Turn Not Away
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Date: 7 May, 2020
Text: John 15:18-27
Title: Turn Not Away
Introduction:
Our text: John 15:18-27
Covid-19 - The Government has been giving daily briefings. We are all wondering what will happen this next week - will restrictions be lifted or will they be continued?
We have a bit of confusion between
- Nicola Sturgeon (Scottish Government)
- and Boris Johnson (4 nation goverment of the United Kingdom.)
Both are seeking to prepare us for the decision they will make, but they have crossed their signals.
- Nicola Sturgeon - nothing will change.
- Boris Johnson - change is coming.
When you are a good leader, you seek to prepare those who follow you for future decisions.
ill. Parents - prepare a child for a doctor's visit. Tell them what it will be like.
(look in your mouth, at your tummy, have you stand on scales....)
ill. Doctor - prepares a patient for a jab. (sharp scratch....)
John 14-17 is Jesus' Farewell discourse to his disciples. (Crucifixion, Resurreciton, Ascension)
Jesus is preparing them to face coming persecution.
John 16:1 These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended. (tripped up to stumble)
2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.
3 And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me.
4 But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them. And these things I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you.
5 But now I go my way to him that sent me;
exp. Jesus is leaving. Persecution is coming. Even the apostles would struggle to follow Jesus when the tribulation began.
John 16:30 Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God.
31 Jesus answered them, Do ye now believe?
32 Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.
- All will forsake him and flee.
- Peter and John will follow and Peter will deny Christ 3 times in one evening.
33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
question: Have you noticed how often the Lord has said, "These things have I spoken unto you?"
33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
John 16:1 These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended. (tripped up to stumble)
4 But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them. And these things I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you.
5 But now I go my way to him that sent me;
exp. Jesus hadn't given this information before because He hadn't left yet. But,
Don't quit (be offended) - Remember what Jesus said.
quest: Are you tempted to quit (be offended) because of how you are treated as a follower of Jesus?
Mark 14:16 And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness;
17 And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended.
exp. If you want to be real for Jesus, you need to go through the persecution!
DON'T QUIT - REMEMBER WHAT JESUS SAID.
The "things" Jesus said about tribulation are found in our text: John 15:18-27
I. Remember Jesus said - We will be hated. (So rejoice.)
exp. We want to be liked, valued and appreciated. It is hard when someone dislikes us.
ill. I don't think my sister-in-law will mind me saying, that she didn't like me when Katie and I started dating. She hated me. I took away her best friend. Praise God - he worked it out.
exp. It is tough when people dislike us or hate us. We naturally want to please people.
app. Don't be suprised by hatred when following Jesus. If you aren't expecting it, you might quit.
A. We will be hated.
John 15:18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
exp. Jesus said, If the world hates you, REMEMBER you know it hated me before it hated you.
ill. Touring Israel - we stopped in Nazareth on our first full day. We stood on the brow of a hill overlooking a valley lying between us and Mt. Carmel. Like Arthur's seat, there was a steep drop off of the front.
exp. Jesus preached in the synagogue in Nazareth and they wanted to throw him off that hill.
Luke 4:28 And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,
29 And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong.
app. Should we be suprised if some hate us even unto violence. That is how they hated Jesus.
ill. I had a man in West Linton come out cursing me for putting a flyer into his mailslot. He got as close as I want to get to being violent as he bumped me with his belly. (He didn't even know me, but he hated me.)
app. Are you going to quit if you feel like someone else is really upset because of your Jesus? Remember - Jesus said we would be hated....
B. So rejoice.
Mat 5:11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
ill. The apostles practiced this.
Act 5:41 And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.
Act 16:25 And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.
app. When you rightly stand for Jesus and are hated - Don't be offended - don't quit. Rejoice! God has a reward for those who suffer shame for his name.
1.) Remember Jesus said - we will be hated - so rejoice.
II. Remember Jesus said - We are different. (So change.)
ill. Sadly - mankind doesn't like things that are different from themselves.
- Racism - hate someone of a different race.
- Sexism - hate someone of a different sex.
- Class distinction - caste system in India.
- mentally or phsically handicapped - hated because of their limitations
exp. Sadly - these things ought not to be. But, that is the way of the world expecially when it comes to DIFFERENCES with regard to a believer's lifestyle.
A. We are different.
19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own:
exp. If a person who claimed to be a Christian....
- embraced wicked sexual lifestyles, fornication, homosexuality, redefining marriage
- embrace abortion - murdering babies in their mother's wombs,
- embraced ecumenism - taught all religions are good religions
- embraced false science - denied creation and stood for evolution
IF THEY DID THIS - THE WORLD WOULD LOVE THEM.
reminder - There are "religions" that teach these things and they are embraced by the world.
