LibertyChurch

Sermons / John

April 9, 2017

Hated Without a Cause

Dr. David J. Vaughan · John

Sermon Transcript

The following is a lightly edited transcript generated from the audio; it may contain small errors.

A Testimony, and Prayer

Good morning. How are you? Good. Before we dismiss the kids for class, Jordan gave a testimony. I want to give a testimony, but [audio unclear] I’ll give you a poll in the future, okay? [audio unclear] Last week, and the phone rings and he’s like, oh, I gotta take this. And he picks up the phone, starts talking and basically in, while we’re sitting there, actually I was eating because you’re fasting, right? Yeah, you’re still fasting? Yeah, do a 40 day fast. So, so while I’m eating, this guy calls him, he takes the call and he leads the guy to cry on the telephone. And there’s a back story and a front story. So just share a few minutes about that guy and then the guy’s father-in-law Okay. I didn’t think I’d be up here today but be ready in season out of season. Thanks, David. Yeah, there was a guy named Kenny, who was 30 or 31 years old, and he had a blood clot in his back and his spine right before Christmas and actually what happened was He lost the ability to move, you know, kind of from his mid spine down. And this guy is married with a young son, and he, right before Christmas, became completely paralyzed from his waist down.

And he’s been in need of healing. And my ministry partner, Mark, and I went and prayed for him about three, four weeks ago. We were hoping to see him get up out of the chair and he- didn’t then, but he- his feelings starting to come back. He’ll be out of the chair soon. We believe God fully for that. But Kenny, as- as we prayed with him and talked with him afterwards, it was clear to me that he didn’t truly know the Lord. He was God-fearing, but had not put his trust in Christ. And his father-in-law, Van, was there. And when we were there the first time, van just seemed really hostile to the gospel. He didn’t say it, but you could sense it and feel it. It was clear that he really wasn’t open really open at all. It was so bad we actually wanted to ask him to leave, but we couldn’t do that because it was Kenny’s house. This was his father-in-law. But with somebody who’s a hindrance, you don’t want them in [audio unclear] I talked to them a little bit and realized he had not trusted in Christ yet. I realized I needed to follow up with him and I got his phone number and called him and talked to him. This was on a Monday and just explained I said you know I sense sense that you want to follow Him but you haven’t really received Christ yet and as I explained that to me said you know you’re right I haven’t and I He said, would you like to? He said, yes, I would. But then he goes, but I got to go in the doctor’s office. Now I got an appointment right now, so I’m going to have to call you back. So this is on a Monday. Next day, I’m sitting with David at lunch, and Kenny calls back. That’s why I said, I got to take this call. I would have taken my wife’s call and Kenny’s call. So that was one of the two. And all of the calls would have went to voicemail. But Kenny calls, and he had already said he was ready. So. Just let him in a prayer of surrender. It was just really wonderful. He gave his heart to Christ and it was beautiful. I a told me, hey, we need to come back and pray for you again. So a few days later, that Friday, Mark and I came back and again, Van was there and he’s been with Kenny much of the time since this has happened. And Kenny’s regaining more and more, feeling in his legs and we talked with Van and we prayed over Kenny again and he still didn’t get up out of the chair, but he was really rejoicing in the Lord. And he’s like God’s gonna get me out of this chair. I know it. And so it was just clear God’s at work here. But then before we left, I knew I had to ask Van if he had ever received Christ. And that somebody’s at because you’re gonna get a reaction to that. And he goes, you know, I’m not sure. And let me tell you, Van really had a different spirit this time. He was open and we sensed an openness. He wasn’t hostile. Like he’d been three.

And three, C, commit your life to Christ. So with him: he knows he’s a sinner. No doubt there. He believes Jesus is the Son of God, but he had not committed his life to Christ. And I asked him, do you want to? And he said yes. And it was just really beautiful leading this guy who Mark and I were hoping wouldn’t be there. And that’s showing our great faith here. Leading this man who’s like, the one we’re there to see that day. You know, and that happens, you know? So how was this guy? He’s probably in his mid-sixties. There you go. So don the side who God’s going to save. God will do that. Don’t try to be the Holy Spirit and figure out who God’s calling and drawing who he’s not. Our job is to share the message, but van opened his heart to Christ. It was just so beautiful. And just his prayer was just wonderful. As we prayed together and he added some of his own words really from the heart. And then the four of us prayed together and afterwards Kenny quickly sent me a text just saying he was rejoicing now that his father-in-law Van was believing in the Lord. So here’s a family coming to Christ out of a tragic situation that God’s redeeming for his glory. Amen.

