August 18, 2024 - How to Flourish Despite Hostility in Your Life - Pastor Paul Vallee

[00:00:00] Well, I'm going to have you stand this morning as we go to the Lord in prayer. And I want to just talk about something that is probably a little more challenging. This was joyful, but we're going to shift gears here a little bit and get into something that Jesus talked about that we are all going to experience if we're a child of God. And some of the challenges that we're going to face and some of the hostility we're going to face as children of God in a world that's, you know, antagonistic toward the christian faith. And why is that? And we're going to look at that today. So, Father, I pray that you'd open our hearts, the eyes of our understanding. We thank you for the joy that we sense. We thank you for our young people that are vibrant and enthusiastic and serving you. Lord, I thank you for our leaders. I thank you for those young children that made commitments this week and that many of them, some of them actually are from unchurched backgrounds. I just pray that you would establish them. They would grow. Families would come into faith, because your word says even children can lead us to the truth, Father. And there's something precious, authentic, sincere, and real about a childlike faith that we would just trust you at that level. And even as we age, Lord, I pray that our confidence in you would just be childlike, that we'd have such a deep trust and such an assurance that you are reigning on the planet today. You rule and you reign. And all of the things that are happening in our world that can trouble our hearts, Father, we have to have confidence that you are in control and that we can rest and have confidence in our lives, Lord, that you are guiding each and every one of us to fulfill your plan and purposes. And we thank you for that. In Jesus name. And God's people said, amen. Amen. You may be seated. [00:01:54] I'm going to have you turn in your bibles. We've been doing a series on the Gospel of John. We're in chapter 15. We're beginning in verse 18. This is a little short section here. Charles Spurgeon, that great british preacher of the 19th century, said something very insightful. He said this the only homage which wickedness can pay to righteousness is to persecute it. In other words, there's something about the life of Christ. There's something about his goodness, his love, his kindness, and yet also he brings a level of conviction. How many realize that God has a way of pinpointing the things in our lives that are unhealthy that are broken, that are wounded, that are caught up in resentment and hurt. And God wants to bring healing and grace into those situations. Jesus, now describing the believer's life on the sermon on the mount, concludes that one of the, what we would call identification markers. I'm going to talk a little bit about this. What does it mean, an identification marker? It's what defines you as a follower of Christ, something people can actually see. It's not so much external as it's coming from within. It's coming from the life of Christ dwelling within us. He says that one of the tests of a genuine christian life is simply this. He says, happy or blessed are those who are persecuted. Now, how many here in this room? You probably think. I don't see that as a real high spot, pastor. I don't see, I don't feel overwhelmed with a sense of happiness when I'm being persecuted. But I'm hoping after today, you're going to change your mind. I know this is going to be shocking to you. I've thought of these verses a lot, and I kept thinking, why should I be happy when people are making my life hard? [00:03:49] Isn't that a great question? I mean, they're making it difficult. I feel that I'm excluded. Why should I feel this way? But Jesus is going to say something very profound here. He says, because not of some stupid thing that you and I have done, but because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. How many know that's why we should be happy? But when we experience these things, it's an indicator that you and I are his children and that we are inheritors of God's kingdom. We're a part of God's amazing eternal kingdom. Then verse eleven, he said, blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me, just because you're a follower of me. I don't know what kind of names you've been called in the past. I've been told I was demon possessed, you know, but then I thought, well, that's okay. Jesus was accused of being demon possessed, too, you know? Right? Come on now. This is when you start to realize, oh, and by the way, that person was inebriated at the time. So, you know, I thought, you know, just got to look at the source, right? Because they were upset because I had said something and they didn't like it. [00:05:02] But when we speak of persecution, I think we have to clarify some things. You know, sometimes people suffer for the wrong reason sometimes we suffer because we do stupid things. How many know that's true? Well, you can't say, well, I'm blessed now. I'm suffering for Jesus because I've done something dumb, right? That's not what we're talking about here. You know, real persecution comes when we are serving Christ, and the life of Christ is literally showing forth. [00:05:30] I know a number of years ago, I was teaching in central India. I was teaching at the seminary, and I had one of those epiphany moments, you know, your teaching. All of a sudden, the spirit of God just. There was a deep impression inside of me, and the impression was simply as I was looking over these young people, that many of them were going to suffer great persecution. And I felt God prompted me and said, you know, some of these young people you're teaching right now will lay down their life for my sake. It was a very solemn and very sobering moment. I mean, can you imagine having that thought go