the world, what is the world?
[00:08:25] We say this phrase, this term.
[00:08:28] Here in the Greek, it's cosmos.
[00:08:29] It's where we get the word, we say cosmos.
[00:08:32] It really means a big system.
[00:08:34] The universe is a huge system.
[00:08:37] It works together.
[00:08:38] This is the world's system that John's speaking of here.
[00:08:43] It's some kind of an order.
[00:08:44] There's an order to it.
[00:08:45] Even though it's evil, it's against Christ.
[00:08:48] It's an order.
[00:08:49] It's a system.
[00:08:50] It's a godless order.
[00:08:53] It's our society, our culture that's godless and it's against God.
[00:08:56] It's all for the person, the self, me, you.
[00:09:00] Why is it aligned against Christians?
[00:09:04] Why does it hate the followers of Christ?
[00:09:05] Why does it hate Christ?
[00:09:08] He said the world hates me before it hated you.
[00:09:11] Why?
[00:09:14] Many secular people think Jesus was a good man, a good teacher, a nice prophet.
[00:09:21] But if you press them and if they find someone that really stands upon the words of Christ,
[00:09:27] they're going to start to be a little averse to that now.
[00:09:30] Why?
[00:09:32] Because the world is man-centered.
[00:09:34] The world is self-centered.
[00:09:37] Christians are Christ-centered.
[00:09:39] We lay down our lives at the cross.
[00:09:41] We lift up Christ.
[00:09:43] The world lifts up man.
[00:09:45] We bring man lower.
[00:09:48] And we lift Christ up.
[00:09:49] John 10 says, I must decrease and he must increase.
[00:09:53] That's not the world's idea.
[00:09:55] The world says, no, I must increase.
[00:09:56] It's all about me.
[00:09:57] I've got to get to the top.
[00:10:00] That's what the world says.
[00:10:02] Jesus says, the servant's not greater than his master.
[00:10:04] Don't expect anything less.
[00:10:07] If they hated Jesus, we should expect how they treated Jesus.
[00:10:14] Why do the ungodly people hate Christians?
[00:10:16] Because they hate the truth of Christ.
[00:10:20] You know, people, there are truth seekers out there that aren't Christians.
[00:10:23] They want to know the truth.
[00:10:24] Just give me the truth.
[00:10:25] You can't handle the truth.
[00:10:26] Remember the old movie?
[00:10:27] Now that movie's old.
[00:10:29] That's not, when was that movie?
[00:10:30] 30 years ago.
[00:10:31] Wow.
[00:10:33] There are truth seekers out there that aren't Christian.
[00:10:36] And they love the truth, whatever that is.
[00:10:38] Their truth.
[00:10:39] We've heard that.
[00:10:41] But once they get to the truth of Christ, they don't like that.
[00:10:45] I'm a truth seeker.
[00:10:46] When they find out what Jesus said is true, they don't like that.
[00:10:49] It's not that they don't love the truth.
[00:10:51] It's that they don't love the truth of Christ.
[00:10:56] They hate the truth of Christ.
[00:10:58] And Jesus is the truth.
[00:10:59] He says, I'm the way.
[00:11:00] I'm the truth.
[00:11:02] And we would say, well, I have my truth.
[00:11:06] And you have your truth.
[00:11:07] And let's just be friends.
[00:11:08] But Jesus says there is one truth.
[00:11:11] There is an objective truth.
[00:11:13] One truth that is true.
[00:11:15] No matter what you say it is or not.
[00:11:17] If you have a blue shirt or a red shirt, you can't look and say, well, this is a blue shirt.
[00:11:23] I can't say this is a red shirt because it's my truth.
[00:11:25] The shirt is blue.
[00:11:28] Jesus is king.
[00:11:30] You can say, well, he's not my king.
[00:11:31] Like sometimes they say, well, this president is not my president.
[00:11:34] Well, the fact is he's president or he's king.
[00:11:37] It's the truth.
[00:11:38] Let's live in reality here.
[00:11:40] The world likes to just have their own thing.
[00:11:43] When the truth of Christ comes in and says your truth, if it's not aligned with me, it's not the truth.
[00:11:49] They don't like it.
[00:11:50] That's offensive.
[00:11:53] And it has something to do with pride in the heart of man.
[00:11:55] I'm right.
[00:11:56] You're wrong.
[00:11:58] We all say that.
[00:12:01] Jesus is the truth.
[00:12:02] And they hate that.
[00:12:03] And Jesus calls sin, sin.
[00:12:06] And they hate that.
[00:12:07] The world calls, they say, love is love.
[00:12:11] And Jesus says sin is sin.
[00:12:14] And they hate that.
[00:12:18] Jesus in scripture, we're told, is the final judge.
[00:12:22] The Holy Spirit convicts the world of its sin.
[00:12:25] And the Lord Jesus prosecutes that sin and executes judgment upon that sin.
[00:12:31] And the world hates that.
[00:12:33] Because the world loves their sin.
[00:12:36] Think about before Christ, before you knew Christ.
[00:12:40] You indulged in your sin.
[00:12:41] You loved your sin.
[00:12:42] You had an affection for it.
[00:12:43] You looked forward to sinning.
[00:12:46] Everyone did.
[00:12:47] And then we met Jesus.
[00:12:48] And now we feel different about our sin.
[00:12:50] Now we hate our sin.
[00:12:54] But if you're of the world, and when I say worldly people, I mean those who don't know Christ yet.
[00:13:02] Christians follow Jesus.
[00:13:04] And if we follow Jesus, we believe what Jesus believed.
[00:13:07] And we preach what Jesus preached, if we're a good follower of Christ.
[00:13:11] Which is the truth.
[00:13:12] The truth of Christ.
[00:13:14] That God is holy.
[00:13:17] But we're not holy.
[00:13:19] You know any people that think they're holy?
[00:13:21] Without Christ?
[00:13:24] If a Christian is to be called holy, it's only because of Christ's righteousness covering us that we're made holy.
[00:13:31] It's not because I earned holiness.
[00:13:34] It's only because of God's grace that I'm holy.
[00:13:39] Because of him.
[00:13:41] We preach what Jesus preached.
[00:13:43] That we're not good people by nature.
[00:13:45] We've heard that before.
[00:13:46] The heart of man, the unsaved man is deceitful.
[00:13:50] Above all things wretched.
[00:13:51] No one can understand it, or understand why.
[00:13:53] It just is.
[00:13:54] It's always bent towards sin.
[00:13:58] Without salvation from Christ alone, our sin would be damnable.
[00:14:03] And it is wretched, and ugly, and disgusting before God.
[00:14:07] And the world hates hearing that.
[00:14:09] Because they love their sin.
[00:14:10] They have a deep affection for their sin.
[00:14:12] You know because you used to be that way, and so did I.
[00:14:17] We elevate Christ above man.
[00:14:20] We deny ourselves and follow him in spite of ourselves.
[00:14:24] And the world wants to be lifted up.
[00:14:26] And so if a Christian comes by and preaches and proclaims the truth of Christ to a non-believer,
[00:14:31] they hate that.
[00:14:32] They say, who are you to tell me?
[00:14:34] I'm Lord of my life.
[00:14:36] Don't tell me there's another Lord out there.
[00:14:39] When they say, Jesus is Lord.
[00:14:40] The gospel is a proclamation.
