Abiding through Opposition - John 15:18-16:4a

John 15:18–16:4 ESV

“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but 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 is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father also. If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.’ “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning. “I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me. But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you. “I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you.

We are in our sermon series called “Abide,” and our goal for this series is that we would begin to REMAIN in CONSTANT awareness of... connection to... and dependence on... the power and presence of our loving Savior.

We have a Savior who loves us so much that he laid down his life for us… and he wants to fill us with his love so that we can bear the fruit of his love toward one another… and so that the watching world would see his love THROUGH us and KNOW that we are his disciples.

And I CANNOT think of a way that we have seen that pattern emerge more clearly at Oak Hill than in the ministry of AROMA.

We are in our sermon series… [series vision…]

AROMA is a group of women from Oak Hill who study the Bible IN our community… specifically in the Oak Bottom Village community room… and seek to serve the people who live in that community and even beyond as an overflow of their love for one another.

And so I asked Melissa Mohler if she would share a little bit about what it looks like for her to abide in Christ when she is on mission… in those moments where ministry is hard… and sometimes received well… sometimes not so much...

[Transition to video… show video “Melissa Mohler”]

So turn your attention to the screen… [show video “Melissa Mohler”]

We see God working in so many ways at Oak Hill, but I think AROMA can be one of the clearest pictures of the full cycles of ministry...

And I know many… not just Melissa… but MANY have been instrumental in serving in that ministry over the years… through the Bible study and the Care Connect Ministry...

In fact, Keri King is leading the Bible study team now… and there is a great core of ladies who clean houses and supply needs and provide transportation…

Actually, right now we are looking for a team of men who can help serve there too… who are either handy or just don’t mind lifting a piece of heavy furniture or something… especially when there is a male resident who could use someone to talk to...

who are either handy or just don’t mind lifting a piece of heavy furniture or something… especially when there is a male resident who could use someone to talk to...

especially when there is a male resident who could use someone to talk to...

If that’s you, and you want a GREAT opportunity for witness in our community, just talk to Dwight or Melissa at this point I think…

And if you’re a little nervous about it, that’s GOOD… because we see GOD WORK when we step out in faith...

When we step out in faith, God shows his power and presence all the more strongly because we are dependent upon him.

We see GOD work when we put ourselves in a position to CONSTANTLY be aware of and connected to and dependent upon him.

We see God work when we abide in Christ… and without an abiding relationship to Christ, we cannot step out into a dark and hostile world as a witness for him.

And without an abiding in Christ, we cannot step out into a dark and hostile world as a witness for him.

Abiding in Christ is the essential foundation for all life and ministry… because ministry is simply following Jesus in the work that he did and is now doing...

So here’s the cycle that we’ve seen so far in … just by way of recap… so that you see how this all works together: [show graphic]

It starts by understanding that the Father is seeking fruit… that he has planted the choicest of Vines: his only begotten Son and he expects to see a harvest of internal character and outward obedience and multiplying ministry from his disciples who are the branches.

And that understanding leads us to confess that apart from Jesus we can do nothing… we cannot produce any of the fruit the Father is seeking… ONLY JESUS can produce the fruit the Father seeks in us....

And so Christ’s command and invitation to us is to abide in him… he is the VINE… the life-source… we must remain connected to him through a constant conversation of receiving his word and responding in prayer… that’s the way the nourishment gets to us from the vine.

And as we take in his word, the primary nourishment it gives us is an awareness of his great love for us… which becomes the primary characteristic of the fruit the Father seeks: love for one another…

We experience his love through obedience...

So we extend his love to one another who are attached in the Vine… other believers in Jesus Christ... that’s where we left off last week… the love for one another in the church is unique and exceptional because we all are attached to the same life-source…

But as we love one another, there is an outside world that sees and knows that we are his disciples BY our love for one another.

Abiding takes us to this next step of ministry… being a witness for Jesus in a hostile world.

We are a witness to his power and presence in us… those who God is drawing will receive that, but many will oppose that witness....

and that opposition leads us back to this awareness that while the Father is seeking fruit, we can do nothing apart from the Vine… and the cycle continues.

This is a cycle that God designed so that we would continually seek Jesus as the source of life and vitality and fruit… this is the cycle of abiding in Christ.

For every one look at the fruit, you’ve got to take ten looks back at Christ.

Today we are going to see how our witness... and the resulting opposition... leads to deeper abiding in Christ.

Big Idea: Allow opposition to drive you to a deeper abiding in Christ.