through your mind as you're teaching? This is not just educating people. This isn't about training people to do a job. This is about people who are being equipped to go out and bring the good news of Jesus in a very hostile environment. And some of them were going to suffer because of that. And, you know, between that year that I went and the following year when I came back, one of the students there that was graduating from seminary would have been in the graduating class. We were actually there later on for that graduating class. They were missing one student. And one of those young men had gone out and preached in a village, and there was a terrific level of hostility. He was beaten, he was killed, and he was thrown into an open well. And, you know, so when I came back to the school that next year, Doctor Thomas said to me, listen, one of your students that you taught last year, he was martyred. And, you know, that really hits home. How many know when you talk about martyrdom? I think I shared a statistic a number of years ago that there are more martyrs today in our world than there have ever been before. And I think there's like over 60,000 about five years ago that lost their lives just solely because they were followers of Christ in our present age. And we never hear about these things, but people are laying down their lives all around our world today just because of their faith in Jesus. These are our brothers and sisters, and they're just like you and me. They have families, they go to work, and they do all these things, but they're followers of Jesus, and they suffered as a result. So why has there always been. It's not. Why is it now? Why has there always been hostility towards those who follow Jesus? Why are believers persecuted in our society? [00:07:49] And despite persecution, the church continues to flourish and to grow. [00:07:55] So I'm going to take a look at what Jesus had to say regarding personal hostility and animosity that you and I should anticipate. [00:08:03] You have to arm your mind. You have to be prepared for this because, I mean, when it happens, it can be shocking. You go, well, what brought this on? And I'm going, no, this is normal. This is something we should anticipate. If we're really living the christian life and we're really not. You know, we're trying to help people, we're trying to serve people. We may get an unexpected response from people. You ever have those moments? You know, I've actually talked to people just before they're dying and tried to share the gospel, and it felt like a demon was talking back to me. You know, it was so shocking how they rejected Christ at that last moment, and it's disarming and it's painful to experience it. And you're saying to yourself, listen, they're not rejecting me. They're rejecting Christ, the only hope that they have for all of eternity. So I think that this is quite normative to, I think, the genuine christian experience. Jesus now explains the nature of rejection that occurs in the life of the believer. And I want to take a look here at three elements in our relationship with society. And the first one is a warning. Jesus is going to warn us that we should anticipate and expect hostility, and it will be directed at us. [00:09:19] So let's take a look at these verses. In John 15, beginning in verse 18, he's going to explain why the world hates us. Okay. Verse 18, if the world hates you, that sounds like it's conditional, like maybe they won't hate you, but that's not what he's about to say here. If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me. First lesson number one, the world hates Jesus. [00:09:48] You need to understand that. You know, if you want to do a little experiment, just walk outside this, you know, you could talk to people about God, but when you mention the name of Jesus, you get a whole different reaction. How many know that's true? But it's at the name of Jesus that every knee should bow. It's at the name of Jesus. There's no other name given among men whereby we must be saved. There's only one way to God and that's through Christ. And so when you mention Jesus, all hell breaks loose against your soul. It's a powerful name, and we need to understand that. It says, the world hated Jesus first he says, if you belong to the world, notice the condition. If you belong to the world, it would love you as its own. [00:10:32] As it is, you do not belong to the world. But I have chosen you out of the world. That's why the world hates you. In other words, what Jesus is saying, I'm calling out a new society. I'm calling you out of darkness. I'm calling you out of the kingdom of darkness. I'm calling you out of the world. And the world immediately feels animosity to those that have been called into the light. It's going to happen. [00:11:00] Gerald Burchard explains the reality of the early church experience. If christians think that the message of love in Christ will generally be well received by the world, they're in for a big surprise, just as the disciples had to learn. I mean, when you think about it, we're telling people God loves you. Isn't that a great message? God wants to save you, and people reject it and then get antagonistic. [00:11:25] He says, love is not the usual pattern in social orders, where power and domination are rampant and where the good news runs counter to cultural commitments. [00:11:34] You know, a lot of people don't like the fact that we tell them Jesus saves because they think they don't need saving. Do you know, the good news is for sinners, and most people don't see themselves as sinners. As a matter of fact, our culture today talks about, don't say that we're doing anything wrong. Nobody wants to be corrected today. Anybody notice that? It's the way it is, people get all offended real quick. [00:11:57] Goes on to say, as this section opens, therefore begins with a condition that is assumed to be