[00:14:41] Christ is king.
[00:14:42] Believe.
[00:14:45] They hate it.
[00:14:48] Because we call sin, sin.
[00:14:49] We call it as we see it.
[00:14:50] We call a spade a spade.
[00:14:52] And they don't want to hear it.
[00:14:54] I don't want to hear that message.
[00:14:56] Get it out of here.
[00:14:58] Your next note here says,
[00:15:00] The Christian is God's messenger of truth to a sinful world.
[00:15:05] And our message is offensive.
[00:15:09] Because it convicts them of their sin.
[00:15:14] Because we've all been, if we're believers, already convicted of our sin.
[00:15:18] You know, in John 3.16, people like that passage.
[00:15:21] It's become famous over the years.
[00:15:24] But if you read the next two verses, it says that those who don't believe are condemned already.
[00:15:30] They're already condemned.
[00:15:33] Until you believe.
[00:15:34] So we've been convicted of our sin.
[00:15:36] It's not fun to get convicted, I'm sure.
[00:15:38] Who likes to go into a courtroom and get convicted?
[00:15:43] Nobody.
[00:15:44] I would hate that.
[00:15:45] And the world hates being convicted of their sin.
[00:15:47] And when you tell them the truth of Christ, that they're sinners and they're not holy and they're not like God,
[00:15:53] it's not a message they want to hear.
[00:15:55] That's offensive.
[00:15:57] We're supposed to be politically correct and just get along.
[00:16:01] And you're supposed to take into account my feelings in this culture.
[00:16:06] But the feelings don't matter when it's talking about the truth.
[00:16:10] You go into a courtroom.
[00:16:11] We have courtroom language here.
[00:16:13] The Holy Spirit convicts us.
[00:16:15] Christ is judge.
[00:16:17] And he'll prosecute your sin and execute judgment.
[00:16:20] And you go into a courtroom, you want to know the facts of your case.
[00:16:22] You don't want to just say, maybe the judge will feel sorry for me.
[00:16:26] It's not going to work.
[00:16:29] You want to know the truth.
[00:16:30] I want to know the facts.
[00:16:31] Just give it to me straight.
[00:16:35] Because at that point, you've become humbled already.
[00:16:39] I've been arrested.
[00:16:40] I've been indicted.
[00:16:41] Now I have to go before the court.
[00:16:43] I'm humbled at that point.
[00:16:44] I need to know the truth.
[00:16:45] Do I have a chance here of getting off or not?
[00:16:51] It takes a humble heart to get to that point.
[00:16:53] A lot of proud hearts out there.
[00:16:56] And I get it.
[00:16:56] We have to pray for those people.
[00:17:00] Christians, in some ways, are the conscience of the world.
[00:17:02] We're always like the little angel on the shoulder.
[00:17:05] Remember those old cartoons?
[00:17:06] The devil on one shoulder and the angel on the other.
[00:17:08] You better not do that.
[00:17:09] Yeah, go ahead and do it.
[00:17:10] It's like we're the angel on the shoulder of the world.
[00:17:12] The conscience saying, we shouldn't be doing this.
[00:17:15] This isn't right.
[00:17:17] In culture, in society, in our schools, in our families.
[00:17:21] Hey, you shouldn't do that.
[00:17:22] It's not right.
[00:17:24] And I think in their heart, people that might be doing something that isn't quite godly,
[00:17:29] they might know in their heart, yeah, I know that I shouldn't be doing it.
[00:17:32] But stop telling me I shouldn't be doing it.
[00:17:34] They don't like that.
[00:17:35] They're being convicted about that.
[00:17:38] It's not comfortable.
[00:17:41] But comfort isn't our goal.
[00:17:43] It's to tell the truth.
[00:17:44] Jesus is telling the truth to his disciples this evening.
[00:17:47] And it's getting to the point where he was talking about love your neighbor as yourself,
[00:17:53] do unto others.
[00:17:53] He says, if you're my people, you're going to love one another.
[00:17:57] And my command to you is to love one another.
[00:17:59] And he's talking about love in the beginning of this conversation.
[00:18:01] Now we're moving into more of the hard truth.
[00:18:05] He's giving it to them straight.
[00:18:08] We're the conscience of the world.
[00:18:10] They don't like that.
[00:18:11] We call out the world to change its ways, to repent of their sin.
[00:18:15] No one likes hearing that.
[00:18:17] They say you're self-righteous.
[00:18:19] And you can admonish another person and really be a jerk about it.
[00:18:23] You could be right, but you could really be a jerk about it.
[00:18:25] Don't do that.
[00:18:27] You could admonish someone in love.
[00:18:30] That's what we should be doing.
[00:18:33] Christians shouldn't be, I don't know, what's another word?
[00:18:40] Don't be coarse with somebody and have them never want to talk to you again,
[00:18:45] even though you're right about the word of God.
[00:18:47] Be gentle.
[00:18:48] Be respectful.
[00:18:50] Do it a loving way.
[00:18:56] But the world hates the message of Christ.
[00:18:58] Because I think deep down they know it's true,
[00:19:00] and they don't want to believe it.
[00:19:02] They don't want to.
[00:19:05] You may have heard of John Fox.
[00:19:07] He was a 16th century English clergyman, theologian, historian.
[00:19:10] He wrote the Book of Martyrs.
[00:19:11] We know now, colloquially, I guess, as Fox's Book of Martyrs,
[00:19:16] which includes thousands of accounts of Christians who gave their lives
[00:19:22] because they were Christians.
[00:19:26] I've just got a few here I want to read to you.
[00:19:27] This is just from in Scotland under King Henry VIII and Queen Mary.
[00:19:34] Helen Stark would not pray to the Virgin Mary.
[00:19:38] She was tied into a sack with her infant child and drowned.
[00:19:49] Helen Stark, she's a real woman in Scotland.
[00:19:54] They put her in a sack with her baby and threw her in the water.
[00:20:02] Elizabeth Warren, widow of John Warren, was an upholsterer.
[00:20:09] She was burnt at the stake at Stratford-LeBow near London at the end of August, 1555.
[00:20:19] Elizabeth Warren was a real person.
[00:20:22] She was an upholsterer.
[00:20:26] She was burnt to death for her faith.
[00:20:32] Reverend Robert Smith, pastor, was condemned on July 12, 1555
[00:20:38] and suffered August 8 at Uxbridge.
[00:20:41] He doubted not, but that God would give him and the spectators
[00:20:45] some token in support of his own cause, his faith.
[00:20:49] And it actually happened.
[00:20:50] For when he was nearly half burnt and supposed to be dead,
[00:20:56] he suddenly rose up,
[00:20:59] moved the remaining parts of his arms,
[00:21:02] and praised God.
[00:21:12] Reverend Robert Smith was a real person that died for Christ's sake.
[00:21:20] And even in the flames, praised,
[00:21:22] what was left,
[00:21:24] John Fox writes, of his arms
[00:21:26] before he died
[00:21:29] in praise of Jesus.
[00:21:33] There are hundreds,
[00:21:35] probably thousands,
[00:21:36] of stories like this
[00:21:37] in Fox's Book of Martyrs.
[00:21:39] Real accounts
[00:21:40] by people
[00:21:41] who saw these things happen
[00:21:43] and wrote them down.
[00:21:46] They're real people.