Look at v. 18 - “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”

Your Bibles are open to … Just to remind you of the context:

Jesus and his disciples are walking from the upper room in Jerusalem where they shared one last Passover meal before the crucifixion and Jesus washed his disciples feet...

And they are walking TO the the Garden of Gethsemene on the Mt of Olives where Jesus will spend some time in intense prayer with his Father before being turned over to those who hate him the most.

This is the time of Christ’s greatest opposition… and Jesus wants us to know that this is the path that every one of his followers will walk (to some degree) as we abide in Christ.

The closer we get to Jesus... the closer we get to opposition... which will bring us even closer to him.

Read 15:18-16:4

That’s pretty real. Not exactly a “feel-good” message on face value… If I were trying to tickle your ears, I wouldn’t pick this passage… but at the same time, this IS a passage of great comfort...

Because opposition is inevitable when we are truly following Jesus.

Paul strengthened the believers in every church that through many trials and tribulations they MUST enter the kingdom of heaven.

We MUST talk about this as a church because it is just part of the Christian life.

It’s not that we go looking for it… it’s not that we try to be as offensive as possible with the gospel… it’s not that we stir up trouble and say, “Look at us and how persecuted we are!”

No… it’s just a natural outcome of growing close to Jesus… that we will be outcasts in the world… and we need to learn not to run from it.

Because opposition is our opportunity to grow in a deeper relationship with Christ...

A Christ who suffered… a Christ who died for us.

When we experience opposition for his name, we become partakers in his sufferings… and we experience his power and presence in a renewed way.

As Jesus spoke these words to his disciples that night, John’s record of them becomes a word of comfort for the Christians all over the world...

They are a word of comfort to Christians in China who are under right now under another intense crackdown of the government on non-registered churches...

(http://www.bpnews.net/54086/crackdown-on-christianity-escalates-in-china)

They are a word of comfort to Christians in Iran whose numbers have surged from 500 to 500,000 since 1979, even under one of the most hostile of Muslim regimes…

(https://www.opendoorsusa.org/christian-persecution/stories/iranian-official-mass-conversions-are-happening-right-under-our-eyes/)

And they are a word of comfort to Christians in America like may of YOU who have experienced tension and rejection from your family because you stood upon Christ’s word and called them to faith in what he has to say.

I’m not talking about trivial things like big corporations making their employees say “Happy Holidays” instead of Merry Christmas…

But this is also a word for the many of YOU who have experienced tension and rejection from your family because you stood upon Christ’s word and called them to faith in the gospel.

I’m not talking about opposition to certain political ideals that have been associated with conservatism, but are not really part of the cause of Christ.

...who have lost friendships because you wouldn’t condone sin, but instead called them to the joy of repenting in Christ’s grace.

I’m not talking about a general ban on praying to a nameless God in public schools

And for the many of you who are still afraid of what might happen if you spoke up as a witness for Christ in your neighborhood or workplace...

Would it make things awkward… would you lose your job?

This is a word to ASSURE YOU that while opposition is inevitable for the true follower of Jesus, it is also something that God uses to take you to a deeper place of abiding in him.

Within the context of the parable of the vine and the branches, Jesus says in v. 18 - “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”

Jesus is saying, “This is why the world hates you: because you are attached to a vine that that they hated first.”

In this passage today, we can see…

In this passage today, we can see…

Look at v. 18 - “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”

3 Ways We Abide Christ through Opposition

1) Remember that the world is opposed to him first. (15:18-25)

Explain: We can find confidence that we are abiding in close relationship to him if we are sharing in his sufferings.

Because Jesus’ whole life was one of being opposed and doubted and questioned...

The religious leaders hated him...

While the crowds flocked to him, few truly counted the cost to follow him...

In , he is about to be arrested under the cover of darkness with clubs and spears…

And even the guys he is teaching right now are going to leave his side during his darkest hour.

Jesus was opposed by the world he came to save.

“If the WORLD hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.”

The "world" in this context, is everyone who do not put their faith in Jesus Christ and who are therefore not born again.

It includes those who are Gentiles and those who are of Israel who did not receive him.

So how many of you kids memorized your Fighter Verse from last week, ? I’m going to give you a second to say it with me in a second…

But if you look at the verses right around that verse that we memorized, we can understand what Jesus is talking about…

“He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.