true if the world hates you. The situation for the recipients of this gospel, remember John is writing this decades later. [00:12:11] This is not some distinct possibility. These people actually had already been excluded from the synagogues and had suffered martyrdom throughout the roman empire. And for them to read these words struck a painful cord of realism. [00:12:24] They could probably tell you people that they knew who had lost their lives because they were followers of Jesus. [00:12:30] They were in the midst of suffering. But they were also reminded that their resurrected lord had also walked the way of being hated. In other words, this is not something you and I experience alone. Jesus himself was crucified and hated by the world. That's why he died, because of that hatred. You know, the world or society apart from God hates both God and those who follow his ways. You know, I think it's interesting. We love those who love what we love. How many know that's true? You know, there's an affinity with people who love the same things, and we are in a state of enmity or hostility with those who hate what we love because they hate what we love. One of the things we need to assess in life is what are the things we love or who are those we identify with and embrace? [00:13:21] You know, I would argue that one of the identifying markers of a believer is that we have loved one for another. Isn't that beautiful? There's a tremendous love. And, you know, this morning I saw it firsthand because, you know, we gather for prayer as men, and there was 14 of us, including the people on our Zoom call. I counted, and Larry Trout came in. Larry and Juanita were in a terrible car accident. Juanita was killed. Larry has gone through tremendous surgeries and all the rest of it, and he finally, you know, let me know. He says, I'm coming. I'm home now. And he walked into my office, and it was so moving. All the guys just, you know, there was tears. It was just a very moving moment, and it was very exciting, and, you know, that's what happens. It was just. You could feel the love. It was just. You just sensed it. It was so incredible. We were just so happy to see him because he's a part of who we are. [00:14:19] So when we reject what God loves and love what God hates, we find ourselves in opposition to God. James talks about that. He said, you adulterous people. Don't you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Enmity means hostility. [00:14:33] So if you love what the world loves, you're actually in hostility towards God. James says, therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. So we have to be careful. You know, sometimes we're so concerned about fitting in, we don't want to alienate anybody, and nobody's trying to do it. But, you know, if we have to compromise to become something what we're not, in order to fit into the society, just be careful, because actually, that's not a good thing. I would be more concerned about pleasing God and having people upset with me than about pleasing people and having God upset with me. How many are with me? You know, I want God's favor and blessing. I want to please God. That's what's motivating. And I think every true heart of a child of God feels the same way. [00:15:21] So when we embrace the world's values, we despise what God values. And that's why Paul says these amazing words in the book of Romans. He says in chapter twelve, therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices. You know, he makes a great argument. [00:15:41] Even your physical body doesn't belong to you. It belongs to God. You're just a temple of God's spirit. [00:15:49] He goes on to say, it's to be holy. In other words, it's set apart. It's to please God. This is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world. I like what JB Phillips says. Don't let the world squeeze you into its mold. There's a huge conformity going on in our society today. People are being pressured to fit into a mold. How many sense it? You see it all the time, but it says, but rather be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is, his good, pleasing and perfect will. So Ronaldinh Roland Tasker, in his comments on John, he says this. Jesus reminds them of what he had already told them, that if a slave cannot expect to render less service than his master, we're going to see that in verse 20. Neither can they, as the apostle of him, who had to face the world's impassionate hatred in its most virulent form, expect to be immune from that hatred themselves. In other words, if we're like, if you and I are living the life of Jesus, if Christ is ruling and reigning and his life is flowing out of us, we can expect the same hostility towards us as Jesus received. We shouldn't be surprised by that. That's what he's telling us here. He goes on to say it's true that by their natural birth, they belong to the world. In other words, believers, we all start there. We all have a natural life. They are part of a sin stained race of men and women who, for the most part, have forgotten their creaturely estate and are arrogant and selfish, organizing their lives without thought of God. That's how our society is living. [00:17:21] How many say? That's a pretty nasty description, wouldn't you say? You know, and sometimes we have to look at our own lives. Are we living an arrogant, selfish life, organizing our life without thought of God? Or is our life in submission to God and saying, God, I really want to know what your will is, and I'm really living my life to please you. And I've said this over and over again. When we discover what God wants us to do, we begin to do God's will, and we begin to do what God designed us to do. That's when we'll be the happiest. [00:17:52] You know, you're not happy to go after what the world's chasing. That will not produce happiness. Folks. And a lot of people, we can see that there's a lot