All right, let’s stand. We’re going to pray. Kids can go to class. Father, we thank you for the privilege of being able to share the gospel and to see men and women and children come to you in saving faith, see lives changed, families redeemed. We thank you, Lord, that you are in the business of rescuing people. May we be about your work in spite of the challenges and the obstacles we asked today would be, we would be fortified for the work that you’ve called us to do. We ask in Christ’s holy name, amen.

Palm Sunday and John 15

All right, if your kids are in class they can be dismissed now. Your Bible is to John chapter 15. As you know, Easter is next week, which really means that today is called Palm Sunday; the week is called Passion Week. Passion here means not passion the way we use it today but passion meaning suffering and the suffering of Jesus was not just on the cross the suffering of Jesus really began in his incarnation. The week before Jesus was crucified, he was the lamb that was being, inspected if you will, before being sacrificed, the Passover lamb. And as you read through the synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and you look at the last week of Jesus’ life. You see the constant attacks on Jesus, the constant plotting, the scheming, the laying and wait, the dialogues with Judas about the betrayal. And you see all of this as things begin to culminate, the hatred of the leaders and others for Jesus culminates in this final act of betrayal that led to his crucifixion. Here in John, we have in chapter 13, 17 was called the upper room discourse. This discourse took place at what in the other [audio unclear] into your reading of those gospels. So, we get a much more intimate detail here of what Jesus shared at that supper than we get in the other gospels. So, this is really on the eve of his betrayal. So this would have been on probably what’s called Maundy Thursday, Maundy Thursday, which is the day before Holy Friday. Good Friday. And so the disciples had seen what was going on that week. They had seen the attacks but the Sadducees, the Pharisees, the Herodians, they were aware in some sense of now they did this would be going on for a long time in Jesus’ ministry right clearly intensifies here. So they’re seeing these things happening around him. And so Jesus in John 15 says this to His disciples in 15:18.

He says, “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you, if you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you. A servant If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for my name’s sake because they do not know him who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. and done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin. But now they have seen and also hated both me and my father. But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, they hated me without a cause. From Psalm 69. But when the helper comes whom I shall send to you from the father. The, the spirit of truth you proceeds from the father, will testify of me. And you, also, will bear witness because you have been with me from the beginning. These things I have spoken to you that you should not be made to stumble. They will put you out of the synagogues. Yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God’s service. And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor me. But these things I have told you that when the time comes, you may remember that I re-told you of them. And these things I did not say to you at the beginning because I was with you. But now I go away to him who sent me and none of you ask me where you’re going. But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.” So today I want to speak about the hatred of the world toward Jesus and toward His people.

Why Does the World Hate the Church?

The first thing is why does the world hate the church?

Why did Jesus have to say to the twelve, why did He have to warn them regarding the hatred of the world? the cause of this hatred. Well, when you look at this text and other places, Jesus gives us this pattern or a progression, if you will. And he’s saying, beware, the world is going to hate you, talking really to the first the apostles, but then the church. Are you part of the church? Raise your hand. Okay, that means you. The world is going to hate you. Why? You’re such a nice person, aren’t you? You’re so good looking. You’re so smart. I mean, why would the world hate you? Well, Jesus says the world’s going to hate you because the world hates him. But then what is the world hate him? He says the world hates me because the world hates my father. So it goes from the Father to the Son to the church. They hate the father, thus they hate the son, thus they hate the son’s people, the church. That’s the pattern. And the reason they do so is is the people of God, not to mention God himself, are not of the world, Jesus says. This is what he tells us. He says in verse 19, 15-19, if you were of the world the world would love its own yet because you are not of the world but I [audio unclear] we have to understand about when God looks at things, when God looks at the world, I mean humanity, he doesn’t see the institutional church and the lost. That’s not what God sees. God sees the saved and the lost, and they’re not the same. The saved and the lost. In other words, God sees those that are in Christ the saved those that are in Adam the lost he doesn’t look at Christianity say oh look at all those people filling the church Sunday morning those are the good people these are lost people that aren’t in church that’s not the way the big guy looks at it. It’s those truly united to the Son through a faith that is born again by the Spirit of God those are the saved those are in Christ those who’ve not born, they are of the world, they’re the lost. Those are the only two categories. It’s not race, it’s not gender, it’s not even creed. It’s are you in Christ through the new birth, are you united to Jesus by faith, or are you [audio unclear] The origin of the world’s hatred toward the church is that the world loves its own and the church is not its own. The church is different. The church is unique. The church is a rebuke to the world by its very existence.