“He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” (, ESV)

So looking at that verse, what is “the world”?… It’s everyone who doesn’t receive Jesus… who doesn’t know he was the Son of God who created all things and came into his creation…

It would even include a some people who would be very offended by John’s use of this term, “world”… “his own”… it’s referring to God’s chosen nation of Israel…

Even THEY did not receive him… and so they are part of “the world” too…

This is the group who in HATE Jesus and his followers…

But then there is this other group… and this is where the fighter verse comes in…

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” (, ESV)

There is the world, and then there are the children of God… and you can’t be part of both groups…

The world is everyone who does not know Christ… who do not receive him… they do not recognize him as the Son of God and Savior that he is...

That could be someone in this room today…

If you do not receive Jesus through faith… if he does not change your heart and life so that you could be called “born again”… then you are still of the world...

But if you DO receive him… if you do believe that he is the Son of God who came to earth to live… and die… and rise again… and that life is found only in his name...

If you receive him… that means that God opened your heart to be born again… he gave you NEW LIFE…

It wasn’t anything you could do… it wasn’t anything you would choose on your own…

GOD gives you new life… and he produces faith in you… in the parable of the branches and the vine, he attaches you to the life source who is Jesus… he causes you to abide in the vine THROUGH faith..

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” (, ESV)

This is the bottom line for every single person: You are either of the world and therefore reject Christ, or you are of Christ and are rejected by the world. [repeat]

Rejection comes in three ways:

That’s what v. 19 is saying: If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”

Too often Christians try to reach the world by showing that they are just like the world… “Christians are cool too...”

And we take the world’s culture and arts and practices and baptize them in Christian language and say, “Look, we can be just like you!!!”

Maybe we just try to blend in so that nobody really notices us as we walk the halls of our school… or sit at the holiday dinner table… or go about our daily work.

We take the world’s philosophies and feel-good self-focused messaging and refresh them with a Christian label.. and then expect the world to come flocking to us.

And listen… it doesn’t work! The world is onto us! They are generally like, “meh… we do the world thing better than you do. If Jesus doesn’t change all that much, why would we need him anyway?”

But when we show the radically different nature of Jesus from the world...

When we demonstrate that Jesus says that we are all sinners who CAN’T rescue ourselves with our own good ideas or resources...

When we demonstrate that Jesus REALLY DOES change lives in ways that people could only DREAM but have never been able to achieve on their own…

When we demonstrate that Jesus says that we are sinners who CAN’T rescue ourselves with our own good ideas or resources...

When we demonstrate that Jesus says that the way to the top is by descending to the bottom...

When we demonstrate that Jesus REALLY DOES change lives in ways that people could only DREAM but have never been able to achieve on their own…

When we demonstrate that Jesus is the ONLY way, the ONLY truth, and the ONLY life…

Well, that makes the world kind of mad.

Jesus is clear that we should not expect the world to love us when we are truly following him.

Those who are drawn to him will come to love us… to them we will be the aroma of life… but we will be the aroma of death to those who are perishing…

If we are still more concerned with how much the world loves us instead of how much Christ loves us, we are still of the world…

and we need to turn to him in faith and see just how different and better he is than ANYTHING in this world.

And if you HAVE experienced the world’s rejection, you can REMEMBER that the world was opposed to him first.

1) Persecution (v. 20a):

Look at v. 20 -“Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. (, ESV)

We are commanded to REMEMBER this… that’s how we abide more closely in him… we REMEMBER that the world opposed him first… they PERSECUTED him and we can expect the same treatment.

That word “persecuted” can seem extreme to us… But the word persecuted means to be chased out… to be pressed outside of the boundaries acceptable society.

And I would say that it is safe to say that if you speak up boldly to say that Jesus is the source of life and he is the ONLY way and that his words are absolute truth… you would find yourself quickly pressed beyond the boundaries of acceptable society.

Since the 1960s and 70s, Christians have tried long and hard to be LOVED by society instead of transforming by society through the gospel...

They have tried to maintain the moral majority that they thought they enjoyed in the 40s and 50s,

And in doing so, have tried as hard a possible to keep political power so that they would not be persecuted ...

But that experiment failed.

But the word persecuted means to be chased out… to be pressed outside of the boundaries acceptable society.

The sinful nature of the world rose against any supposed moral majority and in order to maintain power, we had to make compromise after compromise until

And when that happens, we can remember that it happened to Jesus first..