of brokenness. There's a lot of despair in our society. There's a lot of emptiness and meaninglessness and selfishness. We can see it. It's so rampant in our world. That's not what we should be pursuing. He goes on to say here there was indeed a time when they would not have been the objects of the world's hatred at all. When we're part of the world, people don't hate us. We're part of it. But it said, but Jesus said, separated them from the world, just as he's separating you and me from this world. There was indeed a time when they would not have been the objects of the world's hatred at all. But Jesus now has separated them from that world. We're a part of a new creation. We are a new creation. We're part of Christ's body. Think about that. [00:18:44] He had incorporated them into his body. As members of that body, they must expect to be the objects of the hatred that the world and its ignorance of Christ's divine origin is always directing against him. [00:18:58] So Jesus goes on to say, remember what I told you. A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. Actually, Paul says, all who live godly lives in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. Okay, so if you're sitting here going, well, I'm not being persecuted, I'm going. Then you got to be a little concerned, because I'm going to argue it's one of what I call identification marker of the true believer. And we're going to see that in a minute. If they obey my teaching, they will also obey yours. [00:19:36] So this close association between his persecution and theirs finds expression in the voice from heaven. Remember when Saul of Tarsus was persecuting the church? What did jesus say to him? [00:19:49] Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? You see, Jesus so identifies with you and I as believers because he calls you and I his body, that when people persecute us, what they really are doing is persecuting Christ. Is that an amazing thought? And so, you know, I always say, listen, be careful who you're, you know, if you're persecuting christians, I should say this to the society, be careful, because what you're going to find yourself doing is fighting with God. And all I know is God always wins. [00:20:23] Good luck. Right. The Lord who was personally persecuted on earth continued to be persecuted, even in his exaltation, in the person of his persecuted followers. Their being persecuted for his sake was a sign that they belonged to him, as it was a token of the coming judgment on their persecutors. Let me move to the second element. I've alluded to this quite a bit here, and it's simply this persecution is one of the identifying markers of a genuine follower of Christ. Now, I don't know about you, but how many have ever met an orthodox jewish person? Anybody seen them or met them? Okay. How many know you immediately identify them? Why? First of all, their clothing. They wear long black robes. They have black hats. They have their hair. They don't trim it, you know, you know, that's an orthodox jew. You know, a lot of them wear flak trees around their arm. I've been to Israel a number of times, and you can see them walking around. And if you go to New York, we were in New York recently. You see a lot of jews in New York, right? [00:21:25] Immediately. You know, here's some of the identification markers. They have dietary laws. They don't eat the same foods as gentiles do. How many know that? They observe certain behaviors. They practice circumcision. And I know gentiles can do that, too. But they, as a religious identification marker, practice circumcision. Why did God do all of these things? Read the Old Testament. Because God was separating these people from everybody else. They were his holy people. Now, I think we need to understand something. We also have been separated from the world. There are identification markers. While theirs are outward and, you know, outwardly manifested, ours are inwardly. That's what we need to understand. Ours are spiritual. So what are some of the identification markers of a child of God? Well, let me give you. Here's an amazing verse. Jesus in chapter 13 says this about the disciples. He said, a new command I give you. Love one another. [00:22:27] It's interesting. He's saying, this is one of my identification markers for the community of faith, that you and I should love each other. If we don't love each other, that's a terrible thing. That means there's something wrong inside of us. Maybe we have to examine ourselves to see if we're in the faith. We need to love one another as I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples. That's why it's an identification marker. If you love one another, so love towards each other is what identifies us. So when we come into the church, you know it's a bad thing when there's bickering and fighting and dissension. Remember Paul's writing to the Corinthians? These things ought not to be to the Philippians. This is what Paul says to them. He says, let this mind be in Christ Jesus, which was also in you. He said, who thought it not robbery to be equal to God, but made himself of no reputation, and he humbled himself and became a servant. So what is Jesus telling us? Lay aside your rights and serve one another. How's that? [00:23:30] That's what we need to learn how to do. That's important. Identification mark. We have love for each other. Here's another one. Jesus said, you'll know you're my disciples if you obey what I say. You keep my word. So people who are living a disobedient life, that's a problem, because the identifying marker in our life is obedience. We live a life of obedience. But the third one that I'm focusing in on today is persecution. When we're persecuted, that's an identification marker, that we're a follower of Jesus, because the world's only going to persecute that which is unlike itself. See, we're making a distinction. We're