NOTE: They love them - because it is them.
App. (THEY ARE NOT DIFFERENT - BUT JESUS TAUGHT THAT WE ARE DIFFERENT.)
Here is a clue to anyone seeking to find the truth and wondering who to follow - if a religion is like the world - they aren't TRUE FOLLOWERS OF JESUS.
B. So change.
exp. Embrace change for the glory of the Lord Jesus.
...but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
exp. Obviously Jesus isn't speaking about the physical world, but rather out of the world's ideology.
ill. At the end of this discourse he is going to pray and expound on this.
Joh 17: 14 I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.
16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
ill. When somebody gets saved, those who knew that person before should say something like, "Something is different about you." (And, they may not like it.)
2Co 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
ill. When you move to a new country - you get weary of being different. You want to go to the shop and not say anything, because as soon as you speak, "They'll know you are different."
app. Have you refused to obey the Lord in areas of change, because you will be different?
If you are different as you ought to be, the world will hate you.
1.) Remember Jesus said - we will be hated - so rejoice.
2.) Remember Jesus said - we are different - so change.
III. Remember Jesus said - We are slaves. (So serve.)
20 Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.
def. greek - Doulos - a slave (literally or figuratively, involuntarily or voluntarily;)
ill. (Gotquestions.org) In Roman times, the term bondservant or slave could refer to someone who voluntarily served others. But it usually referred to one who was held in a permanent position of servitude. Under Roman law, a bondservant was considered the owner’s personal property.
ill. Paul reminded us that WE ARE GOD'S PURCHASED POSESSION FOR HIS GLORY.
1 Corinthians 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.
A. We are slaves.
20 Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.
exp. We carry the message of our Master. The way they treat us is how they would treat the Master.
Matthew 25:31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
app. Warning - how you treat those who RIGHTLY speak for Jesus is how you treat Jesus. This is expected BECAUSE WE ARE HIS SLAVES DOING HIS BIDDING.
B. So serve.
exp. Even as you face tribulation, remember you are a slave - please your master.
Gal 1:10 For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.
ill. Who is the church of Scotland trying to please by standing in opposition to God's Word?
John 5:44 How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?
app. If you want to please me, you aren't God's servant. If you are God's servant, remember people will treat you as they treat your Master.
1.) Remember Jesus said - we will be hated - so rejoice.
2.) Remember Jesus said - we are different - so change.
3.) Remember Jesus said - we are slaves - so serve.
IV. Remember Jesus said - We are CHRISTians. (So identify.)
ill. greek - Christianos - follower of Christ.
note: The name was first given to the followers of Christ in Antioch.
Act 11:26 And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.
ill. In our society - people use CHRISTIAN to mean.....
- I believe in God.
- I am religious.
- I hope to go to Heaven.
app. But, they know nothing of suffering for Jesus, because in reality they are not Christians.
A. We are CHRISTians.
21 But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me.
exp. Those things are further stated in John 16:2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.
ill. If a Jew professes faith in Jesus - their family holds a funeral for them and treats them as dead.
ill. If you are from a religious family (muslim, catholic, strong atheist)....
app. Your family may ostrecize you if you take Jesus as your Saviour. Don't let that offend you, don't quit. (Jesus said this would happen - remember WE ARE CHRISTIANS - CALLED BY HIS NAME....)
B. So identify.
1. Be saved.
exp. Be saved and baptized.
Act 26:28 Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.
2. Be baptized.
Mat 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
3. Join a local church (gather with Christians.)
Act 2:47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
app. If you become a true Christian called by Jesus name, don't be suprised by persecution.
1Pe 4:16 Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.
1.) Remember Jesus said - we will be hated - so rejoice.
2.) Remember Jesus said - we are different - so change.
3.) Remember Jesus said - we are slaves - so serve.
4.) Remember Jesus said - we are CHRISTians - so identify.
V. Remember Jesus said - We are the light. (So shine.)
ill. A thief doesn't brake into a building and turn on the lights.
exp. If you turned the light on while they were in there, they'd get upset and probably violent. LIGHT EXPOSES THEIR WICKEDNESS.
exp. The world doesn't like the light BECAUSE it exposes their wickedness.
Joh 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
warning: If you don't like what the Bible says, it is because it exposes AS WICKED something you want to keep. (IS THE BIBLE WRONG OR YOU?)
app. Remember Jesus said we are the light and sinners hate the light.