Jesus was rejected in his hometown by those who knew him best… because to them he was just another boy they played with in the streets growing up… and he couldn’t POSSIBLY be the Son of God that he claimed to be…

He was also rejected for association with his hometown because nothing good could come out of Nazareth…

Israel’s leaders tried to make Jesus look like a law-breaker… they tried to shame him for the ways he related to tax collectors and sinners…

Jesus was pressed outside of the boundaries of acceptable society…

And that’s good news… because that’s where we encounter Jesus. Jesus was always walking outside of the boundaries of acceptable society.

We encounter Jesus in the places of greatest persecution.

Here’s what this means when it comes to our mental picture of abiding in Christ:

Not only does abiding look like this [show picture of woman in sweater reading Bible drinking coffee]

Abiding also looks like this [show picture of woman praying with hands bound]

It’s not only this… [show picture of man kneeling]

It’s also this… show picture of Chinese forced out of church]

Not only is it this… [show picture of teenager reading on dock]

It’s also this… [show picture of girls laughing behind teenager’s back]

One form of abiding leads to the other… one fuels the other.

It’s there that we can remember HIS great love for us when we were in the guilt and shame of our sin… he loves us when everyone else would reject us.

The more we abide in Jesus… the more we show our constant need for him and that he is the only source of our life... the more society will try to push us out.

We start to look like Jesus… act like Jesus… talk like Jesus… and people start to get uncomfortable.

But it’s in that place of persecution that we encounter Jesus. It’s in that moment that we can have that conversation where we receive his word and respond in prayer.

Remember how abiding was described in v. 7 - if you abide in me and my WORDS abide in you.

It’s something to recognize and then follow in the way of Jesus.

His words take on new depth when his experience becomes our experience.

Keep that in mind as you read the second half of verse 20 - If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father also.” (, ESV) ”

We keep doing what he did… saying the words he said… we don’t say what the world wants to hear…

One of the reasons that Jesus was persecuted… or rejected… was for his word.

We let his word abide in us.

Look at verse 20b - If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father also.” (, ESV) ”

2) Rejection of his words (v. 21-23)

If his words abide in us, then our words will sound like his… and those who receive his words will also receive ours… and those who don’t will not.

Our words must be such that they leave people with a clear choice: accept or reject Jesus our Savior.

Be OF the world… or be OF Christ through faith.

Our actions should be just as potent as our words: “If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.’” (, ESV)

When we abide in Christ, our lives should be SO markedly different… in word and deed and priority... that we demonstrate the folly of the world’s way of living...

Not in some arrogant way… not showing off our own wisdom and self-righteousness… but in humility, demonstrating how Christ ALONE has utterly changed us.

Ultimately what we can expect from the world is this: baseless hatred.

The more pure our love in Christ, the more hostile their hatred toward us.

That might seem discomforting, until you realize this: the hatred of the world for the cause of Christ is the sure sign that you are abiding in him.

Illustrate: If you wore a Make America Great Again hat and walked into the Democratic National Convention, I can expect to be heckled and booed out...

and just to be politically unbiased, if you had gigantic a Bernie Sanders mask like the guy I saw in Lancaster’s Penn Square… and you wore it into the Republican National Convention, you can expect the same response.

If you walk into a cheesesteak joint in Philadelphia wearing a Steelers jersey, you can expect to have that steak wit… some things you don’t want it wit...

And if you walk into a sinful world wearing your close relationship to Jesus Christ on your sleeve, you can expect to be rejected and persecuted... at least by the majority.

Apply: We must REMEMBER that we abide in a loving Savior and Lord who was OPPOSED.

We can either live for the world to love us, or live for the world to love Christ in us.

Which one are you living for?

In your job… are you more concerned about the approval of your boss or coworkers… or about showing CHrist to the watching world...

And those two things are NOT always mutually exclusive.

I’m NOT teling you to spend half your day witnessing and not doing your work...

Doing good quality work is a way of showing Christ’s work in you...

But when the moment comes to point to the source of your good work, do you fear pointing to Jesus because it might mean retribution from your workplace.

Or in your family… are you a “keep the peace at all costs” sort of person in your family?

Never bringing up Jesus because he makes things tense?

Or do you allow his word to dwell in you so fully that you can’t help but talk about him in every circumstance?

Maybe at school… you kids are in the greatest opportunity to tell others about Jesus that you will ever get in your entire life...

But the desire to be liked by the world instead of abiding in Christ’s love can be so strong.

Here’s the reality: Opposition will either drive you closer to the world or closer to Christ.

Which direction have you seen it drive you?

If you feel pulled away from Christ… or you aren’t sure how you will stand in the face of opposition, there is good news for you… you aren’t alone in this.