different. People get upset. Well, you don't do what we're doing. You're not behaving like us. You're not acting like us. You're not joining us, as Peter says in drunkenness and this kind of type of lifestyle, you're not embracing our lifestyle. No, we're not, because we're obeying Christ and we're living a different lifestyle. And because of that, people feel like you're different. And how many know we tend to persecute that which is different? [00:24:37] We tend to be uncomfortable with differentness. I would argue that in the body of Christ, and Jesus said it, he's given us all different gifts. How many say that's true? And he talks about, like, in the body, there's different members. And he said, you and I need those members, members in our body that are most unlike ourselves. [00:24:59] And so I would argue today that the people in this room that are most unlike you are the ones you need the most. [00:25:08] Yeah, but I don't feel comfortable with people unlike me, and I'm going, you see? But those are the people you need the most, because those are the people that are going to help expand you and help you grow and get out of your comfort zone. We need to get out of our comfort zone. You don't change by saying, well, I just hang with the people I'm comfortable with. [00:25:29] You're never going to change. You're always going to stay the same kind of a person. But Jesus is interested in our spiritual growth, maturity and development. And so he forces us into this. He brings people into our lives. And you go, yeah, but I don't like this person, pastor. They rub me the wrong way and I'm going, yeah, but you need them. [00:25:49] They're smoothing you out. [00:25:52] They're working on your soul. They're helping you develop the grace of patience and forbearance and goodness in your life. Right? He's developing you. You're going, ah, but you know, it feels more like an irritation, you know, but, you know, when you're creating a pearl, pearls are created by a little irritation in a shell. And the greater the irritation, the greater the pearl that's developing. God is developing the life of Christ within us. That's the goal. [00:26:22] He goes on, we've already read these verses. You know, the reason I think true believers are hated by society because they're in rebellion against God. And you see, our life of obedience is exposing their life of disobedience. You know, how many have ever had those saying, you know, you know, I'm just, I'm tired of you, goody two shoes, you know, I'm tired of you guys, you know, thinking you're more holy than we are. It's not that we're thinking that. We already know we're nothing holy. We know only God makes us holy. We recognize our need. But a lot of people don't recognize it, see? And they feel threatened. People feel threatened by differences. [00:27:03] Let me, I've already told us these verses. The world hates you. Keep in mind, it hated me. If you belong to the world, it would love you as its own, but you're not of the world anymore. So ff. Bruce explains the behavior of the world toward believers in this manner. [00:27:19] He says it's an odd fact that the world soon justifies its hostility to them by imputing to them the initiative in hatred. The earliest extent reference to christians in pagan literature charges them with hatred of the human race. How many think this is really interesting? The very beginning of Christianity, the Christians were charged that they hated the human race. [00:27:42] Do you know what I noticed today? [00:27:45] And we see it. I notice we often hear in our society that we're accused as believers of hating other people. We hear from mainstream society, they speak of the intolerance and the exclusivity of christians. [00:28:04] How many have ever heard that? [00:28:07] But it's actually the exact opposite. Let me explain what I mean. Christianity is inclusive. [00:28:14] It opens the door to everybody. God does not discriminate by gender or race or any of those things. God doesn't discriminate that way. You know, God is loving, God is forgiving, God is accepting. Come unto me. I will, you know, save you. I will do all this amazing work in your life. But, you know, this inclusiveness invites all to come, just as they are to God. But it must be on God's terms and not on ours. And there's the problem, you see, people want God on their terms, but God goes, no, no, I've created this. You must come to me on my terms. And that's the narrow door, you see, and the narrow door is the person of Christ. God says, I made a provision for humanity through coming myself, becoming a human being and dying on the cross. And a lot of people don't want that because they don't see themselves in need of being saved, they don't see themselves as sinners, and it creates all kinds of problems. [00:29:17] I think we need to understand. [00:29:20] God creates a law designed to protect humanity. And so people see them as restrictive, when in reality they're protective. You know, it's like, you know, you tell a little child, don't touch the stove, it's hot. Little kid wants to put his hand up. How many know they're going to get burnt? So, you know, and that's what we do. Oh, you're telling me I can't do that? [00:29:41] And then we go, oh, man, I'm in pain now. I'm going, yeah, no kidding, it is hot. And so God says, you know, the things that I'm telling you not to do, it's for your well being. I've created boundaries, and boundaries are an expression of love. I don't know if we realize that. You know, if we let people do anything they wanted to do, pretty soon we'd be destroying each other. That's what would happen. And we know that that's true. Don Carson says the foundational theological differences between the community of Jesus followers and the world not only open the window on the motives and reactions of those who can tolerate neither Jesus nor his followers, but they also generate