Love Works 3

Text: John 15:17-27

CIT: The World hates having its sin revealed; God hates the sin that hides.

I think in a room this size and gathered for this purpose we would all object to being called worldly. We would take acception to the idea that we duplicitous. Or that we were hypocrites looking to fit in both in the world as well as the church. But we must know the temption today.

Every labor, activity, and work of man is, in his natural state, based upon competition with others. 

Women can be tempted to compete based upon

their looks,

beauty,

figure

whom they have married

how well or poorly their spouse treats them. They compete based upon

how successful their children are in school, sports, or other activities

trying to outperform men in what has traditionally been areas

Men are prone to find their worth in

who they are dating

status at work

bank account

athleticism

ability to fix things

their house, yard, and other possessions. 

A man is tempted to think that he has made it if he can just outdo some other man in terms of achievement, wealth, or any other kind of competition. 

Much of this is so ingrained in our ways as men and women that we don’t even have to consciously decide to compete and compare. We do it without even noticing it. We subconsciously chase after the wind, and we have become enslaved to a temptation of the devil. We are trying to find our worth and identity not based in how God values us but in what others think of us. 

This is why we glorify and even deify sports stars, Hollywood icons, pop artists, and media elites. We constantly live under the illusion of if only I did this, had this, made this, knew so-and-so, became like so-and-so, and got this, then I would get so-and-so’s approval and then I would be happy. This was ordained and designed to fail. Such is supposed to draw us to the only true source of satisfaction, wholeness, healing, and fulfillment which is Jesus Christ. It is all by God’s design.

Jesus warned of their hate.

He told the disciples about the nature of the hate they would receive.

The hate of Proximity...Because they hated Jesus. 18

You and I can arrive at the conclusion that the world wouldn’t be fans of the disciples because they hated Jesus. That is true… there is no wonder why the disciples ran when Jesus was arrested. That reason is if Jesus could get arrested so could they. This warning came before they all abandoned him in the garden of Gethsemane.

The hate of Differentiation...Because you are not “of” the world. 19

Disgust is an idea that is wired within us from birth to keep us alive. When we smell something that is disgusting we move away from it. When we taste something that brings disgust we spit it out. When something disgusts us we repel it from us because it keeps us alive. This is also true in ideology. We live in a culture today that puts this on full display. We watch in real time people emotionally respond to something that they have never experienced before but because the notion brings up disgust in their mind or heart they have decided to respond in disgust. Why because it threatens something they already perceive as true.

The hate of Servanthood...Because you are not greater than Jesus. 20

This reason simply explains the reason that God would allow the disciples to experience hostility. Why should they have this same hate given to them. They didn’t claim to be the son of God. They didn’t promise to rise again.

All these reasons explain why the disciple will experience hatred and even martyrdom. It does not capture for us the reason that God is hated. Or that Jesus is hated by the world because of God.

2. Jesus points out it is He who they really hate.

When speaking about his opponents our former president Donald Trump made an apt observation.

“In reality they’re not after me they’re after you. I’m just in their way.” - Donald Trump

This is very similar to the sentiment of this passage. Except Jesus points out some major spiritual issues.

They are not really the sons and daughters of God. They don’t even know him. Think of it. these false teachers who claimed they please God not only didn’t please him they didn’t know him at all. There will be many in the church age that will do the same. Please know that you cannot oppose the work of God and be his. You cannot claim his name and deny his purpose.

Shame makes them hate God. The problem is that God keeps exposing their sin. They had a way of covering up their sin before but now their is nothing to protect them from righteousness’ searing gaze.

Jesus proved he was from God and if Jesus hated their sin…Then so must God. They can’t let that stand. But in so doing they have proven that they hate God.

Understand John 15.23

John 15:23 KJV 1900

He that hateth me hateth my Father also.

He is not claiming related hate. In otherwords he is not saying God and I are one so you must hate both of us. He explains in 24 that the hate experienced was because they didn’t like it when Jesus revealed who God is. Jesus did the works promised of the Messiah. That is no problem there but when the false teachers heard that Jesus felt some kind of way about them, then they had a problem.