Its very existence is a rebuke to the value of the world. The world loves its own. The world loves its own things. We’re coming back to here, but go to first John for a undrafted chapter 2 and see what John says here He says this in First John chapter 2 verse 15 He says do not love the world or the things of the world now when he says do not love the world He doesn’t mean don’t love people That’s not what he’s saying He’s saying, do not Embrace the value system and the principles and the priorities of the world. He’s not saying don’t care about lost people. It’s not what he’s saying. Do not love the world or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the s of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is not of the father, but it is of the world. The world is passing away and the lust of it, but he who does the will of God abides forever. Notice here that John says that the love of God and love of the world are fundamentally incompatible. That is why the world doesn’t love the church because it does it God. And they either love God and the things of God and thus the people of God, or they love, they hate God, and thus they hate the people of God. Now I know that hate is a strong word, but that’s the word that Jesus uses. He doesn’t just say dislike, he says hate, because that is the sentiment. That is really what it is in its core. But it’s rooted in a hatred of God, but also a love of the world. It’s also rooted in the desire for the praise of men. Look at the gospel of John, go back to John in chapter five. In chapter five, Jesus is giving a long, he’s in an argument with the Pharisees and much of John is Jesus’ argument with the Pharisees, right? And he’s arguing with them why they believe.

Starting in verse 33 he says, you have sent to John and he has borne witness of the truth. In other words, the first reason He said you should believe is you have the testimony of John. Yet I do not receive testimony from man but I say these things that [audio unclear] in his light. But I have a greater witness than John for the works which the Father has given me to finish, the very works that I do bear witness of Me that the Father has sent me.“ So the first witness was John. Remember John? Behold the [audio unclear] that Jesus said, you didn’t see it or hear it. [audio unclear] And You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life, and these are they which testify of Me. Here they are, students; they are students of the Word, profound theologians, have much of scripture memorized, still couldn’t see Jesus. They couldn’t see the main subject in scripture, the Lord Jesus Christ himself. He says in 40, but you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life. I do not receive honor from men, but I know you that you do not have the love of God in you. How can you believe, who receive honor from one another and do not seek the honor that comes only from God?” So it’s because the world loves its own and loves itself and loves the praise of the world itself that it is hostile then toward the church, which means it’s really hostile toward Christ and ultimately hostile toward the father. The manifestation of this hostility back here in John 15 and 16, Jesus mentions a couple things. He says, notice here in chapter 16, he says in verse 2, he says, they will put you out of the synagogues. Yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. So the hostility of the world is shown in many, many different ways. It can be indifference. It can be slander. It can be gossip. It can be Facebook pages about you. It can be calumny. It can be lies. It can even be physical harm. You can have your home vandalized. You can have your life threatened. I’ve experienced all of these things. All of them. The striking thing about this is that it is not that the hatred is being manifested, but what’s striking is that the hatred is justified, and it’s justified in the name of God.

Hatred Justified in the Name of God

Notice, very important, pay attention. They will put you out of the synagogue, so they’re in the synagogues. These are the spiritual, righteous people, right? They’ll put you out of the synagogue. Yeah, the time’s coming. whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. This is God’s work. We’re doing the righteous thing here. This shows the blindness and the hypocrisy of the world, [audio unclear] that it is raging in evil and hatred and calling it the work of God, calling it righteousness, calling it social justice, calling it caring for the poor, calling it feeding hungry children, it’s a justified hatred. People that traffic in hatred and slander and lies are not God’s people. And they are not doing God’s work. This is merely a pretense, a justification, it is really a self-justification for hatred.