Look at v. 26 - “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.” (, ESV)

Look at v. 26 - “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.” (, ESV)

Here’s the second way we abide in Christ through opposition:

2) Rely on the help of the Spirit to be his witness. (15:26-27)

when the Helper comes… he will bear witness about me...

Explain: The word used for helper means "advocate" or "legal assistant."

The picture Jesus is painting is that the world, in various forms and ways, has put believers on trial.

For Jesus, this was going to be very real in just a few short hours... he would literally be put on trial and sentenced to death.

And many of the disciples hearing these words would see their own trials and face martyrdom… all of them would experience persecution.

But for Jesus’ followers, he was going to send a very special gift: He and the Father together would send the Spirit of truth to bear witness in this great trial of the world.

The third person of the Trinity would be the primary legal assistant to the believers on trial in the courts of the world… whether they are the courts of government or the courts of public opinion.

We are going to talk more about the Spirit's role in two weeks, but the Spirit’s whole job is to point us to Christ… he leads us into a deeper abiding in Jesus..

The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are ONE God in three persons… each has PRECISELY the same nature, attributes, and perfection...

And the primary role of the third person of the Trinity (the Spirit) is to ignite faith in the second person of the Trinity (the Son) to that the first person of the Trinity (the Father) is glorified.

The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are ONE God in three persons… each has PRECISELY the same nature, attributes, and perfection...

Being indwelled with the Holy Spirit is essential to being connected to the Vine.

In fact, in , he is called “the Spirit of Christ...” he mediates Christ’s presence to us.

And being FILLED with the Holy Spirit in an ongoing manner… controlled and surrendered to him… is essential to remaining aware of, connected to, and dependent upon Christ.

--So as the Spirit witnesses to who Jesus is, he does it THROUGH his disciples... we are Christ's witnesses... not out there on our own, but through the Spirit of Christ working in us and through us.

So as the Spirit witnesses to who Jesus is, he does it THROUGH his disciples...

he will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.”

Disciples of Jesus are Christ's witnesses...

First… the apostles who followed Jesus from the beginning were his eye-witnesses…

And then all who have followed him through the word that they spoke to us… we are the witnesses of his transforming power in our lives through the Spirit who indwells us.

If you were reading in the Abide reading plan this week, you would have read this in :

If you were reading in the Abide reading plan this week, you would have read this in :

Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. ( ESV)

Illustrate: Picture this: think of every time you walk out your front door, you are on trial (no pressure, right?)… you step out of your house and into the courtroom… in fact, some of you are even on trial in your house because your kids are watching… or your unregenerate spouse is watching… But listen... it’s not really you who is on trial, it is Christ in you.

And if you try to represent Christ yourself, the case is going to fail.

Those who wave their right to an advocate in court generally don’t succeed… just watch any courtroom drama on TV…

But YOU have the best defense team ever… the Holy Spirit is there at the desk feeding you with everything you need to demonstrate the case that Jesus is the powerful Son of God who died and rose again and is worthy of all praise.

Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. ( ESV)

Apply: When interacting with those who oppose Jesus, rely on the Spirit to bear testimony through you.

You don’t need to have all the answers… you just need to know the one who does.

This goes back to the habits of the word and prayer and fellowship that we’ve been talking about these past few weeks:

We’ve talked about leveraging these weekly habits where we take extended times in the word and in prayer and in fellowship to help us understand the priorities and purposes Christ in our lives… the Holy Spirit works through those ordinary habits to help us be a witness for Christ.

The daily habits where we have a conversation of receiving his word and responding in prayer… where we fellowship in regular accountability… the Spirit uses these to keep our hearts in tune to his leading in our lives...

And then the momentary habits where we recall his word and offer short, in-the-moment prayers… these are the habits through which he gives us what we need at the moment we are on trial… sometimes we may even have time to text a brother or sister in Christ, “Pray for me, I’m about to have a gospel conversation.”

It’s through these very practical, ordinary means of grace that the Holy Spirit is helping us to be witnesses for Jesus... he is leading us out into a world that is hostile to Christ, but desperately needs him…

and it’s when people are most antagonistic to us that we have an opportunity to speak of Christ’s power in our lives and to show his mercy toward us.

It’s when they are most hostile to us that we experience the Spirit’s help and Christ’s nearness the most.

But that’s doesn’t mean it is easy. It WILL take it’s toll. We will need to go back again and again to the source of life to bear the fruit the Father is seeking.

