"On the Front Lines"
John 15:18-27
Sunday, October 21, 2012

Introduction: Jesus, knowing that it was almost time for Him to be killed and leave this earth, wanted to impart some important information to His disciples, and to all believers. Now we know that Jesus has told us that He will never leave us nor forsake us. Jesus prays for us that we may be one. Jesus tells us that we will be given the Holy Spirit to be with us, and instruct us, and guide us. These are all encouraging words from Jesus. But Jesus has something else He needs to say that won’t be as easy to hear.

He says in John 15:18-19, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. ¹⁹ If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.” Now, this isn’t necessarily great information, to be told that the world is going to hate you. Nobody wants to be hated.

This morning, I want to talk about how when we follow Jesus, we have to make an important choice. We have to choose to follow Jesus completely. We can’t be in the world, and still follow Jesus. It just won’t work. And when we follow Jesus completely, we will face some opposition.

           

I.                   The World Hated Jesus First- (John 6:48-51, 60-66, 10:22-33; Luke 11:37-54; Matthew 10:37-39)

a.      Jesus stirs up the crowd- Jesus was an amazing human being. In fact,

as I talked about last week, Jesus was a perfect human being. And yet, many people did not like Jesus. Jesus had a great number of followers, but many of those followers were more intrigued by Jesus, than committed to Him. Jesus did not teach with the idea of getting people to like Him. Jesus preached with the sole purpose of speaking the truth of God to people who had lost their way.

            As you read through the gospels, you see on many occasions Jesus stirring up the crowd with His teaching. Let me give you a couple of examples:

            We read in John 10:22-33, “Then came the Festival of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, ²³ and Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon’s Colonnade. ²⁴ The Jews who were there gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” ²⁵ Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, ²⁶ but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. ²⁷ My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. ²⁹ My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. ³⁰ I and the Father are one.” ³¹ Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him, ³² but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?” ³³ “We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.” Jesus was speaking the truth about who He was, and what He was there to do (to give eternal life), but the people did not want to hear this, or believe this.

            A second example comes from Luke, chapter 11:37-54. Jesus has spoken against the Pharisees and their practices, along with the lawyers and the burdens they put on people. We pick it up in verse 53: “When He went outside, the scribes and Pharisees began to be very hostile toward Him and to cross-examine Him about many things, lying in wait for Him, to catch Him in something He might say.”

            Jesus spoke the truth, but people did not like the truth He spoke. He ruffled the feathers of the religious leaders and those in power. Because of His teaching people came to hate Him and wanted to kill Him.

b.      People stop following Jesus- Jesus also would say things that caused

people to stop following Him:            In John 6:48-51, 60-66 we read Jesus saying: “I am the bread of life. ⁴⁹ Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. ⁵⁰ But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. ⁵¹ I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world…On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” ⁶¹ Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? ⁶² Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! ⁶³ The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life. ⁶⁴ Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. ⁶⁵ He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.” ⁶⁶ From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.”

Jesus’ words were not easy for the people to hear. Jesus challenged people to live for Him and to follow Him, and not to live for or follow the world! Because of this it caused many people to stop following Jesus. Jesus wanted committed followers. Jesus never diluted His message to try and attract more people. This caused people to hate Jesus and His teaching. This is why the people were so willing to shout out “Crucify Him, crucify Him,” at His trial.

Another time Jesus said these words in Matthew 10:37-39, “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. ³⁸ Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. ³⁹ Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.” These are hard and challenging words. Why would Jesus speak like this? Didn’t He want to have many followers? The answer is “yes” He wanted people to follow Him, but He also wanted them to understand the cost of being committed to Jesus. Jesus knew that this world could deceive people and lead them astray. There is a definite cost to following Jesus!

           

II.                Chosen out of the World- (Matthew 4:18-19; Acts 4:1-3)

a.      Persecution of Christians in the world- When it was time for Jesus to

start His ministry, He went out and called disciples to be with Him and learn from Him. As we read in Matthew 4:18-19, “As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. ¹⁹ ‘Come, follow me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will send you out to fish for people.’” Jesus expected these disciples to leave what they knew and completely give themselves to Jesus. They didn’t work in the day, and go to the synagogue at night for instruction. They were chosen to be the leaders of the church.

            After Jesus was resurrected from the dead, and ascended into heaven, the disciples became the ones who were preaching the good news of the gospel. If you read through the book of Acts, you will see that this was not an easy task. They regularly faced opposition. They were often arrested, thrown in jail, beaten and whipped, and despised by others. It was not an easy job to be a disciple; a follower of Jesus.

            We read of such an example in Acts 4:1-3, “The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. ² They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. ³ They seized Peter and John and, because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day.” It was not easy, but if they were not willing to make this commitment, the church would have never survived. Without the disciples’ total commitment to Jesus, you and I would not have this church experience we get to have each week.

            The disciples of the first century experienced persecution for their faith. This persecution continues to this day. Let me give you a couple of examples from around the world:

            In Iran: Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence ordered two officially registered churches in Tehran to discontinue Friday services. These were the last two official churches offering such services. The churches are allowed to meet on Sundays, but in Iran most people are at work on Sundays. Authorities reportedly were concerned that too many people were being attracted to the Christian services on Friday, the Muslim day of worship.

            In Indonesia: The Indonesian Protestant Church Union reported that acts of violence and intolerance against Christians in the country almost doubled in 2011.

            In Uganda, Hassan Muwanguzi lost his family and his job as a schoolteacher after converting from Islam to Christianity in 2003.