[00:21:48] They were hated enough by the world
[00:21:49] for their faith
[00:21:50] that they were killed
[00:21:52] horribly
[00:21:54] because of Christ.
[00:21:57] Jesus doesn't hold back.
[00:21:58] He's telling his disciples
[00:21:59] these things are going to happen.
[00:22:02] Look again at verse 19.
[00:22:03] He says,
[00:22:04] If you were of the world,
[00:22:05] on the other hand,
[00:22:06] the world would love you as its own,
[00:22:08] but because you're not of the world,
[00:22:10] but I chose you out of the world,
[00:22:12] therefore the world hates you.
[00:22:17] These people would not have been killed.
[00:22:20] Helen and Elizabeth
[00:22:22] and Robert would not have been killed
[00:22:23] if they had just gone the way of the world
[00:22:26] and just fit in
[00:22:29] and just got in line
[00:22:30] and sat down and shut up.
[00:22:34] They wouldn't have died.
[00:22:36] But they stood up.
[00:22:38] And they gave their lives
[00:22:39] and we're reading about them today.
[00:22:42] And these stories are blessing my life today
[00:22:44] and encouraging my faith today.
[00:22:48] And that's one of the ways
[00:22:49] God builds his kingdom.
[00:22:54] And let me say this.
[00:22:56] If the world loves you
[00:22:58] as one of its own,
[00:23:01] I'd be worried.
[00:23:06] If the world can't tell
[00:23:07] the difference between you and the world,
[00:23:09] I'd be worried.
[00:23:15] I want to give you two verses here.
[00:23:16] Same author, 1 John 2.
[00:23:19] He says,
[00:23:20] Do not love the world
[00:23:21] or the things in the world.
[00:23:22] If anyone loves the world,
[00:23:24] the love of the Father is not in him.
[00:23:27] You can't love two masters.
[00:23:31] John 12,
[00:23:32] whoever loves his life
[00:23:33] loses it.
[00:23:35] And whoever hates his life
[00:23:36] in this world
[00:23:37] will keep it for eternal life.
[00:23:40] Whoever loves his life
[00:23:41] loses it.
[00:23:44] Whoever loves striving
[00:23:46] for the things of the world
[00:23:47] more than striving for the kingdom,
[00:23:49] you're going to lose your life.
[00:23:51] When it comes to eternity,
[00:23:52] you know,
[00:23:53] we're only here on earth
[00:23:53] for what,
[00:23:54] 50, 70, 100 years?
[00:23:56] How much is that
[00:23:56] compared to eternity?
[00:23:58] And we're worried about
[00:23:59] just these decades right here.
[00:24:01] Small percentage
[00:24:02] of eternity, isn't it?
[00:24:05] Your next note says,
[00:24:06] The faithful Christian
[00:24:07] does not fit
[00:24:10] into the ways of the world
[00:24:12] and never will.
[00:24:15] The faithful Christian
[00:24:17] doesn't fit in the world
[00:24:18] and never will.
[00:24:20] That world system,
[00:24:21] that order of chaos
[00:24:22] as an oxymoron,
[00:24:27] the evil godless order,
[00:24:29] we don't fit
[00:24:30] and we never will.
[00:24:32] The faithful Christian.
[00:24:37] These next couple verses
[00:24:39] give us a different perspective.
[00:24:41] Paul tells us in Philippians 1,
[00:24:43] It has been granted to you
[00:24:46] that for the sake of Christ
[00:24:47] you should not only believe in him
[00:24:48] but also suffer for his sake.
[00:24:53] That's almost offensive to me.
[00:24:55] It's been granted to me
[00:24:56] to suffer for Christ?
[00:24:59] It's like we say,
[00:25:00] Gee, thanks.
[00:25:01] It's been granted to me?
[00:25:02] I'm allowed to suffer for Christ?
[00:25:04] I'm given that?
[00:25:05] That?
[00:25:09] We should see persecution differently
[00:25:11] than we probably do.
[00:25:13] And I like the beginning part
[00:25:14] of this verse.
[00:25:15] It's been granted to you
[00:25:16] for the sake of Christ
[00:25:17] that you should not only believe in him
[00:25:19] but also suffer.
[00:25:20] We're granted faith in Christ.
[00:25:24] We can't muster faith in Christ
[00:25:25] in our ungodly
[00:25:27] and godless
[00:25:28] fallen state.
[00:25:31] He grants us faith.
[00:25:33] He allows us to believe.
[00:25:35] Remember when Jesus said,
[00:25:36] No one can come to the Father
[00:25:39] unless the Father draws him.
[00:25:41] No one can come to me,
[00:25:42] Jesus says,
[00:25:42] unless the Father draws him.
[00:25:43] You can't do it
[00:25:44] unless he pulls you.
[00:25:47] And he grants you faith.
[00:25:48] And he grants you suffering.
[00:25:53] So we should approach
[00:25:55] suffering and persecution
[00:25:56] differently than we probably do.
[00:25:58] Look at 2 Timothy.
[00:26:00] Paul's last letter he ever wrote
[00:26:02] before he was beheaded
[00:26:03] to the young pastor.
[00:26:04] He says,
[00:26:05] If we endure,
[00:26:06] we will also reign with him.
[00:26:09] Paul's looking death
[00:26:10] straight in the eye.
[00:26:11] He knows he's going to be killed.
[00:26:12] If we endure,
[00:26:13] we will reign with him.
[00:26:15] But on the flip side,
[00:26:16] he says,
[00:26:16] If we deny him,
[00:26:18] he'll also deny us.
[00:26:21] He'll deny us.
[00:26:23] The world likes to look at Jesus
[00:26:25] as a nice person.
[00:26:26] He's the nicest person
[00:26:27] that I've ever lived.
[00:26:28] Never had a bad thing
[00:26:29] to say about anybody.
[00:26:30] That's the wrong idea of Jesus.
[00:26:33] There's no 11th commandment
[00:26:34] that says,
[00:26:35] Thou shalt be nice.
[00:26:36] Jesus told the truth.
[00:26:39] And some people liked it
[00:26:40] and some people hated it.
[00:26:44] If we deny Christ here,
[00:26:46] he will deny us on judgment day.
[00:26:48] It's the truth.
[00:26:49] He's telling us.
[00:26:50] Matthew 10 from the Sermon on the Mount.
[00:26:52] One of the Beatitudes says,
[00:26:54] Blessed are those
[00:26:55] who are persecuted
[00:26:56] for righteousness' sake,
[00:26:57] for theirs is the kingdom of God.
[00:26:59] He says,
[00:27:00] I'm not going to forget
[00:27:00] what you've done.
[00:27:01] I'm not going to forget you
[00:27:02] giving your life for me
[00:27:03] if that's what I call you to do.
[00:27:06] You'll be blessed.
[00:27:07] You'll inherit the kingdom of heaven.
[00:27:10] He hasn't forgotten the martyrs.
[00:27:14] Verse 21, he says,
[00:27:16] But all these things
[00:27:17] they will do to you
[00:27:18] on account of my name
[00:27:19] because they do not know
[00:27:21] him who sent me.
[00:27:23] They do not know him who sent me.
[00:27:27] They don't know him.
[00:27:28] Who?
[00:27:28] The Father.
[00:27:29] God.
[00:27:29] They don't know God.
[00:27:31] In this passage,
[00:27:32] the word know,
[00:27:33] it's not what we normally see
[00:27:34] as gnosko.