And Jesus wants us to remain… to abide… to the end. He wants to use opposition to take you to a deeper place of abiding… and so he says in chapter 16:1:

“I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me. But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you. (, ESV)

Here’s the third way we grow closer to Christ through opposition:

3) Recall these words that Christ has spoken to us. (16:1-4a)

Explain: Jesus is telling the disciples all of these things so that they would not fall away… so that they would REMAIN… ABIDE… in him over the long haul.

--Jesus is telling us all of these things so that we would REMAIN in him over the long haul.

He doesn’t want them to fall away in the face of opposition… he wants them to realize that this trial is bringing them closer to him.

These words that are recorded in chapter 15 were spoken so disciples for the rest of time would recall them in the moment they were opposed and abused and even put to death…

They are a solid foundation for those moments, where we can remember without a doubt: “Christ went here first. He has given me his Holy Spirit. He will be with me until the very end. I can keep going.”

--Remember in the first sermon, I said that abiding in Christ has the idea of REMAINING...

That’s abiding. Persevering to the end by remaining connected to Christ in every moment.

---In the sense of the perseverance and preservation of the saints... continuing in faith until the day we see Jesus face to face...

Remember in the first sermon, I said that abiding in Christ has the idea of persevering… continuing in faith until the day we see Jesus face to face...

But that perseverance happens by remaining through the days and moments that make up our existence as we remain in CONSTANT awareness of and connection to and dependence on his power and presence in our lives…

We will abide in him over the long haul of opposition if we learn to recall his words in the moment of persecution.

First, we remember that we can expect opposition because it happened to him first...

Then we rely on the Holy Spirit who is our advocate… our helper… to be his witness…

---And we can remain in him if we learn to expect opposition on his behalf.

It’s when we stake our lives on his word that we grow closer to him. Even when it costs us everything.

And we rest in the surety of his promise that he is the source of life… the source of our life here on earth… and even more, the source of our life for all eternity.

And we can abide in him if we remember that this is one of the tools he uses to draw us closer to himself.

Illustrate: On January 3 of this year, a Pastor in Nigeria named Lawan Andimi went missing… and on January 9, the Muslim Terrorist group Boko Haram released a ransom video… this is a screen grab from that video…

But it turned out that this wasn’t your ordinary ransom video… In it, Pastor Andimi said,

--And there is a general feeling that I have toward the day... it was a good day... or it was a rough day... but that general feeling is developed as one moment leads to the next and my expectations are met or unmet.

“I have never been discouraged because... all conditions that one finds himself is in the hand of God… I still believe God... who make them to act in such a way... is still alive and will make all arrangements. By the grace of God, I will be together with my wife and my children and all my colleagues. If the opportunity has not been granted, maybe it is the will of God.... Don’t cry, don’t worry, but thank God for everything.” (https://www.christianpost.com/news/boko-haram-kidnaps-pastor-releases-video-showing-his-plea-for-help.html)

Just this past week, because the ransom wasn’t met, and because he would not renounce his faith, Pastor Andimi was killed by Boko Haram.

One Christian advocate in Nigeria who watched the video commented to Christianity Today, saying:

“This is completely different from most hostage videos… [Andimi] appeared as one who has already conquered death, saying to his abductors and the rest of us that he is ready to die for his faith in Christ.” (Gideon Para-Mallam, https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2020/january/nigeria-boko-haram-kidnapped-pastor-hostage-video-testimony.html)

That is about the deepest place of abiding you can go.

And just this past week, because the ransom wasn’t met, and because he would not renounce his faith, Pastor Andimi was killed by Boko Haram.

And in that moment, he met the one who lived and died for him.

The Apostle Paul wrote,

2 Corinthians 4:7–12 ESV

But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you.

But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you. ( ESV)

Apply: We abide in a Savior who died at the hands of those who opposed him… but lives forevermore to provide us new life in him.

And it is

And it is only in awareness of and connection to and dependence upon him that we can remain steadfast in the face of the same opposition.

--And even more, it will happen as you learn to stand with him in the moments where you are most opposed.

Will you be ready for opposition when it comes: this week... this month... this year?

Will you be ready for opposition when it comes: this week... this month... this year?

From your family, friends, coworkers, neighbors?

From your family, friends, coworkers, neighbors?

Will you go to the places he went… boldly displaying and declaring the truth that is in you… because your heart is so wrapped up in his?

Will you stand with Christ, or with the world?

Abide in him and you will stand with him forever.

Will you be a witness for Jesus

Abide in him and you will stand with him forever.