A. We are the light.
22 If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin.
exp. Jesus didn't make them sinners - he exposed their sin.
ill. Jesus was the light! He said to his half brothers.
Joh 7:7 The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.
question: How do you identify light? It is that which causes darkness to flee.
exp. If you are the light of the world, you confront darkness.
Mat 5:14 Ye are the light of the world.
app. Does the darkness know that you are around? We are the light.
B. So shine.
Matthew 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
exp. Why don't people like what the Bible says? IT REBUKES THEIR LIFESTYLE. IT REBUKES THEIR SIN.
app. Are we surprised by persecution. Darkness doesn't like light. Don't quit. Don't turn off your light.
1.) Remember Jesus said - we will be hated - so rejoice.
2.) Remember Jesus said - we are different - so change.
3.) Remember Jesus said - we are slaves - so serve.
4.) Remember Jesus said - we are CHRISTians - so identify.
5.) Remember Jesus said - we are the light - so shine.
VI. Remember Jesus said - We are ambassadors. (So represent.)
def. An Ambassador is a representative of King and country. A British ambassador, represents the queen and the government of the United Kingdom.
ill. Because of Brexit, Ambassadors in Europe may find a chill in the room when they represent our nation.
note: We ought to expect a cold shoulder from those who don't like God or His kingdom - whom we represent.
A. We are ambassadors.
23 He that hateth me hateth my Father also.
24 If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father.
exp. Jesus was an ambassador of sorts as well.
- He was sent by God the Father.
- He didn't speak of Himself but spoke for the Father.
Joh 12:49 For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.
Joh 14:10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself:
exp. To hate Jesus was to hate God the Father because Jesus represented Him.
(They would deny that - but that was the truth as seen by how they treated Jesus.)
app. We are ambassadors! If they hate our God, they will hate us. Jesus told us.
B. So represent.
exp. An ambassador doesn't live in His home country. He lives in a foreign country AND REPRESENTS HIS HOME COUNTRY.
2 Cor. 5:20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.
exp. Paul was carrying God's Gospel around the world.
app. Where are you carrying God's Word? Who has gotten upset at you for representing God to them? A believer ought to find out who hates God - BECAUSE THEY SHOULD BE REPRESENTING GOD TO THOSE AROUND THEM. Don't be offended? YOU ARE AN AMBASSADOR, THE MESSAGE IS FROM GOD.
1.) Remember Jesus said - we will be hated - so rejoice.
2.) Remember Jesus said - we are different - so change.
3.) Remember Jesus said - we are slaves - so serve.
4.) Remember Jesus said - we are CHRISTians - so identify.
5.) Remember Jesus said - we are the light - so shine.
6.) Remember Jesus said - we are ambassadors - so represent.
VII. Remember Jesus said - We are preachers. (So declare.)
note: To preach is to declare God's Word. It shouldn't surprise us that people don't want to hear preaching.
Gal 4:16 Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?
A. We are preachers.
25 But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.
26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
27 And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.
exp. Remember Jesus is declaring this to his disciples. He's going to be crucified. The persecution is going to start.
ill. Peter is going to be the bold preacher at Pentecost
- filled with God's spirit - testifying of Jesus "Spirit of truth,....he shall testify of me."
- and bearing witness "and ye also shall bear witness."
- that it was JUST LIKE THE WORD OF GOD SAID! "The Word might be fulfilled."
app. Nobody is going to hate you for being a SILENT CHRISTIAN. But, when you get up and preach that it was
- their sin that put the Son of God on the cross,
- that they need to repent and put their faith in Jesus.
- that hell is for those who reject the message.
get ready - hatred will come.
app. Jesus reminds us we are preachers....
B. So declare.
20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
app: Who has believed on Jesus through your words? Who has gotten upset because you were bold enough to preach Jesus. Did you quit because you tried to say something for God and someone got upset?
conclusion:
Good leaders do their best to prepare those under them for what will take place.
Jesus was a great leader. He didn't want his men to be offended (tripped up) in following him. As he got ready to go, he prepared them to face the persecution that would come.
John 16: 33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
Don't quit (be offended) - Remember what Jesus said.
1.) Remember Jesus said - we will be hated - so rejoice.
2.) Remember Jesus said - we are different - so change.
3.) Remember Jesus said - we are slaves - so serve.
4.) Remember Jesus said - we are CHRISTians - so identify.
5.) Remember Jesus said - we are the light - so shine.
6.) Remember Jesus said - we are ambassadors - so represent.
7.) Remember Jesus said - we are preachers - so preach!
If nobody is upset at your religion - you either do not have Christ or you are not like Christ.
2Ti 3:12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