[00:27:35] That's the Greek word
[00:27:36] to know something,
[00:27:37] to have knowledge of something.
[00:27:39] I know that we are here today.
[00:27:40] I know today is Sunday.
[00:27:41] That's a piece of knowledge,
[00:27:43] a fact I have.
[00:27:44] This word is not that word.
[00:27:47] This word is oidasen,
[00:27:50] to know.
[00:27:50] That means to be acquainted with,
[00:27:53] to understand,
[00:27:54] to comprehend,
[00:27:55] to perceive,
[00:27:56] to really understand.
[00:27:57] They don't know God.
[00:27:59] Those people who persecute you,
[00:28:00] they don't understand God
[00:28:02] and they certainly don't have
[00:28:03] a fear of God.
[00:28:05] They may be aware of God,
[00:28:06] the fact in their mind,
[00:28:07] yeah,
[00:28:08] a God exists.
[00:28:10] We're not talking about
[00:28:11] that knowing.
[00:28:12] I'm talking about
[00:28:13] they don't know him
[00:28:18] intimately.
[00:28:20] These people who persecute
[00:28:22] God's people do it
[00:28:23] because they don't know him.
[00:28:27] They don't know that he is
[00:28:28] the holy and righteous
[00:28:30] God of the universe
[00:28:31] who will bring down judgment
[00:28:33] and as Revelation tells us
[00:28:34] that when Christ returns
[00:28:35] to judge the world,
[00:28:37] he comes with a flame of fire,
[00:28:39] a sword of fire
[00:28:40] coming out of his mouth.
[00:28:41] That's the word of God.
[00:28:43] And with a rod of iron
[00:28:45] will strike down nations
[00:28:47] in judgment.
[00:28:49] That's not the nice fuzzy Jesus
[00:28:51] the world likes to proclaim.
[00:28:54] But it's the true Jesus.
[00:28:55] He hates sin
[00:28:57] and they hate that message.
[00:29:01] They don't know him.
[00:29:03] They're ignorant.
[00:29:05] Verse 22 here.
[00:29:07] He says,
[00:29:07] If I had not come and spoken to them,
[00:29:09] they would not have been guilty of sin.
[00:29:10] But now that they have,
[00:29:11] they have no excuse for their sin.
[00:29:14] Whoever hates me
[00:29:14] hates my father also.
[00:29:16] If I had nothing,
[00:29:17] if I had done nothing
[00:29:18] among them,
[00:29:20] the works that no one else did,
[00:29:21] they would not be guilty of sin.
[00:29:22] But now they have seen
[00:29:23] and hated both me
[00:29:24] and my father.
[00:29:26] But that word is written,
[00:29:28] but the word is written
[00:29:29] and their law must be fulfilled.
[00:29:30] They hated me without a cause.
[00:29:35] If you were to ask some people today,
[00:29:36] why do you hate God?
[00:29:37] It seems like you just hate God.
[00:29:40] Some of them would probably say,
[00:29:41] I don't know.
[00:29:42] I just hate him.
[00:29:43] I don't know why.
[00:29:43] I don't really know why.
[00:29:44] I just hate him.
[00:29:45] My life stinks
[00:29:46] or this happened or that happened.
[00:29:48] I blame God.
[00:29:48] I guess that's why.
[00:29:49] Don't really know why.
[00:29:50] I just know I hate him.
[00:29:51] I hate his law.
[00:29:53] Bunch of rules.
[00:29:55] I want to live by my rules.
[00:29:58] Jesus says,
[00:30:00] and I think he's speaking
[00:30:01] about the Pharisees
[00:30:02] and the Jewish leadership
[00:30:03] here in this particular verse.
[00:30:06] They hated me without cause.
[00:30:08] Just because.
[00:30:13] I think here,
[00:30:14] as a side note,
[00:30:15] I think Jesus is referring
[00:30:17] to what we call
[00:30:17] the unforgivable sin,
[00:30:22] blaspheming the Holy Spirit.
[00:30:24] And he says,
[00:30:25] if I had not come and spoken to them,
[00:30:26] the Pharisees,
[00:30:27] Jewish leadership,
[00:30:29] they would not have been guilty
[00:30:30] of that sin.
[00:30:32] That sin could only have been
[00:30:36] committed
[00:30:37] in the life and times
[00:30:38] and ministry of Jesus Christ.
[00:30:40] God has given us
[00:30:41] the world,
[00:30:42] creation,
[00:30:43] to say,
[00:30:44] there is a God.
[00:30:45] Romans 1.
[00:30:45] Everyone has that
[00:30:48] testament of God.
[00:30:50] God exists.
[00:30:51] You look outside
[00:30:51] at an amazing creation,
[00:30:53] you say,
[00:30:53] there must be a God.
[00:30:55] He's also given us
[00:30:57] the prophets,
[00:30:58] his son Jesus,
[00:31:00] the work of the apostles,
[00:31:01] the miracles.
[00:31:02] Those are special things
[00:31:03] where he reveals
[00:31:03] the gospel.
[00:31:04] Now we can be saved.
[00:31:05] We can know who God is
[00:31:06] through those types of things.
[00:31:08] And so when Jesus Christ shows up,
[00:31:10] not only do the Pharisees
[00:31:11] and everyone else on earth
[00:31:12] have the testimony of creation
[00:31:14] that God exists,
[00:31:15] but God shows up in front of them
[00:31:17] and in the room with them
[00:31:19] face to face
[00:31:19] and he says,
[00:31:20] I'm God.
[00:31:21] And they deny him there
[00:31:22] to his face.
[00:31:23] There's no coming back from that.
[00:31:25] Can God forgive any sin?
[00:31:28] Think about this.
[00:31:30] What if the only sin
[00:31:31] you've ever had
[00:31:34] was unbelief,
[00:31:39] was I deny Christ?
[00:31:42] Does he cover that sin?
[00:31:44] Or is that one
[00:31:45] that's unforgivable?
[00:31:48] If Christ is in the room
[00:31:50] with you,
[00:31:50] like he was for the Pharisees
[00:31:51] and they denied him
[00:31:52] to his face,
[00:31:53] he says,
[00:31:54] there's no coming back
[00:31:54] from that.
[00:31:56] I'm here in the room
[00:31:57] with them
[00:31:58] and they spat on me
[00:32:00] and they're going to kill him.
[00:32:03] He says,
[00:32:04] now that I've shown up
[00:32:04] and I've shown them
[00:32:05] the works that I've done
[00:32:06] from the Father
[00:32:06] and told them who I was
[00:32:07] and they still deny me,
[00:32:10] now they have that sin.
[00:32:15] Hated them,
[00:32:15] him without a cause.
[00:32:19] Where Christ says,
[00:32:22] so the scripture
[00:32:23] will be fulfilled,
[00:32:24] he's referring back
[00:32:25] to one of two psalms,
[00:32:26] one is Psalm 35.
[00:32:28] In that same psalm,
[00:32:29] it's where David
[00:32:30] is crying out to the Lord
[00:32:31] to contend for him.
[00:32:33] Fight for me, Lord.
[00:32:34] Contend for me.
[00:32:35] I can't do this anymore.
[00:32:37] I need help.
[00:32:38] You do it.
[00:32:39] We just sang a song
[00:32:40] that said the battle
[00:32:40] belongs to the Lord.