sociological differences which are bound to multiply, enmity in other words. The fact that we're different creates this tension, this enmity, this conflict. He goes on to say, from an evangelistic perspective, these verses demand decision because issues are of ultimate importance. In other words, following Jesus costs something, and it may cost life itself. Yet not following Jesus means one is siding with a lost and hateful world. So we have a choice, is what he's basically saying. And the choice is real simple. We follow Jesus and we're hated by society, or we don't follow Jesus and we lose out. It's real simple. You know, we've made this real complicated. I'm just trying to simplify it for us. You either do it or you don't. You know, I remember doing a series on proverbs, and the reason I did it. I said, there's a way of wisdom and a way of folly. There's only two ways in this life. You're either going to do things God's way, or we're going to rebel against what God says. And, you know, there's broad road that leads to destruction. There's all kinds of ideas out there, but they're all wrong. When it moves away from what God says, they're wrong, and it's going to lead to pain and heartache, and we know that's true. [00:31:28] He goes on to say, to warn prospective disciples of these unyielding realities serves to discourage spurious conversions. In other words, if you're told that you're going to suffer from following Jesus, you may think twice about following Jesus, but you need to be warned there's going to be a price tag to pay. You said, just as Jesus told these things to the first disciples in order to ensure stability until the time of faith truly dawned. How many know? We've been kind of watching the series, what's it called? The chosen. And how many know that? And you don't have to watch the series to get this. Read your New Testament. Read your gospels. How many know the disciples were slow on the uptake? [00:32:09] They were a little dull at times, and sometimes we're the same as they are. We don't quite get it. And what is Jesus basically saying? It takes time to really understand what we've done. You know, when you first come to Jesus, how many knew when you first gave your life to Jesus, it was going to entail what Jesus was really asking of you? He really wants your entirety. Did anybody know that when you signed up, or has it taken time to kind of figure it out? [00:32:34] I thought, hey, this is the greatest thing. I came forward and then I realized over time, this is. This is costing everything. [00:32:42] This is going to cost everything. [00:32:44] You kind of understand that over time it doesn't happen initially. [00:32:49] Jesus says, all this I've told you so that you will not fall away. Even the warning about persecution, so you're prepared for it. You know, don't act shocked when it happens, is what he's saying. Let me move on to the final element. Persecution is inevitable and creates positive outcome in the lives of other people. It's not all negative, folks. It may sound negative. It may sound painful. Sometimes it is. [00:33:14] Though we may suffer for the sake of Christ, others are going to see the genuine and authenticity of our lives and will be deeply influenced. There is an old adage that says the blood of martyrs is the seedbed of faith. Why? [00:33:27] You can tell people that this is true, but until you are willing to put some skin in the game, they are not buying. And we know that is true. They got to see the reality of it. And sometimes God allows us to suffer to help other people see the authenticity and reality of the christian faith. And we know that that's true. Remember what I told you. A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they're going to persecute you also. If they obey my teaching, they'll also obey yours. Not only will we experience persecution, but I think we'll also have a positive influence on the lives of other people. Here, Jesus tells us as his followers that those who obey the sayings of Jesus will be heard by others as we communicate to them, both through our words and through our lifestyle. And when we're speaking God's word to others, do you know what God's actually doing? He's speaking through us. You and I are his body. [00:34:18] Every time you and I are sharing God's word with people, God is speaking through you. [00:34:24] How many ever thought how powerful that is? It is really extremely powerful. I think we need to understand that. [00:34:32] Jesus explains why people often respond negatively toward us and persecute us. And he says they're without excuse. Look at John 21. He says, they will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. Who's the one who sent Jesus? The father. So what is he saying is, if they don't know who Jesus is, they don't know God. That's a very shocking statement. You either believe that or you don't. I actually believe that. I believe that. If you don't know Jesus, you don't know God. I don't care what you're telling me, you know, verse 22, if I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, they have no excuse for their sin. In other words, they've had this communicated to them. Now, I would argue that people are without excuse. I think there's other things in this world that explains the existence of goddess. I think the created world is one of the great signs that there is a creator. And let me tell you something. You know, all these intelligent people that believe, you know, that there's no God, there's no designer, there's no nothing, you know, just all happened. [00:35:37] The very brilliant scientists go, this can't all have just happened like this. There's just too much design in the world. And so now we have new concepts, intelligent design. [00:35:51] Let me tell you something. The moment you tell me that, it tells me there has to be an intelligent designer, right? Think about that. [00:36:04] Somebody