Hated and Helped
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Pray
I don’t know if you’ve watched the shocking footage of the arrest and murder of George Flloyd by an American Police offcier this week.
It’s not pleasant viewing!
It's a shocking injustice that many feel symbolises a much greater and continued problem of racisim in our world.
A world that for so many, for many reasons, is unjust.
George Flloyd, a man,
who by all accounts was decent and much loved.
and by all accounts a Christian, who was a role model and mentor to many young men living in rough areas!
And someone in authrority ended his life.
An insult to the equality of mankind,
An abuse it seems of authroity,
And it certainly has been taken to be an act motivated by race.
I was in a prayer meeting with other Pastors this week,
And one of them (a black Pastor in an ethnically diverse church said:
‘Some people of colour in our congregation cannot sleep out of the pain and tierdness of this issue’
Another black pastor at the meeting said,
‘There is so much to consider in addressing this issue - and there are pitfalls on everyside!’
It’s complicated and emotional.
What should we say to George Flloyd’s family?
What can I say to those in our congrgeation who have experinced racisim,
or any other serious injustice and inequality for that matter.
What should we say to anyone who has experinced hatred in our unjust world?
Well,
Jesus says in our passage today
“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.
I can’t relate to the struggles of people of colour feeling hated - But Jesus can.
I can’t relate to those who have face persecution,
or touture, or mockery, or even death,
for any reason of injustice,
But Jesus can.
I can’t pretend that I always get racism,
or any kind of ‘ism’ towards others right,
But Jesus can.
“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.
In Jesus we have a Saviour,
who understands every injustice we might face,
of any depth,
or any kind.
The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.
In Jesus everyone of us has a friend, for he was hated first!
The creator of mankind - hated by his own.
Jesus felt the pain of that policemans knee of George Flloyd’s neck,
As Jesus breathed his last on the cross.
He felt the same shame you felt being ridiculed or bullied at school for looking different,
or behaving differently.
He felt the frustration you feel for the dissability you live with.
He felt the same blows from your abusive spouce.
He knows the same mistreatement from a selfish employer.
The same fear at a loved ones illness.
Jesus was ‘hated’ - a strong word - by this world!
Hated to the point of being murdered,
on a cross.
Every person, of every colour, every race, every nation.
Every situation
Has a friend in Jesus.
For Jesus came to offer salavtion to all Nations, tribes and toungues.
If you haven’t picked it up already, our first point is that:
1 - The world hates Jesus
1 - The world hates Jesus
And he knew they would - but he still came to save us!
That is some friend.
And His hatred, as we;ve said, he knew would come his way before he came.
But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’
Here’s the promise in the OT Psam 69v4
Those who hate me without reason
outnumber the hairs of my head;
many are my enemies without cause,
those who seek to destroy me.
I am forced to restore
what I did not steal.
Oh, Jesus was hated alright.
He was persecuted,
ridiculed,
conspired against,
discrediited,
embarrassed,
given an unfair trial,
stripped,
flogged,
mocked and scorned,
nailed to cross,
hung, to die.
And he took it all willingly.
Jesus understands the injustices in this world.
He was hated first.
And he died becasue of it.
So why was Jesus hated by the World?
Not becasue of his Race,
but
The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that its works are evil.
Jesus the light exposes the darkness of our world, our lives.
And so many hate him!
YOu either hate him for he tells us and shows us our evil hearts,
Or
we love him for we aknowledge his assesment of us
- and then see that he still love us and saves us!
And if we love him, like the disciples,
then we too will find ourselevs on the recieving end of that same hatred:
You see, one day Jesus will bring to account every injustice, and hatred.
But for now,
Following him doesn’t remove injustice from our life -
It actually piles it on!
2 - The World hate Believers
2 - The World hate Believers
Now I, nor this passage,
are saying that all the injustice in the world is related to faith or belief in Jesus.
It’s unlikely the hatred shown to George Flloyd was a result of his faith - but was due to his colour.
But, there is another type of hatred that if we believe in Jesus,
we are going to bring upon ourselves as well.
Jesus, the exposing light of the world
shone in the darkness and exposed the sin of all!
And so, becoming a believer,
lands us with the same problem!
Not becasue we are perfect and light,
But becasue we have exposed our darkeness to the light of Jesus,
we now also expose the darkness of everyone around us!
It’s like opening your Ikea blackout blinds on a sunny morning!
What is hidden by the darkness is exposed to the light,
and is dealt with and removed by the light - Jesus!
I still sadly sin, prehaps casting shadows in the room,
but my sin is now exposed to and delt with by Jesus the light.
My life cannot be dark, becasue I live in His light.
And as long as I keep the blind open - I belong to Jesus.
But people don’t like hearing that they are in darkness!
That they are sinners, with the blackout blind is firmly down.
And too many are proud to admit their sin and open the blinds!
They hate the message, and as such they hate the messenger.
Don’t be suprised says Jesus - they hated me first!
So, saved believers,
Do not loose heart,
Do not fall away as Jesus says in 16v1.
Do not start closing the blackout blind again,
even in the face of hatred,
becasue look at the full picture of why the world will hate us:
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. Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me.
Jesus, chose you - and you belong to a different world.
If George Flloyd believed in Jesus - then his true life was not taken from him,
for he already lives eternally in another world - the Kingdom of Jesus.
His injustice in this lifetime,
only goes to glorify Jesus who took all injustice upon himself on the cross.
The unrepentant will be called to an account for their part in this unjust world.
The repentant, will though LIVE!
What a sadness that so many hate the loving message of salavtion,
But what a joy to be chosen out of this world, for another kingdom, with Jesus.