[00:32:42] Let him fight your battles.
[00:32:44] Good luck fighting
[00:32:45] all your battles.
[00:32:46] We're not going to win
[00:32:47] every battle.
[00:32:49] And we're not even
[00:32:50] supposed to fight
[00:32:51] every battle.
[00:32:51] We're supposed to let him
[00:32:52] fight our battles.
[00:32:56] Your next note
[00:32:58] says,
[00:32:59] we have to pray
[00:32:59] for our enemies
[00:33:00] because at times
[00:33:01] they don't know
[00:33:02] the harm they cause.
[00:33:03] What did Jesus say
[00:33:04] on the cross?
[00:33:05] Luke 23,
[00:33:06] Father, forgive them.
[00:33:07] They don't know
[00:33:08] what they're doing.
[00:33:10] They're ignorant.
[00:33:10] They don't know you.
[00:33:13] It's hard to pray
[00:33:13] for your enemies
[00:33:15] when they're persecuting you.
[00:33:18] It's even harder
[00:33:19] to pray for your enemies
[00:33:20] when they're killing you
[00:33:20] and you're hanging
[00:33:21] on the cross.
[00:33:23] But Jesus did.
[00:33:27] We should pray
[00:33:28] for our enemies
[00:33:29] even when they're
[00:33:30] persecuting us.
[00:33:33] Jesus says in verse 23,
[00:33:35] whoever hates me
[00:33:36] hates my Father.
[00:33:41] Again,
[00:33:41] same author,
[00:33:42] 1 John 2.
[00:33:45] No one who denies
[00:33:46] the Son
[00:33:47] has the Father.
[00:33:49] Whoever confesses
[00:33:51] the Son
[00:33:52] has the Father also.
[00:33:56] No one who denies
[00:33:57] the Son
[00:33:57] has the Father.
[00:33:58] Can you think of anyone
[00:34:00] who says,
[00:34:01] I confess God
[00:34:03] but I'm off on Christ.
[00:34:04] I'm out on Christ.
[00:34:06] No Jesus.
[00:34:09] I know God.
[00:34:10] I have a good relationship
[00:34:11] with God
[00:34:12] but I'm not a Christian.
[00:34:16] Look at all the different
[00:34:17] religions in the world
[00:34:18] that confess a God.
[00:34:21] I mean,
[00:34:21] just name any religion
[00:34:22] in the world.
[00:34:23] They're God
[00:34:23] but they deny Christ.
[00:34:25] He says,
[00:34:25] no one who denies
[00:34:26] the Son
[00:34:26] has the Father.
[00:34:28] What about Jews?
[00:34:31] They confess God.
[00:34:33] They don't call Him
[00:34:33] Father really
[00:34:34] but they deny Christ.
[00:34:38] These are the words
[00:34:39] of Jesus.
[00:34:40] What do we say there?
[00:34:41] No one who denies
[00:34:42] the Son
[00:34:42] has the Father.
[00:34:44] The Jewish people
[00:34:45] who follow their religion
[00:34:47] believe they have God
[00:34:50] but he says,
[00:34:50] if you don't believe
[00:34:51] the Son
[00:34:51] you don't even have
[00:34:52] the God
[00:34:52] you think you have.
[00:34:55] They're not saved.
[00:34:56] People like that.
[00:34:58] And they need salvation
[00:34:59] and we need to pray
[00:35:00] for their salvation.
[00:35:02] We need to pray
[00:35:03] that they see Christ
[00:35:04] for who He is.
[00:35:07] Jesus tells the Jewish leaders
[00:35:08] all those scriptures
[00:35:10] that you're reading
[00:35:10] where you think
[00:35:11] you find your salvation
[00:35:12] your righteousness
[00:35:13] they're all talking
[00:35:13] about me
[00:35:14] in John 5.
[00:35:16] In Luke 24
[00:35:17] he told the disciples
[00:35:18] all the things
[00:35:19] concerning himself
[00:35:19] in the scriptures
[00:35:22] it's about Jesus.
[00:35:24] The Jewish people
[00:35:24] have the Tanakh
[00:35:26] they have the Old Testament
[00:35:26] Jesus is in there.
[00:35:28] we have to pray
[00:35:29] that their eyes are open
[00:35:30] to see Him
[00:35:30] for who He is.
[00:35:32] They still need prayer.
[00:35:33] They still need prayer.
[00:35:36] And they'll come
[00:35:38] but keep them in prayer.
[00:35:40] They're also being
[00:35:41] persecuted
[00:35:41] every day.
[00:35:44] Matthew 10
[00:35:45] Jesus is
[00:35:47] speaking before
[00:35:47] He's teaching people
[00:35:48] and He says
[00:35:49] whoever denies
[00:35:49] me before men
[00:35:50] I'll also deny
[00:35:51] before my Father in Heaven.
[00:35:52] That's Judgment Day.
[00:35:54] If we deny Christ
[00:35:55] here on earth
[00:35:55] He'll deny us
[00:35:56] on Judgment Day.
[00:35:58] I mean it seems fair right?
[00:36:00] It's the truth.
[00:36:02] Your next note
[00:36:04] says you can't know
[00:36:05] the true God
[00:36:07] and also deny Christ.
[00:36:10] You can't know
[00:36:11] the true God
[00:36:11] and also say
[00:36:13] no thanks to Jesus.
[00:36:15] Deny Christ.
[00:36:17] Can't do it.
[00:36:19] The true follower
[00:36:20] of Jesus believes
[00:36:21] preaches what Jesus believed.
[00:36:23] Preaches what Jesus preached.
[00:36:25] We don't pick and choose.
[00:36:27] We proclaim
[00:36:28] what He proclaimed.
[00:36:29] He's the only way.
[00:36:32] There's only one God.
[00:36:35] But if you don't follow
[00:36:36] Christ and His commandments
[00:36:38] and you say
[00:36:39] that you know God
[00:36:40] that God
[00:36:42] that you serve
[00:36:43] is just a God
[00:36:44] that you have made
[00:36:45] in your own image.
[00:36:47] A God that suits
[00:36:48] your sensibilities.
[00:36:50] A God that's okay
[00:36:51] with your sin.
[00:36:55] But that's not
[00:36:56] a biblical God.
[00:36:57] That's not the biblical God.
[00:36:59] And that God
[00:36:59] can never save.
[00:37:03] Gods like that
[00:37:04] are mentally
[00:37:06] manufactured idols.
[00:37:08] You may think
[00:37:09] you're worshipping
[00:37:10] the true God
[00:37:11] but He's really
[00:37:11] just a God
[00:37:12] that you maybe
[00:37:14] subconsciously made up.
[00:37:15] Doesn't exist
[00:37:16] and is okay with sin
[00:37:17] and things like that.
[00:37:20] I think it was
[00:37:20] John Calvin that said
[00:37:22] the heart of man
[00:37:23] is an idol factory.
[00:37:26] We're just making idols
[00:37:27] all the time.
[00:37:28] And one of the idols
[00:37:29] that we make up
[00:37:30] is the God we serve.
[00:37:33] We have to be careful.
[00:37:34] We have to be careful.
[00:37:36] That's why we have Scripture.
[00:37:37] Test what we believe
[00:37:38] against the Word
[00:37:40] like we're doing today.
[00:37:41] Verse 26.