had to design this stuff, so this isn't all happenstance. Now, how we did it, I don't know. But I'm just telling you, there's an intelligent designer behind it all. And we read a bit in scripture, God's the creator. And when God's the creator, he created this entire world. And Paul argues in the book of Romans that people are without excuse because the creation of the world is declaring the glory and the power of God. [00:36:28] And so you have to suppress that information in order to deny that there is a God. And why do people do that? Because they want to live an unaccountable life. Because if there is a creator, then you and I are accountable to him, and we all are. [00:36:43] Da Carson says the word rendered excuse is perhaps a little stronger than excuse. They have no pretense, he says, no pretext for their sin, whatever pretense, and it is only a pretense the world might have conjured up to justify its evil before the coming of Christ. It has entirely lost that now in the sublime revelation from God himself has come. In other words, God said, okay, you're a little confused. I'll help you out. I'll come down here and speak into your lives. And he did. And so now Paul says, men everywhere are without excuse. In acts, chapter 17, he makes that argument. God is calling everywhere men and women to repentance. [00:37:24] And that's the message that we need to communicate to people. People need to change their minds. People need to turn from their sinful, evil ways and turn to serve the true and the living God. [00:37:35] He goes on to say here, this revelation simultaneously exposes sin, but also provides a remedy. Isn't it beautiful that God is like a doctor? He goes in and says, no, you got a disease. I'm going to cut it out. [00:37:49] It's going to be painful, but I'm going to deal with it so that you don't die. And I think that's what we need to understand, that when God exposes sin in our life, he's doing so in order for us to address that in our soul so that we can be free from it and experience an abundant life. And so he says here, the world that rejects it hates the exposure and thus denies any need for a remedy. You know, one of the biggest problems people have is they don't see a need to be saved. [00:38:17] That's what I find with people. People think they're okay just the way they are. How many have met people like that? There's a lot of people out there, you know, but that's a problem. And I'll tell you what happens. Everybody thinks they're okay until a crisis comes, and I mean a major crisis. And when you can't handle it anymore because you can't save yourself, and when society can't save us anymore, who are you going to turn to? We need a savior, folks. We need God's help. This ramification of rejecting the message. He says, whoever hates me hates my father as well. So it's very simple. If you hate Jesus, you hate God. That's what he's saying. God the father. If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my father. Wow. Strong language. [00:39:09] To reject the message of grace and truth is to reject God's message. People who think that rejecting Jesus is not rejecting God are mistaken. As a matter of fact, listen to how Paul describes the person of Jesus. I love this. I could have picked John 14, where Jesus says, you know, there's no. You know, there's no. If you've seen me, you've already seen the father. I'm the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the father but by me. But listen how Paul describes Jesus. The son is the image of the invisible God. You want to know who God looks like? Look at Jesus. He's the firstborn over all creation. That word firstborn means he's preeminent over it all. [00:39:46] He's supreme. For in him, I put down Christ. All things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities, all things have been created through him, and for him, he is before all things, and in him, all things hold together. [00:40:04] Okay. Then he goes here. He is the head of the body of the church. He's the beginning and the firstborn among the dead. So that in everything he might have the supremacy, for God was pleased to have all of his fullness dwell in him. Who's the him? Christ. [00:40:21] So if you've seen Jesus, you've seen the father. That's what Jesus is saying. If you want to know what God is like, look at Jesus. He's God. That's what he's telling us. So there's no legitimate reason for rejecting the son. [00:40:35] As a matter of fact, John 1525 says, but this is to fulfill what is written in their law. They hated me without reason. And he's just quoting from the. The law. He's quoting from the psalms when he says that Jesus is stating that this rejection actually is unwarranted and it does not negate God's purposes. By the way, just because people reject God's will does not mean God's will will not be done. [00:41:05] We need to know that. So what should our response be? I want to close with this. [00:41:10] What should our response be towards persecution? Should we shy away from identifying with Jesus? Come on, let's people do that, right? We back off. Should we be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus in Christ and then try to change it so that it's more accommodating to the culture? [00:41:27] Of course not. Paul says, I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. Why? Because it's the power of God unto salvation. You and I can't be saved apart from this gospel. It's powerful. All right, so what should we do? Well, I think Jesus makes clearer attitude hit in verse twelve. I kept this back. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Well, what does it mean to be rejoice and be glad? That word glad means literally to leap exceedingly. They would say, jump for joy. That's how we would say it. Right. That should be our response. You go, is that a natural response? No, that's a supernatural response. Now, how many go, I've read this Bible, and sometimes you read it and you just go, I just don't connect with some verses. I think of acts, chapter five, verse 41. The apostles are leaving the Sanhedrin, and they've been beat up. And here's their attitude. They're leaving and they're thinking, man, I just was worthy to suffer disgrace for the name of Jesus. Is that your attitude when you're being persecuted? Man, I'm just being worthy to suffer for Jesus. This is so good. Lord, I. [00:42:36] Right. [00:42:38] I don't know about that one, pastor. [00:42:42] Well, the puritan preacher Thomas Watson says, or as it is more emphatic in the original, they rejoiced that they were so far graced as to be disgraced for the name of Christ. Tertullian says of the primitive christians, they took more comfort in their sufferings than in their deliverances. [00:42:58] Isn't that amazing? Paul and Silas beat and cast into the jail cell at Philippi. What were they doing? [00:43:04] Grumping and complaining. You know, it's tough to serve Jesus. I mean, here we are locked up in prison. Is that what they were doing? No, they were. The Bible says here in the book of acts, after they were severely, that word, severely flogged, thrown into prison, the jailers commanded to guard them carefully. These guys are dangerous. Right. [00:43:24] When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet and the stock. So this is not a comfortable position. [00:43:31] And what's their attitude? About midnight, Paul and Silas are praying and singing hymns to God and the other prisoners we're listening to. [00:43:38] How many think, you know, these guys are rejoicing? And you know what? I'm going to tell you a little secret. If you and I have the right attitude in a time of persecution, it really impacts people. I wonder if people would be listening to our message if they saw the transformed lifestyle, the amazing, positive, cheerful attitude and joyous and the price we're willing to pay to serve Jesus. What kind of an impact do you think we'd have? [00:44:03] Let's stand. [00:44:07] So I want to pray for us today because I'm going to say this to us. The closer we become more like Jesus, the more you become like Jesus, you're going to become more loving, you're going to become more full of the spirit, and you're going to tick a lot of people off. [00:44:29] I'm just preparing you, but I'm also preparing you to have the right attitude about it. Just going, yes, I must be coming more like you because people are threatened by my life. You know, they do. [00:44:43] The more you're vivacious, the more you're unashamed of the gospel, the more joy that's in your life. You're gonna have people going, you're disgusting. [00:44:53] I hate you because you're not like us. You go, yeah, I know. I'm trying to be like my lord and savior Jesus, and I'm gonna tell you something. This life goes by. If you were here last week, I talked about how quickly life goes by. Let's go all out for Jesus. Amen. [00:45:11] If you want our world to change, I think we need to become more vivacious, more outgoing, more, you know, being more willing to share our faith with other people. You go, yeah, but sometimes they don't like it, pastor. I go, I know they don't, but they still need to hear it, because you don't know. Later on, after you've shared with them and they've brushed you off the seeds that you put in their soul, God's going, I'm watering them now. [00:45:42] Amen. And one day when they're in a crisis moment, they go, you know what? I'm going to give my life to Christ. [00:45:49] Because somebody was courageous enough to share with me. Somebody was living the life before me and made this all real to me. [00:45:58] Sometimes we get upset because everybody I talk to, they don't all get saved. How many have had that experience? [00:46:05] But eventually you'll have the joy and privilege of leading people. Christ. [00:46:10] And I remember I was working at this restaurant when I was in Bible college, and I was an enthusiastic christian because I'm studying the word every day and I'm sharing with people openly. I had some people so upset with me. They were so mad at me. They were so frustrated with me. But I was just loving on them and sharing with them. But you know what started happening? People started getting saved. People started getting saved, folks. [00:46:36] But there was persecution. [00:46:38] There was persecution. People tried to get me fired, backfired. They got fired, but they tried. I'm just pointing out I was just doing my job. But nobody could stop you for what you're thinking or saying as long as you're doing your job. I wasn't not working. I was working, and that's why I didn't get fired. My boss went, no, I make more money when he's here than when he's nothing. So there you go. My boss said, no, I'm keeping him. The people that were complaining against me, they got fired, and they were backsliders. They were convicted. And later on, one of them came back to me and asked for forgiveness because they got right with God. Isn't that great? [00:47:18] Lord, could you help us today? Could you help us to live the life in such a way that our lives would actually provoke people to start considering the good news about Jesus and Lord, I pray today that even when people reject us or speak ill of us or evil towards us, and we are persecuted and we suffer because of your namesake. I pray, Father, you'd give us the right attitude that we would be like the apostles who are rejoicing that we've been counted worthy to say, suffer for your name and have that attitude, Father, and watch the fruit of that transform the people around us. Because when people start seeing that we're willing to suffer for Jesus, it brings about a deeper authenticity and reality of this gospel message, and it does so help us, Father. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen. God bless you as you leave today.