The truth was and is that men love darkness rather than light, Jesus says. Therefore, they try to extinguish light. They want to put the light out. Why? Because the light convicts, right? The light exposes darkness. And when the darkness doesn’t want to be exposed, the only thing you can do is turn the light off. So people try to shut down the light, There’s always a justification. And people talk about the hypocrisy of the church or the evil in the church, or the church doesn’t care, or the church is abusive, or the church is this, the church is that. You see, these are excuses and self-jestifications for hatred. If you care about the church so much, then why don’t you be a part of helping the church. Why don’t you give your hours of prayer to the church? No, it’s just easier to sit back and slander the people. So the world will hate the church and sometimes the world is in the church. Don’t shout me down now. Sometimes the world is in the church. And the fact that somebody says, “I’m a Christian,” and they go to church and they even take the sacraments doesn’t make it so. And you see and you see in churches hostility you see factions you see gossip you see slander and a lot of it is the people aren’t even really members of the true body of Christ. They’re professing Christians, but nobody gets to heaven by professing Christ. That’s what Jesus said in Matthew 7. Many will say, Lord, Lord. They say it. They say Lord. They say Lord. They talk religion. They talk about Jesus. They can quote the Bible. But Jesus says they don’t do the will of the Father. They are in rebellion against God. while talking about Jesus. It’s just true. And our churches are full of rebellion. Full of rebellion. It’s against God. It’s against the Son. Against ecclesiastical, against parental authority filled with rebellion. And when God looks at the church, The the world he sees the saved and the unsaved. And sometimes the hostility you’re getting from Christians, they’re not Christians. Jesus said, you know them by what? Their fruit, not by their words, their fruit. We keep on forgetting this. We have a lower the bar so low and evangelicalism that most churches don’t even have membership anymore. That’s asking too much for somebody to sign a piece of paper. That’s too much. Of course, they’ll sign a piece of paper to get a credit card, sign a piece of paper to. So the church is come as you are, leave as you are, do as you please. That’s a church in America. Just so you calm. Nothing else matters. Just calm. What else matters? I was sharing with somebody recently about an author that I interviewed years ago. Wrote a book called Ceiling Sheep and I probably shared this with you before. But it came to mind recently when I was looking at the book again. He was trained in how to build big churches. And sure enough, if you do the right techniques, you can build a big church and you can build a big church. that his church wasn’t holy. And he realized that God convicted him and said, you know, you need to deal with sin in the congregation here. Yeah, and so he began to address sin, not just from the pulpit, but he did the most unspeakable thing and he could ever do he actually talk to H people individually. God forbid that a pastor talks to people about their moral lives. I mean, God forbid, we just don’t do that. And he said, thousands of people walked out of his church, thousands, thousands, when [audio unclear] Now you can sit in a pew, you can sit in a chair every week, but you don’t get in the kingdom if you’re not truly saved. If you’re not truly born again. That’s why Jesus, after he’s horrible about going out and compelled them to come in, compelled them, bring them in, bring them in. Then he ends with this weird thing like, well the guy tried again but he didn’t have the right robe on. And for years I’m like, what? Like that’s a bad way to win. No it is, it should be, people come in and everybody’s happy. But the point is is that he was exhorting, of course, the church to go out and bring him in, bring him in, but he’s [audio unclear] They have to be born again.

Right? So when we talk about the hostility of the world, remember sometimes that hostility has a Christian face. It has a Christian profession. But Jesus says, you know them by their fruits. Christians don’t traffic and hatred. Christians don’t slander. Christians don’t lie about people. Christians don’t lie. But Christians don’t treat even their enemies that way. They do not do evil in the name of God. That’s not what Christians do, because Christians are called to love their enemies, to pray for those that persecute them. Amen? That’s what Christians do.