[00:37:43] Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit
[00:37:44] He'll send.
[00:37:45] But when the Helper comes
[00:37:46] that's the Holy Spirit
[00:37:47] whom I will send to you
[00:37:48] from the Father
[00:37:48] the Spirit of truth
[00:37:50] who proceeds from the Father
[00:37:51] He will bear witness
[00:37:52] about me.
[00:37:55] He's not going to bear witness
[00:37:56] about anything else.
[00:37:58] The Spirit points to Christ.
[00:37:59] The Spirit always points to Christ.
[00:38:01] The Spirit doesn't even
[00:38:01] point to Himself.
[00:38:02] He points to Christ.
[00:38:04] What did the Father do
[00:38:05] on the Mount of Transfiguration?
[00:38:07] Jesus was transformed
[00:38:08] and He shows up with Moses
[00:38:09] on one side
[00:38:10] and Elijah on the other.
[00:38:10] Moses representing the law.
[00:38:13] Elijah representing the prophets.
[00:38:14] That's what got the Jews
[00:38:16] to this point.
[00:38:17] Now there's Jesus in the center.
[00:38:18] The cloud comes down.
[00:38:20] The cloud lifts up.
[00:38:21] The voice of the Father says
[00:38:23] this is my Son.
[00:38:24] Listen to Him.
[00:38:25] Even the Father points to Christ
[00:38:27] for us.
[00:38:29] It's about Jesus.
[00:38:34] He tells us
[00:38:37] in verse 27
[00:38:38] and you also will bear witness
[00:38:40] because you've been with me
[00:38:41] from the beginning.
[00:38:42] We're going to bear witness too.
[00:38:43] And some people have bore witness
[00:38:45] by dying for their faith.
[00:38:46] God forbid we ever have to do that.
[00:38:51] He says,
[00:38:51] I've said all these things to you
[00:38:52] to keep you from falling away.
[00:38:53] He's saying,
[00:38:54] be encouraged.
[00:38:55] I know these things are coming
[00:38:56] but don't stumble.
[00:38:58] Some translations say
[00:38:58] so you won't stumble.
[00:39:00] So your faith won't be shaken.
[00:39:02] Just because we have
[00:39:05] hard things in our lives.
[00:39:06] Just because some of our friends
[00:39:07] and family
[00:39:07] and maybe even us
[00:39:08] get these diagnoses
[00:39:10] of cancer.
[00:39:12] Don't let it shake your faith.
[00:39:14] He says,
[00:39:15] I'm telling you these things.
[00:39:15] I'm warning you,
[00:39:16] don't be surprised
[00:39:16] when they happen.
[00:39:19] Don't fall away.
[00:39:20] Don't stumble.
[00:39:22] Jesus has not left us alone.
[00:39:23] He's left us
[00:39:24] with the Holy Spirit.
[00:39:27] And he always points us
[00:39:28] to Jesus.
[00:39:29] He leads us into all truth
[00:39:30] and that truth
[00:39:31] or those promises of Jesus
[00:39:32] is what gets us through
[00:39:34] those hard times.
[00:39:36] I know I'm struggling.
[00:39:37] I know I'm persecuted.
[00:39:38] But Jesus told me
[00:39:39] I would be
[00:39:40] and he said,
[00:39:40] hold on.
[00:39:41] I'll be fine.
[00:39:43] Those promises
[00:39:44] are what get you through.
[00:39:45] Not your feelings.
[00:39:47] Feelings come and go.
[00:39:50] Keep yearning.
[00:39:51] Keep searching for God's truth
[00:39:52] and you'll find it.
[00:39:53] More and more and more
[00:39:53] as we go.
[00:39:58] And now as we close,
[00:39:59] another warning from Jesus
[00:40:00] as he wraps this thought.
[00:40:05] Chapter 16, verse 2.
[00:40:06] He says,
[00:40:08] They will put you
[00:40:09] out of the synagogues.
[00:40:10] Indeed,
[00:40:11] the hour is coming
[00:40:12] when whoever kills you
[00:40:14] will think he's offering
[00:40:15] service to God.
[00:40:16] And they will do these things
[00:40:18] because they have not
[00:40:19] known the Father
[00:40:20] nor me.
[00:40:20] But I've said these things
[00:40:22] to you that when
[00:40:22] the hour comes,
[00:40:24] you may remember
[00:40:25] that I told them to you.
[00:40:29] This is the hard truth.
[00:40:31] Jesus knows what's coming
[00:40:32] and the disciples don't.
[00:40:35] And in this passage,
[00:40:36] he doesn't use the word
[00:40:37] if very much.
[00:40:39] He uses the word when.
[00:40:43] They will put you
[00:40:44] out of synagogues,
[00:40:44] he says.
[00:40:46] He says,
[00:40:47] Indeed,
[00:40:47] the hour is coming
[00:40:50] when whoever kills you
[00:40:53] will think they're
[00:40:54] doing a service to God.
[00:40:59] These times are coming.
[00:41:00] He says when this happens.
[00:41:03] Not if it happens.
[00:41:05] All those Christians
[00:41:06] who were killed
[00:41:07] that we read about
[00:41:08] in the Book of Martyrs
[00:41:08] were killed by people
[00:41:09] who thought they were
[00:41:09] doing God a service.
[00:41:11] Whether it be for
[00:41:12] the Church of England
[00:41:13] or the Roman Catholic Church
[00:41:14] or whatever group,
[00:41:16] the Crusades,
[00:41:17] you name it,
[00:41:17] throughout history,
[00:41:18] the bloodshed
[00:41:19] of Christians.
[00:41:21] They think,
[00:41:22] I'm doing this
[00:41:22] in the name of God.
[00:41:24] But they don't know God.
[00:41:27] They thought they knew him.
[00:41:33] They didn't know Christ.
[00:41:36] They thought they knew Christ.
[00:41:41] Your next note,
[00:41:41] and I've said this before,
[00:41:43] the most dangerous place
[00:41:44] you could ever be.
[00:41:46] Your next note,
[00:41:47] don't run the risk
[00:41:48] of learning that
[00:41:48] you never really knew Jesus
[00:41:50] but only thought you did.
[00:41:54] I know there's people
[00:41:54] like that out there
[00:41:56] in churches.
[00:41:58] They go every week.
[00:41:59] They give faithfully.
[00:42:01] They volunteer.
[00:42:03] They think they know Jesus.
[00:42:05] But they don't know him.
[00:42:06] They just think they do.
[00:42:11] These are some promises
[00:42:12] of Jesus.
[00:42:13] Like Peter said,
[00:42:15] examine yourself.
[00:42:16] Test yourself
[00:42:17] to make sure you're in the faith.
[00:42:21] These are promises of Jesus.
[00:42:22] I've always wanted to see
[00:42:23] if we compiled
[00:42:24] these types of promises
[00:42:25] in a book
[00:42:26] to see if it would be
[00:42:27] a bestseller or not.
[00:42:28] Here's some promises
[00:42:29] of Jesus.
[00:42:29] We just heard them.
[00:42:30] They will throw you
[00:42:31] out of churches,
[00:42:32] synagogues.
[00:42:35] These are not on coffee mugs
[00:42:37] but they're promises
[00:42:38] of the Lord Jesus.
[00:42:41] You will have tribulation.
[00:42:43] They will persecute you.
[00:42:46] They will hate you.