This is the issue today. When you come telling of a Jesus that healed and did good. The world loves him. But when you speak of his problem with their sin and the private choices being made “who are you to judge”. The issue is the same. When Jesus proved he spoke for God then shame became personal and they had to push against it.

3. Jesus points out the true reason for this hate - they hate the Father.

You say wait a second that doesn’t make any sense. Well of course not their is not logic to this… John 15.25

John 15:25 KJV 1900

But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.

You just went over all the causes of the hate that they have. That is true but only to the extent that this is an appropriate response. There is not causation that would allow for the explanation of hating God.

There was no understandable or logical motivation for such hatred. They hated none the less. We can understand the reason but their are no arguments that will hold up under logic.

The World hates God...

The world has its own god.

The world is its own god.

Each god brings its adherents… A basic entry level college class handout points out eight elements in place for something to be religion. (TWHT-the world has this)

1. BELIEF SYSTEM or WORLDVIEW: Many beliefs that fit together in a system to make sense of the universe and our place in it. TWHT - We live in a culture of dogma. Woke is its own belief system but understand that before the wicked plight on our culture know as equality landed on the scene humanity has had some specific way of viewing the world that was different than God’s and this is its theology. From Eve seeing the fruit was desirable to make one wise to Let us build a tower to the heavens declared in Babel. Deviation from Scriptural truth is its own worldview.

2. COMMUNITY: The belief system is shared, and its ideals are practiced by a group. One glance at our culture you have have in crowd and the apostate. Either you buy what we think or you are Anethema.

3. CENTRAL STORIES/MYTHS: Stories that help explain the beliefs of a group; these are told over and over again and sometimes performed by members of the group. They may or may not be factual. We can thank Tiktok and Instagram for this. It is the perfect place for a sixteen year old with a million person following to announce their veiws of life fairness and equality and sell it under a vail of actually care.

4. RITUALS: Beliefs are explained, taught, and made real through ceremonies.

5. ETHICS: Rules about how to behave; these rules are often thought to have come from a deity or supernatural place, but they might also be seen as guidelines created by the group over time.

6. CHARACTERISTIC EMOTIONAL EXPERIENCES: Most religions share emotions such as awe, mystery, guilt, joy, devotion, conversion, inner peace, etc.

7. MATERIAL EXPRESSION: Religions use things to perform rituals or to express or represent beliefs, such as: statues, paintings, music, flowers, incense, clothes, architecture, and specific sacred locations.

8. SACREDNESS: Religions see some things as sacred and some not sacred (or profane). Some objects, actions, people and places may share in the sacredness or express it.

Hey lets remember that we still living in an age that you can’t say anything bad about the way our government and medical system has forced people against their will to take the jab.

The same disgusting idiots that let said Epstein killed himself says that you hated your neighbor for not rolling up your sleave. And you were a racist because you wanted to support the police. https://college.holycross.edu/projects/himalayan_cultures/2011_plans/sshmitt/images/Elements.pdf

The World (Kosmos- system) Hates God, but guess what - he doesn’t like them either.

1 John 2:15–16 KJV 1900

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

Keep this in mind…The world and Christ are not cohabitators they are enemies. The people are not our enemies. But you had better listen to me. Their is nothing in Disney that is rooting for your family. Their is nothing in the NBA, NFL, NHL that want your boys to grow up to be God honoring men.

Hey lets be honest, There are many in here tonight that are willing to trust the faceless, nameless, ether that tells them what to do. and without hesitation they will do what their government, medical class, and educational system tell us.

We have traded that which we worship.

We take in the foolishness of the world.

“The Spirit-filled believer will hate iniquity, injustice, and impurity; and he will militate against all of them. Because Paul hated the world, the world hated Paul. We, too, need this disposition of opposition.”

Leonard Ravenhill https://bukrate.com/quote/1169680