Jesus Warns Us: Do Not Be Surprised

Secondly, second main point, Jesus warns them, okay? Why does he warn them? Is he trying to discourage them from witnessing? Hey, by the way, guys, they’re gonna get rejected, So just give it up. Just stay in the upper room and have church. Just sing songs and be happy. Don’t go out there. It’s hard out there. It’s hostile out there. Don’t go out there. Is he trying to discourage them? No, he tells them exactly why he’s talking about this. Look at John 16. First one, these things I have spoken to you. That you should not be made to stumble. Where you should literally you should not be scandalized. You shouldn’t be offended when someone rejects you, when someone criticizes you or attacks you because of your faith. In other words, don’t be surprised. Don’t be caught off guard. It’s a very simple principle the way he is to be forewarned is to be forearmed. I was talking to Steve the other day about his sons and the Marines. Like what’s he doing now? Well he’s spending days and days up in the mountains in freezing weather carrying 130 pounds on his back. Well why is he doing that? It’s nice out there in California. That’s nice weather. Why is he on the beach? Because any moment he could be in battle conditions. moment and soldiers have to be ready, right? Soldiers have to be ready for hostile conditions.

Well guess what? We’re living in hostile conditions. The world hates the church. Jesus said the world will hate you, not just the apostles. The you is them and those that follow in their train, the church. So Jesus is forearming us for war. Don’t be surprised when you get some pushback. Don’t be surprised if you criticize. Don’t be surprised if you’re slandered. I love, there’s a lot of things I love about Jesus, a lot of things I love about Him. But I really love His honesty. I really appreciate the fact that he didn’t write a contemporary evangelical book.

Because pretty much the message is Jesus will give you the happy life you always wanted. He really will. He’ll give you the perfect marriage. Your kids will never walk away from the faith. You’ll always have money in the bank. You’ll get that next promotion. Because you know what? It’s all about you. It’s all about you. Well that my friends is not the Jesus of the Bible. If you read the gospels, honestly, openly, you see Jesus promising great rewards. but they’re not usually here. I’m saying doesn’t, I’m not saying God doesn’t bless her lives, I believe he does. I believe God blesses us with many things and and it pretty much if you’re in America, you’re more blessed than you even realize. Okay, we’re blessed. But Jesus did not hang on that cross so that you get a raise. That isn’t why it happened. And so Jesus forewarns us repeatedly in the Gospels all the way back in Matthew before He sends the 12. Well, can we go there? We’ll go there real quick. Go to Matthew. Matthew 10. This is early, much, much earlier on in the ministry. This is before the 12 R They all went out on their first little jaunt, their first evangelistic outing right around that time.

So as he’s sending them out in Matthew 10, it says he called them to send them out, right? Gave them authority. But he warns them. He says in verse 16, behold, I send you out sheep in the midst of wolves. Doesn’t that sound like your office? Therefore be wise the serpents and harmless as doves. But beware of men, for they will give you up the counsels and scourge you in their synagogues. You’ll be brought for governors and kings for my sake, as I testimony to them and to the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you will speak for. It will be given to you in that hour what you should speak. For it’s not you that speak, but the spirit of your father who speaks in you. Now brother will deliver a brother to death. Father against child and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put. How could you have such animosity in a home? Because the world hates the church. The family is unregenerate and in the world and part of the family is saved and in Christ, you will have hostility. May not be openly expressed, but it’ll be there. And here is clearly openly expressed. So Jesus says at 24 disciples not above his teaching or a servant above his master. It’s enough to be like your teacher. Anybody here want to be like Jesus? Raise your hand. You sure about that? Yeah. Hmm. 25. It’s enough for a disciple to be like his teacher and a servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household? Are you prepared to be called to, who’s demon possessed? Are you prepared to be called evil? That’s what Jesus is saying, sorry, I didn’t write it. I’ll be sharing the good news. Therefore do not fear them for there’s nothing covered that will not be revealed and hidden that will not be, that will not be known. All their self-righteous specifications for hatred will be revealed and will be exposed. Whatever I tell you in the dark speak in the light in which you hear the ear preaching the house tops. Those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul, but rather for him, meaning God, who is able to destroy both the soul and the body in hell. Or not to spear a soul for copper coin but falls to the ground apart from your father’s will, but the very hairs of your head are all numbered, therefore do not fear you or more value than despair. In other words, nothing can befall the church or you individually that God does not permit in is fatherly care. We must rid ourselves of the idea that being a Christian means being, always being liked and always being popular. Because it is clearly not the teaching of scripture. In Luke chapter six, Jesus says this, one of, I think one of his most powerful statements, because it just sums up this whole idea that the world will hate the church. In Luke chapter six, he says in verse 26, he says, woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets. We have Christian bookstores with rows and rows and rows of books telling Christians how to be liked, how to be successful, what to wear, what to say, how to be, how to act, so that you’re liked. What does Jesus tell us? If all men speak well of you, there’s a problem. And I think if all men are speaking well of you, if the world speaks well of you, then is your light shining very brightly? That, the question. Jesus warned the disciples and us to not stumble, not to be scandalized, to realize beforehand that some will reject us, some will criticize us, some may even try to kill us.