[00:42:48] They will kill you
[00:42:53] because they hated me first
[00:42:54] and they're going to kill me.
[00:42:56] Don't expect anything less.
[00:42:58] And if we receive less,
[00:43:00] we should be thankful.
[00:43:01] And we should be thankful
[00:43:02] to go through suffering
[00:43:04] that the Lord has granted us
[00:43:05] the opportunity to do
[00:43:06] for his glory.
[00:43:16] But he tells his disciples,
[00:43:17] be encouraged.
[00:43:18] They're going to kick you out.
[00:43:19] They're going to kill you.
[00:43:21] They're going to hate you.
[00:43:22] Now guys, be encouraged.
[00:43:24] He says,
[00:43:25] consider it an honor
[00:43:26] to suffer for the sake of Christ.
[00:43:28] And we have to pray
[00:43:29] for our persecuted brothers
[00:43:31] and sisters
[00:43:31] that are being persecuted today.
[00:43:34] Because people will give
[00:43:35] their lives today.
[00:43:36] There's 8 billion plus people
[00:43:37] in this world.
[00:43:38] A Christian is going to die today
[00:43:40] for his faith somewhere.
[00:43:43] Like Helen Stark
[00:43:47] or Reverend Robert
[00:43:51] or Elizabeth Warren.
[00:43:55] There'll be more of those people.
[00:43:57] We have to pray for them.
[00:43:58] Pray for their families,
[00:43:59] their churches.
[00:44:00] But their deaths,
[00:44:02] their martyrs
[00:44:03] will glorify the kingdom of God
[00:44:05] somehow.
[00:44:07] And it will expand.
[00:44:08] And they will receive their reward.
[00:44:10] God does not forget
[00:44:11] who gives their life for him.
[00:44:14] I want us to look
[00:44:15] here at 1 Peter 4.
[00:44:17] Peter tells us,
[00:44:18] Beloved, do not be surprised
[00:44:19] at the fiery trial
[00:44:20] when it comes upon you
[00:44:21] to test you.
[00:44:22] Don't be surprised.
[00:44:23] Why are we surprised
[00:44:24] when bad things happen to us?
[00:44:25] Quote, unquote, bad things.
[00:44:27] Get denied coverage
[00:44:28] for medication.
[00:44:29] Oh, that's a bad thing.
[00:44:29] No, it's not.
[00:44:30] We don't know if it's good or bad.
[00:44:32] Wait on the Lord.
[00:44:33] Something good comes from that.
[00:44:34] He uses all these things
[00:44:35] for your good
[00:44:36] somehow.
[00:44:40] Peter says,
[00:44:41] Don't be surprised.
[00:44:42] Don't act as if
[00:44:43] something strange
[00:44:44] were happening to you,
[00:44:45] but rejoice
[00:44:46] insofar as you're
[00:44:48] to share Christ's sufferings
[00:44:51] that you may also
[00:44:52] rejoice and be glad
[00:44:53] when his glory is revealed.
[00:44:54] Rejoice to suffer.
[00:44:55] That goes against the world.
[00:44:57] That sounds like a message
[00:44:58] the world would hate.
[00:44:59] Don't give me that
[00:44:59] rejoice to suffer,
[00:45:01] they would say.
[00:45:03] We say we're humble
[00:45:04] and suffering.
[00:45:06] But still,
[00:45:07] we may wonder and say,
[00:45:09] But why, Lord?
[00:45:11] Why will they do
[00:45:12] these things to us?
[00:45:14] And he tells us
[00:45:15] in verse 3,
[00:45:16] They'll do these things
[00:45:16] because they have not
[00:45:17] known the Father
[00:45:18] nor me.
[00:45:18] They don't know me.
[00:45:19] They don't know my Father.
[00:45:20] They don't know God.
[00:45:22] So,
[00:45:23] what does that mean?
[00:45:23] They're ignorant.
[00:45:24] Pray for them.
[00:45:28] I would almost feel
[00:45:29] sorry for them.
[00:45:30] Look what Jesus said
[00:45:31] on the cross.
[00:45:32] Forgive them, Lord.
[00:45:33] They don't know
[00:45:33] what they're doing.
[00:45:33] They're ignorant.
[00:45:36] They don't know Christ.
[00:45:39] We might say,
[00:45:40] But Lord,
[00:45:40] the ones who are
[00:45:41] persecuting are Christians.
[00:45:43] Are they?
[00:45:46] Maybe they're not.
[00:45:47] Maybe they think they are.
[00:45:49] Pray for them.
[00:45:54] John 13,
[00:45:55] remember this passage
[00:45:56] a couple weeks ago.
[00:45:57] By this all people
[00:45:58] will know
[00:45:58] that you're my disciples
[00:45:59] if you have love
[00:46:00] for one another.
[00:46:05] Admonish brothers and sisters
[00:46:06] in Christ,
[00:46:06] but don't be a jerk about it.
[00:46:07] Be nice.
[00:46:08] Be respectful.
[00:46:09] Do it in love.
[00:46:12] Persecution's real.
[00:46:13] And it can be demoralizing
[00:46:14] and it can be discouraging
[00:46:16] and it can even shake
[00:46:17] someone's faith.
[00:46:21] And we're not being burnt
[00:46:23] at the stake,
[00:46:23] at least not yet
[00:46:25] in this country.
[00:46:27] But the more we stand
[00:46:28] for Christ in our lives,
[00:46:29] we're going to feel persecution.
[00:46:31] Even at the Christmas dinner
[00:46:33] or at Thanksgiving.
[00:46:36] Politics,
[00:46:36] we call it politics.
[00:46:37] It's just
[00:46:39] a system of morals
[00:46:40] that we agree upon.
[00:46:42] And if you rub up
[00:46:43] against family members
[00:46:44] who aren't believing
[00:46:45] the same way you are,
[00:46:46] who's right,
[00:46:46] who's wrong,
[00:46:47] stand on Christ.
[00:46:50] In a good way,
[00:46:51] in love,
[00:46:51] respectfully,
[00:46:52] gently.
[00:46:53] But don't assimilate
[00:46:55] to the world,
[00:46:55] that order.
[00:46:56] We don't fit in
[00:46:57] and we shouldn't.
[00:46:58] Stand your ground.
[00:46:59] In love,
[00:47:00] stand your ground.
[00:47:01] In love.
[00:47:07] When we do stand our ground,
[00:47:08] we're going to feel
[00:47:08] the heat sometimes.
[00:47:10] But be encouraged.
[00:47:11] Jesus was loving enough
[00:47:13] to tell his disciples
[00:47:14] the hard truth that night.
[00:47:15] He knew tomorrow
[00:47:16] he would die
[00:47:17] and they'd be confused
[00:47:18] and scattered
[00:47:19] and he's telling them,
[00:47:21] stay strong.
[00:47:21] Stay close.
[00:47:23] Stay strong in the faith.
[00:47:25] Verse 16.
[00:47:26] I've said all these things.
[00:47:27] Remember,
[00:47:27] he said two places.
[00:47:28] Verse 1 and verse 4.
[00:47:29] I've said all these things
[00:47:30] to you to keep you
[00:47:31] from falling away.
[00:47:31] I'm warning you.
[00:47:32] I'm telling you up front.
[00:47:34] I know what's coming.
[00:47:35] Hold on.