For now,
as hard as it will be,
we can face any hatred,
for any reason,
to death itself,
with knoweldge and reassurance that Jesus is there before us,
and our eternal life is secure with him.
And as we procliam the gospel of repentance and belief in Jesus.
Many may hate us and the message,
But remember it hated Jesus first,
and yet he died for them and us anyway.
“All this I have told you so that you will not fall away.
Pause
Jesus has said a lot to his disciples in the last 2 chapters,
They are not only now worried that Jesus keeps saying that he’s leaving them.
But he’s also given them a lot of instructions,
and told them that they too will be hated when he goes!
So let’s summarise the flow of what Jesus has been explaining to the disicples,
becasue it set’s up for our final point: - it’s on your sheets
1 - We cannot save ourselves! We are saved out of pure darkness into and by the light of Jesus. Sinners saved by Grace alone. That is why Jesus has to die - to leave the disciples.
2 - We will now love our fellow believers just like Jesus loved us - for if he can love a sinner like us enough to die, we can do the same for each other. Whatever differneces exist between us, we must love each other.
3 - We will love Jesus for all he’s done for and is to us, and respond in obedience to his commands in the Bible, that results in Joy!
4 - We will infectously want to offer the light and salavtion to others who are in the dark - and while some will believe - many will hate both the message and the messenger.
5 - It may be hard to speak out and live for Jesus, but he does not want any to fall away 16v1, so he’s encouraged us to look at his example.
How are the discplies, how are we,
going to keep up with all this?
No wonder the displces were worried:
I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember that I warned you about them. I did not tell you this from the beginning because I was with you, but now I am going to him who sent me. None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things.
We ought to be too greif stricken too, if that was it!
But that is far from it.
Someone ‘better than even Jesus in person’ is coming to help the disciples,
Someone ‘better than even Jesus in person’ is coming to help the disciples,
and all believers since.
The Advocate - The Holy Spirit.
3 - The Spirit Helps us to love Jesus
3 - The Spirit Helps us to love Jesus
It’s not like the Spirit is another peice to a puzzle of the gospel of salvation.
A Peice you have to try and work out how and where He fits?
The Spirit is simply the one who helps us to see there is no puzzle at all!
He simply guides us, and keeps us with the
Only Way, Truth and Life - Jesus.
As if to make this clear Jesus himself gives us
a 3 word summary of the role of the Spirit in v8, which is then explained in v9-11.
When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment:
Sin
Sin
about sin, because people do not believe in me;
in other words, The Spirit will convict (or proove us wrong) about sin.
We are blind to sin without the Spirit at work.
But with the Spirit at work,
he shows us our sin, and we are enabled to turn to Jesus!
Righteousness
Righteousness
about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer;
The Spirit will show us what Righteousness looks like,
because we wont have Jesus setting the example for us in person any longer.
If you like this is the positive side of exposing sin,
we are not left blinded by sin to close the blind again and return to darkness,
we are shown a better way by the Spirit
– who points us again to Jesus and his commands in His word the Bible as we saw at the end of Chapter 14.
Judgement
Judgement
and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.
The Spirit is if you like,
proof and security for the believer,
that Satan has been defeated by Jesus on the cross.
If the Spirit didn’t come,
then how would we believe,
and how would we know that Jesus succeeded in his mission if we don’t believe.
Evil is finished, and the work of the Spirit in us proves that to us,
by securing the hearts of believers in and too Jesus alone!
In short:
The Spirit is all for, and all about, getting us to and keeping us with Jesus!
Just look at the way in which the Spirit helps us to love Jesus in the other verse:
“When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me.
He’s an advocate - a helper,
A helper to do what:
Testify about Jesus!
Sometimes I’m told we don’t talk enough about
the Spirirt as Reformed Evangelical Christians!
If I was brave enough to be this bold, then I would say something in responce like:
‘Good, then the Spirit is truely at work amoung us - for all we talk about is Jesus!
For that’s exactly what The Spirit is meant to be doing in and amoung us!’
Jesus is the only Way Truth and life -
and that truth is what the Holy Spirit allows us to believe and testify about.
The Spirit also holds us firm in faith in Jesus.
The disciples truely faced a persucted road ahead:
They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God.
They would need help to stand firm:
And even though Jesus is telling them he wont be there to help
He extraordinarily - he tells them that this is good!
but now I am going to him who sent me. None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things. But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.
The glorious truth of the Spirit in us,
is that He is able to bring about true, steadfast, complete and eternal trust, understanding and belief in Jesus!
To have the Spirit in us, is better than to have Jesus in person - says Jesus,
for he (The Spirit) will actually change your heart so you can believe and be held fast!
Jesus does the work of salavtion,
and it is the Spirit opens the blackout blinds for us, and keeps them open.
But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”
The Spirit’s work is to testify to Jesus,
Reveal Jesus the Truth,
Point us to Jesus,
Glorify Jesus in everyway!
Chruch we cannot be more Spirit-filled,
than to know and love the Lord Jesus!
than to glorfiy Jesus with our lives,
than to talk always about Jesus,
To testify about Jesus,
To not sway from Jesus,
It’s all about Jesus -
And that is why we have the Spirit - to help us look to Jesus always.
So, what shall we do about the injustices in this world.
about Racism,
about the hatred we receive for our testifying about Jesus?
We should remember that Jesus was hated first and hold fast to our faith.
We should repent of the times we have inflicted injustice on others.
And we should do the work of the Spirit,
By testifying about Jesus,
Offering a better world than this - the Kingdom of Jesus.
For the Spirit will turn change hearts to Jesus,
Bringing about eternal change,
and justice and peace for all,
When Christ retruns for his own.
It’s all about Jesus - so believe.
Pray