But he doesn’t tell us this to discourage us, as a matter of fact he wants to actually encourage us. strange doesn’t it? Because what Jesus tells us in his passage is that in spite of the hatred of the world, Jesus here [audio unclear] We have a funny way of reading the Bible that way, don’t we? But see, they go together. Because Jesus is contrasting the love of the Father for His people with the hatred of the world for His people. That’s what He’s doing here. The compensation, are you listening? The compensation for the hatred of the world is to know the love of God the Father and God the Son. That’s the compensation. Let me ask, would you rather have the love of God or the love of the world?

The Smile of God or the Love of the World

Which would you rather have? The hatred of God or the hatred of the world? Well, it’s obvious what the choice is, right? So the Lord says to His people, He says, abide in me. verse 9, as the Father, 15, 9, is the Father loved me, I also have loved you. Abide in my love. Stay in my love. Stay in my love. And as you experience my love, yes, the world may hate you, but you have my love, which is greater than the hatred of the world. But he also encourages everybody, saying, not only do I love you and the Father love but I and the Father and the Spirit will be with you. We will be. And he says in 1526, he says, and when the helper comes whom I shall send from the father of the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, he will testify of me and you also will bear witness because you’ve seen, excuse me, you have been with me from the beginning. And then in verse seven, he says, after saying you’re R, you’re sad now, he says, nevertheless, I tell you the truth, it’s to your advantage that I go away. For if I do not go away, the helper will not come, but if I depart, I will send him to you. In other words, although I will be gone physically, I will be with you spiritually. And he even refers in this, remember, this is all one conversation. He says, the father and the son and the spirit. They all will come and manifest themselves to those that abide in him. You can have the Trinity or you can have the world. Which would you rather have? The smile of God and the frown of the world He looks upon you and He has His complacent love resting on you. And He can look, and look at you and say, this is my beloved child and whom I am well pleased. That my friends is a wealth the world could never have. And they hate that we have it. And they can never get their grimy little fingers on it. Jesus is he is encouraging them actually preparing them for the battle ahead. Let me conclude, because our time’s up, with two things. One: like the apostles, we the church are witnesses. Amen. Therefore accept it as a fact that some will reject you. Let me say it again. Therefore accept it as a fact that some will reject you. I said some but not all. Some but not all. As you read through the book of Acts and even through the [audio unclear] it’s hatred of some of the Jews toward him. That’s the hatred of the world, right? But then it says, and some believed. And some believe. You know, you don’t ever get to the some believed part if you don’t deal with the hatred part. Jesus is not saying, oh well, going out there boys, but no one’s gonna believe. That’s not what he’s saying. Matter of fact, he’s quite the contrary. He says, I’ve called you and chosen you and appointed you that you go and bear fruit. And then he says, I’ve given you the Holy Spirit to be a witness in you and through you, so go and do this. But remember, some people are gonna hate you. Some will hate, some will repent and be safe. And the story Rob shared earlier, an individual who was hostile, eventually repented. But what if he said, oh, well, he’s hostile, so I’m not going to ever go back there again and talk to them about Jesus. What would have happened then? You see? You don’t get to the some believed part. If you’re not willing to take the some will reject you part. they go together. Remember two things in conclusion, it’s not personal. It’s not personal. You can be sweet as candy cane. Some people are not gonna like you if you talk up. For Jesus, I’m telling you, I’ve had conversations with people that don’t know me and we’re having a glorious time. Just talking and, chit-chatting and friendly. And once they say, what do you do? If I tell them what I do, some people are like, oh cool. And they keep on talking. Another people are like, it’s as if a snake came out of my mouth and attacked them. The look of horror on their face when I say, oh, I’m a pastor. They know nothing about me. They liked me until they learned that fact about me.