            I could go on and on about how those who commit to Christ are hated by the world and persecuted for their Christian beliefs!

b.      Persecution of Christians in the United States- We might think in the

United States we are free from persecution. And for many years this was true. This nation was founded on Christian principles. This nation was set up to have separation of church and state so that the government would not try and control the churches, as it did in England.

            However, in recent years, this has changed. I believe we now live in a time where there is indeed persecution of Christians. Maybe not like in other countries, but there is a definite feeling by many in our nation that Christians should keep to themselves. We are told to be politically correct, and if we are not, then we are criticized for it.

We live in a society that is said to have free speech, but if and when Christians speak out, then it is said that they are unloving, or even worse, hateful. Look at what happened when the President of Chik-Fil-A, Dan Cathy, spoke up about the companies’ beliefs that families are to be led by a man and a woman. He said that this was the biblical definition of the family unit. After he spoke these words, there was a great antagonistic response from those who disagreed. Many voted to have Chik-Fil-A removed from universities and cities.

When the church seeks to talk about how people are to give their money, this puts many off. When the church challenges people in how they should live their life, the church is persecuted for this. It is as if the society is saying, keep Christian teaching in the church, and leave it out of society. But this is not the example that Jesus gave to us. Jesus told us that we are to be in the world, and speak the good news, but not be of the world!

III.             What we do that the world hates- (Revelation 3:15-16; John 14:6)

a.      Claiming the truth- In Christ’s teaching, He is clear that you are

either for Him, or against Him. There is no middle ground. In fact, in the book of Revelations, chapter 3, when God is talking about the church in Laodicea, He says in verses 15-16, “I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” When you say that you are a Christian, but you aren’t fully committed to the Lord, but act like a Christian sometimes, and a hypocrite other times, then it presents a very bad witness for God. Being hypocritical is one of the biggest complaints non-Christians have about Christians.

            One of the things that the world hates of Christians, is that we claim to have the truth. It is not a popular stance to say there is one truth. To say, as I said last Sunday, that there is only one way to heaven! But the truth is, it is not me who says this, but Christ. That is why the world hated Christ, because He claimed to be “the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by Me.” And as Christ’s followers, when we claim this truth, then we are hated as well.

            A second thing that the world hates is that Jesus called sin, sin. Accountability is not popular. People don’t like to be told that they are living wrongly. Especially in a society that lives with the philosophy of relativism: that is, that all things are relative, and you can live however you want to live. So when we quote the Bible and list what is a sin, then we are hated for it and persecuted for it.

            The world wants to say, can’t we just all get along? Jesus prayed for unity, but not unity in relativism, unity in the word and truth of God. Jesus wanted us to be unified in Him. Jesus wanted us to be unified as believers of Christ!

Story: There is a story of a businessman who would buy popcorn from the same

popcorn vendor each day. But one day the vendor was closing up at noon. So the businessman asked him: Why are you closing so soon? Is there something wrong?” The vendor replied: “By no means. All is well.” “Then why are you closing your stand?” came the next question. “So I can go to my house, sit on my porch, and sip tea with my wife.” But the businessman didn’t understand, so he continued: “But the day is still young. You can still sell.” To which the vendor said: “I don’t need to, I’ve made enough money for today.” “Enough,” responded the businessman. “Absurd. You should keep working.” But then they vendor questioned this: “And why should I keep working?” “To sell more popcorn,” replied the businessman. “And why should I sell more popcorn?” “Because the more popcorn you sell, the more money you make. The more money you make, the richer you are. The richer you are, the more popcorn stands you can buy. The more popcorn stands you buy, the more peddlers sell your product, and the richer you become. And when you have enough, you can stop working, sell your popcorn stands, stay home, and sit on the porch with your wife and drink tea.” The popcorn man smiled and said: “I can do that today. I guess I have enough.”

            We think that we have to be a society that is always seeking, always wanting more…More religions, more acceptance. The truth is, all we need is Christ!

b.      Will we do what Jesus calls us to do?- God has called us. If you have

accepted Jesus Christ as Your Savior, then You have accepted this call. This call is not just to believe in Christ as Savior, it is also a call to believe in Jesus as Lord. It is the call to take up your cross and follow Him. It is the call to preach the good news to those who don’t know and who don’t believe. What will you do with this call?

            Too many Christians are not on the front line. Too many Christians are afraid to talk about their faith. Too many Christians are concerned about what it would mean if they took a stand for Jesus. Too many Christians think it is okay to say yes to Jesus on Sunday, but no to Jesus during the week.

            Are you living the life God would have you live? Do people know that you are a Christian by your beliefs and actions? When your life is finished, who do you want applause from, God, or the world? When you get to heaven, will God say to you, ‘Well done good and faithful servant?’

            It is about recognizing the opportunities, and responding to them. It is about believing that God will protect us in the midst of persecution. It is about understanding that we are called to be disciples, not just church attenders.

Conclusion: After Jesus said that the world would hate us, He then said in John 15:19, “If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own…” Those who want to be loved by the world speak a message that is acceptable to the world. When we speak the message of God, which is contrary to the message of this world, then we will not be liked. And at times, we will be persecuted.

            Let me give you a football example for a moment: In football, you have 5 people on the LINE. The line is the place where the offense meets the defense. Those on the line do the blocking. They keep the defense from the quarterback, or help there to be an opening for the running back to run through. Without this line, the offense would never get anywhere.

            We are called to be on the LINE; on the front line. We are called to engage people for Jesus. We are called to tell people about the good news of the gospel, that Jesus saves all who believe. We are called to remind each other that we need to know God’s truth, live by God’s truth, and share God’s truth with others. Let us be committed to do this today, and every day, for the name of Christ and the sake of the kingdom of God. Amen.