[00:47:36] And in verse 4,
[00:47:37] I said these things to you
[00:47:38] that when the hour comes,
[00:47:40] because it's coming.
[00:47:42] You remember that
[00:47:43] I told you first.
[00:47:46] I'm not surprised by it,
[00:47:47] he says.
[00:47:47] I'm expecting it.
[00:47:49] We should expect persecution.
[00:47:51] Stay strong.
[00:47:53] This is life
[00:47:53] and it's a hard life
[00:47:55] in a fallen world,
[00:47:56] a sinful world.
[00:47:57] We have struggle.
[00:47:58] We shouldn't be surprised.
[00:48:00] Why are we so surprised
[00:48:01] all the time?
[00:48:06] Back to Matthew 10.
[00:48:08] I'll leave you with this.
[00:48:09] Jesus says,
[00:48:10] everyone who acknowledges
[00:48:11] me before men,
[00:48:12] I also will acknowledge
[00:48:13] before my Father
[00:48:15] who's in heaven.
[00:48:17] And a warning,
[00:48:18] but whoever denies me
[00:48:19] before men,
[00:48:20] I also will deny
[00:48:23] before my Father
[00:48:23] who's in heaven.
[00:48:26] He's giving you
[00:48:26] the straight truth
[00:48:28] that he's not holding back.
[00:48:30] On this earth,
[00:48:33] for these short years
[00:48:34] that we have,
[00:48:35] stand for Christ.
[00:48:40] If he's not first
[00:48:41] in your life,
[00:48:43] he may as well be last.
[00:48:46] You can't serve
[00:48:47] two masters.
[00:48:48] You can't serve equally
[00:48:49] the world and Christ.
[00:48:51] If he's not first
[00:48:52] in your life,
[00:48:52] he may as well
[00:48:53] not be in your life.
[00:48:57] Jesus is not going
[00:48:58] to be happy
[00:48:58] with second place
[00:48:59] in your life.
[00:48:59] On judgment day,
[00:49:00] he's just not.
[00:49:02] He's either king
[00:49:03] or he's not.
[00:49:07] Confess him
[00:49:07] no matter the cost
[00:49:09] and he'll confess you
[00:49:10] on judgment day.
[00:49:12] And you'll think back
[00:49:13] on those short
[00:49:16] 70, 80, 90, 100 years
[00:49:17] and say,
[00:49:18] I'm so thankful
[00:49:19] I was faithful
[00:49:20] because now Jesus is here
[00:49:21] on judgment day
[00:49:21] and he's going to say,
[00:49:22] hey Pam,
[00:49:23] come here.
[00:49:23] Father, here's Pam.
[00:49:24] I'm so proud of Pam
[00:49:25] and Leon and Mike
[00:49:28] but for the people
[00:49:29] in the back
[00:49:29] that denied Christ
[00:49:32] to people,
[00:49:33] to the world.
[00:49:35] He's going to say to them,
[00:49:36] I never knew
[00:49:37] those people back there.
[00:49:38] I don't know who they are.
[00:49:39] We never knew each other.
[00:49:42] It's the truth.
[00:49:43] It's hard to hear
[00:49:44] but it's true.
[00:49:47] Confess him
[00:49:47] no matter the cost.
[00:49:49] He's giving us
[00:49:50] a loving warning
[00:49:51] by telling us the truth.
[00:49:52] We should appreciate that.
[00:49:53] We can't get to heaven
[00:49:54] and say,
[00:49:55] but Jesus,
[00:49:55] you never told us.
[00:49:56] I never knew.
[00:49:57] We can't say that.
[00:49:58] He told you.
[00:50:01] It's not worth saving
[00:50:02] your earthly life
[00:50:03] and status
[00:50:03] but losing your eternal soul.
[00:50:05] It's not worth it.
[00:50:07] For the Christian suffering
[00:50:08] and persecution
[00:50:10] is to be expected.
[00:50:11] Don't be surprised
[00:50:12] when it comes.
[00:50:14] The world,
[00:50:15] you know it,
[00:50:15] it hates the truth
[00:50:16] because it convicts them
[00:50:17] of their sin.
[00:50:18] The world hates the truth
[00:50:20] because they know it's true.
[00:50:22] They know they're sinners
[00:50:23] somewhere in their heart.
[00:50:25] Read Romans 1 and 2.
[00:50:26] They know God exists.
[00:50:28] They suppress that truth
[00:50:31] but stand upon the truth
[00:50:32] which is Christ.
[00:50:33] He was persecuted for us
[00:50:35] and he made the ultimate sacrifice
[00:50:37] for us,
[00:50:38] for you,
[00:50:38] through faith.
[00:50:40] We believe in him.
[00:50:43] Keep those people in prayer
[00:50:44] that are persecuted today.
[00:50:46] I don't know their names.
[00:50:48] Pray for them
[00:50:50] and pray for those
[00:50:51] who persecute you
[00:50:52] because they don't know Christ.
[00:50:54] They don't know God.
[00:50:54] They're ignorant.
[00:50:55] They need prayer.
[00:50:56] They need to know him.
[00:50:59] Let the Lord fight your battles.
[00:51:05] We're not supposed
[00:51:05] to win every battle.
[00:51:06] We're not supposed
[00:51:06] to even fight every battle
[00:51:07] but our hope is not
[00:51:08] in ourselves anyway.
[00:51:09] Our hope is in Christ
[00:51:11] who died so that we could live
[00:51:12] if we put our full faith in him
[00:51:15] to wash all of our sins away
[00:51:16] and he's faithful to do it
[00:51:18] through faith.
[00:51:19] Amen.
[00:51:20] Please stand with me
[00:51:21] as we pray
[00:51:23] in closing.
[00:51:29] Dear Lord Jesus,
[00:51:29] once again we're here.
[00:51:30] We're thankful.
[00:51:31] Thank you for such a
[00:51:33] an amazing time
[00:51:34] with friends and family
[00:51:35] in the Lord.
[00:51:38] Please put on our heart
[00:51:39] a particular burden
[00:51:41] to pray for people
[00:51:42] we don't even know
[00:51:43] who they are
[00:51:43] but they're brothers
[00:51:44] and sisters
[00:51:45] in the Lord
[00:51:47] that face death
[00:51:48] every day
[00:51:49] because of their faithfulness
[00:51:50] to you Jesus.
[00:51:51] And please
[00:51:52] keep us from that persecution
[00:51:54] but if and when we
[00:51:57] encounter it
[00:51:58] help us stay strong.
[00:51:59] Let us not have
[00:52:01] our faith shaken
[00:52:03] because we know the truth
[00:52:04] and it sets us free
[00:52:06] and we follow you
[00:52:07] every step of the way
[00:52:08] even though we don't know
[00:52:09] what tomorrow holds.
[00:52:10] We live by faith
[00:52:11] Lord Jesus.
[00:52:12] Let's these people
[00:52:13] as we all go together
[00:52:15] help us to glorify you
[00:52:17] this week somehow
[00:52:18] some way.
[00:52:19] Heal those who need healing
[00:52:20] and lead others
[00:52:21] that are persecuting others
[00:52:22] to you Jesus
[00:52:23] so they can fall
[00:52:24] to their knees
[00:52:24] and confess you
[00:52:25] as their savior as well.
[00:52:27] We pray in Jesus name.
[00:52:28] Amen.