Well, that’s the hatred of the world. That’s the flesh’s instinctual dislike of God, you see?

It’s not personal. It’s not me. And it’s really not you. Now, of course, you know, you can be a jerk and people. I understand that. And some Christians are kind of jerks sometimes. I’ve had a lot of people show me, you know, when I first got saved, I was so excited, I went home, told my dad, he’s going to hell.. I was like, that was really a mistake. So, yeah, so, yeah, we can be an offense. You know, our zeal R. But I’m not talking about that. OK. You can be sweet as apple pie, with ice cream and whipped cream on top. And man, I am hungry right now talking about that. And some people will take the pie and throw it in the trash. It’s just true, and we have to accept that. But it’s not personal. It’s not really about you. That’s what Jesus says to the reason that he says the reason they’re hating you is because they’re hating me. And by the way, the reason they’re hating me is because they hate my father. The real issue is their disposition toward God, and it’s not about you. Well, I think that makes it a lot easier to accept the rejection, because it’s really not about you. They may call you evil. They may call you names. They may slander you and lie with you, but it’s not true. They’re just manifesting their hostility toward God. The second thing to remember is in spite of not only is it not personal regarding their hatred, You know what? God loves you if you’re his child. And that’s enough. Isn’t it? God loves you. So the fact that others may not love you, it may be sad, it may grieve you, may even bring you to tears. When Jesus went in the Passion Week, when he entered in Jerusalem for the last week, he looks at Jerusalem and it says that he wept. He wept. For the very people that were gonna crucify him, he wept. Man, you talk about love. It’s sad. It’s sad to see people that hate the truth, hate the light. And they try to make it personal and they attack you. They attack your

Do Not Traffic in Hate

Last thing I want to say is you, as a true child of God, do not traffic in hate. This is a poison that will destroy your life and destroy your family. And the enemy wants to wound you so that your wound becomes infested with hatred. You hear hearing me? So you hate back. He wants you to hate back, because that’s how He traps you in darkness. That Jesus could weep over Jerusalem. That Jesus could hang on the cross and look at those who literally pierced the side and nailed those hands and feet and say, Father forgive them. That kind of love is available to us through the power of the Spirit of God. That is available for us. I’m not saying it’s easy. I’m not saying it will not ring tears from your eyes, but it is available for us. Whatever you do, if you’re falsely accused, and I’m gonna say this, I hope you are, because that means you’re standing up for Jesus. Do not traffic in hate. You do not return hate for hate, evil for evil, but rather blessing for evil. Do good to those who despise you. Pray for those who persecute you is what Jesus taught us. Then we will see who are the true sons of God and who are the sons of the world, amen? Let’s stand and pray. Lord, I thank you that you have forewarned us. I thank you Lord that O some will reject the gospel we preach, we thank you for those that will receive it. And I pray that we, your people, We would not be the obstacle to men and women coming to Christ. That we would not be the stumbling block because we fear rejection. Or rather Lord, that we would be bold in your love, bold in faith, bold in declaring the gospel, and leave the results in your hands. And I believe that if we are faithful, Father, that we will see you, We will see you save souls, even though some will not believe. Some may hate, some may reject, some may slander, but some will believe. And I pray that for those who will believe, those that you are drawing and calling, for those we will be a faithful body. We thank you Lord Jesus that you promised us your presence. Now Lord, when you gave the Great Commission, you said go to all the world, you ended that commission with the simple statement, “Lo, I am with you always.” That is the promise.

That is the power to fulfill the commission. And I pray that each one here, Lord, would know the reality of your presence in their lives, the reality of your love for them in their lives and that love and presence would make them confident and bold for your name.

The name of Jesus which is above every name. We pray in that name. Amen.

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